A Lovely Blog Award

Coming Soon! 20th December 2014 

You are Invited to a Christmas Party Blog Hop!

 ~ ~ ~ 

I have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award 

by the delightful (and very talented) 

Anna Belfrage. (Thank you Anna!)

If you like timeslip novels – she’s your author.

Of course I am very pleased and proud to have been nominated, but the drawback with these sort of things is that they come with obligations:

1.   Link to the person who passed the award on: Anna Belfrage and her wonderful Graham Saga Novels https://annabelfrage.wordpress.com/ I enjoy her highly interesting (and very lovely) Blog

2.     Post The Lovely Blog Award logo: there it is above – and it is also on the sidebar

3.     Share seven interesting facts about yourself. Hmm, have to think about this ‘rule’.

4.     Pass the award on by nominating up to 15 bloggers for the award.

So seven interesting things about me:

1.     I don’t ‘do’ kitchens. I’m a hopeless cook. I even manage to mess up ready meals. I often say that I only have a kitchen because it came with the house. Although now that I live in a wonderful old Devon farmhouse, I do rather love my cosy kitchen. Just not the cooking bit that is involved with it.

2.     I used to be scared of spiders. I’m still not keen on them, especially those big ones that scuttle away like a 100 metres sprinter – or those big hairy ones that sit and glare at you just out of reach on the ceiling. However, there are a lot more spiders in the middle of the North Devon Countryside than we used to get in London. I usually encounter at least one a day – especially this time of year. I had one on my jumper the other day. I surprised myself by saying “Oh, where did you come from?” and brushed her off with a quick flick off the tea towel. Gosh aren’t I brave! LOL

3.     I want to horse ride again. The spirit is willing, the aching joints of knees and hips are not. I have managed to get on and ride up the lane. Nearly killed me. Getting off was even worse as I had seized up. Still I will try again. Maybe when it stops raining.

4.     I have a customised Jack Sparrow figure. I spent an enjoyable afternoon, a few years ago, turning the figure into my Jesamiah Acorne. He stands on the window sill, glowering at me whenever I spend time doing other things (such as writing this) instead of getting on with his next adventure. I do occasionally come down into my study of a morning and find him flat on his face. The rum bottle he carries quite empty….

No, not Jack, Jesamiah!

5.     I love fluffy hotwater bottles. Only when it is cold, of course. I have a beautiful blue one that stays warm for hours.

6.     I also love my favourite two teddybears. One is Cobb. He was a birthday present many years ago from my daughter. He was purchased in Lyme Regis (hence the name). I saw him in a shop window and said “Oh I would love him for my birthday!” Come the big day though. No teddy. I tried my best to keep quiet and say nothing. Hide the disappointment. I knew I should have bought him for myself. Three days later I gave in. “You didn’t buy me that teddy then?” My  Daughter clapped her hand to her mouth, dashed off, came back with a parcel. “Sorry Mum, I forgot to give it to you.” 

Bleebear and Cobb

   Teddy number two is Bleebear. A present from daughter and her husband. Both bears are so lovely and warm – unlike the hotwater bottle the teddies just get warmer and warmer, not colder.

7.     I often get up in the early hours of the morning, come downstairs, let the dog out, make a cup of tea and answer some e-mails. Well, if I find I can’t sleep, I might as well do something productive. There’s only so many sheep you can count….

Early Morning view from my study

And to pass the Lovely Blog Award on to?

Well first, two lovely people who deserve the award:

1 Pauline Barclay http://paulinembarclay.blogspot.co.uk/ because she is such a sweet lady, and I enjoy her blog.

2 Janis Pegrum Smith

http://itsawonderfullifebyjps.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-2 because she is my assistant editor for Historical Novel Society Indie Reviews, a dear friend and fantastic author. Check out her latest The Book Ark.

Next some bloggers who have invited me as a guest, which in itself lovely – but they also have some very interesting blogs!

3 Roz Morris: The Undercover Soundtrack

 http://mymemoriesofafuturelife.com/2014/01/29/the-undercover-soundtrack-helen-hollick/#comment-16927  Music that inspires the writing: “Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold  a moment still to explore its depths.”

4 SKY PURINGTON'S A writer’s Mind 

http://skypuringtonwrites.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/christmas-with-pirate-helen-hollick.html  This was a Christmas Slot instigated -  I loved writing this short story about my Jesamiah for this event!

5  Jessica Bell  http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-artist-unleashed-when-characters.html Wonderful blog.

6 Jane Davis http://jane-davis.co.uk/2013/12/20/helen-hollick-on-why-becoming-an-indie-author-was-the-best-decision-she-ever-made/  ‘Jane Davis is one of my newfound heroes. A prizewinning literary author who tackles the trickiest of subjects and has turned to producing the very finest self-published literary works. She’s a wonderful writer I’m cheering on full voice.’ – Dan Holloway

7  Debbie Young: Author, book promotion advisor and commissioning editor of the Alliance of Independent Authors' blog of self-publishing advice – and all round super lady!

http://offtheshelfbookpromotions.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/selling-my-books-helen-hollicks-top-tip-for-book-promotion/

Thank you again Anna - I thoroughly enjyed doing this!