And the Versatile Blogger Award Goes To…

Me!  And many other lovely people.  First is was bestowed upon Katy and her blog The Storytelling Nomad and now she has shared it with twelve other bloggers,, myself included.  Thanks Katy!  My impression is that it’s like those chain letters we use to tape to our friends doors when we were in elementary school with threats of never-ending bad luck and potential fatality if we did not photocopy and distribute copies to a handful of other friends. Do you remember doing this?  I used to LOVE playing that game.  Anyway, I digress.

There are four simple rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

• Post a link to the person who gave you the award.
• Tell your readers seven random things about yourself.
• Award 15 newly discovered blogs.
• Send them a note letting them know you nominated them.

Seven Random Things About Myself:

1. I’m obsessed with the pattern plaid.  Seriously.  Even if it’s the ugliest object ever, if it’s covered in plaid I will mostly likely buy it unless reasoned with.  I was even given a roll of plaid duck tape for Christmas one year.
2. On the topic of Christmas, I still write a letter to Santa with my younger sister every year.  We include a postscript to the reindeer, a plate of cookies, and carrots.  I don’t have much excuse–my younger sister is fifteen.
3. Instead of “crap” I shout out “crumbs” when I am frustrated and am in need of a satisfying exploitative.
4. I think 6-inch-heels are comfortable.  And I’ve never twisted my ankle wearing them.
5. My favorite place in the world to visit is Sunset Beach in Cape May, NJ.  It’s the only place in the world where you can hunt for Cape May Diamonds.
6. I can crack my hip joints on command.  Yeah, kinda gross to hear.
7. I’m obsessed with family history and I make family members repeat stories and spell-out people’s names in old photographs in albums until they’re sick of me.  Ancestry.com is my new best friend and I spend way too much time on the website trying to find clues in the census records.

Nine Newly Discovered Blogs:

1. After I Quit My Day Job is the blog of a funny Philadelphia-based writer, which makes me happy.  I feel like Philadelphia is a forgotten, empty, an non-creative city sometimes.  The blog was listed on the writing tag page earlier this week and it’s where I learned about skirt.com. Read Kat’s essay, Adventures in (M)anthropology, there.
2. Publishing Lane is all about Samantha, who just graduated from college, got up and moved to New York City with the expressed intention of breaking into publishing.  Read to find out if she was successful!
3. Switzy Thoughts is a really lovely writing blog I recently fell in love with.  I’m so happy every time she posts.
4. Most of the blogs I follow are Tumblrs, so I’m just going to provide the link to the one that is most like a blog in that it is text-heavy rather than picture heavy.  Louisa May Today started in NYC, traveled to Seattle, and is now back home in Sydney, Australia.  Definitely worth backtracking and reading the archives.  If you don’t think it’s funny then you don’t have a soul.
5. The Book Nook is a book review blog, covering mostly (and awesomely!) chick lit.  I just discovered this friend and this blog and love both :]
6. Mr. Micawber Enters the Internet is the experiment of an independent bookstore owner who is posting lists of other indie bookstore owner’s favorite books of all time.  There is a new list every few days and it’s a great way to get some recommended reading from the best readers there are.
7. Wish You Were Here is the beautiful personal blog of a writer talking about writing, mothering, running, cooking, and managing bouts of anxiety/depression.
8. In their own words, Let the Words Flow “want[s] to get the word out about FictionPress authors who are breaking into the Real World of Publishing, and we want to be a source for new and young writers who don’t know anything about Publishing and need a friend to guide them through it.”
9. Lily White LeFevre is another writing blog (noticing a theme here?) which I am very fond of.  Mostly writes about the composition process surrounding novels and full-length manuscripts

I know I’m breaking the original rules but I haven’t discovered any other new blogs as of late.  As soon as I fall in love with six more blogs at first sight, you’ll be the first to know.  Promise.  But while you’re waiting, how about you check out the blogs above?