I'd like to thank the "Academy"...oops. Not an Oscar? Close enough!

Wow! I'm so honored...seriously! I blog like every third Saturday on the fifth odd month of an even numbered year. Yep, that often! (Sorry my dear, sweet followers). I try to do more, but when I decided I had to put my butt in the chair and finish the edits on Designer Genes if I wanted to release it in April, everything else had to be shelved. However, my dear friend, life coach, talented author, and all around beautiful person Sandy Rowland, http://sandylrowland.weebly.com/index.html isn't about to let me slip behind the curtain and watch from the sidelines. She's nominated my blog, such as it is, for The R.E.A.L.I.T.Y. Blog Award! As part of my thank you, I'm paying it forward by announcing her book "Conquered" is FREE until this Sunday! Of course it's the welcome mat to Apollo's Gift (the cover alone is a present). Here's the links to both.

http://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Gift-Greek-Gods-ebook/dp/B00B4ES4SQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358922360&sr=1-1&keywords=Apollo%27s+gift+by+Sandy+L.+Rowland

           

http://www.amazon.com/CONQUERED-Kivronian-Vampire-Series-ebook/dp/B008GTHGTA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355242952&sr=1-1&keywords=conquered+by+sandy+l.+rowland

Okay, now onto the purpose of this blog. (There's a purpose? You're not just blindly walking an endless word path into utter nonsense? Well, maybe.)  This award comes with a list of rules:

Visit the blog of the person who nominated you, thank them, and acknowledge them on your blog.

Answer the questions below and nominate up to 20 bloggers whom you feel are awesome and deserving of notice. Visit their blog and let them know.

Cut and paste the award to your wall. (check out the upper left hand corner...I'm such a techno spaz!)

The questions: (Uh-oh. This is where I have to expose a bit of real self. Now would be a good time to check out Sandy's books)

If you could change one thing, what would you change?


I wish I hadn't wasted so much time in life trying to please others and fretting over their opinions. I still struggle with insecurity and the fetal position is my "comfy curl." The decision to become a writer professionally is probably the most life altering change (next to menopause) I've undergone. I wish I'd made the decision ten years ago. I've missed out on a lot of years of that inner joy a writer feels when they pen "the end" to a story.

If you could repeat any age, what would that be?

Okay, I've regained self-composure, changed my pants and the hiccups are almost gone. Seventeen with the knowledge I have now. There's a couple of bitches I'd love a chance to teach a life lesson, not to mention a couple of boys I'd like to hear sing soprano.

For real? Forty-five. The kids were grown, my first grandchild had arrived, and I felt physically and mentally sound. Of course that all changed at age forty-six (see paragraph above). Insanity is now my reality.

What is the one thing that really scares you?

Dogs. My fear of the canine species is paralyzing. I was mauled as a child and the psychological scars are deep. In this case, "size" doesn't matter. Yes, I've always had a dog (my own did not attack) and currently have a loveable black Lab, but he's the only one who doesn't lift the hairs on my neck when I see him. I literally froze in the middle of the road yesterday when I spied a Pitbull running loose near my car. If the owner hadn't caught it and put it in their car, I would have fainted and been ran over. Two cars were stopped and honking. I didn't hear them.

On a more personal level, I fear failure, and not just professionally (although I wonder sometimes if I'm going to make it). I worry I'm not the best wife, mother, daughter, paralegal. I do know I rank *5 stars* in the grandma department, but they're still young and impressionable.

If you could be someone else for the day, who would it be?

In spite of my quirkiness, I really like myself. After all these years, I can honestly admit to liking the person who stares back at me from the mirror. She's aged a bit, put on a few pounds, but has great hair. And a sense of humor. She makes me laugh when I feel like crying. It's taken me a while to get to a place where I accept myself the way I am, flaws and all.

If I truly had a fantasy 24 hours being someone else, I'd probably pick Nora Roberts or Stephenie Meyers and make sure all royalties for that day went in MY account!

And my nominations are:

Calisa Rhose
Sonya Weiss
Suzanne Lilly
Brenda Maxfield
Sandy Bruney
Lynn Lovegreen
Ruth Casie   



Thanks for stopping by and my nominees...thanks for playing along. Do stop by and visit their sites. They've all got great stories to share!  Have a great weekend.