Thursday, December 17, 2009

Loyal Friend and Visitor Award-Winner

I had a different post idea for today -- it was going to discuss cyborgs in a steampunk setting and how science fiction/fantasy can bend science fact -- but yesterday Natalie Bahm gifted me with the Loyal Friend and Visitor Award. Of course that threw everything completely off, and required me to make today's post about that instead of my original plan. Ah well, such is the life of a blogger.

If you haven't checked out Natalie's blog yet, by the way, you should really make your way over there. Go ahead ... I'll wait. Are you back? OK then.

Unlike the other blog awards I've gotten, this one didn't have any rules, strictly speaking, so Natalie passed it along to 15 blogs she enjoyed reading.

Well, here's my list:

L.T. Host at Quest:Published is always worth a read, especially for her MadLib Fridays feature, where she chooses the top NY Times article of the day and inserts our suggested words. With hilarious results. She's also good for stories about her evilly adorable cats, horses, and as an abiding love for wallabies. Yes, wallabies.

Bane of Anubis maintains Bane's Blogging Blues which is, according to him, "A self-proclaimed realist's musings about whatever strikes his nerve." Be forewarned though, milk might shoot out your nose from the unabashedly smartass commentary he makes on everything from what hoop earrings mean to the meaning of having your own picture as your Blogger avatar.

I hesitate to call Rick Daley, of My Daley Rant and Public Query Slushpile fame, one of the busiest commenters on the internet, but he certainly manages to share his insightful (and sarcastic) thoughts with a whole lot of people. And some hysterical anecdotes about his sons too.

The next honoree is a blog team -- The Literary Lab's Davin Malasarn, Lady Glamis, and Scott G.F. Bailey. Davin and Glam are occasional posters here (we haven't managed to get Scott visiting yet, but I think it's only a matter of time). If you haven't read their always erudite posts on characterization, plot, and a mess of other topics, then it's well worth your time to do so. I know I've become a more thoughtful writer because of them. And you will too.

K. Marie Criddle's "drawgs" at C'MERE are easily one of the most innovative ways to blog I've ever seen. She was a friend-of-the-blog before there was a blog, and has a sense of humor bordering on sheer ridiculousness that makes our critique group meetings entertaining in the extreme. Oh, and she's a good writer too.

Next on the list is one Adam Heine and Author's Echo, particularly for his Positive Waves Week, but because he's an all-around cool person. Especially when you consider he and his wife are Americans living in Thailand and taking care of four children. And, oh yeah, he's a fellow steampunk aficionado. Which is always a plus, of course.

Stephanie Thornton at Hatshepsut: The Writing of a Novel is an Alaskan history teacher who writes historical fiction set in Ancient Egypt, and loves sharing the off-the-wall analogies and metaphors students include in their essays. She's also an evil Alaskan idea-generating dictator-for-life.

You can always count on Renee Pinner for a pick-me-up when you need it. Many of her posts deal with motivating yourself in the face of the odds, and staying on track in this writing game of ours.

Steph Damore is a new discovery, but she's already proven herself a talented wordsmith and a semi-regular commenter. Oh, and she loves Star Trek. So she gets points for that too. ;)

Anita Saxena at Anita's Edge relates her love of ice skating and the perils therein to the perils we all face as writers. Even though she's a Steelers fan, I love reading her thoughts on the process and her Gossip Time posts about all the books she's read.

Guess I only found 10 blogs to pass the award along to. Ah well. That's the problem with getting these awards though ... a lot of times the people you want to give them to already have it. Which is of course my problem because Susan R. Mills and Natalie herself are also thoughtful blog-friends, and I can't very well pass the award back to them now can I?

EDIT: Though I suppose I could double-award Susan, since Natalie gave her the same award yesterday. But that's just silly. :)

SECOND EDIT: Remember to enter the Ten-Word Novel Contest!

16 comments:

Rick Daley said...

Thanks Matt. The time I spend commenting is really time spent procrastinating on other tasks, so it's almost like I'm the anti-busy.

I know most of the people you mentioned through their comments on the Public Query Slushpile, and I'm glad you mentioned The Literary Lab, it's one of my favorite places to discuss the craft.

Adam Heine said...

Thank you, sir! I always appreciate being appreciated. This, too, is one of my favorite spots to visit on the net, even when the topic isn't steampunk :-)

Matthew Delman said...

Rick --

The Literary Lab discussions are always great, and have made me think about writing and story in a heckuva lot more detail than I ever did before. And Davin mentioning steam engines in a post one day recently made me smile.

Adam --

Why thank you for the compliment, sir. I finally started critting Azrael's Curse, by the way. I'll try to have it to you before the New Year if I can.

Renee Pinner said...

Awe..thank you. I hope my posts on motivation help when and if help is needed.

Stephanie Thornton said...

Thank you very much, Matt! I love waking up in the morning to find a shiny new award. :)

Although you've hit most of my favorite blogs so now I'm going to do some digging to see who to pass this on to.

And I'm still thinking of more 10 word entries. I need a doozy!

L. T. Host said...

Awww, thanks Matt... *sniff*.

The cool part is that I already follow most everyone on your list. But I think there's a new discovery or two in there. Thanks for pointing me their way.

Patti said...

I came over from Natalie's blog after seeing your name there. I'm constantly amazed by how many bloggers there really are.

Joshua McCune said...

You are too kind, sir. Of course, I'm w/ Stephanie on you hitting all my fave blog buddies -- which'll be a good kick in the pants for me to expand my blog ambit.

Anita Saxena said...

Aww thanks for the award! I feel the ba hum bug fog lifting =)

Matthew Delman said...

Renee, Stephanie, Bane, L.T. --

You're all very welcome. This whole blogging thing wouldn't be nearly as fun without the comments I get from all of you. And the rest of my loyal readers, of course.

Patti --

Welcome to the insanity! Mind the shiny bits ... those tend to be dangerous. :)

Anita --

I'm the bringer of joy and peace, didn't you know? ;)

Davin Malasarn said...

Wow, there are a bunch of blogs here that I haven't heard of. Thanks for the link and the shout out! And, congratulations on your award! I like coming to your blog because you seem so enthusiastic about your subject matter. It really comes through.

K. Marie Criddle said...

Matt, thanks so much! I always appreciate your kind words...and I swear I'd be a better critique groupie were I not frequently getting attacked by wayward cars. Thanks again!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Congrats on your award, Matt, and thanks for the great links! ;-)

Stephanie Damore said...

Spanks Matt! There's a lot of good blogs listed here that I have yet to check out, although you named few of my favorites too (Steph & Bane--what's up guys?!)

Looks like I've got some blogging to do!

Adam Heine said...

"I finally started critting Azrael's Curse, by the way. I'll try to have it to you before the New Year if I can."

Wow, that would be fantastic if you can pull it off. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Susan R. Mills said...

Well, I thank you for the mention. And yes it would be silly to double award me, but thanks for thinking of me. You are very deserving of this award. Congratulations. I'll have to check out the blogs you picked that I haven't seen before.