Fun With The Liebster

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

This is a loooong post….but I did have to answer 22 questions!

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award, twice. There seems to be different versions of this floating about, so I’ll combine the two when it comes to nominating

Firstly, by Blackrooster for this version:

And then by Mandy Webster at Write on The World for this version:

Thank you soooo much, both of you!

So I’m sure most of you know the rules by now of these things, listing facts about yourself, but this one involves asking specific questions. I do like questions, and here I get to answer 22! Lol

Blackrooster asked me:
1. Your favorite book is… I have a couple. The first would be Wuthering Heights and my second would be Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard

2. What bugs you the most about the times we live in? Hmmm, that’s a hard one! Probably that people don’t care about each other anymore. Everyone seems to be thinking of number one, what’s in it for me

3. What do you love the most about the times we live in? The Internet! Although The Hubster will be shaking his head lol. Look at the people who are now part of my life who would never have been so 20 years ago. It’s brought people together!

4. Do you have a nickname, if yes, what it is? No, I’ve never really had one to be honest. Boring I know.

5. Do you have a pen name, if yes, what it is? Ahhhhh, well, I have this dream, that me and The Hubster will write a book together and then we’ll be Vikki Roberts *sniggers*

6. When did you start writing? Fiction, in 2010, when I joined a creative writing class in the September. But I’ve been journal writing for years.

7. Is the computer your friend? My iPad and my Mac are my friends

8. What’s your most pronounced personality trait? Oh gawd, naivety? Trying to see the good in people when sometimes there really isn’t any. I’m too trusting and end up getting hurt.

9. When do you think robots will be “smart” enough to do our dirty work for us? Ha ha ha, I hope not, not ever!

10. Who’s the funniest person you know? Probably my daughter, her wit is so quick and sharp…I don’t know where she gets it from lol.

11. Horror or comedy? Comedy, definitely!

Mandy asked me:
1. What made you start blogging? I think I started blogging in 2004 on LiveJournal. I used it like a diary, all personal stuff, but then I stopped in 2008 and haven’t been back to it. There’s lots of stuff on there that isn’t for public consumption lol (it was friends only). One day i’ll go back and read it all then delete it. I started again in 2011 when I did an online writing course. It was their suggestion.

2. You have one month, unlimited funds, and zero repercussions; what do you do? Oh wow, now that’s hard! Lol. I would probably spend it on eating at the finest restaurants! I love food, especially gourmet stuff and of course, there would be no weight gain

3. What is your Spirit Animal? (Hint: does not have to be a REAL animal). Not sure, but I’ve always been drawn to foxes. When I was a child and came face to face with my first one I was scared but fascinated. Then, about 2007 I killed two. It was awful I had a huge 4 wheel drive at the time and they ran out in the road. I was on my own. A woman stopped to help me, or rather comfort me as I was hyperventilating and then 2 young guys stopped and moved them out of the road. It was awful I guess I’ve been trying to make up for that ever since, I feed them when I can.

4. Remember that one thing you did that you hoped nobody would ever find out about? Go ahead and tell that story now? I’m pretty much an open book and believe that when making decisions, don’t do anything you’d be ashamed of later. I try to live by that. It’s really not worth the guilt is it? Ok, nearly beating (note I said nearly) my son over the head with a remote control because he’d got me so angry (he was about 12 at the time). But, like I said, I knew it was wrong, I knew I’d hate myself (not to mention how it would affect him), I knew how I’d feel so I stopped, and apologised. I just snapped. It had never happened before and never happened again.

5. If you could have dinner with any 3 people, living or dead, who would you choose?
I watched Midnight in Paris for the first time recently. Oh wow!!! So it would have to be Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein!

6. When was the last time you tried something new, and what did you do? Last week I started Fasting. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be lol

7. What is your favorite film of all time? My Fair Lady

8. Favorite book(s) of all time? See above

9. If you could go 10 years into the past and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?
Oooooo, that’s a good one. To not take things for granted, your life can change dramatically in just one day! Oh, and warn myself about things that were gunna happen.

10. I’m thinking of taking a vacation; where should I go? Anywhere in Italy!

11. Best reason you called in sick to work, when you weren’t actually sick at all? I’ve pulled sickies, occasionally, but not for any really good reason. Usually to go to job interviews for another job lol

So my nominations are (and please choose whichever logo you want):

Janet at Postcard Fiction
Catherine Johnson
Pauline Conolly
Rebecca Bradley
Cara Thereon
Sara Flower
Mel at Feather Pens Tartan Dreams
Pam at RoughWighting
Lori at Poetry Patio
Peter Germany
Marina at findingtimetowrite

And here are my 11 questions for you lovely bloggers:

1. If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would it be?
2. What is your favourite form of exercise?
3. What is your favourite smell?
4. What is your guilty pleasure?
5. What do you wish you were better at?
6. If you had a choice (but only one), would you rather have a cleaner, a personal shopper or a personal trainer?
7. What 3 things would you take to a desert island?
8. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
9. If money was no object what would be the first thing you’d buy?
10. What was the last meal you ate?
11. Milk or plain chocolate?

Can’t wait to read your answers, I’m nosey like that

The nominees for the Liebster Award with love (motheroutlaw.wordpress.com)
another ‘blush’ liebster award (plaridel.wordpress.com)
Liebster award (clairelewisco.wordpress.com)
Liebster Nominee… (food4thesoul93.wordpress.com)
11/11: The Liebster Award (offgothepanties.com)

Fruition and Why I Blog

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

As you know, I don’t normally post on a Wednesday, but, I have a very special reason today. It just so happens that two guest posts I’ve done recently have both gone live at the same time.

Firstly, I’m over at Mandy Eve Barnett’s blog being interviewed about my writing (she’s put me under fruition, but I can’t think why lol).

AND

I’m over at Sydney Aaliyah’s blog telling her followers Why I Blog.

Thank you so much ladies, it was fun!

A few days back Patsy Collins nominated me (thank you so much honey!) for The Reality Blog Award. The rules are, acknowledge acceptance, answer the questions and pass it on….simples

The questions:

If you could change one thing, what would it be?  Ooooo, only one? Lol I wish I’d never started smoking.

If you could repeat an age, what would it be?  Thats hard….Probably my late teens, happy days

What one thing really scares you?  Dying! Not because of the pain or illness, because of leaving people I love behind

If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?  The Queen….just to see what it’s really like

So I’m going to nominate:

Mandy Eve Barnett
AND
Sydney Aaliyah

Keep it real ladies

Awards Galore!

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I’ve received a few awards in the past month lol

Firstly, The Sunshine Award from Mel at Writerly Goodness

And then Jenny Keller Ford nominated me for all these!

And for my 11th star!

And then Karin Bachman nominated me for The Versatile Blogger award

Thank you so much ladies! I’m feeling very loved Do check out these wonderful blogs

So, the rules are the same for all of these, 7things about yourself. I’m running out if ideas with this one! I’ve done books, facts about me, photos of me growing up, my art work, where I live, what’s left? I know! How about 7 of my most treasured possessions (not inc people and furry things!). So here they are in no particular order:

1. My wedding ring. It’s been with me for nearly 27 years. I’d feel completely lost without it

2. My grandmothers bracelet. I wore this bracelet on my wedding day, as my something old.

3. My grandfathers clock. He owned about 20 clocks, and when he died I was lucky enough to inherit a couple. This one is my favourite.

4. My anniversary bracelet. That The Hubster had made especially.

5. My Peter Blake. That The Hubster bought me for my birthday a couple of years ago.

6. My Kiss sculpture. That was bought on a trip to Rome.

And finally…..my writing notebooks

I have 20 now….not bad for just over 2 years worth of scribbles I refer to them so often it’s incredible.

I could go on and on with this list! I guess I’m the kind of gal who likes to be surrounded by precious things

Right, onto the next bit… I couldn’t possibly nominate 7 bloggers for each of these awards, (i’d be here for hours! lol) so I’ll stick to just 7 in total and let them decide which award they want, hey, have them all if you want to

Jane Ayres at The Beautiful Room
Sandra at Another 12 Novels
Nicky Wells
Florence at Ramblings From The Left
Rebecca Bradley
Mary at The Daily Mayville
Debbie at The Wicked Queens Mirror

I know these award things are time consuming, and I know a lot of you get a bit tired of them…..but i love them because what better way to highlight some great blogs (and bloggers) that you think deserve a pat on the back

New Blog Schedule

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

As from the first of January I’ll be changing the blog schedule (and the layout) and will only be posting 4 days a week. It’s gunna feel weird, as I’m so use to posting every day, but, it will free up my time to do other things.

So the new schedule looks like this:

Mondays: Plans for the week
Tuesdays: Faber until April
Wednesdays: Nope, sorry, day off. Apart from one post once a month, IWSG!
Thursdays: Fraid not.
Fridays: A random post.
Saturdays: Faber once a month until April and random stuff.
Sundays: I’ll be chilling

Some of the random posts will be fiction, inspirations, reviews and I’ll even share some pages from my journal. I’ve been working on a timetable (which I may share at some stage). And so far I have filled 12 hours every day with stuff I need to do *gulp*

Awwwww, it’s the end of an era! What will I do with myself? lol. Probably start wading through this lot and trying to write a novel *snigger*

I’d just like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to everyone who’s commented, liked, followed and read my blog. 2012 hasn’t been a bad year all told. There have been moments where I wanted to give up (blogging and writing), but I’m glad I stuck with it. I’ve met some fantastic people on this journey, and I’m so looking forward to sharing 2013 with you all

Don’t they say a change is as good as a holiday?

Got any plans to change your Blog for 2013?

Beautiful + Inspiring…GO ME!

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I’ve been nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award by Hezalyte at Iridessence Indeed and by Ayesha Shroeder Anushka at Finding My Creature Kristi at Dressed To Quill Jane Ayres Patsy Collins and Cheryl at Catching Fireflies for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award *squeals* Thank you so much ladies What can I say? How many nominations can a girl get in a 2 week period? Lol *blush*

I’ve already received both these awards in the past, so wow! Surely I should be drop dead gorgeous by now and inspiring everyone across the world *snigger* No? It doesn’t work like that? Oh well

The rules are the same for both of these. Say thank you to the blogger who nominated you (done). List 7 facts about yourself and then nominate 7 bloggers….so lets see, you know I’m a rule breaker, so rather than list 7 things about myself I’m going to show you the town where I live. All the photos taken by me

Some of you may know I live in Rochester (Kent) in the UK. The town was frequented by Dickens who lived close by. He loved the place (as do i!) so much that he was inspired to use a lot of the locations in the town for his books.

This is the Cathedral graveyard where you’ll find the grave of Little Dorritt.

Below, The Vines, where Dickens would often be seen walking (no doubt mulling a plot over). He was seen in here, leaning against a fence people watching the day before he died.

The Cathedral, 2nd oldest in the country, after Canterbury.

Dickens chalet, where he wrote some of his masterpieces. It was moved from his garden to its current location after his death.

The Castle, site of many a battle! Dickens would often be seen walking round it talking to himself.

Dickens wanted to be buried in the Castle Moat, but when he died, Queen Victoria wouldn’t allow it and insisted his body be laid to rest in Westminster Abbey. The first, and only time an English monarch has ever over ruled a persons last will and testament.

Eastgate House, featured in two of Dickens novels. He obviously found it inspiring as a location.

Restoration House, famous in its own right, but now, people come to stare at it because Dickens used it for Miss Haversham’s house in Great Expectations. I don’t know if Dickens ever got to go inside, but I have

And finally, Minor Cannons Row, which lies behind the Cathedral. Dickens used it in The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

I could have shown you sooooo much more, but this post is turning into 2 posts lol So now, back to business

I’m nominating the following bloggers for the Beautiful Blogger Award
Holly Michael
Bridget Whelan
Florence at Ramblings From The Left
Sabrina at Creativity or Crazy
Sam at Him, Her and Us
Madalyn Morgan
Bel Anderson

I’m nominating the following bloggers for the Inspiring Blogger Award
Cheryl at Creating Space 365
Sue at sassyspeaks
Lin at Voices in My Head
Joanne Phillips
Morgen Bailey
Patsy Collins
Sue at The Long & The Short Of It

So on top of all that I’ve also been nominated again for the Blog Of The Year award, this time by Hunter Emkay and Chris Stocking so a huge thank you to both! It appears I now have 8 stars

Please take a moment to visit some of these wonderful bloggers and I hope you enjoyed the mini tour Do you find where you live inspiring?

I’m Collecting Stars – Update

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

This, and yesterday’s post, seem so unimportant in light of the events in Newtown recently. Us Brits may by 1000′s of miles away, but, you guys across the seas are all still in our thoughts. Unfortunately, we too have had to deal with the unthinkable I have no words that could even begin to give comfort to those affected, but I feel what Jeff Goins had to say summed up my thoughts.

So if you’re not really in the mood for participating in this I totally understand.

I seem to have acquired another 5 stars, making that the 6 in total

HUGE shout out to the following bloggers who nominated me!

The lovely Bridget Straub

The talented Patsy Collins

The wonderful Paula Acton

The super Sabrina at Creativity or Crazy

and…

The fabulous Joanne Phillips

Thank you so much ladies

Check out The Blog Of The Year Award Page for rules and info on how it all works.

And now….my final round of nominations are:

Mandy Eve Barnett
Melanie Macek
Sydney Aaliyah
Jenny Keller Ford
Brigitte Surette
Chris Stocking
Elliott at Brainsplats
Rebecca Bradley
Roger Colby
Kate at 4amWriter
Sue at Sassyspeaks
Nicky Wells
Ayesha Shroeder

and finally…..
Holly Michael who set me on this journey!

Hell, I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone You all deserve to be Blog of The Year!

I’m Collecting Stars! Blog of the Year 2012 (the-view-outside.com)
Blog of the Year 2012 Award (angiesgrapevine.wordpress.com)
Blog of the Year 2012 Award ~ (globallightmindsdailyinspirations.wordpress.com)

The Liebster

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Sorry I’m behind with responding to your comments from yesterday, but I was up London at a publishing event (which I thoroughly enjoyed!) and didn’t get in til late last night *yawns* Will catch up today I promise!

I’ve been nominated by the fabulously talented Kim Cox for The Liebster Award!!!! Thank you so much Kim!

Here are the rules:

1. When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.

2. Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (while making sure you notify the blogger that you nominated them!)

3. You write up 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.

4. You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated your own blog!

5. You paste the award picture into your blog. (You can Google the image, there are plenty of them!)

11 Random Facts About Me….ok, well, you know I’m a rule breaker, so rather than give you 11 facts, I’ll share with you 11 pieces of my artwork. Hope you like them

My Questions From Kim

Q. What were you doing the last time you really had a good laugh?
Oh gawd, I can’t remember! It’s usually something to do with my daughter and husband mucking about

Q. What is more difficult for you; looking into someone’s eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someone’s eyes when they are telling you how they feel?
When I’m speaking, definitely!

Q. Neat freak or chaos theory?
Chaos all the way!

Q. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?
Jump in of course!

Q. At a movie theater which arm rest is yours?
The one in the right

Q. You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days?
I think I would only tell my husband. Spend it with the people I love

Q. What is your quirkiest habit and how long have you had it?
Oooooo, ummmmm, probably the fact that I have to have the volume of the stereo in the car on an even number. I don’t know why and I don’t know when it started lol

Q. If the professor on Giligan’s Island can make a radio out of coconut, why can’t he fix a hole in a boat?
I haven’t got a clue! Lol

Q. What song always makes you happy when you hear it?
Anything by Oasis!

Q. Tattoos or no? If so, how many, where and what do they look like and if not, have you ever thought of getting one?
I have two. One just at the top of my bum, and one on my shoulder

Q. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
This! I made it

I’m going to nominate…

Sam at Him, Her and Us
Rebecca Bradley
Sydney Aaliyah
Pauline Conolly
Peter Germany
Zoe at Ozonenut
Madalyn Morgan
Kirsten at A Scenic Route
Sue at Sassy Speaks
Marina at Finding Time To Write
Jane at The Beautiful Room

And here are my 11 questions:

1. Are you a punctual person or are you usually late?
2. How many hours a week do you spend watching TV? Now come on, be honest!
3. What do you wear in bed?
4. In a heated argument do you walk away or keep at it until you’ve had the final word?
5. How many times a day do you look in a mirror? Come on, you can tell us.
6. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
7. Do you consider yourself lucky?
8. Do you fear death?
9. What are your top 3 pet peeves?
10. What character in The Wizard of Oz are you most like?
11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Have fun if you decide to accept my nomination. Can’t wait to read your answers!

The Liebster Award (terry1954.wordpress.com)
Liebster award (alluglyboysdo.wordpress.com)
Liebster award (buildingblockx.wordpress.com)
The Liebster Award! (trueknights.wordpress.com)
Liebster Award (onthegofitness.wordpress.com)

I’m Collecting Stars! Blog of the Year 2012

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Holly Michael has awarded me a newly created award called The Blog of the Year Award 2012. Check out the Blog Of The Year page for more info

As you can see there is one gold star with the possibility of six in total (because this is my first nomination).

The ‘rules’ for this award are simple:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012′ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen — there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required — and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012′ Award — http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them.

5 You can now also join the Facebook group — click ‘like’ on the page above ‘Blog of the Year 2012′ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience.

6 As a winner of the award — please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award — and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

Yes — that’s right — there are stars to collect!

Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once — this award is different!

When you begin you will receive the ’1 star’ award — and every time you are given the award by another blog — you can add another star!

There are a total of 6 stars to collect.

Which means that you can check out your favorite blogs — and even if they have already been given the award by someone else — you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!

So a HUGE thank you to Holly

Now….who fancies collecting some stars?

I am nominating, for Blog Of The Year 2012…… Because you are all very inspiring

Bridget Whelan
Kim Cox
Robin Coyle
Bridget Straub
Jennifer M Eaton
Paula Acton
Sabrina at Creativity or Crazy
C B Wentworth
CC at One Honest Writer
Joanne Phillips
Ava at Jordanna East
Dianne Gray
Florence at Ramblings From The Left
Patsy Collins
Morgen Bailey

Awwwww, I wanted to give it to ALL of you

Have fun people!

A very special post coming up tomorrow…. Catch Della Galton giving us her editing tips

2012 Blog of the Year Award! (wholeness4all.wordpress.com)
2012 Blog of the Year Award (maggiemendus.wordpress.com)
Blog of Year 2012 Award! (soumyav.wordpress.com)
Blog of The Year Award 2012 (thedepressedmoose.com)
Blog of the Year 2012 award, thanks Miss Marzipan! (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Friday Extra! – Blog of the Year Award! (myblogexactly.wordpress.com)
Blog of the Year 2012 (myownheart.me)
It’s your TIME to SHINE! ‘Blog of the Year 2012′ Award (nackynice.wordpress.com)
Blog of The Year Award 2012 (ramblingsfromamum.wordpress.com)

Sharing The Love :o)

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Thank you so much, everyone, for your kind words yesterday.

The lovely LindaC over at Excuse Me While I Note That Down has nominated me for the Top Commentors Award. Thank you so much Linda!

As this is the second time I’ve received this award recently, my top commenters haven’t changed. Is that good or bad?

So I won’t be able to nominate anyone specifically for this award, and will just say, if you haven’t had this award already, yourself, please feel free to pass it on to your own top commenters. It really makes the people who consistently comment feel appreciated.

Give a little love today guys, say thank you to your top commenters

Tell me who your top commenter is and give me a link in the comments so we can all go and pay them a visit.

Top Commentors Award (the-view-outside.com)

Beautiful Blogger = Beautiful Books

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Happy Halloween by the way

I’ve been nominated by Pat Wood and by Marina at Writing is Hard Work for the Beautiful Blogger Award Thank you both, so much!

So the rules are that I share 7 things about myself and then pass this award on…. Ok, well, you know me, I do like to break the rules, so, I’m going to recommend 7 books that I think should be on every writers book shelf

I apologise now that all these links are for the UK.

The Artists Way by Julia Cameron is the book that started me on my writing journey.

The Writers Book of Days has been brilliant. I can’t tell you how much I’ve loved this book! It’s been my bible and constant companion since the 1st January of this year. It has encouraged me to write every single day and I will feel bereft without it come the 1st January 2013

The 5 Minute Writer by Margaret Geraghty was the first ever “writing” book I used. I loved all the exercises, and the concept that you only need 5 minutes.

The Writers Treasury of Ideas by Linda Lewis is fabulous for generating story ideas. Trust me, if you have this book, you will never be stumped for a story idea, ever again!

Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg. I’m reading it now and loving it! Actually, any Natalie Goldberg you can get your hands on is a great investment.

If you’re into writing romance you can’t go far wrong with Mary Wibberly’s To Writers With Love which, unfortunately is out of print now. It’s a little bit dated, but still very valuable. I love it! We said to Mary at Swanwick in August that she should urge the publishers to republish it. We’ll work on her next year

Last, but by no means least (and for all you Kindle lovers) The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi. What can I say about this book….BRILLIANT! I am almost tempted to tell you to buy a Kindle for this book alone! But it’s fine on an iPad, or PC/Laptop. An invaluable guide for all fiction writers

So there we have it. My top 7 writing books I’m sure there are many other great books out there, but these are the ones I own and love If you have a favourite writing book that’s not on my list please let me know, I’m always open to recommendations. *whispers* I can hear hubby grinding his teeth and thinking more books…more money he he he

Now, onto the nominations!

I’m going to nominate…..
Heather James
Marina at Finding Time To Write
Bridget Whelan
Bel Anderson
Debbie at The Wicked Queens Mirror
Katherine at The Intrinsic Writer
Lanise at The Timekeepers Journal

Please check out all these lovely bloggers

Sooooo, tomorrow is the 1st of November *gulp* and the start of Nano!!!!! Good luck to everyone who’s participating!