It is my pleasure to announce I have been nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award!

This fun chain-letter project is designed to honor the bloggers that bring the most sunshine into our lives, and consists of eleven fun questions that nominees must answer before they design their own questions and nominate up to eleven other bloggers that bring sunshine into their social media feed!

I was nominated by English author and book blogger, Josie Jaffrey, who I have the pleasure of following on Twitter. She writes the Solis Invicti series, a paranormal romance set in a dystopian London.

Below, I have answered all the questions Josie put before me, and dreamt up eleven of my own for the bloggers that bring me sunshine!

 

1. Who’s your weird celebrity crush and why?

My weird celebrity crush? Hmm. I guess I have to give it to Wes Bentley. I fell in love with Ricky Fitz’s reductionist approach to stress and society during American Beauty and was thoroughly entertained with his performance of the devil’s son, Blackheart, in Ghostrider. Ever since then I kinda giggle when he comes on screen. What can I say? I like a guy who can play a sociopath.

2. You can only watch one film, as many times as you like, for the rest of your life. What do you choose?

Can I zip into the future to a point in time where the musical Next To Normal has been filmed as a movie? If not, I think I have to give it to the aforementioned American Beauty. In case you can’t tell, I really love that film. Kevin Spacey is my favorite actor in no small part due to his stunning performance of an utterly normal man breaking his life apart into something unique and powerful, even if it is still, inevitably, dysfunctional…trust me, you catch something new every time you watch it.

3. How many of you does it take to change a lightbulb?

Two. One to find the lightbulb, and one to find a chair to stand on. #ShortGirlProblems

4. Coffee or tea?

TEEEEEEAAAAAAAA

5. What’s the best gig/play you’ve ever seen?

I have to give it to Jason Webley’s 11/11/11 concert in Seattle five years ago. Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, the Shook Twins, Big Dipper Little Dipper, Evelyn Evelyn…there were so many brilliant performers and I was so happy to see them all in one place. And Neil Gaiman hugged me. Afterwards, we all walked down to the waterfront with Jason and watched him swim away into the night. And then there was the after-party the next night…yeah, that was magical.

6. You can go anywhere in the world, in any time period, with any person (living or dead). Where, when and with whom would you go?

That’s a lot to consider right there. I think I’d head to San Francisco in 1968 or so and kick it for as long as I could with whoever I could. I’m sure there are more glamorous answers, but I think the sunshine and hope-for-humanity that the free love generation embodied would be a nice break from the current political/social climate…

7. What are you reading at the moment and how are you finding it?

I’m reading This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel, and I’m finding out that he got a lot better as he went a long in his writing career, hahaha. Personally, that’s very inspiring because it gives me hope too. There isn’t any plot to it, and while I usually like stories that focus on interpersonal conflict and interpreting the human experience over strong narrative, this goes a bit far even for me. Since this is one of the top criticisms I get for The Neverland Wars, I think it is a good exercise for me to think about the importance of action in a novel.

8. Dragons or unicorns?

Unicorns. They’re easier to befriend, but with that killer horn, you know they’d still be able to protect you with lethal force if you were ever in trouble.

9. If you were a chart-topping recording star, what sort of music would you be making?

PUNK CABARET. Seriously, this is the best musical genre in the world, and a lot bigger in Australia and northern Europe than it is here. Jazzy, interesting instrumentation, full of dark ballads and otherwise untouched subjects. I highly recommend people check out Amanda Palmer, Katzenjammer, or The Jane Austen Argument.

10. The entire world is shortly to be subjugated by a race of giant mutant ants. You have twelve hours before you are put to work in their colossal sugar factories. How do you spend your final hours of freedom?

Synthesizing ant killer out of household objects and weaponizing it, preferably by adapting a flame thrower. VIVA LA RESISTANCE!

11. When you were ten, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a popstar-teacher-painter-writer until I actually grew up and narrowed it down to “writer.” (That’s a lie, I still want to be a musician…someday I’ll have my own cabaret…*grumble grumble pipe dream*…)

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 QUESTIONS

So, carrying on with the great honor of the Sunshine Blogger Award: I propose these questions:

1. If you could wake up tomorrow with a world-class mastery of any talent or skill, what would you pick?
2. What is the most delicious dish or food-combo you’ve ever invented?
3. What is one of the best dreams you’ve ever had at night?
4. What musical instrument best represents your personality?
5. If you could live in any fictional world, which world would you want to live in?
6. What is one thing you do that you’ve never met anyone else who does it?
7. Would you rather A) travel the world in a year-long vacation BUT not be able to talk with or communicate with anyone you meet OR B) Get invited to a different party every week, hosted by and attended by interesting people from all over the world BUT never be able to leave your country?
8. What is something you always thought you’d know how to do by now, but still haven’t learned?
9. If you could go on a transcontinental roadtrip with anyone, living or dead, who would you want to be your roadtrip buddy?
10. Who is one seriously underrated artist you wish everyone knew about?
11. What would the title of your autobiography or memoir be?

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NOMINATIONS

As for my nominations, it is my pleasure to select the following fantastic individuals for consistently blogging the highest calibre of bookish content:

1. Becca’s Books: for all your cozy and cute book review needs, Rebecca Pugh is also the author of A Home in Sunset Bay and Return to Bluebell Hill.  Follow Becca on Twitter.
2. Jessabella Reads: one of my favorite features of Jessabella Reads is her “10 Random Things” feature with authors who do guest posts with her. Follow her blog, and you’ll find out things you’d never expect to know about authors! Follow Jessabella Reads on Twitter.
3. Library of Tomes: Temecka is a delight all over the internet. She’s a huge Raven Boys fan, so you know you can trust her. Her Top Ten Tuesdays are not to be missed. Follow Temecka on Twitter.
4. Yours A-fictionately: this blog is run by two awesome and bookishly energetic ladies in India, Tanishka and Nandika. They’re just getting started, but they give really thoughtful reviews to books and deserve more attention! Follow Yours A-fictionately on Twitter.
5. Across the Bookiverse: Carly covers one of the broadest spectrum of YA fantasy I’ve seen. From fairytale retellings to high fantasy series to contemporary with magical twists, she reviews it all. Follow Carly on Twitter.
6. Reading is Better With Cupcakes: Stephanie believes in literacy and loving books; she’s an awesome , mom with a great taste in books, some of which I know I wouldn’t see reviewed elsewhere. Follow Lady Cupcake on Twitter.
7. Paper Type Adventures: Nothing is better than a book blogger that writes, and Andrea is a fellow NaNoWriMo participant. She reads like a writer and does great reviews because of it. Follow Andrea on Twitter.
8. Baldur’s Ice Cream & Chocolate: One of the very few non-book-centric blogs I enjoy. Cynthia is a writer and into NaNoWriMo, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, the Jane Austen Argument…basically all that is and ever will be cool. Follow Cynthia on Twitter.
9. Melanie’s Musings: Melanie brings colorful energy into all her posts, which is probably why she gets such cool authors to do interviews and guest posts for her (seriously, Stephanie Perkins and Lily Anderson both showed up this spring) Follow Melanie on Twitter.
10. Literally Jen: Another book blogger, and one who gives great attention to characters and how they are crafted. She also runs an editing service! Plus her site is just beautiful. Follow Jen on Twitter.
11. Tween to Teen Book Reviews: Isabel breaks down books by First Impressions, Characters, Writing, etc. which makes for articulate reviews. Her Waiting on Wednesdays are also spot-on and always let me know what to be looking forward to. Follow Isabel on Twitter.

And, for clarity, the three simple rules of The Sunshine Blogger Award:

• Name and link to the blog of the person who nominated you.
• Answer the eleven questions from the blogger who nominated you.
• Nominate up to eleven wonderful bloggers and write (or borrow/steal) eleven questions for them to answer.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that there are great bloggers bringing sunshine into your life and social media feed!