Sunshine Blogger Award

Brothers’ Campfire nominated me for my second Sunshine Blogger Award! I am very honoured. Thank you Brothers’ Campfire! It means a lot coming from such a popular and imaginative creative writer who puts so much into their writing and site!

 Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and link back to their blog.

• Answer 11 questions the blogger asked you.

• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award in your blog post.

• Nominate 11 new bloggers & their blogs. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they received the award and ask your nominees 11 new questions.

Here are the replies to Brothers’ Campfires questions!

1. When was the last time you tried something new? I tried the new vegan creme egg last night, does that count?
2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to? I don’t ever compare myself to specific people. It’s not really something that I do. I have my own ways of making myself feel insecure without having to compare myself too!
3. What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say? ‘Watch out where the huskies go and don’t you eat that yellow snow’
4. What gets you excited about life? Walking my dog with my wife is currently my favourite thing to do in life.
5. What life lesson did you learn the hard way? Quite a few. I’m not I have fully learnt anything from the lessons though, by there were certainly some hard lessons. One might be about happiness coming from within or something. I may have learnt it, but it still doesn’t sink in fully.
6. What do you wish you spent more time doing five years ago? Writing! And actually taking the plunge to earn money from writing sooner!
7. Do you ask enough questions or do you settle for what you know? I ask annoying stupid questions. I know the meaning of life, so I never ask anything philosophical. I am more likely to ask something inane.
8. What’s a belief that you hold with which many people disagree? Fundamentally, Brexit is a shit idea and will be very bad for the UK. Apparently, 52% of the UK disagrees with me.
9. What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago? This may not come down to capability, but a year ago I was a retail manager. I had been for donkey’s years and I was scared that it would be all my career would come to. I wanted to earn money from writing, but was scared to take the plunge. (Some of it was for financial reasons, some of it was down to a lack of confidence in my writing) I still get impostor syndrome over the fact that I am a full-time writer, but I am managing to at least match my old income from my writing, and I don’t think that’s too bad considering the career change.
10. Do you think crying is a sign of weakness or strength? Neither. I cry all the bloody time. It’s just something that people do like eating, breathing, or sleeping. It is helpful in regulating your feelings. I don’t think that someone is particularly weak or strong for crying. I think crying is important, and holding back on doing it isn’t healthy.
11. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? There is probably a lot. Become a nudist?!

Now for 11 nominees…

YouLittleCharmer– Whether you intend on bringing sunshine or not, you do it anyway in the way that your words rhyme so well and the pure wit in your writing! And you’re a lovely human!

A.S/ My Bubble– Wonderful writer with a great positive attitude towards other writers. She’s also now the Fiction Editor on The Finest Example.

Matt Snyder– An all round jolly nice guy who is wonderfully creative. He’s the art editor over at The Finest Example!

Chris Hewitt – Fantastic writer! Always comes out with an amazing pivot in all his writing, and even though I often expect it, he still catches me unaware with it!

Aspasia S. Bissas– I’ve had the pleasure of two collaborations with this wonderful writer and I am always impressed! She owns lots of books too which is always a good sign!

Chaotic Blonde- Beautiful poetry and an amazing taste in music! You should definitely all go and check out her work!

Violet’s Lentz– Amazing short fiction writing! I am always inspired by how excellent her writing is!

Tnkerr– Lots of great writing posted very frequently. If you are after a consistently great writer to follow, go check Thom out!

MultipleMichael– If you like your art on the surreal side, MM is your man. His work is often very funny, but quite often thought provoking too.

David Redpath – I first found this guy through Multiple Michael’s use of his face. David provides humorous, insightful and fascinating work and is really worth a follow!

Written Casey– Such an imaginative writing style. Very different to anything I have read before but so captivating!

Now my nominees….please answer these 11 questions…

1.If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

2. What was the first ever creative effort that you remember really being proud of?

3. If you could choose between true happiness, or a greater creative skills, what would you pick?

4. Does politics have a place in the arts?

5. What gets you out of bed in the morning?

6. Where and how do you do most of your writing/ art?

7. What famous work do you wish you had created?

8. Is there anyone in the world that you actually hate?

9. Where is the furthest you have been from home?

10. Would you prefer to wake up early, or stay up late?

11. If you could give a new writer who was setting up a blog one piece of advice, what would it be?