Blogger recognition awards!

Holy moley, I’ve never been nominated for anything before!

First off, I can’t thank Mercedes Prunty enough for nominating me. I love her blog and her writing, so it’s a real honor to be nominated by her. Here’s a link to her blog. I highly advise you check her site out, especially if you’re an inspiring writer.

I always love talking about how I started writing Paper Beats World, because it’s a story of how badly I needed to be a writer. And how blogging helped me achieve that.

I’d been a writer when I was younger, but when I had my daugther stopped writing. I’d write some short stories, start on crappy novels. I wrote a whole novel, then shelved it. I got a job I hated, got divorced, met a great guy, got another job I hated that paid better. Moved in with the great guy, became a step mom.

I was miserable! Mostly because my job (retail management) blew. But also because I wasn’t writing.

Finally, I realized that I neded to feel like a writer again. I started writing a story about a boy who weaves visions. I prayed that this story wouldn’t die. (If you read PBW a lot, sorry. I know you’ve heard this story before.)

Then my daughter said the worst thing in the world to me. She said, “I want to be a writer when I grow up, but not as my job. I want to do it as a hobby, like you.”

Shut. the. front. door!

I am not a hobbyist. So, I started chronicalling my journey to publication on PBW. I figured it would keep me accountable. I kept writing what became Broken Patterns. I posted about writing and nerd stuff. I worked my crappy job, and I was a little bit happier.

Then my daughter was kidnapped from school by her biological father.

Then I was fired from my crappy job the day after Black Friday. Did I mention that my great guy is a homemaker, and mine was the only income?

Then my great guy ended up in the hospital with a sever heart condition two days before New Year.

It was the closest I’d ever come to losing my mind. I’d lost, or come close to losing, everything that was important to me.

Except for my writing. The writing saved me.

It gave me the confedance to go for a better day job. I got it, and I’m still there. It gave me the courage to go into court and fight to get my daughter back. (I just imagined what my female lead, Lenore, would do. She doesn’t take any shit.)

This blog, and writing, saved me in my darkest hour.

So because of that, here’s my advice to new bloggers.

It doesn’t matter if anyone’s reading your writing at first. You aren’t a writer for other people. You’re a writer for yourself. So write what makes you happy. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Here are the people I want to nominate for this award.

• Gunroswell
• Diane Morrison
• Write Naked
• The Giant Squill
• SimplyMarquessa
• Scifan Magazine
• Traveling Light
• The Protagonist speaks
• Ruff Drafts
• SA Gibson
• Graceful Coffee
• Lawpoems
• Health from one heart to another.
• Kimknightauthor
• Mediabias/factcheck

Rules for accepting the AWARD!!!

• Thank the blogger who nominated you.
• Write a post to show off your award.
• Brief story on how your blog started.
• Advice to new bloggers.
• Select 15 bloggers to nominate award to.
• Comment on each blog so they know they have been nominated.

Xxxx