Liebster Award

Big thanks to Brigid at Brigid Writes Things for nominating me for a Liebster Award. The Liebster is an award that bloggers give to each other as a way to promote blogs with less than 1,000 followers. It’s also a fun get-to-know-the-blogger tag!

Liebster Blog Post

The Rules:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog.
  2. Answer the 11 questions the nominator has given you.
  3. Tag 11 bloggers who have less than 1,000 readers.
  4. Think of 11 questions to ask the bloggers you have nominated.
  5. Let them know you’ve nominated them through social media or their blog.

Brigid’s Questions (and My Answers)

  1. Put your music on shuffle. What are the first five songs that come up?

‘Old Fashioned’ by Cee Lo Green, ‘Promise This’ by Cheryl Cole, ‘Last Night a DJ Saved My Life’ by Indeep, ‘All the Time in the World’ by Boyzone and ‘More than a Woman’ by the Bee Gees. Cringe! OK, I admit it, I still play CDs and I haven’t updated my iPod for a while. I’m an 80s throwback.

  1. What’s the last thing that made you laugh really hard?

I go to a Spanish group once a week and we do nothing but laugh although we are supposed to be learning. It’s just general banter, mispronunciations and misinterpretations etc.

  1. What’s something you did in 2015 that you’re proud of?

I published my second novel, and I finally became visible to the book-browsing public on Amazon UK. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it continues.

  1. What’s one thing you hope to accomplish in 2016?

To publish my third novel, which is the third and final part of The Riverhill Trilogy.

  1. Do you enjoy going to concerts? If so, what was the last one you went to?

I’m not a big concert goer. I think the last one I went to was probably Rihanna.

  1. What is one of your favorite quotes?

‘No les illegitimi carborundum.’

  1. What is the weirdest food you like?

Sushi and seafood according to my family.

  1. What book has made you cry the hardest?

I honestly can’t remember a book making me cry but I don’t generally go in for weepy novels.

  1. What was the best day of your life?

The day I gave birth for the first time.

  1. What fictional world would you love to live in (or at least spend some time in)?

None. I’m very grounded in the real world and think that there is enough good and bad in the world without looking for it elsewhere.

  1. If you could meet any author (living or dead), who would it be?

As much as I love reading, I’ve never really thought about meeting authors. I suppose it would be someone like Jeffrey Deaver or Minette Walters but then I wouldn’t know what to say to them other than ‘I think your books are great’.

My Nominees:

Georgia Rose at Georgia Rose Books

Linda Huber at Linda Huber Author

Guy Portman at Author Guy Portman’s Blog

Judith Barrow

Marilyn Chapman at Guernsey Girlie

Katherine Jenkins at Katherine’s Bookcase

Kath Middleton at Ignite Books

Mark Barry at The Wizard’s Cauldron

Geoff West at My Blog

Julie Stock

Pauline Wiles

My Questions:

  1. What makes you happy?
  2. Who are your favourite authors?
  3. What genre do you like to write in, and why? (This one is for writers only).
  4. What are your favourite genres to read, and why?
  5. What was the best day of your life? (I pinched this one from Brigid)
  6. In general, do you think books are best portrayed through films or through the book itself?
  7. What place in the world would you most like to see, but haven’t yet got round to visiting?
  8. What’s your favourite form of transport, and why?
  9. Do you have a writing goal i.e. something that you would like to achieve through your writing? If so, what is it? (This one is for writers only).
  10. What is your all-time favourite book?
  11. What is your biggest passion (apart from writing)?

I just want to finish by saying that if you are unable to take part it isn’t a problem, and thanks again to Brigid for nominating me. Also, please don’t be offended if I’ve nominated you and you have more than 1000 followers as it isn’t always possible to tell.

In future blog posts I will be continuing the theme of Manchester’s historic libraries, with two still to come. I wonder if you can guess which ones they are. Bye for now and have fun with the questions and answers.

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One Lovely Blog Award

One Lovely Blog

Thanks to Roz and Patty for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award. I’m honoured that they chose me for this award, and I’m certainly in good company. Roz and Patty are a writing duo with four books to their credit. You can find out more about them and their books at their blog: Roz and Patty Write.

Here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award:

• Thank the person that nominated you and link back to that blog. Click here to check out the Roz and Patty Write blog.

• Share seven things about yourself – see below.

• Nominate 15 bloggers you admire – also listed below.

• Contact your bloggers to let them know you’ve tagged them for the ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD – done.

I would like to add that I don’t want anyone to feel obliged to upload a post if they’re stuck for time. I know how busy authors can be. So, even if you can’t join in, I wanted to show appreciation for the quality of your blog content and recommend your blog to others. I read a lot of blogs, but as I’m often pushed for time I click the like button more often than I leave a comment. However, my Gravatar is temperamental so my ‘like’ doesn’t always register on whichever blog I’ve visited. This award therefore gives me a chance to share some of my favourite blogs.

Seven Things about Me

1) I run a writing services business (called Diane Mannion Writing Services so no points for originality there), and I also write books. My first two books were non-fiction parenting books but I’m currently making the transition into fiction. This will start with the release of my debut novel Slur in the next few weeks.

2) I was born an only girl with four brothers. Unfortunately, my oldest brother died suddenly in May at age 53 so I’m now left with three brothers.

3) I have lived in Manchester all my life. During my lifetime the city has gone through many phases and events including Madchester, Gunchester, the IRA bombing, the Moss Side Riots and the Strangeways Riots. I will be featuring some of these in my novels.Castle

4) I enjoy reading, writing, theatre, dining out, walks and visiting castles and cathedrals. I also go swimming and to the gym but more out of a sense of duty.

5) I love sushi, cheesecake, Irish coffee, cappuccino, and Mullerlite toffee yoghurts, hence the gym and swimming on three counts out of five.

6) I ran for my school in the East Manchester Championships at Belle Vue, but unfortunately nerves got the better of me and I came third out of four.

7) I’m a bit of a mummy bore I’m afraid. I adore my two kids who are now 17 and 19 (20 in a couple of weeks). If you use Twitter, or Facebook in particular, you’ll probably see my posts boasting about their achievements.

My Blog Nominees

Georgia Rose Books
Clare Davidson
Charlie Plunkett
Taylor Fulks
Joanne Phillips
Carol Hedges
Lizzie Lamb
Elizabeth Ducie
Terry Tyler
Guy Portman
Jack Lockwood Diaries
Martina Munzittu
Best Dad I Can Be
Reading and Writing
Paula Reed Nancarrow

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