Versatile Blogger Award!

Thanks to Tracey of Snagglewordz for sending along this versatile blogger award!

The odd coincidence in all this is that I was thinking about writing a post about a few of the blogs I follow, and the versatile blogger award gives me a chance to do that. So, in no particular order, here are some of the blogs that I’ve been enjoying lately:

• X-Rated Don’t worry… It’s not really X-Rated! I think the title has something to do with the X chromosome, but I could be wrong about that.
• The Eunejeune Daily Learn a new word every day! Find out whose birthday it is! And get some of this blogger’s opinions on every topic under the sun.
• August McLaughlin’s Blog A blogger with a great sense of humor and a highly positive outlook on life. Always a pleasure to read this one!
• The Cockeyed Pessimist Balancing out August McLaughlin’s optimism, here’s a blog by Permanent Press founder Martin Shepard on the ups and downs of life in the publishing industry.
• Will Nixon’s Blog I love Will Nixon’s poetry collections, Love in the City of Grudges and My Mother as a Ruffed Grouse. I’m also a big fan of his blog.
• Kourtney Heintz’s Journal Kourtney Heintz writes about everything from ingrown toenails to her life as an aspiring author — always with wit and grace!
• Edward Hotspur Quoting from his “about” page: “Edward Hostpur is a world-famous author and witticist. The world just doesn’t know it yet.” A funny guy. And possibly an angry guy. Or at least a fairly cynical guy. There’s always something worth checking out on his blog.
• Rant, With Occasional Music Anyone who borrows a title from Jonathan Lethem can’t be bad.
• Kim Brittingham Kim’s memoir, Read My Hips, is a funny and poignant account of being overweight in America. Check out her blog and then buy her book!
• Scriptor Obscura Writes Poetry and art. Who could ask for anything more?
• D. Thomas Minton Minton is a gifted science-fiction and fantasy author. I started off reading his blog for his thoughts on writing, but soon I was swept up in the fantastic worlds he’s created. Check out his short story “Thief of Futures” for an introduction to his work!
• Presents of Mind A great blog on reading, writing, and everything in between by a self-proclaimed “reluctant writer.”
• The Lighter Side of the Moon “Phumor without the P” is how this blog is billed. The musings of a slightly snarky precocious high school student.
• A Side of Writing Musings of an aspiring novelist who’s trying to fit writing (and editing!) into his busy life.
• The Red Pen of Doom A blog designed to “cut through the nonsense and be a place for writers of all types — novelists and journalists, speechwriters and screenwriters, whoever — to strip away the window dressing and theories, to get down to the essential guts of all good writing.”

Congratulations to one and all for earning this coveted award! And apologies to anyone I left off the list.

Per the award’s dictates, here are seven random facts about myself:

• I review books from independent presses at Small Press Reviews.
• I’m allergic to peaches and all stone fruits.
• Fusilli is my favorite kind of pasta.
• I love teaching.
• Monkeys fascinate me.
• I’ve surprised myself by becoming an early riser.
• I like when people read my books.