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Before being nominated by Tess Bartlett at Whisperings of Life , I had never heard of the Liebster Award. After doing some research, I discovered that the Liebster award was created to recognize and/or discover new bloggers and welcome them to the blogosphere. In the digital world of the Internet, this seems like a nice gesture. Many thanks to Tess Bartlett for nominating me. I like the idea of discovering and promoting relatively new blogs that may not get the attention they deserve. And participating is kind of fun. Thanks, Tess, for nominating me.

Here are the rules:

1) Nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

2) Acknowledge and link back to the person who nominated me.

3) Answer 11 questions the person who nominated me has asked me.

4) Tell you 11 random facts about myself

5) Give my nominees 11 questions to answer on their blog when they post about the Liebster Award.

My nominees

(I couldn’t always tell if my nominees had fewer than 200 followers. My apologies if they had more. Also, if they have already been nominated, congratulations! I found all my nominees through the Women Writers, Women’s Books Facebook group).

1) Marie Murphy Duess

http://blog.marieduess.com

2) Suzanne Montz Adams

http://livingatthecenter.com

3) Roz Dekett

http://rozdekett.com

4) Elizabeth Rose O’Callaghan

https://ermurray.wordpress.com

5) Julia Park Tracey

http://www.juliaparktracey.com

6) Carol Hunt

https://abeautifulbadpuppy.wordpress.com

7) Steph Kelly

https://reimaginingmyreality.wordpress.com

8) Iqra Asad

https://mykeyboardlife.wordpress.com

9) Lauren Faulkenberry

http://therightsideof30.blogspot.com

10) Kerri Casey

https://kerrinicolecasey.wordpress.com

11) Mindy A. Early

https://mindyaearly.wordpress.com/communicate-blog/

My 11 questions for nominees:

1)    What is your favorite book?

2)    Why is it your favorite book?

3)    Whom do you admire most?

4)    Why do you write?

5)    What is one thing on your bucket list?

6)    Where are you most comfortable?

7)    Where are you least comfortable?

8)    What puts you in a writing mood?

9)    What prevents you from writing?

10) What is one thing you hope to accomplish this year?

11) What is one word you would use to describe yourself?

Here are the 11 questions Tess posed, answered:

1) What did you want to be when you were a child?

I wanted to be an archaeologist. I was fascinated with discovering who and what had inhabited the planet before me.

2) What makes your heart and soul sing?

My children, my dogs, sunsets, quiet walks, writing my truths and reading the truths of others.

3) What is your favourite topic to write/blog about?

I write my truths. Writing my truths helps me to heal, and it can also help others. I like to write about the importance of keeping women and girls subject of their own lives.

4) If you could do one thing every day until the day you died what would it be?

I would get out in nature and walk, quietly taking it all in, feeling myself breathe.

5) What is your biggest fear?

The state of the world that I am leaving behind for my children to deal with.

6) How do you overcome fear?

By doing what I fear the most, and by putting myself out there and telling my truths.

7) What does creativity mean to you?

Living, not existing. Taking risks. Doing what you love, and helping others.

8) What does home mean to you?

Home is where my heart sings, where I feel accepted, where I can breathe and be myself—whoever that happens to be in the moment—without being judged.

9) If you had to pick one word to describe how you intend to be in 2015 what would it be?

Present.

10) If you could travel somewhere tomorrow where would it be, and why?

Italy. A large part of who I am originated there, yet I do not feel a connection to my ancestry because I have never been there. To walk through the town of Parma–where my ancestors lived, to experience the culture—would be a dream come true.

11) What is your secret talent?

Apparently I have a pretty intimidating “look” that I can call upon when necessary, and it shuts people down in their tracks. I imagine this has been honed over 25 years of teaching.

11 random facts:

I am an avid sports fan, primarily baseball and hockey.

I used to enter sweepstakes, and I won quite a few prizes, the biggest being trips to exotic locations, and the smallest being a roll of Tums.

I moved 14 times in 17 years, and no, I wasn’t running from the law.

I am the mother of twins, who are about to head off to college, leaving me an empty nester all at once.

I feel most at home near the mountains and the water.

I love digging in the dirt. Gardening helps me feel grounded.

I am a feminist.

I have held more jobs than I can remember. My first job was stuffing envelopes at Sealfons for $2.65 an hour.

I am originally from New Jersey, and I still have a crush on Bruce Springsteen.

I was a first generation college student.

I drive a 15 year old Subaru (and I love it).