I was recently nominated for “The Liebster Award,” an award given by bloggers to “up-and-coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.”

In German, “Liebster” can mean a variety of things: most beloved, lovely, kind pleasant, valued, etc.

As far as I can tell, the nomination is itself the award – it’s just a nice little way of recognizing and being recognized for your work.

I was supposed to answers 11 questions and nominate other people. Here goes:

So, first, thanks so much to Pajarigirls for the nomination!

I’m working hard to make this blog a resource for creative people that are trying to use internet marketing to promote their work. It’s still in its infancy, but it’s good to know that some people find it useful.

Here are the questions I was supposed to answer:

1.) Does your sister pick on you, too? Nagging and such?

Luckily, no. But that’s probably because I’m the older sibling, so I’m the one who’s supposed to do said nagging.

2.) When was the last time you shoveled poo?

I thought you’d never ask! The last time I “shoveled poo” was probably… hm… I don’t know, maybe sometime in elementary school when I was helping my friend tend to his horses.

And by “tend to,” I mean “run away in fear from.”

3.) What would be the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?

I’d be doing the same exact thing, except more of it: writing books, writing short stories, and writing about technology.

4.) How YOU doin’? (It’s just not the same without an up-nod and a bad Sopranos accent.)

I’m doing very well — I discovered that the secret to happiness (at least in my case) is to continue creating stuff at a feverish, ragged pace.

5.) What do you want to be when you grow up?

Someone who understands what “being a writer” means these days.

Or someone who invents a way to not sleep, which I think is a huge waste of time.

6.) If you could live anywhere on earth (and take whomever you wanted along), where would it be?

Probably Edinburgh, Scotland. I went there for a semester abroad in college and it’s just the right mix of city living, awe-inspiring medieval architecture, and grandiose landscapes.

7.) What do you admire most about yourself?

My lack of interest in sports.

8.) What would you most like to change about yourself?

I still have a lot to learn about everything that I think I want to do.

So, I’m not sure what I’d like to change specifically, but I’m counting on learning how to do it as I go.

9.) What are you waiting for?

Good question. Let’s go!

10.) Why did you start blogging?

First, I blogged to keep a big, comprehensive database for my stories online. Then, I blogged to yell about politics.

Now, I blog because I talk to small businesses and organizations every day that are seeing success with internet marketing. I think that creative people – from writers to visual artists to musicians – can apply those same principles, with a slightly different twist.

By blogging about that, I can figure what exactly that “twist” is, along with everyone else.

That’s why I do things like grade the Facebook Pages of five famous authors and talk about 50 Shades of Grey’s Faceook marketing strategy.

11.) What is the most-watched movie/DVD in your collection?

Game of Thrones, hands-down. It’s been such a vindication to see nerdy, ultra-fantasy epics finally go mainstream.

My nominees…

I want to nominate bloggers who are using WordPress to promote their writing for the Liebster Award.

In no particular order: 

• Shelbywestland
• Absintheforthemasses
• Projectarcana
• Smilesinthesky
• Leegend90
• Lunaodette

By being nominated, it means you won. So grab the image of The Liebster Award from my site and paste it on your own!

My questions… 

1) When did you start writing in general?

2) What inspires you to write?

3) Why did you decide to post your writing online?

4) How has the experience been, using WordPress as a way to showcase parts of your book?

5) Do you use any other online marketing techniques to promote your work?

6) What are your writing resolutions for the New Year?

7) What do you think about the self-publishing vs. traditional publishing debate?

8) What do you think the future of books is?

Feel free to post the answers on your own blog. I’d love to gather them all together and repost them on my blog, too!

The next step is to just pay it forward by nominating other people for The Liebster Award.

And keep writing.