Stylish Blogger Award #2

When a person sends a kindness your way, it's only right that you show your gratitude.  So please don't see this just as an opportunity for me to toot my own horn (which it is, of course), but also as a way to say, "Thank you" to a fellow blogger who chose to honor me with my second Stylish Blogger Award.

Rosi Hollenbeck over at The Write Stuff, wrote the following about my blog.

Now Margaret is organized! She writes daily and once each week she writes about social media and blogging. When I begged her for help finding a way to put an email subscription gadget on my blog, she sent me to her Nov. 17, 2010 blog and there it was. It didn’t even take me five minutes. She also has some of her short stories and excerpts from her novel available for your reading pleasure.

Thank you Rosi for the honor.  You made my day.  Blogging can be a lonely business, and you just made it sooo worth it.

Now accepting this award doesn't come without a few minor strings attached.  In return, I must:

1. Thank the person who gave me the award.
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Pass the award on to a blogger/bloggers I have discovered who is/are fantastic.

As for number one, I already covered that, but here it goes again. Thank you Rosi, thank you, thank you.

And number two, well, I already shared seven things about myself when I received my first Stylish Blogger Award, but I'll pass it along one more time.

1. I write Upmarket/women's fiction with paranormal elements.
2. In 2010, I completed my Creative Writing Certificate at UCDavis Extension.
3. In the past ten years, I have completed four novels, which I continue to revise and revise, and revise.
4. In 2010, my novel, Between Now and Forever, made it to the quarter finalists in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and it won a Publisher's Weekly Review.
5. To my complete amazement, one of my poems, Messy Slick Roads, was published in Summer 2010 edition of The Tule Review, published by Sacramento Poetry Center.
6. In October of 2010, I sent out a query, synopsis, and sample chapters for Between Now and Forever to an agent and am waiting for a response.
7. On July 8, 2010, I officially started my blog and have posted at least three times a week since then.

And now for sharing the award with two fellow bloggers I feel are deserving.

First, there's Aris Llamera Moreno and his Personal Growth Guides blog.  In the introduction to his blog, he writes:

Hi everyone! My name is Aris, a passionate blogger who finds blogging a useful way of expressing my thoughts and feelings. My goal here is to provide you inspirational stories and articles that can help you achieve your greatest potential. All of the articles posted herein were written by me and other writers to share our experiences of success and adventure.

Aris invited me to share on his blog, which, of course, I was happy to do.  He also helped me when I ran into technical difficulties with my own blog's inner workings.  He is indeed a very special person, and although he lives in Bacoor, Cavile, Philippines, our blog connection makes it seem as if he lives next door.

Then there's Felicia Ragsdale and her blog, Scrapping is My Life.  This is not a writer's blog, but I appreciate Felicia's dedication to a hobby just as important to her as writing is to me.

I'm also blown away by her organizational skills.  If only my writing space was as organized as her "scrapping" space.  Check out her blog and be impressed.

Oh, and I can certainly identify with Felicia's dilemma when she says:

I never really realized, or admitted, how much shopping for craft supplies makes me feel good. A week or so ago I promised my hubby that I would not spend one single dime on any scrapbooking item. Now, some of you might be thinking, "No big deal. What's your problem?" Well, my problem is I LOVE to buy scrapbook things. I want to have everything. Everything that I see that comes out I I want to have everything. Everything that I see that comes out I say, "Oh my gosh. I need that." It has been a constant struggle every day not to break my promise. I haven't, but I am struggling.

I know exactly what you mean, Felicia, though for me it's books.

Congratulations Aris and Felicia on two very Stylish Blogs!

Thursday Two Questions/Stylish Blogger Award

Welcome to Thursday Two Questions #16.

On Tuesday I wrote a post about The Stylish Blogger Award that Cathy Kennedy presented to my blog.

I was honored.  It made my day.

As I said in my comment on Cathy Kennedy's Blog, "Bloggers so need an accolade such as this once in a while to encourage them to keep on keeping on. Your willingness to pass this gift on to others is not only a kindness but an inspiration."

My Thurday Two Questions to you are:

1. Has your blog ever been presented with an award (This was my first)?
2. Have you ever heard of the Stylish Blogger Award or maybe know where it originated?

If you'd like to further participte in Thursday Two Questions, follow the link below.



Thanks for stopping by.

Stylish Blogger Award

Why thank you Cathy Kennedy over at Cathy Kennedy's Blog for presenting me with the Stylish Blogger Award!

What better way to start off the new year than with such a compliment from a fellow blogger/writer I admire.

Here's what Cathy said about my blog:

Enter the Between:  A Writer's Journey is by Margaret Duarte, a fellow author. We've came together through the aid of Networkedblogs on Facebook, and I'm glad for our chance to meet through this cool avenue. I discovered Margaret to be a talented writer. Each week, she offers her insight on what she's learning as she journeys through her own lessons in her creative manifesto and has been consistent in keeping her blog's theme as an author clearly intact. My hat is off to you Margaret for illustrating the purpose of your blog as a guide to inspire and direct other writers!

As I said in my comment on Cathy Kennedy's Blog, "Bloggers so need an accolade such as this once in a while to encourage them to keep on keeping on. Your willingness to pass this gift on to others is not only a kindness but an inspiration."

The award doesn't come without its responsibilities, however.  In accepting the honor I must:

1. Thank the person who gave me the award (Thank you, thank you, thank you).
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Pass the award on to bloggers I have discovered who are fantastic (so you can go check out their blogs).

As for number one, I already covered that, but here it goes again.  Thank you Cathy, thank you, thank you.

Seven things about myself.

1. I write women's fiction with paranormal elements.
2. In 2010, I completed my Creative Writing Certificate at UCDavis Extension (Actually, I was the program's first graduate, the first one over the line.)
3. I have completed four novels, which I continue to revise and revise, and revise (My Novels).
4. In 2010, I made it to the quarter finalists in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and won a Publisher's Weekly Review.
5. To my complete amazement, one of my poems, Messy Slick Roads, was published in Summer 2010 edition of The Tule Review.
6. In October of 2010, I sent out a query, synopsis, and sample chapters for Between Now and Forever to an agent and am waiting for a response.
7. On July 8, 2010, I officially started my blog and have posted at least three times a week since then. 

And now for the fun part, Passing on the Stylish Blogger Award.  The winners are:

1. The Naked Hero.  This is not only an awesome blog, featuring five very talented goddesses, but these girls (back when it was Misa, Tonya, and Lee) gave me the opportunity to guest blog on their site, thus introducing me to the world of blogging.  These talented girls have quite a following.  Check them out and you'll see why.
2. Adventures in Children's Publishing.  I can't emphasize enough what an awesome resource this blogsite is for writers.  And don't let the title fool you, this site has valuable information for writers of all genres.
3. Writing Down Your Soul.  I love Janet Conner's book, Writing Down Your Soul, and I love her blog.  Check them both out, and I'm sure you'll agree.  
4. Musing From the Slushpile.  I just recently met Julie Lindsey through a FB group called Thursday's Novelists, and I'm very impressed with her blog.  It chronicles her life as a writer and her quest to avoid the slush.

I appreciate the idea behind the Stylish Blogger Award and am happy to pass it on.  However, I am curious about where this award originated.  An Internet search didn't provide me with the answer.  Can anyone clue me in?  If so, this inquiring mind would be grateful.

Thanks for stopping by.