Awards

Finish That Thought

I won this weekly flash fiction competition with my entry Tomorrow. The winners page is here. The prize was to judge the following weeks competition, which was actually really difficult due to the great entries (and I only had 7 entries to review). I have a new found appreciation for anyone that’s judging similar competitions!

Flash Friday

I won the coveted Flash Friday award for my story ‘ILL TEMPERED’ You can find a copy of the story and a brief bio here. I really enjoy both writing and reading the entries for this weekly Flash Friday competition, there are some really great stories with a lot of creativity and imagination. You should check it out here.

Update: I am extremely honoured to be awarded the Flash Friday award for a second time for my story I Wandered… More details are on the Flash! Friday blog here.

Update 2: On the eve of my one year anniversary of writing at Flash! Friday I picked up the coveted e-trophy for a third time for my story The Hard Way. The badge is new and improved for year two – check it out below!

The Liebster Award

I have been honored with my very first blog award!  This one–the Liebster Award– is a peer nominated award from a fellow blogger. I was nominated by Marie Ann Bailey of from 1writeway (Thanks Marie Ann!) So the rules of the award state I have to list 11 unknown facts about myself, and answer 11 questions from Marie Ann. Then choose 11 nominees and give them 11 new questions to answer.  Here goes:

11 Unknown Facts About Me:

1. I’ve lived on three continents, and yet have always had the Queen on my currency
2. I once went Bungee jumping by accident
3. I had to beg my (now) wife to go out with me on our first date. For a month!
4. I once did the splits whilst water skiing. It wasn’t through choice
5. My life goal is to get a high-five from the Queen
6. Our two cats, Mel & Sydney are named for our two favorite places in Australia
7. Our dog was going to be called Jack until we realized we’d have to shout ‘Jack! Off!’ in public
8. I once had a picnic with Russel Crowe. I didn’t recognize him
9. I achieved a life long dream, I saw David Hasselhoff sing live
10. I did a year of permanent night shifts working on the track at Land Rover
11. My first job was at McDonalds. Would you like fries with that?

Answer 11 Questions:

1. Are you a spy? No, but then, isn’t that what a spy would say…
2. What has to happen for you to say you had a perfect writing day? When I get into that zone and the words just flow. Hours have passed by without me noticing, typically hours I’m supposed to be spending doing something with more tangible results, like walking the dog or doing the dishes. Sometimes I think my wife suspects I am faking this trance like state to get out of said activities.
3. If you won a two-week all-expenses-paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go?  Vegas, where I would bet $50 million (cunningly disguised as a travel expense) on red.
4. What do you enjoy most about blogging? Getting to interact with other people and forcing myself to write more regularly.
5. Do you have a master plan to take over the world? Yes, but like all writers I can’t seem to get it past the dreaded second draft.
6. Who do you think should inherit the earth and why? See above. Why? Because I would be an excellent supreme ruler, and anyone that says differently is getting thrown straight into the Grand Canyon!
7. If you had the funds to design your perfect writing space, what would it look like? Sound proof, procrastination proof, no internet, big screen, comfy chair, ocean breeze, self filling mini bar, desks for a thousand trained monkeys to hammer out my next novel, banana vending machine, monkey diaper vending machine.
8. What is your favorite animal (wild or domesticated)? Squirrels. I love them! Did you know the Groundhog is a type of ground squirrel? Why do squirrels swim on their backs? To keep their nuts dry.
9. Where did you hide the money? In my liver, disguised as alcohol poisoning.
10. Have you ever been in a witness protection program? My witness protection program help manual informs me the correct answer is “No.”
11. Do you think I’m crazy? You appear to enjoy my writing, so apparently yes, you are nuttier than a box of squirrel poop.

Now for the nominees – I’m going to keep adding to this list as I am new to blogging and so don’t have a full roster of awesome bloggers to nominate just yet:

http://geekilyinteresting.wordpress.com/

http://sickandsickofit.wordpress.com/

http://theimaginator.wordpress.com/

http://flashfriday.wordpress.com/

http://authoramy.com/

11 Questions for the Nominees (if they choose to answer):

1. What is your second favorite vegetable?

2. If you could be any piece of technology, what would you be and why?

3. What is the longest you’ve ever spent abroad?

4. Whats your nickname?

5. Write a story in 6 words or less:

6. If you could travel to the moon and back or have $50k cash, which would you choose?

7.  If you had $50k cash what would you spend it on?

8. Are you a ‘car’ person?

9. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

10. What word would you use to describe yourself?

11. What meal do you cook when you want to impress someone?