Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact Receives One Lovely Blog Award

There are two terrific things about receiving an award from another historical fact or fiction blog.  First, there is a the honor and recognition.  It can be a lonely world out here on Cyberspace, but hearing from people who care about what you care about, specifically books, is the sort of connection for which one can really be grateful.

The second pleasure is being asked to recognize others who blogs are joyous, intelligent, fun, instructive, spirited and all those other good words one likes to have applied to one.

The "One Lovely Boog Award"  was just awarded to this blog's sister blog, Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, bestowed thereto by Danielle at The Romantic Armchair Traveler.  HB: F&F is really not a blog,  rather is a bloglist, but I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.  I accept!  Here is what Danielle said was the reason for choosing that blog:

Nan Hawthorne’s Historical Blogs: Fiction And Fact, which provides a regularly updated, inspiring list of blogs that deal with history in one form or another.

I also appreciate that given what my "blog" is about I learned about several other blogs that deserve their place in the bloglist!

Now I have the honor to bestow this award to up to fifteen other blogs in my chosen category, which is, not surprisingly, history and historical fiction.  All the ones listed below in no particular order are ones I check regularly and highly enjoy and appreciate.

There is one hitch... I am only to choose blogs I have encountered recently.  So if I have read your blog forever you won't be here, but you remain forever in in my heart.

1. Who Am I?  Where Am I?  http://qhistorical.blogspot.com/
2. The Medieval Chronicle's Blog http://themedievalchronicle.wordpress.com/
3. In Search of Heroes  http://dellejacobs.blogspot.com/ 
4. M/M Romance Novels  http://mmromancenovels.blogspot.com/
5. The Macaronis  http://historicromance.wordpress.com/
6. Pirates of the Narrow Seas  http://narrowseas.blogspot.com/
7. Two Nerdy Historiy Girls  http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/
8. Historical Britain Blog  http://mercedesrochelle.com/wordpress
9. Anglo-Saxon England http://asengland.blogspot.com/
10. The Wolf's Lair  http://christopher-spellman.tumblr.com/
11. Tea at Trianon  http://teaattrianon.blogspot.com/
12. Jane Austen's World  http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/
13. Speak its Name  http://speakitsname.com/
14. medieval research with joyce  http://medievalresearch.blogspot.com/
15. Medieval Material Culture Blog  http://larsdatter.com/wordpress

 What I lack in detail I make up for in numbers.  Congratulations to every Man jack of you.

Now go spread the joy!

The rules for the "One Lovely Blog" award are as follows:

1. (If you) accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know that they have been chosen for this award.

Of Tenterhooks

Post number 250 here, and a brief explanation of the term "tenterhooks" and how I find myself on them.
In the final preparation of woven wool in the Middle Ages, the product of the weaver's loom went to the fulling mill whose processes, some of which you would rather not know, had tightened the weave to make fabric that could be cut and sewn, it was sent to the tenter. It lay stretched on the frame to dry, held in place by tenterhooks. I now hang suspended on literary and emotional tenterhooks.

The Independent Publisher Book Awards, the IPPIES, for this year are in the final stages of judging. Only a few semifinalist categories remain to be announced... see below. The one in which my novel, AN INVOLUNTARY KING, is entered, namely Historical/Military, is one of those. I indeed feel the tension of hanging cloth-like on tenterhooks.

I wish I could be as calm as our cat MacDhui, who took all the competition in stride at the Average Joe Cat Show this past Saturday... where he took home a Best in Show purple ribbon!

Here is the latest official statement:

Greetings and thank you for entering the 2009 Independent Publisher Book Awards!

Judging continues, and the excellence of your books continues to amaze us. The independent spirit of publishing is alive and well, as demonstrated by the creativity, originality and courageous spirit these books display. It's a real privilege to experience this cutting edge of writing and publishing. You are all winners of our respect and gratitude!

Yes, getting us to announce all of the semifinalist results must seem like pulling teeth - and since I'm starting today at the dentist's office, I'm sending this update early this morning in case I don't make it...Below and online you'll find updated results now including all but three adult fiction categories (Historical, Religious and Visionary), the kid's ficton and picture book categories, and five non-fiction categories (Parenting, Mind-Body-Spirit, Self-Help, Inspirational/Spiritual and Best Book Marketing). We’ll post those results later today or Wednesday. Regional category results and the Outstanding Books of the Year will be announced by Friday, May 8th.

Note that I've added another "expanded list" of semifinalists - the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category now lists 12 titles (120 were entered), joining the Popular Fiction and Literary Fiction categories to include expanded lists of books that the fiction judges have narrowed these large categories down to at this point. Not all of them will receive medals, but we thought we’d list all of these excellent books and wish they could all win - and we recommend them all. We’ll narrow them to 5-7 medalists by next week.

Remember, in all other cases, all of the books listed as semifinalists will become gold, silver or bronze medalists.

Here’s the updated online results article link:
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1294

I’ll have final entry statistics by Wednesday, and at that time the semifinalist results list will go live at www.IndependentPublisher.com. Until then, the results article can be accessed but won’t be live. So, if your book is listed with any typos or incorrect wording, please let me know. This listing will eventually become the results program for the New York event.

On Friday, May 29th, from 6-9 pm, we'll present the 13th Annual IPPY Awards in New York on the first evening of this year's BookExpo America convention. More details to follow, but the event will be held at Providence NYC, 311 W. 57th St. (Anyone who attended the 2007 event will recognize it’s the same venue, but this year we’ll be upstairs in a larger space.) Medalists will receive a medal, a certificate, and 20 awards seals. Those not attending the New York event will receive the above items by mail, in a packet including the event program, press release, etc.

Again, thanks for entering, thanks for your patience and understanding, and please let me know if you’d like any email addresses added to the update list. Congratulations to all on your efforts!

Stay tuned, Jim Barnes, Awards Director, jimb@bookpublishing.com

One thing I would dearly love is for my local library for the blind and Liberians in general to read this statement and see Mr. Barnes's comments about the quality and originality of the entrants. I continue to be told that indie books are not recorded by the library even if the author is a local not to mention a longtime patron and volunteer of tyhe library. Unless such a book gets a rebiew from one of the sources the library deems worthy, you may as well forget it. You aren't good enough, and what's more, we aren't even going to waste our exalted time reading your trash.

Sorry, I'm just really anxious that my next post will not have the news I hope to have.

Fabulous Blog Award

My genuine thanks to Carla Nayland of Carla Nayland Historical Fiction for awarding this blog the "Fabulous Blog Award"! Anything nice Carla says about me is a meaningful thing to hear!

I am to list five obsessions and then five more people with fabulous blogs.

Obsessions

1. Anglo Saxon England and anything related to its people, history and culture. Just ask anyone who has spent more than ten minutes with me. I find a way to bring it up, come what may.
2. Irish anything, especially the music -- see my Celtic music station online at Radio Dé Danaan and history, particularly the history of Irish rebellion.
3. Historical fiction, of course, and in particular that which takes place in the Middle Ages. See my site medieval-novels.com and my Let's Read Historical Novels online book group. This includes fostering the supply of historical novels in alternate formats for severely visually imapired readers such as myself.
4. My family, which includes my adored husband Jim and our even more adored cats, Stanzi, Kitkat, Mr. Hata and MacDhui.
5. My oldest friends, the characters in An Involuntary King. Lawrence, Josephine, Shannon, Rory, and the rest have been as real to me for the past 45 years as most DNA-bearing folks have been.

Next Recipients of the Award

I could've added a sixth obsession.. obsessing over how to choose just five fabulous blogs and bloggers!

1. Greta Marlow
2. Anne Gilbert
3. Susan Higginbotham
4. Liam Gilar
5. Davd Spender

---

Don't miss my other post today!!! It's right below or just click "older posts" if it is not.