I’ve been totally flattered recently by MythRider, who nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award.  Phyllis Moore blogs about the process of writing, character, plot, and occasional random thoughts vaguely related to books.  Thank you Phyllis!

Now, I believe the rules require me to tell you seven interesting factoids about myself, and nominate some other people for the award.  This seems only fair, so here we go:

All About Me

I love Brownies.  Not the chocolate cake kind (although those are awesome too), but the kind that dresses in yellow and brown, plays games, sings songs, and promises to do a Good Turn every day.  I run one Brownie Pack, and help at another, and sometimes my husband accuses me of abandoning him.  Next year, our District is taking 30 girls to Paris!

I hit people for fun.  Ok, so mostly they, being fellow martial artists, dodge skilfully, but it’s the thought that counts.

I wish that the UK had a TV series like The West Wing.    Almost every piece of political knowledge I have about the US comes from the West Wing*, and I think it’s sad that I don’t have that same level of interest in the governing of my own country.  Making it interesting, funny, and dramatic would probably help with that.

* The obvious exception being the name of the current president and his immediate predecessor, who are basically the only real American politicians I can name.

All films should have aliens, elves, explosions, or magic.  Or possibly all of the above.  Also plot, but I can cope without that if there are enough implausible magical explosions narrowly survived by the elvish aliens.

I’m currently re-reading Shelters of Stone, by Jean Auel (does anyone know how to pronounce that?).  I need to finish it soon, because I was given the next one, Land of the Painted Caves, for my birthday and it’s giving me evil looks from the shelf.  I think it’s upset that I’m not reading it yet.

I like languages; I speak Spanish, and I have a smattering of Japanese (forwards, backwards, punch, kick, death!), Esperanto and Italian.  Also English.  Obviously.

I don’t own a car.  This is part ecological, part economical, and part plain old common sense, given the lack of parking near my house.

People I Think Are Brilliant

In no particular order, because otherwise I would have to come up with a reason for the order.

Rick Searle, at Utopia or Dystopia, a blog about contemporary science, political ideologies and other things in the context of images of future paradise and/or future hells.

Story Time.  A selection of stories written by a few people – the twist is that at the end of each chapter you have to vote on what the characters do next.  I like the level of control it gives us, the reader.

Also Matt Williams, of StoriesbyWilliams, one of the Story Time contributors.  He does reviews of films, books, games, etc, as well as writing his own stories.

Rosie Oliver, author of (among other things) C.A.T., a short story about an artificial intelligence in the shape of a cat.   I encountered the book before I found her blog, which is an interesting read.

Liberal Reflections is a blog about politics with a philosophical bent to it.  It’s fascinating!

So there we go.  I hope I’ve mentioned at least one blog that you’ve not heard of before.  If so, go check them out and see if they appeal to you!