I Received the Versatile Blogger Award!

versatileblogger11I was surprised to receive the Versatile Blogger Award (VBA) from esteemed author and blogger Ella Medler. Thank you, Ella! It’s an honor. Ella is a super duper colleague in the writing field. Please check out her awesome work!

Versatile Blogger Award (VBA)

What is it?

As far as I can tell — details are rather sketchy and only the creator knows for sure — this lofty-sounding award is basically a mutual admiration society where bloggers recognize their peers for writing quality blogs that touched them in some way. The VBAs honor the blogger rather than specific posts. It’s a chance for bloggers to pat themselves on the back like the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences does with the Oscars. Until someone starts giving out Blogscars, the VBAs will have to suffice.

What are the criteria?

If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award. I nominated 15 outstanding bloggers below. Congratulations!

Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy.

Thank you, Ella. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Include a link to their blog. That’s also common courtesy — if you can figure out how to do it.

Visit Ella’s blog at http://ellamedler.wordpress.com/. You’ll be glad you did.

Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. (I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!)

The envelope, please…

Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to this site.

And the nominees/winners are (in alphabetical order):

  1. August McLaughlin – Savor the Storm (http://augustmclaughlin.wordpress.com/)
  2. CR Hiatt – McSwain & Beck (http://mcswainandbeck.com/)
  3. Craves Adventure – Our Travels Out West (http://cravesadventure.wordpress.com/)
  4. CrissCrossingIndia – Adventure Travel and Photography Across India (http://crisscrossingindia.wordpress.com/)
  5. David C. Cassidy – Because Life is a Really Good Story (http://davidccassidy.com/)
  6. Donna B. McNicol – 2 Taking a 5th (http://www.2takinga5th.com/)
  7. KG Arndell – Musings of a Dark Fantasy Writer (http://kgarndell.com/)
  8. Jeff Whelan – SpaceOrville (http://jeffwhelan.wordpress.com/)
  9. Lada Ray (http://ladaray.wordpress.com/)
  10. Lesley Carter – Bucket List Publications (http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/)
  11. Pranjal Borthakur (http://pranjalborthakur.wordpress.com/)
  12. R.M. Wilburn – Ponderous Things… (http://ponderous-max.blogspot.com/)
  13. Sheila Pierson – I Write, Therefore I Am (http://sheilapierson.wordpress.com/)
  14. The Jumping Polar Bear (http://jumpingpolarbear.com/)
  15. Vanna Smythe – Fantasy Author (http://vannasmythe.com/)

Congratulations, winners!

Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

Hmm, seven things about me. Okay, here goes:

1. In the past decade I’ve lived in nine different locations in five countries on four continents.

2. I proposed to my wife on one knee in a gravel parking lot. She said “yes” anyway after I whined about how much the rocks hurt my kneecap.

3. I joined the Cub Scouts for the first time with my son and am his den leader. I did not participate in scouts as a kid, and this is the first time in my son’s young life that he’s lived where there’s a troop. It’s been fun scouting vicariously through him. Today we built and shot off bottle (water) rockets. It brings out the kid in me!

4. My favorite sport is baseball, but I took a liking to cricket when I lived in Africa because it looks like baseball with different rules.

5. I have a falsetto singing voice like Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak and love to belt out the karaoke version of “Oh! Pretty Woman.”

6. I enjoy getting to know people from around the world. One of my favorite things to do is to meet up in one location with friends I met elsewhere. Today, in fact, I’m getting together in Bangkok, Thailand with friends I met several years ago in Seoul, Korea.

7. One of the toughest challenges living overseas is missing those foods that you love but can’t buy abroad. I miss dishes from my favorite restaurants, not to mention perishable foods that I can’t ship. Thank goodness I can buy and ship beef jerky, cereal, and granola bars. But every once in a while I suffer from store-bought Christmas eggnog withdrawals.

Congratulations to the new VBA winners, and thanks again to Ella Medler for nominating me!

 

buythumbM.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain. His collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

© 2012 Brilliance Press. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted without the written consent of the author.

  1. ellamedler

    Oh, you’ve hit it on the spot with 7. I remember a time when we used to live in Central Asia in a little place sandwiched between Russia and China. Amazing country, but food was a little limited. Most of the people still lived as nomads in yurts on the sides of the mountain. We asked a friend who was coming in on a business trip from Belgium to buy us some cheese. Blue veined cheese, creamy, soft cheese, anything that wasn’t rock-like. The guy managed to get about five kilos of the stuff through customs and we rationed it for weeks, savouring every mouthful. Ha ha. Those were the times…

  2. kgar2462

    I don’t know what to say, my friend, and being at a loss for words isn’t a good thing for a writer. But I’m floored. I am truly humbled and honored that you considered me. Not quite sure how to proceed at this point. I gather from your post that I nominate 15 bloggers on my blog, congratulate them personally, and convey my seven secrets to you. Not to mention thanking the esteemed creator. Is that about right?

  3. David C. Cassidy

    Hey, M.G.! Thank you so much! You’re right, this was quite the unexpected surprise–especially since you hinted that “something special was coming” on Sunday (it’s only Saturday here, so I was totally shocked when I saw this.) Thank you, my friend. Coming from you it’s a huge honor, believe me. I hope we can meet in person some day and share a drink! Have yourself a great day–you’ve certainly made mine! 🙂 🙂 🙂

  4. sheilapierson

    Thanks so much for nominating me! You’re living a fascinating life and I’m glad you’re willing to share it with the rest of us…I’m pretty spoiled when it comes to getting the food I like so I would imagine that would be a challenge! Maybe you can upload a video of your singing 🙂

  5. Vanna Smythe (@Vanna_Smythe)

    Thank you so much for this award! It’s important for writers to stick together and the Versatile Blogger Award is a great way to show that mutual admiration and support.

  6. Donna B. McNicol [@donnabmcnicol]

    I’m in awe of the group you’ve included me in – oops, bad grammar. LOL! But i’m still in aw, thank you so much. I’ll post later in the week, already have the next couple of days scheduled. Now off to continue reading the rest of the blogs you nominated!

  7. Jeff Whelan

    Thank you so much for the nomination, M.G.! I am truly honored that you think so highly of my humble little blog. I’ll find some other nominees and get around to responding as soon as I can, although I’m not sure how soon that will be. Thank you again so very much! Pickled tink!

  8. mgedwards

    Thanks, everyone! You deserve it. Not only are you good bloggers (and rebloggers), you are great people. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you online, and I hope that someday we can meet in person. I feel fortunate to have fallen in with a group of people that genuinely cares about and helps one another. For that, I thank you. I hoped this helped pique more interest in your blogs and books.

    Ella, you’re right. Yesterday I was at Makro (like Costco in the states) trying to find some snacks. Chocolate? Not much, but there’s plenty of seaweed (nori) sheets! Dried shredded squid, anyone?

    KG, I think you have it right. I read your post, and it looks great.

    David, I’ll definitely take you up on that drink the next time I’m in the Great White North. Welcome come to Thailand — as they say here.

    Cravesadventure, thanks for visiting my blog frequently. I appreciate the readership and only recently discovered what great posts you write.

    Sheila and August, I’ll see what I can do about uploading a video clip of my singing. Then again, when I’m back in the states, let’s go to karaoke! I may be in L.A. later this year, August. We should meet up. You both write awesome prose that make readers think.

    Vanna, all the best with your new book “Protector”! Estoy a las Ordenes…I’m at your service if you need anything.

    Donna and Stu! Keep on writing and rolling! If you stay in MD long enough, I may be passing through the DC area in August.

    Jeff, it’s my pleasure. You’ve been a big help on Twitter, and it’s the least I can do. Your sense of humor is out of this world.

    • Donna B. McNicol [@donnabmcnicol]

      LOL! We are moving to TN on June 2nd and will be there till the end of August. Then we head to OH for a week before venturing back to MD till early November. Someday…somewhere…

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  11. Richelle

    Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it
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    your blog. I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any helpful hints for beginner blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.

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