One Lovely Blog Hop

ONE LOVELY BLOG HOP

This blog hop is designed to show our readers a more personal side to ourselves. We've been challenged by another author/ blogger (somewhat like the 'ice bucket' challenge) to list seven interesting facts to help cast light onto that tough writer’s/ blogger's persona we all like to project. But we want to show that behind every story is a story, our story, my story, and like everyone else I have dreams, hobbies, problems and goals. This blog hop is a way to share some of them with you, my readers.

The rules are that I share 7 Lovely Facts about myself, and links to at least 15 blogs that I enjoy reading. If I’ve nominated your blog, please don’t feel any obligation to join in but, if you do, please link back to the blog of the person who nominated you (that would be me - DB Nielsen), share 7 facts about yourself and nominate 15 blogs (or as many as you can).

I was reading some of the other blogs on this tour. There are some remarkable and gifted writers here and I’m happy to be in their company. Many thanks to LA Starkey, author of Deceived, for adding me to the blog hop! L.A. Starkey is the YA/ urban fantasy author of Deceived and its sequel Destroyed. I have my copy of this really interesting book and am looking forward to reading it! Her blog features her writing muses and love of music.

So, here are my 7 fun facts, in no particular order. Enjoy :-)

1. I collect champagne corks of all the special occasions I’ve enjoyed. If I’m out celebrating at a restaurant, I request that the sommelier or waiter save me the cork from my champagne bottle. When I get home, I tag the cork, marking it with the occasion, place and date, and who was present. Finally, I place the cork in a glass display jar. I now have hundreds of champagne corks (vintage Bollinger, Krug, Moet & Chandon, Pol Roger, etc…) and several large glass jars on display – and I can revisit these special occasions whenever I like. It also makes for a great conversation starter.
   
2. I collect old and rare books. I have framed pages of medieval manuscripts and Dickens’ serial pamphlets and beautifully leather-bound, gilt-edged books in my favourite room in my house; the library. It is typically Victorian in style with a high wing-back chair and ottoman, brass floor lamp, Persian carpet, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, framed photographs and prints, and a tray table with cut crystal decanters filled with whisky.
3. I am a neat freak. I’m not quite OCD but probably close to it. I hate mess. I can’t bear to look at mess. I feel the need to clean up and make things sparkle again. When my kids make a mess with their toys scattered around the house, I have to clean it up (for all the good it does me – as twenty minutes later, it looks a mess again!). I don’t mind housework (I just hate ironing – it’s the one chore I prefer not to do!) and often use it as an excuse to procrastinate when I’m not in the mood to write. If my friends tell me they’re dropping by, I feel the need to clean my house so they don’t think I live in a pigsty. 
4. I love Afternoon Tea. Quite British of me, I know. But I do. I love the whole ritual of it – the time of day, the scones with jam and clotted cream, the tea leaves steeping in the teapot, the finger sandwiches and bite-sized cakes, etc… I can’t explain it but it’s just so … civilised. 
   
5. As a child, I wrote to pen pals all over the world from Suomi in Finland to Wellington, New Zealand. Some of my oldest friends are those I began writing to when I was about ten-years-old. I’ve kept their correspondence to me and they’ve kept mine – so together we have a diary of our growing years and friendship. 
6. My favourite film is The Princess Bride – it has all the crucial elements of a great story: swashbuckling adventure, romance, humour, revenge, and true love. I almost can’t imagine a better way to say ‘I love you’ than ‘As you wish’. 
7. I once worked in the theatre, behind-the-scenes at Phantom of the Opera. I was there for a couple of years and have a special commemorative jacket to prove it. I must have seen the performance hundreds of times – still get chills when listening to the opening sequence.

I won't go into any extreme detail here. All I have to say is that those nominated below are simply great people who love to read and/or create worlds for us to enjoy! Don't believe me? Follow the links to find out more about them.

Jonathan M. Dixit, author of BabyWorld. Find out more via his blog

Robert A. Palmer co-author of Relyk

JC Brennan author of A Fine Line

K.S. Marsden author of The Shadow Rises 

Emily Goddard, blogger at English Bibliophile Blog

Kirby Howell author of Autumn in the City of Angels 

C.L. Schneider author of The Crown of Stones

Keeley vblogger at ABibliophilesJourney

Join in the hop and nominate some people who love books as much as I do!