I am delighted to have been nominated by author and blogging star Sally Cronin and by author Jessica Norrie for the Blogger Recognition Award. I was going to nominate Jessica but she beat me to it but I still want to thank her for her support.
This gives me the opportunity to thank some of the wonderful bloggers out there who have supported me and my blog. If you have already been nominated on another blog (bound to have happened because like the ‘coo’s tail’ I’m always behind) then you know you are an extra special supporter.
If you have an award-free blog or are simply too busy (not many sleeps left until the big day) there is no need to participate so participation is optional. I simply want to say thank you to people for their support and let them know how much they are appreciated.
Sally made her own award plaque and, not being as technologically savvy, I have copied it.
First there are a few guidelines attached to the award should you wish to participate….
My thanks of course to Sally Cronin and Jessica Norrie for nominating me.
Rules:
- Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
2. Write a post to show your award.
3. Give a brief story of how your blog started.
4. Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
5. Select up to fifteen bloggers you want to give this award to.
6. Comment (or pingback) on each blog to let them know that you’ve nominated them and provide a link to the post you’ve created.
How My Blog Started:
For a few years I was posting about my dad when he had dementia, his wife left him and I moved in to care for him. I often wanted to post about other things but felt it should be in a separate place and so MarySmith’sPlace began on 28 December, 2017. Here’s a link to the very first post. It’s a bit of an eclectic mixture of stories from when I worked in Afghanistan to walking in Scotland, from local history to an annual blog about bunions (not mine, I am fortunate not to have any).
Give Two Pieces of Advice to New Bloggers:
- Think carefully about why you want to blog – if you hope it will help to sell thousands of your books, don’t bother. It won’t. Blogging should be fun so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t manage to post every day or even every week. If it becomes a chore to you, take a break.
- Do respond to comments people leave on your posts – the interaction with people from all around the world (many of whom become ‘real’ friends) is one of the things which makes blogging so much fun.
Select up to 15 Bloggers: If you have already participated, or don’t want to, don’t worry – this is just a thank you for your support.
Author Barb Taub is one of the funniest bloggers around – she’ll make you spit your coffee all over your keyboard
Author and blogger and a great supporter of indie authors and bloggers Marcia Meara
Lynn Otty – poet and short story writer
Pete Johnson with his wonderful dog, Ollie blogs at:
Author Janet Gogerty blogs at Tidal Scribe.
The lovely Willow is a wonderful supporter of my blog – many thanks, Willow.
James Cudneyis an author, blogger, book reviewer – and a huge supporter of indie authors
Maggie’s lovely blog at Cave Walls is well worth a visit
The next few bloggers, as well as supporting my blog, are responsible for my tbr pile reaching a monstrous height:
I could go on adding to this list but I know some of those I’d like to thank for their support – such as Sue Vincent who has shown me tremendous support over the years – have already been presented with the award by other bloggers so, a huge thank you to everyone who should be on this list and whose support I truly value.
Mary, Thank you so much for recognizing my blog in this way. Coming from someone I admire so much, this is pretty high praise. I will respond in kind sometime this weekend. I am sure I will enjoy all the other blogs you have mentioned here as well. Thank you again.
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Thanks, Maggie. Enjoy your award and browsing the other blogs.
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Thanks so much, Mary. Glad I’ve been able to add to yoyr TBR 😉
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*your*
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🙂
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You’re welcome, Cathy – even if my book budget is vastly overspent.
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Thank you Mary for the lovely response and the mention.. Looking forward to more fun in 2020…Happy Christmas…hugs xx
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Thanks, Sally. I hope you didn’t mind me ‘stealing’ your lovely award badge.
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Not in the slightest Mary it was Pixabay and I only added the lettering so delighted it is being untilised…hugsx
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Many thanks for your kind mention, Mary. I don’t ‘pass on’ blog awards, but will happily answer your questions here.
1) How my blog started.
I retired from work in 2012, and moved from Central London to a very quiet life in rural Norfolk. I got a dog that year, and started to get to know the local area. A friend suggested I should write a blog, to keep my brain active. He thought that my observations on the differences in my previous life and my new life here in Norfolk might be an inspiration to me.
So I did as he suggested, and started tentatively. Once I got into the swing of it, and worked out how blogging works, I started to become part of a great community, and expanded my blog to contain reflections of my youth, music, film and book reviews, photos, and then fiction.
Now it is hard to remember when I wasn’t a blogger!
2) Two pieces of advice for new bloggers.
A) Before you follow a blog, think about why you are doing that, and if you really want to communicate with that blogger, and actually enjoy what they are writing about. Following to be followed back just doesn’t work, not where blogging is concerned.
B) Engage. If you get a comment, reply to it. If you leave a comment, look out to see if the other blogger has replied, or maybe one of their followers has. Continue to engage them on that comment thread, and you may discover other people you want to follow.
That’s how a blogging community is created.
Thanks again, Mary, and best wishes to all involved in the award.
Pete. x
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Thanks, Pete. Two really important pieces of advice for new bloggers. And thanks for your support for my blogging efforts. Hope the rain stops soon!
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Thanks so much for the mention, Mary. I always really look forward to reading your posts 🙂 Have a wonderful Christmas xx
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You’re welcome, Alison. I appreciate all the times you share my posts. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, too, and all the best for 2020.
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Ypu are such a big supporter, Willow, you deserve every accolade which comes your way.
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Thanks Mary for including my blog and taking the time to visit and add comments.
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You’re very welcome 🙂 Your support is much appreciated.
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Well done Mary. You are going from strength to strength.
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Thanks, Lynn. I nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award as thanks for being such a big supporter of my blog. I realise you are probably not in a position to pass it on but wanted to know your support is appreciated.
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Thanks Mary – I’m touched.
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Many thanks for the shout out Mary, it’s very much appreciated. Apologies for the book pile, though expect more of the same in 2020!! Have a lovely Christmas and many thanks for your support too.
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You’re very welcome, Jill. I look forward to adding to the pile in 2020. I hope to decrease it – slightly – over the Christmas holiday. Have a lovely Christmas.
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Happy Reading x
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Mary, huge congratulations – your friendship and support here is amazing and this award is most highly deserved! 😀 I had to smile how you and Jessica ‘fought’ to give each other the award first – kindred spirits! Have a wonderful Christmas filled with joy and laughter … and all the best for the new decade! xx
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Thank you, Annika. By the way Oskar’s Quest arrived for my nephew – so of course, I had to read it before I wrapped it. It’s lovely. A beautiful book. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas.
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Ahh … thank you so much, Mary! That’s wonderful! 😀 May your nephew enjoy it too! Happy Christmas! Xx
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Congratulations, Mary. I enjoyed reading your advice about blogging.
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Thanks so much, Robbie. I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas.
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Thank you, Mary. I hope your is also lovely. I am sure your son enjoyed Christmas in his teaching post. It is always a lovely time of year at schools.
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He did, thanks, Robbie, although he is ‘exhausted’ 🙂 He came home yesterday and we spent the day making tablet (fudge) and other sweet treats for Christmas. He’s away again but he’s cooking Christmas dinner this year so I’ll see him soon.
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That is great, Mary.
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Glad you’re pleased with your award. I must look up the nominees you’ve made that I don’t know. So you too have added to my TBR pile, just in a different format.
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I’m delighted with my award, Jessica. Thank you so much. I hope you will enjoy some of the other nominees’ blogs.
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Im sure I shall – no time right now but will save them up for the quiet bit between Christmas and New Year.
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Thank you for including me, Mary. You really do deserve the award and you have chosen many of my favourite bloggers in your recommendations.
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You’re welcome, Liz. All the book bloggers I put on my list support my blog with shares. I realised that nearly all my book buying is done as a result of reading review blogs, though I don’t always remember who recommended which book 🙂
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Often we recommend the same books at different times.
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Congratulations Mary you truly deserve this award, and thank you for mentioning me 💜💜 Happy Christmas and a healthy 2020 💜
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Thank you, Willow for your support. I hope 2020 will be a good year for you. Happy Christmas.
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Thank you again and may you have a good year too 💜
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Congrats on the award! I love the advice you’ve given, especially about how blogging should be fun and not a chore. There’s a lot of time and effort that goes into blogging and I think that can be really underestimated, so we shouldn’t put extra pressure on ourselves, like trying to post regularly if we can’t manage it.
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend 😊
Caz x
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Thank you, Caz. Glad you like the advice about keeping blogging fun. It can too easily become stressful if we feel we ‘should’ have a new post ready or we ‘must’ leave comments on the blogs we follow. I used to feel guilty about not blogging the way I should, especially after reading post in which the blogger lays down rules about how and what and when we should post. Now I’ve ditched the guilt it’s a lot more fun 🙂
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