Sisterhood Award

About time, too. I’ve been given my first award! Though I have to admit that I was unable to even spell the word award correctly just now, so maybe I need more time to learn. It’s the very kind Lucy Coats who has done the awarding. And the equally lovely Fiona Dunbar, who is only a little afraid of me. So, you wait for two years and then two awards (admittedly identical ones) arrive all at once.

There are many great sisters out there, blogging away. Fiona and Lucy are two of those and they also listed a good many that I like in their awards lists. So, I won’t list them back, or this gets really silly. And with one exception, I won’t list the same as them. The exception is allowed because I had thought of her for my list before Fiona came and ‘ruined’ it.

Across the big ocean to the west, to Laurie Frost, who has the very good taste to like Philip Pullman very much. First she wrote a book about His Dark Materials. Then she blogged about those who copied her book. Now she is raking in readers while unearthing a scandal about pre-paid college education in Alabama, and obviously meeting a great need. Dig on, Laurie!

North to Chicago and Sara Paretsky, who also has the good taste to like Philip Pullman. And she likes NCIS. As many of you will know, Sara writes extremely good books about private eye VI Warshawski, who is a prime example of Sisterhood. I feel a little guilty about having bullied Sara into blogging, but only a little.

Slightly east, now, to Monica Edinger in New York. Another Pullman fan, and a lady who likes what I like, which is always a good starting point. Monica strikes me as so much better organised than I am, and she may blog about similar topics, but generally from another angle.

North again, to the wilds of Canada, and Sara O’Leary, who is very wise and blogs about things I’d never even thought of. Sara writes picture books (can you say that?) and blogs about picture books and is very knowledgeable. She also likes some of my other favourite men. (Sorry, but for a sisterhood thing I seem to mention them a tad too often. I know.) It was Philip Ardagh who brought us ‘together’ and Eoin Colfer is involved, too, somehow.

Another American, now, but one who has moved across that ocean in the other direction. L.Lee Löwe, of the many Ls, blogs as Lowebrow (which I find a very witty name…) somewhere near the Rhine, after a long time in Africa. We met through Dina Rabinovitch’s blog, so there is a lot of sistering going on here. LLL (couldn’t resist) is very determined and has strong opinions on things.

A Paretsky fan from the city of my birth is Annika Bryn. She doesn’t blog in English, but I don’t see why that should be a problem. Annika writes crime, and blogs about Stockholm and her hair and other interesting topics.

Southwest to Jutland to meet Dorte Hummelshøj Jakobsen, who is also into crime in a big way. Dorte does an amazing job, blogging in Danish and English simultaneously to make herself understood by all. She reads a lot, has interesting opinions on books, and her English is excellent. This on its own would be enough for me, because it’s rarer than you think. We also seem to have other things in common, and have yet to fall out over some silly Swedish/Danish issue.

Brooming over to Scotland for two ladies with Italian connections. Julie Bertagna‘s blog only has one thing wrong with it. I wish Julie could blog more often. But it’s quite possible that life and novel writing and other stuff gets in the way. And that’s OK, Julie.

Debi Gliori appears to be another witch, and you can never have too many of them. She is funny, too. What’s more, she has written books that the Resident IT Consultant actually remembers long after he read them. Could be the Scottish connection. Or that Debi may be a witch.

My last, but definitely not least, choice is Mary Hoffman. Mary is the one who had already been picked by Fiona. There is an Italian flavour to Mary’s blog, too, of course. What I like the most is simply to be kept up-to-date on what Mary does, while trying not to feel inadequate because I do less and know only a fraction of what Mary knows. Someone who has read all of Scott’s novels is a force to be reckoned with.

The task now for all you lucky winners is to:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 favourite blogs of your own.

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Link to this post to the person from whom you received your award.

That’s about all. And as you have nothing very pressing to do… Oh, you do? Oh, well, do what you can.