Prémio Dardos

DeAnna Cameron of Writely So recently honored this blog, For Love of Words, with a Prémio Dardos, which apparently is Italian for "Prize Darts." Thank you, DeAnna, for considering my blog worthy of notice.

Here’s the purpose of the award:

The Prémio Dardos is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

These are the rules:

1. Accept the award by posting on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.
2. Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they've been selected for this award.

With so many great blogs around, narrowing the field was a hard task. Here are the ones I am passing the Prémio Dardos on to. First, the writing-related blogs, in no particular order:

DeAnna Cameron’s Writely So. The rules don’t say I can’t give it to someone who’s already received it. DeAnna interviews published writers about their book-promotion methods—what they’ve done, what worked, what didn’t. I’ve printed out nearly every one for my stack of information on book promotion.

Charles Gramlich’s Razored Zen. Charles is not only a great writer, but he can also write well about writing. His psychology background gives him good insights that he is generous enough to share.

Travis Erwin’s One Word, One Rung, One Day. Travis has done more than anyone I know to unite bloggers and make the blogworld a little cozier with his regular “My Town Monday” posts. Travis and his family lost everything they owned in a house fire last week. If you want to help him out, Habitat for Travis Erwin is accepting donations and tells how to contribute directly if you prefer.

Ferrel “Rick” Moore’s The Writer and The White Cat. Rick has lots of great things to say about writing, and he says them entertainingly. If only he were less prolific so that I could have the pleasure of reading all his posts!

Lisa Kenney’s Eudaemonia. Lisa is on a quest to write and understand good literature, and she takes the reader along as she thinks about and discusses books she’s read, commercial vs. literary fiction, and her writing journey.

Steve Malley’s Full Throttle and F**k It. Steve claims to operate at two speeds (the aforementioned “full throttle” and “f**k it”), but in reality he seems to be always in zoom ultra-high-creativity mode. His posts on writing and art are clear, enlightening, and thought-provoking.

Carleen Brice’s White Readers Read Black Authors. Carleen has recently made it her mission to encourage nonblack readers to seek out books by black authors and to brave the scary African American section of the bookstore. Her posts are jammed full of recommended authors and books. (Be sure to also check out her other blog, The Pajama Gardener.)

William “Billy” Hammett’s Publexicon. Billy’s topics range widely, from literary agents to writing tips to the publishing industry, but are always interesting and worthwhile.

Therese Fowler’s Making It Up. Therese chronicled the journey to the publication of her first novel and continues to blog about writing and the writing life.

Lynne Griffin, Amy MacKinnon, Hannah Roveto, and Lisa Marnell’s The Writers’ Group. This blog just ceased publication this week, but the archives contain much useful information on the writing life and particularly on belonging to a critique group.

Bella Stander’s Reading Under the Covers. Bella discusses what publicists do and what you can do to help promote your book and have a good relationship with your or your publisher’s publicist.

Stephen Parrish’s Stephen Parrish: If You Heard It Here First, I Probably Made It Up. Stephen dispenses wisdom, humor, compassion, and inspiration, particularly for writers.

The following two nonwriting blogs express personal values in a way that provides a good example for others.

Lana Gramlich’s The Dreaming Tree. Lana is one of those rare souls who lives her values and is an inspiration to those who feel caught in the rat race. Her blog often features her paintings and beautiful photographs of nature, as well as retellings of her dreams, which often inspire her art.

Shauna H.’s Shauna’s Life in Pain and Other Fun Things. Besides having a really cool name, Shauna has a deep desire to reach out to help others. Her blog chronicles her own journey with severe, never-ending pain and provides support and resources for people in like circumstances. She lives her motto: “Laugh at your pain; it won’t hurt as much.”

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The blog Out of the Cradle named my story "Coyote and the Gambler" in Return to Luna (Hadley Rille Books) winner of Best of the Moon 2008 in Moon Fiction.

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Coming up soon: more interviews and a discussion of dictionaries (hint: I'm in favor of them)