The One Lovely Blog Award

Posted on by Rachel Woe in Announcements, Awards

One Lovely Blog Award

This post has been a long time coming.

Exactly one month ago, I was nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award by the fabulous, Lace Winter. Then, less than two weeks later, I was nominated again by the marvelous, Felicity Johns. I am beyond touched that these ladies chose to include me in their nominations alongside so many other amazing bloggers, a few of whom I’ve come to consider blogger-buddies of my own.

I must admit, I was a little (okay, a lot) intimidated by this award. Having only launched this lil’ ole’ blog exactly three months ago, I’m constantly blown away by the quantity and quality of fiction, poetry, and personal narrative being posted by those who’ve been at it much longer. It’s both daunting and inspiring, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. By engaging with one another’s work, we push each other to be better. I’ve learned so much since I set forth on this blogging journey and I’m grateful to each and every friend, unbeknownst mentor, and follower who has chosen to come along for the ride.

So, first, an introduction to the remarkable women who’ve so graciously nominated me:

Lace Winter: Romantic Novels with an Erotic Edge

Lace is an aspiring romance novelist who has quickly become one of my most cherished blogger-buddies. I can always count on her for a thoughtful, insightful comment and a sexy, sensual read. I’m a huge fan of her flash fiction, poetry, and general writer-musings, and always look forward to reading excerpts from her novel-in-progress, Switch, and her current, shorter project, Partners and Crime, both of which I strongly urge you to check out. She’s a genuine, longtime fan of the erotica and erotic romance genres, and it shows in both her knowledge and execution of the craft. Thank you so much for the nomination, Lace. It’s been a true pleasure getting to know you and your work.

Felicity Johns: The Dark Night Chronicles

Felicity writes dark, sensual, passionate poetry and prose. I am constantly blown away by her level of mastery and boundless creativity. While I can’t recall exactly how I stumbled upon her blog, I do remember thinking, “Wow. This is definitely one to watch.” At its core, her work is primal, vulnerable, and deeply relatable. She’ll soon be joining the ranks of the self-published with her debut ebook, Erotic Passages. Be sure to follow her so that you can snag a copy for yourself. Thank you so very much for the nomination, Felicity.

All right. So, the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award are as follows:

You must list the rules to the One Lovely Blog Award (Like this).

You must thank the person(s) who nominated you and include a link to their blog (Done and done).

You must add seven facts about yourself (See below).

You must nominate 15 other bloggers and let them know they have been nominated (See below).

You must display the award logo and follow the blogger who nominated you (Done and way ahead of you!).

Oh, dear. I’m afraid my personal life isn’t nearly as exciting as my fiction, but them’s the rules, so here are seven facts you might not know about me:

1. My pie crust always comes out tender, flaky, and perfect. (The secret ingredient: booze, of course!)

2. I love to sing and have been told that I have a pleasant singing voice, but you won’t hear it unless I’m really comfortable around you.

3. I have difficulty envisioning my characters from scratch, so I tend to use celebrity (usually actor) visages when crafting fiction.

4. When I was sixteen, I had maxillofacial surgery in which my top jaw was broken, moved forward, and then screwed into place in order to correct a rather severe under-bite. The first thing I mumbled to my mother upon seeing my swollen, post-surgical face in the hospital bathroom mirror was, “Look, mom, I have porn star lips.”

5. I could eat Japanese food, especially sushi, every day for the rest of my life and not get sick of it.

6. I adore boots, especially the high-heeled, over-the-calf variety. Yeah, I know, they’re bad for my feet, but paired with a short skirt or skin-tight jeans, they make my legs look awesome.

7. I’m terrified of spiders and I can’t stand flies, but I love snakes and rats and mice and other misunderstood critters, including seagulls, pigeons, racoons, and skunks (at a safe distance).

Now, onto the nominations! First, I’d like to state that being nominated does not require you to participate. I am simply listing bloggers whose work I’ve come to eagerly anticipate and admire. If I’ve included you in this list, it means that I think you are deserving of recognition and want to share your brilliance with my little corner of the Internet. I do not automatically follow everyone who follows me, so including you here means that I genuinely appreciate your content and look forward to seeing your posts in my feed.

Again, do not feel that you need to participate or even acknowledge this nomination. My love for your blog is unconditional and without expectation. (Plus, I would bet that at least a few of you have been nominated for this award more than once.)

First, my fellow sex, erotica, and romance bloggers (some of which may be NSFW) in alphabetical order:

Aaron Causer: erotic fiction, sexy stories and the occasional image that turns everyone on

Abezure’s Diary of Being Owned in the BDSM Lifestyle

Anna Bayes: Writer of Erotic Romances for the Fiercely Loyal

Bree Guilford Erotica

Delilah Night

Flowers and Floggers: sub, dreamer, lover, writer

Illicit Thoughts

Malin James: Erotica. Sex. Culture

MrFoxwood: 13th Step Study (Tumblr) | MrFoxwood’s (WP)

Tamsin’s Superotica

Tara Crescent

These next four bloggers straddle the lines between the romantic, erotic, and platonic. Some write poetry while others dabble in experimental prose. All of whom write bravely, passionately, and wholeheartedly:

Another Bad Conversation

DragonflyLady’s Writey Ramblings

Mytwosentences

Writing in Airplanes

Again, please do not feel obligated to accept this award. I’m simply expressing my appreciation and gratitude for all that you do.

♥

Published by Rachel Woe

Erotica and romance author.

39 thoughts on “The One Lovely Blog Award”

  2. Thank you, Rachel! What a wonderful list to be included on! Your blog really is lovely and deserving of this award – I only just found it about a month ago, but you’re a lovely writer and I’m looking forward to reading more of your work. Thanks so much, again. xxx.Malin

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    1. Thanks so much, Malin! I’m a huge admirer of your blog as well. It’s so crisp and professional. I passed on the “Suits” theme when perusing for my own and later, when I saw your blog and how fabulous it is, I thought, “Damn! This woman knows what she’s doing.” And that’s not even mentioning your well-crafted stories and articles. I look forward to reading more of your work, too!

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      1. Thank you! Honestly, Suits was an accident – I had a whole other visual planned, but liked it so much that I ran with it. I love your blog’s look, by the way – I’m a sucker for the kinds of images you use.

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        1. I’m so grateful to have a photographer friend who lets me use her photos. Legal, good quality images aren’t cheap! Now I just need to beg her to take more dirty pictures. 😛

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        2. Rachel does indeed find some very interesting images. One thing I like about the layout of both your sites is the clean, crisp feel to it. The text is very easy to read without straining, it’s easy to navigate, the font is attractive without being distracting, and it’s not overly busy. The funny thing is I looked at both your themes when choosing my own, and at the time I didn’t feel in the demos like they were right for me (I had a ‘test’ post with no tags, and not much else, and tried lots of themes). Yet, when I see what you’ve both done with them, it really drives home to me how one can adopt and adapt a theme and make it your own. You’ve both done that brilliantly. Your sites are beautiful.

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          1. Thank you, Lace 🙂 I’m always struck by how people go about making the same theme feel so different based on their own unique touches. (Bree Guilford’s being the most recent example.) I almost jumped on the Thanksgiving/Black Friday deal to use one of the premium themes for free, but I’ve put so much work into this one that I decided to pass.

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          2. Seriously! I spent a lot of time choosing a theme, and in the end I chose one that a few years ago was the default (Twenty Eleven)! I’m still really happy with it, I like the way my site looks. The changes I want to make have more to do with organizing things into pages, not changing the theme or basic look and feel. I can’t quite figure out what a premium theme would give me that I don’t already have.

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          3. I find that the simpler themes work best when you want to showcase your writing. Imagery is important, of course, but it’s easy to get caught up in aesthetics. I love your header. I think it’s perfect for the tone of your writing. Organizing pages and menus takes some planning. A good weekend project, I think. 😉

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          5. Plus you could use the whole “reading on the beach” thing as a color scheme if you wanted. Black and white and turquoise are a nice combination. And yes, reading is most definitely sexy! Eclipsed only by writing and, specifically, sexy writing. 😉

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  3. Thank you for your beautiful words, I’m really moved! I also LOVE your seven facts! #1 especially! I just put a pumpkin pie in the oven, I wish I’d had that bit of info an hour ago 😉 lol

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  4. Thank you so much! I’m honored to be on your list! I have a few other awards in the wings, I’m not sure when I will get to posting back to everyone, but at some point, hopefully!
    And I do love a good pie crust:)

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    1. You’re most welcome! And like I said, take your time with the nomination or don’t bother. This is about me highlighting those bloggers I can’t get enough of (you). 🙂

      Let me know if you’re ever in need of a foolproof pie crust recipe and I’ll pass on the link. 🙂

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  6. Thank you so much for the nomination! I’ve been Iucky enough to have been nominated before so I really appreciate you saying I do not have to participate again, as I have about four projects I am eager to start! Your nomination means the world to me though, because I do truly admire your talent. Thanks! x

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  7. I do believe I’m blushing, just a little, at the extremely lovely things you had to say about me. Thank you! I had to double-check, because I thought ‘Oh, she must be describing someone far more experienced and skillful than I am,’ but no, that was my name you put on it.

    Truthfully, you are an amazing writer, but more than that, you’re a generous friend. Just as you said, I cherish our interactions here. Plus, you’re the queen of research! I can always count on you to dig up the best blogs and articles on this crazy little industry we’re trying to break into.

    And, you’ve nominated a few blogs I was not previously familiar with, so that will be another delight to go and discover these new (to me) talents.

    In closing, I believe we have a new nickname for you. Better just get used to it, “Porn Star Lips.” 😈

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    1. Oh, dear, what have I done?!? 😛 Well, I suppose it could be worse. A few years back, some random guy on an online dating site sent me a message that read: your mouth looks fun.

      Inside thoughts, people.

      But yes, you are most welcome! The great thing about this crazy industry is that, while it may feel like there’s stiff competition, it pays better to support one another than it does to buy into the “There can only be one!!” mindset. Hogwash, I say! Readers are always hungry for more. If one of us does well, that’s a vantage point from which to shed a bit of the spotlight onto others. (And hell, if we really want to feed the daydream machine, think about how much less awkward it’ll be to be sitting amongst friends on the panel at the RWA convention. 😉 Fantasy is what we’re all about, right?)

      Again, thank you for your kindness, your support, and for your friendship. Now I’m off to read that Kristen Lamb article you reblogged to find out how hard I’m failing at Twitter. (Oh! I have to gush: I had a total *fangirl* moment tonight when my dream agent replied to my Tweet not once, but TWICE!! Ahh!!! :D)

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      1. Oh, that’s awesome! Now just need said dream agent to come read your blog, and he/she’ll be convinced. 🙂 And yeah, I’m ready for the fantasy — that would be totally sweet!

        You’ve read Alison Tyler’s ‘Power On’ post, right? I think we’ve talked about it before.

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        1. I can’t remember if we’ve talked about it but I just went and refreshed my memory. She’s absolutely right. It reminds me of something I wrote in a comment thread on AW. A member was lamenting that he didn’t think he’d ever be able to write like his literary heroes, and thus didn’t see a reason to bother trying. I pointed out that most readers don’t finish one great book, brush their palms and say, “Well, that’s it. I never need to read another good book again.” If someone likes my kinky stories, they’ll probably like yours, too, and vice versa. Exposure is good for everyone, and think of how much more likely readers would be to engage with authors who are generous and gracious towards one another?

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          1. Ah, yes, the despair of ‘X is so much better than me, so what’s the point?’ I’ve felt it before, and you’re right, it’s a matter of getting over yourself and figuring out *why* you like X’s work so much, and then seeing if you can use a bit of that yourself. We become better writers by reading better writers. And if a reader likes X’s work, and X says she likes Y’s work, then the reader will probably go check out Y as well, while still reading X. So yep.

            But more than that, I will simply be tickled pink to see you succeed, and I have no doubt you feel the same. Nothing will please me more than to know that you and my other writerly friends are *making money* at this, and being talked about and discussed.

            Anyway, I think you’re doing fine on the Twitter angle. There are a few others I follow who do seem to be committing all the sins that Kristen Lamb talks about (specifically in chapter 4 of her book, which I know you’re reading or considering to read). I read that and thought “yes, I DO react negatively to those things, just as Kristen says readers will!” But yeah, still learning the whole social media angle. I haven’t gotten beyond the basic Twitter website yet, and it is getting *out of hand*. I am going to have to update to one of the recommended apps soon.

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          2. Ah, yesss. I just want to tattoo the first paragraph from your last comment onto my palm or forearm, somewhere I can read it over and over and over.

            And you’re absolutely right: the more writers making a living at their art/craft, the better it is for all of us. Thankfully, self-publishing and even trade publishing seems to be making that happen for a lot more writers. Granted, our particular genre was always better about that when it came to women writers, though it has only extended to erotica and erotic romance within the last five years or so (as opposed to just romance). It’s why Harlequin is considered a major player in the industry, even though it’s technically not one of the Big 5.

            God, if I hear one more person mention how awesome Tweet Deck is, I’m going to have to throw up my hands and succumb. I’m just learning how to use and maintain lists, which has helped, though I wish they were easier to access on the main site. Again, that’s probably where the apps come in. Oh! I’m half-way through Rachel Aaron’s 2,000 to 10,000 and it’s…interesting. I’ll e-mail you my thoughts if you’d like to hear them.

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          3. Absolutely, I’d love to hear what you think of it (Rachel Aaron’s book).

            Having read from several sources now that Twitter is impossible to manage without a third-party app once you have over a certain number of people in your feed, and basically experiencing that now myself, I can believe it. Apparently it comes down to either Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, and it’s just a matter of which one you prefer the interface of. There are some other special-purpose tools (Eva Gantz had a great post about them a while back), but one of those two is the core. So, I’m going to look into it. You still need to categorize, like lists, and… um, are you ready for this? I haven’t even done that yet. So, I basically just go looking “Hmm, let’s see what Rachel has tweeted lately,” etc, because the main feed is insane. I know, I know, I should get on that. 🙂 I guess I’ve just been hesitant to make any highly public blunders (like adding people to a list called “boring writers” then realizing everyone can see that and they get notified…. and no, that didn’t happen, but I could imagine it).

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          4. Bahahaha! That would be terrible. 😛 I’ll admit, I rely on the main feed far more than I should (again, those lists aren’t prominent enough). I, too, tend to check out individual members’ profiles if I haven’t seen anything from them in a while. It’s why I “like” your spa day tweets like, fifteen hours after they’re relevant!

            I can’t seem to find your e-mail address on your site. Can I please have it? I promise, I’m no spam-bot. 😉

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          5. Yep, that’s exactly what happens to me 🙂

            You should see my email attached to the comments I leave on your site, in your dashboard. Anyone, I just sent you one. Let me know if you don’t receive it.

            And yeah, I really need to setup a “contact me” page on my site. I’ve been meaning to, along with other general overhaul tasks, but just haven’t gotten to it. I’m a procrastinator of the worst kind. 😦

            Liked by 1 person

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