A Liebster Award to Start an Awesome Week

The amazing Yolanda Renee at DEFENDING THE PEN just nominated this humble blog for a new Inspirational Liebster Blog Award and that's awesome. The best way to start a week, even if you are an extremely tired, overwhelmed writer like me. It made me smile and think that I'm moving in the right direction with this blog, and my writing life.

Yolanda is a great blogger with tons of amazing book suggestions and interesting context for everyone who likes to read. She also happens to be about to release not one, but two of her own books: MURDER, MADNESS, AND LOVE in August, and MEMORIES OF MURDER in September. You can learn all about them here.

So, the rules for this award are:

1. Display logo in your blog to show you've been nominated!

2. Link back to your nominator.

3. Share 7 things about yourself. 

4. Nominate 7 other bloggers for the award. 

5. Notify your nominees. 

I also have to answer to 11 questions. So, without further ado, here are my answers...

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
           Mexico City
WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
           Connecticut
IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
           Orange
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
           Warm Bodies
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
           THREE MILES PAST by Stephen Graham Jones
THE POWER GOES OUT.  IT WILL BE OUT FOR SEVERAL HOURS. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOURSELF?
           Grab a book and read, while the girls are happy and self-entertained. If the hubby is close by, we'll just talk our heads off until we're sleepy, or the girls need us
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
           La Oreja de VanGogh (Spanish pop group)
GREATEST STRUGGLE AS A WRITER?
          When to stop tweaking a story. It can always be better, right?
WHAT IS THE ONE BOOK YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD READ?
           If you like horror, you need to read Algernon Blackwood and Dracula. If you like fantasy, read Jules Verne. Whatever your genre, read the classics. They were the innovators, theirs were the original stories. The rest of us are just trying to not mess things up.
IF YOU COULD BE ONE OF THE GREEK GODS WHO WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?
           I don't know much about Greek Gods, but how about Isis of the Egyptian pantheon? I like a strong matriarch who's not beneath cutting the balls off a jerk. And now you know why I write horror...
WEIRDEST THING YOU'VE EVER BEEN TOLD BY A FORTUNE COOKIE?
           Don't remember a single one of 'em. I don't put much stock in fortune, though

SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

1. I lack the span of attention necessary to knit. I started several scarfs through my youth. Never once did I finish.
2. Egypt was the first place I went on vacation with my own money, which I earned working at a Starbucks for a year, and selling my car.
3. I love horror everything and that's mostly what I read, yet the first novel I outlined was a Romance/Family Saga. I'm still working on it.
4. I'm a Libra and my husband is a Libra. Making decisions in this family takes a long time, but we have plenty 'artistic outbursts' (read tantrums).
5. I played with Barbies until I was fourteen years old.
6. I'm in love with Vincent Price's voice. I mean, c'mon! Thriller, anyone?
7. I used to read Tarot Cards when I was in my early twenties, but after a series of strange events I stopped. Never charged a dime. For years old 'clients' wrote to tell me how things I'd told them came to happen.

There you go. Fun, Fun, Fun! Now, for my nominees...

Lexa Cain - 

Mina Lobo at Some Dark Romantic

Nicole Singer at Write Me a Word

Elizabeth Twist -

These are all ladies with unique voices, amazing intellect, and a whole lot to say. Do not miss their blogs!

And for those reading this post, thank you for making my blogging life such an enriching experience. I treasure each of your comments. Most of the time you offer me great comfort and support. Here's to another hundred awards and a million publications!

About Inspirations and Awards

I know its a bit last for my usual post, and not a new review, but I spent most of my afternoon actually writing! I'm beyond excited since I'd spent most of the summer doing everything but writing, so immediately I knew I had to dedicate this post to this very special afternoon.

First, let's talk about inspiration. Few of you would know that my husband is actually quite a creative and artistic soul. I usually don't talk about my family life in here, but today I think it bares being told. Early in his life, he took music classes and I don't know if those awakened his artistic side, or it is because he already had a creative mind that he pursued music like more than a passing hobby. However, becoming a musician was not in his stars and after dedicating a good part of his teen years to compose his own music, along with his cousin and a group of alike teens, he let it go. At the same time he was actively drawing and writing, in fact he finished a novella and wrote the first half of a novel, then he started working and all those things went away.

After more than ten years without touching his ms, which I read way back when, we have been toying with the idea of re-writing it. Both of us, as coauthors. He's not sure he has the time to commit and wants me to take his project, infuse it with my own spark, and finish it, but I want him to be an intrinsically part of it. It is his baby, after all, and his vision is very special, so I don't want to mess with it.

But with all this in my mind, and thinking that I wanted to share with you something more beside another review, I decided write what was supposed to be a flash piece of less than 300 words. As I put pencil to paper--this time I did it the old fashioned way and loved it!--his old short story kept coming back to my mind and it inspired me to write a piece outside of my realm, though still supernatural. This flash? short?-- I still don't know until I type it and know the word count--is a lot more philosophical and romantic.

I love it, though I realize there is a lot of work ahead for it to be ready, but the first draft is done! In one afternoon! It feels so good to be back writing, really.

I'm sharing with you a snippet of it and then we'll be moving along to the next piece of happiness but, please, any comment is appreciated. I know these are barely a few lines, but thinking it will be, at the most, 700 words long, you should get a good feel about the tone, style, and maybe the theme, but I'm trying to keep that a bit of a mystery.

"Does God really exist?" I used to ask myself back when life was complicated with divorce threats, bills unpaid, and no time but to work. --My name. What is my name?--


Then, it all ended. The wake of a world in flames. No more failed relationships, nor time to complain.


At the end of another day in this dead earth, he came. Cloaked in black, I could not see his face. In his hands a glass ball like those I used to stare at novelty stores, but there was no quaint landscape inside. The snow was gray like ash, nothing left but blackened timbers instead of a house. --My name, oh, sweet God. Why can't I remember?--


He glided toward me, letting the putrid air carry him; and though I felt fear, I did not move, waiting for him to deliver the news.

~Extract of WINTER IN A GLASS BALL by Georgina Morales.~

Hope you like it!

Now, the awesome Paige Lollie from The Dream Words was so sweet to remember my name when a couple of new awards came her way. First of all, she deserved the awards and I hope you take a few more moments to stop by her place and check it out. You'll love it!

Now, as far as I understood, all I have to do is thank her--duly noted--and nominate six blogs myself. So, my nominations for the Fabulous Ribbon Blog and Be Inspired Awards are:

Chris Fries

Michael Pierce

Lynn Proctor

Catalina Egan

Mina Lobo

Deniz Bevan

Thanks to all of you, guys, for being friends and lead with your own hard work.

The Booker Award

Well, a new week has rolled by and I'm still enjoying my time with family over in Mexico. Things are hectic as I run to one friend's house to another, visiting family and small towns I hadn't been in years. We're having a blast, but I can't just forget about you. Today I write to thank my new friend Michael Pierce for awarding me The Booker Award, an award that can only be bestowed to blogs which most of its content is dedicated to books.

Thank you, Michael, I truly admire you as a writer and it makes it even more significant to receive recognition from someone like you. If you don't know him, today is the perfect day to head over his site, as he's taking part of the First Fight/First Kiss bloghop where the participating blogs share the first fighting scene of one of their books, as well as the first kissing scene. There are all kinds of yummy fights to enjoy, but Michael's is a pure delight. Don't miss it.

The rules for this award:

This award is for book bloggers only. To receive this award the blog must be at least 50% about books (reading or writing is okay)
Along with receiving this award, you must also share your top five favorite books you have ever read. (More than five is okay) You must give this award to 5-10 3 (I'm bending the rules a little) other lucky book blogs you adore.

Gosh, choosing only five books is an incredibly difficult task, but rules are rules, so here you have a few of the books I've enjoyed the most, or that have been a great inspiration in my life. Some are 'short' stories, but I guess they count regardless of its length.

1. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar A. Poe.

2. The Death of Halpin Fraiser by Ambrose Bierce.

3. Rhymes and Legends by Gustavo A. Bequer.

4. Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo.

5. A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

6. Aztec by Gary Jennings.

Sorry, but I couldn't let out one of these...

Now, for the three book blogs I adore. Choosing three book-devoted blogs proved to be another incredibly hard choice. I follow more than a hundred blogs and most of them are dedicated to books in one way or another and I love them all. So, I chose the ones I think are the most helpful when choosing what to read next. Here you have my nominees:

1. Krazy Book Lady.

2. Big Books, Tiny Voices.

3. Fuzzy, Coffee, Books.

Hope you get as much inspiration to read as I have. Enjoy!

More Awards and an Excuse

Well, life is treating me well and I have good news to share with you. First, I'm on vacation in my lovely Mexico city visiting my parents. I hadn't visited in two years and missed them very much. Right now, I can't get enough of the food, parties, and family stuff. Yippee good times, right? Well, that, of course, has a down size... I'm not as productive as I should be. I already missed one post here (Friday) and will most probably miss a few more, but trying to keep damage to the least, I'll reduce my posts to only one a week on Tuesdays. I'll go back to normal life on July 1 and I promise I'll make it up to you. In the meantime, please be patient. =) And drink a margarita on me.

Now, more good news--I'm telling you, these are good times--This blog, my blog, has been marked as stylish and versatile, who knew?! Thanks, thanks, thanks to Chris Fries who has decided to award Diary with such a nice set of compliments. He rocks and you should visit his blog; he has flash fiction pieces, writerly advice, and many more eclectic posts that I promise you'll find interesting. Besides, he's another author, like you and me, finding his way on this crazy publishing world.

Now, for the Stylish Blogger Award I have to tell you all about the last time I dressed up...

This was about three years ago--stop laughing, I know I'm pathetic--It was our anniversary and the hubby reserved a table for a nice restaurant (Japanese). I got all dressed up and was ready to get out the door, we had to take the girls to a good friend's house. I hollered for them. When my then four year old saw me, she uttered a loud "WOW", hugged my leg, looked me square in the eye, and told me, "You look so stylish!".

You can laugh now.

Now, for the Versatile Blogger Award I have to share with you seven random things about myself. Gee, these always sound so simple and they take me hours. Here I go again...

1. I love science and very early in my teen years I decided I wanted to study Medicine, but since death and the paranormal have always intrigued me so much, I always said I would specialize in Forensic Medicine. In the end I actually got a Masters in Experimental Pathology.

2. I only have one sister, no brothers, and I spent most of her early childhood torturing her by telling her straight-faced that she was adopted. In this story she'd been found in the trash and my parents felt too bad to let her know. I'm only three years older, so you can see how from age eight I was good spinning stories.

3. No, I did not traumatize her and she, eventually, forgave me. Or so she says. She still reminds me of it every Christmas but has still to receive a bigger present from me.

4. I speak three languages: spanish, english, and french. I can read any of those, but my writing french is closer to the way my seven year old writes a book report.

5. I met my husband seventeen years ago. We were introduced by his best friend, whom I dated for three years. Awwwkard!

6. I love, love, love A&E's show My Ghost Story and I'll stop everything I'm doing to watch it. It's sooo freaky!

7. My biggest, stupidest fear is the Zombie Apocalypse. I mean, spiders can kill you, or at least some of them can and I ain't staying to check which kind is the one living in my basement, but the Zombie Apocalypse??? Still, I've spent more that a few sleepless nights devising a plan to survive with my whole family. Just in case.

There, I did it. A few more snippets of who I really am there for you. I hope you find it entertaining, at least. Of course, now is the time for me to name the five blogs I think deserve these awards... but I don't want to just give them to whomever. I want it to mean something, so I'll take my time and come back to you later with the list.

Once again, thanks to Chris Fries and his awesome A Writer's Expanding and Slightly-Warped Universe. I'm humbled to be in the company of such great writers and human beings.

Have fun, enjoy the sun, and remember: I'll be back!

Friday Fun: Kreativ Blog Award

I'm very excited to close the week with a nice recognition from a fellow blogger. Kathy Collier has awarded this humble blog with the Kreativ Blog Award a couple of days ago. I'm beyond myself. Sometimes writing this blog in the still of my office, without a sound but the chirping of the birds on my yard, is easy to forget that I am reaching another human being with my words, comments always help but receiving a blogging award always makes me feel I'm doing something right if people not only enjoy themselves and comment, but remember my ramblings when they are awarded. Amazing. Thanks to Kathy for giving such a bright end to my week, and remember to check her blog KSCollier; after all, she was awarded, too!

Now for the rules:

1.   Thank and link back to the person who presented you with the award. 

2.   Answer the ten questions below.

3.   Share ten random facts/thoughts about yourself.

4.   Nominate seven worthy blogs for the Kreativ Blogger Award.

This ten questions and ten random facts fall perfectly in line with my new 'Friday Fun' policy of posting 'The Best Ten...' lists, isn't it serendipitous? So, here we go.

Ten Questions:

What is your favorite song?

This one is hard, but I guess Christopher Cross' Arthur's Theme Song.

What is your favorite dessert?

Key Lime pay or Cheesecake in any of its glorious forms.

What ticks you off?

Self-rightgeousness.

When you're upset, what do you do?

First, I glare at the infractor--usually, my husband--then I grind my teeth, and I end up raising my voice and pounding him with my witty ways. 

Which is/was your favorite pet?

I've had many through my life but right now I have a cat I adopted when it was a few weeks old (her mother died) and, to be sincere, I don't know what will be of this family when she departs for greener, higher pastures.

Which do you prefer to wear, black or white?

I love white but after almost ten years of wearing a white uniform during my years in Medicine, I hardly ever wear it.

What is your biggest fear?

To have something horrible happen to my girls.

What is your attitude mostly?

I'm positive but very pragmatic. I don't tend t waste my time daydreaming about things I think are too far away in my future or may never come. I try to concentrate in the present, and though sometimes I'm not immune to self doubt, I always pick myself up and move forward.

What is perfection?

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Spending a day in my Pj's watching TV in the couch. Ah, those glorious days...

Ten Random Things About Me:

1. I'm the lamest history buff ever, but I'm working hard to get better.

2. In 1986 I was ten years old and watched The Night of the Creeps as a dare, which launched my life-long fear of zombies. I also hate leeches to this date.

3. Two years later I watched Dawn of the Dead adding to my psychosis the fear to wake up one day to a world overrun by zombies.

4. One of my cousins who loved He-Man and ThunderCats had both complete collections of action figures, including Grayskull Castle and Snake Mountain. I was always both, Cheetara and She-ra, leaving my sister with no option but to be Skeletor, since she wouldn't want to be any other character and my cousin was Lion-o. Snake Mountain had the coolest microphone, so we always (my cousin and I) mounted an attack on Skeletor, trapped him in the dungeons for the rest of the game, and sang songs with the micro. =)

5. I can't whistle.

6. I'm a very decent cook of mexican food. Not too bad for a girl who, at sixteen, couldn't prepare scrambled eggs to save her life.

7. In Mexico we all live with our parents until we get married, doesn't matter if you're twenty or thirty-five. I  was twenty-eight when my father walk me down the isle.

8. I have a terrible case of arachnophobia, yet I can pet snakes like if they were kitties.

9. I have to sleep with the closet doors firmly closed thanks to Stephen King's The Boogeyman.

10. When I was pregnant with my first girl I watched Dumbo for the first in twenty years and cried the whole time. Now, it is one of my daughter's favorite. Go figure.

And now, my seven Kreativ Award Winners:

1. Chris Fries' A Writer's Expanding and Slightly-Warped Universe.
2. Michael Pierce's Blog.
3. Nicole's Write me a Word.
4. Stan Litore's Zombie Bible (And Other Books).
5. J.E. Lowder's blog.
6. Lynn's My Life as Lynn Proctor.
7. Laura Robert's Rebels of the 512.
Check them out.  They all work hard to have awesome content for everyone.

Thanks to all my friend bloggers and followers for making this experience such a blast. And remember, next tuesday I'll be posting the review for the final Hunger Games book, Mockingjay. Don't miss it. Enjoy your weekend!

Versatile Blogger Award

When I started this blog in late 2009, I had no idea of what I was going to write about or if someone might be interested in reading. I started, nonetheless. Since then I've learned a lot, I've become a true fan of many other blogs, and I've worked very hard to build this place as a blog where other authors can get interesting advise, share their own ideas and problems, and readers can find all kinds of stories and news from their favorite authors.

I wouldn't say, by all means, that the site is exactly where I want it to be, nor I am done learning all there is to know about blogging or writing. It is all a process but when you receive the acknowledgement from exactly those you were thinking about when creating something, it's always a sweet moment and a sign that you must be doing something right.

A week ago I received the wonderful news that this blog was the proud recipient of the Versatile Blogger Award. I feel very happy and inspired to keep moving forward and grow in which ever direction life takes me. Now, it's time to tell you about the rules of the award.

Thank and link to the blogger who bestowed the award.

Share seven random facts about yourself.

Spread the love by passing the award to five other bloggers.

In my case, I sincerely thank Roberta Goodman and her inspiring blog Ro-alwaysinspired for thinking about me and making the start of my 2012 all the more positive. You have to check down her place. Awesome!

Now, about selecting just five deserving blogs... it was a hard call but, alas, here are my five:

• The Krazy Book Lady blog by Tami for all its great reviews, initiatives, and interviews.
• The Christopher Godsoe blog for his awesome writerly advise and reviews.
• The D. Robert Pease blog for always having something new and interesting for young readers.
• The DL Fowler blog for having such a great mix of inspiring advise, excellent reviews, and engrossing historic facts.
• The Axel Howerton blog for always creeping me out with terrifying stories, new reads, and just all around hair-raising content.

 And finally, seven random facts about myself:

1. I have two daughters whom I adore. They revealed to me my true vocation: Being a mother. Everything falls behind it. Even writing.

2. I'm terrified of spiders and that is the only fear I won't be exploring in my books. Ever.

3. All of my books and stories are interconnected by a character they have in common, the name of the town, or some other small detail that I leave as a clue.

4. I love traveling, small quaint towns are my favorite. I hope one day I'll have visited at least one or two towns per state in Mexico, and when I'm older and richer, I'll go around the world.

5. As a child, I lived in Madrid for a year. I attended school there, second grade, and being introduced to medieval European literature at that early age had a lasting effect on me. That's when books became a works of art in my mind.

6. I used to terrorize one of my mother's sisters by spinning tales about my neighbors, who made lots of noise at night but were really quiet during the day. I'd tell her they were vampires and fed on young children and homeless people. She hated staying overnight. =)

7. I always start imaging a story from the ending and then work backwards. When I'm finally ready to write, I'll have a general idea of how it'll begin, but I have it clear how it'll end.

Well boys and girls, I hope you take a look at those amazing blogs I mentioned before, you never know what you might find. Thanks for sticking up with me and this crazy trip I call life, you've made it a lot more interesting and complete. Will be seeing you soon!

My First Blog Award!

Last night I found out I was awarded the Liebster Blog Award and, as most of you, I had no idea what I had done to deserve it. Reading about it through the internet, I realized it is granted by the readers to their five favorite blogs; then the receiver must thank the blog who awarded him/her (like I needed a rule to make me thank Lacy for her kindness) and choose the five blogs that'll receive the award from him/her.

I'm ecstatic, I mean, my first award of any kind and given by someone who finds my writing entertaining enough to deserve a special badge. So awesome!

Thanks Lacy, you just made my day. Of course, I'd be dishonoring Lacy Ferris if I were not to point you in her direction. Her blog Inside My Mind is full of great advise, useful info, and just simply entertaining. And I'm not just saying it, do not miss it.

Now, the time has come for me to pay it forward and share with you those blogs that I think are insightful, interesting, and entertaining. My five favorite blogs are:

The Swollen Corpse by Sam Williams

Dreams Galore by Shilpa Mirza

No Vacation From Speculation by Jessica McHugh

Steeped in Books by Georgia Saunders

The Fiction Hole by Jay Taylor


So, in accepting the Liebster Blog Award, the recipient agrees to:

- Thank the person that gave the award and link back to their blog

- Copy and paste the award to your blog

- Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog

- Hope they pay it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honor

This award is for anyone with under 200 followers. :)


Let's keep the karma flowing guys and congrats to all!