What a sweet end to 2020 – I’ve been nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award by Pages of the Moone! This blog is run by my lovely friend Jo, we also co-host The Island Library podcast. You can check that out here! She blogs about books, lifestyle topics and mental health, and is well worth a follow.
The Sunshine Blogger Award is a peer-recognition achievement for bloggers. As part of it, Jo has written 11 questions for me to answer!
What are three positive things that have happened for you in 2020?
This year I’ve moved down to the South coast with my husband. We now live a fifteen-minute walk from the sea, and I love it. I’ve been working as a freelance writer and editor for most of the year, which has been exciting! Sometimes scary, sometimes difficult, but always fascinating. And I love the writers I’ve had the chance to work with. I also launched The Island Library Podcast with Jo, and I’m so proud of the work we’ve put into that this year. We’re one season down already, and raring to go for season 2!
What is something you wish you could tell your younger self?
Don’t go into teaching!! Although there are people I’m glad to have met through teaching, so maybe that wouldn’t be a good one. Maybe I’d just tell her to be gentler with herself? I feel like that’s a lesson I’m still learning, so the earlier I could get started on it the better!
Favourite podcast or song you listen to regularly?
I’ve been listening to Taylor Swift’s ‘Tis the Damn Season A LOT. In terms of podcasts, obviously there’s my own! But I also listen to a lot of Dear Hank and John, The Anthropocene Reviewed and Ologies.
Favourite thing about your 2020?
The many new projects I’ve been able to work on, maybe? Or the fact that I finished a second and somewhat-polished draft of my YA story, which was pretty cool!
How are you going to make your blog grow next year?
More regular posting (I’m aiming for 3 posts per week in January, so keep an eye out for that!) and better social media usage.
What Hogwarts House are you, and do you agree?
Every time I’ve taken a sorting quiz I’ve got Ravenclaw, but I’m like 90% sure I’m a Hufflepuff. My defining characteristic is probably loyalty, rather than studiousness.
Where do you want to travel to in the next year (if we all can)?
If we’re allowed to travel, I’d like to go to France and/or Canada. My brother might be moving to Canada, so that would be a good excuse!
What’s a book or film world you’d love to be in for the day?
This is so tough, because a lot of my favourite stories would be absolutely grim to live in! I think I’d have to go with Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, because I’d love to see the dragons. But they’re at war all the time, so that would be terrifying!
What is your favourite thing about social media?
I’ve met so many lovely people through social media! And there’s a real community spirit in the writing and bookish corners of the social internet.
What, if anything, have you learnt from the last year?
I feel like I’ve learned a lot about freelancing, and how to make it work for me. The importance of setting clear boundaries around my work time, so that I can enjoy evenings and weekends.
What do you hope for next year?
Well, obviously I hope that I’ll be able to see people in person again. Zoom is great in a pinch, but I miss hanging out with friends and family. I’m also hoping to finish a draft of my new YA fantasy story next year, and I’m planning to take a shot at querying my YA contemporary project. I’m hoping for a busy year, basically!
I definitely want to work on reading more blogs next year, but there are a few that I’ve been loving and want to nominate for the Sunshine Blogger Award:
Lovely Audiobooks
Glow Steady
Monogamist Reader
Thinking Moon Blog
And, if you’d like to, here are 11 questions for you to answer!
- What’s your greatest accomplishment or proudest moment from this year?
- What are three positive things that have happened for you in 2020?
- What’s the last film/TV show you watched?
- If you won £1,000,000 (or $1,000,000), what would you do with it?
- What’s something you wish you could tell your younger self?
- What are your blogging goals for next year?
- What’s your favourite thing about blogging?
- Are you making any 2021 New Year’s Resolutions?
- If you could have any famous person, living or dead, at your New Year’s Eve party (covid restrictions aside), who would it be?
- What’s something new you’d like to try next year?
- What do you hope for 2021?
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