Some time back, not so long ago, but still, a little while in the past, I have been nominated for this much, much, very-very much appreciated Award by someone very special to me (and very special altogether, I am pretty sure anyone would agree)

Now, I just thought about describing her without naming her anywhere through my whole post, as a joke, but since she is mad a me at the moment (:P) I won’t do that.

Thank you Suze, you very sweet you! For those (few, I am sure) of you who don’t already know Madame Suze, please, do yourself a favor, and visit her blog! Suze is one of the most amazing people I’ve met on Word Press! She is brilliant, soooo dang funny, caring, and if she decides to stalk your blog, you’ll be sure to have the most incredible exchanges via your “comment” box.

Suze is a reading machine, and she writes a lot too… Her posts follow her humor “du moment” and she enters all kind of challenges, that allow us to learn more about her life. And what a life she had so far!!  Her anecdotes will make you pee your pants or shed a tear… But they can’t leave you indifferent… If you’re new to Suziland, you might think Suze is making some of this stuff up, but I am among the Madame Suze believers, I know she only speaks the truth, is never wrong, and will always be welcome to Montréal!! (she won’t tell me where she lives, and the pending restraining order threats are keeping me calm… for now..)

Muuuaaaahhh! Suze! – And here is a standing ovulation, just for you!!  (you don’t understand? You’d like to understand? Click here!) Thank you one more time for thinking about me for one of your nominations, and sorry for taking time to post my reply 🙂

 

 

Here are the Rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog. (check!)
• Write a post to show your award. (check!)
• Attach the award to the post. (check! Things are going smoothly so far!!)
• Give a brief story of how your blog started.
• Give a piece of advice or two to new bloggers.
• Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to.
• Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them & provide a link to the award post you created.

 

The origin of the Cove… Briefly? Seriously? Ok then, to make a long story short (don’t be fooled, I never learned how to do that!) the Cove was founded out of necessity. A little over a year ago, I had never heard of Word Press, and to me blogging was something professionals did for obscure reasons. (I had heard about bloggers on tv or the radio, but the concept was far from clear for me)

When I finished my first “for the heck of it” novel, I had developped a daily need to write, and my Denmark frenzy was starting to annoy people around me. My family and friends were almost threatening to de-friend me on Facebook if I didn’t stop mentionning Vikingland… Sad uh? So I needed a place to vent and let myself loose, and that’s how the Cove started… Brief enough? lol

 

Advice? Hmmm… I don’t really feel fit to tell others what to do or not to do, still being fairly new to the Bloggosphere myself. And not really having rules I follow in my way of taking care of the Cove….  But there are two points I can bring up for new faces in our cyber-community;

1. Be patient. Personally, I had no goal when I started in November 2015. I know that some people will catch attention quickly and add up the new readers naturally, but in other cases, no matter how interesting your blog is, it will just take time. And my best advice, if you want to increase the number of people who will visit your blog, is to look for “Meet and Greet” parties! A lot of people mingle during those virtual parties, and it is a great way to find new blogs to follow, and get people interested in what you do!
2. Don’t be agressive. That might be a personal thing, but I really don’t like receiving a message in my comment box such as “I like your blog, please follow mine!” Go for a softer “I really enjoy your blog, and I’d be glad if you paid mine a visit…” Or even better, just be kind to people whose work you enjoy, and express your appreciation. Often, people will come naturally to see what you have in store. I know I do.

 

Okie, time for my nominations… (buckle your seatbelt!)

 

Mackmarie: Mack’s place, and a great one too. I love Mack, she’s just such a lovely, bubbly, positive, beautiful in & out person, and I genuinely loooooove her. Her only flaw is to live so far from Montréal, but someday I’ll head South and meet my favorite Sunshire Ray straight from California!! Mack talks about her everyday life, and after one post, you’ll want to follow her blog to know what’s happening next… My advice though: eat before reading Mack… She’s always baking or at the restaurant, and everything looks good. I’ve put on 5 pounds reading her already!

The Bag Lady : If my memory is good, this is one good example of my second advice, above. I started to follow Bag Lady’s blog after interacting with her in the Cove. I really enjoy her short stories and her poetry… And having a quick comment-chat every now and then 🙂

Kira Scribbled : Kira has a great sense of humor, and a dark side that is quite unusual, at least from what I have explored of WP so far. And I find that great… While it is fun and soothing to read positive up lifting posts, a good bloody zombie tale from time to time is “refreshing” and the fact that it comes from a girl like Kira makes it even more interesting!

Yesterday After: Home of Carolina. I’ve found her through a Meet & Greet party, and what a catch! Carolina is such a sweet woman, very kind, and her art work is absolutely incredible! I can’t get tired of her water paintings, and she always joins a little story about the piece posted 🙂

Heartstring Eulogies: Sarah.. My oh my… Sarah… She was one of the first bloggers I followed, and she still amazes me everytime she publishes a post! For poetry and short stories that will make you sigh big time. Sarah can take a handful of words and draw you a heart wrenching story anytime! I am a big big big fan of her work!

A Reading Writer: I “met” Rosema when she and Sarah hosted the grrreeeeaaaat #NovemberNotes Challenge (for which I still have a few posts to write..) I really enjoy her poetry, and she is a darling to interact too! She came up with my favorite comment, for romantic stories or poetry: “This tickles the heart”… I love it!

Flying Through Water : Nikki used to be the host of “A Kinder Way” and you’ve certainly seen her around. She now takes care of this new blog, and still provides us daily with postitive posts and her usual kindness… Hey, can take Nikki out of A Kinder Way, but you can’t take the kinder way out of her 😉

The Cabbage Patch : Linda is also a dear friend of mine now. I met her on WP on a not-so-good day, and before I knew it, we had exchanged email adresses and cellphone numbers… Linda is some kind of cosmic sister (joined by the hip, right Sis?) and although life will make it difficult to reply to this nomination, The Cabbage Patch does deserve this Award 100%. Come and have a look at her posts, and dare tell me you didn’t giggle once! I guarantie you will love Linda humor… She is just dang witty and fun! Love you Gorgeou!

 

Photography:

Enchanted Forests : Mukul always have magical pictures and descriptions of these Enchanted Forests… As I’ve told him a few times, such a zen blog to come and spend time at!!

Little Black Star : A lot of black & white work…. I love the sceneries, and the use of B&W or washed colors…

Sijo Punathil Photography : Sijo does a.ma.zing pictures of nature. His close ups are to die for… I discovered him through one of my last Meet & Greet party…. A keeper!

Valsdarkroom: Ok… As we say in French, this is a real “Coup de coeur”! The abandonned building’s pictures in this blog are ALWAYS breathtaking. Be it a former hospital, a plant or an old house… I never get tired of this artist!!

 

My Blogging partners

Dream Big Dream Often : Earlier this year, I discovered the possibility to partner up with Danny. To say the truth, I joined in more out of curiosity than pure strategy for the Cove’s future… And I am still there. Danny is a very positive person to have around, and he is helpfull and always seems in a jolly good mood! (I’m sure he has his “dang-this-world” days too, but he hides it well hehehe) I love his daily questions, he often makes me think long about them…  And every now and then he has a partner opening spot (I think it is the case, as I write this… Just ask him, if you are curious)

Lucky Otter’s Haven : My brand new partner in crime… I like going to the Haven, because, well, it is an Otter’s Haven, and from Cove to Haven, I feel comfy there! The Blog is mostly dedicated to help people having trouble with disorders such as narcissism (I will not go into details, but come have a look for yourself). But there are all kinds of anecdote posts, and really funny articles too (still recovering from the All Bloggers are Losers one! LOOOL)

 

Well, oh well… That was a lot of work! I hope you’ll give a little love to my nominees, and nominees, please let me know if you accept my Award, because, yeah, I am a little behind in my readings lately, and I might not notice it right away on my own 😉

Also note that I had many other names in mind… but the rules say 15, and I am not Suze @li@s The Rule Breaker!!  LOL

Great evening to all of you 🙂