A Liebster Award is an award given to smaller bloggers (less than 1,000 followers I think?) for bloggers and readers to get to know each other, promote other great blogs, and expand our blogospheres!

Sarah over at Bookish Rantings has nominated me for this award. (Thanks Sarah!!) If you’re an avid reader looking for upcoming books to check out, Sarah’s blog reviews many books (and there’s been quite a few LGBTQ+ books there too!)

The rules

1. Thank the person who nominated you and put a link to their blog on your blog.
2. Answer the 5 creative and unique questions given to you.
3. Write a small post about what motivates you in life (not just in blogging).
4. Nominate 2 – 6 blogs that you feel would enjoy blogging about this award.
5. Create 5 creative and unique questions for your nominees.
6. List these rules in your post.

Q&A

If you could sit down with one living author and one deceased author, who would they be and why?

Alive author—Susan Quinn. She is the writer of nonfiction book Eleanor and Hick, which tells the story of Eleanor Roosevelt’s love affair with reporter, Laura Hickock. For all of the research needed for this book, I’d love to have a conversation with her about her knowledge of Eleanor. I love searching between the lines, and (although controversial), I’m curious to hear what Quinn thinks happened between Eleanor and Hick beyond the love letters.

Deceased author—Joanna Russ. Not only was Joanna the author of The Female Man, she was also an open lesbian and outspoken feminist in the 70s until her death in 2011. After reading her novel (and left slightly confused), I’ve been curious about more of her work as both a writer and activist. She seemed really beyond her time and would probably be considered controversial today, and I love a good gray area.

Why do you love your favorite book character? Why are they your favorite?

Uh—I don’t even know who my favorite book character is. But I know they’re my favorite because they’re gay.

What five things could someone use to summon your ghost?

1. Taco Bell’s discontinued volcano nacho.
2. A handmade gift of heart-shaped map pieces of all the places my girlfriend and I have visited together.
3. One of my many baseball caps.
4. A specific birthday card my best friend gave to me.
5. My first filled journal.

What’s one unique skill you have?

I’m counting strong, personal communication as a unique skill because so many people in this world lack it. Being vulnerable with people, asking for what you need (and want), providing the appropriate amount of reassurance to someone, creating necessary and spoken boundaries in close relationships, apologizing when you need to, etc. I’d say I’m good at all of those things over years of practice, research, and refinement. But still always striving for better!

You have the chance to erase half your memories. Do you do it? Why or why not?

I think probably not. There is a good chunk of memories I’d like to erase, and a large pool of memories that I really don’t care about either way, but even the negative things created who I am now. And I like the person I am today, so I don’t think I want to forget the things that built this version of me.

What motivates me in life?

I think for a long time this motivation was some kind of goal of finding myself or realizing why the life I had felt uncomfortable. Now that I’ve achieved that for the most part, I find my motivation lies in helping others come close to this too. Or at least feeling like parts of the world can support the person they are. This definitely motivates and inspires pieces for the blog and keeps it running.

Motivation for life in general? More complex, but deals a lot less with abstract feelings than it does with real people and connections. Not to be gross, but I love the people in my life. I love my girlfriend for making me stronger, my sister and brother who have always, always loved me, my best friend who understands my soul, my friend who seems to always knows when I need her, my friend who’s supported me since the ninth grade, my parents, my cousin, the friends I’ve made online, the connections I’ve made through this blog, people who give me advice and believe in me. The connections I make and relationships I have with others will always be the defining factor of my motivation.

Nominations!

You’re not required to do this; it’s up to you bloggers!

1. Autonomous Words (creative nonfiction/poetry)
2. Let’sGetBetter-Treatment (LGBTQ+)
3. nancilwtwriters (music, movies, mental health)
4. Lee’s Existential Outlook (film reviews)

Questions for bloggers!

1. What is your starsign and which starsign do you get along with the best? The worst?
2. What is your favorite thing to write about and why? (Can be a theme, a trope, a topic, a character, anything!)
3. When someone comes to you needing support, are you someone who listens/validates or gives advice/fixes things? When you need support, what type do you usually need?
4. If you were ordering Taco Bell today what would you get?
5. What is a nice compliment someone gave you that has stuck with you?

That’s all folks! As always, consider donating $3 to the blog to keep it running!