Erin Dealey

Any FRIENDS fans out there, my #kidlit pals?

When I was nominated by JEN Garrett over at LexicalCreations for the LIEBSTER AWARD, 

THIS IS WHERE MY BRAIN WENT.

As it turns out, LOBSTERS and LIEBSTERS share a few key points.

On FRIENDS, Ross tells Rachel she’s his lobster because–according to Phoebe–lobsters mate for life.

The LIEBSTER is an award fellow bloggers bestow on blogs that they believe deserve more visitors.

We want you to hang with us for life.

So, uh, welcome to my #kidlit tank, FRIENDS.

If I’ve nominated you, be sure to check out my questions for you below.

As for me, —hear-ye, hear-ye–…I graciously accept this awesome LIEBSTER honor by answering the following

11 Burning Questions that Jen sent:

1. Do you follow many blogs? Why or why not?

Erin: I love bloggers: Class Blogs, Authors, Librarians, Book Reviewers. I follow a bunch on Twitter. Thus I read the blogs they post in their Twitter feed. I’ve tried to follow and/or reply to numerous blogs but usually that requires several hoops such as:

• signing into my own blog
• remembering my lengthy, convoluted (aka secure) password, and
• completing a math problem to prove I’m not a robot.

Honestly, I think the robot would be quicker at the math problems…so how can they really tell?

 2. What ways do you have on your blog for people to follow you?

Erin: Check out the handy widgets WAY UP in the right hand corner there —–>  Which reminds me I need to add a link for Instagram. 

FOLLOW.FOLLOW.FOLLOW.

3. Where (on your blog) do you have ways to follow you? Near the top, to the right, or somewhere else?  Besides the widgets, the same options are at the bottom of every post.

FOLLOW.FOLLOW.FOLLOW.

4. How do you interact with your followers?

Erin: I reply to any and all comments on my blog. (Except for the ones who want me to wire my long lost best friend gobs of money to an undisclosed offshore account because LLBF has left the country on a spur of the minute global adventure… Yeah, right, buddy. ) Sometimes we move the conversation to email or Twitter. Sometimes these are requests for Skypes and/or school visits which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. 

5. Do you worry about building your brand? Why or why not?

Erin: I don’t “worry” about my brand, really. It’s fun to connect with teachers, librarians, readers, publishers, editors, and other authors & illustrators. I am Erin Dealey on ALL social media. (The only place that’s hard to find is my Facebook page, WRITE NOW! AN OCCASIONAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF AUTHOR ERIN DEALEY, FOLLOW.FOLLOW.FOLLOW–This was my very first foray into the land of BRAND. My suggestions for newbies:

• Find the social media that works for you, and concentrate on that.
• Make sure whatever you choose goes by YOUR NAME–not some cutesy Instagrammy moniker no one will recognize.

6. Do you participate in blog hops? If so, what about the hop attracts you?

Erin: Blogs are a great way to get to know cool authors. And I love a tempting GIVEAWAY.

Here’s a recent blog tour celebrating author Holly Schindler’s YA launch for SPARK.

7. Have you ever participated in a virtual blog tour, or had one for your books?

Erin: I’ve participated in #ArmchairBEA. Haven’t had one for any of my books, yet, but I’m open to any and all suggestions.

I spend more time blogging about author pals and their books, or sharing LESSON PLANS for teachers. (I’ve shared these on PINTEREST too.)

8. What is a blog post you’ve read recently and why?

Erin: I loved Do Your Best Writing: Kick Down the Bumpers over at #TwoWritingTeachers, an Author Spotlight by Julie Falatko, author of the delightful  SNAPPSY THE ALLIGATOR (DID NOT ASK TO BE IN THIS BOOK).   

9. What is the last book you’ve read and did you enjoy it?

Erin: My recent reads include THE 14TH GOLDFISH (Jenni Holm); CICI RENO #MiddleSchoolMatchmaker (Kristina Springer); A MONSTER CALLS (Patrick Ness); TOWERS FALLING (Jewell Parker Rhodes); and MS. BIXBY’S LAST DAY (John David Anderson).

You can check out my reviews and such here on GOODREADS.

My WANT TO READs: UNIDENTIFIED SUBURBAN OBJECT (Mike Jung)

and RUBY LEE AND ME (Shannon Hitchcock)

My IN-CASE-YOU-MISSED-IT READS: UP TO THIS POINT (Jennifer Longo)

and THE ONE THING (Marci Lynn Curtis.)

10. What is your favorite breakfast?

Erin: My husband makes THE BEST poached eggs. Of course I will never turn down PIZZA –morning, noon, or night…

11. Which question type do you prefer to answer: a “Would you rather…” or a “What if…”?

Erin: I’m a “What if…” kind of gal. —It’s what authors do every day, isn’t it?

But enough about  me—(There are at least 11 random facts about me in the answers above–Or check me out on social media.)

WHAT IF I’ve nominated you for a LIEBSTER? 

(This means you: Julie Falatko, Holly Schindler, Jen Longo, Mike Jung, Shannon Hitchcock.)

WHAT NOW?

The LIEBSTER Rules:

If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award and you choose to accept it, please write a blog post about the Liebster Award in which you:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog in your post.
2. Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”.
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers. [Some claim that this is a flexible rule, so I’m ignoring it. In fact, I was nominated by someone who doesn’t qualify. 😉 ]
6. Create a new list of questions for the nominees to answer.
7. List these rules in your post (copy and paste from here). Once you have written and published it, you then have to:
8. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!)

Exactly what I thought.

TAG-– Julie Falatko 

Holly Schindler 

Jen Longo 

Mike Jung

Shannon Hitchcock

YOU’RE MY LIEBSTERS!

Here are your QUESTIONS from ERIN DEALEY:

1. Which comes first? Instagram? Twitter? FB? Snapchat? Tumblr? Your blog? *_________ Other
2. Where can I find the latest blog post about your book?
3. Are you connected with BOOK REVIEW bloggers? If so, which ones?
4. Which character in your book(s) is the most like you? (Why?) 
5. What’s the farthest you’ve traveled for a school visit? How did they contact you? (via blog/web site? email? agent? twitter? etc.) 
6. Do you have a favorite TEACHER or LIBRARIAN or CLASS blog? Where can we find it?
7. If I visited your office, would I find any favorite quotes on your wall or desk? Please share one of them.
8. Do you make playlists for your books? Before or after? Can you share a link?
9. Any advice for authors wanting to put together a blog tour for their next books?
10. Which author do you Fan-Geek over? What would you ask him/her if you could? 
11. What question do you WISH I’d asked you? (Please answer it here.)

Looking forward to reading your posts.

LIEBSTERS for life!