Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Susan at Life Takes Lemons has very kindly given me the Very Inspiring Blogger award, having been awarded it herself. She writes an extremely interesting blog, mainly on the eighteenth century, usually by taking a person or object and focussing on them. Her biography of Moll King is one of my favourite bits of web writing.


Recipients of the award have to say 7 facts about themselves and then nominate 7 blogs for the award.


Things About Me

• As a child I had over 50 handpuppets. They all had names and personalities and by the time I was 15 I had imagined the island they lived on, their political system, their history and their own myths and legends.

• I first knew I wanted to be a writer at the age of seven, after writing a story about a fox called Fox who got his revenge on a farmer after he killed all of Foxes brothers and sisters.

• I was very keen on acting as a child and played child roles in a number of adult amateur productions, often as a character called Edmund. 

• I was born prematurely at 1lb 14 oz, a statistic that raises eyebrows when they see my current portly frame.

• I've had a varied career so far, having started work maintaining priceless books, to taking period portrait photographs, dressing as a zombie and promoting attractions and most ludicrous of all, as a waiter - where I once broke 300 plates in one shift.

• Now I work as a teaching assistant in a class of 5 and 6 year olds. Sometimes they tell me off for being immature.

• My slightly obsessive nature extends out of eighteenth century books and into other realms, including various types of music. My favourite peoples are Ian Dury, Misty's Big Adventure and Flipron.

My Recommendations


Letters of Note is a fascinating blog that publishes letters from all around history. You never know what subject or person is coming next, but it can range from Leonardo Da Vinci applying for a job to Harper Lee talking about illiteracy.


Bills of Mortality and Sudden Death looks closely at London's bills of mortality and probes them to see what the deaths, especially unusual one tell us about the city at various times. Macabre and interesting.


Writers Worth a website designed to get writers talking to each other. Also check out the Writers Worth group at goodreads.


And finally, four blogs taking the courageous journey of Clarissa with me. Take time to check out the well thought out literary thoughts of these brave people.


Lakeside Musing


Tip of the Iceburg


Spark's Notes


Tell Me a Story 


After checking all those interesting blogs, I hope you come back to your...