A Blogging Award for chefjohnmalik.com

My good friend Shaunda Wenger has awarded chefjohnmalik.com with the Versatile Blogger award.  This is an informal trophy that bloggers pass back and forth to let their followers know who they follow, admire and appreciate.  Shaunda is a gifted writer and author of nine books and her first book (which we have) the Book Lover’s Cookbook, Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature was an NPR Holiday (Christmas) gift pick in 2003.  Her most recent books fall under the genre of Children and Young Adult and her current release is Reality Bites, Tales of a Half-Vampire.  If you’re one of my regular readers you know how I feel about the vampire thing but lots of readers are fascinated by it.  My daughter and I both read and thoroughly enjoyed The Ghost in Me, a very clever and charming take on the Freaky Friday theme.  Shaunda has written five books for the educational market and in 2010 she formed her own publishing company.  Although the Versatile Blogger is a very informal award, coming from Shaunda it means a lot to me.  And since she thinks so much of my writing and blogging I plan on pestering her to no end when I get close to finishing my next novel.  But don’t tell her that, I would prefer she find out at the appropriate time.  Along with receiving this award I’m asked to reveal seven things about myself so here goes:

I wholeheartedly believe in God and believe he created the God particle and I enjoy discussing my faith in a respectful manner

I love being outdoors and listening to bird calls and I’m pretty good at identifying them

I love great ice cream, gooey French cheeses, thick fatty steaks, dark brownies with ice cream, fried chicken, coffee topped with whipped cream and succulent bacon cheeseburgers but try not to eat them that often

I love the taste of my own sweat and believe that’s key to staying healthy

I would sky dive, rock climb, cliff dive and race mountain bikes first thing tomorrow morning if Amy would let me (something about E/R bills)

I cry easily in emotional movies but will sit through the credits until my tears dry, lest someone sees that I’ve been crying

Many years ago I saved a little girl and her father from drowning in the Atlantic ocean

I am desperately in love with my wife… you probably knew that already but I do like saying it and that’s eight anyway

Thank you Shaunda.  I am truly flattered.

If you’re looking for a clever Young Adult novel, here’s The Ghost in Me

If you would like to take a look at her Book Lover’s Cookbook

And here’s her blog.

Now to pass this award on, I’ll nominate:

 The Rock Star Dad he makes Roller Derby videos, cooks for his kids and loves a good doughnut

Tom Stronach  Want a commentary on the bureaucratic morass of  merry old England?  Tom’s a grandfather blogging about all that the UK has to offer-the good, the bad and the bureaucratic insanity

Justin Bogdanovitch  If you just looked at his blog, you would thank that Justin is an quirky internet millionaire that cashed out and now spends all his time talking to his dogs and cats.  In reality, he’s a hard-working writer that no doubt suffers from sleep deprivation.  He’s an editor at In Classic Style magazine, has a collection of short stories out (Sandcastle and Other Stories) and is working on four or five novels, all at the same time so it’s no wonder he talks to his dogs so much.  Heck, his dogs talk to one another on his blog.  Um, Justin…when was the last time you got 8 hours?

The Average Joe Geek  At first glance Jason’s blog is a gamer’s delight.  It’s full of updates on X Box, Play Station, Modern Warfare, none of which I play.  However, Jason also has well-written and keen observations on the latest tech gadgets such as tablets, smart phones, smart phone apps and PC’s.  He’s direct and knowledgeable and he beats his products up prior to posting his reviews.  Want to know if the Android or iPhone will survive a spin in the garbage disposal?  Ask Jason, he’s probably done that.

Julia R Barrett  The sweetest girl on the internet.  Julia writes romance novels, very good romance novels.  She has also been a pastry chef, a nurse and an editor for the University of Iowa Press and if that’s not enough to like, she lives in the Napa Valley.  She’s been incredibly kind to me.

Wild Yeast  While most of this country is jumping on the gluten free band wagon (and for reasons I really don’t understand) this blog is a proclamation of just how amazing and wonderful bread can be.  Embrace it my dear friends, do not be afraid of it.