Today, my blog, The Moving Quill, is 14 days old and it is such an honour and a thrill to be nominated for a blogger award already!

It is with great humility that I accept the Liebster Award from Vinodini Iyer, who blogs at Ifs, Buts Ands Etcs.

Vinodini and I crossed paths during the A-Z Challenge this year and am I glad we did! She  is one writer who will both write  good content and encourage other writers. This blog has less than 15 posts as of today, but she is one who has motivated me from the word ‘go’. Vinodini is the kind who will read the post and leave an insightful comment. She will take the time to acknowledge the efforts of the blogger, which is such a lovely thing to do! Thank you for the award and the continuous support, my dear!

The Liebster Award states:

If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award and you choose to accept it, 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 on your blog.
2. Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
3. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award and let them know about it.
5. Create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.

Here’s the set of questions I have to answer:

Which is the topic you always wished to write about but haven’t yet?  

Hmm, I am not really sure about that. Fiction is a pretty wide canvas and I am still exploring the limits.

What is that one thing that uplifts your spirits instantly when you’re feeling low?

Music. Every single time.

What is the first thing you notice when you visit a new blog?

The Layout and the writing style. These need to draw me in and hook my interest.

If given a chance to choose who and where would you love to be born as?

Always as myself. I admire others but that is for specific traits.

Which is your favorite musical instrument, to play or listen to?

I love listening to the flute. It has a melodic uniqueness which nothing else possesses.

Which is that one particular habit that sets you apart from the rest?

Ah, that would be my tendency to correct people. I must be annoying a lot of people with that 😉

Any favorite words that you unconsciously use more often than required when you speak or write but would consciously want to reduce using?

There is this phrase, ‘As luck would have it’. I use it a lot when I speak. Writing? I am not too sure. My readers would point out better 🙂

Which is that one book, movie or incident that changed your life?

Nothing specific , really. Although, as books go, I would say P.G. Wodehouse’s writing is what drew me to reading.

If you find yourself on a magic carpet where would you want to escape to?

A place where I can  relive my childhood. Some excellent memories emerge from that phase.

What is your pet phobia?

I dislike cockroaches. With a vengeance!

What’s your favorite quote?

Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress, don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.

Since I have already written more than 25 random facts about myself in another post on my parenting blog, I have linked to that.

Now comes the part where I need to pick and nominate blogs. There really are so many incredible blogs, but I will pick 5 of my favourite ones, in no specific order:

1. Cathy Graham who blogs at Cattitude and Gratitude. Her poems and prose are a witty reminder that life is meant to be lived to the fullest.
2. Tulika Singh who blogs at Obsessive Mom. She writes about parenting twins with a mix of humour, life lessons, dollops of happiness and a lot of other things besides.
3. Aditi Kausiva who blogs at Life is a Journey. Aditi is a prolific writer who does justice to fiction, journal entries, poetry and life in general. Her writing has a ring of sincerity which you identify with immediately.
4. Sreeja Praveen who blogs at The Alter Ego. Sreeja is a past master at the art of fiction. She can draw you in with something as simple as drabble or keep you hooked with a serial story that spans 30 days! She does it with panache and style too.
5. Psych Babbler who blogs at Over Cups of Coffee. I came across Psych via a  writing network and was intrigued by her name. Hopping over to her blog has not left me disappointed. She writes about life lessons, living in the moment and traveling alone among other fascinating topics.

To the nominees,  here are your questions. Do read and answer them, if you choose to accept the award.