Liebster Blog Award. I got nominated! Sorta...

Thank you Saoirse O'Mara for nominating me for the Liebster Blog Award!  What is the Liebster Blog Award you may ask?  It's an award for blogs with less than 200 followers that deserve to be looked at and followed.  If you've never heard of it, don't feel bad.  I had to look it up to.  

What does it entail?  I shall tell you!  I'm cool like that.  I have to offer up 11 random things about myself.  Then I have to answer 11 questions as posed to me by the person who nominated me.  THEN I have to pass it on to 11 other bloggers with questions of my own. That last part will be difficult because I don't even know 11 bloggers that fit the criteria.  I've put out the Bat-signal on Facebook for people who may be interested.  So, we'll see what happens with that!  I hope I get 11, otherwise I'll lose all street cred and get booted off of the internet...FOREVER!  Kidding...or am I?

Let's get started, shall we?

11 Random Facts About Moi.

1. I'm colorblind.  (If you ask me if I can only see in black and white I will seriously hurt you.)
2. I've never seen Gone With The Wind.
3. Blue is my favorite color.
4. I hate to fly.
5. I played lead guitar in a working cover band for three years.
6. I have several hermit crabs named after Star Trek characters.
7. I've seen the original Total Recall at least 128 times and it never gets old.
8. I was an award winning artist (drawing, etc) as a teenager.
9. When I was a wee lad, I wanted to be a paleontologist when I grew up.
10. I'm the youngest of four by 8 years.
11. My favorite group of all time is Iron Maiden.

My 11 Questions as Posed To Me By The Lovely Saoirse.

1. Cats or dogs?  Why?  Dogs.  We have an 8 year old Sheltie/Eskimo mutt named Dizzy.  Growing up we always had cats and I still dig them but now I'm allergic.
2. Where would you go on holiday if you could freely choose?   Italy.  If you couldn't tell by my last name, my heritage is from that big boot in the Mediterranean and I'd love to visit.  Of course, if you look at #4 above, I don't fly.  But that's what boats are for.  I like boats.  Yearrrrrhhhhh. 
3. What was your favorite book as a child?  I didn't have a particular favorite, but I'd always loved the Boxcar Kids growing up.  And anything with dinosaurs in it.
4. Which of your blog posts would you most like to have picked up by a newspaper?   Eek.  I primarily talk about myself on my blog (probably why I have next to zero followers).  In the interest of self-interest, I'd say any of the ones involving great reviews of my self published short story 'Words With Fiends'.  (On sale now!)
5. Which language(es) would you like to learn and why?  Italian, so I could follow through with my answer to question #2 above...as long as I get there on a boat!
6. Have you ever left your house in your pajamas?  Where were  you going? As an adult?  Um, no.  If it weren't for my wife and her meddling dog I may have though!  As a kid?  Sure.  Many times when I was sick as hell and was dragged to the doctor's office.
7. Why are you participating in this blog award? Because I'd like more followers.  I have shit to say and it's important, dammit!  That and I'd like to help out other bloggers who should have a healthy following as well.
8. Indie or traditional? (If you're not a writer, do you care how the books you read are published?) I'm indie.  Mostly because I don't have the patience to do submissions, write query letters and kiss ass only to have to wait months on end and have it be rejected.  As a reader?  I don't care how it's published as long as I'm entertained by the story.  There's a stigma against Indies it seems;that because they don't have a publisher they're 'second class writers'.  I think that's a crock of shit.  I've read plenty of independently published books that have been better than some traditionally published books.  True story.
9. If you could read the thoughts of just one person who would it be?  I'm going out of the box on this one:  my dog.  I'm convinced that animals have all the answers but they lack the vocal chords to communicate with.
10. Who would you like to write your obituary?  Why?  Oh, tough one!  I could go with my favorite author, the incomparable Ken Follett, but I think I'll take the fun path here.  Scott Nicholson.  His mind is a twisted, hysterical landscape of bizarre imagery and I think he'd write a fantastic one.
11. What would most likely be on your tombstone?  Wow.  Morbid.  Hmmm.  Probably "Here lies Matt Schiariti.  Loving Husband, Father, and Son.  You should have listened to the doctor when he said your cholesterol sucked."   

And that's all folks!  I haven't decided on my 11 questions yet as I'm waiting to see who's interested.  If I get bites by writers, I'll make some writing-specific questions.  There will be a couple doozies in there as well, I promise you that!  So far I have five takers:

John Green
Nic Echo
Amy Marshall
Randi Edwards
38 Caliber Reviews

I'm going to put the feelers out and when I get 11 I'll conjure up my questions and name the hapless souls involved.  It'll all be in the comments section.

Until next time!

UPDATE!

So I've got a fourth victim, erum, volunteer.  I'm not sure how much longer I have on this so in the interest of impatience and ignorance, I'm gonna post up my questions and just let it fly! 

This should be easy for them, as I have one question...IN 27 PARTS!!! I kid...honest....no, seriously...I'm just joking....here we go folks!

1. If you're a writer, tell us a little bit about any current projects you have going on.  If you're a blogger, give us a synopsis of what your blog's all about and what you'd like to accomplish with it.  If you're both then by all means answer both parts!
2. In 200 words or less, answer the following question:  Cake or Pie?
3. What are your pet peeves?
4. What are your favorite books/authors/genres?
5. If I asked you to lend me $20, would you, and do you have paypal?
6. What inspires you?  Answer in regards to writing, blogging, anything from your life.  Whatever you choose.
7. If you could be one household appliance, what would you choose to be and why?
8. Through a twisted turn of fate, you're given the choice to either be blind or deaf.  Which would you pick and why?
9. What would be your dream job?  (And don't say 'author'.  Since we're all bookish here, that's already assumed and if it's not, too bad)
10. If you could sit in a bar and toss back a drink with any writer from ANY time period, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you be drinking?
11. A train leaves Chicago at noon, heading east at 120 mph.  At the same time a duck leaves Philadelphia, heading west at 12 mph.  Where and when do they meet?  (This is obviously a joke, but if you can answer it and show me your backup calculations, you deserve this award.)
12. (This is the REAL #11)--If you could pick any one actor/actress to play you in the movie of your life, who would it be?   

And that's all folks!  Remember, I'll gladly pay you next Tuesday for some blog hits today!

Until next time, folks!