Happy Birthday to Me and Award Party 2013!

Tags

Albert Einstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Author Lada Ray, Bernardo Bertolucci, Blog awards, books by Lada Ray, Edgar Cayce, famous pisces, happy birthday, Liza Minnelli, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pisces, Sergei Rachmaninoff, The Earth Shifter, Tony Robbins

Happy March 15th, Ladies and Gents!

Why Happy March 15th? Aw well… because it’s my birthday, and also because it’s a belated 1 year anniversary of my blog.

MORE ABOUT PISCES & MY BIRTHDAY: Being a March baby is fun, as the spring starts awakening at this time of year. The week of March 15th is called the week of “dancers and dreamers.” Many world famous dancers were born during this time… and did I mention, I love to dance! Don’t even get me started on dreaming things up and making them come true! Those who’ve read my books know all about that!

Russian ballet dancer, Rudolf Nouriev. Born March 17th (sharing a birthday with my husband, who’s also a Pisces).

It’s so cool to share my birthday sign with so many innovators, visionaries, dreamers and EARTH SHIFTERS, including Albert Einstein (born March 14, just a few hours before me), Edgar Cayce, Rudolf Nouriev, Sergei Rachmaninov (March 20), Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Alexander Bell, Mikhail Gorbachev, George Washington, Frederick Chopin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Michelangelo, Auguste Renoir, Ansel Adams, Tony Robbins, Liza Minnelli,  Elizabeth Taylor, Bernardo Bertolucci, Glenn Close, Drew Barrimore, Bruce Willis, Cindy Crawford, Elton John, Russian singer Vitas, and many others… It’s a loooooong list for sure.

And another famous and inspired Pisces! In addition to inspiration, spirituality, dance, art, photography, dreaming, Pisces also rules film. Not surprisingly, the Oscars, Motion Picture Academy Awards Ceremony, traditionally takes place during the Piscean rule, in late February or March. The Oscars 2013 took place on February 24, when this prestigious award has celebrated its 85th birthday.

More about Pisces: http://www.thepiscessign.com

They say, a Pisces can dream anything into reality, like magic… 

As you all know, in the past few months, I’ve been consumed with finishing and publishing my new fantasy/thriller, THE EARTH SHIFTER. It’s been a busy time, but also, extremely rewarding! I’ve dreamed it up and it’s currently available as ebook at Amazon, B&N, Smash. I will be releasing paperback in the end of March (pre-launch release).

Official book launch: APRIL 10, 2013!

Meanwhile, I also received a number of awards. I want to acknowledge the lovely bloggers who gave them to me and announce that due to my busy blogging and writing schedule, this is the last post about blog awards. This concerns only awards, so no worries. Lada Ray Blog is not going anywhere, and as a matter of fact, I’m planning a rainbow of wonderful new posts this year.

So, don’t you go away

as so much more is coming your way!

Bowing out gracefully: I want to thank all those who have supported and acknowledged this blog in the past year plus by giving it awards. I love you all, guys! I think awards are a wonderful way to support worthy bloggers and to spread the word about them. Below are the bloggers who have given me the awards recently. There were a couple more, so please forgive me if I have missed anyone (it seems I may have misplaced the links.) But know that I appreciate you all! Due to the severe time constraints, and – well – because it’s my birthday ;), I’m skipping the steps of passing on the awards and answering the questions (please allow me this indulgence). I’ve already said enough about me, and if you’re interested, please check out my prior awards and my bio page. Instead, I’ll concentrate on acknowledging those bloggers who have thought of me!

LIEBSTER AWARD, which I received from 3 wonderful bloggers. Here they are chronologically!

Jim L. Wright  olbigjim.wordpress.com. A wonderful man, blogger, writer, and book reviewer, Jim is and American expat living his dream life in Jordan. How exciting! Please check out his awesome blog!  

Jason Collins  JJCollinsAuthor.com One of my favorite people and certainly my absolute favorite Irishman living in London! Jason is the author of several non-fiction books, his specialty being history and politics. Check out his terrific site & blog, where he shares book reviews and news about publishing industry. It’s a treasure trove!

Stefan Maxima  hillsofherchastity.wordpress.com Spreading the love! Check out Stefan’s lovely and positive blog!

SUPER SWEET AWARD from the super-sweet Sofia Siberia – sofiasiberia.com. Yum! Sofia is a blogger, empath and healer, who is originally from Russia and Ukraine, and who presently resides in Lebanon. She is a very loving and giving soul and she has a beautiful blog where she shares her wisdom and her spiritual discoveries with the world. Please check it out! 

I’ve also received A BEAUTIFUL BLOGGER AWARD from Sofia Siberia. This award I already have, but I am truly honored that Sofia has thought of me! 

The link to my original Beautiful Blogger Award

VERY INSPIRING BLOG AWARD – again, many thanks to the wonderful man and author, Jim L. Wright @ oldbigjim.wordpress.com for giving me this award! I’m truly honored!

And last, but by no means least, SHINE ON AWARD, which I just received from a truly inspiring blogger and author, Rohan Healy at Rohan7things.wordpress.com.  Rohan blogs about many things, but they all have a strong philosophical and spiritual connection. He is a thinker & a beautifully light soul, and I’m privileged to know him! Please check out his popular blog for many inspiring, entertaining and off-beat posts. Incidentally, I was recently interviewed by Rohan. Check out the interview as well.  

P.S. I’ve just added this award, which I received from the lovely Ruby @ yourinnerfeathersbyruby.wordpress.com, who is a “spiritual life stylist.” I like Ruby’s blog so much, that I had to add this award if only to link up and promote her blog. Thank you, Ruby, and may you have a terrifically inspiring and spiritually rewarding year!

Also, I want to take this opportunity to wish a HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY to:

Jason Collins, Rohan Healy, Madeline Walsh (whose recent interview has become an inspiration!), M.C. O’Neill (check out his awesome Lada Ray Spotlight and review!), Jason Sullivan (whose amazing May Day Interview became the centerpiece of my GOLD TRAIN Blog Tour 2012!), as well as my many Irish blogger & author friends!

Here’s to luck and prosperity! Have a wonderful holiday!

Incidentally, my husband was born on March 17. How’s that for a coincidence! Our birthdays are 2 days apart and we usually end up celebrating them as one.

Birthday cake anyone?

Coming next: lada’s exciting READ AND REVIEW PROGRAM! Stay tuned!

Related articles

• Albert Einstein’s 134 Birthday (gwopmagazine.com)
• Are You A Pisces? (luckybrand.com)
• Happy Birthday Sir Albert Einstein!!!! (thestudentsalliance.wordpress.com)
• Happy Birthday to Me and Award Party 2013! (ladaray.wordpress.com)
• Oscar’s 85th Birthday Party: The Academy Awards Results (theobamacrat.com)
• Pisces New Moon (eddietwohawks.wordpress.com)

Award Party on Lada Ray Blog + Beautiful New Photos of Russia!

Tags

Accidental Spy Adventure Series, Author Lada Ray, Beautiful Blogger Award, Blog awards, Gold Train by author Lada Ray, Golden Ring of Russia, Kremlin, Moscow, nature photography, Palekh, photos of Russia, Reader Appreciation Award, Sergiev Posad, The Earth Shifter, World Heritage Site

Welcome to my Award Party! Celebrating two new awards!

Wow! I am very honored and touched to receive Reader Appreciation Award from a fabulous guy and fellow author, Jim L. Wright. Thank you very much, Jim!

Here is the link to Jim’s post about the award. http://jimlwright.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/301/

Please check out Jim’s blog, The Left Wright Brain – it’s really great!

The rules for this award are:

• Post seven interesting things about yourself,
• Nominate 5 people who in turn will post on their page the award with the link to the giver,
• Let them know about the nomination
• Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog
• Post the award logo

I already mentioned various interesting things about myself in my “acceptance speeches” for previous awards. 😉

You are invited to check them out here:

1. Sunshine Award 

2. Versatile Blogger Award

3. One Lovely Blog Award

This time, I decided to do something a bit different, something I think my readers will enjoy. In keeping with the theme of this particular award, here are…

SEVEN THINGS I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO WRITE ABOUT!

1. Awesome adventures, mysteries and thrillers. My adventure/thriller series with a touch of romance and paranormal, Accidental Spy Adventures, is well underway. So far, I’ve released Green Desert (Prequel, short novella), STEPFORD USA (US Adventure, full size novel) and GOLD TRAIN (Russia Adventure, full size novel). Coming next year: DRAGON GATE (Asia Adventure).

2. Fantasy and scifi. On September 13 I released my first fantasy/scifi short entitled CATHARSIS, Legend of the Lemurians (Earth Keepers Chronicles: Book 1). In December I’ll be releasing the highly anticipated THE EARTH SHIFTER, my new YA fantasy/thriller novel.

3. Wisdom and Spirituality

4. Futurism, or put another way, predictive analysis of future events

5. Nature and animals

6. Feng Shui, beauty, and Oriental art. (I regularly write about all of the above on my blog and I invite you to check out my posts!)

7. Last but not least! My travels and world cultures. In addition to writing about those, I love photography and try to post great pics of my favorite places to make it visual.

The new series of posts I am starting this fall is entitled “Beautiful Russia.” In this series I will be posting about various beautiful gems of Russian architecture, art, nature and culture. The first 2 posts will be about the Golden Ring of Russia, a ring of beautiful ancient towns north-east of Moscow. Most of these towns are at least 1000 years old and all of them are a feast for the senses, boasting beautiful art, architecture and nature. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites abound here. I will have tons of gorgeous pics soon, but for now, enjoy a sneak peek:

The ancient Kremlin, town of Suzdal, the Golden Ring of Russia

Suzdal monastery

The town of Sergiev Posad, the famous Sergiev Monastery, the Golden Ring of Russia

The town of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, the Golden Ring of Russia

The artisans of the Golden Ring produce exquisite traditional Russian art. The town of Palekh is where the famous Palekh boxes come from. Each tiny box is hand-painted in the secret Palekh technique of feather-light stroke and goes for hundreds and thousands of dollars. And the town of Sergiev Posad is the birth place of the famous Russian Matryoshka (above).

I love this award! Once more, many thanks to Jim L. Wright for nominating me for the Reader Appreciation Award!

In turn, here are five (+ one) of my favorite bloggers whom I want to nominate for this great award. I love reading their blogs and highly recommend them to my readers!

1. Russel Ray is a San Diego photographer and a very outspoken, fun blogger – I love this guy! (purely platonically, Russel ;)) http://russelrayphotos2.com/

2. M. G. Edwards blogs about his world travels – lots of great pics! http://worldadventurers.wordpress.com/

3. Francis writes lovely poetry and does lovely photography http://niltsi.com/

4. Elisa Cashiola – blogs about feng shui http://elisacashiola.com/

5. Lesley Fletcher – lovely blog http://inspirationimport.wordpress.com/

6. Holly Michael blogs about Christian values, her world travels, writing and family http://writingstraight.com/. I know she has already received this award, but I love her blog and want to honor her here. Holly, let’s consider this an honorary award. 🙂

How awesome is that! Another beautiful award!

I received The Beautiful Blogger Award from a fellow Indie author and wonderful blogger, Cassandra Giovanni. http://cgiovanniwrites.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/holy-cannoli/ Thank you so much, Cassandra! It is a true honor!

Cassandra is the author of the novel, Walking in the Shadows, to be released on October 31, 2012. Check out her blog http://cgiovanniwrites.wordpress.com for more about her and her books!

These are the rules for accepting The Beautiful Blogger Award:

1. Write a little something about the Beautiful Blogger who nominated you. See above and don’t forget to go and check her out too.
2.  Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate for this award 7 worthy beautiful bloggers.

Here are the 7 things I’d like to share:

1. I love my collection of Oriental art.

2. …And my writing retreat in the Catskills, NY

3. In 2011 I published two novels and one short novella in the Accidental Spy Adventure Series: GOLD TRAIN (Russia Adventure), STEPFORD USA (US Adventure) and Green Desert (Iraq Prequel). DRAGON GATE (Accidental Spy Asia Adventure) coming in 2013!

4. I love designing my own book covers! I find it to be a very creative, uplifting and meditative experience. I always feel better having designed a new cover–the more beautiful the better!

5. GOLD TRAIN and STEPFORD USA just got a face lift, with new cool covers and updated blurbs. Check them out!

6.  I have just released my first fantasy/scifi short CATHARSIS, Legend of the Lemurians (Earth Keepers Chronicles: Book 1), prequel to the upcoming fantasy/thriller THE EARTH SHIFTER. If you haven’t yet, check it out! It’s only $.99 on Kindle and FREE for a limited time on Smashwords. You can also enter the Catharsis Contest.

7. In December, 2012 I will be releasing my new YA fantasy thriller novel, THE EARTH SHIFTER. Earth Keepers Chronicles (see above) serve as companion for the upcoming EARTH SHIFTER trilogy. Incidentally, CATHARSIS includes an exclusive sneak peek excerpt from THE EARTH SHIFTER (first 2 chapters). More about The Earth Shifter.

There are so many beautiful blogs and it’s so hard to choose just 7! These are the bloggers I’ve decided to nominate:

1. Rick Braveheart – beautiful American nature photography http://thegreatamericanlandscape.wordpress.com/

2. http://imaginecontinua.wordpress.com/ Historic photos of Romania and nature

3. http://astronomybythecosmos.com/ Awesome posts about Cosmos, astronomy and Outer Space – I just love it!

4. Carl Pettit, columnist, journalist, author http://carlpettit.wordpress.com/. Cool illustrations.

5. Ash, beautiful poetry http://momentsofclarityandotherthings.wordpress.com/

6. Lovely Christian blog, poetry, devotional and more http://watmattersmost.wordpress.com/

7. Fascinating photography by a Spanish artist http://manolirizofotografia.com/

Once more, many thanks to Cassandra Giovanni!

Congratulations, winners! Enjoy!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

This is Harvest time all over the world and the time of October Fest in Germany. As a total non-drinker, but lover of harvest and the idea of abundant October Fest,

I will host the INDIE BOOK REVIEW FEST on my blog on 10/2. It will include my recent reviews of various great books by fellow authors + the best and most recent reviews by readers of my own books! You are invited to stop by, and I promise a feast for the reader’s soul!