Aaron Paul Lazar

I am honored to receive "Thinking Blogger" Award! My good friend and crit buddy, SW Vaughn (aka Sonja Baines, aka Sonya Bateman) has granted me this honor. Thank you, Sonya!

Here are her kind words. I think she exaggerated a bit, but it sure sounded nice!

"One of the sweetest men on the planet, a painter of words and a fabulous photographer whose beatiful pictures on his blog always inspire me. Aaron's tremendously positive attitude and unflagging well of talent and support helps me to remember that the world really is a beautiful place."

It's now my turn to pass on the good will and award some of my favorite blogs for this award.

Now, I would have loved to have awarded the same thing to her, and to our friends Lesia Valentine, and M.E Ellis. But, they already received nominations. So, I will pick five of my favorite additional blogs to pass on the honor.

But first, some background about the award:

The Thinking Blogger Award is an effort to build a network of blogs linked together outside of the usual search engines. Here is how it works (sort of like a meme):

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that tickle your grey matter.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme;

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative gold version if silver doesn't fit your blog).


Aaron's Thinking Blogger Favorites, in no particular order:

1) Thomas Fortenberry
A kindred spirit with olde worlde values. This man loves and writes literature, has a sharp wit and huge heart, and is a renowned reviewer. Don't worry about Thomas telling you what he thinks - that would never cross his mind! ;o)

2) Jude Hardin
Jude is a superb writer. His blogs are as well thought out and as finely crafted as his great first novel, which I had the pleasure to read. He's just been picked up by a BIG agent and is going places. I reviewed his book and compared him to John D. MacDonald. Move over, Travis Magee! Nicholas Colt is in town!

3) Sonia Martinez
Sonia is a new friend whose passion for all things Hawaiian is contagious. I bought her cookbook (a great investment!) and love pouring over her lush photos of artistically arranged food. A real expert in this field, she is a wonderful teacher and has a lovely and generous spirit.

4) Patry Francis
Another new friend, Patry has become my hero. She wrote a fantastic novel, called The Liar's Diary, and sold it to Dutton. It's on the shelves now, and she's just completed a west coast book tour. Patry has a distinctive voice and is very generous about her advice. From waitress to renowned author - she did it!

5) Joyce Handzo
Joyce has always been there for me, and has written the most lyrical reviews for my books. They are so beautiful, the reviews deserve reviews! She has that knack for description that shines. And now - after a little prodding - she's started her own blog! I already love it and am thrilled that she's starting her first novel. Way to go, Joyce! Yay, bunnies!

Congratulations, winners!

- Aaron