*NP blushes*

Jen over at Divinest Sense (and one of my guest bloggers this month) has bestowed me with an award!  She's a doll!

Well, as Uncle Ben said, "With great power comes great responsibility," so now I have the monumental task of passing on this prestigious award on to seven bloggers, then list seven of my favorite fiction authors.  So here we go (alphabetically, of course)!

Adventures in Home Cooking is a great little blog by Angie, a very dear friend of mine.  I'm not a big foodie myself, but I have dreams of spending more time in the kitchen, and I love hearing about her life in Chicago with her hubby through her dinner menu each week.

Beautiful Chaos is the personal blog of Lerin, who is an amazing photographer and homeschooling mom of four tiny treasures.  Her blog chronicles her life as a Catholic wife and mother, and she is a great encouragement and inspiration to me.  If you want to read about a super-heroine, definitely drop by Lerin's blog!

The Big Stick is Mike's conservative voice from Kentucky, focusing on "the intersection of urban and rural life."  I love reading his blog because it slows me down a bit.  So much of life is fast-paced, and by reading Mike's blog, I'm able to put a little bit of myself into the rural life for a little while.

En Tequila Es Verdad is Dana's no-holds-barred, smack-o-matic wielding political blog.  She takes the pulse of the political circle and says exactly what she's thinking about what's going on.  She doesn't care what you think.  This blog is about what she thinks.  Or drinks.  Or something like that.

Harried Mom of Four is another great mom blog for those women who love coffee and don't mind a little clutter in their home.  It's great for those who might need a little dose of "It's okay. I didn't get to that this week, either."

Hollywood Back Roads is a blog for someone just like me.  In it, fellow freelance writer Abi gives her insights into the not-so-touristy spots in L.A. County.  As she says in her introductory post, "LA stereotypes aside, not all 20-somethings here are zeroed in on 'LA's hottest' this and 'Hollywood's hippest' that.  And not all travelers find celebrity hand prints cool enough to merit the cost of the flight out here.  So bring me your maps, folks.  I'll highlight the back roads."

Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent follows the career of (you guessed it) Nathan Bransford.  If you have any questions about the publishing industry, his is the blog to read.  Not only will your questions be answered, but they'll be answered in a tone that makes you feel like you actually can become a published author.  And as if that isn't enough, you can get weekly doses of the pulse of the publishing industry--what are people talking about? what's new? who's hot?

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And as far as authors go (still alphabetically, of course):

A. S. Byatt (1936- ) is an English novelist and poet.  I've read Possession, which was recommended to me by one of my English professors.  I really loved it, so I've started to branch out a bit in the world of Byatt.  I've also read The Little Black Book of Stories and The Matisse Stories.  In The Matisse Stories, a Matisse painting is found somewhere in each of the stories, whether as an important part or as a simple wall decoration.

Jasper Fforde (1961- ) is my very favorite author.  He currently has two series--Thursday Next and Nursery Crime--with the first book in his third series due out in the U.S. in December 2009.  I've seen his books shelved as fantasy, mystery/crime, and mainstream.  They're...kind of...all of it.

Frank McCourt (1930-2009) is another amazing author.  He wrote three volumes of memoir, Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man, beginning with his impoverished Irish Catholic childhood in Limerick, Ireland, and ending with his teaching career in New York City's public school system.  He's an amazing storyteller, and an amazing writer.  Frank passed away in August of this year.

Malachy McCourt (1931- ) is, indeed, Frank's brother.  He's the author of his own memoirs, A Monk Swimming and Singing my Him Song, which focus more on his adulthood than the childhood-focused memoirs by his brother.  Malachy is just as compelling a storyteller as Frank, and has published six books in addition to his memoirs.

Ian McEwan (1948- ) is the author of many novels.  The one I've read is Atonement, which was made into a movie.  Some of his other books are on my reading list, and if they're anywhere near as good as Atonement, I'll be a happy coffee-stained reader!

Audrey Niffenegger (1963- ) is the author of The Time Traveler's Wife.  This book was on my reading list for quite some time, and when I found out about the movie, I bumped it to the top of my list.  The novel is a very good read.  I highly recommend it.  Her newest book, Her Fearful Symmetry, became available today.

Diane Setterfield (1964- ) is the author of The Thirteenth Tale.  For a description of the book from the publisher, go here.  This book is probably one of my very favorites.  I found it haunting.