The Unexpected Praise

Believe it or not I was going to write a blog about toe jam today. Surprisingly, I had about a million things to say on the topic, especially in light of the fact that I've been hunting down nasty smells wherever I go and have been suspecting random feet to be the culprit - the latest incident being cleared as a "butter" accident in the backseat of my mother's car, but I digress ...
Today I write a blog about unexpected praise instead, much to the delight of those of you screwing up your faces in horror at the initially proposed post. I now wander through the tides of mutual admiration with a fellow author, hand in hand as he compares me to Wonder Woman and comments on my witty repertoire. Oh yes. Since reading this entirely too flattering post I have been like the cat that caught the canary, licking my whiskered chops and fanning my flushed flesh after reading several paragraphs of author love.
Naturally it made me think, "Am I truly this awesome?"
The cheerleader in me was lifting her pom poms screaming Y. E. S - Yes! The pessimist in me was shaking her head and wondering, why the hell this fellow author would give a damn about my review of his book?
*wipes nervous sweat from brow* luckily I rated him well. Orders for super secret ninjas and Mexican hit men have been put on the back burner for now. And although I don't truly believe for a second that a bad review would've earned me a ... wait, I think I hear someone cocking a shotgun outside my window.
Kidding.
But, the sincerity of such a post made me realise how often our sometimes cavalier words can be valued or condemned by others. Of course I still think I talk a lot of sh#$t ninety percent of the time but I always try to ensure that the ten percent you do understand via my writing and Aussie slang is honest, fair and constructive. To have my opinions valued so highly was both an honor and an ever present responsibility I'd like to uphold for future authors and their reviews. Thanks, John Hundley - it's nice to be regarded as a professional in my field with views that inspire and incite compliments like "Berridge is a babe".
So in the true spirit of unexpected praise, I'd like to do a shout out to a few fellow authors that both inspire me with their writing,  their motivation to succeed and naturally, the super dooper nice things they say about me.
Ps - I'm not kidding about that guy outside my window, he now has a shotgun in one hand, a samurai sword in the other and a one eyed-cat staring me down with a switchblade in claw. Where does the agency find these miscreants?
Pps - you can check out the blog in question here

AUTHOR LOVE

John Hundley - The Draculata Nest & The Dragon of Doughton Park

Madison Daniel - Ember & Downpour

Donna Usher - The Seven Steps to Closure
TG Ayer - Dead Radiance & Dead Embers
James Garcia Jnr - Dance on Fire & Flashpoint