Just Because

I have to post something because I’m a little weirded out seeing my own face with its goofy grin staring back at me every time I come to my main page 😛

So how about a little dance music, just because.

If Money Didn’t Matter…

If money didn’t matter and you could do any job in the world, what would you do?

I saw this question on Lisa and Laura’s post a few days ago about growing up. It got me thinking…

As much as I’d like to say writer, there’s something I would choose over that:

An archeologist 🙂

Not surprising though is it? I simply love history–it’s a passion of mine very close to writing (which is why I write historical fiction–perfect blend of both passions, right?). I’m such a documentary geek; I’m always searching for them on Hulu and YouTube as well as on Netflix. I will watch a riveting documentary on the discovery of an ancient discovery over my favorite movies any day.

I think that’s also why one of my favorite blogs to follow is author Michelle Moran’s (Cleopatra’s Daughter, The Heretic Queen, Nefertiti) History Buff. Basically, she posts links to fascinating history stories found in the news.

I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent there, reading the stories, then finding another link that leads me to another interesting story and so forth…and I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent daydreaming, thinking about traveling the world and helping on an archeological dig…

Anyway, I’d like to pose this question to you. 

If money didn’t matter and you could do any job in the world, what would you do?

If you’re like me and have two great passions–history and writing–or even more, that’s OK too 🙂 I’d really like to see your answers!

Kreative Blogger Award

Thanks goes to Victoria Dixon for nominating me for the Kreative Blogger award. Victoria has an awesome blog that seeks to promote Asian-themed fiction–something that’s very near and dear to my heart.

 

Now I have to send my award to others.

1. Fellow writer Anna Scott Graham and her blog Non Fictional Chronicles of a Fiction Filled Life. Great blog of a fellow writer’s journey.
2. Jessica Nelson at BookingIt. She’s writes Christian romance and often has posts about how to improve your own writing as well as asking questions. It’s a great interactive blog, for she often responds  back to you in the comments.
3. Patti Nielson is another writer friend who often ties in some sort of every day life event with writing. Another great blog!
4. Lynda Schab at On the Write Track. She’s very informed about the world of Christian publishing–from freelancing, to greeting cards, to fiction writing and contests. She has great giveaways quite often too!
5. Courtney Vail at ~Creative Burst~. A wonderful blog full of great writing advice. She was actually one of the first I followed when I got started blogging myself.
6. K@ The Flighty Temptress. She lives and works in Japan and has great posts (and pictures) of all the adventures she’s been on. I must admit, I’m always a little jealous reading her blog. So I travel vicariously through reading her posts.
7. Last but certainly not least, Sara Raasch at See Sara Write. Certainly one of the funniest and most creative blogs out there.  She’s also repped by the well-known agent Kate Schafer Testerman (Also known as Daphne Unfeasible) from KT Literary.

Definitely check out these amazing blogs!

“Mock” Book Trailers

I spent the majority of Friday night, from about 7 p.m. to midnight, working on a “mock” book trailer for Lady of the Snow. Then I spent a few hours the following afternoon polishing it.

Why? I have my sister to thank for it 😛

She started making little trailers for all her possible book ideas so it could help her decide which one to work on for NaNo come November. (She’s one of those who are blessed with a million ideas to choose from, :P)

After watching them, it made me want to make one for my novel. Of course, it took me twice the amount of time to make one as it did for her to make four of them, but that’s because I’m slow and picky. It shouldn’t have taken me as long as it did, but I’m pretty happy with the end result.

I think it took me so long because I had to find specific pictures for my book; it’s difficult finding suitable pictures of the Yuki-onna.

Unfortunately I can’t make it “public” because I don’t own any of the pictures or music. But I have it for my own personal entertainment as well as being able to share it with a few others.

Anyway, have you ever made a “mock” book trailer for your story? If anything, I suggest taking a little time to make one–it really helps the creative process along as well as giving yourself a little diversion 🙂

A Fun Writing Meme

What’s the last thing you wrote? An email here at work. Before that, my blog entry today.

Was it any good? LOL, I guess

What’s the first thing you ever wrote that you still have? A story I dictated to my mom at age 4 or 5. Technically she transcribed it but I “wrote” it

Write poetry? No. My attempts are poor at best

Do you type or write by hand? Type mostly, but much of my outline and character bios are written out by hand in whatever little notebook I have handy

Do you save everything you write? Yes, unless I think it’s garbage

Does music help you write? Yes! I often listen to movie soundtracks or songs that I think convey the theme or scene I’m writing

Do you even show people your work? I do when it’s time for critique group. But never a chapter I’ve not edited to some degree.

Do you want to write for a living? It would be nice
Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper? College newspaper
The last thing you’ve had published for pay? Nothing yet
Fiction Writers…

Where do you get ideas for your characters? Who knows! They just pop into my head. Most of the time it starts out with an interest in a certain time period or certain event and then I wonder “What if?” My MC for my current WiP started out completely different from who she is now, but it all started with a “what if” question about how a mixed race girl would live in 19th century Japan

Are you a Pantser or a Plotter? Plotter. I have to plot out a semi-detailed outline to see how the story progresses. It often changes when I’m in the middle of writing, but at least I have an idea of where the story is going. If I didn’t the story wouldn’t be cohesive in the slightest. It’s probably barely cohesive even with the plotting

Have you ever written sci-fi, fantasy, or horror? Not yet. I may end up trying fantasy or maybe horror, but not sci-fi. I think though my calling is historical

Ever written romance or teen angsty drama? Yes and yes. Most will never see another pair of eyes.

Genre of choice? Historical!!! But I do like a nice deep literary novel every once in awhile. Some contemporary, though I don’t find myself as interested in it as the former.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers? Anything with closure. I don’t like cliff hangers unless it’s a series; I don’t think it works well if it’s a stand-alone novel.

Quote something you’ve written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
My current WiP (set in 1890 in Japan); one of the verbal sparring matches between Naomi and Ryuji. It’s a bit rough.

 “They don’t see many foreigners up this far north,” Ryuji said. “Especially ones that look—“ he stopped.
 “That look as strange as me?” Naomi finished. “I am fully aware that my distinct facial features draw plenty of attention.”
 “That’s not what I meant,” Ryuji said.
 “Then what did you mean?”
 Ryuji muttered something under his breath and then spoke up. “I only meant that there aren’t many travelers that have foreign ancestry.”
 Naomi rolled her eyes. “That’s the same thing, only disguised behind a thin veil of courtesy.”
 “You are impossible, ” Ryuji said.
 “And I thought the Japanese prided themselves on their civility.” Naomi said, determined not to let him have the last word. “You have proven otherwise.”

 

Meme: Seven Degrees of Separation

I’ve been tagged by Emily over at Lefty in My Write Mind to fill this out. And of course, I can’t pass up the opportunity to do a meme!

Seven Degrees of Separation

1.  I’ve been a storyteller since before I could write. My mom used to transcribe stories for me that I would dictate for her and I would illustrate it (I still have my first one in a folder: The Story of the Tulip, written at age 4 :P). I wrote a whole bunch of stories when I was young–even had one that I did a “book on tape” version for (though sadly, the tape is lost).
2. Along the same lines as #1, I wrote my first “novel” between ten and eleven. It ended up being nearly 180 pages (90 sheets of paper, front and back). I wrote the bulk of it by hand, in pencil. It’s nearly impossible to read now because the pencil is starting to fade, and at 12 I attempted to do some edits, which make it a bit difficult to read.
3. I can remember the very moment when I wanted to be a historical fiction writer. I was reading an American Girl book, “Meet Kirsten” and was so intrigued by the story and the history that I knew I had to write something like that. That’s one of the main reasons I started writing the first novel mentioned back in #2. And I’m still a historical fiction writer 🙂
4. I am deathly afraid of the water. I refuse to go deeper than my waist, unless there is something or someone to hold on to (even then, I have a hard time maintaining my calm). I had a traumatic experience with nearly drowning at a friend’s pool party back in third grade. No one saw me struggle and somehow I managed to get to the edge of the pool and pull myself out, sputtering and coughing up water. The “lifeguard” didn’t even look up from her magazine. In high school, everyone had to take a mandatory course of swimming. I purporsely didn’t “pass” on to the deep end of the pool because I was too terrified.
5. I am a chocolate addict. Not exaggerating here 😛 I literally have to have some form of chocolate every day; if I don’t, I begin having cravings for it. I try to always keep some form of chocolate in the house, whether it’s hot chocolate or the little Hershey Bliss candies.
6. I have a really high metabolism and have a hard time gaining weight. Yes, I know that makes me the envy of many women, but there are times I wish I could add another ten pounds so I can actually find clothes not in the junior’s section (seriously, it is incredibly difficult to find a 3-4 in women’s, at least where I go). Perhaps all this will change after I have kids and then I’ll actually be normal 😛
7. I have been blessed with an amazing family–by blood and by marriage. I have supportive parents; a younger sister who’s one of my best friends (next to my husband, of course) and  my in-laws couldn’t be any better 🙂

There you go! Now I tag the following six blogs (I couldn’t decide on only five :P):

Anna Scott Graham at her blog

Jessica Nelson at BookingIt

Cassie Hart at In Sunlight and Shade

Lynda Schab at On the Write Track

Patti Nielson at her blog

Courtney Vail at ~Creative Burst~

How Many of Me?

I found this neat little website called “How Many of Me.” It shows how many people in the U.S. have the same name as you (first and last).

Apparently out of 305,704,433 people in this nation, there is only 1 other person that has the same name as me. Granted that’s my married name; my maiden name there was a grand total of 4 people sharing the same first and last name 😛

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

 
It’s a pretty fun little site–I like seeing how common other family and friends names are. Apparently my maiden name is the 271st most common surname and my married name is much more unique at being 1278th on the list.

Of course, this info is “ballpark estimates” and it comes from the 1990 census (I was all of six years old then). So, there’s a possibility of more people with my name (especially since I obviously wasn’t married then!)

Still, I assume it’s safe to say that my name, should I ever get published, will be pretty unique.