I've been tagged. And I'm going to tag you too.
It's always fun (for me) to be part of an interview, so when M. Nicole Cunningham tagged me, I was flattered. Here are her questions:
1. What is the oldest book you've ever read?
In terms of publication, probably the Bible. In terms of the age of a physical book, I've read several classics from the early 1900's. I liked the brittle pages and that the cover might fall off if I wasn't careful (no, really!)
2. What was the first story you ever wrote and what was it about?
My very first story was called The Bad Carwash. I probably wrote it when I was in kindergarten. It was about a woman who went to a car wash and got her dress caught in the door, thereby soaking her dress by the time the wash was finished. Started strong, but degraded into multiple car washes with various parts of the car falling off in the process. That's actually about how long the original was, too.
3. Who is your favorite author? If you have several, list them all out!
Always a tough question for me. Classically, I love Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens. In the modern world, I'm pulled toward writers who take my mind off other things, like Kyra Davis and Jennifer Weiner.
4. Tell me a little story about the significance of your birth date. Feel free to embellish.
Well, I was born. That's pretty significant to me!
5. What tropes are beginning to annoy you in steampunk? I know you have a few; I certainly do. *coughairshippiratescough*
Uh, I'm not entirely engaged in steampunk, so I couldn't say.
6. Do you think a novel needs an idealized hero?
No. The hero should be someone who's flawed -- someone people can relate to. Any time you idealize something, you run the risk of it becoming a parody or a "Mary Sue".
7. What do you think of gender roles in novels? Should they reflect reality, an ideal, or something in between?
Most often, they should reflect reality. I write everything from "the present" so the roles are what I see around me.
8. What makes a delicious villain?
Someone who has 2 sides. Everyone has a little good and a little evil, so when the villain displays something good, something you can identify with and (possibly) agree with, it makes the character so much frightening (and believable).
9. Tell me about a lesser-known novel that made an indelible impression on you and why.
I could probably sit here all day thinking of the "perfect" choice here, but I'm gonna go with Help! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen. Hilarious! It impressed me because voice can make or break a story. This story is more than a little morbid (a man trapped under a car has his legs slowly eaten by a bear), but the way the author handles the narrative and characterization makes the novel funny.
10. Earlybird or night owl?
A little of both.
11. Favorite mythological being? Feel free to pick an obscure one.
Unicorns. They were a serious favorite when I was a kid, and they still make me a little happy. Although, if we could put some wings on a cat, that would be cool. My cat already hurls herself through the air, so I wouldn't have a hard time picturing that.
Now for the tagging!
Please answer the following questions:
THE RULES
1. You must post the rules.
2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.3. Tag eleven people (or as many as you can) and link to them on your post.4. Let them know you've tagged them!
It's always fun (for me) to be part of an interview, so when M. Nicole Cunningham tagged me, I was flattered. Here are her questions:
1. What is the oldest book you've ever read?
In terms of publication, probably the Bible. In terms of the age of a physical book, I've read several classics from the early 1900's. I liked the brittle pages and that the cover might fall off if I wasn't careful (no, really!)
2. What was the first story you ever wrote and what was it about?
My very first story was called The Bad Carwash. I probably wrote it when I was in kindergarten. It was about a woman who went to a car wash and got her dress caught in the door, thereby soaking her dress by the time the wash was finished. Started strong, but degraded into multiple car washes with various parts of the car falling off in the process. That's actually about how long the original was, too.
3. Who is your favorite author? If you have several, list them all out!
Always a tough question for me. Classically, I love Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens. In the modern world, I'm pulled toward writers who take my mind off other things, like Kyra Davis and Jennifer Weiner.
4. Tell me a little story about the significance of your birth date. Feel free to embellish.
Well, I was born. That's pretty significant to me!
5. What tropes are beginning to annoy you in steampunk? I know you have a few; I certainly do. *coughairshippiratescough*
Uh, I'm not entirely engaged in steampunk, so I couldn't say.
6. Do you think a novel needs an idealized hero?
No. The hero should be someone who's flawed -- someone people can relate to. Any time you idealize something, you run the risk of it becoming a parody or a "Mary Sue".
7. What do you think of gender roles in novels? Should they reflect reality, an ideal, or something in between?
Most often, they should reflect reality. I write everything from "the present" so the roles are what I see around me.
8. What makes a delicious villain?
Someone who has 2 sides. Everyone has a little good and a little evil, so when the villain displays something good, something you can identify with and (possibly) agree with, it makes the character so much frightening (and believable).
9. Tell me about a lesser-known novel that made an indelible impression on you and why.
I could probably sit here all day thinking of the "perfect" choice here, but I'm gonna go with Help! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen. Hilarious! It impressed me because voice can make or break a story. This story is more than a little morbid (a man trapped under a car has his legs slowly eaten by a bear), but the way the author handles the narrative and characterization makes the novel funny.
10. Earlybird or night owl?
A little of both.
11. Favorite mythological being? Feel free to pick an obscure one.
Unicorns. They were a serious favorite when I was a kid, and they still make me a little happy. Although, if we could put some wings on a cat, that would be cool. My cat already hurls herself through the air, so I wouldn't have a hard time picturing that.
Now for the tagging!
Please answer the following questions:
- What's the most annoying book you've ever read?
- You're in a bookstore: what's the first section you visit?
- What project are you working on now?
- Are you a "plotter" or "pantser" (i.e. do you use an outline or just "wing it")?
- What do you do when you're not writing?
- Why did you choose your specific genre?
- Who are your biggest influences?
- How much of your writing is based on your own experiences?
- Are you ever afraid you'll never have another book idea?
- We all like TV (even if we don't want to admit it). What's your favorite TV show?
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