Agonies of a Young Author

haz no ideas for Mr. Bloggie. Instead I stole this from Reading In Color. And I am unapologetic, because I can (and I linked back so there).

Five Books Read Recently:
- The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer
- False Colors by Georgette Heyer
- Toil and Trouble by H.P. Mallory
- The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten
- To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory

Five Books I'm Reading:
- Bone Dance: A Fantasy for Technophiles by Emma Bull
- The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
- Hint Fiction Anthology edited by Robert Swartwood
- Edge by Thomas Blackthorne
- An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke

Five Favorite Books (not definitive)
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Villette by Charlotte Bronte
- The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs

Five Least Favorite Books
-Sophie's Choice by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Passage to India by E.M. Forester

Five Notable Book-to-Film Adaptions
- Mansfield Park (hands down)
- A Little Princess
- Howl's Moving Castle
- The Princess Bride (HATED the book)
-Pride and Prejudice (all versions)

Write Now:
What I'm listening to: or rather, trying to ignore the news
What I want most: I think its dinner time? On nom nom FOOD!

1) Adopt a quirk. 
Like writing entirely in green crayon. Or  drinking.

2) Get up only in the evenings. 
No, you are not aping  the vampire lifestyle, but have manfully (or is that womanfully?) stayed up all night in a burst of Divine Inspiration.


3) Also, adopt the haggard look.
You are lost in the world of wonderful glorious words. You forget to eat. To sleep. Shower. Even if you do all these things, fake like you don't for credibility.

4) Avoid people.
Be a bitter cynical misanthropic disillusioned philosopher. Don't interact with the unenlightened except in cyberspace. Or your own head.

5) Hold conversations with yourself. 
You'll be lonely (See #4)

6) Post witty and/or sardonic updates to Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, the blog and other media sites.  Often. And refresh constantly. Like every 20 minutes because you don't want that upstart of a YA author to think SHE is more humorous than TOI.

7) Don't read anything other than Wikipedia. 
Wiki knows all. End.

8) Find a destressor. 
All this writing business is hard. Telling all your friends about the book you're going to write. Writing about the book you are going to write. Reading about ways to write your book. Take a break.... or a drink (you know, whatever works).


9) Live in an attic/garrett/ 700 sq. ft. studio apartment
When they said "bats in the bellfry" they meant that LITERALLY.

10) Be serious.
All the  time. Laughter is bad, and leads to serious injury,

Write Now:
What I'm listening to: the audio recording of Georgette Heyer's Venetia
What I want most: chocolate. in multiple forms. yummmmmm

I am rather behind mentally on the whole blogging deal. I owe so many, have so many back-scheduled, and yet there is nothing. Nothing. 

Therefore, filler tidbits.

1. The strangest thing I've ever eaten was Romanian rooster gelatin. With a drumstick floating in the middle. Tasted like congealed Top Ramen jello.
2. My best friends are wonderful, and make my life truly special. I am so lucky and blessed.
3. If I could live in a different era I wouldn't. The advantages I have here-- specifically advanced medical care-- are what keep me alive. I would literally be dead in another century. So no, I wouldn't. Not even hypothetically.
4. If you only know one thing about me it should be ... er? I'm proud of my writing? (*eck, this is hard!*)
5. My favorite book of all time is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
6. The one beauty product I cannot live without is chapstick. Everything else I usually can do without. Emphasize on the "can" however. Does not mean I "do."
7. Blogging is wonderful, hands down. I adore it.
8. If I could star in a movie with one actor/actress, it would be Denzel Washington. I love him in The Bone Collector with Angelina Jolie.
9. One of the best feelings in the world is peace/contentment/stillness.
10. My current obsession is (*actually, what's NOT an obsession with me?*)
11. What's for dinner tonight? Chicken fried steak with gravy and french fries. Oh lawdy, I'm in the South.
12. The last thing I bought was a graduation present for a close friend. (*not to sound priggishly goodie-too-shoes in a public arena however*)
13. I am currently listening to nothing. The fan overhead. Crickets. Dogs barking. Going to bed household sounds.  
14. If I could have a home, totally paid for, totally furnished anywhere in the world, it would be in I'm not sure. There are so many places I haven't been yet, I would hate to limit myself. But as of this moment, Spain. Around Grenada.
15. The one thing I would change about myself is probably superficial, like my weight. But otherwise, nothing. I may not like certain things about myself, but I would not change them.
16. If you could go anywhere in the world in the next hour, where would you go? St. Petersburg, Russia.
17. The languages I would love to learn are you mean after I perfect my French? (*bwhahahahaha*) Um, Hindi, Farsi, Russian, and Spanish.
18. My favorite quote is: “What's the world come to, when the paper tells the pen what to do?"  from Lope de Vega's (the Spanish Shakespeare) Fuentaovejuna (the sad thing is, I saw the play performed live before I ever read it, and when I read it, I couldn't find this line. I don't know if I made it up, or if the actors took liberties, or the translation I bought just did a bad job... but I never did find that quote)
19. I am most afraid of dying before I ever do anything.
20. My favorite colour is charcoal gray
21. My dream job is to be a writer. Duh. =)
22. The one thing that brings a smile to my face instantaneously is a child's laughter.
23. The one word I use a lot is "like". And I hate it.
24. When I'm feeling blue I will read a book, curled in the fetal position, with blankets and possibly coffee/tea.
25. What inspires me is persistence.
26. My favorite season is definitely autumn. The best of everything-- rainy and windy without being unbearably cold, with scarves and cardigans and hot drinks and swirling leaves and muted, fading brillance.
27. My favorite dessert chocolate dipped strawberries.
28. How many tabs are open on your browser right now? 3: This window, Facebook, one "untitled" (I got distracted midway)
29. What was the first thought that crossed your mind this morning when you looked in the mirror? Girl, your roots! Fix that shiz.
30. The best piece of advice I was ever given was you can be anything you decide to be.
31. If I had a millions dollars to give to one charity, I would give it to Ronald MacDonald House, to set up a branch in a new city.
32. If at first you don't succeed you're just like everyone else. The norm, not the exception. So try it again. And don't be surprised if it's the fourth or fortieth time that pays off.

EDIT #1: I would actually change my mind about my favorite quote, to a line from the film adaption of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park with Jonny Lee Miller at the ball scene where his character says "There are as many different forms of love, as there are moments in time." It runs through my head more constantly than the de Vega quote.

EDIT #2: These questions came from dear friend MlleDiabolique's blog. 

Write Now:
What I'm listening to: country night sounds
What I want most: I have a couple books in mind... (*grin!*)