Quartz: It wouldn't be half as interesting, if we weren't around! It's your characters who make this blog interesting!
(For those of you who don't know, Quartz is one of the seven dwarves in my published f/f fantasy fairytale, 'Fairest'. The dead one. Not that it ever shuts him up...:))
Quartz: D#@n right, I'm not shutting up! How else am I supposed to get any attention around here? You've been spending all your time with Shelley, Byron, Lord Ruthvyn, and all those weird characters in 'On the Other Side of the Mask' lately!
Ahem, back to the subject! (sweat drops)
To meet the incomparable Darla Sands and to see how she responded to her own nomination, go to...
http://darlamsands.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-liebster-award.html
Quartz: Bet *she* doesn't neglect her characters
!
(sweatdropping) I was also asked to answer these eleven questions:
1. What is your favorite destination, be it local, or across the globe?
Rome! Although I've been distracted by Parma lately.
Quartz: Her mom leant her a guidebook on Parma, which literally unleashed her inner Art Geek. She started compulsively taking notes, looking things up...she was actually distracted from 'On the Other Side of the Mask'. (mutters) Maybe I should pose nude and stand in an Italian art gallery (tries to pose like Michelangelo's 'David')
Me: Um, that really doesn't work for you.
Quartz: (pouts)
2. Do you have an extremely early childhood memories? If so, I'd be interested to know what you recall.
At age three, having my color forms scattered around me, and not being sure how to sort them out, get them organized.
Quartz: She may be tidier now, but her imagination is still a mess.
Me: ....
3. What is your favorite form of escapism?
Stories! Although they're more than a form of escapism. They're a vocation, a way of life.
Quartz: Although some characters get more attention than others. (sulks)
4. Does your region/town have a famous attribute? If so, what is it (whether it's a famous former resident, some large festival, or whatever else comes to mind?)
It's the heart of the computer industry.
Quartz: Not to mention filled with cute computer geeks. (leers) Like her husband.
Me: Don't leer at my husband, honestly, you're not his type. (rolls eyes)
Quartz: (sulks) Well, I am from your imagination, how you honestly expect me not leer at him?
Me: ....
5. Would you embrace eternal life, if given a chance?
Only metaphorically. I'd love for my stories to live on in other people's imagination, inspiring them to create stories themselves.
Quartz: Although she frequently forgets her characters, if they're not involved in her current projects.
6. If time travel were possible, would you move backward, forward, or stay put?
Stay put. Although I sometimes think about going back to 1990 Paris. Standing on the left bank, before going to try one of the restaurants on the Rue St. Germaine, which aren't there any more.
Quartz: Although she plays with historical and futuristic scenarios herself, transforming them into new worlds, but she doesn't go there, oh, no. She sends her characters, her canaries into those worlds, while she experiences it all from a safe distance.
Me: (looking a bit guilty) I can't deny there's a certain amount of truth to that.
7. What color are your eyes? Would you change them if you could? If so, to what shade?
Blue. I'm happy with their color, although I do admire different colors in other people's eyes.
Quartz: Rose purple, or golden. Damian Ashelocke has rose purple, while Rhodry's blue eyes change to gold, when he's using his powers. Danyell and Dayell originally had violet blue eyes with flecks of silver and green in them. I swear, she projects her strange eye color fantasies onto her characters, plus she has to mention that eye color over and over-
Me: (looking sulky) I'm getting better about it...
8. Given a chance to take animal form, which would you choose? Would you prefer being a pampered house pet, or a wild animal?
Quartz: She already is a pampered house pet, but if she could change she'd be something superior to human, like a shape changing dragon or a unicorn. She's egotistical that way.
Me: Who's answering these questions? Me or you?
9. In that animal state, would you hope for human sentience or existential oblivion?
Quartz: She'd go for existential sentience, something far superior and more wide reaching than human. Something which would allow her to experience music and color in many levels.
Me:....
Quartz: Am I wrong?
10. Where would you go as an animal? Would you stay home, or roam afar?
Quartz: She'd use flight, or super speed, along with her shape changing ability to visit every art gallery she could. All the galleries she's ever dreamed of visiting or returning to, but thought she couldn't. The Ashmolean. The National Gallery of London. Of Parma. Of Bologna-
Me: Although I'm really hoping I'll be able to visit or revisit those places in my current human shape. :)
11. Do you currently have a project you'd like to tout? Feel free to promote!
I'm working hard at 'On the Other Side of the Mask', my Victorian/steampunk/Baroque alternate world tale. Two boys take on the names of Byron and Shelley, trying to channel the power of those poets' names. They succeed, but they also attract the sinister hunger of the forces controlling the city of Paradise. I'm also revising two novels, which I've been working a good part of my life on; 'Stealing Himself From Shadows' and 'The Hand and the Eye of the Tower'. Both were an attempt to incorporate tarot imagery into a dreamworld of magic, allowing them to drive the plot. I've had quite the battle, trying to incorporate a bunch of disparate characters and themes into a solid story, which makes sense, yet captures the surreal ambience of wonder I was aiming for.
Quartz: And yet she's not working on any more stories involving poor Quartz. The dwarf she resurrected for her blogs, only to abandon.
Ahem, one of the things I was asked to do was to name five to eleven nominees for the Liebster Award. I decided to pick six. This is just a small fraction of the remarkable bloggers I know of...
1. A. Catherine Noon. Don't settle for just one blog, explore the many worlds of A. Catherine Noon! From Knoontime Knitting to Nice Girls Writing Naughty to introspective explorations of what's happening right before her eyes, this lady remains one of the blog queens! She's been my role model in many ways in juggling a variety of social media along with her writing.
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2. Rian Durant creates some simply spectacular blogs, which are a joy to visit. Not to mention she offers some exciting snippets of GLBT fiction, which leave me hanging at the edge of my seat!
https://riandurant.wordpress.com
3. A.M. Leibowitz is an insightful writer as well as a constructive, thoughtful reviewer, She has written some of the most intelligent, inspiring blogs I've ever read. She also offers tantalizing snippets of her own stories.
@amleibowitz.com
4. From book reviews and previews to personal insights, Paige Prince is positively magnificent in how she tackles life and writing, no matter how hard of a curve ball she's thrown.
@authorpaigeprince.com
5. Offering everything from challenges to snippets of her own work, Paula T. Wyant is an exciting author to follow and keep up with!
@ptwyant.com
6. An insightful and informative look is offered by Leslie Plank at her blog on kimono dressing, Japanese folklore, and many other matters with an attention to detail and accuracy you can't always find online.
@bokunokimono.blogspot.com
To honest, I'm feeling bad I only chose six, instead of eleven, but I've had trouble loading and posting this particular blog. (sighs)
For the six that I've chosen, here's what you do, if you want to participate.
1. Write a blog about your nomination, displaying an image of the award.
2. Thank the person who nominated you with a link to his or her blog post.
3. Answer the eleven questions the person who nominated you asked in his/her blog post. (I'll get to those next. :)
4. Nominate 5-11 other bloggers who you think deserve this reward and come up with eleven questions of your own for them to answer.
Here are the 11 questions!
1. How long have you been blogging?
2. Do you have more than one blog?
3. What do you see as the essential purpose of your blog?
4. What do you especially enjoy or accomplish by blogging?
5. If you could change one thing about your blog/s, what would it be?
6. Is your blog heading in a different direction than what you originally created it to accomplish?
7. Do you prefer linking your blog to various social media, or waiting for readers to come to your blog?
8. Who do you hope will read your blog?
9. How does your blog tie in with other projects you are working on?
10. How has your blog changed your life, if it's changed it?
11. What direction would you like to steer your blog into in the foreseeable future?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know how I can get your blog addresses to turn into links? So far, I've failed with everyone, except for A. Catherine Noon.
ReplyDeleteNever mind, I figured it out myself. Yay!!
DeleteAwesome! I really enjoyed this. Thanks for playing along.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you did! Thank you again for nominating me!
ReplyDelete