Bookish and Writerly Questions

The Liebster award has been floating around the blogosphere, and I've been blessed to be included in its wanderings! I was nominated to receive it by Miranda of To Be A Person, Rebeka of The Other World, Rel of Relz Reviewz, and Shannah of Book Reviews by Shannah. And I was mentioned by Crystal of Just Another Book Lovin' Girl and Rissi of Dreaming Under the Same Moon in their posts - such dear, sweet friends, who are also an inspiration to me!

Once upon a time I had a page for the blog awards I've received, but I decided to delete it because my list of pages (top right of the sidebar) got rather long... If you ever do want to see my awards posts (what I wrote about, who I nominated, etc.), you can click the "blog award" link in the labels section of the sidebar (titled "From Days Gone By...").

Anyway, I haven't been doing much with blog awards as of late, but I'm feeling the pressure this time around, LOL. Bloggers have been asking some great questions of each other, and I can't resist weighing in on some of them! Since I was nominated by four different bloggers with their own sets of questions, I decided to just pick and choose which questions I wanted to answer instead of answering all of them:

Question: If you had to choose one author to have a face-to-face chat with, who would it be and why?

Answer: Laura Frantz. (Although there are others I would love to meet, too!) Based on what I've heard and what I've experienced through her e-mails and blog posts and books, Laura is such a sweet person with a kind heart - not to mention a wonderful talent for penning gorgeous historical romances. It would be such a treat to be able to talk to her face-to-face about our stories and anything at all, really!

Question: If you were asked to pick one book you believe should be adapted into a movie, which would it be?

Answer: Does every author harbor a secret dream to have one of their books made into a movie? ;) At the risk of sounding incredibly vain, I had always thought it would be such a dream come true to have Michael Landon Jr. take on one of my books for a movie project! I'm not sure Bleeding Heart would make an ideal movie... Lots of traveling, violence and difficult topics, and just a lot going on - a movie version would probably have to change things up, and it might be hard to find the right audience without taking away from the story, you know? But Forget Me Not... I think there's potential! =)

Question: How would you describe your personal style?

Answer: I'm going to focus on my writing style - there's not much to say about my taste in clothes and whatnot, anyway, LOL. I'd say my writing style is atmospheric, thematic, and character-driven. I set the mood more than the scene, in the sense that I try to convey emotions more than I try to ground the reader with details. I keep things focused on the theme(s) of the story. And I pour my heart into my characters and their feelings. If you'd describe my writing differently, I'd be curious to here your thoughts! Hoping I'm not too self-deluded about my style. ;)

Question: Please share a snippet of your current work-in-progress.

Answer: Here's a snippet from the first draft of Fairy Slippers, a short story featuring Zachary Taylor (a secondary character from Bleeding Heart) that I'm planning on entering in Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Five Glass Slippers Creative Writing Contest. Zachary is in the middle of berating the proprietor of the general store for the lack of supplies, when he notices someone...

Turning, he spotted Margaret – the plain, quiet server who worked in the lumber camp cookhouse closer to the logging site. She appeared to be doing her best to blend into the shelves on the other side of the store. 

Something very much like butter clogged up his airway while simultaneously warming up his blood. She wasn’t the prettiest of Gertrude’s three assistants, but there was something about Margaret that softened him. Her long blond braid drew his eye down to her waist, where an apron she must have forgotten to remove hugged her hips. It was speckled with flour and grease stains. He almost smiled but caught himself in time before he ruined his stance in the argument with Lewis. 
 

Question: What is the name of the most recent book you have finished and loved?

Answer: A Spark Unseen by Sharon Cameron, YA historical fiction and sequel to one of my fave books of 2012, The Dark Unwinding. You can read my review HERE.

Question: What is the 17th line of the 125th page of the book you are currently reading?

Answer: I'm going to do this (approximately) for two books - one I'm re-reading (Watercrossing by Krissi Dallas) and one I'm reading for review, which I should have finished over a week ago (On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin). (I'm so behind on my reading, and I need to catch up and be a more responsible reviewer. *sigh*)

Watercrossing - "...then you're just going back to how you were, Amelia...and this whole summer was pointless!"

On Distant Shores - "The asphalt burned her backside. Her breath trotted at a steady pace."

Question: What is your genre of choice? Why?

Answer: I enjoy a variety of genres, at times. There are some contemporary romances I've liked, some fantasy, some dystopian, some mystery, some Amish... But the one I often enjoy reading and the one I've taken to writing in at this time is historical romance. I love the things it can teach you, the reality mixed with imagination, the challenges found in each era, the interesting facts and the adventures through the past. I love the uniqueness of the romance and yet its timeless nature. History fascinates me, and I love how historical fiction works like a puzzle where you have to search for all the hidden pieces.

Question: If you had to swap lives with a character, who would it be and why?

Answer: Maybe Savannah from My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison, or Casey from Clockwise by Elle Strauss, or Whitnee from the "Phantom Island" series by Krissi Dallas. Being transported into a fairy tale, time travel to the Civil War era, or trips to a magical island - all with cute and protective boys? Mmmmhmmm!

Question: Do you alphabetise your books by author or title, on your bookshelves?

Answer: Author - last name! That way you can group an author's books together and find titles fairly easily.

Question: What is your favorite spot to read?

Answer: Probably my bed, because it's quiet at night and I can generally read the most when I'm there all cozy and undistracted. However, I'm not quite sure that's really my ultimate/only favorite spot... I love the memories you make when reading a book - how you can remember reading certain scenes in a certain location. I can pretty much be found with a book wherever I go, and I've loved the times I've read at my grandparents' house, at the airport, all over the place at college, etc.

How would you answer these questions? Would love to hear your responses!