Tag... I'm it.

I don't know who started it, but Molly Daniels tagged me, so I guess I'm it!! The rules of the game go a little something like this: Answer these questions, then tag three more people to answer them on their blogs.

Looks like a lot of my blogger buddies have already been tagged, so I'll try to go with... hmm...

--Nancy J. Parra at A Room with a View
--Heather Snow at Heather's Historical Hodgepodge and
--Claire Ashgrove at From the Muse

Pass on the love, ladies!

And now, here are my answers.


1. What’s the last thing you wrote? What’s the first thing you wrote that you still have?
The last thing I wrote was a letter to my unborn baby.

The first thing I wrote and still have is a book of poems from first grade. Want me to quote one of them them for you...too bad. I'm going to anyway! "From up in the air, to down on the ground, a beautiful rainbow appears. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. A pretty, pretty rainbow."


2. Write poetry?
Since I just quoted my poem from first grade, I guess I'll answer this one yes.


3. Angsty poetry?
Umm...No, not that I recall. As you can see above, I'm more into the happy rainbow stuff.


4. Favorite genre of writing?
Romance--All varieties (YA, Adult, Suspense, dramatic...I could go on)


5. Most annoying character you’ve ever created?
I wrote a quartet once about four sisters--not published. The youngest had her story last; she'd been in love with the neighbor guy forever. I didn't have a problem with her personally, but she was so stubborn, I couldn't get a concrete plot outlined for her story...I think I tried at least a dozen different beginnings, and I still haven't found one yet that satisfies me. Sigh.


6. Best plot you’ve ever created?
I'll call it the weirdest plot I ever created: The heroine has a split personality due to a traumatic car accident she was in a few years earlier (a car accident that was her fault and killed lots of people, making her brain create a new personality to escape the reality of that horrible day). But after plenty of counseling, she thinks she's better, so she goes on with life.

The story starts on her wedding day...where the evil mother of the groom tells her about the car accident and how it was her fault, which makes personality number two come out. Personality number two doesn't know this groom dude, so she splits out, takes off with the limo driver, spending the rest of the evening with him.

The next morning, she's back to her original self, and can't remember what she did the night before. She ends up pregnant from the chauffeur and has to track him down and tell him her crazy story. Since she's pregnant, he sticks around, but eventually falls for both her personalities. It's their love for each other that heals her problem in the end. Ahhhh.



7. Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?
I don't want to give it away. What if I actually sell that book; everyone will know the big surprise. But it's a good one, trust me! I still gasp when I re-read it.


8. How often do you get writer’s block?
Quite a lot. More than once a year.


9. Write fan fiction?
Nope. Never tried it.



10. Do you type or write by hand?
I use whatever is handy. I still have some old, unused invoices from when I worked as an invoicer with story ideas scrawled across the back. But if a computer is handy, I'll type.



11. Do you save everything you write?
Mostly, yes. I'm pretty sure I do.



12. Do you ever go back to an idea after you’ve abandoned it?
Yes, all the time.


13. What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?
I'm going to have to go with an unpublished story I titled Hot Commodity. It was just so fun to create that hero. Love him.


14. What’s everyone else’s favorite story that you’ve written?
My family likes The Stillburrow Crush best, I think. None of my work will be published until February, so I don't really have reader fans yet; can't ask them.


15. Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
The Stillburrow Crush IS a romantic teen drama story, so okay, yes, I have!


16. What’s your favorite setting for your characters?
Places I make up in my head. But they're so fun; I can make them look like whatever my little heart pleases.


17. How many writing projects are you working on right now?
I don't have enough fingers and toes to count that high. But I've always got plenty of WIPs in progress to say the least!


18. Have you ever won an award for your writing?
In high school, I won third at a fiction writing contest. In college, I won an honorable mention and third in another fiction contest. And in August of 2008, the Central Ohio Fiction Writers awarded me second place in their Ignite the Flame Contest after they read the first chapter of "Disaster at 410 S. Elm".


19. What are your five favorite words?
From my writing, you'd think they were that, and, was, suddenly, and then... you know all those words you're not supposed to overuse! But other than that, I can't come up with any favorites. My hubby's found a recent fascination with the word Pumpernickel though.


20. What character have you created that is most like yourself?
I guess there is a tiny bit of me in all of them, but usually I try to have my characters do and say things I wouldn't dare. I like them being more brave than I am.


21. Where do you get ideas for your characters?
From everywhere. Other books, movies, dreams, events in my own life, events in other people's lives, stories I've heard from other people, the news, cereal boxes... you name it.


22. Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Yes, but I've slept since then, so I can't remember a specific instance.


23. Do you favor happy endings?
Well, I favor romance stories, so yes! Duh.


24. Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Depends on what mood I'm in. If the story is rolling, I just type as fast as I can and go back later. If I'm struggling with a scene, I'll obsess a little more over spelling and grammar to help pass the time.


25. Does music help you write?
Occasionally. Again, it depends. If I'm captured by a muse, nothing short of the hand of God--or my husband asking where the mayonnaise is--will disturb me. Other times, I'm a bit too easily distracted.


26. Quote something you’ve written. Whatever pops into your head.
From the first few lines of my WIP, Disaster at 410 S. Elm.

"He’d never tried to stop anyone from committing murder before.

It was definitely a nerve-wracking business, Drew Harper realized as he sat tense in the passenger seat of his sister’s six-year old Honda Civic while she blew a four-way stop and careened around a corner, making the tires screech in protest."