So Apparently I Got A Liebster Award. And Then Another One.

by E.V. Jacob on January 17, 2013

liebster1

Hey!  Look!  This is a much more productive way to spend the next few hours than all the writing and editing I had planned!

I have been nominated for a Liebster Award TWICE.  This means that I have the lovely L.E. Pate and the glorious J.L. Licea to thank for the twenty-two questions I have to answer below.

But seriously, it’s awesome.  Thanks, guys :D

So Here’s How It Works:

  • I list 11 random facts about myself.
  • I will answer the 11 questions asked of me by the person who nominated me.
  • I will then nominate my 11 picks for the award along with my 11 questions for them to answer when they post a response.
  • If you’re nominated, your name/link will appear at the bottom of this post along with your questions. Follow the same format; paste the award badge to your blog, give us 11 random facts about yourself, answer my 11 questions, and choose your nominees…but you cannot nominate the blog who nominated you.

And so it begins…

Eleven Random Facts About Myself.

1. Eleven is actually one of my nicknames.  I have a lot.  My favorite is “Eve” and you are free to call me that whenever you please—I actually respond to it as well as my real name.  Maybe even better!

2.  I am pretty sure I’m reptilian because anything below about 70 degrees Fahrenheit is jacket weather for me, and you will hear all about how cold it is, and how I’m going to die, and why would it ever need to be so cold anywhere ever?

3.  No one has ever correctly guessed my age.

4.  My first real writing project was when I was a kid and I got my fist tube of M&M Minis.  I got some Peanut M&Ms and regular M&Ms and made little M&M families, and then I wrote an epic tale about how they were aliens that came to earth, which I wrote out in a notebook, complete with illustrations.  It was a very long story for my age.

5.  I LOVE physics, mechanical engineering, chemistry, biology, and astronomy.  I spend gratuitous amounts of time studying these subjects and pondering the idea of actually going and getting ANOTHER degree…or two…or three…

6.  To balance out my overactive left brain, I express my creative side in writing (clearly), music (piano, guitar, singing, and the violin, but I haven’t practiced that in forever so I really shouldn’t count it), and drawing (I would like to do a webcomic someday, but that’s far off in the future).

7.  I own so many books that half of them are actually in storage in my grandparent’s garage until I move to a bigger house.  I ran out of wall space, table space, and floor space upon which to stack my books.  Having so many of my books away from me makes me very sad, but it’s better than having to sell them.

8.  My earlobes don’t match.

9.  Characters I desperately want to cosplay as:  Harley Quinn, Boba Fett, River Tam, The Queen of Hearts, Invader Zim, and a few of my own characters that you haven’t met yet.

10.  I haven’t grown (or really changed much in appearance) since I was 13.  My friends are starting to suspect that I might be a vampire.  Also, I get carded a lot.

11.  I spend way, way, way too much time daydreaming.  I blame my insanely long list of “Stories To Write” on this fact.  One of my greatest fears is that I won’t have the time to write all my stories in my lifetime (a likely dilemma, as I’ve never one run dry of story ideas…).

 

~Eleven Questions from L.E. Pate~

1.  What is your favorite thing to rant about?

Oh, I love to rant.  I’m trying to quit, but it’s kind of fun.  I rant about grammar, the stupidity of my generation, nutrition, politics, and how creepy Google is.  And other stuff, but that’s all I can think of at the moment.

2.  What is your favorite aspect of writing?

Seeing my characters unfold is one of the coolest things about writing to me.  The way they say things and do things that are entirely their own is amazing.  I’ve had characters surprise me by saying things I never expected—sometimes changing the tone of the whole story!—and it’s amazing to experience.

3.  What makes you feel the best that you have ever felt?

Writing.  There is nothing quite like writing a good story, a story you love, a story that is desperate to get out.  If I can have a day where I spend half of it writing and the other half hanging out with the people I love, then I have had a perfect day.

4.  How structured are you with your writing?

I’m actually pretty systematic about it.  This is not to say that I don’t get struck by inspiration or “writing moods”—I totally do—but I don’t wait for those to hit to get my writing done.  Every day, I sit down and work on my stories. And if some kind of stunning inspiration strikes when it’s not writing time…well, then it becomes writing time.

5.  What has been the best book you have read in the last year?

Oh, man, there have been a lot of good ones.  I think one of the most powerful was definitely Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (which she signed on my birthday!)—it’s made even more chilling by the fact that it’s based on true events.  Very moving, very beautiful.

6.  What is your favorite genre of books to write? To read?

I love to write YA and MG paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi.  As for reading, I like about the same, actually, haha.  Although I do have a soft spot for comedic books like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plumb series.

7.  What or who inspires you to write?

The whole world inspires me.  Everything I see, everything I encounter, gives me inspiration.  It can actually be a little overwhelming at times, but it’s also completely amazing.  There isn’t such a thing as an uninspiring person, place, or day—inspiration is everywhere.

8.  How do you picture your writing career developing?

By writing the best stories I can, and of course marketing them in an effective way.  I teeter-totter between independent publishing and traditional publishing, but I know I’ll try both and see where I go.  I write all the time, I read all the time, and I study the business of writing and publishing all the time, and the more I learn, the more action I can take, and the closer I get to my goals :D

9.  Who is your favorite classic author?  Why?

J. D. Salinger is my favourite.  His work is just so raw and real and moving—I get inspired every time I read something by him.

10.  Do you enjoy writing true to life events or creating your own world?

Both, actually.  Sometimes, I like to just examine the events of real life.  But I am a creator of worlds, and I love fantasy/sci-fi/paranormal/all that jazz, so I guess it more depends on which story I’m working on and what moods it invokes.

11.  What is your favorite short story you have ever written?

That’s a tough one—I have a few that I’ve really loved, but I do think that my all-time favourite is “Forget-me-not” about a man who discovers his apartment is haunted by someone named “Sophie.”  I just love how this story came together, especially since when it was requested of me, I was sure I couldn’t write it and that anything I did write would be terrible.

 

~Eleven Questions from J.L. Licea~

1. What do you think about when you hear the word ‘Book’?

I think of libraries, book stores, happiness, comforts, tea (or maybe hot cocoa!), and curling up in a warm blanket to read.

2. In one word, describe a book you love.

Unyielding.

3. What animal do you fear the most?

Badgers.  Apparently, they are insane.

4. Favorite time of the day to read?

ALL THE TIME :D  But truly, whenever I get the chance, I read.  It’s not a scheduled thing, it’s just a thing I do at every available moment.

5. Coffee person? If yes, do you drink it with milk, cream, or just plain? If not, what do you drink instead?

I like my coffee like I like my space anomalies—black, with the ability to distort matter.  (Not really, I don’t much care for coffee, I just love this poster!)

6. Have you published a book? If yes, share the name and a link! Brag! If not, are you working on one that’s on its way to the sea of sharks?

Sadly, I have not published one yet.  However, I will be releasing a new series very, very soon, so stay tuned!  I am in the process of completing the first in a series of eleven books.  For now, the closest thing I have to a book is my Star Wars, Episode I rewrite.  It’s more like a novella, though.

7. Favorite candy and why?

I avoid most candies, but on those rare occasions when I do indulge, I enjoy dark chocolate with almonds.  Mmmm, delicious.  Also, Toblerones.  Those things are epic.

8. Tells us, what inspired you to become a writer/blogger in one or two sentences?

I’ve always like to write, but when I hit middle school, I started writing a lot of songs, and then stories.  When I shared these creations, I found that they seemed to have a huge impact on others, and that was an incredible feeling.  The first time something I wrote made someone cry, I knew I was in it for the long-haul—evoking emotion in another person is an incredible, awe-inspiring feeling.

9. Every beginning has an end. Do you prefer a happy ending or one that just satisfies?

I like brutal ends.  Hopeful, realistic, and satisfying, but leaving enough to the imagination (and leaving enough unsaid and unanswered) with a twinge of pain to make whatever victories were gained more bittersweet.  Happy endings can be sweet and fun, but I don’t lay awake at night thinking about them years after closing the book, that’s for sure.

10. If I pay for you to go anywhere in the world with someone, where would you go and who would you go with?

I would take my Mum to Europe to look at old castles and research for some of our upcoming books :D

11. What is a dream you have and always keep alive?

That I will be the kind of person who isn’t held down by a traditional job.  I want to be my own boss, set my own schedule, and live a location-independent lifestyle.  I’ve tried office jobs—I can’t do it.  I mean, literally.  I literally cannot work a 9-5 job.  I don’t look down on them, I don’t think ill of anyone who does work them or is happy to—it’s awesome that people can and do.  I just…utterly fail in that environment, so freelancing and independent contracting it is!

 

My Nominees

Mark Lidstone

CL Raven

Mikaila Manesh

Merriday Forrester

Cee Martinez

Michael Woods

Jenna

Chere Snow

Christopher Alexander

Megan Joel Peterson

Nat Russo

 

My Questions for My Nominees

1. Do you work on writing projects one at a time, or do you like to be juggling several at once?

2.  Where do you like to write—home, coffee shop, park, library, somewhere else entirely?

3.  Do you prefer to write on your computer, or by hand?  Or some other method?   And why?

4.  What has been something you’ve had to overcome in your life, and did it affect your writing at all?

5.  What do you have to overcome still before you feel you can really succeed?

6.  How long did it take you to start being able to share your stories and hear what others thought of your writing?

7.  Who is your favourite person to share a story with?  Who is the most helpful person to share a story with?

8.  What was the plot of the first story you really sat down and wrote completely?

9.  Where do you want to be with your writing in five years?  And how are you planning to get there?

10.  Who do you emulate as a writer—in style, success, or any other aspect, and why?

11.  Which of your characters (from any story you’ve ever written) has been your favourite so far, and why?  Which has been your least favourite, and also why?

Now go forth, my pretties, and answer questions about stuff!  The internet commands it!

  • http://www.facebook.com/mark.lidstone Mark Lidstone

    Thanks! I’m going to save this post for my triumphant return to my blog.

    • http://www.ravenhartpress.com/ Elena Jacob

      Ooh, this excites me :D

  • T.C. McVay

    I think I might finally do this soon.

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