Five for Friday

Friday is more than half over, although there's still Friday night. That's the best part, right? ;-) But today has just been full of really cool and crazy things:

1. First, it's Friday! Cool all by itself!
2. I found out one of our day-job clients is married to a prolifically published author! I hope to meet her one day very soon. That's just too cool.
3. We got tickets to see Aerosmith in Tampa tomorrow. I've never seen them and I'm really looking forward to it. Especially to the fact that I won't be the oldest in the crowd. LOL Recently, we've been to Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and 30 Seconds to Mars and we've always been the geezers. Now I'll be the baby. :-)
4. My son got inked! Yes, it's frawesomely cool. But he's 16 and he's my son! A part of me weeps, but I like it and I'm glad he got something that will still mean something to him in 25 years - he'll still be Irish. LOL And it refers to a Bible verse, so that's pretty cool. It's very well done and if I decide to get an Amadis tattoo, I know where I'll go now (if not Miami Ink). What is Amadis? You'll have to read Promise to find out. ;-)
5. And last but definitely not least...Promise has been selected as a finalist for the Royal Palm Literary Award by the Florida Writers Association! Woohoo!!

Many reasons to celebrate. So I'm going to do just that. Have a cool and crazy weekend, lovelies!

My First Awards

The generous and entertaining Dawn Embers (found over here) has granted me not one, but two awards. And these are my first ever blog awards! Thank you, Dawn, for popping my award cherry. :-) I am so excited and flattered!

First...the Prolific Blogger Award.

So, right now, I'm not feeling so prolific. In fact, I feel like I've been slacking with you all, my lovelies. Much of the PITA stuff for publication is nearly out of the way, leaving only fun stuff (until the next book, anyway), so I'll have more time to play with you all. And more time to write. Yay!

I think the only thing I have to do with this one is pass it along. If I'm mistaken, please let me know what embarrassing things I must do. *Just because you tell me doesn't mean I'll do it, though. Just sayin'.


I bequeath the Prolific Blogger Award to:

• Michelle Gregory over at beautiful chaos - Like me, she likes blogfests. AND she is hosting one that I'm really looking forward to on July 1st: Share Your Darlings. For this one, writers can share beautifully written or favorite scenes that ended up being cut because they just don't help the story. I have one in particular from Promise that I still LOVE, so I'm glad for the opportunity to share it. Thanks, Michelle! She's at a writer's conference right now (lucky!), but will be back to share all kinds of good stuff...I hope.
• Courtney Reese over here - Courtney did my FIRST EVER author interview. It was so much fun! And she's a prolific blogger because she has, like, 25 blogs. OK, 4, but isn't that more than enough?!? That's what I call prolific!
• Elizabeth Mueller over here - I always enjoy what she has to say, whether it's laugh-out-loud funny or thought-provoking. You need to follow her.

The second award is the Life Is Good Award. And who can argue with that? OK, I know sometimes we feel like we can, but, really, imagine if you were one of our characters! Makes our own lives seem not-so-bad after all.

 I get to answer questions for this one.

1. What is your favorite genre to read? Why?
Well, I guess it would be biographies and autobiographies, which is also what I write. People are so interesting and have such fascinating lives! Oh. Wait. Huh?!? I was just told that Harry Potter, Sookie Stackhouse, Anita Blake, Katniss Everdeen, et al...Are. Not. Real. Seriously?!? And Alexis isn't either?!? ACK!!!!

Ahem...OK, then...I guess that means I read fantasy/urban fantasy/paranormal/contemporary fantasy/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. I loved this genre when I was young, but through my teens and 20s, I leaned toward thriller/horror/suspense, as in Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Harry Potter renewed my love for all things magical and otherworldly. I like fantasy because it gives a real escape from our sometimes harsh realities.

2. If you couldn't write in the genre you do, what genre would you write in? 
I have a couple ideas for thrillers and I might enjoy romance...if I didn't have to follow the rules.

3. Pepsi or Cola? 

Mich Ultra. Isn't Pepsi a cola? Before I became addicted to Diet Coke, I was a Pepsi drinker, for sure. I've cut my DC addiction down to just a couple a week now. Now it's water and the occasional beer or wine or martini.

4. How do you like to spend your Sundays?
Writing and sleeping or on the back of a Harley or on the beach

5. Penguin or Giraffe?
Both. And elephants, too.

6. What type of vehicle do you drive?
A convertible. After more than a decade of mommy-mobiles, including the dreaded minivan and SUVs, I now drive a car I want and love. It's a 2-seater which gets me out of mom-taxi driving. Fortunately (and unfortunately), my kids can drive now, so it hasn't been too much of an issue. Although, the Tahoe still sits in the driveway for when it's needed.

7. Would you lick a battery if your life depended on it?
I have, so I guess so.

8. When do you like to write - in the morning, in the afternoon, evening?
Whenever I can, but I'm a night owl (this will post in the morning, but I'm writing it at 11:15 at night).

9. Which do you like more - Facebook or Twitter?
Definitely Facebook. I think Twitter moves too fast for me. I'm so busy keeping up with everyone's tweets, I forget to tweet myself. Except for #wipfire. I miss it.

10. If you get hurt (like a scrape on the knee or break your arm), do you ask for a band aid?

Usually only if it's on my hands and onions and garlic will irritate it while cooking. I love to cook...and that's usually when I get hurt. I've never broken my arm or any other bone, but I'm pretty sure a band aid won't do much for that. Am I mistaken?


People who get this award...

• Valerie Kemp at I Should Be Writing (Go follow her - she's close to 500 followers which means additions to her giveaway! Oh, and she writes good stuff, too.)
• Jade at Jade Hears Voices (I'm hoping this award bribes her into an invite to Australia! :-D)
• Jessica Bell at The Alliterative Allomorph (because I like torturing myself by trying to type that name...but really because she's from Australia and lives in Greece. That's just automatically too cool!)

Whew! Did I blabber enough for ya? Does that make up for my recent slacking? Now you know more than you probably want to. Or is there more? Ask away...but just because you ask doesn't mean I'll answer. Just sayin'. ;-)