Liebster Award!

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Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to announce that this blog has received its first Liebster Award, granted to me by the gracious Lady Sarah.  (Thank you, very much, my friend! :)

For those of you who do not know this tag, I will explain it.  I am to answer eleven questions posed to me by the person who has given me the tag.  Then I am to state eleven random things about myself before giving eleven more questions to pass on to those people I tag.  After this, I will tag eleven more people (or as many as I can think of).

And here begin the Sarah's questions for me.  :D

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1.  DO YOU PREFER THE MOUNTAINS, OR THE BEACH?

I definitely prefer the mountains.  I love the scenery, and the air.   Though I've never been to the sea, so I suppose I might not know for sure until I have.  Right now though, if I could move anywhere, it would be to someplace with mountains.  I find them very inspiring for my writing.  I suppose that's why I made Talminia so mountainous.  :)

2.  WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE THE ABILITY TO FLY, OR BREATH UNDERWATER?  WHY?

Let me fly!  It's been my lifelong dream.  Some nights, in my dreams, I've been convinced that I've discovered the secret to flight.  And some days, when the wind rises, and the sun shines off the clouds, it feels as though I'm almost there...  yes, I'd definitely want to fly.  Bind me not to this earthly soil- let me fly above the fly above the winds and clouds, soaring forever more in this sky! 

;)

3.  YOU DISCOVER ONE DAY THAT YOU HAVE WHATEVER ABILITY YOU CHOSE IN #2.  WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU DO?

I'd probably get a little freaked out and land again.  Then, after I'd made sure that it wasn't just another dream, I'd try it again slowly and test my boundaries.   Then I'd show my family... though aside from them, I'd probably keep it a secret.  I know enough about superhero stories to know that the instant you have a super power, they want to study you until yo die.  

4.  WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE SUPERHERO?

Hmmm.... well, it's difficult for me to choose just one.  Captain America and Spider-Man are tied for that position, I think.  I was also fond of Kid Loki as a hero, during his solo comic run in Journey Into Mystery.  

5.  YOU'RE INVITING THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS OVER FOR LUNCH.  WHO'S COMING?

Oh dear.  What to do when some of my favorite characters are villains?  Ermmm... to be on the safe side, I"ll just invite the heroes for now.  Maybe I'll host a villain's formal dinner at another time.  ;)

On my guest list today are.... Aragorn Ellessar (LOTR), Sherlock Holmes, and Charlie West (The Homelanders series).  

6.  ALSO, WHAT ARE YOU SERVING FOR LUNCH?

I'll make a pizza-hotdish (basically, noodles, cheese, spagetti sauce, and ground hamburger), served with corn and green beans.  I'll make a cold seven-layer salad, apple-cider to drink, and for dessert I will serve pink-lemonade-dessert.

7.  WHILE YOU AND THE CHARACTERS ARE EATING LUNCH, THE ANTAGONIST FROM ONE OF THEIR STORIES SHOWS UP.  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Hmm, well since Sauron's firey Eye wouldn't fit in my house, and the Homelanders series doesn't have any one villain, I'll go with Sherlock Holmes' archenemy, Professor James Moriarty.  

If he walked through my door, I would invite him to sit down as I set another place.  I would give him coffeee, cookies, tea, some of the meal.... all the while engaging in polite conversation as I covertly reach for my phone in case I need to call the cops.  Though that probably won't be necessary since he never does his dirty work.  And even if it came to that, I'm guessing that Holmes and Aragorn could fend him off.

8.  DO YOU LIKE DARK CHARACTERS?

Yes, I do.  Actually, a lot of my favorite character are villains.  And as for my own dark characters, I love them as much as my heroes, and sometimes even more.  :)  Some of the easiest scenes for me to write in QftIS were the ones from Andelph or Revoux's perspectives.

9.  DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE NUMBER?  IF SO, WHAT IS IT?

I do.  For some reason, I'm particularly fond of the number 12.  :D

Incidently, it was at that age that I began writing QftIS.

10.  WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SHOE?

Hmmm..... well, looks-wise, I really like medieval boots, which is why I'm so glad that they're coming into fashion.  Not that I wouldn't wear them even if they weren't in fashion.  ;)  Though they cannot have heels, because I have this problem with collapsing arches in my feet.  The shoes I wear have to be flats, and I have to put custom-made inserts in  them if I want to stay out of excruciating pain.  I can handle heels for a short time... but after that, it's no good.

11.  OWLS OR HAWKS?

Mostly, I prefer hawks, although barn owls are pretty cool.  But now that I've seen Labyrinth, I'll probably never see them the same.  I'll see a barn owl and think, Oh no, the Goblin King is watching me!

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And now, I must state eleven random facts about myself.  

1.  If I was given the chance to go hang-gliding, I would do it without a second thought.  XD

2.  My favorite way to spend winter nights is watching a movie in my room while sipping hot cocoa.  Either that, or writing a book while sipping hot cocoa.

3.  I'll be going to a musical theater camp in the next few weeks.  It will be the first time I've acted alongside male actors of my own age in years.  The drama groups in my hometown consists mostly of girls and small children, so as I am quite tall and have an alto voice, I usually play the male roles.  

4.  One of my favorite roles to play was Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  

5.  During the rehearsals for that musical, I provided most of my own costume.  When I arrived in town, I had to walk across the street dressed like Willy Wonka, including a blonde wig combed in every direction.  One of the guys I knew from highschool saw me from a distance and said, "Who is that guy with the crazy hair?  I love his outfit!"

6. Though I have been homeschooled all my life, I was able to attend a few classes at a public school, and for one year spent half-days at school.  Thus, I've been fortunate enough to have a taste of both worlds.

7.  Homeschooling is better.  No offense to those of you who are public schooled.  ;)

8.  On the subject of being homeschooled, I am very well socialized.  As are my siblings.  In fact, I think it's safe to say that most homeschoolers are well socialized.  

9.  I can quote a movie line or book line for almost any situation.  It's too bad I can't do it with Bible verses... @_@

10.  I love belts, hats, boots, and anything that resembles medieval clothing.  I deliberately pattern a lot of my outfits to look medieval.  If I don't, though, I like to wear a trench-coat an fedora, like a gangster or a detective.  ;D

11.  I often use real people and situations as a basis for the plots and characters for my books.  So, if you know me in any way... beware.  You could end up in one of my novels.

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And now, I must ask eleven questions for the people I tag next!

1.  Would you feel more nervous... a) taking an extensive test filled with difficult questions, or b) Stand up in front of a large auditorium filled with people and give a speech/sing a song/perform a play?

2.  If you were to get stuck in a fictional universe from the books/movies that you like, which would you choose?

3.  Once there, what would you do to make a living and survive?

4.  If you were to meet the main cast of that story, would you get along with the characters?

5.  Would they get along with you? 

6.  If you were to become a private detective, what kind would you be?  The cool, collected, and emotionally removed Sherlock Holmes-type?  The friendly, charming, hands-on investigating Nancy Drew-type?  Opra-loving Morse?  Depressed but determined Wallander?

7.  Would you have a sidekick?  Or maybe just a friend on equal grounds?

8.  Given a choice between the Grinch and a sea-sick crocodile, which would you take?

9.  If you're a writer, answer question a.  If you're not, answer question b.

-A)  If you were given the opportunity to meet one of your main hero and villain from your book, with them knowing that you were the author, would you want to meet them?

-B) Do you know what pneumenoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis means?  And DONT CHEAT by looking it up first!  ;)  Break it down by the root words.  

10.   Are you fond of musicals?  If so, what are your favorites?

11.  If you were given the opportunity to play any character from a book/movie/play/musical, who would you want to play and from what show?

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I now tag...

Aarathyn Arvell

Scarlet Raptor

The Director

Trista Vaporblade

Braden Russel

Jag Swiftstorm

Rob Thacker

And I would also tag Ryebrynn, but I know that she's already been tagged recently.  :)

Once again, thanks to Sarah for giving me this award!  Also, thank you to my readers, and good luck to those of you I've tagged!

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Sincerely, Emmarayn Redding