♥ The Liebster Blog Award ♥

I’ve been honored with a nomination for the Liebster Award by Shirley Sorbello!!! How exciting! I love the awards that are passed around our community. It gives us all a chance to get to know one another all the while promoting each other. So go team! This award is especially special for a number of reasons. Read further to understand why…(muhahaha).

The following information was copied from: A Writer’s Journey

What is the Liebster Award?

“The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The Meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.”

Umm…they left something out. The most important adjective to describe us Liebster receivers! Can you guess what I’m about to say? AWESOME!!! I’m just kidding (not really). So to my nominees listed below, please be sure to add awesome to your description because you surely are!

Now for the rules: 

1. If you are tagged/nominated, you have to post 11 facts about yourself.
2. Then you answer the 11 questions the tagger has given you & make 11 questions for the people you are going to tag.
3. Tag 11 more Bloggers.
4. Tell the people you tagged that you did.
5. No tagging back.
6. The person you tag must have less than 200 followers.

So let us begin!

11 more things you should probably know about me…

1. I just dyed my hair magenta. Boo-ya.
2. I am afraid of the dark. Big time.
3. I’ve been stung by jellyfish before. It hurts.
4. I own and love my Heelys. (And I’m damn good at it)
5. I sometimes speak in Yoda. Awesome I am!
6. I can be a pushover. Bad habit.
7. I can do the Shake-down Shimmy like Adam Richman. It works.
8. I love Ikea.
9. I love to travel. Now if only I could afford to…
10. I used to love Barney.
11. I danced in an off-broadway production of the Nutcracker when I was younger. I was a toy-soldier and waltzing flower.

Here are the answers to Shirley’s 11 wonderful questions!

1.     What is your favorite childhood memory? Hmm…it would have to be performing on a cruise ship while on the way to Cozumel, Mexico. It was fun trying to accommodate my routines to the swaying of the boat. Plus, I was of the legal age to drink beer! (14 I think I was). I tried it on a bus (my mother actually let me!) and hated it.
2.     What is your favorite color? It would have to be blue. A greenish-blue to be precise.
3.     What is your favorite place on Earth?  In my husband’s arms (Awwwww). I know.
4.     What has been your proudest moment? That’s difficult. Of course having two healthy, beautiful children would be it, but signing a publishing contract has been my ultimate proud moment. I’m showing my children that you can go for your dreams and achieve them if you work hard enough.
5.     What makes you happiest? Feeling like I’ve left my mark, one way or another.
6.     What are you afraid to do? Even though I have, I’m afraid to put myself out there (speaking of Born in Flames) and receive nothing but negative feedback. I’m afraid of not interesting anyone. You know, the normal writer’s self-doubt.
7.     What do you want the world to remember most about you? That I loved passionately, I gave my all to everything I touched, I dreamed, I danced, I wrote, I lived my life to the fullest, and I could do a cart-wheel.
8.     Why do you write and/or blog? It started off as a way of putting myself out there as an author. A contact for my future readers. But in the past few months, it’s become much more. I blog because it makes me happy. I enjoy meeting new people and finding out that I’m not alone in my dreams and doubts.
9.     What famous person do you admire the most? Sheesh. Umm…Jared Leto I guess. He’s a Capricorn like me so I know he’s a hard worker. His lyrics are beautiful and relatable. And he’s persevered through all the struggles his band was put through.  
10.     What is you favorite kind of music? Indie Pop, Alternative, Punk, Rock, 80′s, the list could go on and on…
11.     What do you know for sure? I know for sure that I will go to bed with pink hair.
    

    Magenta baby!

My Questions for my Nominees:

1. What is your biggest dream?
2. What inspires you the most?
3. What is your favorite kind of music?
4. How did you wind up with a blog?
5. What is your favorite food?
6. What is your favorite genre of reading?
7.  The ocean or the mountains?
8. Are you a hopeless romantic?
9.  What is your current WIP about?
10.  What is your top five favorite movies?
11.  What is your favorite thing about yourself?

That’s it! Now remember nominees, you are AWESOME! So let’s list them:

Sonya Loveday * Veganchopnchat (not sure how many followers you have but oh well) * Mymagicalescape * James M Davis * Em Types * Ignore the Buckles on My Jacket * Michelle Proulx * Andrew Toynbee * Austin Bishop * James Calbraith * Sean’s World

So that about wraps it up!

Until tomorrow Little Flames… Echelon out ♥

Rebellion’s My New Middle Name

Colorful socks of happiness ♥

Hello once again Readers!!! Guess what!!!!! I received an email from my publisher this morning letting me know that she will be reviewing the edits of Born in Flames this week! If all goes well and she’s happy, the release date could be right around the corner! I’m nervous, anxious, excited, scared, happy, and hungry….

I digress.

Do you like my socks? I always wear mismatched socks. Occasionally, if I’m going somewhere fancy, I will try to at least match the color. But that’s far and few between.

So what does my socks have to do with anything? Well, remember how I said I wanted to blog about rebellion?

Bingo!

I’ve always tried to be reasonably different. Not too extreme, but true to myself. Sometimes it’s benefited me and other times it’s hindered me. At one point in time, I was actually labeled peculiar by a CFO that I worked for. Which may or may not have been a compliment, but I took it as such! I guess you could say I don’t fit into the corporate world.

Now, if I could choose a world to fit into, it would definitely be filled with loud music, fairies, dragons, music that plays when something epic happens in your life, bubbles, animals that could talk, and trees that sprout money for leaves. Oh, and Harry Potter of course.

I digress. What does that have to do with rebellion?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about all the articles and advice I’ve read from different bloggers and media sites. With my release date right around the corner, I’ve been slammed with a whirlwind of doubts and emotions. I want to be the best I can be. I want to know that I’ve given my dreams my all. A lot is riding on what I am capable of.

It’s what I write here, in front of you all, that I sometimes wonder about. The silly pictures I share, the use of Italics to imply (some view as lazy writing), the slang words I sometimes throw out there. All of these things can be viewed as unprofessional (to some). Am I hurting my career by being me?

Author photo

I should be making a name for myself. One that is respected. At least that’s what a lot of author platform tips have said. I should have a professional, relatable author photo. Want to know a secret? My bestie took my photo with my phone while on lunch break. We found a tree behind our office and voila! But that’s who I am. I like to be natural. I don’t like to over think things. I didn’t even plan an outfit for that day. In my opinion, it looks professional, but I’ve read that you should have it done at a studio…

Bump that!

My question is, why can’t I just be myself? Can’t that be enough? Do I have to be fake to make people like and respect me? And why were Italics invented if we aren’t supposed to use them!?

I feel that this is my blog space. This is my place in the world to vent and share the feelings and emotions of someone who has dreams bigger than she can handle.  Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% serious about my craft and about learning everything I can to be a better writer. There are always ways to improve one’s self. That’s why I spend so much time reading and researching.

But at what point do you stop listening to everyone’s else’s opinion, and start listening to your own? I suppose when you’re told that you are headed in the right direction?

Let’s wrap this up. I’m a strong believer in being yourself…to a point. Be sensitive would be the best advice I could give. Be sensitive to the industry and it’s needs and wants if you want to break in, but also, be sensitive to yourself and who you are. Don’t get caught up and lose yourself in the process. You are the reason you are there to begin with. Your words, your thoughts, your vision, it all came from you. And if they liked it, then you must be doing something right!

Don’t know if all of this venting helps or hinders me…lol

Until tomorrow (hopefully I’ll hear more from my publisher…eeek!), Echelon out ♥

Six Sentence Sunday

Hello once again Readers! How has your weekend been so far? My weekend was great, but I am beat! My eyes are burning from sleep deprivation!

But enough about that.

So I finally managed to do this on the proper day. Six Sentence Sunday, I mean. I’m going to choose six sentences from Embracing the Flames again since it’s still my WIP. I think I’m going to stick with just picking six from the page that I’m currently working on so I don’t over think trying to pick out the perfect sentences. Otherwise I’ll be sitting here second guessing myself all day. That’s not very productive…

I digress.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

Astral leaned forward, eyes darkening, and lowered his voice. “What I intend to teach you is something only for advanced Mages.”

I eagerly moved to the edge of the seat.

After a moment’s pause, he casually leaned back, his eyes mocking my assumption.

“But since you feel that going before the Counsel is unnecessary,” he mused lightly, “learning the ability to conserve your magical energy is in turn, pointless.”

I huffed and crossed my arms, sulking into the seat.

So for this scene, Astral (her mentor and caretaker), wants to teach her a technique Priests use to conserve their magical energy. This ability would keep her from depleting while casting.

Since being back in this realm, Aurora is supposed to go before the Counsel to earn her title as a lower ranking Mage. She doesn’t feel this is important because of what’s she’s been chosen by The Fates to do. She feels focusing on stopping her Arch Enemy, Zordon, should be where her attention is placed.

Aurora’s character is one that speaks her mind, sometimes without thinking, and is very passionate in her opinions. She has made it clear to Astral that she’d rather be going after Zordon, instead of being left behind to finish her training.

This way of thinking has finally come to bite her in the arse. Here Astral is, willing to share with her a trick that could make her life so much easier, but is denying her this knowledge due to her negative attitude towards the importance of her training. He is trying to teach her a small, but valuable lesson; when you’re focus is nearsighted, in the end, something so minute that you’ve missed, could be what saves you.

So what’d ya think?

I’m not sure if all of this is TMI as far as sharing goes, considering Born in Flames hasn’t even come out yet, but oh well. It’s mine and I may do as I please…:) And it ties into what I want to blog about next which I mentioned in my last blog, rebellion.

So to leave you with a question: If you’re a writer, does your character run into ruts where they believe they can do it all? And if you’re a reader, do the sentences and thoughts above intrigue you?

Now for a bit of silly:

This picture is a few months old. I was dressed for the midnight showing of The Hunger Games. In case you hadn”t guessed already, I was placed in District 7-the lumber district. My friend and I always dress up for midnight movies. I stuck branches in my hair and drew branches along the side of my eyes. Fun times…:)

Until tomorrow, Echelon out ♥

100 Followers & Continued Nominations

Hello once again Readers!!!

First off, I wanted to nominate the remaining eight blogs that I had left off my post yesterday.

Shall we?

Fadedfairytale (because fairies rock!) * J-Bo (I’m 25 too! And you are freakin’ hilarious!) * The Daydreamer (because dreaming is awesome) *  I make stuff up (because we have music in common) * Sudden Leigh Anonymous (you made me laugh) * Nathan Bradley (I like the way you think) * Our Faulty Stars (I love stars!) * Projecting the Void (You made me think & laugh).

Okay! Phew! Now, I wanted to thank everyone because I just hit 100 followers last night.

Oh snap!!!!!!!

I know in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that many, but to me, it is a glorious feat! I never thought I’d have so many things in common with so many very different people. It’s (oh no, here’s that word again) AWESOME!

So thank you thank you thank you for hanging around and reading my ramblings!

I was also nominated again by Patricia Awapara for the One Lovely Blog Award. I really appreciate the nomination! She is a very inspiring individual with an amazing talent. Check out her page and view her gallery! And because I just received this yesterday, I won’t bore you with another seven facts about myself.

So that about sums this short blog up. My next blog will discuss the beauty of rebellion. I’m not sure when that will be, probably Sunday because I’m celebrating my best friends son’s birthday this weekend and will possibly be starting the shoot for the book trailer. Wow that was a long sentence.

Anywho, I will see you when I see you…;)

So to leave you with a question: How is your Friday so far?

And now for a silly treat:

 ”Call me George Foreman ’cause I’m selling everybody grills.”

…Echelon out ♥

A Nomination and a Book Trailer ♥

 Hello once again Readers!!! Exciting news for this blogger/writer!

First thing’s first, that’s me over there <–, in case you were wondering.  And that’s what my morning usually consists of. My faithful dog, Lily, snuggled up against me, and my Kindle Fire allowing me to read other fellow bloggers (and an occassional book or two). All while falling into the sink hole of my couch.

But I digress.

So, what’s the exciting news?  Let’s start with the nomination and save the really good stuff for last…(muhahaha). Andrew Toynbee, a very excellent blogger, has been nominated for the One Lovely Blogger Award.

Round of applause, please!!!

And like a lot of these awards, you are to pass on what you have been bestowed. Sharing is caring. That being said, I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the 15! Woohoo!

Onward to the rules!

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you with a link to the site.
2. Write seven things about yourself that other bloggers don’t know
3. Nominate fifteen other deserving blogs.

Okay, once again, thank you oh so much Andrew for the mention. It really means a lot!! Readers, you should check him out!  Now for the seven things…

1. I enjoy sweeping. It’s a form of zen.

2. Drink of choice, whiskey and coke. Nothing more nothing less.

3. At my old job, I had to park in the same row every day, otherwise I felt my whole day would be screwed. Grrr.

4. I tend to snort when I laugh, and in extreme cases, if the joke is really funny, I fall to the ground.

5. I danced for a good 15 years of my life.

6. Both my children were born via C-section. Why? Because my son (first-born) was a whopping 9lb 6oz. Yeah, I know.

7. I have a huge heart and always try to see the best in people. Sometimes it backfires, but there’s never a regret. (Awwww)

Now for nominations:

Sonya Loveday (Welcome to the blog-o-sphere Bestie!) * Michelle Proulx (because I think you’re awesome) * James Calbraith (because your interview and book are awesome) * Elizabeth Guizzetti (Have faith, people will see your genius) * Austin Bishop (your topics are always interesting and insightful) * K.L Shwengel (because you make me laugh) * Debbie ( because I LOVE astrology).

I lost count…that’s all I have until I get to know more peeps. And I think I went a bit overkill on the use of AWESOME, but hey, it’s a fantastic and AWESOME word…:)

Now to wrap things up because this is taking a heck of a lot longer than I had planned and I’m sure you’re probably like, “Oh my gosh, really? Hurry up!” Or you’ve just skimmed through. Either way, thanks for stopping in.

I digress.

So starting tomorrow I will be taping my very own book trailer! I’m so excited about this! I have the scenes and music all scripted out, as well as the people playing my characters, so I’m ready to go! My cousin has a small production company in New Hampshire and they’ve agreed to help me with all the editing. So fingers crossed that it will all turn out the way I envision it! That’s it. That’s my other big news. I’ll keep you updated on how the whole process goes. It should be interesting to say the least…

Oh, and here I am dying of heat exhaustion earlier today while out for a jog.

Scary stuff…hehehe…

Now for a question: If you were on the brink of death by dehydration, hanging on by a mere thread, underneath the sweltering sun, what would you do for a glass of water?

Hmmmm…

As always, Echelon out ♥