Of Memes & Awards

Two things on the agenda this week:

1. The "Be Inspired" Blog Hop/Meme
2. Awards

First, I want to tell you all how happy I am to be back! The widespread power outages last week—or as I like to say, the "Prepocalypse"—gave me a new appreciation for life's many blessings. Thank you to all the men & women who worked 'round the clock to restore power to this area. We're in the middle of a terrible heat wave, and I know it wasn't easy. ♥

Blog Hop/Meme

I was tagged by the lovely Hildred over at Musings of a Procrastinating Author. The instructions say to answer the following questions, and then tag five people. Sounds simple enough...

1. What is the name of your book?
STRENGTH

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
For years, I'd been toying with the idea of writing a story with a unique, supernatural race (or three). One night, for whatever reason, I couldn't stop thinking about the concept of balance--specifically, the balance of power. I started jotting down notes while listening to music, and "All I Know" (the 2005 Five for Fighting cover) came on. As soon as I heard the first few sentences, the romance element fell into place. :)

3. In what genre would you classify your book?I

New Adult Paranormal Romance

4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
Are you kidding me? I couldn’t even pick during Casting Call! *Grins*

5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
When Rena falls for the campus outcast, she provokes supernatural warfare that puts a whole lot more than her heart at risk.

6. Is your book already published/represented?

I signed a book deal with Sapphire Star Publishing a little over a month ago. STRENGTH will be out:

3.7.13

…Get excited. :D

7. How long did it take you to write your book?
To write it? About three months. Followed by a year of editing, working with critters/betas, revising, and polishing.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
I would never compare my work to that of a bestseller, but I can give you an idea of the readership STRENGTH might appeal to: readers who enjoy complex, supernaturally-charged love stories. You know, like Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series... just on a younger, more voice-driven level. :)

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
Darn it, blog hop. You’re not going to rest until I admit my author-crush on Gena Showalter, are you? :P

10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
Rena and Wallace share an intense chemistry. It’s not love at first sight, but their interactions are definitely charged with something. ;)

Five people (+ whoever wants to give it a try):

• Lisa L. Regan
• Nancy S. Thompson
• Melissa Maygrove
• Iain Carter
  
• Donna Weaver

Awards

I'm a little behind on awards. Shocking, I know. In the past few months, I've received nine ten (see: PS). Time for some gratitude! ♥

Thank you to Yelena, Juliana, Kathleen, Natasha, Melissa, Jaycee, Ilima, and Cassie! You're all rock stars, and I appreciate your generosity. *Hugs!*

And a boob slap for Cassie...

Of course, they all have different requirements. Let's see what we can combine...

• Kreativ Blogger requires me to answer 10 questions and post 10 random things about myself. I'll post 2 for this.
• Beautiful Blogger requires 7 things about myself. 1 for this.
• Sunshine Award wants 10 questions answered. I've answered these here. :)
• Napping Blogger wants to know what I do to take time for myself. I'll answer this. (1)
• Fabulous Blog Ribbon asks me to name five of my most fabulous moments, five things I love, and five things I hate. I'll name 2 of each.

Bam! That's ten. Here we go...

3 Random Things About Me:

• I can play the trombone and move the slide with my ankle. As you might imagine, this skill is diminishing with time.*Grins*
• I panic when people ask me to do mental math. Right brained, right brained! Nooo!
  
• The last song I listened to was Home:Word by Magnetic North. :)

How I Take Time for Myself:

  

It depends on my mood. If I'm stressed, I might do a cardio dance DVD. If I'm depressed, I might bust out an old favorite (like Firefly). If I'm happy... well, I probably don't need time for myself. :)

 2 Fabulous Moments:  

• Announcing my book deal ☺
• How about a random one? Throwing (jujitsu) my instructor--who is one of the coolest people I've ever met--in college. I didn't think I could do it! 

2 Things I Love:  

 

• Sandwiches
• Lists!

2 Things I Hate:

  

• Hypocrisy
• Scary bridges *Cough* Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge...

Nominees:

So, who am I going to pass these on to? Let's try something different. I'm going to list 5 achievements. If you've completed at least 3 in 2012, take one of the awards. (Individual images and links to the proper rules can be found here.) Ready?

• Posted at least 10 times
• Participated in at least 1 blog hop/blogfest
• Commented 10 times
• Turned off Word Verification
• Featured another blogger

Phew! That was a long one. Still awake out there? :) A couple more things...

1. After I pre-scheduled this post, I received the Inspirational Blogger award. Thank you to my wonderful CP & Pub Sister, Lisa Regan!


2. Resource alert: Best Colleges Online updated their Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs list this week. (Note: You can always find the link on my site under "Blogging".)

Have a great week! ♥