Monday, July 09, 2012

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 weekor 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):

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! ♥

35 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations and glad you have power again. And I have a hard time selecting actors for my characters.

Cassie Mae said...

I totally want to see you play the trombone with your feet!

Anonymous said...

Fun learning more about you. I crush on Gena, too. And Kresley Cole.

Melissa said...

Not again! 8O (kidding) Thank you. I'll get right on it...after I build my new blog and write my Magic 8 Ball post. :)

Lisa Regan said...

Congrats on all the well-deserved awards! I'm glad you survived the heatpocalypse. Can't wait for Strength! And thanks for the nomination!

Leigh Covington said...

SO excited about your book! It sounds fabulous! And congrats on the awards!

Emily R. King said...

Congrats on your award! I prefer love stories that start with boy and girl at odds. Sounds great!

cleemckenzie said...

Well, I'm totally impressed by your post today, Carrie. Jam packed with all kind of news, especially about your NA book! Yay.

Of course, I'm most impressed by your being able to play the trombone. Really.

Nancy Thompson said...

Haha! The trombone with your feet? That whole handcuff scene should have tipped me off! And oh, mental math! How I loathe it!!! Thanks for sharing all those lovely bits. And man, am I glad the power came back on. I was thinking about you the whole time. I'm glad we could at least text each other. Thank goodness for generators, huh? And thank you for the "nomination.". That'll be a fun one. I have 2 other awards I need to post about, too. I even qualified under your final terms. Wahoo, yay me. ;-). Enjoy your week of power!

Melodie said...

How did you combine all those awards? Here I was so proud of myself for finally figuring out how to make a blog button and then you go all awesome on me again. *sniff* I'll never live up to you, Carrie!! NEVER.

I feel for your heat wave pain. It is pushing 60 here today and is sooo hot. *evil grin*

Suzi said...

I sometimes have the math panic attack too. And I even have a math based degree. I think it's cause people are watching and waiting--that gets me. Even if it's simple math.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on allllll your awards:-) Great answers!

Unknown said...

It's great to learn a little bit about your book. March is going to be here before you know it! :) I take out a calculator even to do simple math because I keep doubting my arithmetic abilities. Haha.

Bailey M.K. Knight said...

Welcome back to the Internet, and I'm glad you have power again! We have all missed you!

Golden Eagle said...

Great synopsis.

Congratulations on the awards! I love the way you did them; very creative. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Alex! :) It's difficult, isn't it? I don't know how casting directors do it!

Carrie Butler said...

Maybe someday! If my book does really well, I'll vlog about it. Haha

Carrie Butler said...

Crap. I just put that in writing...

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Natasha! Glad to know I'm not the only one. :)

Carrie Butler said...

You've become quite the busy blogger! Don't worry. I don't have anything else left in my tagging arsenal. ;)

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Lisa! Was it miserable in Philly, too? I'm so glad the heat broke this week!

Woohoo! You're very welcome. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Leigh! I appreciate that. :D

Carrie Butler said...

Oh, they're at odds all right. *Grins* Thank you, Empress King!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Lee! I love talking about Strength. It gets me so excited! :D

Hah! Thank you. I played the trombone for about 9-10 years. It's been a while since I've tried the ankle maneuver, but I'm sure it would come back!

Carrie Butler said...

And just what are you insinuating, Nancy? LOL

Oh, good. I'm glad I'm not the only math-freaker! ;) Me too! You don't know the willpower it took for me not to kiss each of my electrical outlets...

You're very welcome. Put those awards on display!

Thank you! :D

Carrie Butler said...

More Photoshop magic! :) What? Let me go look...

Oo, did you make that Fact or Fiction button? I like it!!

...That was all kinds of wrong, Melodie. Midwest, ASSEMBLE! :P

Carrie Butler said...

Oh, that makes me feel better! Math people have moments, too. :D

Don't you just hate being put on the spot?

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Jamie! :)

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Michael! :) I can't wait!!

Hah! You should see me when the bill comes at restaurants. "Just let me grab my phone..."

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Bailey! I missed you guys, too! :) Did you get the Internet back in your apartment yet?

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Eagle! I appreciate that. :)

Jessica Therrien said...

YAY! I love the title :) Fun that our books will be released within a month of each other! Can't wait. Remember, my blog is your blog whenever you need it :)

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Jessica! As soon as my cover is released, I'll take you up on that! :D

Victoria Smith said...

Love all your answers Carrie! And that's so funny that this hop is just like that meme. Hmm... Some meme plagiarism perhaps? Must find the culprit! LOL

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Victoria! :) Isn't it, though?

LOL Yes, let's dust for fingerprints!