Tamara Shoemaker's Blog, page 2

Today, I have with me fellow author extraordinaire and hilarious friend in real life, Margaret Locke. I’ve interviewed Margaret at her previous book releases for A Man of Character and A Matter of Time, and I always love her responses, so I was super excited to have the chance to talk to her about her new release (tomorrow!!) of A Scandalous Matter.

I love many things, but high among them is history, romance, and wit, and Margaret supplies these in spades. Come see what she has to say about the making of A Scandalous Matter!

TS: Give us a three-sentence synopsis of   A Scandalous Matter . To make it interesting, be sure to include the words   love ,   time , and   bonnet   in your answer.

ML: Scarred by scandal, Amara Mattersley time travels from Regency England (bonnet and all) to present-day Virginia, to pursue her dream of a full education and desire for independence. Not love. But when she finds herself entangled with very sexy and somewhat befuddling computer science professor Matthew Goodson, complications ensue.

How’s that?

Emily June Street is one of my favorite people AND one of my favorite authors, and the combination is a double-whammy. I’ve read the books she’s placed on the market thus far, and of all of them, I’m likely most excited about Sterling. Emily was kind enough to give me an intimate look at the book in its construction stages, asking me to do a developmental and line edit on the book, and I am in awe of not only the skill with which she writes, but the themes which she explores, the sheer strength of her world, and the intricacy of her magic systems and character descriptions. A master of her craft, Emily can most certainly hold her own in the annals of stellar fantasy literature.

So when I sent her my list of questions, I expected nothing less than amazing, well-thought-out answers, and Emily delivered. Come see what she has to say about the crafting of her latest work of art, Sterling.

Purchase link: Sterling

1.) In three sentences, tell us what Sterling is about.

When an unexpected tragedy throws Lethemia back into civil war, shy Sterling Ricknagel must flee for her life. Wanted as a traitor, she still seeks to restore her family’s crumbling honor. Assisted by the notorious rake who was once her fiancé, Sterling sets out on an epic journey, facing despair, deceits, and danger to discover the truth about her family—and herself.

2.) Many authors base their characters on people who inspire them in real life. If you had to narrow down Sterling’s character to a person or an inspiration from real life, who would you base her character on?

Sterling was one of the first characters I’ve ever actually modeled on a real person—at first. She veered away from that inspiration pretty quickly, as characters will do. I tend to write lead characters who are very gritty (in the sense of being determined and tenacious) and also rational instead of emotional, especially in decision-making and reactions to adversity. They are tough rather than soft. I really needed/wanted Sterling to be different, more uncertain, more anxious, more doubtful of herself and her place in the world. She’s a little ball of FEELINGS. I needed a model for that, since I didn’t fully understand it as a way of being, which is why a certain person inspired me. In the end, I think Sterling turned into an interesting combination of emotional and rational. I’m abstaining from a specific answer to your question, as you can see…

*Editor’s note: I narrow my eyes in your general direction…

I had no clue when I started Embrace the Fire that I would want to throw in my writerly towel before it was finished. Of all my books, this story was the most complicated, hard-to-craft, frustrating, eye-bleeding, hair-tearing piece of fiction I have ever created, and that’s saying something.

Because of that, I think it’s also the best book I’ve written yet. Complicated and action-filled, the plot, characters, structure, and themes of the book are something I’m quite proud of. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I do (the reading is a completely different story from the writing of the book).

Enjoy fantasy? Give this book a read-through. Don’t necessarily enjoy fantasy but do enjoy stories of relationship, struggle, overcoming, romance, adventure, and action? Buy this book and another one to give to a friend. Want to see something cool? Check out the book trailer for Kindle the Flame… and then buy Embrace the Fire.

Alert to all Flashdogs, FlashMonkeys, FlashDragons, and anyone else who just likes Flashy things!

In honor of the upcoming releases of new installments in two of our fantasy series, Emily June Street and I are co-hosting a ONE-TIME FLASH FICTION CONTEST on the Luminous Creatures Press Blog.

The contest submission dates run from June 28 – June 30. The prompts will be posted on June 28th, and then you’ll have two full days to create a story of 100 words or fewer to enter. The theme will be fantasy, since the newly released books we are celebrating are both fantasy stories.

Please note: you do not have to be a writer to enter this contest; Emily and I are hoping for entries from anyone who is interested in winning a free copy of our new releases, whether you’ve written anthologies, novels, flash fiction, or only your name. Come one, come all! It’ll be fun!

More specifics on theme and a photo prompt will be posted on June 28th on the Luminous Creatures Press Blog.

For advance information about our rules and story content, please visit the Luminous Creatures Blog here.

Preeminent Flashdog Mark A. King has agreed to serve as our judge. The winner will receive paperback or ebook editions of our two new books: Embrace the Fire, by Tamara Shoemaker, a YA novel set in a classic fantasy world with dragons, elves, and other creatures, and Sterling, by Emily June Street, a fantasy romance with an intricate magic system.

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I first met Bryen O’Riley at a meeting of the Shenandoah Valley Christian Writers’ Group and was immediately drawn to her as a fellow fantasy writer. We kicked off a long and glorious friendship that included many scintillating conversations about odds and sundry writing details over late night greasy food, cabbage leaves, and writing strategies.

She’s stopping by my blog to promote her new book, The Gryphon, the second book in her Chronicles of Quat series, releasing on June 2nd. Pull up a comfortable chair in my virtual living room (I call the couch) and listen in!

1.) Condense your book into three sentences for us.

In The Gryphon, Tad’s captors carry him to the Unknown Lands in the north to face certain death. Rynn is used by the Quatists to calibrate their ultimate weapon against the Fae. Etan is manipulated by the most evil man the world has ever known.

2.) What was the hardest part of writing this book for you? What part did you enjoy the most?

I think the middle book of a trilogy is tricky. *Editor’s note: Hear, hear! This is usually the place where the hero learns his skill and the conflict is set up for the next book, etc. I typically find middle books a bit boring and I really like action in my books so balancing all of that was hard.

The part I enjoyed most is linked to that. In my search for adding something new and fresh to the story in the second book, I introduce an entirely new people and belief system. I enjoyed revealing more complexity to my Science vs. Religion conflict in this second book of the trilogy.

3.) Who is your favorite character from this book, and what makes him/her your favorite?

I like Rynn the best, I think. She is my favourite from the first book too. I like her sacrifices and her struggles. The Gryphon allows the reader to see a little more into her past and her thoughts. It also shows her to have more depth than the first book which mostly focused on her role as a mother.

4.) What specifically do you enjoy about the fantasy genre?

I think, deep inside all of us, is a hero or heroine. Our monotonous existence in this time and place – pushing papers, pushing buttons, pushing strollers – doesn’t allow much chance for heroics and fantasy is a lovely respite into what our world should really look like.

5.) Since we’re such a visual culture: if you could direct your book in an adapted-to-screen version, who would you pick to play the roles, and why?

This is very difficult for me to do since I do not have television (and haven’t for 15 years!) I don’t know most of the new talent so most of these people are a bit older than they should be for the part but it will give my readers an idea…

Tad – Liam Hemsworth

Etan – Chris Hemsworth

Rynn – Catherine Zeta-Jones

Alastar – Bradley Cooper

Mikhail – Kevin Costner

Galen – Chris Pratt

Elisathaya – Alexandra Daddario

Chet – Joseph Gordon-Levitt

6.) Can you describe the process of how you built your story from the seedling of an idea into the fully-fleshed-out book that it is now? What was your original idea? How close is the finished product to it?

The original idea was just to have the conflict center around the belief in Science and the belief in Unseen things. I am a big critic of Science (the methodology itself) and wanted to write a story that focused on people who found Science impossible to believe in. The story itself has changed a bit from my original story which was about a sister and brother who originally discovered the Stone. However, I have written that story down in a prequel short story that I plan to release eventually. The decision to make the trilogy about later in history (2,000 years after the Stone was discovered) was pretty easy—that is where the most conflict in the story was found.

7.) What’s next for you? Another in this series? Or are you embarking on another journey with another series?

I do need to write the third book in this series but I also have a really fun idea for a romance (I write romance under the pen name Aletheia von Gottlieb). Honestly, I will probably work on finishing The Chronicles of Quat series since I have readers waiting for the ending! But on days when I’m not feeling it, I may allow myself to get sidetracked with the romance—sometimes the best thing for me to do when I’m feeling stuck is to work on something else for a bit and then come back.

8.) Quick Answers. Don’t think more than a second about these:

Peanut butter or Nutella? Peanut butter, but Nutella is close behind!

Paperback or ebook? Paperback

Applesauce or fruit cup? Applesauce (if homemade)/fruit cup (if there are no gross fruits — like oranges! — in it)

Rowling or Tolkien? Tolkien

Tea or coffee? Tea

Europe or Caribbean? Europe!

Chicken or beef? Beef

Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre? Pride & Prejudice (by a LONG shot!)

Swimming or skiing? Skiing!

9.) Any authors to whom you want to give a shout out? Who has been a part of your journey, an inspiration, so to speak?

I think the person I can credit with encouraging me to get serious about my writing, besides family, was Kay Walsh. She was the first person who looked at my work and said, “This is publishable.” I had always thought I was a decent writer, but who doesn’t think that? It was amazing for me to hear someone else, with such certainty, tell me I was good enough. Then it was she who sent me the information about a contest that fit the very piece she had complimented. I sent the story in and it was chosen. I am so grateful to Kay for her encouragement and support—I do not know if I would be a published novelist today if it weren’t for her.

The mystical power of ancient Belief struggles to reclaim a world threatened by the new and equally powerful Science, while Happenstance and Prophecy manifest, and deliberate Ignorance threatens all.

The Chronicles of Quat trilogy continues as Tad is carried to the Unknown Lands in the north by strange men with even stranger abilities where certain death awaits.  Etan must keep a secret from Alastar, even as the man seems to have a sinister ability to force people to do his will.  Rynn’s captivity on the Isle of Quat reveals the largest threat the world faces—something even Alastar fears.

Some will fail.  Some will fall.  But all will strive.  And in the end, perhaps, the Gryphon will ride upon the wind.

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Bryen read her first fantasy novel, The Eye of the World, at fourteen.  She has voraciously consumed fantasy novels (to heck with sleeping!) ever since.  Bryen is the author of The Chronicles of Quat series.  Visit her blog at www.bryenoriley.blogspot.com.

 

***ANNOUNCEMENT***
After much debate, I am switching blog sites. 
As I get more serious about turning my writing hobby into a career, I'm also looking for ways to streamline my internet visibility. Wordpress offers me a few more options than Blogspot, so (after they bribed me with lots of promises of chocolate and other yumminess), I decided to make the transition.
If you wish (and I really hope you do), would you hop on over to:
www.tamarashoemaker.org
and click on the little button at the bottom of the page that says, "Follow Tamara Shoemaker, YA Fantasy Author."
I even wrote my first blog entry on the site, which you'll find on the right-hand side of the page. Looking forward to seeing you over there!
Lots of love!Tamara

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to add a gladiator. Whaaaaaat? 

It took all my creative powers, plus an excess of caffeine, and a little head-to-desk thumping, but I finally managed something. Here are TWO stories, widely varied, based on the prompt.

*****
Sorry, No Breakfast Today, Kids

The scarred muffins shatter charcoal across the counter as I dump them from the pan. Their blackened tops are cracked; white, mealy breading peers through the fissures.

I’ve spent an hour and a half waging a losing war,
Encumbered by heavy odds that thicken as the batter swirls beneath the whisk.
The range ticks past the required temperature, and all my efforts to forestall it fall short.

Flour, sugar, baking powder, salt,
Roil and stir and swirl and shake—
I throw up a shield to block the flour that explodes in my face,
spearing the blueberries as they tumble from the box,
purpling the counter in splashes of dewy blood,
their stains evidence of the battle that rages in my kitchen.

Like a mystified kitten, I poke at the recipe,
batting fluffs of white flour from my nose,
scrambling after a runaway egg,

Until at last, the sodden mess slumps into the tins,
And I turn away to survey the remains of the battle,
the field of warfare dotted with chocolate-pasted spoons
and icing-crusted toothpicks.

I toss my spatula to the counter, where it clatters across the burned muffins
In a last, ragged, dying gasp.

*****
I apologize for the above. ;) It was . . . fun to come up with, though.

Next attempt, and a whole 'nother animal.
*****
Over the Fence
The yard next door is empty until your family moves in.
The “for sale” sign tumbles, and the picket fence whitens.
Flowers line the porch, and the front windows light at night like laughing eyes. 

The crisp autumn evenings echo with shouts, leathery thumps refracting from the glove on your hand as you pound your fist into it, waiting for your dad to toss the ball.

The heated steam of summer bakes your bronzed legs. An open book nestles below your shaded eyes while the blazing sun roasts above.

In winter, your parka fluffs around your pinked cheeks like the warm fuzz of a kitten’s fur, and your blue eyes snap with cold and fun.

They think they know you, the girl-next-door.
Button-cute, they say.
Daddy’s girl, they say.
Tom-boy, they say.

They don’t have my vantage point from beyond the fence.
They don’t see the losing battle where you’re alone in your field,
Arrayed with useless weapons
And harmless nets,
A dull spear
And a cracked shield.

The cancer spreads like warm blood,
Soaking your cells with poison and dulling the warrior’s glint in your eyes,

So that one day I wake up,
And the yard next door is empty.

What a gorgeous picture that invites so much imagination! I'm judging this week, so my participation in the Flash! Friday contest is completely ineligible, but I couldn't resist at least posting an attempt at a story.

Story element to include: "A Fleeting Moment." Here's my attempt:

The End

You see the way it should have been.
The breath-taking portrait of happily-ever-afterShatters painfully beneath the black-and-white photograph of what-is-now.
You are my soulmate, you should have said. You are the other half of me.But the words hang empty, bereft of breath,Deflated before they are even uttered.
A thousand reasons teeter on the edge of the silence,Crowding in, pressing my thoughts into a whirlOf panicked need.
It takes only a moment, One second of shrinking courage,One fleeting gasp of meeting-eyes,And it is over.
All the excuses you could offer her,She can foil with the other side.For all your beginnings,She can weave the ends.The story is already written. There is nothing left to do.
You should have had the courage to tell her then.But you didn't.
You should have begged.But you didn't.
You should have done anything but what you did.Instead, you stare at her as she slowly shakes her head.When she turns from you,You rotate the other way,
Two backs, facing each other,Two directions, opposite sides of the same picture.
Just . . .Mirrored reflections in the rain.

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to include a superhero in a story, using this photo as a prompt.

Here's my heroic attempt:

Reflections

Mirror, mirror,
What do you see?
Scars and pockets,
When looking at me?
A twisted nose that’s broken twice
Sagging jawline, eyes of ice?
Lips that hide a chipped, black tooth—
One dark loner in a beer-stained booth—
Freckles that dot a sun-burned face,
Flesh and flab and sweat and trace,
Feeble or fat, heavy or thin,
You think you know what lies within.
Your smooth face reflects with glee
Every foible that you see.
All you show is lines of dust,
Black, dark windows covered with rust.
No one sees, not even you,
The superhero that hides from view.

Thanks, Mark King, for my nomination for the Liebster Award! I thought this looked like fun, and I was right.
What the Liebster Award is about: a blog introduction, and a way to get to know each other better.

It consists of 11 Random Facts about Yours Truly,

And 11 Answers to (Crazy Hard) Questions from the Nominator (in this case, Mark King),

And 11 New Questions posed to Three New Individuals (watch out, you're next).

11 Random Facts:
1.) I met royalty once. He looked like Pop-Eye the Sailor Man. I didn't find out that he was the king until I had already shaken his hand and moved on. Somehow, I've always regretted not doing something different, dropping a curtsey or something, even though I was wearing jeans. I mean, he was the king!
2.) I have a burning, intense dislike for licorice. It is a vile, foul invention that deserves incinerating in the blackest of kiln-fires.

3.)The only sport I'm remotely interested in is Quidditch. Though I have been known to watch the Super Bowl because the commercials are hilarious, the Stanley Cup finals because I want my husband to think I rock, and the World Cup, because soccer. Obvs. ;)
4.) I would rather endure the pain of labor and delivery than have a sore throat. Honestly. Yes, I did just type that.
5.) I cannot listen to a Jack-In-The-Box musical toy without jumping when I hear the "POP goes the weasel" even though I KNOW it's coming.
6.) I love to crochet and I love to play the piano, but I find it hard to do both because of stupid arthritis. Let it be known that 35 is too young for arthritis. I'm signing a petition to protest.
7.) I have a permanent indentation on my left wrist because I wore a watch there day and night from the time I was 7 until I was 34.
8.) I wrote my first book on a dare from my husband.
9.) Secretly, on the days when I need to pull out my mommy-as-ninja skills, I pretend I'm Katniss Everdeen. 'Cause she pretty much rocks.
10.) The only "pets" I own are two goldfish named Bubble and Toasty, and with whom I find it hard to emotionally connect in any way. So that, when they die, there will be no tears and a very short funeral that will consist of one flush and a trip to the Great Septic Tank Up Yonder.
11.) My favorite timeless classic song: "Great is Thy Faithfulness." Makes me cry like a baby every single time.
11 Answers to Questions from Mark A. King (aka Valentino):  
1.) You are allowed to invite ten people to dinner. You can choose anyone from any point in time. Who do you choose and why?

Rather than choose all ten from one point in time, I'd love to see the centuries and ideas come together over fried chicken and mashed 'taters. Jane Austen would keep up a running commentary on the social ambivalence of breadcrumbs combined with meat (the two would NEVER mesh). Dickens would go on and on and ON about the morality of the butcher and the chicken both (it was the best of times, it was the worst of times). Rowlingwould try to turn her fork into the core of Phoenix feather, hair of unicorn and Avada Kedavra the chicken, because she thinks it needs a bit more cooking. Lincolnwould look morosely over the meal and stroke his beard, because he looks SO distinguished when he does that. I would try to keep Bronteaway from the butcher knife; she keeps sneaking over to the cabinet to grab it. Suzanne Collinsshows up late at the door with a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and she keeps eyeing my kids suspiciously. I send them to their rooms. Richard Armitage broods in the corner, but I let him, because he's SUCH an enhancement to my dreary dining room. Emma Thompsonengages Austen in conversation, and I am thoroughly impressed with their repartee. C.S. Lewis keeps scribbling about wardrobes on the napkins I've just freshly laundered, and Tolkein sits beside him, muttering some Elvish blessing over the mashed potatoes. Po-Tay-Toes.

I survey the table and the guests, and then remember that I forgot to add a vegetable.

2.) Who is your favorite villain from a fictional book? Explain why.


I'm going to twist the term “villain” just a bit. One of my favorite books to read is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and the reason why is the character of Edward Fairfax Rochester. My husband hates the man, because he is SO horrible—keeping his (*spoiler*) INSANE WIFE in the attic for years while at the same time, romancing his governess. But I love the man, because on the other side of him is such a tortured human soul that only wants love in its truest form, and who of us cannot identify with that? Often, in stories, the villain will be an insidious, evil being with very little to redeem him or her, but in this book, the good, the bad, and the ugly are all rolled into one, and I love how true to life that is. Very few villains are ever born with a black heart. 

3.) Please pick a story from someone you know that you wish you had written. Provide a link (so we can enjoy it). Explain why you've chosen it.

Must it be someone I know? I have lots of author friends, and they've all written excellent stories, but the one story that keeps tugging on the edges of my jealousy, that I WISH I had thought of first is by someone I have never met. How to Train Your Dragon. (http://www.amazon.com/How-Train-Your-Dragon-Baruchel/dp/B002ZG97YM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421762971&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+train+your+dragon+dvd)

Not only is it an entertaining movie for kids and adults both, but there is such an arc of character development/action and plot/imagination in it. A father-son conflict resolves, a young romance blossoms, an unusual best friend relationship rocks the story, the musical score is phenomenal, and the action at the end is so intense and well-planned. It took a master story-teller to come up with it.

Dagnabbit.

4.) Please pick a character from any story you have written and think about the actor/actress you'd like to play them. Explain your choice.

In the first Young Adult fantasy trilogy I wrote, one of my favorite characters is Professor Manderly Manders. He serves as a humble, somewhat dusty teacher of Elementals (people that can wield the four elements), but he's also a kick-booty hero behind the scenes. When I first started writing the trilogy, I went to www.imdb.com for inspiration for the characters. The only person I could see filling the role to perfection was Robert Downey, Jr.

I think Mr. Downey is booked for the present, though. It's not likely he'd consider an offer from me. ;)

5.) Do you prefer print books or ebooks?

Print books. I have a very visceral memory of my mom reading books to my brother and me when we were kids, and the way the page crinkled when she turned it and the smell of the yellowed paper brings back a lot of nostalgia every time I open a book. Kindle will never replace it.

6.) Name a writer that you admire that lacks the recognition they deserve.

Mark A. King. ;) Although I think he's got a brilliant future.

7.) Please state your favorite first line, last line and mind-blowing line from a book.

All in one book? Or from three different books? I have many favorite books and many favorite lines. These are just a sampling.

My favorite first line: (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” Oh, the promise of that line. Exquisite.

My favorite last line: (Gone with the Wind) “I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all . . . tomorrow is another day.” What a succinct and complete wrap-up of an incredibly long book. :)

Favorite mind-blowing line: (Jane Eyre) “I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh; - it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal, - as we are!” What a statement – equality (particularly in a society where wealth or lack of it dictated societal standing), and the absolute passion that pours from this line! Shivers!!!

8.) Please rewrite the ending to a film where the ending annoyed you.

One of my favorite escapist movies is an '80's flick called Girls Just Want To Have Fun. It's mindless, it's fun, it's a movie about dance, and there's so much big hair in it. But the ending is so annoying. Main girl, main guy win their dance contest against evil female and her stooge, main girl's best friend gets her dream job for absolutely no reason, main girl's dad overlooks everything and forgives his daughter for her blatant insubordination and gives her a thumbs up, etc. etc.

In reality, of course, the main characters should still win the contest, but a little depth of character from the surrounding cast would have been nice. A reason for the best friend's job besides being in the right place at the right time. A touching talk between father and daughter, maybe. Some lessons learned, perhaps a little less rebellion next time.

But I suppose the movie would be less mindless, and some thinking would be necessary if they changed it. So . . . oh well.

9.) Remove a character and make a film or book better (you're not allowed to pick Jar Jar Binks, far too obvious)

I would remove all the characters from the original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I would also remove the sets, the costumes, the actors, and the story. Then everything would be much better.

  10.) How much time do you spend a week on writing, reading and tweeting?

My daily schedule is predictable. In the mornings, I get household tasks done, intermingled with making sure my kids are entertained. Lunch. Then bedtime/quiet time for the munchkins, while I write. That lasts about two hours, but I write fast, so I get a lot done during that time. Late nights also work for me – after the kids are in bed, and I've spent some time with my husband, I'll take my laptop off by myself and write some more. Facebook/Twitter, etc. are interspersed throughout the day in the odd seconds that I get a moment. And I always, without fail, read a chapter of a book before I go to sleep, usually around 12 or 1 in the morning.

11.) We catch up with you this time next year, this time in five years and ten years – tell us what you've been up to.

I'd like to say that the only difference will be a few more gray hairs, children and a husband who have aged the appropriate amount of time, and a few more books on my bookshelf. I've learned, though, that once you get a little comfortable, and you relax a little, life has a way of throwing you a curveball. Or ten.

But whatever curveballs come my way, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to do what I do, to be who I am, and to know who I know. I know the time will be richer the longer I carry on. And that makes me happy.


11 New Questions for my Three Nominations:

What would you say that other people say is your best talent?
What is your favorite genre to read and why?
If you could take the place of any hero/heroine in any book/movie, what would it be, and why?
Who's your favorite? Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Colin Firth, Martin Freeman, Gerard Butler? Why? And if you hate all of them, explain yourself (because there is no excuse). ;)
Who's your favorite? Jennifer Lawrence, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emma Thompson? Why? And same as above, if you hate all of them, explain yourself. :)
Pretend you're making up a new language. What would be the phrase for: “You steal my heart.” Tell me your process.
Explain why The Princess Bride is one of the greatest movies of all time.
What is your go-to activity when you're bored/unhappy/sad? Why?
Tolkein or Lewis? Why?
Favorite mythical creature? Why?
What was your favorite childhood story? What was so fascinating about it?


3 New Nominations:
Margaret Locke
Rebekah Postupak
Deb Foy