Sunshine Blogger Award

The other day, I received a comment from Amelie letting me know that she’d tagged me for the Sunshine Blogger Award, and I’d somehow managed to completely miss it. *facepalm* (I do that a lot, don’t I?)

But it just so happens that this comes at a perfect timing, because I’m planning to be gone all day Saturday at an event making fun new pillow cases for hospitalized children and probably won’t be able to write up a new blog over the weekend. So instead, I’m filling out this tag and setting this post to publish while I’m gone.

I hope you all enjoy it! 🙂

(and be looking for some short stories soon, because I’m super excited to write things for the prompts you guys gave me, and I’ve even had a few original ideas of my own that I’m eager to share 👀)

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The Sunshine Blogger Award:

RULES

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them. – I already mentioned it above, but my friend Amelie from Swordmaiden of the King was the one to nominate me for this tag!
• List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post. – I just stole the graphic from Amelie’s post 😉
• Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts. – I know the original rules specifically said “11 new blogs,” but… I don’t really have that many blogger friends? and the ones I do have, I’ve nominated for other things recently, and I have persistent fear of “running off” my friends by means of over-tagging them. So how about I just say that anyone who sees this and would like to participate can consider themselves tagged by me? I hope this is ok! 🙃
• Ask the nominees 11 new questions.

QUESTIONS

Do you have a favorite author’s blog?

A lot of the bloggers I follow are authors in some way, whether they’ve been officially published yet or not… But I assume this question refers specifically to “author blogs,” or blogs I follow because their owners are authors, or because I first loved a book written by them and wanted to know more about them and their future works.

I just went and made that far more difficult than it was intended to be, didn’t I?

Well anyway. I’m choosing Kyle Robert Shultz’s blog for my answer to this. I love how bright and colorful and eye-catching his current design is. And the graphics are so cool!! Plus, I always enjoy his new blog posts, whether they be news about his own books, promotion for another author’s work, or something completely different (his reviews for last year’s series of Doctor Who were super informative and helped me decide to finally give the show a try). Also, the posts and newsletters get taken over by Malcolm Blackfire (Mr. Shultz’s own dragon archaeologist character) from time to time, and that’s obviously a huge bonus. 😉

Do you listen to music when you write or not?

I’m almost always listening to music lately!! Reading, writing, drawing, doing math homework… I’m usually wearing headphones and enjoying some tune or another.

When you share a home with several siblings who are around nearly 24/7 (ah, the life of a homeschool student), music and a set of good, sound-cancelling headphones are almost a must. This actually isn’t so much because my family are loud, but because I’m easily distracted, so blasting a soundtrack from a favorite film of mine helps me to focus on the words I’m putting onto a page and not the whispered conversation from the other room about how to perform advanced addition techniques.

Plus, when it comes to writing stories, music helps me add emotion to my writing and keeps things from becoming too stiff and “tell-y”, instead of “show-y”. (“Telly” and “Showy.” Wow what masterful wordsmithing is this??)

What is your favorite fictional friendship?

Oooof this is harrrrd….!!! I have so many I love dearly!!! Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins, Janner and Kalmar Wingfeather, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, Rey and Finn, the Doctor and Donna Noble, Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex, Legolas and Gimli…

I have A LOT, people. The brOTPs in a story are ofttimes more attractive and important to me than OTPs.

So instead of rambling around in an attempt to pick just one favorite friendship, I’ll give you three that I love + a GIF for each:

• Legolas and Gimli

• Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex

• The Doctor and Donna Noble

What is your favorite season?

When I first saw this question I immediately thought of something I once saw on Pinterest about this question being asked as an icebreaker in a group of people and the OP, who just so happened to be a fangirl, confusedly raising her hand to ask “Season of what?”. This was of course directly followed by the stares of all the non-fanpeople in the room as she realized what the question was really about, and was thereby humiliated.

But as for my answer to this question:

It’s probably going to sound really cliche, but I’m going to have to say autumn/fall. I love all the seasonal food, the leaves changing colors, pumpkins and potted mums on the front porch, the associations, finally being able to break out my snuggly cool-weather clothes again, the crisp-yet-not-frigid-temperatures… also it’s the season that contains my birthday, so that’s fun! 😀

What is your favorite movie? (series, like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, count)

This one is actually a lot more easy for me to answer than most other “what is you favorite [insert fandom-related thing here]” questions. However I’m still going to have to split it two ways – between Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings series.

Star Wars was my first big fandom, and will always be my “first love”. Those characters, stories, and themes… I’ve made so many memories in connection to those films, from the first time I ever watched The Phantom Menace at three years old to attending Star Wars Celebration in Chicago this spring, and I’ll probably never lose that special thrill I get when I hear the theme tune start playing or the thrummm of a lighsaber.

But The Lord of the Rings was my next passion, and in some ways, I feel more connected to the tales of Middle-earth, probably because of faith I share with its author.

So I love both of these series immensely and they’ve been a huge part of my childhood and teenage years, and I’m really looking forward to being able to introduce kids of the next generation to them someday. 😀

How many siblings do you have?

Three, and all sisters! And here’s some bonus info for you: I’m the oldest.

Do you like coffee or tea better?

It depends on the mood I’m in and what time of day it is!

In the morning, I need my mug of coffee.

In the evening, I need my cuppa tea (usually peppermint tea, but I’m experimenting with some other blends lately – my sister got a box of vanilla chai tea recently and has let me try a couple of bags, which I really enjoyed!)

And sometimes for meals, my Southern Gal heritage comes out, and I just have to default to iced sweet tea from the pitcher in the fridge. 😋

In what month is your birthday?

September, actually!! (In fact, it’s in about a week from the day this post goes up!) 😀

Do you want to be a published author someday?

Absolutely! But I haven’t yet decided if I’ll go totally indie or try to join a publishing group/go under an established, big-name publishing house…

I would love to someday work for a TV or audio series, too. Animated shows like Star Wars Rebels and Big Hero Six The Series are really appealing to me, as are audio dramas like Adventures in Odyssey, the Radio Theater productions, and Big Finish’s Doctor Who productions. It likely will never happen, but it’s something I like to daydream about from time to time. 😊

What is your favorite fruit?

I would say, out of the more “conventional” fruits, probably oranges.

But I also looooove raspberries and blackberries, as well as kiwis. Oh, and pomegranates!

Stainless steel or plastic water bottles?

I usually drink out of the disposable plastic water bottles that my mom buys in the huge packs from the grocery store, but if I had to fill one up for a long a day out, I’d probably go with stainless steel. Holds temperature better and doesn’t leave a weird taste in the water. Also: shiny! XD

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Thanks again Amelie for tagging me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! I hope you all enjoyed reading my answers to the above questions!

If anyone who reads this hasn’t been tagged yet and would like to participate (or if you already have and would just like to do it again), here are the questions for you to answer!

1. What is the very first book you remember reading?
2. Do you like audio dramas? Do you have a favorite one, or a favorite company (like Radio Theater or Big Finish) that produces ones you love to listen to?
3. If you could only wear different shades of one color for one whole year, which color would you pick?
4. Graphic tees, yes or no?
5. Iced coffee – a magnificent creation or a perversion of what coffee should be?
6. Do you have a favorite poem? If so, what is it, and why is it special to you?
7. If you attend church, do you prefer more traditional-style hymns in the service, or more contemporary worship songs?
8. Glitter – yes or no?
9. Have you ever dyed your hair before? If so, what color(s)? Did you like the outcome?
10. What time of day are you usually most productive? Are you a early bird or a night owl, or do find you tend to average out in the middle?
11. What is your favorite terrain? Rugged mountain ranges, dense forests, rolling hills, flat countryside…?

(And don’t forget to follow the rules from the top of this post, and add them to your post as well!)

I hope you all have a wonderful and restful weekend!

• Shay