Bat-Shit-Crazy!

Forgive the language...or blame Dani and Jackie. haha Today, they would like to know those 5 things that drive you up a wall. You can visit them over at Cover Girls and comment with a link to your own post.

1. People talking loudly or listening to something loudly when you're trying to listen to something.

2. People who use curse words ALL THE TIME.

3. People who think they can sing but can't. As a musician, that offends me greatly.

4. When black people stare at other black people like they haven't seen black people before (sorry, got really specific with that one).

5. Guys who honk at you when you're walking down the street.

Have a great weekend! Share your 5 or anything that drives you crazy.

A Very Rainy Friday (Here Be Blog Memes)

Well, thank you, those two of you who took pity on me Wednesday! lol I now have...

Just kidding. I now have 100 Followers! I wish I had stuff to giveaway or something, but I'm a part-time casual/seasonal administrative assistant, so I don't. BUT I'm declaring that that will change soon, as one of the other admins just picked up another job! This department tends to keep its people, so the chances that I will be full time soon are HIGH!

And now for Fast Five Friday! This is created by the Cover Girls, Dani and Jax, who also do the Express Yourself Weekly meme, which is also below. You can visit their blog and participate by posting your own Fast Five answers and then commenting with the link to your post.

Today, they want us to rattle off 5 favorite classic literature novels that we adore. Some of mine are plays. I hope that's okay.

1. Death of a Salesman

2. The Glass Menagerie

3. Taming of the Shrew

4. A Christmas Carol

5. The Great Gatsby

For Express Yourself, they would also like to know what our favorite cookie/cake is.

I LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies. They're not only tasty, but you can eat them guilt-free any time of the day! Chocolate chip comes in a close second, but it has to be a really good chocolate chip cookie. I also love mousse cake and a Boston creme-style cake (though it doesn't have to have the chocolate frosting. I just love the pudding).

What are your favorite classic novels? Or cookies? Or cakes? lol

Have a great weekend!

Fast Five Friday

Happy Friday! Thursday was extremely long, and I wanted to break up with it.

Visit the Cover Girls' Fast Five Friday page to participate. Don't forget to link your post in a comment to them once they post!

Last Friday, they wanted us to list 5 things we're looking forward to in the Fall. Fall's my favorite season, so this should be easy.

1. Cooler weather
2. Pretty leaves all changing color
3. Bonfires
4. S'mores
5. More reasons to drink lattes

Today, they want to know what 5 books we want to see turned into TV shows or movies.

Let me preface this by saying that the first Octavia Butler book I ever read, Dawn, is coming to TV! I'm so excited! Read about it here.

Warning: My list only contains 3 authors. lol

1. Graceling/Fire (movie)
2. Bitterblue (tv)
3. The Inheritance Trilogy (tv, so it can go on and on)
4. A Deep Green Sea (movie)
5. Mr. Spaceman (either, as long as the creators of Futurama do it lol)

What about you? I know some people get mad when Summer's gone, but do you like anything about Autumn? And how about books you'd like to see as movies or tv shows?

7 More Lines and Fast Five Friday

Thank you guys for your encouragement Wednesday as well as your interest Monday! It really made me feel better. I was asked to post more from my WIP, so I thought, "I shall!" I decided to show secondary character Andyrsn breaking up an argument between Cyan and Ghuli, who was disobediently not present in Monday's 7x7x7x7 snippet.

“You’re both stressed. Just calm down.” Cyan paced the floor as Ghuli folded her arms. “Ghuli, I’m sorry, but I have to side with Cyan here.” The look she gave him conveyed a slight betrayal, but he stood firm. “We’re watchmen. I know you want to find this scroll thing, but your safety is more important.”

Ghuli’s scowl melted away, but she drew her knees up and hugged them. “What if finding the Great Scroll is the key to my safety?”

“Have we not been enough so far?” Cyan asked, the strength in his voice making Andyrsn jump, but Ghuli yelled right back.

“You’re not invincible, Cyan. I could lose you, too!” Cyan’s jaw hardened, and a pained look came across his reddening face before he stormed toward the door. “I’m not having this fight with you anymore.”

This week, the Cover Girls would like us to list the 5 books that had us bawling or near tears. These I can put in order from hardest sobs to mistiness. lol

Stephen King's The Green Mile (bawling uncontrollably!)

S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders (bawling)

N.K. Jemisin's The Broken Kingdoms (crying)

Terri Bruce's Thereafter (near tears/inconsolable)

Robert Olen Butler's The Deep Green Sea (near tears)

Any books have you dying of the feels?

Friday Hops! The Interweb & Year-End Goal

Happy Friday, friends. :)

The countdown is ON! The Mentor/Mentee reveal for Pitch Wars is in 6 days, and I'm so anxious! The Twitter feed has been the solace for both sides of the fence since before the submission window opened, and the hints and non-hints have been killing at least me! Pray for me!

This week, the ladies at Cover Girls would like to know the 5 Websites/Blogs we visit the most!

1. Google

2. Twitter

3. Facebook

4. Blogger

5. Miniclip.com

The same ladies host Express Yourself Weekly, and they would like

to know what ONE thing we would like to do before the year is up!

You know, I've been single since 2006...It would be really nice to meet someone this year...Preferably someone with red hair, but at this point...lol. Not really getting any younger, although apparently the 30s are the new 20s, and I can get down with that.

Have a great weekend!

Pitch Wars Mentee Bio + Friday Hops

This is a special edition of Friday and unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess), not the last you'll be hearing about Pitch Wars from me.

First off, hello! Many (let's be real) Some of you may be here because I tweeted something on the lines of #PitchWars #menteebio and put a link there which led you here. If so, Hello again!

I'm Deborah, Deb for short, Debra Renée for longhand authorship, Write Mage for Magic Tavern and blogger purposes. I started writing as a child in a classroom where they handed us a blank book and said, "Go!", but really, I fell in love with writing because of a little animated series called X-Men, and I've been battling my inner screenwriter ever since.

A little about me: I'm the middle child of three girls, left-handed, born under the sign of Cancer, so I live a complicated and imaginative life. I love music and have nearly perfect pitch. I pretend to play piano, but I'm not all that great. I apparently sit on the cusp of the Type B and C personalities and am known to my friends as having no filter. I'm either very chill or ready to kill. (Sounds like a movie hook.)

So what do you write, No Chill Deb? Well, I have a huge love for YA contemporary stories. They held the trophy for me for several years of my adolescent writing journeys, and I still dabble with them. At the moment, though, I am trying to push a YA Fantasy novel that came to me in a dream and was inspired by my favorite gaming franchise Final Fantasy (when I woke up). I started writing it just before college, so it took about 6 years to write the first draft and another 5 or 6 when I learned all that there was about what happened after you feel your novel is ready. There may be more Fantasy works to come for me, but only time will tell. I have a short speculative story published by Cactus Heart Press under my old pen name Debra McKellan, the biggest thing to happen for me this year, and the link to the e-zine is up above this blog somewhere, where all the tabs are (there's also a sample of my short). To have been recommended to submit was such an honor, and I was even more elated to be picked!

I'm not sure what else to say here...So if you want to stick around for Express Yourself and Fast Five Friday, you can! ;D Every week, two ladies you may or may not know (Dani and Jackie, the Cover Girls) created these hops to get know those of us who follow them, and that they're able to come up with so many questions is magical.

This week for Express Yourself, they asked us what TV or book characters do we relate to?

I'm going to go with TV on this one, and I chose Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. When the show came out, I believe Rory and I were both sophomores. She was a quiet bookworm with a dream of journalism; I was a quiet bookworm with a dream of being an author. We both have very animated mothers and estranged grandparents (though I think my grandmother is NOTHING compared to Emily). We both had a bit of a bad boy phase, with virtually the same scenario playing out (except Jess got his life together, and I still wish he and Rory will be together in the non-existent GG future). We both took a break, though I took one after high school, and Rory took one during college, dated a douchebag boyfriend, and then graduated successfully. What a ride!

Now, Fast Five Friday (which I always almost spell Fast Frive) is a little quicker (obvs), and the ladies asked us to name our Top 5 Apps. Here are mine in alphabetical order, so I don't lose my mind.

GroupMe
Instagram
Pinterest
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Twitter

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend.

Friday Hops: Movies and Music

Speaking of hops, has anyone else had the Not Your Father's Rootbeer??? Oh. My. Goodness.

Happy Friday! Today, I bring you my Fast Five, created by the Cover Girls, Dani and Jackie, and Express Yourself Weekly, also created by the Cover Girls, kind of. lol

Fast Five Friday invites you to give 5 quick answers to whatever question that have for the week. This week they ask us to name 5 action packed movies. Easy for me! I love action movies.

1. Lethal Weapon
2. Die Hard
3. Star Trek: Into Darkness
4. The Fast and the Furious
5. The Matrix

Now, I'm not sure if we still sign up for this one, but they have the questions, so I'm gonna answer them! This week, they asked, "What song makes you want to dance as soon as you hear it?"

Hm...I'd have to say any song with a salsa beat. If I hear one, I typically go, "Eyyy!" and bust a move or two.

THREE DAYS left before Pitch Wars opens up. Are you excited?? What about those questions up there? Love a good action movie? Love to dance? :)

Happy Friday!

That moment when you've been on vacation for 2 months and forgot you needed to post today.

That other moment when you decided to change up your schedule and forgot what you're supposed to be posting about today.

Oh, yeah. Hey, y'all!

I'm 66% done culling through the mentors on the Pitch Wars Mentor Blog Hop. I read the first half in one day, and man, my eyes are still weak. There are a LOT of great mentors of all age groups and genres, so if you're interested, I'm sure there's someone out there for you. You can choose 5 mentors, and even that is hard! I mean, there are 100 mentors after all. I'm still claiming that this is my year, and I'm praying that this is the beginning of something great for my story.

Now, onto Fast Five!

This little bloghoplet was created by the Cover Girls, Dani and Jackie, who also bring us Express Yourself Weekly. This week, they would like us to rattle off our 5 favorite couples. If you participate, don't forget to let them know in their comments.

In no particular order, the first five that came to me, (because there are so many more):

1. Katsa and Po (Graceling by Kristin Cashore)
2. Oree and Shiny (The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin)
3. Desi and Edna (Mr. Spaceman by Robert Olen Butler)
4. Ben and Tien (A Deep Green Sea by Robert Olen Butler)
5. Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen (A Song of Ice & Fire by George R.R. Martin)

"Wait, wait, wait," you should probably say, because #5 is more of a ship and a hope, but let's pretend, okay?

Let me know if you're participating, too, so I can visit your page!

Fast Five Friday: Cartoons

Happy Friday!

What is it about 4-day work weeks that feel like an ETERNITY??

Anyway, the Cover Girls, Dani and Jax, came up with this fun quickfire bloghop that gets us to share 5 things of their choosing. This week it is 5 Childhood Cartoons.

The first of my fave five is the reason I became a writer. The next two made me love fantastical settings. The next are just...what's not to love?!

1. X-Men
2. David the Gnome
3. The Smurfs
4. Doug
5. Gummy Bears

Fast Five Friday: Movie Crushes

Alright, alright, alright (in my Matthew McConaughey voice), Happy Friday!! Welcome back to an installment of Fast Five Friday, brought to us by Dani and Jackie, the Cover Girls!

This week, we have shooting off our five favorite movie crushes! Let's see if I can stop at five. lol (After looking) Okay, FINDING five was actually hard. I was like, "What movies have I watched?"

Well, there's the Prince from Beauty & The Beast. lol Hey, even my mom was like, "Wow."

The sexy Michael Corvin from the Underworld series.

Capt. James T. Kirk time-warped world style from Star Trek. (Mainly because, well, Chris Pine.)

Louie from Interview with the Vampire. (Mainly because, I mean, BRAD!)

Jacob Palmer from Crazy, Stupid Love.

BONUS info: My cousin has a serious crush on Optimus Prime. hahahaha

Fast Five Friday: Books!

Happy Friday! Ohhhh, Happy Friday! *blubbers, holds Friday like a lost puppy* We thought we'd never see you again!

That aside, welcome back to Fast Five Friday, given to us by the Cover Girls, Dani & Jax! It's a very lax meme in which you can participate whenever you feel.

This week, they would like us to recommend 5 Books!

Here are the 5 that have changed my life as a fantasy writer, and I strongly recommend them for other fantasy writers.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (and sequels) by N.K. Jemisin

The Phoenix Unchained (and sequels) by Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

*This truly was the first that ultimately showed me the kind of writer I want to be.*

Transparent (and sequel lol) by Natalie Whipple

Hereafter (you know what goes here lol) by Terri Bruce

A Game of Thrones (et. al.) by George R.R. Martin

Fast Five Friday: TV Shows

Happy Friday! It's time for another Fast Five, created by the Cover Girls, Dani and Jackie!

This week, we are listing our Top 5 Favorite TV Shows.

I don't know if they have to be on right now or not, so here are 5!

Scandal

Grey's Anatomy

Friends

Family Guy

Futurama

Fast Five Friday: Romantic Films

Good morning.

I'm not particularly awake yet, but I have to work. Today, however, is Friday, and that means another installment of Fast Five! This bloghop was created by the Cover Girls, and you can visit their page for their favorite movies and the list to join if you like. You don't even have to post every week!

As Valentine's Day is tomorrow (sigh), they asked us to list our favorite romantic films. So away we go!

I plan on watching 3 of these tomorrow.

Fast Five Friday: Authors

Welcome back to another installment of Fast Five Friday! This bloghop is brought to us by the Express Yourself gals, Dani and Jackie via covergirlsdj.blogspot.com. Click the link to visit their Fast Five today and to join!

Today, they ask us to name our five favorite authors.

Mine tend to change depending on whom I discover, but a few have stuck around in my heart to be able for me to declare them favorites! In no particular order, here are my Fast Five Faves.

1. Robert Olen Butler

2. Octavia Butler (m.s.r.i.p.)

3. N.K. Jemisin

4. George R.R. Martin

5. Terri Bruce

Friday Freeday: Fast Five Friday: TV Character Crushes

Happy Friday!

Welcome back to another installment of Fast Five Friday! This new bloghop is brought to us by the Express Yourself gals, Dani and Jackie via covergirlsdj.blogspot.com.

This week, they ask us to name 5 TV character crushes.

1. Robb Stark (*bawls*) from Game of Thrones

2. young Ron Johnson from A Different World

3. Zack from The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers

4. Jake Ballard from Scandal

5. Dr. Owen Hunt from Grey's Anatomy

These are a mix of old and new crushes, hehe.  How about you? I'd love to see the guys' answers. lol

The First Fast Five Friday!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to the first Fast Five Friday (I just wrote Fast Frive hahaha) of 2015! This bloghop was created by the Cover Girls (Dani & Jackie), and here is the link to their first Fast Five post.

This week, we are to pick our 5 favorite novels we read in 2014!

Crap, I thought this was going to be easy until I looked at the books I read! Geez. I can't even put them in a particular order because they were all so good and so different from one another! Oh well. lol Chronological order it is.

And my Fast Five Favorite Novels from 2014 are...

1. Thereafter by Terri Bruce

2. Not A Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

3. Talulla Rising by Glen Duncan

4. Transparent by Natalie Whipple

5. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

And I must do an honorable mention for Blindsided, also by Natalie Whipple. I didn't want to cheat and put a series, but I really loved both of these books and am still hoping she somehow thinks of a third plot. lol

Friday Freeday: New Bloghop!

Here I was, still lamenting that "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is allowed to play on my Classic Rock radio station, when I remembered that it's Friday, and I need to post, and I really have nothing to say besides DEF LEPPARD IS NOT CLASSIC ROCK.

Then, I got on blogger, and, "Oh look, a new bloghop!"

The ladies I usually talk about on Tuesdays have a joint blog called Cover Girls! In 2015, they're beginning a relaxed weekly bloghop. By relaxed, I mean you don't have to post every time. You just have to comment on their Fast Friday post with the link to yours when you choose to do one.

This is the link: http://covergirlsdj.blogspot.com/p/fast-five-fridays.html. It's a quick list bloghop, and you just have to list the 5 things they ask for. Hence, Fast Five. It's good for me, because of course, I do Friday Freeday, and sometimes, I don't have anything to say. Here are the topics below. I will most likely be doing the ones I highlight.

FAST FIVE FRIDAY TOPICS
Jan. 2: Five Favorite Novels Read in 2014
Jan. 9: Five 2014 Adored Book Covers
Jan. 16: Five Most Anticipated 2015 Novels
Jan. 23: Five TV Character Crushes
Jan. 30: Five Favorite Authors
Feb. 6: Five Novels You Wish You Wrote
Feb. 13: Five Romantic Movies You Love
Feb. 20: Five Book Characters You’re Crushing On
Feb. 27: Five Top TV Shows
Mar. 6: Five Book Characters You Relate To
Mar. 13: Five Books You Recommend
Mar. 20: Five Best Writing Songs
Mar. 27: Five Movie Character Crushes

The ladies will post topics quarterly, so I will try to post them also. :)