Eleven Questions and Evidence from my Writing Cave

| Coleen Patrick

 

Game time!

The awesome YA author Fabio Bueno tagged me in the Eleven Questions game.

The rules:

1. You must post the rules.
2. Answer the questions on your blog–or if you don’t have a blog, feel free to answer in the comments! Then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
3.  Tag eleven people and link to them.
4.  Let them know you’ve tagged them.

Here are Fabio’s questions and my answers:

What is your favorite historical period and why?

Probably the Tudor, because of all the drama surrounding King Henry VIII.

List your top five favorite movies.

The first 5 that come to mind–When Harry Met Sally, Pride & Prejudice, My Cousin Vinny, The Sandlot & Rat Race

Your house is on fire. Your loved ones–humans and pets–are already safe outside. They have your driver’s license and a flash drive with all your backups (files and all the media you own). You have time to save one more object. What would you get?

A box that has notes to me written by my kids.

You can invite any three people in the world for a dinner–anyone alive. Who are your guests?

Funny people–like Melissa McCarthy, Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig

Congress/the gods/smiling extraterrestrials said you can only have one type of food every meal for the rest of your life (they’ll supplement your diet with vitamin pills). Which food would you choose?

If it’s aliens, they probably have a thingamabob to zap away my food sensitivities, so I’m gonna say pizza.

In an episode of “Friends”, they all reveal their freebie list: Who are your 5 celebs?

Ian Somerhalder, Jimmy Fallon, Rob Lowe, Jake Gyllenhall, Ryan Reynolds

(Huge spoiler alert.) Some people think the Hunger Games is bloody. In Harry Potter 6, fifteen characters die. In HP7, the body count is over fifty (see here). JK is rewriting the series, and she let you choose one character from any of the seven books to get a reprieve. Who would it be and why?

I can’t choose! Cop out I know, but I’m not messing with HP.

What’s your worst fear?

Being unable to keep my kids safe.

You can choose your own nickname, with an assurance that no one would ever mock you. Tell us your choice.

Since I’ve changed my first and middle names legally before, I don’t want another name 🙂

What’s the best vacation you have ever had?

Family road trip to Niagara Falls and points in between.

 

Hiking in the Finger Lakes region, NY

Congress/the gods/smiling extraterrestrials said you must move to any fantasy or sci-fi setting (books, movies, videogames, rpgs) of your choice—permanently. Where would you go?

I love the setting in the movie Mama Mia!

Thanks to Fabio for the fun questions!

And here are my 11 questions for you to answer on your blog (or here in the comments if you don’t have one):

1.  What 3 books would you take with you into your zombie apocalypse/alien invasion bunker (I’m assuming you all have one)?

2.  What was your first job?

3.   What song is stuck in your head right now?

4.  What celebrity would play you in the movie about your life?

5.  What did you eat for breakfast this morning?

6.  If you could go back in time for one day, what time would you revisit and why?

7.  What was the last movie you saw in the theater?

8.  What’s your favorite movie snack?

9.  What TV show is most like your life?

10.  If you could get on a plane right now, where would you go (all expenses paid)?

11.  If you could tweet to your 13 old self, what would  you say?

 

Anyone can play, but I tag:

Sophia Chang

Lisa Hall Wilson

Marcy Kennedy

Stacy Jensen

Sarah Pearson

Myndi Shafer

Jennette Marie Powell

Ruth Schiffman

Catherine Johnson

Emma Burcart

April Plummer

 

Oh and I also got tagged with the Lucky 7 meme by Catherine Johnson and Debra Kristi.  It’s been bouncing around the blogosphere for weeks and it’s been awesome reading bits of everyone’s WIP (work in progress).  The rules  are:

 1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP

2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written.
4. Tag 7 authors, and let them know.

 

I’m not going to tag more people–I think everyone has been tagged anyway!  But I will play along–so here’s a bit from my current YA Contemporary WIP:

 

     Liquid seeped through the neckline of the tank under my jacket and I shifted, noticing the open beer bottle Kyle had apparently left at his side.  I picked it up, holding it for maybe a little too long, enough to feel that the label was missing a corner–probably from Kyle picking at it.

  I moved the bottle to the floor. 

  Kyle stretched and opened his eyes and when he saw me he turned and scooted closer until we were face to face.   “Hey, you’re back,” he said as if I’d just stepped out to pick up take-out food.  “You’re head doesn’t look any smaller to me.”

  He pressed a palm to the top of my head, checking for psychiatric shrinkage, and I smiled.  I couldn’t help it, I felt missed. 

🙂

Have a spectacular weekend!!

 

48 thoughts on “Eleven Questions and Evidence from my Writing Cave”

  1. I loooove Pride & Prejudice and The Sandlot. We have a lot in common. I love when these games go down on blogs, because we get to learn so much more about the blogger who’s revealing the good stuff. 😉

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  3. LOL I am really curious about your name change – but I won’t ask, since it’s none of my business. 🙂 And I’m totally with you on Niagara Falls! We went there for our 10th anniversary, and didn’t want to leave out our daughter so we took her too – awesome trip!

    I’m really glad you didn’t ask me the Harry Potter question – I have no idea who dies, because I stopped reading about 80 pages in to book 5!

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  5. So much fun. I wouldn’t mess with HP and I’m just reading the final book.

    Since I’m in the throws of doing A to Z posts. I’ll answer the questions here. 🙂
    1. Books – The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, About Alice by Calvinl Trillin, and something random.
    2. First job – cake decorator
    3. Song, Anything from the Jewel Lullaby CD as we play this to sooth the growing toddler to trick him to sleep/nap.
    4. Actress to play me in a movie: Elizabeth Banks maybe
    5. a couple of the mini-peppermint patty brownie creations I made.
    6.Go back in time: I can’t think of anything. It’s sort of like the HP question. I’m afraid I would mess up the present.
    7. Friends with Benefits. It was the ONLY thing Hubby and I could watch together. The last concert date was Prairie Home Companion. We’re pretty wild. That’s how we roll.
    8. Junior mints
    9.TV show most like my life – I’m finding I can related to some antics on Up All Night lately.
    10. I would go to China. I want to see the Great Wall.
    11. Tweet to my 13-year-old self — It all works out.

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    1. Stacy I agree with you about the time travel–I think it’s watching too many Twilight Zone episodes but I too am afraid to mess up stuff. 🙂 Thanks for posting your answers–love learning new stuff!

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  6. Love your answers, and that stream/river looks awesome for playing in.

    Your excerpt is lovely, so nice to delve into your world Coleen. I’ll answer on my blog next wednesday. Brain tired today 🙂

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  8. FUn post! I love the idea of questions so much more than awards! That way we get to know fun things about people! Thanks for tagging me. I’ll answer them in a post next week, so I have time to think up some juicy questions! I love your snippet, too. Sounds so intriguing! (Hope I spelled that right. Why is there no spell check in these comment things?)

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  11. Thanks for tagging me 🙂 I have my posts already scheduled for the next week and a half, but I’m going to need to do something up to answer all the awesome questions I’ve been asked and share an excerpt from my WIP since I’ve been tagged in that too 🙂

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      2. Hehe. Lisa’s a blogging pantser too. I think it’s all a matter of preference. I don’t work better under pressure (though my husband does, which makes us a good pair). I have the kind of personality where, while I can work under a tight deadline, I feel more creative if I have a cushion.

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  12. Great answers, Coleen! Good selection of dinner guests. I hope you had fun 🙂
    I’m so intrigued by your excerpt! It’s lovely. When will we see the whole thing?

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    1. Thank you Fabio–you are too kind. When will you see it? Well that’s a good question. I need to do a pro edit and then I think I will try to seek rep traditionally. Not completely sure yet about that. Also I got a bit side tracked by another WIP, which could be because I have some fear about proceeding with the other. But if I decide to self-pub at least I will have more than one book ready to go. 🙂
      Thanks again for the tag–this was fun! And now I know we are Gilmore Girls/Lost buddies LOL.

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  14. All, right, I’ll play here:

    1. What 3 books would you take with you into your zombie apocalypse/alien invasion bunker (I’m assuming you all have one)? The Bible, Gone With the Wind, The Complete Mother Goose. (I know, weird)

    2. What was your first job? A customer service and telephone order taker at Sears.

    3. What song is stuck in your head right now? Sweet Home Alabama (it’s my favorite so that’s a plus)

    4. What celebrity would play you in the movie about your life? Sandra Bullock

    5. What did you eat for breakfast this morning? Egg McMuffin (I hope Ginger doesn’t read this.)

    6. If you could go back in time for one day, what time would you revisit and why? My wedding day. It was really fun!

    7. What was the last movie you saw in the theater? I can’t remember the title, that movie with the Navy Seals.

    8. What’s your favorite movie snack? Sweet Tarts

    9. What TV show is most like your life? American Idol. (I’m a performer and go to lots of auditions)

    10. If you could get on a plane right now, where would you go (all expenses paid)? Disney World

    11. If you could tweet to your 13 old self, what would you say? Don’t marry Mike.

    And there you have it.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

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    1. Well I have an entire pocket in my purse filled with Sweet Tarts (for whenever I see my nephew), so I’ll be prepared if we ever run into each other Patricia!!
      Thanks for playing–love getting to know everyone more 🙂

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  16. Love your answers and excerpt. So fun getting to know you better! I get the name change thing. I filed for a business name for awhile, but never did a legal change. I enjoyed the difference it made. I have since taught enough people. Fun, fun, fun!

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  19. The Sandlot!!!

    FOR-EV-ER.

    Also, I am pretty sure we share the same fear.

    It was nice getting to know more about you AND read a little bit of your WIP!

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  20. What fun those questions are! That’s wild you changed your name ~ I did too! Your answer about what is the one thing you’d grab in a fire made my eyes all misty. Those precious mementos are irreplaceable.

    As for your seven lines thing? Um, when can we read the rest!

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  22. I share your worst fear, Coleen. I always worried about my kids being safe and now that they’re grown up, I still worry about them.

    Love the lines from your story and hope one day I get to read it!

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  23. Pingback: Because You Need To Be Prepared For A Zombie Apocalypse - Lisa Hall-Wilson | Lisa Hall-Wilson

  24. It was fun getting to know you better, Coleen. I loved your answers and your new set of questions. When Harry Met Sally & My Cousin Vinny are two of my favorite movies as well. Wow, so much to comment in this post. I also liked reading your seven lines and am trying to figure out the head shrink thing. I loved your question asking what sitcom describes your life. Those will be fun answers to read. I am so intrigued by your complete name change, but feel it would be rude to pry (I guess I just did). It gave me a suspenseful idea for a new novel. Take care and have fun during the A to Z challenge.

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  26. Wow Coleen, I’m out of breathe! LOL! That was one huge post to put together. Great job! Love your answers to Fabio’s questions and your snippet of your WIP. Very cool! Have a great weekend! 🙂

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  27. Sorry I’m a bit late Coleen, but I loved your excerpt – very intriguing! Thank you for tagging me, although it may have to wait until May before i do it – I’d like to though, some interesting questions!

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