Tuesday, September 4, 2012

GUTGAA Blogfest Meet 'n' Greet

About Me

As part of this week's GUTGAA BlogHop sponsored by Deana Barnhart, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring and get to know my fellow writers. I'm fairly new to this bunch, but not new to writing. I wrote my first novel when I was eight (yeah, I think I got maybe 2,000 words written in total!)

You can read more about me on my blog, but I have been living in The Netherlands for more than twenty years now and love adding my American twist to things I experience in the Old Country. I have four children (all teenagers) plus a full-time job to boot (can't talk about it--it's classified) Anyhow, I keep busy with life in general and treasure the small moments I have to weave stories buried in the depths of my brain.

So - on to the questions!

Where do you write?

At my kitchen table located in the living room which is also doubles as our family's dining room, recreation room, man cave, and general crash chamber. Confused yet? Welcome to my world.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

A pile of (clean) laundry that has been sitting there for two days waiting to be folded, two kids watching SpongeBob Squarepants, hubby's sandals, an empty can of Diet Pepsi and a blood pressure monitor (can you guess who it's for?) And yes, I see all those things and much more in just one glance!

-Favorite time to write?

Evening/late night. After kids are in bed and I've had the chance to digest the latest episode of Pawn Stars!
-Drink of choice while writing?

Already covered this above, but it is Diet Pepsi (Diet Coke tastes HORRIBLE in Europe!) If that's not available, MARGARITAVILLE!
 
Fun Fact: Diet Pepsi is known as Pepsi Light and Diet Coke is Coca-Cola Light in Europe

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

I usually need complete silence or as close to it as I can get, but with four kids, two cats, one dog and a hubby who watches tv two decibels louder than he probably should, silence is golden (and rare!) My iPod and ear buds are my friends.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

My YA Sci-Fi thriller is based on a tourist trap attraction back home in Oregon. The Oregon Vortex (google it!) is an area where strange magnetic phenomenon occur and it's always been a running joke in our family. I thought it would be cool to take the urban legend and make it a gateway to another dimension. I was corn-fed on Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica so I can't really say I'm surprised!

-What's your most valuable writing tip?

Make yourself your MC - dive in and let 'er rip! What do you see, think, feel, hear, smell? Also - never stop believing in your writing and DON'T GIVE UP!

 

18 comments:

  1. Greetings!

    I am hopping over from GUTGAA and reading all the meet & greet questions. Nice to meet you...you have a lovely blog! Good luck with the contest...

    Donna L Martin
    www.donnalmartin.com
    www.donasdays.blogspot.com

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  2. Hi Donna! Thanks for stopping by and for your well-wishes! I just checked out your blog - beautiful! So nice to meet you! Congratulations too with your book coming out soon!

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  3. Hey Cheryl,

    Finally got the chance to drop by! Great to meet you once again and I hope to see more of your sci-fi thriller over the next month :)

    Check out my #GUTGAA bio, finally got it up!

    John
    http://www.johnkrissilas.com/

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    1. Hi John - nice to meet you too - thanks so much for stopping by! My YA Sci-Fi Thriller is up on Cupid's Literary Connection: http://cupidslitconnection.blogspot.nl/2012/09/cagi-entry-2.html Check it out!

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  4. Oh, I've heard about the Oregon Vortex. I'd read your book.

    http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2012/09/deana-barnharts-gearing-up-to-get-agent.html

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    1. Mia - thanks for visiting my blog and for your nice comment. I'll check out yours!

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  5. Love your writing tip.,good luck with GUTGAA.

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    1. Hi Angie - thanks for stopping by! Are you in GUTGAA as well?

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  6. Hi Cheryl,

    I'm actually in GUTGAA too, but I hadn't gotten around to your blog yet. I came over from CAGI. You wrote a nice comment about my poetic writing that made me think you're an awesome person. haha. And you pointed out that I said the name of my parallel world (Trillua) way too many times in the second paragraph which nobody else caught but was a really cool thing to point out since I totally agree.

    I'm gonna have to clean that up before next weeks Pitch Polish blogfest. I am determined to make my query perfect this time!!

    I just wanted to say hi. We both have four kids. Mine are 22, 21, 16 and 13...plus I have a two year old grandson who is at my house so often he practically lives with me. And my husband ALWAYS keeps the TV too loud!! What is it with men having to blast the surround sound? haha

    Anyway, I got so inspired by all the awesome blogs on GUTGAA that I finally started my own. I'd love it if you could stop by!! Hope to see you over there and good luck on GUTGAA and CAGI.

    P.S. Did I comment on your entry on CAGI? I did on a bunch of them, but I may have missed some. Which one was yours?

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    1. Hi Tamara - so nice to meet you - thanks for your comments. It looks like we have a lot in common! Which blog is yours? I'll see if I can find it to stop by and say "hi." Thanks again! :0)

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  7. HI Cheryl,

    Thanks for stopping by my blog! Yours looks so awesome and the pepsi light against the sky background should be used as their ad.

    I also write YA Sci-Fi so yay! for that. Glad to meet a fellow SCi-Fier (lol).

    Also we having a contest over at http://pineapplelightning.blogspot.in/. We'll be glad if you enter!

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    1. Hi Utsav - thanks for dropping in! I'm always happy to meet another fellow SCi-Fier -- we just GET each other, no?!? I will be entering the Pineapple Lightning contest, thanks for mentioning!

      Cheers and good luck!

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  8. Wow - all teenagers! I'm impressed with your nerves :) (or they're great kids!) Good luck on your Scifi. I think it's great you're going for that next!

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    1. Hi Tonja! My youngest is actually 10 but he seems like a teenager!! LOL Thanks for your well-wishes - I'd appreciate you taking a look at my GUTGAA entry (#80) if you get the chance. Have a great week!

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  9. Hi Cheryl, what a beautiful blog here. (I don't like horror flicks either!)Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on my entry! I think my head is swimming after two days of reading lots of pitches - but your story stands out in my mind. Your hook must be good because I want to know how it all ends!! Great to *meet* you here. ~ Tamara

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    1. Hi Tamara! Thanks for visiting my blog and for your super sweet comments! :0) I'm looking forward to getting to know you better and learning from you as a fellow writer. I will definitely let you know when my book is published and you do the same! ;0) Cheers!

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  10. Cheryl, I wanted to let you know you've been tagged on my blog for a Reader Appreciation award (even though you don't like horror movies, which I love!) ...I can't believe I didn't make it here for the Meet and Greet! But I love your advice...getting so far into the manuscript is awesome because it really makes the work come alive!

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    1. Mere Joyce -- this is so cool! I am SOOOO honored to be nominated by you, really I am so touched! Thanks for this nomination and I will add the info to my blog today! Good luck with everything, girl! :0)

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