Saturday, February 11, 2012

Ice Breakers: Not Just For Winter Weather

I seeeee Japaneeeeese~
I'm pleased as punch to make two quick announcements before getting into the rest of the meet of this entry:  not only has my blog doubled its readership this week (from 40 to over 80 thus far), but I've also broken 50,000 views. Most of those views come from google image searches, but hey, I don't hold it against myself!

Just want to thank everyone again for the kind comments left on all my Character Blogfest entries. I am quite proud of my "voice", so hearing so many compliments on it made my day(s)!

Now, since I've doubled my readership this week, mostly due to the Campaign and the Blogfest, I thought I should do another sort of introduction for those first reading me - and hey, if you've been around for a few months or a year now...maybe you'll still be entertained? Haha.

Anyway, without further ado, my name is Hildred. I'm currently 24 years old, a Libra (yes, that's important), and have been writing since I was four years old. I majored in Japanese Studies and minored in Religious Studies in university and currently work as an English teacher in Japan until I move back to the States in April/May. I consider myself fairly fluent in conversational Japanese, but don't ask me "what does this kanji mean?" because I will cry.

I write predominately adult Fantasy with Science Fiction overtures. I have two series I'm working on, although one is on the backburner indefinitely. The one that's on the backburner is "Nagnomei", a ten book high fantasy saga that deals with the origins of "humanity" and the lengths deities will go to to keep their people in the dark "for their own good". The one that's not and currently being written, edited, promoted, and soon-to-be-published is "CROSS//", a five book urban fantasy series that's about reincarnation, selfishness, overpopulation, butterflies, and a romance that has survived thousands of years. Both series also delve into "what happens when we die?" with very different answers, because to me, that's the biggest mystery of life. I also delve heavily into LGBT themes, particularly the "LG" part. I feel that women and lesbian romances in general (and all the problems that come with being a queer woman in general) are highly underrepresented in fantasy in a realistic light.

But right. This here blog. I blog about "writing", including in general and my own. Mostly I rant and whine about whatever ails me writing-wise at the moment, and sometimes I rant about patterns I see in the writing/publishing world that pisses me off. I also do a lot of self-promotion and sometime post my own writing. So, your standard "author blog" fare.


I've also recently gotten into Hubpages, and you can find my profile and hubs here. Feel free to add me and I'll happily return the favor! Also, I tweet over here, and if you leave me your handle in the comments I'll happily follow you there as well!

And now, for you!

I'm interested in getting to know most of you better as well! Actually, I think most of us from the blog hops and campaigns could use some introductions to each other, yeah? But in case you've got writer's block about what to say in an introduction, try these!

1 - Describe yourself in 50 words.
2 - What do you write?
3 - What piece of work are you the proudest of?
4 - What's one thing you wish you could do?
5 - If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would you live, and why?

Feel free to post in the comments or in your blog. I look forward to getting to know of you all better, and thanks for reading!

16 comments:

  1. So nice to meet you too! I'm 25 and been writing for a whole seven months :) That's not completely true actually but I've been a serious writer for seven months. I write YA. I've finished a YA Dystopian, YA Contemp, Adult Thriller (it was supposed to be YA but my CP said it was not...oh well :)), and my current MS which is getting some good vibes in the agent world is YA Fantasy.

    So nice to meet you!

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    1. Nice to meet you too! Wow, that's a lot of works in seven months! Good luck!

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  2. 1 - Describe yourself in 50 words. - My name’s Elisabeth but I go by fairbetty on the web. I’m 34, married, and live in the Northeast. I currently am pursuing creative enterprises (meaning I don’t work). I write, paint, photograph, do yoga, and hike with my dog pretty much every day. I’m a kook looking for kooky friends.

    2 - What do you write? I write YA fiction... fantasy... mostly because I have never really grown up and it's still so fun to me.

    3 - What piece of work are you the proudest of? I wrote a feature article for UC Davis Magazine on women winemakers that I'm pretty proud of... and I had my first painting in a juried art show last year... those are two accomplishments I feel really good about.

    4 - What's one thing you wish you could do? I wish I could travel forever, anywhere I want, without worrying about money, and write about the places I go and people I meet.

    5 - If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would you live, and why? It's a toss up between Hawaii (o, Hawaii, how I love thee and thy tropical lushness) and the Orkney Islands in northern Scotland (not tropical at all, but the folklore and landscape are enchanting)

    Nice to meet ya, Hildred ;)

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    1. Nice to meet you too! Wow, I'd be pretty proud of the painting as well. I'd always been into art like that, but never had the talent for drawing or the like, so I'm always jealous of those who do. Any pics?

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  3. Hi Hildred! I saw my blog followers double this week too cuz of the campaign! I'm so pumped for the challenges and the possibility of it doubling again! :)

    Anyway, to answer your fun questions:

    1. I'm Vicki, I'm 25, married, and live in Ohio. I work at a human resources firm, but anticipate the day when I can become a full-time writer. (I'm already a serious writer; I just wish I could quit my job and focus solely on the writing!) I also have been playing piano since I was six years old, and I have a fat, orange cat named Oliver.

    2. I write both YA and adult novels, but my focus is mostly on YA. More specifically: Paranormal, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Dystopian, and Historical Fiction. And, of course, in every book there's always some romance. :)

    3. I am most proud of my WiP as I have been studying and intensely working to perfect it and make it an exciting read. But I did also get an honorable mention in the 80th Annual Writer's Digest Competition for a YA Paranormal Romance piece.

    4. I wish I could afford to travel. I would love to get first-hand experience in the places that I write about, instead of relying on other's descriptions. But alas, there just isn't enough money. :(

    5. It would probably be in a place like New Zealand, Scotland, or Ireland. Essentially, a place with lush landscapes.

    Glad to be doing the campaign with you!

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    1. Hey! You had me at "fat orange cat". ;) I don't think I could write any story without some romance in it. It's pretty much a given for anything I write at this point.

      See you around!

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  4. 1 - Describe yourself in 50 words.
    smart, passionate, interesting, snarky, wry, witty, pretty, modest, creative, dreaming, independent, strong, unique, eccentric, insane, idiosyncratic, chocoholic - recovering, obsessed, complicated, lazy, not, very, only, some, completely, weird, interesting, twisted, hurried, harried, thoughtful, observant, annoyed, happy, cynical, optimistic, convoluted, bold, confident, loud, different, wicked, sharp, sweet, tangy, loyal, likeable, extraverted, introverted

    2 - What do you write?
    Fantasy, paranormal, westerns etc. anything my muse tells me to write.

    3 - What piece of work are you the proudest of?
    My beast of an epic, now being edited.

    4 - What's one thing you wish you could do?
    Lick my elbow.

    5 - If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would you live, and why?
    In a camper, so that I can travel the world and live where I want when I want.

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    1. I was once able to lick my elbow, but alas, growing up got rid of a lot of cool things I used to be able to do.

      Also, I like your list of words ;D

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  5. Describe yourself in 50 words.
    I am a dreamer, who loves family, friends and the simple things in life. Having the company of my husband, daughter and a new book or project makes me happy.

    2 - What do you write?
    Fantasy and Science Fiction.
    3 - What piece of work are you the proudest of?
    I love them all and am proud just to finish them.

    4 - What's one thing you wish you could do? Fly.


    5 - If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would you live, and why? Africa. It seems like such a colorful place and I would be surrounded by Ancient History.

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    1. I also love the "simple things" in life. I'm the most content to sit at home on a nice day with the cat nudging me for more food. Although it's not very conducive to getting work done.

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  6. 1. I'm a Senior in college, I graduate in May with a degree in English Writing. I have plans for Graduate School for Library Science and I'm on the career hunt.

    2. I write YA Fantasy! :D

    3. All of them really. I LOVE all my characters!

    4. Get an agent!

    5. Europe. I don't know where, I'd just like to go everywhere. That's a cop out, I know!

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    1. Cop out answers are okay. God knows I write cop-outs all the time!

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  7. Hi Hildred, I am also a Libra fantasy writer. My name is Sabrina, I am 29, married, and a pro-mom to the most beautiful 5 year old boy(I might be biased). I live in Oklahoma. In January, I took over as President of my writing club and am really enjoying the challenges of this position. I have been writing seriously for a year and a half, working on book 1 of an adult fantasy trilogy, and am really proud to have it written and coming to the end of revision.

    I want to publish my book, not only for readers to enjoy, but also to earn the money to afford to adopt a baby girl from Russia.

    I love living in Oklahoma. You just don't find genuinely nice people like those in this fabulous state. I wouldn't mind having a vacation property in Italy, right on the Mediterranean.

    I am so excited to meet you and see you again as the campaign continues.

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    1. My mother used to live in OK and talks about it all the time. Congrats on the new position, and good luck on your future adoption endeavors!

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  8. I discovered you via a Google Images search sometime last year - A Middle Earth map, I think. Regular reader ever since! Those searches are useful, really :-)

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    1. haha, that's awesome! I always wondered if anything came from the thousands of image searches I got for the Middle Earth and irony meme images. Of course, when I look up the terms blogger provides myself I can never find my blog.

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