Twenty things about me
1. Another blonde, but after having spotted one grey hair - I now dye my locks with mixed results. I know I should read the packet but hey, what can go wrong? My nicknames – badger, skunk (purely the look!!), snowball and pinkie. Yes, that time it really did go wrong.
2. I live in Yorkshire in the UK. The largest county in England, probably the size of Laurie’s horse paddock. But I do have a great view of rolling moorland and sheep and a former lunatic asylum and sheep and an almost view of the American listening station at Menwith Hill and sheep. I love sheep. Well, not love them. You know what I mean.
3. Writing. I really do love that. I started by making up episodes of TV series with me as the heroine. You name it, I’ve been in it – Star Trek, Man from UNCLE, Hawaii 5-0. I’ve 7 completed novels, a handful of novellas and a few erotic tales. My range is from paranormal to horror but they all have a touch of romance and humor. Well, I think I’m funny. My family laugh at me all the time.
4. Success. $5 for a horror story and then – wait for it – drum roll – Ellora’s Cave offered me a contract. I said I’d think about it. Two seconds later, I’d signed. I’m going to sit back and wait for the millions to roll in.
5. Former life – a sad cautionary tale. Started off as a government inspector – spying on people trying to cheat on their taxes. A short period as a media planner in an advertising agency. I fled that at dead of night. Several years selling cyanide – mainly to Sweden – no idea why – for the largest chemical company in the UK. Grand title of export manager. There was just me in the department. Had kids. Ughghghg. Then went to work as Government Inspector, spying on teachers. I was so popular, you can’t believe. Thank goodness I married well. ( married for money anyway)
6. No I didn’t, dear. Husband is financial whiz. Met at university when he was bringing a sack of potatoes to my flat mate. Romance is his middle name. Gifts to me include – supermarket vouchers, a magic duster set and a hammer drill. He spent most of his life in the aerospace industry but now works very part time for a green energy company.
7. Two children. Daughter a lawyer. Son about to need her services. Enough said.
8. TV – never watch it, I can’t work the remote. Music – rarely listen to it but I like Robbie Williams. Films – can’t be bothered unless they are really good or feature naked hunks. Books – I ADORE. I read at least one a day. I have thousands as I can’t stand to part with them. I read at lightning speed. 70 pages in 20 minutes. That’s fast? Right?
9. What do I do all day? Write. All day if I can. Its my world and I love it. Start at 8.00 and finish late. Interspersed with journeys on the internet and satisfying needs of husband. No, not those sorts of needs. Really!! I was thinking of making coffee.
10. Worried about – possible visit from FBI. Research for one of my thrillers did involve some investigation of a decaying fetus under a boat shed. Research into plastic handcuffs brought a deluge of porn. Well, that was my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
11. I’m very tall. 5.10 and a bit. I used to be very self-conscious about my height. Now I don’t care. I’m far more worried about other bits of me.
12. I won the prize at school for ‘Good conduct and Example’ It was the worst day of my life. Well, one of them.
13. I drive a BMW Z4 convertible – lovely. Of course we can only put the roof down twice a year. This is England!
14. I spend 3 months of the year in our home in Florida. I know I’m lucky, spoiled, ruined for other men. You can stop twisting my arm now, dear.
15. I’m more long-winded than Laurie. Yippee.
16. I’m struggling now. I’m really not interesting.
Ohh, I used to write travel articles for the largest regional newspaper in the UK.
17. I don’t have any pets. I HATE hamsters. I know they’re cute but it hurts when they bite.
18. I was once kicked by a giraffe.
19. When I was once desperately thirsty - desperately - I sucked my bra. (I'd been swimming in a lake so it was a wet bra - but I was stuck up a sand dune and desperate. Really desperate)
20. I was the only one in my class to fail my cycling proficiency test.
Phew, made it.
Showing posts with label 20 Things About Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 20 Things About Me. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
20 things about me: Dawn
1. I'm a brunette though my children are working on turning me gray. I feel it is unjust that I can't use the blond excuse.
2. I'm not superstitious, but I believe in ghosts, aliens and things that go bump in the night.
3. I started writing, thinking that perhaps I should write and illustrate children's books. Now there's a scary thought.
4. I know from experience, that one should never, ever, no matter how inviting, or fun it looks like it might be, jump on the carcass of a hugely bloated cow lying out in the pasture. Bad, bad idea.
5. Most of the trouble I got into as a kid was because of my sister. See #4.
6. Nothing brings my husband running faster than the sound of his power tools, screaming in my hands.
7. My two best friends in High School, were guys.
8. I was in the Army for four years as a Military Intelligence Analyst with the 10th Mountain Division in Ft. Drum NY. I was one of two women placed in a combat arms unit as an experiment in the late 80's and early 90's when Uncle Sam was trying to figure out if it was a good idea or not. When asked why it is I went in the Army, "I tell them it was to get out of English class." And it was, initially. I made some terrific pictures with the little dots on the test. But the real reason, the reason I raised my hand and swore to defend this country... It's my country. It's a great country with a lot of liberties to enjoy. I'd like to keep it that way. So what can I say? I am a Patriot.
9. I've been roped by a cowboy. Okay so Granddad had some cute cowboys living next to the ranch.
10. Jumping from an airplane is on my list of things to do.
11. I'm named after my father. His name is Larry. I bet you thought I was going to say Don.
12. I am told that I am stubborn. My husband says I never listen, I tell him "Honey I Listen, then do what I want to do anyway."
13. I like to think I'm an artist, but I'm still working on it.
14. I'm left handed and Dyslexic. I spent a great deal of my early school years in Special Education.
15. I'm an avid fan of men in uniforms and a firm believer the world needs more.
16. I practice the Martial Arts and I'm working on my Black Belt. (First degree brown as of Oct 20)
17. I know how to ride and jump a dirt bike and I used to flag at a moto-cross track in the summer as a teenager.
18. I'm a crack shot with a rifle and was a M-60 Machine gunner for the Division Artillery TOC. (Target Operations Center)
19. I believe in Life, Liberty and the pursuit of a damn good cup of iced coffee.
20. For over 20 years I have wondered what it is that I really wanted to do with my life. I been pushed to go to art school, and dug my heels in (see #12). I've served my time as a soldier, a custodian for a hospital, a manager for an arts, crafts and fabric store, waited tables, flipped burgers. I've been a banking supervisor, an IRA clerk, a cowgirl and aerobic instructor... But nothing has felt right until now. At last I've found a place to channel my creative energies, and laugh while I do it. I must say, I'm having a blast.
20 Things About Me: Laurie
Hello, world. Here are 20 Things About Me.
1) I'm a blonde. Remember that. It explains many things...and probably more than a few of my posts.
2) Love Classic Rock. Must worship Classic Rock. I'm trying to work some lyrics into a WIP. We'll see how that goes.
3) I used to raise Thoroughbred racehorses. Now, that doesn't mean I sat in my box seat on Derby Day with my fancy hat and my mint julep, pinky daintily raised. It meant I was out there in the barns mucking stalls, lugging hay, scrubbing water tanks, and getting kicked, bitten and stomped on for my trouble. Glamourous life, I tell ya! Uh huh...as you may wonder and I often ask myself..WHAT was I thinkin'?
4) I'm a former cop—worse than that, a former lieutenant. But not for a living. I was a reserve trooper for a state agency for a number of years. Which means, I did the same thing every other cop does, but without the bennies. I mention it because being a law enforcement officer tends to change your whole outlook on life, on our justice system, and on humanity in general. I've been called every name in the book in five different languages, cussed at, spit at, threatened and had my parentage insulted...and that was just for the speeding tickets. LOL Someday I oughta write a book...
5) Everything I write turns into an epic. I have never been word count challenged.
6) If a genie granted me three wishes—and I could ask for anything I wanted—my first wish would be to have a really great singing voice. I'd love to be able to sing like Faith Hill, or Sheryl Crowe, or Karen Carpenter, or even Fergie. It's the only thing in life I really feel I missed out on.
7) Someone once asked me why I write. I told them it's because no one wants to listen to me sing. Self-expression has to come out in one form or another.
8) I absolutely LOVE where I live. It truly is the Land of Enchantment. It's a fabulous thing for a writer to live in a place that can't decide which century it wants to exist in.
9) I live in the hinterlands. I have more Hereford cattle than people as neighbors. Hollywood likes to film Westerns and aging biker flicks in my neighborhood. The nearest store is 14 miles away, round trip. My 42-mile commute to work is via a scenic mountain highway and has exactly two stop signs. (What's a stop light? LOL) On days when I encounter more than ten cars, I grumble under my breath about the heavy traffic. On the other hand, I'm only 30 minutes from Albuquerque, a metropolis rapidly approaching the 1 million population mark. And lots of shopping. And theatres. And book stores. And Starbucks! Life is good.
10) I drive an Infiniti. The car I owned before that was an Infiniti. The car I had before that was an Infiniti. My next car will be an Infiniti. I stick with things that work for me.
11) I'm a Grey's Anatomy addict and a Dancing With The Stars fanatic. I don't watch much TV, but I schedule my life around those two shows.
12) I collect dragons. When I started my collection, dragons represented all things magical and possible. That was my Yin phase. Later, they began to represent Yang, that sinister element which we all must struggle to overcome even if we don't always succeed. A former female officer friend and I coined a phrase for it: "Sometimes the dragon wins. That's just reality."
13) I have a poster on my home office wall that says "Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned From Star Wars." It starts with: Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try. Ain't it the truth?
14) I grew up on a lake in northern Michigan, reputedly named the Sixth Most Beautiful Lake in the World by National Geographic. Now I live in a desert in the Southwest. No. I don't miss the water. Water comes with companions like mold, mildew, high humidity, overcast skies and mosquitoes. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw a mosquito. I can tell you the last time I saw a blue, blue sky. Today. Yesterday. The day before that. All last week. Etc.
15) A friend of mine named a star after me. I don't know where it is, and I forgot exactly what he named it. Lauris something. He said that was Latin for Laurie. Someday, I need to find out where it is. I'll add it to my list of things to do.
16) I'm a Pisces. Like #1 above, that explains many things.
17) I was a war widow. Not literally, but figuratively. My spouse was a high ranking military officer based four-and-a-half hours away from home. Some couples had his and hers towels—we had his and hers households. In any given week he might have been in DC, Alaska, Kuwait, or any of the border states. Now he works in the homeland security field. In his spare time he's a reserve police Chief. In his other spare time he's a member of a ceremonial military horse unit, and rode with the British Royal Household Cavalry and is one of two Americans to hold the Netherlands Cavalry (Cavalerie Ere-Escorte) Badge. He's also in the Big Brother program. On weekends he fixes everything the horses have stomped, chewed or broken, and gives me foot rubs. My spouse is amazing!
18) I'm descended from the Bruces of Scotland but long, long before I discovered this, I was mesmerized by the sound of bagpipes. Ancestral memories, I tell ya.
19) No kids. Lifestyle choice. I figure we needed to help balance out one of those other couples who has six. This is a fragile world we live on. (And no, I'm not a tree hugger, just a realist.)
20) When I was a senior in high school I had a muscle car and used to drag race. Now I'm older and wiser and I always observe the speed limit. (Yup, there it goes.)
I TOLD YOU everything I write turns into an epic!
1) I'm a blonde. Remember that. It explains many things...and probably more than a few of my posts.
2) Love Classic Rock. Must worship Classic Rock. I'm trying to work some lyrics into a WIP. We'll see how that goes.
3) I used to raise Thoroughbred racehorses. Now, that doesn't mean I sat in my box seat on Derby Day with my fancy hat and my mint julep, pinky daintily raised. It meant I was out there in the barns mucking stalls, lugging hay, scrubbing water tanks, and getting kicked, bitten and stomped on for my trouble. Glamourous life, I tell ya! Uh huh...as you may wonder and I often ask myself..WHAT was I thinkin'?
4) I'm a former cop—worse than that, a former lieutenant. But not for a living. I was a reserve trooper for a state agency for a number of years. Which means, I did the same thing every other cop does, but without the bennies. I mention it because being a law enforcement officer tends to change your whole outlook on life, on our justice system, and on humanity in general. I've been called every name in the book in five different languages, cussed at, spit at, threatened and had my parentage insulted...and that was just for the speeding tickets. LOL Someday I oughta write a book...
5) Everything I write turns into an epic. I have never been word count challenged.
6) If a genie granted me three wishes—and I could ask for anything I wanted—my first wish would be to have a really great singing voice. I'd love to be able to sing like Faith Hill, or Sheryl Crowe, or Karen Carpenter, or even Fergie. It's the only thing in life I really feel I missed out on.
7) Someone once asked me why I write. I told them it's because no one wants to listen to me sing. Self-expression has to come out in one form or another.
8) I absolutely LOVE where I live. It truly is the Land of Enchantment. It's a fabulous thing for a writer to live in a place that can't decide which century it wants to exist in.
9) I live in the hinterlands. I have more Hereford cattle than people as neighbors. Hollywood likes to film Westerns and aging biker flicks in my neighborhood. The nearest store is 14 miles away, round trip. My 42-mile commute to work is via a scenic mountain highway and has exactly two stop signs. (What's a stop light? LOL) On days when I encounter more than ten cars, I grumble under my breath about the heavy traffic. On the other hand, I'm only 30 minutes from Albuquerque, a metropolis rapidly approaching the 1 million population mark. And lots of shopping. And theatres. And book stores. And Starbucks! Life is good.
10) I drive an Infiniti. The car I owned before that was an Infiniti. The car I had before that was an Infiniti. My next car will be an Infiniti. I stick with things that work for me.
11) I'm a Grey's Anatomy addict and a Dancing With The Stars fanatic. I don't watch much TV, but I schedule my life around those two shows.
12) I collect dragons. When I started my collection, dragons represented all things magical and possible. That was my Yin phase. Later, they began to represent Yang, that sinister element which we all must struggle to overcome even if we don't always succeed. A former female officer friend and I coined a phrase for it: "Sometimes the dragon wins. That's just reality."
13) I have a poster on my home office wall that says "Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned From Star Wars." It starts with: Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try. Ain't it the truth?
14) I grew up on a lake in northern Michigan, reputedly named the Sixth Most Beautiful Lake in the World by National Geographic. Now I live in a desert in the Southwest. No. I don't miss the water. Water comes with companions like mold, mildew, high humidity, overcast skies and mosquitoes. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw a mosquito. I can tell you the last time I saw a blue, blue sky. Today. Yesterday. The day before that. All last week. Etc.
15) A friend of mine named a star after me. I don't know where it is, and I forgot exactly what he named it. Lauris something. He said that was Latin for Laurie. Someday, I need to find out where it is. I'll add it to my list of things to do.
16) I'm a Pisces. Like #1 above, that explains many things.
17) I was a war widow. Not literally, but figuratively. My spouse was a high ranking military officer based four-and-a-half hours away from home. Some couples had his and hers towels—we had his and hers households. In any given week he might have been in DC, Alaska, Kuwait, or any of the border states. Now he works in the homeland security field. In his spare time he's a reserve police Chief. In his other spare time he's a member of a ceremonial military horse unit, and rode with the British Royal Household Cavalry and is one of two Americans to hold the Netherlands Cavalry (Cavalerie Ere-Escorte) Badge. He's also in the Big Brother program. On weekends he fixes everything the horses have stomped, chewed or broken, and gives me foot rubs. My spouse is amazing!
18) I'm descended from the Bruces of Scotland but long, long before I discovered this, I was mesmerized by the sound of bagpipes. Ancestral memories, I tell ya.
19) No kids. Lifestyle choice. I figure we needed to help balance out one of those other couples who has six. This is a fragile world we live on. (And no, I'm not a tree hugger, just a realist.)
20) When I was a senior in high school I had a muscle car and used to drag race. Now I'm older and wiser and I always observe the speed limit. (Yup, there it goes.)
I TOLD YOU everything I write turns into an epic!
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