1.) Piperka – Piperka is a site that tracks when many many web comics (and more are being added all of time) are updated. I read something like 150 web comics, but many are very rarely and sporadically updated, so this site rocks.

2.) HEMA – online winkelen – it’s not in English (nl – Netherlands?) but it is crazy and strangely hypnotic.

3.) 35 cool and inspirational business card designs – just what it says. I’m making cards to hand out with my site on them, and this really sparked my creativity.

4.) FlexYourRights.org – I happen to be a big proponent of police officers, but at the same time this is information everyone needs to know.

5.) Dante’s Inferno – A Virtual Tour of Hell- just what it sounds like.

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you’ve admired during the week, so who are YOUR High-Fives? Post them to your blog and then Share the love.

When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)

Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?

This is a good question. Personally, “literature” for me means reading material. This is probably in good part because as a writer, I tend to think of books in genres, sci-fi, literary, romance, classics, fantasy, etc. When I am researching markets for my work I have to pay attention to what kind of fiction each market publishes, and “literature” is way to broad of a term, and therefore I think in genres. So, for example, when someone mentions Dickens or Tolstoy I think classic literature. Shakespeare, plays. Ray Bradbury, science fiction. Yakio Mishima, world fiction.

I will pretty much read all genres, although of course I do have preferred genres. Classic literature I don’t read often, but I enjoy it when I do. Literary fiction I tend not to enjoy as much, so I don’t seek it out, but I do like a lot of it so I don’t avoid it either if I find something that interests me. Westerns, romance and mystery not so much, but I have found books in each that I enjoy. I love to read so there is very little that I go out of my way to avoid. If what I want at the time isn’t available, anything else is fair game

1. I love to paint and draw, but it takes a major back seat to my writing. (There is a post in that I can tell – I’ll have to expound on that later.)

2. You can put me anywhere, and I can find a way to where I need to be. Cities are easy, and I like public transit for getting around, but cross country is easy too. Helps that a) I like maps (and can read them!), b) I do ask for directions if I need to, and c) I can trace my way backwards to where I got lost at and then take a different route. Also, getting lost and then getting unlost is a great way to learn your way around a place.

3. I dream insanely. There are nights I wake up exhausted because all I did was dream, not rest.

4. Although I wrote stories as a kid, the first time I seriously started to consider myself “a writer,” was then I wrote down was a short story I told my brothers one night when I was somewhere around 14. They liked it so much they threatened to tell my mom I had done something bad, (I have no idea what at this point lol) if I didn’t write it down. That was the first time I took my fiction seriously as something people might like to read, and where my determination to be a published author first took a strong route.

5. I’m a Pisces, although I have managed to camouflage many of the weaknesses of my sign

6. I am fanatical about body art, and have many tattoos and piercings.

7. I’d long since forgotten my geek code, but for fun I just pulled it back up just for you here:

—–BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK—–
Version: 3.1
GCS/FA/L/M/S/O d—@ s+: a C+++>++++$ U—@> P+ L>++ !E— W+++>$ N+ !o K–? ! w @ ! O ! M >++ !V PS++(+) PE+() Y+ !PGP t(+)@ !5 X+ R>++* tv– b++++$ DI++(+) D+ G e++>+++ h(-) r? x+**(++++)
——END GEEK CODE BLOCK——

1.) Booty Babe Art – Big beautiful women statues – I own “Coco.” Mildly not work safe, because not all of the statues are fully clothed

2.) Rampant Plagiarism – It’s not what you expect! I love comic books and graphic novels – and photoshopping things. I’m such a nerd! Also Garfield Minus Garfield – Garfield comics of Jon and Garfield – with Garfield removed! I always knew Jon was crazy. Both via Unshelved web comic.

3.) Don’t follow herd on the economy – very interesting article on warning signs of a crumbling economy and where we might be looking at going right now.

4.) The False Memoir – an article that talks about the issue of false memoirs I wrote about earlier in the week. I don’t really agree with her but she makes some interesting points.

5. ) Apparently the Secret Service does read some blogs, particularly when they document an extreme right-wing blogger talking about assassinating both Clinton and Obama. Yikes.

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you’ve admired during the week, so who are YOUR High-Fives? Post them to your blog and then Share the love.

You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?

Sad to say, I should have seen this coming, but I didn’t till last night. D’oh!

While my heroine came right to me, this week’s question wasn’t as easy. For some reason, Killashandra aside, there aren’t many characters that are popping out in my mind. After a bit of thought however, (and a glance at my shelves) Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife jumped out at me.

On the first level Henry is unique because of the fact that he time travels uncontrollably. He is always having to adapt to wherever he finds himself, as well as the repercussions of where he finds himself when he comes back. But there is a second layer to Henry, and that is the in-depth portrayal of how he deals with the rest of his life around the time traveling – the death of his mother, his inability to have a healthy relationship, his marriage to Claire, trying to have a child. Then there is a third layer composed of his physical characteristics and actions, the way he always runs, his exhaustion, the toll traveling takes on his body, the way he speak, his sex drive. All of these layers are seamlessly intertwined, providing the reader with a rounded, complex character. The story succeeds because of the strength of character development the reader finds in Henry. He is flawed, he is human, and even at his worst he is a likable character. The reader is drawn deeply to him, and he turns was could have been a very bad premise into a compelling and engaging novel.

_Edited to add_

The Old Man from The Old Man and the Sea. What a book – I can’t believe I didn’t think of him sooner.

1.) Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe in “The Last Sitting” – Actually I liked this, and the article was interesting. Obviously NOT work safe!

2.) Gethuman.com – instructions for getting through the automated phone maze to a real person for a large number of big companies.

3.) 20 Ideas for a Great Podcast – Particularity of interest to me as I plan on adding podcasting to my site.

4.) Harper Lee, Gregarious for a Day – Harper Lee is notoriously reclusive, and this is a wonderful glimpse into her.

5. ) The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test – For writers to see of your character is flat, idealistic, clichéd or too perfect. If you don’t know what a Mary Sue is check out the Wikipedia’s article, and then see if your characters is a Mary Sue!

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you’ve admired during the week, so who are YOUR High-Fives? Post them to your blog and then Share the love.

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

Hummmm, this is a hard one, but the first one that leaps to mind is Anne McCaffrey’s Killashandra, the protagonist of the trilogy Crystal Singer, Killashandra and Crystal Line. The first book was great, the second one fairly frustrating, and the third one, while better than the second, was not as good as the first, Crystal Singer. However, Killashandra is a strong, not always likable, but memorable protagonist all of the way through.

Killashandra starts out in the first book as an arrogant music student who refuses to accept that she won’t be a top tier singer, and therefore runs off, eventually becoming a crystal singer. Crystal singers use their voice to run special tools that cut valuable crystals out of the rock that shelters them. The catch? There is a symbiotic spore that infects everyone who comes onto the planet, rendering any infected unable to leave the planet for very long without getting sick.
Singers also develop an addiction to “singing,” or cutting, crystal.

Killashandra is a hugely flawed character. She is arrogant, assuming, stuck up, and bullheaded. However, she is also, courageous, tough and smart. Because she is such a dimensional character, the reader is drawn to wanting to interact with her, whether it be to smack her upside the head, exult with her as she finds crystal, or shiver with her in the erotic connection she has. This is one of the foremost goals of most writers, to have their character stand up from the page, live and breathe without laying dormant, and stick in the reader’s head long after the book is closed. These books succeed because of Killashandra, and she one of the most memorable protagonists I can think of.

***Edited to add***

I think the reason I didn’t like book two as much was that wasn’t set on the world Ballybran, it was removed to another planet. If the story would had featured a different singer I probably would have liked it a lot more, but I when I read it I wanted more of what the first book talked about, and the second went in a very different direction. And I also wanted to have more of Lanzecki, and she is deliberately split off from him in the second one * g *

1.) Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster – what began as a response to the Kansas school board’s plan to consider teaching the alternative theory of Intelligent Design along with creationism has taken on a life of its own.

2.) Heartless Machine – Artist Christopher Locke’s site. He does amazing sculptures out of unlikely materials, such as his scissor spiders.

3.) The Winkee – I cannot remember who I got this from, but it makes me laugh. Don’t want to be bothered wearing a tanktop under your plunging neckline? Wear a Winkie!

4.) Reading to Mom – when a parent’s memory begins to fail.

5.) Really Bad Tattoos – disclaimer: I love tattoos, I have a bunch of tattoo, but holy cow these are some bad tattoos. There are seven posts that are linked to at the bottom of the first post, check them all out. NOT work safe!

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you’ve admired during the week, so who are YOUR High-Fives? Post them to your blog and then Share the love.

1.) Smokey Mountain Breakdown – she’s posting flash fiction works throughout the month of February, and I have to say, what she manages to do in under 1000 words is freaking amazing. (Also, her Grandpa Alfie’s recipe for Wiener Schnitzel looks amazing too – I am so trying it.)

2.) The Infomercantile – Couple of other High-Fivers have linked to posts on this blog. It’s old black and white photographs, which are fascinating on their own, but the author also provides as much information as they have on the photos, as well as any additional research they have done. Enough great stuff to keep my little writer’s mind spinning.

3.) The article Five Easy Ways to Build Sustainable Word-of-Mouth, which is a response to Joan’s Top 10 Tips for Free Publicity. Both have some great ideas and commentary that can be applicable for writers.

4.) Author Kelly Spitzer has an ongoing column in her blog called “Get Real” where she poses a publishing question to authors and editors and then posts some of the responses. Very interesting reading.

5.) THE DOCTOR IS IN – a humorous look at the realities of the mixed emotions that can develop when a friend has some writing success – happiness for them, but also frustration and maybe a little bit of jealousy for not being at that point yourself.

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you’ve admired during the week, so who are YOUR High-Fives? Post them to your blog and then Share the love.

1.) The Gender Genie – this is both a cool toy and a useful writing tool. Fun, well because it’s neat to see what gender it thinks your own writing is, but as a writer’s tool it is great for analyzing dialogue and writing voice.

2.) Pearls Before Breakfast. What happens when a world famous violinist plays a complicated and well-known piece on a Stradivari violin – in a D.C. subway station? Not what you’d think. I keep going back to this article, because I feel like there is a lot that can be learned from it in many ways, about everyday life of course, but also about context and environment.

3.) del.icio.us. This online bookmark site is amazing. Seriously, I have 2600 links, and I can find whatever I need easily. Since this include school stuff for both my daughter and I, writing and market links, research for writing links, along with all the other things I *need* to bookmark, I use it LOT. It’s so easy, and so user friendly, I have to give them mad props.

4.) The Life Cycle of a Blog Post. Not a lot new here for me, but a great description for when you are trying to explain it to people. Moving around the map is a bit of a pain in the rear tho.

5.) One of the most adorable LOLCats I have seen – a Firefox LOLCat! I love LOLCats. Clickie to enbiggin.

The purpose of this meme is to give high-fives to 5 people, posts, blogs and/or websites you’ve admired during the week, so who are YOUR High-Fives? Post them to your blog and then Share the love.