The joy of being tagged and tagging.

So, I’ve been tagged. (Kinda had to hint around for it, but anyway…)

Two different batches of questions to answer today, and one more to ask of my tagees. First, from Mina Burrows:

– Where do you find inspiration?

All kinds of places. Sometimes I trip over a story idea from something random, sometimes it’s something in a book or tv show that gets me thinking of a different twist, sometimes I go and look for story prompts. And sometimes my muse brings me notions and I don’t ask her where she got them from.

– What’s your favorite TV show?

Of all time? Has to be Firefly. (Sigh.)

– What are you reading now?

‘Currant Events’ by Piers Anthony. ‘Inheritance’ by Christopher Paolini. ‘Star Trek New Frontier: Martyr’ by Peter David. ‘Deja Dead’ by Kathy Reichs. ‘A Twist of Malice’ by Jean Rae Baxter. (Yes, I multitask my reading.)

– What’s your favorite recipe?

A spaghetti sauce that I partly got from my Mom, and partly tweaked until it’s just the way I like it.

– I do a segment on my blog called Creepy Classics. What’s your favorite Creepy Classic and why?

Hmm… I’m not a huge fan of creepy stuff, Is the original ‘Scream’ a classic yet? It was funny and still very scary at times.

– Are you a Twilight fan or do you think it’s overrated?

I haven’t really given it a try, mostly because the twihard fans seem so stupid.

– What’s your favorite children’s book?

A Wrinkle in Time.

– Are you a half empty or half full person?

Definitely half full. (Or I might even fudge and say ‘mostly full’) 🙂

– Tell us something not many people know about you?

I have a lot of stuffed bears and other toy animals in my apartment.

– What’s your best writing tip?

Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. You can polish mistakes in revision. You can’t polish a blank page.

– What’s your current work in progress?

‘The Scroll’, a contemporary fantasy novel about a palaeographer (specialist in ancient writings) who finds the notebook of an ancient Persian magician and it leads him on a chase around the world, running from a powerful coven that believes only women should have access to the secrets of magic.

Next batch to answer, from Lara Schiffbauer:

1. Which imaginary/fantasy/sci-fi creature would you like as a pet.

Hmm… a fire lizard from Pern sounds tempting, but the grocery bills would add up, and they’d cause a lot of trouble. I might like to give a home to a gate maintenance cat, from Diane Duane’s cat wizards series. (I certainly wouldn’t call them pets.) A cat like that would be good company, able to take care of him or herself fairly well, and could even have a few words with my immune system to keep me from having an allergic reaction!

2. If you had access to a time machine, what time period would you like to get stuck in, and why.

Hmm… that’s tough. Though I’m fascinated by the past, I don’t know if I’d want to get stuck anywhere without the latest digital gadgets. Even though I’m nervous about global warming and such, I may try getting stuck forty years in the future… because deep down I’d like to see what happens.

3. What is your favorite collection (as an adult or child)

Well, I can’t think of one better than my collection of digital gadgets. 🙂

4. Favorite drink? (alcoholic or otherwise)

Strawberry milk!

5. If you had to choose, would your favorite be Star Trek or Star Wars?

Star Trek, definitely. I’d follow Jean-Luc Picard anywhere.

6. Favorite childhood toy?

Probably one of my friendly teddy bears, but I’d hate to have to tell them which one. 😉

7. What is one of your guilty pleasures?

Maple dip Donuts from Tim Hortons.

8. Have you ever met someone famous? If so, who and where?

I’ve met a lot of famous people from my favorite television shows at conventions in Toronto – including Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, and Summer Glau from Firefly! (And Sean Maher is coming this April, whoohoo!)

9. Night owl or Rooster?

More of a rooster. I like being the first one to get to the office and the first to leave. (We have a somewhat flexible working schedule.)

10. High school – positive memories or negative memories?

Fairly negative. I was an awkward, shy geek, without much of a social life, and at the same times was having problems applying myself to schoolwork. Not a good combination.

11. What made you happiest in the last week?

Let’s see… passing my driver’s test wasn’t quite within the past week, so – driving on my own for the first time this morning? Or going to a good friend’s house on Tuesday for a writing party – that’s a close call. I guess I’ve got a lot to celebrate recently.

Okay, and to pass along the meme, I am tagging the following excellent bloggers:

Donna Hole
Catherine Johnson
Sue @ Sassy Speaks
Michael Haynes
Kerry Freeman
Alicia Gregoire
Scott’s Written Words
Nicole Zoltack
Danyelle Leafty 

And my eleven questions for the nine of you are:

Who’s the first person outside your family you remember meeting?

What’s the last book you bought?

What’s your happiest memory of the past year?

Do you like soft drinks?

What’s your favorite genre? (to read, watch, or write)

If you could go anywhere in the world and do anything for a one-week vacation, what would you pick?

What’s the biggest writing (or creative) mistake you ever made?

Have you read the Harry Potter series?

What magic spell do you wish you could cast?

What gadget do you most wish someone would invent?

Who is your favorite singer or band?

Good luck! 🙂