Infinity Dreams Blog Award

Anne from AM Station  and Deborah @  The Road of a Writer tagged me for the Infinity Dreams Blog Award. Thanks! This was a ton of fun!

the rules

1. Thank the blog that nominated you

2. Tell us 11 facts about yourself

3. Answer the questions that were set for you to answer

4. Nominate 11 bloggers and set them questions in return

the facts

1. When I was a kid, I'd lay in bed at night and populate the woods across the gravel road with imaginary animals. There was a tiger and a bunny, and a whole slew of other creatures. They were all friends and after my bed time, they'd come up to my window and I would go to the woods across the road with them. And we'd have adventures all night long. :P

2. It was really weird actually. The adventures. Most of them were more or less normal. . . You know, as normal as talking animals and friendly tigers can get. But there was this one. There was a castle somewhere deep in the forest and I don't think an evil lord lived there. I think it was more like an evil secret society. Anyways, for some odd reason or another, whatever evil it was that lurked in the castle decided to kidnap my parents. So of course, my animal friends and I just had to save them.

Aw, I forgot the coyote pack. *sniffle*

3. I love taking pictures of nature. Especially tress. I have a bazillion pictures of trees on my phone and I don't have the heart to delete any. Even though most of them are pictures of trees on our property. . . so I see these trees anytime and all the time. 

4. I was home-educated from the day I was born until I graduated high school. That feels like forever ago.

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5. Apparently, liking chocolate is a "girl" thing? I didn't realize this until around last year. In my family, my dad loves chocolate. But my mom? She could care less about chocolate. Actually all of my family, brothers included, love chocolate, except my mom. So I grew up thinking it was more of a "guy" thing. Until I started hearing about guys who don't like chocolate. Which was just completely weird to me. I thought my mom was the only weird person who didn't approve of chocolate as an obvious dessert choice.

6. If you want my personal opinion though: Chocolate isn't a "girl thing" or a "guy thing." Chocolate is for EVERYBODY! 

It's an everybody thing. :)

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7. When I was a kid, I tried to have an imaginary friend. Two actually. One was Kitty O' Copy. She mimicked everything I did. Except she was kind of lazy because usually she mimicked my actions from her place on the ground. She was my shadow.

Then then there was my reflection in the mirror, named Anne after Anne of Green Gables. Because I obviously got the idea from her (pay tribute to where tribute is due). Yeah, she mimicked me too.

All three of us took ballet and tap class together. Plenty of mirrors and light. Anne and I did our warm-ups properly while Kitty did her spins on the floor. She was always the class clown. But I think she just wanted a little extra attention.

8. Excluding my animal friends, my imaginary friend phase did not last long. Maybe two weeks, possibly a month. I think I read to many books with enough characters of their own to keep my mind preoccupied without me making up more.

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9. Actually, I don't know how true that is, because now I write. Making up characters is one of my favorite parts. Who am I kidding? The characters ARE my favorite part period. Characters! 

This is what I do.

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 (If you know why this picture is here, then you are awesome.)

10. *WARNING* The point in which Ashley babbles about things she knows next to nothing, NOTHING, about. Feel free to roll your eyes/skip this section.

 I have this fear of going freelance/ indie (freelance editor-wise, and indie author-wise). Because it is all so uncertain. And you have to be full out committed to it. Which is fine, excepting the uncertainty part. But while I fear it, I also find it kind of. . . alluring? I usually work really well independently. I know how to work with other people and can. But when I'm alone I can be more efficient and productive. Not that I'd be alone either. Because I would need so much help. Because- Because-

I know NOTHING! *takes deep breath* I need to do a lot of research about all of it. Especially the indie publishing. And of course I'd have to collaborate with other arts kind of people for things like cover art, beta-reading, the computer side of everything, book trailer stuff, etc. Art people (in the general sense of the word) are the best kind of people!

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 I like being around art people. It's just- you get to create it all yourselves! Without some big industry overseeing you. (Not that I'm against the big industry, they do good stuff. . . just sometimes I wish they'd be willing to branch out a little more, you know story-wise, be more diverse, stop repeating the same, safe tropes/plot lines. Take risks and live a little! But the industry is about money, so they want to be safe. Though I can't scoff at them for being about money. I mean, they are a business. That's what businesses do- They make money. Man, this came out of the blue. I have no idea what I am talking about here!?) 

It's just, just- I don't know. I want to do it. But I don't know if I really want to do it, or if I just like the concept as an idea. . . I know, now I sound like a coward.

Seriously though. I'm not even sure if there's a difference between self publishing and indie publishing. I need to research. So. Bad.

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11. If you're feeling down just play this song very loudly, on repeat, preferably while driving in the car. (Yes, this is a fact about me, it counts. . . but it's also just a general, well, "fact."  *raises right hand* I am a writer and I do not apologize for any exaggeration on my part.)

the questions

Would you rather be a butterfly or a bumble bee?

 Hm, that's a very interesting question. I'm going to say a bee. That way I can do my work in peace. People always trying to catch butterflies, but they usually leave bees alone. Also, bees have something to do. What do butterflies do all day? Flutter? I have no idea. . .

If you could have any superpower/ability, what would you choose? (My cruelty knows no bounds. ;))

Telepathy! Mind reading, yes. It would come in very handy when meeting snobby people who seem to expect that you can read minds and therefore don't explain themselves (these people frequent this world like they have no other realm to inhabit. . . oh wait, they don't. . .).

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Post a paragraph or a stanza of your latest writing project/ would you mind sharing a snippet from your latest WIP?

One more step. One more. Come on.

He couldn’t even lift his legs above the snow anymore. He felt so stiff, almost frozen solid. What if the water in his blood were to freeze? What if he were to freeze from the inside out?

This is from Oddball the First. Oddball is wandering in the Labyrinth, a dangerous mountain range, with a sick and unconscious Rocky in tow. He's half out of it himself, obviously, since he's thinking about freezing from the inside out. :P I wonder if that's possible. . .

What are your blogging goals for the rest of the year?

Oh, um. I'm supposed to have goals? Nobody informed me that I had to have goals. Is this a test? I didn't study for a test!?

Well, I kind of just. . . you know, want to keep blogging.

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What’s the best book you read recently and why did you like it?

One by Leigh Ann Kopans. It's just so, I loved it! You have to read it. There'll be a review soon!

Also, Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. It's a retelling. It's beautiful. The characters. You guys, I'm just really head-over-heels for this series. I can't even explain. I need to read Cress!