Getting To Know Me Tag (Writer's Edition)

My good friend, fairytale enthusiast, and writing buddy Christine recently posted a really cool looking getting-to-know-you writer's tag. I read through her whole post, thinking, What a great tag! Man, I'm so jealous no one tagged me with it! This would be so much fun to fill out! To be honest, it's been a while since I've filled out a tag of any kind, and it's also been a while since I've consistently posted on my blog. This tag looked like just the thing to get me going again. 

And then, lo and behold, I got to the bottom of the post... and she had tagged me. 

Thanks, Christine! *grins* 

So, let's jump into this thing. 

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RULES

Link back to the person who created the tag

Thank the person who tagged you

Share the tag graphic (Optional)

Tag eleven bloggers

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THE TAG

Vital Stats And Appearance

Name: Which one do you want? My online name is Kiri Liz, my writing pseudonym is Kirsten Fichter, and my real name is Kirsten Davis. Take your pick; I'll answer to all of them. Just NEVER Kristen.

Nicknames: Kiri, mostly. A lot of family members call me Kitty. When I went to college, I got tired of people pronouncing my name wrong or just not remembering my name, so I introduced myself as Kit for a while. I also answer to Dee, Kirsty, Kirry, and now Mama. *grins*

Birthday: August 11th -- the same as Chris Hemsworth; I get weird looks when I tell people I'm Thor's twin (just 10 years younger). At least, we looked more like twins before his haircut. 

Hair color and length: Dirty blonde and long-ish. I just had a huuuuuge trim so it's just to my mid-back now, but before it was cut I was just sitting on it. 

Eye color: Blue/gray/ish. I used to be very blue, but I think it's changed over the years.

Braces/piercings/tattoos: None. Piercings and tattoos are probably my biggest fear; the thought of putting a hole or foreign ink into my body makes me feel sick. It's not the needles, though -- I went through a whole summer of allergy shots and was just fine.

Righty or Lefty: Righty.

Ethnicity: Germish. That's German and English combined, for those of you who don't know. And then I've got some Scot, Scandinavian, Native American, and random bits of other things thrown in. I'm a true American mutt.

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Firsts

First novel written: The first book I ever began working on was a Civil War story about a girl named Ruth. I can't remember what I called it, but I still have the notebook of handwritten chapters somewhere in my writing paraphernalia. Ruth disguises herself as a boy and joins the Union army with her brother. I was very proud of it.

First novel completed: Lianne Taimenlore. Yes, the same story I named my blog after. I completed writing the first book of the series back in, oh boy -- years ago, but I lost the beginning of the second book when my sister accidentally knocked over our computer and I've actually not gone back to it since. Lianne is a half-elf who, after her father dies, has to flee from a killer and have all sorts of adventures. I planned at least a trilogy of adventures for her, and I hope I get around to writing it all one day.

Award for writing: I won "grand prize" in my local county fair for a poem when I was a teenager. I liked to think that it was a big deal, but basically every kid who entered something in the fair got a prize.

First publication: Well, that depends. I've had a poem published in an online writing magazine for Christian youth. The magazine was discontinued in 2013. Since then, I've self-published The Rose and the Balloon through Amazon. Link in picture below. *shameless advertising* 

Conference: None... yet.

Query/Pitch: I began writing a query and pitch for Secret of the Hazel Tree, but never got the courage to send it to an agent or editor since I was still working on edits. Writing isn't easy, folks. Especially when you remember that other people will be reading your words and making judgment on every one of them.

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Favorites

Novel (that you wrote): Probably Secret of the Hazel Tree. It's long and everything that I wanted in a fairytale retelling. My goal was not to twist Cinderella in my own way, but to stay as true to the original tale as possible while making all the fairytale elements and Cinderella under-explained plot points seem believable. I still can't believe I wrote it all in 5 months.

Genre: FANTASY. Seriously, I don't know that I really have another genre that I write in. I've begun a couple contemporary, historical fiction, dystopian, fan fiction, etc. novels, but never really got past a few chapters. Technically, I've done a little steampunk with The Rose and the Balloon but it's only light steampunk.

Author: Why must you ask this question??? TOO MANY. Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Donita K. Paul, Wayne Thomas Batson, Jaye L. Knight, Jan Brett, Margaret Wise Brown, Jane Austen... and the list goes on and on.

Writing Music: Typically soundtracks by James Newton Howard and Patrick Doyle. It used to be the LOTR and HTTYD soundtracks, but I've had to shy away from those since the music gets me thinking about and quoting the movies as I listen to the songs. I've learned it's better for me if I don't know the movie too well, so I don't get distracted with the soundtrack. Anything with lyrics is bad, too.

Time To Write: In the morning before everyone's awake, or in the evenings after everyone has gone to bed. So... basically when no one but me is awake. 

Writing Snack/Drink: Depends on my mood. Sometimes, it's a nice cup of coffee with creamer. Sometimes, a bowl of pretzels. Sometimes, applesauce. Sometimes, chocolate. 

Movie: The Lord of the Rings. Was that even a question??

Writing Memory: Probably the first time I ever participated in NaNoWriMo. I did it in April, just to see what it was like, and I wrote 50K words in 30 days. And that was the beginning of The Dragon Tamer. 

Childhood Book: Ooh, that's a tough one. When I was really little, it was The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear (illustrations by Jan Brett); in my teens, Life of Faith: Millie Keith series. 

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Currently

Reading: My husband and I are reading the Wheel of Time series aloud, and we're currently in book four, The Shadow Rising. I did not think I would get sucked into this series so fast. Yeah, the books are like 700 pages apiece, but we're flying through this thing. A lot of our conversations lately have been about the books, asking each other questions about the characters, making predictions about what we think is going to happen. It's been so much fun. 

Writing: Ha. Actively working on one project right now? Shamefully, no. I just came off of a week and a half vacation for visiting family and my cousin's wedding, so it's taking me a bit to jump back in. Wheel of Time has me itching to get my hands back into The Dragon Tamer series, but I'm trying to keep myself focused on editing right now. FOR REASONS. *be on the lookout for updates in the near future* *waggles eyebrows importantly* No, I'm not spilling secrets yet. 

Listening to: I've been stuck on Dan Forrest's Jubilate Deo recently, but that doesn't make good writing music at all. I had the immense privilege to perform this epic of a piece as part of a choral concert in college. Hours of practice, guys. It was amazing. So worth the effort. And now I can't listen to it without singing along. Seriously, if you want something that's going to send chills up and down your spine, you have to listen to it. It's Psalm 100, giving praise to the Lord in, I think, 6 or more different languages. GIVE IT A LISTEN. 

Watching: Just watched both HTTYDs while visiting my family, and SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE THIRD. So far, Dreamworks hasn't messed this series up for me and THAT TRAILER looks so incredibly EPIC. I'm also really stuck on watching Cake Boss clips. And consequently making cake because I get so hungry. That's the problem with watching anything with food. 

Learning: How to Mama. It's been a new adventure, being a first-time mom, but I'm loving it. Our little girl has been so good -- we don't deserve that. Yes, she has her cranky moments, but I wouldn't trade her for the world. 

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Future

Want To Be Published: I'm hoping to get something else self-published sometime soon, so we'll see what happens. That's my goal, anyway. 

Indie or Traditional: Indie for some things, definitely, since it takes less time and I can control everything going into it. *ducks head* Yeah, I'm a little bit of a control freak when it comes to my work. One day, I'd love to get into traditional publishing, too. 

Wildest Goal: My husband laughed when he saw this one and said, "Have 19 kids, right?" I watched a lot of the Duggars and Bates while in recovery after birth (they both are families of 19 kids, for those of you who don't know), and we've talked about having that many, too. Can't say for certain if it'll happen or not; only the Lord knows how big our family is. I'm so happy with the one little girl we have right now, but I'm looking forward to being able to give her a partner in crime. 

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Thanks, Christine, for tagging me in such a fun post! I'm not going to tag anyone at this moment, but any writer who would like to steal this for himself/herself, please feel free! Rules are posted above, but the tag questions I've copied down below so it's easier to copy and paste onto your own post. And no -- don't glare at me for neglecting to tag people. I'm claiming Mommy rights right now. Baby comes first. Yes, I pulled that card. Plus, I've got to get this thing posted and I don't have a lot of time. 

Enjoy! 

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Vital Stats And Appearance

Name:

Nicknames:

Birthday:

Hair color and length:

Eye color:

Braces/piercings/tattoos:

Righty or Lefty:

Ethnicity:


Firsts

First novel written:

First novel completed:

Award for writing:

First publication:

Conference:

Query/Pitch:


Favorites

Novel (that you wrote):

Genre:

Author:

Writing Music:

Time To Write:

Writing Snack/Drink:

Movie:

Writing Memory:

Childhood Book:


Currently

Reading:

Writing:

Listening to:

Watching:

Learning:


Future

Want To Be Published:

Indie or Traditional:

Wildest Goal: