So, I’m busy finishing up my latest story, Kiss of Night, a Christian vampire novel.  For those who are interested, here’s what I’m listening to while I’ve been writing it:

Dark Side of the Glass by Lori Yates

(I Just) Died in Your Arms by Cutting Crew

Self Control by Laura Branigan

Viva La Vida by Coldplay

Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis

Gotta Be Somebody by Nickleback

Light On by David Cook

Cry, Little Sister by Gerard McMann

Rasputin by Quo Vadis

Onward Christian Soldiers by Petra

The Flame Passes On by White Heart

Nothing’s Free by Alice Cooper

Cleansed by Fire by Alice Cooper

Salvation by Alice Cooper

Let Me Fall by Josh Groban

Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns

Fable (Message Version) by Robert Miles

Love Me Broughte by Mediaeval Baebes

I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Mark Chesnutt

Between Two Thieves by Mark McClure

Heartbeat by Don Johnson

Is This Love by Survivor

Lost in the Shadows by Lou Gramm

People Are Strange by Echo & the Bunnymen

Bloody Red Dungeons by Rhapsody of Fire

Don’t Pay the Ferryman by Chris de Burgh

He’s Alive by Dolly Parton

The Old Rugged Cross

I Love You by Heart

Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult

Do You Get Excited? by Roxette

Okay, here are Becca’s five random questions for me today along with my answers.

     A:  It’s a tie between Three Musketeers and Twix.

Q:  What was the name of your first stuffed animal (as near as you can recollect)?

     A:  My first stuffed animal was a bear, the first named one was Mickey Mouse.

Q: If you suddenly found yourself in the old West, what employment would you undertake?

     A:  Fantasy – Gunfighter.  Reality – Pulp novelist.

Q: Who would win in a fight? Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris?

     A:  Chuck Norris.  The only thing that scares him is The Joker. 

Q. Tea or coffee?

     A:  Tea for drinking.  I love the smell of coffee but hate the taste.

Okay, another five totally random questions from Becca which I will answer.  (What could she possibly ask next?!)

Q: Which would you rather wear? Zebra print or leopard print clothng.

A:  I’ve worn both before.  I would prefer tiger stripe, but if I have to choose between the other two, leopard print.

Q: Who do you prefer, Smith or Jones?

A:  Jones, definitely Jones.  In case you’re wondering what on earth we’re talking about, it’s the tv show Alias Smith and Jones, a western from the 70s about two outlaws trying to go straight.  Jones’ real name was Kid Curry and he was the gunfighter.

Q: Which is your favorite cooking show?

A:  Um, I don’t have one.  Although I have seen a couple of episodes of that show where two or more teams have to race to complete meals with a mystery ingredient with a live audience watching.  That was fun.

Q: What would you do if you were trapped in EPCOT overnight?

A:  Have the best time ever!  I would walk around and check out backstage, go through all the cast entrances, and just generally enjoy the magic of it all.  I would spend some serious time in the Norweigan village at the end of the Maelstrom ride and then I would curl up and go to sleep on the benches in the waiting area for the show at the China pavillion.

Q:  Do you prefer apples or oranges?

A:  Apples to eat.  Oranges to drink. 

So, we’re starting a new thing here on my website.  Every Friday Becca is going to ask me five random questions she wants me to answer.  If you have questions you’d like to suggest, submit them via the comments.

Q: What is your favorite flavor of Jello?

A: It comes in flavors other than strawberry?!?!    Strawberry followed by lime.

Q: What would you do if Yogi Bear stole your Picnic Basket?

A: I would chase after him and attempt to educate him on the meaning of the word ”share”.  Of course, I’d be happy if I could teach my cat that word!

Q: Which is your favorite Snoopy sibling?

A: Marbles.

Q: What is your favorite kind of fruit juice?

A: Orange juice – it makes me hyper.  I prefer Donald Duck brand.

Q: Have you ever watched an episode of Pokemon?

A:  Nope, not a one.

It’s Wednesday and it’s time to talk Wicked.  Send me your questions and I’ll answer them.  Here’s a common question:  Who is your favorite character?

I feel like that’s a bit of a trick question.  I’m a writer so I have to love my characters, right?  While that is essentially true, there are some characters that are more enjoyable to write than others and some I would actually choose as friends.  For the female characters, ultimately it’s Nicole.  She started out as my least favorite of the three Ladies of the Lily and ended up as my favorite.  For the men it’s a three-way tie between Richard, Armand, and Eli.  I love writing all four of these characters. 

As I’ve mentioned before, my top 10 favorite songs of all time is a far different list than my Itunes most played songs list.  Here are the 10 songs that are my actual favorites, regardless of how many times I’ve played them on Itunes.

10. The Magic of the Wizard’s Dream (English version) by Rhapsody featuring Christopher Lee  -  this is the only song that appears on both lists

9. The Highwayman by Loreena McKennitt

8. Drummer Boy by White Heart

7. The Battle Hymn of the Republic

6. I Can’t Break Away by Big Pig

5. Blaze of Glory by Bon Jovi

4. Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down

3. Princes of the Universe by Queen

2. Everything I Do I Do It For You by Bryan Adams

1. Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler

I thought people would like to know what I’m writing right now.  Currently I’m working on the first book in the Psalm 23 Mystery series: The Lord is My Shepherd.  It’s a thriller involving a church secretary and a rabbi.  This first book is set during Easter week.  I’m having a great time writing it.  It will be out in stores in about a year.  So, that’s what’s happening right now.  Yes, I was making a play on words in the title of this post.

I love Itunes.  I think it’s one of the top 10 inventions of my lifetime.  I currently have over 8 days of music stored on Itunes.  I organize playlists for the different books I write that help me capture the particular tone I’m writing.  What I think is hilarious is to look at my most played songs and match them up with what I know to be my actual favorite songs.  Apparently, Itunes and I don’t agree on what my favorite music is.  Here’s what Itunes currently thinks my top 10 songs are.  I love them all, but only one of them would make the top 10 list in my head. 

10. Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback

9. Viva La Vida by Coldplay

8. Let Me Be Myself by 3 Doors Down

7. In Her Eyes by Josh Groban

6. Stolen Prayer by Alice Cooper

5. The Lady of Shalott by Loreena McKennitt

4. The Governor’s Dream by Roger Whittaker

3. Brand New Day from Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog sung by Neil Patrick Harris

2. The Mummer’s Dance by Loreena McKennitt

1. The Magic of the Wizard’s Dream (English version) by Rhapsody featuring Christopher Lee 

Okay, this is for Becca, who loves lists and wanted me to share my favorite films.  It is somewhat relevant to writing because each of these stories touched me in some way and helped me become the person and the writer that I am today.

10. Star Wars Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

9. Batman: The Dark Knight

8. Highlander

7. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

6. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

5. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

4. True Lies

3. Ladyhawke

2. Grease

1. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight, Highlander, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Fellowship of the Ring, Star Wars, A New Hope, True Lies, Ladyhawke, Grease, Return of the Jedi

I am grateful that it is Friday and the weekend is here.  This week I turned in my retelling of The Princess and the Pea to my editor.  I also moved forward on a couple of other projects.  Now I find that I’m taking a deep breath while I try to figure out what I’m doing with the weekend.

The short answer is, I’ll probably be working.  One thing that a lot of people don’t realize about writers is that it is incredibly rare that we get downtime.  Between the deadlines and the proposals and the different stages of editing and reviewing page proofs, etc., there are very few days in the year that I’m not working.  My record is just over 90 days straight without a day off.  Sometimes the work is by necessity, other times inspiration strikes and I have to write down my thoughts. 

One of my favorite ways to actually relax is to go to a movie.  Sitting in a darkened theater watching something on the big screen I have found that it is physically impossible for me to work.  For those two hours I can be blissfully occupied with someone else’s story and it’s wonderful.  I love movies and I see many, many films each year.  Trying to see how many movies I can cram into a day is one of my favorite downtime activities.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this weekend I’ll be able to see at least one.