Thank you for letting me borrow/steal this, Mary Liz :-)
(Yes, I'm doing a lot of tags here right now. That is because my attention span has devolved into absolute trash, and any time I have to sit at the computer and manage to concentrate is devoted to revising Dancing and Doughnuts because revising a book while not concentrating on it is a terrible idea. But it leaves little brain power for writing nifty movie reviews and such. I blame the weirdo weather. If Virginia can just pick a season, I will be able to settle down, I'm sure of it.)
The Rules
- link back to the person who created the tag
- thank the person who tagged you
- share the tag graphic
- tag eleven bloggers
Well, 3 outta 4 ain't bad, eh?
❈❈ VITAL STATS and APPEARANCE ❈❈
Name(s): Real name: Rachel Kovaciny. Blogging name: Hamlette. Because.
Nicknames: Hamlette. Cutie. Ray. Mommy. Mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyy. WQ.
Birthday: The same as William Shakespeare's. Probably. (We're sure about mine, but not his, if you're wondering.)
Hair color & length: Naturally brown, currently brown for the top 10 inches and then sorta red for the rest. Long enough to sit on, so about 4 feet by now.
Braces/piercings/tattoos: Had braces when I was a kid. One hole in each ear. No actual tattoos, but I like doing temporary ones sometimes.
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| (Litographs "tattoo" I had for going to see Hamlet this winter.) |
Righty or lefty: Righty mostly, but I can type with only my right or only my left hand, and I do some things better with my left. I'm not actually ambidextrous, but my grandma was.
Ethnicity: Half German, Half Dutch, and a little touched with snapping turtle. (Fist bump if you get that allusion.)
❈❈ FIRSTS ❈❈
First novel written: To Stand There and Die (I was in my early 20s; it took me 3 years to finish.)
First novel completed: To Stand There and Die (No one must ever read it. Total nonsense.)
Award for writing: I won the Five Magic Spindles contest in 2016.
First publication: I had a poem published in Highlights magazine when I was about 7.
Conference: Never been to one, actually. Not sure I'd like them. Too many people. I've been on some writing retreats, though.
Query/pitch: (For Dancing and Doughnuts) In 1860s Kansas, a drifting ex-cavalryman tries to figure out who's been spiking the apple cider at a dance hall owned by a family with twelve daughters.
❈❈ FAVORITES ❈❈
Novel (that you wrote): Dancing and Doughnuts -- which is not finished yet, but I adore it.
Genre: Western and Mystery
Author: Raymond Chandler
Writing music: Bobby Darin and movie soundtracks
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| (This is Bobby Darin, in case you didn't know/guess.) |
Time to write: Morning, before my head gets gunked up by the day's needs
Writing snack/drink: Something warm, like coffee or hot chocolate or tea
Movie: The Man from Snowy River (1982)
Writing memory: That time I went on a writing retreat in college and hid in the closet to write out a scene about someone hiding in a closet.
Childhood book: The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
❈❈ CURRENTLY ❈❈
Reading: The Choir Immortal by Katie Schuermann and A Pioneer Woman's Memoir: Based on the Journal of Arabella Clemens Fulton
Writing: The revision of Dancing and Doughnuts
Listening to: The soundtracks for The Greatest Showman and The Commancheros
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| ("From Now On" is my favorite song, but "The Other Side" is my favorite scene.) |
Watching: Nothing at the moment -- I'm typing on my computer.
Learning: How to create a website because I need a better author website.
❈❈ FUTURE ❈❈
Want to be published: Of course.
Indie or traditional: I've published in both, actually. I'm pursuing indie publication for my western fairy tale re-imaginings right now, but I'm open to traditional publication in the future.
Wildest goal: Getting something I wrote made into a movie.
That's all, folks! If you want to snurch this yourself, go right ahead :-) I wasn't tagged with it, so I'm not tagging anyone myself.
I'll do the tag!
ReplyDeleteVital stats & appearance:
Name: Katie Hanna. Blogging name: Jessica Prescott (after a favorite character)
Nicknames: Don't really have any, unless you count "Katie," which I don't because that's my actual name.
Birthday: It was last week. ;-)
Hair color & length: Golden brown, and it's over 2 feet long, I believe.
Braces/tattoos/piercings: Nary a one.
Righty or lefty: Righty.
Ethnicity: About half German, one-quarter Polish/Lithuanian, and the rest is miscellaneous other stuff.
Firsts:
First novel written: Scarlet Ribbons. British WW2 story.
First novel completed: Do novellas count? Probably not. But if so, Mama, which is a sort-of-but-not-really Snow White story.
Award for writing: None.
First publication: Eh. Does "Femnista" count?
Conference: Never been to one, although I'd really, really love to in the future.
Query/pitch: Not really sure how to answer this one?
Favorites:
Novel (that you wrote): Definitely Breaking Glass. WW2 Holocaust/Resistance story, not yet completed and in need of MUCH revision; but I adore my characters.
Genre: Historical fiction.
Author: Chaim Potok or Willa Cather.
Writing music: It varies widely. It always has to have lyrics, though.
Time to write: Late afternoon, when I've had time to mull over stuff all day.
Writing snack/drink: I don't usually eat or drink anything.
Movie: Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Writing memory: That one time I wrote nonstop all afternoon and "woke up" to realize it was almost time for dinner.
Childhood book: Probably The Phantom Tollbooth.
Currently:
Reading: Nothing. Sadly. Except for Social Darwinism in American Thought by Richard Hofstadter.
Writing: Nothing. Because grad school is rough.
Listening to: An amazing rock/metal cover of "All I Ask Of You."
Watching: Nothing right now.
Learning: That I really want to be a writer and should just go for it probably.
Future:
Want to be published: Yes, please.
Indie or traditional: Traditional is my ultimate goal but we'll see if I get there.
Wildest goal: Becoming a bestselling YA hist-fic author and having kids everywhere love my books & cry over them.
That was fun, Hamlette--thanks! :)
Jessica, fun answers!
DeleteOf course Femnista counts! It doesn't say first "paid" publication. It counts if an editor has to accept, review, and approve your stuff.
I feel like Cowboy has read Social Darwinism in American Thought. In fact, I scanned his bookshelves for it, though it's not there. It sounds really familiar, though, so I'm guessing he's gotten it from the library or something.
Thanks! :)
DeleteLovely! I'll count it, then! I very much enjoy writing for Femnista.
He probably has! Richard Hofstadter is a classic American historian--some would argue he is THE most influential American historian of the 20th century--so his books tend to crop up everywhere.
You're birthday is the same as William Shakespeare's? You're older than I thought.... :-}
ReplyDeleteAs far as the listening to, I almost always have Pandora Swing channel on. Big band swing is the main reason I wish I had been living in the 40's.
DeleteQuiggy, I'm very well-preserved ;-)
DeleteBig band is a favorite of mine too! It's part of why I started listening to Bobby Darin in the first place -- he did so much big band-style stuff in the '50s. I'm partial to the Glenn Miller band, and even got to hear them live when I was in high school (they never stopped touring even after Miller died, and just keep replacing members over the years, so it's technically still the same band, sort of). Wonderful stuff. "Tuxedo Junction" is one of my favorite songs EVER.
I've had the Greatest Showman soundtrack on for months now, it's so good.
ReplyDeleteI took two years to write my first book, so I'm happy to see someone else who takes their time. All the other bloggers are like I wrote this in three months, and I'm just like how?
Skye, yeah, the kids and I listened to it in the car on the way to our homeschool group meeting this morning and sang along with all the songs <3
DeleteMy first novel took me several years for the first draft. Huge learning process. My second took about 6 months, as did my third. My fourth is only half-written, really, as I kind of speed-wrote the second half of it. My fifth took me probably a year, and so did my sixth. Those are all first drafts, as the only one I felt was good enough to start revising was the sixth, which I've done some work on, but not finished.
If I'm cranking, I can put a thousand words on the page in an hour. I often don't have more than an hour in an evening to write, and I can't write every day right now because I homeschool my 3 kids. So yeah, I do envy people who can churn out a novel in a few months, but I know that can't happen in my life right now, so I try not to spend too much time thinking about those lucky people who have all the time in the world (or seem to) for writing.
(Those 6 books were all pre-Five Magic Spindles, and ranged in size from 50K to 150K. Some some are more novellas than novels, but they're still books, imho. Since FMS, I've written one novella, Cloaked which took me about 15 months to write, rewrite, polish, and publish. I'm working on another, which should be ready this summer and thus would only take about 10 months.)
DeleteNothing like singing in the car. :D
DeleteMy first book needs to be completely rewritten and I'm still putting it off. I've written about six and a half books. three of those are novellas. I counted Falling Snow too.
I plan on lengthening some, or rewriting them. I have a hard time giving up on stories.
That's better than what I can do. Homeschooling is really time consuming, but the fact that you still do it is impressive. You have more on your plate, and it's amazing that you manage to do it all.
My dad always says if I complain about someone else writing more,"Are they good words?"
Your writing, right. That's all that counts.
I think novellas count. I really want to read it, next time I'm buying books I will have to buy it!
15 months is impressive!
Oooh! A new one, I better read Cloaked soon then.
Skye, yes, singing in the car is the best.
DeleteOf my pre-FMS books, I would love to finish revising #6, rewrite #5 with a different setting, and maybe rewrite #s 2-4 with a different setting too -- they're a trilogy.
I basically don't waste time, that's all. And I'm a really bad housekeeper -- I clean things when they pass my tolerance for dirt, lol. I'm always reading, writing, folding clothes, cooking, teach, etc. Which is why I ordinarily don't show up on Facebook much, as it's a big time-waster for me.
I hope you enjoy Cloaked whenever you get to it ;-) I'm eagerly looking forward to the finished version of "Falling Snow" here!!! And the rest of Five Poisoned Apples, of course.
Agreed!
DeleteRewriting can be a lot of fun. Sometimes changing the setting can make the story that much better.
I try not to, Pinterest and YouTube are my vices. I also clean as a way to procrastinate :D. I still haven't figured Facebook out yet.
I'm sure I will! :D
Me too, I can't wait to read the other stories!
Skye, I've actually been regretting joining Instagram because... it's too much fun. I am LOVING the creative challenge of taking book and flower photos and sharing them, and I'm spending a lot of time on that. Pinterest used to be a rabbit hole for me, and I can get lost there still sometimes, but mostly I use it to find craft ideas for teaching Sunday school anymore. Cleaning as a way to procrastinate would be a Godsend for me! Wish I had the urge to do that, hee.
Delete