My goodness, where has time gone? This month has been an absolute messy whirlwind of real life and suddenly it is the 25th and I haven’t said a word here.

First off, congratulations to my two winners this year: Andrea Blythe and Ann Hart!

I hope to give more books away next year, so if you are following the blog you’ll hear the announcement when that happens!

Secondly, I’d like to thank everyone who left me questions to answer. You had some really fun and really insightful ones by turn, and I’ll do my best to give them a go.

Today I’ll answer half the questions, and hopefully I will have the other half up by the end of the week!

The Non-Writing Questions:

1) What are your favorite pizza toppings?

I’m pretty plain here. Lots of cheese, pepperoni or canadian bacon or ham, and sometimes pineapple. In fact, the canadian bacon/pineapple (aka ‘Hawaiian’) pizza is the Official Pizza of The Rabid Rainbow Ferret Society, my writing group.

2) What is your greatest indulgence?

Korean dramas. Some of the best TV I’ve ever seen. I have laughed louder, cried harder, and screamed with joy, anger, AND frustration at K-dramas more than, well, almost anything else. K-dramas. There’s no going back.

3) What’s your favorite type of music?

Generally? Rock. I like a lot of different kinds of music, but when it comes down to it I’m a rocker girl at heart. Always will be.

AFI is my favorite American band. They have a very unique sound, and Davey a very recognizable voice, and the lyrics are fabulous. I have seen them live twice, once in 2007 and once last year. (Hubby, who is also a fan, took me for my birthday.)

I have listened to rock from many countries and there is a long list of bands I have seen and who have music that I love, but I really, really, really love Japanese rock best. As a whole. The artists I listen to from there are about as different from one another as could be too, so I can’t even say there is a specific sound that I prefer best. Acid Black Cherry and Kiryu are two of my favorite bands, but I am also a huge fan of VAMPS, Breakerz, Diaura, Black Gene for the Next Scene, An Cafe, ADAMS, VII Sense, and many more.

This is a bit harder (and for the music video, bloodier) than some of Kiryu’s stuff, but this is their most recent single for anyone interested. Kiryu is a band who loves to pull in traditional elements of Japanese culture, both visually and within their music, and mix it with their own brand of modern rock. It makes them very unique.

(Though for anyone not at all familiar with Japanese rock, the genre as a whole can be very visual. Much more so than your normal American or British rock.)

The Basic Writing-Related Questions:

1) What is the first poem you remember reading?

Oh goodness, probably something by Dr. Seuss? Growing up my mom usually read to me every night, but on the nights when I wanted to hear Seuss, Dad read. It was our special thing.

2) If you were a poem, what poem would you be?

There are two poems I have loved for ages: ‘The Town of Don’t-You-Worry‘ by I. J. Bartlett and ‘The Town of Nogood‘ by W. E. Penny. I don’t know which was written first, and if the second was written as a response to the first, but they have always seemed like they go together. My personality waivers from very cheerful to sometimes very depressive. In other words, I’m a resident of both towns.

3) What is the title of [Cynthia Rylant’s] poem that you have framed on your desk?

At my day job (an insurance office) I have a copy of “God Got a Desk Job” framed for display. It’s a little reminder to myself that even though I’m not on my feet doing manual labor, a desk job is its own sort of difficulty, and sometimes even God needs chocolate to get through the day.

4) Do you read novels? / Who are some of your favorite novelists?

Absolutely! I read all sorts of things! I love Jane Austen and the minutiae of day-to-day life. I love Paulo Coehlo and the way his stories read like a religious experience. I love Catherynne M. Valente, though admittedly I have only read short stories and poetry from her so far. I just discovered her recently and I’m holding myself back from diving down the rabbit hole of her delicious prose until I finish a few other things I’m in the middle of. I just read Amelie Nothomb’s “The Character of Rain” and thought I may very well float away on the surprising easiness of her words. It was a novella that took me deeper into my thoughts than I ever expected.

If I see it or it is recommended to me and something about it catches my eye, I’ll probably read it.

5) Do you prefer poetically written novels, or do you prefer more straight-forward, plot-driven prose? Or does it depend on your mood?

It depends on my mood and the story, both. Some stories are more suited to delicate, floral language. Others are more like the noir detective under the streetlights – gotta tell it like it is, babe.

6) Do you have a favorite form(s) to write or read poetry (do you have a favorite to read and a different to write?) or is it mutable depending on mood/subject?

Much like reading, it depends on the mood and subject. Sometimes I prefer to read and write with structure. I love a lot of poetry written in the 1600-1800s and free verse wasn’t exactly common then. One of my favorite pieces I’ve written so far actually ended up being in the form of a 15-line rondeau. That being said I quite enjoy free verse, both reading and writing, so long as I can find flow within the piece.

I am not much a fan of prose poetry. Something about it just doesn’t grab me. I see a blocky paragraph of text and poetry doesn’t click in my head, no matter how lovely it may read.

That’s all for now! Stay tuned and I’ll answer all the questions you left me about my own personal writing processes!