25 Random Things

— I haven’t updated this blog in too long, but I have nothing really to say, so I figured I would do a list of 25 random things that may (or may not!) be interesting about me:

1. I love crime-based TV shows, but never reality TV.

2. Romcoms are my jam. ALL of them. You have no idea how deep this obsession runs. Currently, I am super obsessed with “The Family Stone” (Luke Wilson, guys, Luke EFFING Wilson)… and I just turn it off before the mom dies.

3. I collect Buddha statues.

4. My favorite song is “Down In A Hole (Unplugged)” by Alice in Chains. This is followed closely by “Hallelujah,” the Jeff Buckley version.

5. I went vegetarian at 18 for ethical reasons but had to cut out most dairy about two years ago because of a sudden dairy intolerance. Though I do make exceptions for baked goods and chocolate.

6. I have seven birds (technically) but take care of eight. Zinnia (cinnamon green cheek conure), Xander (black capped conure), Noel (green cheek conure), Niles (congo african gray), Darcy (umbrella cockatoo), and Logan (timneh african gray). I also have somehow been conned into taking care of my niece’s parrolett, Elsa.

7. My main goal for moving was to buy a big enough house so I could move my whole family in with me. I did manage this! So now I have a house full of people all the time. My sister and her three kids live here as do my mother and stepfather. But I get the master with the awesome tub, so I can escape the chaos when I need to.

8. There are three dogs in my house, none of whom belong to me. Leo (my mother’s dog) Sasha (my sister’s dog), and Jet (my niece’s dog).

9. My love of romance started with Forever by Judy Blume (my first introduction to sex in a book) which led to Barbara Cartland historical, then finally to Nora Roberts where it then spiraled. My all-time favorite romance author is Julie Garwood.

10. Prior to writing indie romance, I had never read a word of it. I was working on my NINTH book before I even had any idea who Kristen Ashley was. Crazy, right?

11. Zootopia is my chill-out movie.

12. Female-driven, badass characters in TV, movies, and books are where it is at. Even if the woman is a bad guy. Some of my favorite examples are: Buffy, the Halliwell sisters, Wynona Earp, Lost Girl, Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23, Jessica Jones, etc.

13. Pet peeves: People who say “seen” when they are supposed to say “saw,” open-mouth chewing, rudeness to people in the service industry, and things that should go without saying – racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc.

14. Three items on my bucket list: riding a horse, climbing a rock wall, getting traditionally published so I can see my books on a shelf at Barnes and Noble.

15. Irrational fears: Anesthesia. Falling over the top banister of my staircase. A deer running out in front of my car (this is a new one. Thank you, living in the boonies!)

16. I’ve been reading tarot cards for fourteen years.

17. I am ADDICTED to self-improvement books. Everything from Boss Babe type books to Law of Attraction, if it is supposed to make you or your life better, I am there, devouring it.

18. Sometimes when I get super uncomfortable, I can’t speak at all (selective mutism). It is one aspect of my anxiety that I do still find very embarrassing.

19. I used to host really elaborate tea parties (yes, as an adult) with all kinds of baked goods and varieties of tea. I super miss doing this.

20. I have this weird issue with consistencies of food. Avocados, tomatoes, anything chalky, etc.

21. There are some things that I LOVE in books that I find most of my readers don’t. Such as long separations between main characters. I love that angst. I love the ‘ugh when are they going to get their heads out of their asses and fix this’ anticipation. It is my book crack. I always need a fix a few times a year. I also really like love triangles (two guys, not two girls) so long as no one is actually having sex. They can be fooling around, but I like the final deed between the couple that will end up together. I don’t know WHY I love this, since I always root for the character that the author doesn’t choose for the heroine, but it is one of my favorite plot devices. I also am a huge sucker for boss/employee romances because I find them more realistic since a huge chunk of people meet their SO at work. Plus, powerful men. Yum.

22. I have always been super comfortable being on my own. I am one of those chicks you see out to movies alone, taking herself to a restaurant alone, etc.

23. Spoken word poetry is a fave of mine. I have playlists of it saved Youtube as well as several spoken word poetry books. Some favorites include: Brenna Twohy, Olivia Gatwood, Sabrina Benaim, Blythe Baird. I am in the process of acquiring more of them.

24. Speaking of poetry – my writing veered off away from fiction and into poetry for years. I have notebooks and notebooks full of old poetry.

25. For as long as I can remember, I have been a self-teacher, always choosing a subject to dive into. At twelve, it was philosophers, leaving me reading “The Republic” and “Beyond Good and Evil” until something else (like Russian history!) caught my attention. As an adult, I became obsessed with herbal medicine, dream interpretation, and women’s history. Some of the things left on my list are things that require real study that I haven’t had time for, like languages (especially French, Russian, and Polish), as well as things I need to be taught to me by others (ukulele and woodworking). #someday