1) When did you first start blogging and why?

Technically, I started keeping a writing-related journal around May 2002, but I didn’t post it online; I was living at home at the time and paranoid about my folks. I finally gave in September of that same year and started a blog at Blogger (here if you want to see, though the archives are also on my LJ).

Why? Partially to keep people I knew updated on what was going on, as it got very tiring having to tell people the same thing a bajillion times. Also because I’m an affirmed attention slut and like comments.

These days, promotion is also a part of it, though if I didn’t enjoy blatting my opinion to anyone who’ll listen blogging, I wouldn’t do it.

2) What don’t you talk about?

I’m pretty open in general about myself, what I’m working on, and my lifestyle. I don’t necessarily go into specific detail, though. I’ve mentioned I’m into extreme kink, but I doubt most people are interested in my posting that sort of material on my blog. That being said, I’m more open about things that might be “controversial” or disturbing to readers on my LiveJournal, and usually behind a friends lock. My general attitude about entries there: Don’t like it? Tough shit.

3) Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

Yes. I see no reason in hiding who I am — if you look around the net, you can find my actual legal name, though I use Nonny in almost any social context and will eventually change my name. I use a pseudonym for my published work, but I’m also open about that (and ones I’ve used in the past).

4) How do you use blogging to build friendships?

I comment to people’s blogs, I check out people who comment, and I blog-hop. I wouldn’t necessarily say that blogging in and of itself builds friendships, but it’s definitely paved the way for some — there are people I’ve met that I wouldn’t have otherwise except through my blog. Or else certain posts have led me to IM the author and chat for a bit about the subject.

5) How would you describe your writing style?

Oh gods. Um. It depends. I don’t necessarily have a standard “voice” — it depends on the genre, characters, and setting. I’m much more “formal” and quasi-archaic in some of my fantasy work than I am in my contemporary.

Two things that tend to be standard in my work, though… I write about strong female characters, and I tend to explore unconventional issues and themes, like homo/bisexuality, polyamory, and taboos (as you can see from reading the story I have on my website, In Dreams of Mine).

Tagging: Dayna

. . .You have emailed or mailed a gushing letter of praise to an author. (Not me — but I’m too shy to do that. )

. . .You belong to and participate in discussion at an author’s website or listserv.

. . .You have voted in a contest as the behest of an author.

. . .You have rearranged an author’s books at a store to give her greater visual exposure. (RFG) (All the time. Especially when they have, like, ten copies and none are fronted. Dammit.)

. . .You have given “conversion” packages of an authors’ works to another reader.

. . .You have written fan fiction based upon an author’s works. (No, but I’ve wanted to.)

. . .You have given a 5 star review at amazon.com just to counter negative ratings. (RFG)

. . .You have named yourself after a favorite chacter, such as Mrs. Wolf MacKenzie. (RFG)

. . .You see an author’s book at the store but refuse to buy it because it could hurt the author’s bestseller numbers or you buy it and go back and buy a second copy on the release date. (RFG)

. . .You know the street date of an author’s books and what it means.

. . .You have reported a store for violating a street date. (RFG)

. . .You have pretended to be more than one person commenting on someone’s blog in defense of your favorite author. (RFG)

Total number of books I own: Umm. *thinks* At this point, somewhere around 100 – 150? Maybe 200? I haven’t actually gone in and counted recently. I didn’t do much reading or book-buying when I was in Texas … didn’t have the peace of mind to do so. So the majority of what I have is from when I was back in Washington… although my male seems bound and determined to correct this.

Last Book I Bought: Morgan and I very recently went on a book-buying spree; a used bookstore in Providence, RI, was having a 40% off sale. And then upon unpacking the books I’d brought from WA to do an inventory, I realised that I was missing a good number of books by Marion Zimmer Bradley … as I scoured that bookshelf and the living room when I left TX, I’m guessing they probably fell into the box of my ex’s books that one of my housemates took down and sold at the used bookstore for me. >_Last Book I Read: I just finished reading Hidden Truth by Dawn Cook, second in a series. It’s a very good series, and as I don’t normally like “light” fantasy ….

Five Books That Mean A Lot To Me: Mrr. *thinks* This is a tough question to answer because most of what I could list are serials!

The Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop
These books have always affected me very profoundly… I read them first when I was fourteen, just before the last one came out. They’re not light reading by any stretch of the imagination. An ongoing theme is the contrast between dark and light … and what’s really the darkness? I continue to find things every time I reread this trilogy that I missed priorly, which is unusual, to say the least.

The Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony
While much of his work, to be honest, is primarily aimed at horny teenage boys, I’ve always loved these books; they’ve made me look very closely at my own beliefs and question what I’d been told was right. And, hell, any series in which God is voted out and replaced with a woman–a prostitute, no less!–just rocks for ballsyness. *grins*

The Forbidden Tower by Marion Zimmer Bradley
I think this probably has to be one of the first books I read that introduced the concept of polyamory and group relationships in a positive fashion. (No, I never actually read Heinlein–yes, I know, I was a poor, depriaved child. ) Along with that, it deals very intimately with the magic system of the world, which further piqued my interest in magic. (I always was interested, even when I was conservative Christian and didn’t want to admit it.)

The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce
These weren’t the first of her books I read, but they’re the ones I love the most. I’ve always had a weakness for the “girl must disguise herself as a male for x reason” plots, and this quartet is, quite honestly, the best; Tammy does not shy away from the important questions… like what a young girl does about menstruation and communal bathing while living as a page in a castle surrounded by men.

Writing the Breakout Novel (and companion workbook) by Donald Maass
And I really do have to put this here, because it’s affected my writing in very profound, deep ways. While I had barely competant fiction before reading this book … I think my fiction is very much the better for having read this and implemented his techniques.

Tagging: Anyone who wants to take this.