The Sunshine Blogger Tag

Hey folks! The lovely Lori Scharf at WarriorCo has tagged me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. I’ve never done one of these before, and I’ve heard opinions on either side of whether or not to do these, whether it’s unprofessional, whether it’s good to do because people like learning about you, and all sorts of things. So — I will consider this a small experiment and see what happens.

Basically, how this works is that if you are tagged, you have to answer 11 questions from the tagger and then tag other bloggers you know, (up to 11,) and ask them your own set of 11 questions.

So, without further ado, the 11 questions I must answer:

• Why did you start your blog?

I started the blog because, a) I wanted to a have an author platform, and b) I love talking and writing about the things I feel passionate about, which include faith, writing, and reading, and for a long time I’ve wanted there to be a good source out there for book reviews that warned you about what content you might possibly stumble across, so I figured why not become that source myself?

• If you could travel anywhere in the world for free, where would you go?

Scotland. Or a grand tour of Europe stopping at every cool historical site and forgotten old castle, if that counts too.

• What is your favourite part about writing/blogging?

Well, I would have to make the distinction between writing fiction and blogging nonfiction. My favorite part about writing fiction is… doing it, honestly. Most of the time, just sitting down and whipping up some new characters or some ridiculous tangle for them to get into or just expressing an idea on the page is so fun and satisfying. My favorite part about blogging is interacting with people. That’s really the point of it. I’m not just here to shout opinions or gush about things like art and wonder, much as I love to do that. I like interacting with other people, finding out we like the same things, nerding out about those things. That’s my favorite part.

• If you could choose one superpower to have, what would it be?

Ooh. Superstrength could come in handy, but so could invisibility, and flying would just be plain cool. One of those, probably.

• What 3 books do you think everyone should read?

Well, the Bible, for starters. But since that’s the basic, obvious answer, my others would be How Now Shall We Live? by Chuck Colson, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and then it’s a tie between LoTR and The Wingfeather Saga. Boy, I’m not very good at sticking to one answer for these questions, am I? 😆

• Who is your favourite villain in fiction?

Hmm. I like Ezra Squall from the MG series Nevermoor. He’s an interesting combination of mysterious, terrifying, and sympathetic. Simon Heap was also a relatable villain, even though he had a redemption arc and wasn’t the main villain of the Septimus Heap series. And Miguel O’Hara — though maybe he’s more of an antihero. And even though I have lots of problems with Amazon’s The Rings of Power, I think they did a fantastic job with making Sauron a truly terrifying, deceptive, and Satan-esque villain.

• Who is the best unpublished or majorly unknown writer you know of?

One of my favorite majorly-unknown writers is Kyle Robert Schultz, author of the absolutely hillarious Beaumont and Beasley series. Seriously, check it out. I also have several friends in real life and on Ydubs who have a serious gift. I won’t mention your names, but you know who you are.

• Who encourages you most in your writing/creativity?

I have a group of friends who really encourage me. We debate about things like beauty and art, and we all write and share our writing with one another. I won’t name them for the sake of internet safety, but again, you know who you are.

• What is your dream job?

Author. 😄

• What is something you would tell your younger self?

Stop worrying about your future. God has a plan for you, and things that seem like disasters are for your good. You can’t mess up His plan for your life. He loves you. Oh, and seriously tone down the amount of telling in your stories. And those muffin wrappers you think are fake foil are actually real foil — do not put them in the microwave, it’s gonna result in us getting teased for the rest of eternity about what a loose cannon we can be in the kitchen.

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Good question. In a dream world, being a published author. Getting a book deal. I don’t know if this is after the Author Conservatory or some other writing program or after a couple years of working and studying the craft. But I would like to be starting a good career.

Now, some of the bloggers I would tag have already been tagged by Miss Scharf, so I don’t think I’ll get a full 11. As well, to those of you I’m tagging, I apologize if you don’t want to do this or if I’m bugging you — I’m new to this.

I’m going to tag E.G. Runyan, Bella Raine, and Vicki. Here are your eleven questions, ladies!

• What is your current project about?
• Star Wars or Marvel?
• What is one historical period you wish you could visit?
• Who is one killed-off character you would resurrect?
• What is something you have learned about writing in the past year?
• How did you get into writing?
• If you could have coffee with any author, living or dead, who would it be?
• Dogs or cats?
• What’s a great Bible verse you’ve read recently?
• Why do you write?
• What is the funniest or coolest new word you’ve learned recently?

Yes, some of them are very nerdy questions. You’re more than welcome to make fun of them. 😁 The rules state that you must also link back to this blog in your post and include the Sunshine Blogger image as well.

Alright, folks, that’s all for today. Hope you have a great week.

Cheers!