Express Yourself - Frequent Questions

Another week - another Express Yourself question! Jackie and I want to know: What are some questions that you get asked time and time again?

1. Can I have some money?
2. Can we buy _______? <-- fill in the blank on any regular grocery store run with the kids.
3. Do you wanna ________? <-- any request made by the husband.

From "strangers"...

1. How tall are you? - This is because I'm mini-sized. Answer - 5'2"
2. How old are you? - People ask this after they find out I have 4 kids and the oldest is almost 15. Apparently I look young for my age! Bonus!! Answer - 35

Questions asked to family members in front of me...

1. Is she always this way? (sarcastic/cynical/crass) Answer - Yes
2. Is she ever serious? Answer - I have my moments.

What are some frequently asked questions you get? Have a great Monday!

Jessica Therrien UPRISING Blog Tour Last Day

I'm frustrated... this was scheduled to post at 8am this morning but as you can tell it didn't happen...

To celebrate the UPRISING Blog Tour, Jessica Therrien is stopping by today to explain who she based her character off of and some of them became about. I had a blast getting to know her a little better and hope you do too!

Hey Dani’s blog buddies. I’m Jessica Therrien, author of the Children of the Gods series. I’m here to talk about building characters using real people. I’m a big believer in the concept: write what you know. Not only do I base characters off of people in my life, but I use my own memories and feelings as well.

When I started writing my Children of the Gods series it was just for fun. I never imagined anyone else would see it, so I based my main character on myself. Basing Elyse on myself was the easiest way for me to write. Throughout the process, Elyse became the best and worst parts of me.

I remember reading in Bird by Bird that the most important thing you can do is write the truth. I interpreted that as writing a character as they truly are, not how a reader wants them to be. Elyse isn’t perfect. She’s timid, a little naïve, reckless and irrational, but she’s determined and strong when it comes to those she loves.

The result has been both good and bad. Readers have very strong opinions about Elyse. Some good. Some bad. What’s important though, is that she makes people feel something. Anger over her choices, irritation at her recklessness, or compassion for her as she overcomes her struggles. In life, people are flawed. It’s unrealistic to write a character who does everything right or has no weaknesses. So, despite the fact that I sometimes get my feelings hurt when people don’t like something about her, I still stand by my decision to make her as real as possible. Using myself as the basis was the best way to do that.

A lot of my other characters are based on people in my life as well. Eventually all of my characters grow into their own, but in the beginning it’s always someone I know. Anna was based on my best friend, William was based on my husband, etc. It’s fun to use real people to create characters. It makes them more authentic, and honestly…it’s a lot easier. Besides, my husband gets a kick out of all the girls who fall for William.

Thank you for having me on your blog, Dani! It’s been fun J

It was my pleasure Jessica! Thanks for stopping by on the last day of your busy tour!

Synopsis:

Jessica Therrien follows up her bestselling novel OPPRESSION with UPRISING, the second book in the Children of the Gods series.

OPPRESSION, translated and sold around the world, was one of the best selling YA novels of 2012. UPRISING continues the story of Elyse, William and the Descendants.

Elyse has been in hiding for most of her life. Only now she’s hiding with William, and she knows who she’s hiding from. The Council wants a child Elyse and William have yet to conceive, a child who will be the next oracle, and who will provide the final piece to a plan Christoph has been organizing for years. Charged with leading the rebellion against Christoph and his Council, Elyse feels well out of her depth. But she has good friends and strong allies who are willing to fight with her to the end, regardless of how far they have to go, and how many lives will be lost in the process. They have one goal: to live freely and openly with the rest of humanity, out from under The Council’s oppressive rule. The stakes could not be higher for Elyse and the Descendants longing for freedom. They'll have to learn to fight if they want to stand up against The Council, and to find allies in a world ruled by their enemies. The hardest part of waging a war is knowing who to trust. Elyse knows their uprising will change the world. She doesn’t realize it will change her, too.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads Links to Oppression (Children of the Gods #1): Amazon | B&N | GoodReads | Facebook Links to Uprising (Children of the Gods #2): Amazon | B&N | GoodReads | Facebook

Bio:

Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, was published by ZOVA Books in February of 2012 and became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release. The second book in the series, Uprising, will be available in May of 2013.

Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica’s work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. Out of over 350 submissions her story, The Soulless, won first place for people’s choice and fourth place in the judging round of Rachael Harrie’s Writing Campaign Challenge. Her story, Saved, is also available as part of the anthology.

Jessica currently lives in Chula Vista with her husband and is working on book three in her Children of the Gods series.

Celebration

Ahhh, it's Friday! The weekend is upon us!  VikLit always puts on a great Friday celebration!

This week I'm celebrating...

• It being the first week of summer for the kids! I love when the kids are on summer break.
• Mom taking the kids over night last night!
• Today my youngest son turns 11 !
• Last night the hubby and I watched Fast and Furious 6!! Woot!! OMG that movie rocked! I like my action fast, my cars fast, my men fast, er, I mean hot... I MEANT HOT! And this had hot men, fast cars, guns, action, fights, and some great laughs and one liners and maybe some baby oil... you have to watch to get the baby oil line.
  
  Between Dwayne Johnson and this newcomer Kim Kold - I WANT to be stuck between "The Rock" and hard place tho Kim Kold was a bad guy.

***POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT IF YOU DON'T READ THE INTERNET***
And don't miss the small scene in the credits where we see the set up to FF7. Lord I can't wait for the next one! Jason Statham is the sexiest action hero in MY book and that man knows how to make the eff word sound attractive as hell. Plus it's my favorite word in the whole wide world.

• Found the best tank online yesterday!!

Have a great weekend!!

Express Yourself - Movies

Another week, another Express Yourself question!

This week Jackie and I want to know: What are the last two movies you saw?

I cheated a little...

In the Theater - The Host and Jack the Giant Slayer

OnDemand Rental - Red Dawn and Warm Bodies

Using Xfinity - Magic Mike and The Vow

Netflix Streaming - Transformers Dark of the Moon and Lorax


Today, Cover Girls is hosting Jessica Therrien! Stop by and check out the brief Interview for her UPRISING Blog Tour!! (My Blog Tour post will be this Saturday - she will be stopping by to talk about her character personality process).

And a huge thanks to everyone that joined in on the Heroes & Villains Blogfest! Jackie and I had a blast and it was so much fun finding out who everyone admired and loved to hate. We have more fests and hops brewing so make sure to keep your thinking caps close!

Hope everyone has a splended Monday!

Heroes & Villains Blogfest

YAY!! Today is the Heroes & Villains Blogfest! Jackie and I are super excited!

• Today post your favorite Heroes and Villains.
• Use as many Heroes/Villains as you like.
• Be creative with it: videos, art, pictures, lists, etc. Fiction, Non-fiction, comics, movies, real life, etc.
• You can also tweet your post to us!
• Jackie: @jackiefel
• Dani: @danibertrand
• #H&Vfest
• And most of all - HAVE FUN!

 

Heroes

Indiana Jones - Who doesn't love an adventurous, whip wielding man that can bring you fortune and ... almost having your heart ripped out. Or killed in multiple ways.

Predator "Scar" from AVP - In other movies the Predators are usually the enemy, but in AVP "Scar" becomes a frenemy. I really REALLY like AVP and love "Scar" even more.

D'Leh from 10,000 B.C. - Talk about doing what you gotta do for love. I would never have made it thru that desert!

Villains

Gollum from LOTR - Vermin! He is vile. He is rotten. That guy - thing - creature just makes my stomach crawl. And when he hisses "presssshhhhiouuuussssss" I want to spew. But he's sooo good at it.

Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter - I literally want to Rip. Her. Tongue. Out. You love and live to hate that women. And that's the way it should be.

Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones - I would love to twist that boys tale in a knot. For being so young he is certainly purebred evil. He will get his. What a great young actor to be so perfect!

Heros or villains? You decide.

Ghost Rider - The demon who does good. What a twisted fate. Sold his soul to the devil but it didn't turn out the way the devil planned. Something about him makes me favor him very much.

Nightcrawler - Ever since I was little I really fell for this guy, er, mutant. A lot of people didn't like him though he was good. We shared the same last name even. Wagner pronouned Vagner but with a soft "a". I would LOVE to have his ability and I wouldn't mind the blue skin much either. It would hide a lot of flaws I think.

IWSG not IWSGG

Yay! It’s that time of the month again! Indiana’s Wild Slingin’ Gun’s Group!

No… I’m at the wrong place.

But the door said…

Oh, right… IWSGG is on the first Wednesday of every month during a Leap Year. My bad. Sorry. *secures pistol in holster at hip* *slides rifle in sheath at back*

Ok, YAY for Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted by Sheena-kay Graham, Suzanne Furness and Laura Eno this month.

So this month let’s talk about how I haven’t written in months. MONTHS! And it’s ok, I’m not mad. Apparently I don’t have it in me right now. Don’t get me wrong, my mind never stops thinking about it. How my MC is going to get from one point to another. How I can sharpen a scene to sound clearer, more accurate – defined.

My current mind is on life. My four day weekend coming up. How my cousin’s wedding is going to go on Saturday. How I get to see a friend at said wedding and hopefully get to take some great pics. How my kids are going to end their school year this week. How my kids' summer is going to change now that my husband and I both work first shift. Should I finish my angels/demons wip or my Norse Mythology wip? Maybe I should finish the wip about the four kids, ages ranging 3 to 14, who have to survive in an apocalyptic world.

See my mind is an awful web I’ve weaved. Plus I’m reading this brilliant novel, The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle and I can’t put it down. Like is so crazy that I’m totally rocking 80’s hair cause I didn't want to straighten it. No joke people, no joke. It’s curly, it’s big and I have half of it pulled up. The only thing missing is a scrunchy and some biker shorts.

Don’t forget tomorrow…

Express Yourself - Everyday Foods

Express Yourself is a weekly Meme hosted by my friend Jackie and myself. We do this every week to learn more about our fellow bloggers and so far we have met some very talented and wonderful people!

This weeks question is: What could you eat everyday and not grow tired of it?

Hmmm...

Chocolate

Chips and Salsa

Pizza

Ice Cream

I think that's probably it. These four items have so many varieties and flavors, it would take an awful long time, if ever, for me to give them up on a daily basis... if I ate them on a daily basis.