Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 284

Meme fun.

Per the advice of her royalness, The Bloggess: There���s this new thing going around where you���re supposed to google your first name and the word ���meme�����and post��the��images that come up.

She guessed it would be fun.

She was right. ��(And yes, Courtney is my real name. ��The Ann meme was taken over by Ann Coulter (shudder)).

Any time you want to, Ryan.

 

December Reflections: Light(s)

My first thought is of how amazing the lighting looks in this part of the world this time of year. ��With clouds actually in the sky (yes, this is not an every day thing in the Middle East), we’ve had some beautiful sunsets recently. ��My drives home from work have been nothing short of breathtaking.

Photo courtesy of Hubs.

 

 

December reflections: Drink.

Starting strong, are we, December Reflections?

I’m not sure exactly how to go with this one, but perhaps I can relate a recent personal story.�� My husband and I recently hosted a Thanksgiving party for a number of our friends (many non-Americans).�� We made a staple punch from my husband’s home town (Chatham Artillery Punch) and asked guests to bring a bottle of bubbly.�� One of my few party tricks is sabering champagne, which I managed to successfully achieve and even teach a few others!

December reflections: drink.

Starting strong, are we, December Reflections?

I’m not sure exactly how to go with this one, but perhaps I can relate a recent personal story.�� My husband and I recently hosted a Thanksgiving party for a number of our friends (many non-Americans).�� We made a staple punch from my husband’s home town (Chatham Artillery Punch) and asked guests to bring a bottle of bubbly.�� One of my few party tricks is sabering champagne, which I managed to successfully achieve and even teach a few others!

December reflections.

I need to be a better blogger!�� Let’s see if this works for prompting me to be a more regular poster.

Tumblr famous (of sorts).

Today I reached a fairly decent milestone in the social media platform that is Tumblr.�� 10,000+ people are following my blog (which was started and is maintained as a place for fantastic and eclectic marching band related photography, which came from ‘research’ for my YA books).�� As someone who has regular goals, watching my follower count tick over has been fun to watch.�� Once I passed 9,500 in November, I’ve pretty much been counting down to today.

The thing about Tumblr is that it seems to be one of the few things that I know how to do.�� It’s something I can do right.�� On days where my books are negatively reviewed, or a week where I sell a limited number of books, my little Tumblr account has kept chugging along.�� Now, I know all the hours spent maintaining the blog might not have translated to book sales, but I do love the little community I’ve grown.�� I’ve loved the people it’s put me in contact with.�� I love that no matter what type of day I have I can open the Tumblr app and know there will be reblogs, likes and comments from what I’ve posted.

I’m sure I could do more to make money from my website, but it hasn’t been a priority for me.�� Maybe it should be.�� Furthermore, I tried to do the same for Room 702 (starting a hotel specific Tumblr) and didn’t have the same results.�� And that’s okay.�� Not everything I do is going to be successful.

TL;DR – I love Tumblr.

Author Starter Pack

Procrastinating with a new low meme!

Author starter pack to include: outdated laptop, cup of caffeine, fancy notebooks (multiple), red pen, zip drive that contains all WIPs.

Respective Works (2005 – present)

Kind of a late night project I thought of – I wondered what I wrote and when.

The Line (2005)
Fanfiction Project (2005) – I list this because it was 80,000 words, which is definitely novel length.  Apparently 2005 was a busy year – I was also 40,000 words into an unfinished fanfic project.
Keeping in Line (2006) – yes, I wrote the 3rd book of the series second
A Fine Line (2006)
The Line Up (2006)
Confessions of a Teenage Band Geek (2007)
Take One! At Mulholland High (2007), co-written with Susie Gray
Major Pain (2008)
Fanfiction Project (2009) – another one to note as the final word count was 80,000+
The Fates I (2010)
Room 702 (2011)
The Fates II (2012)
Lucky Penny (incomplete) (2013) , 25,000 words
Life After Joe (2014)
The Queen (projected 2015)

This does not include another 100,000+ words (!) in smaller projects, short stories, etc.

Also, whatever I was doing in 2005/2006 seems to have really been a good time for me creatively.  I’ve never been able to come close to hitting that level since then!

My book for 2015!

Sometimes an idea for a book just drops into my head…I love it when that happens!  With a few unwritten book ideas, I wasn’t exactly sure which project I was going to tackle next year, but this idea (working draft title, The Queen) is taking over most of my free time – I can’t wait to start officially working on it.

After a bit of a disastrous Friday night, I had a strange dream involving Prince Henry.  The following night yay insomnia! I started thinking more about the British monarchy, which probably doesn’t make sense to you, but in my weird brain followed some internal logic.  Anyway, long story short – I’m going to be working on a YA steampunk novel next year.  In these very early stages, I’m coming up with the little bits and pieces that will be fleshed out into a 60K word story.

Thus far:

- a unicorn

- Love interests

- World building

- developing a good reading list of other books in the genre

- creating a well rounded protagonist

- debating first vs. third person

Basically.

Reading A-Z!

Author you’ve read the most books from:  Either Stephen King or Tamora Pierce.

Best sequel ever: Not going to lie – I was pretty happy when Catching Fire came out.  I had to know what happened next!  I enjoyed all of the Harry Potter books, but it wasn’t the same level of excitement.

Currently reading:  Gail Carriger – research, doncha know?  Also, she’s a fantastic writer.

Drink of choice while reading:  Based on numerous incidents, I cannot be trusted to drink in bed.  Diet Sprite – if anything.

E-reader or physical book:  Early adopted of the E-Reader.  Can’t imagine life without it.  The freedom to carry around so many books has been amazing.

Fictional character that you probably would have dated in high school:  Joe Willard.

Glad you gave this book a chance:  Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. 

Hidden gem book:  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

Important moment in your reading life:  Learning to read?  Once I finished my first ‘big’ book (Charlotte’s Web), I was off and haven’t looked back.

Just finished: Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger. 

Kind of books you won’t read:  True SciFi and Christian Fiction just doesn’t do it for me.

Longest book you read:  The Stand or The Fountainhead.  I’ve tried to crack Infinite Jest a few times, but haven’t had any luck getting into it.

Major book hangover because of:  Girl With a Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson.

Number of bookcases you own:  Just one!  As an expat, there’s been way too much moving to keep up with heavy books.

One book you’ve read multiple times:  The Lioness Rampant Quartet by Tamora Pierce.

Preferred place to read: In bed or on the beach.

Quote that inspires you: “I may not have gone everywhere I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams

Reading regret:  I wanted to like Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, but really should have read the preview before buying.

Series you started that you need to finish:  I’d say Outlander…only because it’s not done yet.

Three of your all-time favourite books: The Goldfinch, Confessions of a Teenage Band Geek, and Lioness Rampant

Unapologetic fangirl for:  The Betsy series by Maud Hart Lovelace

Very excited for this release:  Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover, Sarah MacLean

Worst bookish habit:  Not leaving reviews.  As an author, I really should do better at supporting books I enjoyed!

X marks the spot! Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:  Some free Regency romance novel, no doubt.

Your last bookish purchase:  Er…does Srivener count?

Zzz-snatcher. Which book kept you up way too late?  Girl With a Dragon Tattoo.