Hello all!!


I really do apologize that this post is almost a full day late. It still really hasn't sunk in yet....

It has been a year since I made the fateful 10:30pm decision to launch myself into the writing world.

And if someone had been in my dark college apartment bedroom as I was sitting there pouring my heart out as I was typing on my Kindle that I:

• would meet some of the most awesome people from all around the world
• would share old and new stories with total strangers
• would open up two new social media accounts in connection to my writing
• would grow to love writing more
• would deepen and hone my writing skills expotenially
• would attend Camp NaNo several months after 
• would go on to help found and grow a thriving advocacy movement for clean Young Adult literature

....all in the space of one year....my heart would have quailed. And probably would have never hit that publish button. And I would have missed out on so much.

Now, I'm slogging through my writers' boot camp, as Audrey Caylin likes to call it, as I work to get a decent debut piece put together. It may take only another year. It may take ten years. Whatever it happens, I hope I'll be able to share it with all of you via this little corner of the blogosphere <3.

Again, I want to thank each and every reader and follower that is viewing this page right now. Without y'all's support, this blog probably would have floundered. Not joking.

To celebrate my one-year milestone, I decided to host one of my favorite things in the blogging world: an Ask Me Anything post! Even though the timing wound up a lot shorter than I had wished, I was really pleasantly surprised at how many questions poured into the comments section. For all of these wonderful Q's, I cannot give enough thanks to those who asked them <3. A round of virtual Ent-Draughts as well as the cake and ice cream for you all! (Don't worry, there is plenty, please help yourself!)

While y'all are enjoying the food, allow me to bring to you the main event: the answers in which you have been waiting for!!

Told you there was plenty :)

Cordy asked:

1. When was the last time you climbed a tree? And why?

I last climbed a tree sometime in the last year - when all the leaves were still green on the tree. Just don't remember the exact date....

Why? To be honest....I wanted to see if the tree was climbable. We had planted this particular aspen tree several years ago, and it has since grown into a pretty decent sized tree. I can safely say that I can climb into it, but I can't get more than 10 feet off the ground because the other branches are too thin still.

That is so me....

2. What is your favorite planet?

Hmmm, I believe that my favorite planet is Saturn. Probably because of all the cool rings that it has.

But I'm fascinated by planets in general. Pluto is my second favorite (yes, I still consider Pluto a planet, even if the "scientists" don't. Pffffftttttt.) especially because of the "heart" that is on the surface. (Gosh, I'm such a romantic....)

Photo Credit: NASA, New Horizons

3. What is your favorite mythical creature? ;)

A centaur



Being able to run like a horse is one thing that I've dreamed off . And I dearly love the centaurs in the Narnia movies.


4. What is something that you will NEVER do again?

Make spaghetti soup :)

One day when I was in high school, my mother called home for me to make a quick dinner (either she was going to be late or we had to go out somewhere or both, I'm sure which anymore.)

Now, this was one of the first times that I cooked unsupervised.

Everything was going swimmingly...until I got to the sauce part.

Now, I put the sauce in the pot just fine.

But, you see, my mom puts a little water in the quart jar afterwards and swishes it in order to get the sauce that sticks to the quart jar. Note emphasis on little.

When I did it this particular time - I put in three quart jar fulls of water.

And hence it was spaghetti soup and not just plain old spaghetti.

I think we were able to fish the noodles out, but the sauce was a hopeless mess. And nothing is worse than plain noodles with no sauce.

(Funny, I was reminded of this story recently as I was helping my younger brother prepare spaghetti for the first time. LOL)



5. Well, are you Eowyn, or Arwen? (I'm right here at your sidebar and I must know!)

I honestly think I'm a mix of both!

Warrior spirit - check
Stubborn sense of duty and devotion to family and friends - check
Don't care what others think as long as I'm doing what I love - check. (Ain't that the truth)
Romantic heart - check
Would like to share a lifetime with a soulmate - check
Am no damsel in distress - check (better believe it)


Elanor Asked:

1. How old were you when you started to write and what was your first story?

I want to say that I was about 11 or 12. I know I was still a Junior in Girl Scouts because I used my fellow Scouts as characters...

The first story? Heehee...prepare to cringe.

I had a title, cover and everything. Do I remember said title? Nope.
And the "book" is probably buried somewhere in a box. Where it belongs.

Anyways, it was book telling about how I and my Girl Scout friends found a baby girl (I think I named her Liza) in our cabin at this camp and proceeded to somehow take care of her. I remember there being a football player involved, but I don't remember why (boyfriend idea??? I had to be about 12 when I wrote this....). The biggest thing that I remember is that I used a pager (yeah, tells you how old I am, doesn't it) to find out what the baby's name was and how old she was. I had to have thought that a pager was a secret knowledge decoder or something....

~ Early Writing Tag



2. Favorite place to cozy up with a book?

My twin bed is my favorite place to read. I can stretch out, curl up under blankies, and be free to move around as I need to when my limbs get cramped. And it's right next to an outlet for my Kindle to charge.




3. Movie that made you laugh the hardest?

The Princess Bride.

Because of reasons.


4. Tell us a favorite memory from your childhood.

One of my favorite memories was one of the overnight stays at a local riding stable. I learned how to ride (for the first time), groom horses, saw the movie National Velvet, and saw a real life foal (he was only a day or two old, and sooo adorable!!!)


5. Where do you hope to be in five years?

Well, now let's see:

In a farmhouse of my own, with a golden wedding band on my finger and little feet pattering around :).

And if I'm not there, then I hope that I'm at my parents house preparing to be married, and working off my 30K of debt and still writing away :).




Gray Asked:

1. What is the weirdest thing you've researched in the name of writing?

19th century Irish coming-of-age traditions. I think. A lot of my writer searches are lost in cyberspace never to be found, so there may be weirder ones hiding somewhere on the interwebs.

I needed some sort of ceremony or dance or something as a plot device for the Maid of Culmore. I didn't really find all that much. *sigh* Google failed me.


2. Narnia or The Lord of the Rings?

You had to ask that question....LOL

I love both dearly. I've been leaning towards Lord of the Rings being over Narnia simply because of the more complex world and story, but I love both.


3. Favorite dessert?

It's a tie between Apple Pie and Brownies.

nom nom :)

Riley Anne Asked:

1. Crackers or chips?

I love both, but I actually like chips better than crackers. Potato chips are my favorite of all :).

2. Sweet or salty?

Depends on my mood and how I'm feeling that day. Some days I'm craving salt like crazy, other times it's craving sugar like crazy.

I tend to lean more towards sweet though.

3. Writing or reading?

Can I say both? I loved reading before I loved writing, but I can't imagine not doing either.

Though if I had to do only one, it would be reading. Writing is still a slow process for me, and heavily influenced by my reading.



4. Why did you start blogging?

Originally it was to share personal stories. A sort of online journal. Being a silent wallflower most of the time in a social setting, I don't get to talk about myself or topics that I'm passionate about very often. I tend to write much better than I talk anyway. Writing at least, you can erase all the awkwardness and bad sentences. Talking...I tend to talk fast and vomit a bunch of words that don't make any sense whatsoever. Just ask Lia. She'll tell you.

I started this particular blog because I was rekindling my passion for writing and I was starting to follow a lot of writing blogs. I felt a push to start my own writing blog, and the rest is history!



Ceci Asked:

1. Least favorite book?

A math textbook. Doesn't matter what one. I didn't use this particular textbook in college, but I did study trigonometry and it was the worst thing ever. I literally ate, slept and breathed trigonometry that semester. Yick yick yick.

Goodreads

2. Least favorite color?

Well, if you're talking basic colors, I would say white. And the only reason why I don't like it is because it attracts dirt like no one believes.


3. Least favorite candy?

Hmm, that's a really hard one because there are not that many candies I don't like.

Actually, there is one - Whoppers. I don't like those, they taste disgustingly dry to me.

yeah....

Eowyn asked:

1. Who is your favorite Lord of the Ring's character?

Heehee, it's Eowyn, the shieldmaiden of Rohan. Not joking, she's my favorite character out of the entire Middle-Earth.

2. Do you like the Hobbit Movies?

Well, considering that I've only seen one, I'll reserve judgment for when I see the rest of them. I'm not fond of the way that Peter Jackson butchers the book, but as just a movie, I was impressed with what he was able to do. And I love the soundtracks ;).



3. What is your favorite book genre?

It's a tie between speculative fantasy (LOTR, Narnia, etc.) and clean romance. I love both very dearly.


Mary Katherine Asked:

1. What is your favorite movie genre?

Period drama!! By far, this is my favorite movie genre. Epic adventure movies take a close second though :).

2. Name five movies you'd recommend to anyone.

IMDB

IMDB

IMDB

IMDB

IMDB

3. Best movie you've seen this year.

Good grief...I haven't really watched all that many new movies. All of the movies I've seen this year have been re-watches. So I cannot answer that question truthfully, MK.


4. Best book you've read this year.

Pippa of Lauramore. I love this book a lot, it's now one of my favorite Christian fantasy works :)

Why?

Fiesty heroine, cute and chivalrous knights and princes, lots of adventures, and a lord in disguise. Also features one of my favorite fantasy romances, but I can't delve in that too much. One of my Lenten sacrifices this year was reading or watching romance (and now listening too - I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I forgot that there was romance in a lot of those too. This sacrifice is starting to hurt...). 

Goodreads

Sarah Rodecker Asked:

1. What is one thing you struggle with in writing and how are you working on overcoming it?

Ahh. Finishing it. That's my biggest struggle. Actually, I'll get a few scenes written really well, and the rest of the story falls flat. As one professor noted, the seams are very visible in my stories.

I'm trying to nail down my theme and trying to think of how to transition my story better. I think what I truly need though, is more practice.

2. What is one of your fondest memories?

May 13, 2017 will always be etched into my memory as one of the fondest days of my life. The day started off getting ready for college graduation, sharing stories to keep the nerves down. We make our walks, all getting our degrees to the applause of the audience and our classmates. Saying bittersweet goodbyes to professors and college friends. Going to Lia's house for the last time and sharing a wonderful meal, games and banter with my family and hers. It will always be one of my most cherished memories.




3. What is one non-physical thing (so not heights, spiders, or the like, but something more mental) that scares you? Why?


Failure.

Anna Wolske Asked:

1. Do you play an instrument?

Not regularly anymore :(

I used to play the hammered dulcimer in college, but I had to stop after I graduated (I would love to pick it up again when I have a spare 500 bucks lying around...)

Hammered Dulcimer

I also played fiddle/violin and guitar, but I haven't gotten them out in a long while. (The fiddle I think needs new strings....). I had a few lessons on piano, but not very good ones. Wouldn't mind someone actually teaching me properly....

2. Who are some of you favorite Saints?

St. Catherine Laboure is my favorite saint, and also my confirmation saint. I'm also devoted to St. Michael and St. Philomena.



3. If you could travel to any country in the world, where would you go?

GAHH....there are about 5-7 different countries that I would go!!

Lately though, I've had hankering to visit Italy....

Alternative countries would be Canada, Scotland, Poland, England, Spain and Australia.


4. Who is your favorite fictional heroine?

ohhhh gosh. This is hard. I have so many favorites!

I'll give a few:

Eowyn (Lord of the Rings)
Hannah Parker (Runner Up by Leah Banicki)
Lady Charlotte (The Captivating Lady Charlotte by Carolyn Miller)
Anne Shirley (Chronicles of Avonlea)


5. Who is your favorite fictional hero?

This one is actually a lot simpler to answer!



It's Gilbert Blythe <3



Melissa Asked:

1. Would you rather not be able to write for a month, or not be able to listen to music for a month?

Well, let's see....

I've survived not writing for a month, with *relatively* minor injuries. Granted, that only really works when the muse is quiet. Cause my muse is like a two year old when it's awake. *shudders at remembrance of last awakening*

Music on the other hand....I need it to function. Otherwise, my imagination gets in the way and nothing gets done.

So, I'd prefer not being able to write for a month instead of giving up music.





2. What's your favorite Bible verse?

Luke 1:38 DRV

"And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

Eve's disobedience was forever reversed by this simple phrase of the Blessed Virgin Mary. With the Blessed Virgin's acceptance, she became the Mother of God by the Holy Spirit, and thus the salvation of the world could be obtained.


3. Which smell do you prefer: the ocean, or old books?

I love both smells, but I must say that I like the ocean a little more.




Katie Grace Asked:

1. What's the last movie you watched?

Letters to Juliet.



Lia and I have a tradition now where we watch chick flicks and eat chocolate together around Valentines Day. It was rather interesting considering that we are currently over 400 miles apart right now. But we managed to make it work because we both had a copy of this movie. What made it more fun was the girl commentary we had on the phone as the movie was playing.


2. What is your favorite blog post you've ever written?

OH WOW. This may be the hardest question yet!! I enjoyed writing almost all of my posts here on RM for the past year....

*ruffles through old posts*

Okay, I came up with three favorites (because I honestly can't narrow it to just one....)

Favorite Film Ships - now my most popular post with 308 individual views!!!


Turmoil - based off of real-life, any female will sympathize, LOL.


The Ocean, She Plays - my favorite story snippet post, based off of a real-life experience.




Faith Asked:

1. Are you the sort who covers her laptop with stickers or does your laptop stay as naked as the day you bought it?

When I was a kid, I was a major stickers person. Literally, I stuck them on EVERYTHING - my bed, my mirror, my books, my toys. You get the picture.

That habit kinda died out after high school - mostly because I stopped receiving free stickers. I've been removing the kid stickers off of the furniture as I'm deploying Operation Vintage Makeover (which you can read all about HERE and HERE), seeing as how I want to turn it into a room fit for an adult.

Now....currently, I actually don't have a laptop. My uncle managed to convince my parents that a laptop would be too easily stolen, so he built me a desktop. Believe me, if I had been consulted, I would have had quite a different opinion on the matter. I've had this desktop for almost 5 years now. It has traveled with me between 4 years of college and 2 summer internships, and has honestly been a thorn in my side since day 1. I had planned to buy a laptop for grad school, but that never happened. Once I earn enough money, I'll probably get one.

And decorate with a bunch of cool stickers. Cause I have to identify it as mine, of course.

so can't wait until I can take my computer work OUTSIDE.....

2. What is your favorite part of being an author?

Oh wow, there are several things. Sharing my work (as long as there are no spoilers) and collaborating with other writers (like in Camp NaNo) are definitely up there.

But I think my favorite thing about being a writer is that I can let my imagination run loose (albeit in a controlled fashion). It's super fun to "think out" a scene over and over and then letting it loose on the paper (granted, this can also be the more frustrating part).


3. What is your favorite beverage?

Oooh, I have a couple of favorites. My favorite soda is Coca-Cola, but my favorite everyday beverage is pink lemonade. I literally lived off of pink lemonade in college, I'm so surprised that I'm not heartily sick of it.



Zelie Asked:

1. What is your favorite poem?

I love poems that tell a story, the epic poems, if you will. I've only started to appreciate the art of poetry - I've always been much more of a prose person.

My favorite poem is actually the basis for one of my favorite movies by the same name: The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Patterson. This poem was based in Australia and was published in the 1890s. Since it's so long, I'll leave the link to the poem HERE.

Andrew "Banjo" Patterson

2. What is the number one thing you look forward to doing every day?

Would you believe it if I said it was getting on Blogger to either write or check for new posts from my fellow bloggie buddies???? Because I love you guys so much.

I'm not joking when I say that. I find so much inspiration and good stuff in my reading list every morning. Sure, sometimes it gets super intense and I probably procrastinate way too much...


Quinley Asked:

1. Who is your favorite character? (from a book, movie, etc.)

This sometimes changes depending on what book I read. There are simply too many to choose from.

But if I had to choose just one, it would be Eowyn from Lord of the Rings :). Always.



2. What is the weirdest answer you have gotten on a "Which character are you" Quiz?

Caspian from Narnia.

I could have sworn that I would have gotten Susan. I'm a worrywart mother henish older sister who has trouble trusting others (including God).


Okay, I agree with the boundless imagination part, the perseverance part and maybe the leadership part. As for born adventurer and thrill-seeker...it depends on the day. I still have a lot (and I do mean a lot) of days when I just want to be a homebody and spend the day curled up in a blankie with my workbasket and my books.


Anna Asked: 

1. If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?

Flying :). I'm a super speed demon, so flying from one place to another has always been a dream of mine. My one plane experience only sharpened it, actually.



2. What's your favorite childhood memory?

I think my favorite childhood memory was during our family's first trip down to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

We had all rented tandem bikes and we rode them all over the island. I remember being in tandem with Mom, and my brothers were with various family members (we had a big group of us, like 5 or 6 bikes). We all decided to race our bikes on the beach one day. I remember being bound and determined to win (I still have a pretty decent competitive streak) so I rode my hardest, giving Mom a nice push from behind. I think we came in second place, if I remember correctly. I was really winded afterwards...I was only about 9 or 10 then.


MiddleEarthMusician Asks:

1. What is your favorite kid's movie\TV show?

Winnie the Pooh :). I loved him and all of the Hundred Acre Wood characters, and we have a good portion of the Pooh videos on VHS somewhere.





2. What is your favorite Dwarf in the Hobbit? (providing you've seen\read it...have you? If not, don't bother with this question. XD)

haha, yes, I've read The Hobbit! As a matter of fact, I finally got my own copy for Christmas!

For some reason, Bombur sticks out as my favorite dwarf. I don't remember exactly why though....


3. Would you rather visit the beach or the rainforest?

The beach, to be perfectly honest. I love the beach a lot, because I can get wet if I choose or I can sunbathe. I love the sun too...

The rainforest, on the other hand, is super wet and hot and gross because it's full of bugs and poisonous things and other nasty things that I don't want to deal with. Like disease. No thank you.



4. Cake or pizza?

Ooohhh....hard question.

It depends on my mood and how I'm feeling. I do like pizza a lot, so I'm more likely to pick it up but I'm picky (I like fluffy crusts, medium light sauce, fair amount of cheese, green pepper and sausage, please and thank you.)

Cake, I'm not nearly as picky about, but I'm likely to leave the frosting - even though I mentioned earlier I have a sweet tooth, I can only have so much frosting before it makes me nauseous.

5. If you could visit any fictional place, what would it be?

ANY?

Oh goodness. This may take a minute....

ooh, how about Alagaësia, the world from the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini? I do like that world because it has little villages and lots of mountains.




Micaiah Asks:

What's your favorite book judging it only by its cover?

Goodreads

I definitely judged the book by it's cover on this Kindle find. This is actually one of my favorite books story-wise too, but I love this cover A LOT. (I have a few favorites, actually, but this one is so colorful and happy and pretty!!!!)


Favorite book not judging by the cover?

Goodreads

Why is it that the classic books have the most boring covers ever????


Audrey Asks:

1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Oh my....

I've seriously thought about living in a few places, all of which are old ancestral places for me: Italy, Scotland and Poland.

The most likely of these places would be Poland. It has a decent government, still has a strong Catholic culture, and still has a lot of the traditional agricultural skills and methods that I love. The only downside might be having Russia fairly close....

Polski: Chrzanów (Gmina Kobierzyce) by Pełnik (Wikipedia)

I dearly love Italian food and culture, but I'm not sure I want to deal with all the gang violence that is still over there (where do you think the mafia culture came from???). Scotland, as much of a Scot that I am in spirit, may be wayyyy too cold for me to handle living in permanently.


2. What person (who is currently living) do you look up to the most?

My maternal grandmother. I've always taken a lot of strength and advice from her :).


3. What's one book that surprised you in a good way?

The Captivating Lady Charlotte comes to mind the quickest. I didn't 100% know what to expect, and the story turned out to be 100 times better than what I thought it was going to. For my review of the book, see HERE.

Goodreads

And now, my dear friends, we have come to the end to the AMA....*throws away empty ice cream container*

Now....to let you know what is coming up here on The Rebelling Muse.

Y'all are probably going to hate me for this...

But for the next 4-6 weeks, it's going to officially be March Tag Madness. I now have 9 tags (including a 5 part tag for Julian's Shared WIP Tag), plus I am releasing my own tag with MK and Lia. And I have another tag sitting on Working by Candlelight (which brings it up to 11 tags...)

Now, several of these tags will be cleared via Lia's specialty Tag Squishing posts, so at most, I could only have 4 tag posts (due to their length, the 7777 challenge and Elanor's Another Period Drama Tag will be on separate posts).

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm clearing my Tag To Do list before April because.....

1. Camp NaNo is coming in April (LE GASP. Is it really only two months from now????? SCARY....).
2. If all goes well, I could be starting a new full-time job within the next few weeks.

*whew* Okay, my introvertness and my fingers needs to re-charge from all that talking. Your turn! I'd love to chat with y'all in the comments section! 

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine