L is for...Liebster Award!

Hooray! The Drunken Space Penguin has been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award, and he accepts (demanding a celebratory bottle of tequila, of course)! So, your first question must be, "What the hell is a Liebster, and why are you getting an award for it?" Well, great question. The origins are a little foggy and have changed more times than I can count, but the basic gist of it is to help spread awareness of and promote blogs with few followers. Most recently, the cutoff for followers is 200 (DSP is well below that already) but some research I've done indicates that it was originally supposed to be around a thousand. Either way, we still fit in the category, so I was nominated by the awesome J.E. Ryder, who was nominated as well. Make sure you check out her blog!!

Now, for the rules:

• Post 11 random facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions from the previous blogger, J.E. Ryder
• Nominate 11 new bloggers for the award

Pretty groovy, right? I thought so too. So, let's get started!

11 Random Facts About Me (Ashley)

1. I'm afraid of trees. Now I should probably elaborate here, because I don't think the tree is going to get me or anything dumb like that. I am afraid of things falling out of trees and getting in my hair or on my skin. Like bugs. I hate bugs. Or bird poop. Or dirt.

2. I repel technology. I'm not afraid of it, but I swear, I've never met anyone who has as much bad luck with electronics than me. 

3. I'm a Twihard. I love The Twilight Saga, and I wouldn't have it any other way. But not because of the movies (though they are all amazing!) but I got addicted to the books. My favorite character? It's a tie between Edward and Alice. I love them both.

4. I'm a horror movie junkie. I freaking LOVE scary movies! Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, It, The Woman in Black, all the Paranormal Activity movies, The Devil Inside, Hostel (1, 2, & 3), Saw...all of them. Even the low-budget and B-Rated horror films. The scarier and gorier the better!

5. In high school, I was in band. I played the clarinet, which progressed to the bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet, which was a big mofo that weighed way too freaking much. During marching season, I was in the colorguard, which for those who don't know, they're the ones who are out there with the pretty flags and the most injuries. I loved it. Was I a band geek? Hell yes, and proud of it!

6. My husband and I took our honeymoon 2 years after we got married, and we went to St. Kitts, in the West Indies. It's the most culturally rich and beautiful place I've ever seen. During both trips we made, I was eaten alive by sand fleas. And boy, do those mother truckers ITCH!!! You think mosquitos are bad? Pft. You don't KNOW itching yet, friends.

7. I am of Scottish, Native American, and German descent. On my dad's side of the family I traced the male roots back to the 1600s Scotland, and the true spelling of my maiden name, Creich. (American version is Creech, pronounced roughly the same.) There's even a place in Scotland called Creich Castle, but it's in horrific ruins now!

8. Today's music is mostly lost on me, except for country and some rock. I listen to mostly music of the 90s and the early 00s, and yeah, there are a few songs that have come out since 2008 that don't suck completely, but when a song consists solely of grunts, moans, and one repetitive phrase that is completely irrelevant to anything ever, sung by an artist who counts how many chains are on his neck or who looks like a clown had had sex with a Ms. Potato Head and popped her out...I don't have time for that.

9. I get crazy air sick. I have to take Dramamine before I fly, or I'm sitting there nauseous for the whole 4 hour flight. I once had a flight attendant have to get up and get me a puke bag and ginger ale before we had even reached altitude, it was so bad. 

10. I've always been kind of awkward. I never say the right thing, people end up looking at me and thinking, "What the hell is she talking about, she's so lost..." and shaking their heads or just trying to pretend it didn't happen. I get it a lot. Like, a LOT. I don't mean to be so awkward, and believe me, I feel really stupid when I do or say something that earns me "The Look," but it's just me and my not-quite-fully-developed-or-functional-brain. 

11. I believe in being prepared for a Zombie Apocalypse. Go ahead, laugh it up. Even if the ZA doesn't happen, there's always the threat of terrorist attacks, chemical/biological/nuclear warfare, natural disasters, or invasion of the in-laws. Being prepared for a ZA is going to ensure you are as prepared as can be for any of the more likely threats. Well, except invasion of the in-laws. There is no amount of prep that can ever get you ready for that...hehe. 

Now for my answers to J.E.'s questions:

1. What is your favorite smell?

Me: I'm a sucker for vanilla, white sage, baked goods, and rain. I can't pick one, because different scents are for different reasons. 

2. Forget heroes. Which movie/novel character is your favorite bad guy/gal and why?

Me: Hands down Freddy Kruger. He was my hero growing up. 

3. I was sitting on Waterloo station the other day, studying other people's footwear while waiting for my train. Are you a fashion victim, or do you opt for comfortable feet?

Me: Haha, fashion? What's that? Hehe, I wear my sneakers with just about everything but skirts, and with skirts it's usually some neutral color of sandals. I'm all about comfort.

4. I've noticed that since I started using Twitter I've begun truncating my sentences when writing on other platforms. I tend to slip into Twitter mode without realizing it. Do you do the same?

Me: No, I don't think I use Twitter often enough. I tweet, but the writer in me just won't let me truncate things. Usually I have to edit my tweets because they're too long.

5. Has your handwriting suffered since you took to the keyboard?

Me: My handwriting suffered long before that, lol! I've worked in a few call centers, and I would have to take notes on what the callers were saying, but I couldn't type fast enough to keep up, so I started scribbling in my steno pad for my notes. It got to the point where I couldn't even read it myself.

6. It's easy to get word-blind when writing, not to notice those extra repetitive little words that creep into the manuscript when your back is turned. My enemy is of. What's yours?

Me: Omigosh, I have a handful of them. I'll overuse "then," "he," "she," "so," and "it." Since my books are written in past tense from the main character's point of view, those words just seem to pop up everywhere it seems. The worst one is "then," of course, because everything is "then this happened, then that happened, and then she said it, and he then did it, and it was then done..." It's annoying. 

7. Where do you see yourself in two years' time?

Me: Well, hopefully my hubby and I will be moved by then into a bigger house closer to the hubby's work. I'd love to have several more books available, and have mastered the art of promoting my work! I also wouldn't object to be rubbing elbows with the biggest names in the author world, namely Stephen King. Oh, what I wouldn't give to pick HIS brain!!

8. Have you always written, or did a particular event give you the impetus to start?

Me: I wouldn't say I've ALWAYS written, but it started early in life. I didn't do any kind of publishing until 2012, though. I never felt my work was good enough, and to be honest, I'm my own worst critic so I will never think it's good enough. I can only hope the readers disagree with me. 

9. If you could start life again, what single piece of advice would you give yourself?

Me: That cute little face does NOT last forever! Take care of it! Hehe, no, my biggest piece of advice I would give myself is to stop stressing over every little thing. No, your life is not going to turn out anything like you plan, because life and fate doesn't care about your plans, but you're going to have plenty of experiences and adventures along the way that make the journey worthwhile. You will turn out fine, and every experience, every failure, every success, every heartbreak, every loss, every tear, and every smile will make you into a wonderful person. So sit back and relax, and maybe you won't have those crow's feet and wrinkles on your forehead at thirty.

10. What do you enjoy most about being an Author?

Me: Knowing that someone paid to read something I wrote. Seriously, I don't really expect to get rich off being an author (not that I would mind it!) but just knowing there are people out there who want to read my books and who enjoy them...it's humbling. It's an honor. And I'm sitting here with a cheesy grin as I type this up, because it means THAT much to me to have people read my books. I love it.

11. I'm copying Terry's final question for this one. Please put a link here to any of your blog posts - tell us what it's about, and why you have chosen it! 

Me: Okay, this one was my tribute to the Mayan Apocalypse that never happened. Yes, I understand they turned the rock over and found us more time (or whatever they did), but there was so much hype for the apocalypse, I had to share my tribute. This may end up becoming the beginning to a future story! http://drunkenspacepenguin.blogspot.com/2012/12/i-survivedor-did-i.html



Now, my turn to ask questions! Mwhahahahahahahahaha!!! Okay, so it's not THAT bad...lol!


1. If you could go back in time to any era, where would you go and what would you do?

2. Imagine there are no rules, and therefore no consequences. At all. But you only have 8 hours of freedom before the rules kick in. What would you do with the ultimate freedom? What would be the first rule you break?

3. What's your biggest pet peeve?

4. We all have something that scares us, whether it's rational or irrational. What is your biggest fear?

5. What was your favorite toy from your childhood (that you can remember!) and why?

6. Are you a conspiracy theorist?

7. What is your favorite mythical creature, and what would you do if you met one?

8. If you had an infinite supply of money to spend on your dream vacation, where would you go and what would you do?

9. In your opinion, what is today's WORST pop culture trend?

10. When someone comes up to you who clearly knows you from the past, yet you can't for the life of you remember them at all, how do you behave?

11. If you could change one thing about your past without any negative consequences, what would be the one change you'd make?


Okay, now I get to nominate 11 people for the Liebster Award. Everyone go visit these folks and read their answers to my questions!!

Michala of Bite My Book
Nadia Kim of NadiaKim.com
Kande Nicho of Sapphire Kande

**Yes, I know this is less than 11, I'm working on that part...lol!**

Well, it's been a blast, and I'm super grateful to J.E. Ryder for nominating me, but the honor must now be passed on to others! Thanks for stopping by and making this part of the A to Z Challenge such a success! Come see me Monday, and we'll pick up with M Day! MMMmmmmmmm, I love brownies...Maybe I'll Make M Day Most Magnificent by Making a brownie in a Mug with Milk. Mmmmmmm...hehe.