A Quiet Celebration

Posted on by theherosinger

a-quiet-celebration

The Herosinger blog marked its first year in August, and what a year it has been!

I want, first off, to say a huge thank you to everyone who has followed, who has commented, who has reached out and been friendly—you are the best. I have so loved hearing your opinions, getting to know you, reading books you’ve recommended, and visiting your blogs. You are what make this blog worth it.

My ideal way to celebrate would be to meet with you all on a quiet rainy afternoon and chat over a latte, but since I can’t have that, I have come up with some fun questions (call it a tag if you like) that I would love for you to answer! Feel free to do so on your blog, or in the comments, or even, if you prefer, in an email.

And, because it’s a party and I can’t actually invite all of you wonderful readers to have a cuppa and cake with me, I am giving away a $15 gift card to Amazon for a book or two of your choice. (I think books are a moderately decent substitution, yes?)

Without further ado, here are the questions:

Three things that bring out the “inner geek” in you?

What’s the craziest thing you have done that you haven’t regretted?

Would you rather spend a day stuck on a rollercoaster or in a submarine?

If you had a theme song, what would it be?

What is the strangest character you have ever read or written?

What is the weirdest thing you have ever done in the name of reading or writing?

If you could undo one character death in a book or movie, whose would it be?

What’s one book you wouldn’t mind throwing across the room?

Worst book-to-movie adaption you’ve ever seen? Best?
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Published by theherosinger

41 thoughts on “A Quiet Celebration”

  1. Congratulations on a lovely year of blogging, Emi!! I have greatly enjoyed it, and still have fond memories of the interview you did over at My Lady Bibliophile! I’m excited for what the next year will bring here. 😀

    Thanks to your blog, Baba Yetu has become one of our favorite road trip songs: https://theherosinger.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/the-world-of-writing-music-artist-feature-peter-hollens/. I’ve also had super fun making an editing treat box inspired by your article (can’t wait to do that again soon!) https://theherosinger.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/how-to-editing-treat-box/ And I love the thoughtful resources you offered on finding good deals for book buying: https://theherosinger.wordpress.com/2015/11/14/buying-books-online-5-great-alternatives-to-amazon/.

    Thanks so much for giving us a peek into your lovely creative process. ❤

    These questions look super fun! I can't wait to do them! 😀 😀

    Hugs,
    Schuyler

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  2. Favorite classical music when I hear it on the air, Sherlock Holmes, and a good many random facts from the 1910’s. 😉
    I can’t say I’ve ever not regretted something crazy I did. I’m not really the spontaneous type?
    Submarine. It would be rather exciting.
    A waltz of some sort, probably.
    Dr. Jelkyll/Mr. Hyde.
    I printed out and sewed together a copy of my book for my grandma. I didn’t get it done in time so I brought the materials to bind the cover along and nagged my dad to help me. He’s the best! XD
    One of my own. I did it because I thought it was the thing to do, but I sort of hate myself over it now. I could change it, possibly, but it did end up playing a huge part in the plot.
    A couple years ago I was trying to read David Copperfield and just couldn’t get through it. I probably would have been willing to throw it across a room I was so frustrated. (I should try it again sometime.)
    I saw a short excerpt from a pre-Megan Follows Anne of Green Gables once that was pretty cringe worthy. Best? Little Women (1994) starring Christian Bale and Winona Ryder, and Masterpiece Classic’s The Railway Children (2000) and Pollyanna (2003). 😀

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    1. I hate it when you want to undo your own character deaths and can’t. You have no one to blame but yourself! Still, it can be worth it, albeit painful. 😦
      I love that Pollyanna! I have never seen the 2000 The Railway Children, though. Now you have me curious!

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  4. Happy Blog-Anniversary, Emily!!
    I’ve truly enjoyed following your blog this year :).

    Maybe I’ll do a post on these questions?
    J.R.R. Tolkien definitely brings out that inner geek in me, as do favourite classic novels (aka Elizabeth Gaskell!) and their beautiful BBC adaptions, beautiful music and art and most definitely Roman history!!

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  5. I would buy a couple of self-published novels by my friends as I can only buy them on Amazon and the shipping costs on Amazon usually outweigh the actual price of the books, so a gift card would help me finally own a few! Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s two latest novel/novella(s), also any of K.M. Weiland, Mirriam Neal’s, Elisabeth Grace Foley’s or Emily Ann Putzke’s novels. 😀

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  7. Congrats, Emily! I’ve loved every single post. By the way, the questions are fantastic.

    1) Classical music, mythology and J.R.R. Tolkien
    2) I generally don’t do crazy things. Probably one of the craziest things I ever did and enjoyed was going snowmobiling when I was totally scared to.
    3) Submarine. Absolutely.
    4) The Ecstasy of Gold by Ennio Morricone
    5) I’ve read plenty of strange characters, but I’ll give the nod to Miss Havisham from Dickens’ Great Expectations.
    6) Randomly interviewing an old woman I didn’t know in search of story ideas. I never regretted it. Her story was incredible!
    7) This one doesn’t quite count because I can’t argue with long-standing legend…but if I could pick one character to save it would seriously be Robin Hood. 🙂
    8) With an apology to all horse lovers – I don’t care for Black Beauty. The constant social commentary gets to me after a while.
    9) I don’t watch many book-to-movie adaptations. I’m too much of a nerdy book person, I guess. But the worst I have seen is probably the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which renders one of my favorite children’s books practically unrecognizable, due to a rather bizarre plot change. And the best? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).

    Hoping there will be many more blog anniversaries to come!

    Lucy

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    1. I LOVE Ectasy of Gold! Now that’s an epic one to pick. 🙂
      And I totally agree with you–The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a pretty good adaption.
      Thank you! I certainly hope so too!

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  8. Awww, this is a neat blogoversary idea! And thanks for doing the giveaway, too, Emily. 🙂

    Here are my answers to your questions:

    1) I’m guaranteed to geek out over tea, Harry Potter, and anything Middle-Earth.

    2) Traveled to NYC by myself. I’ve done it twice now for a writing conference, and I’ve never run into problems and used good judgment for my safety when I was out and about. Plus, I learned so much at the conferences that it’s impossible to regret making the trip or investing in my writing career.

    3) Submarine. I’m not a fan of rollercoasters…

    4) Lightning Song by Anathema. I don’t have access to a YouTube link at the moment, but it’s one of the most beautiful and uplifting songs I’ve ever heard. And more importantly, it changed my outlook on life.

    5) I recently read The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, and it featured a flesh-eating demon horse named Kamala. She wasn’t exactly a strange character, but she was VERY funny.

    6) I… can’t think of anything weird I’ve done in the name of reading or writing…?

    7) I’d undo Barristan Selmy’s death from the Game of Thrones TV show. Yes, they’ve killed off a LOT of characters, but his was the only one I had any issue with. In fact, I actually considered quitting the show because of it. (But now I’m glad I didn’t.)

    8) I seriously considered throwing Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass across the room. I didn’t like the protagonist at all, and when I realized that a love triangle was forming and I didn’t care about either guy she was falling for… Yeah.

    9) Worst adaptation: Only the Battle of the Five Armies installment of The Hobbit trilogy. I had very few issues with the first two films, but apart from Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage’s performances, BOTFA is my least favorite Middle-Earth movie ever.

    Best: LOTR. Need I say more? 🙂

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    1. Just saw the Rafflecopter question. I’d probably buy a book I’ve been meaning to get for a while, like Rae Carson’s The Girl of Fire and Thorns, V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic, or Elisa Kova’s Air Awakens.

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    2. Why, thank you! I love Middle Earth and (some) teas VERY much. I actually haven’t read all of Harry Potter before, so I can’t currently comment on that one.
      What conference did you attend in NYC? That’s impressive going yourself. I would be nervous doing that alone, esp. with the traffic and all that!
      I hear you on the adaptions, though I actually liked The Hobbit a tad better than LOTR, tbh. 🙂

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      1. Writer’s Digest Conference. I blogged about it last week, actually. Here’s the link: https://saraletourneauwriter.com/2016/09/15/writers-digest-conference-2016/

        As for going alone, I was actually fine with it. (Probably because I went alone last year, too…) I took the train to get there and back, stayed in the hotel where the conference was held, and otherwise walked from place to place. NYC is very easy to navigate on foot; and once I met (or reconnected with) people at WDC, I wasn’t alone for lunches and dinners. So if you ever consider attending it, I highly recommend it. 😉

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  9. Happy blogiversary! I’d love your ideal celebration idea, too, but this is next best. 🙂

    1. The Sons of the Pioneers—I love listening to them and am a kind of trivia encyclopedia when it comes to their music and movies. Classic ’50s/’60s TV shows, especially Westerns—it’s so much fun seeing all the familiar character actors pop up in a zillion different roles. Sports—I’ve had fun watching football and basketball for years, and I’m newly enamored with European soccer.
    2. I guess I’m a cautious sort of person too. I can’t remember anything really crazy.
    3. Well, if it wasn’t moving…and not too high…I’d pick the rollercoaster. That’s kind of cheating, isn’t it?
    4. Right now, I’d say “Skylark” by Glenn Miller.
    5. I don’t seem to read a whole lot of books with extra-strange characters, but the Family of Night in Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s A Branch of Silver, A Branch of Gold were pretty spooky.
    6. Maybe using a tape measure to try and figure out how tall some of my characters are…
    7. I thought Martha’s death in Return to Cranford was absolutely pointless. At least the character deaths in the original series were important to the plot!
    8. Hum…well…there were a couple of recent historical-fiction books that might have received this treatment if I hadn’t been reading them on Kindle; but I’ll pick an older title and say The Lady With the Dog by Anton Chekhov. Some of the most depressing stories ever.
    9. Worst? The old 1930s version of Anna Karenina with Greta Garbo. Best, as in most accurate? Probably Old Yeller or Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

    And the giveaway question? I’d probably pick a couple of books off this list! http://thesecondsentence.blogspot.com/2016/08/top-ten-tuesday-wishlist-edition.html

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    1. It’s funny, just recently I saw some European soccer and really enjoyed it. And YES on the shows! It is so much fun to see all the same actors pop up. 🙂
      Yeah, Martha’s death frustrated me. Pointless.
      Trying to measure your characters sounds fun…I’ve never tried anything like that before. 🙂

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  10. Yay! Happy blogoversary!
    I’d probably get one of K.M. Weiland’s books with the gift card — specifically one to help me with my writing.
    Questions! I love these:
    –Music/soundtracks, trailers for films I’m excited for, and talking with friends who share my geekiness.
    –Oh wow, craziest thing. I’m not one for crazy things. xD
    –A submarine! I tend to be claustrophobic on rare occasions, but I think it’ll be much better than on a roller coaster. And it’ll be cool.
    –So many songs, but I’d choose “Live It Well” by Switchfoot.
    –I wrote a short story recently that featured a villain who was a writer and I’m pretty sure she had mental illnesses too. Idk how that came about. xD
    –Hmm, well, I’ve googled odd things. Oh! I wrote something in my notebook by moonlight once.
    –Kelsier from Mistborn. Han from Star Wars. Boromir from LotR.
    –Any trashy YA novel, I guess? I’ve been disappointed by those muchly.
    –I’ve seen some pretty bad ones; The Hobbit was kind of floppy. Best, well, people probably won’t agree with me, but I think the new Voyage of the Dawn Treader was very well done even if it was different.

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    1. Yes–I read a fair bit of YA this summer and was largely disappointed (though I wasn’t expecting much in the first place!).
      I’ve never read Mistborn, but YES on Han and Boromir. 😥
      I actually agree with you on Dawn Treader. I felt that even though there were some plot changes that they stayed true to the spirit of the story and the characters. *nods*

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  11. Hello there! Fellow writer here, sorry to barge in. I’m a newcomer to your site, but I really love your articles – wonderful advice! I stumbled on your Twitter profile via follower recommendations and your mention of wrangling horses caught my eye. (I love horses.)

    So if you don’t mind, I’ll give this a shot:

    Inner geek – anything Doctor Who-related, untangling alternate timelines and/or parallel universes in books and TV shows, and world-building for my own stories. I tend to get carried away with world-building. If I’m not careful I wind up with 57 scribbled pages of maps, histories, and political intrigue and no actual story.
    Craziest thing – putting the painfully unpolished first draft of my current novel on Scribophile and letting other people critique it. Definitely not a regret, as it helped me finally stop talking about writing and actually start doing it. Haven’t published anything yet, but I’m getting there.
    Submarine, without a doubt.
    Theme song – I See the Light from Tangled. It’s my favorite song, and it almost has Christian overtones.
    Strangest character – I’d say Nathaniel Beasley, my current MC, is the weirdest one I’ve written. Mainly because he’s not always human. (Long story. Let’s just say that after the end of Beauty and the Beast, they forgot to burn the wicked fairy’s book of spells.)
    Weirdest thing – hmm. Tough one. I’ve just been studying some ancient Gothic to get ideas for magic words; I suppose that’s a little odd. 🙂
    Undoing a death – probably Wash in Serenity. I wouldn’t want to undermine that movie’s dramatic impact, but his death was a real gut-punch.
    Best book for throwing – The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. Such a skilled author, but then he went all PC and ruined Nico for no reason.
    Worst adaptation – not sure if comic books count, but I’m really not a fan of the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire take on Spider-Man. It fails miserably in adapting the character I know and love from the comics. Best – I think the Lord of the Rings trilogy is perhaps the best book adaptation I’ve ever seen.

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    1. Welcome! There’s no such thing as barging in around here! (And btw, horses are great, aren’t they?)
      Yeah, sometimes critiques hurt, but if you are commited, they are totally worth it.
      I haven’t read Riordan, but I do hate when authors go and ruin characters for no reason.
      And Lord of the Rings was pretty good! I especially love the climax of ROTK. 🙂

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      1. Absolutely, horses are awesome. 🙂 And I particularly liked the climax of ROTK as well; it still takes my breath away.

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  12. Hi Emily! I am new to your blog, and am excited to read more! Congratulations on your one year anniversary! 🙂 Here’s my answers to your questions:
    1) Anything tech related. I am a huge tech geek! XD Beautifully designed book covers, and the smell of old books. 😉
    2) Started an audio drama group with my siblings. It was scary in the beginning, but I have loved it!
    3) Ummmm submarine! Definitely!
    4)Hmm, that’s really hard! I can’t think of any.
    5)Again, I am at a loss . . .
    6)Stayed up until 11:30 reading an awesome book! 😛
    7)Ugh, I can’t remember which movie it was, even though I saw it recently. But I remember being so mad that the character died!
    8)The book I am currently reading, Defy, by Tricia Mingerink. The character is making a VERY bad decision, and I am a bit mad at her right now. 😉 I think it will get better though.
    9)The Girl of the Limberlost. Ugh, that was bad! It was done by a cheap movie company, and I hated it! 🙂

    Well, I think that’s it! Congratulations again! May God bless you and all your endeavors Emily!

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    1. Thank you, and a hearty welcome! 🙂
      I LOVE well done book covers! *swoon* Confession: sometimes I do check out a book just because of its cover. 😉
      Audio drama sounds like so much fun! I almost started one once, but life kicked in and it fizzled. 😦
      Ew, I didn’t know anyone made a bad Girl of the Limberlost. I would have been excited for a minute, but badly done is worse than not at all!

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  15. Three things that bring out the “inner geek” in you?
    Writing. Firearms. Charles Dickens.

    What’s the craziest thing you have done that you haven’t regretted?
    Requested too many books to review? *cough*

    Would you rather spend a day stuck on a rollercoaster or in a submarine?
    Good question. I think a submarine would be a little more comfortable than a rollercoaster.

    If you had a theme song, what would it be?
    “Just Be Held”, by Casting Crowns, and “Life is Beautiful”, by the Afters.

    What is the strangest character you have ever read or written?
    I’d say Fenton has to take the cake for strangest I’ve written (War of Honor). Read: Grady Thoms, the hapless author pursuing publication. (Mr. Nary: The Story of How Grady Thoms Got Published.)

    What is the weirdest thing you have ever done in the name of reading or writing?
    Read a spy manual cover to cover, or perhaps target practice with some really neat firearms. Not necessarily weird, but unique.

    If you could undo one character death in a book or movie, whose would it be?
    I would definitely change Bonhoeffer’s death in the biography I just read. I’m always terribly sad that he died so close to deliverance. In fiction, probably Steerforth from David Copperfield. I want to see him redeemed and given a second chance. 😉 ALSO a cheerful comic relief named Sir Nat who should never have been killed. 😥

    What’s one book you wouldn’t mind throwing across the room?
    The Children of Hurin made me want to throw it, it’s so frustrating to see the characters making irreparable bad choices.

    Worst book-to-movie adaption you’ve ever seen? Best?
    I did once see the tail end of the Greta Garbo Pride and Prejudice that seemed to be pretty bad, but I’d have to say the 2007 Mansfield Park takes the worst for slaughtering Fanny Price’s character arc.

    Best: 1980s Great Expectation. Herbert Pocket is perfect, and I love the lengthy adaptation of Dickens’ work.

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    1. @Schuyler I agree with you about Steerforth… David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens book and the whole section dealing with Steerforth’s death was simultaneously tragic and beautifully executed. I’ve always wished he had had a chance at making things right and reaching his potential.

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    2. Yeah, I have to agree with you, Fenton is um, interesting. O.o
      And firearms bring out the inner geek in me too. Only I don’t know a ton about models…I just like shooting and the marksmanship involved. 🙂
      Also, Mr. Nary? I had almost forgotten about him!! XD

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  16. Schuyler, how could you want to *throw* The Children of Hurin? ;P
    I always touch it like it’s made of glass. When there’s that much true suffering trapped between the front and back covers of a book, it deserved to be treated with reverence….

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  17. My inner geek is brought out by…
    a. History
    b. Language
    c. Opera

    Craziest thing? I ate laundry detergent by accident. I don’t regret it because it makes a hilarious story. 🙂

    I’d definitely rather be underwater than high in the air! Submarine for me!

    My theme song…”Nella Fantasia.”

    How can you choose strangest character? Gollum and Aunt Wealthy are both up there, though….

    My weirdest things are probably done in the name of research. I’ve ended up reading some very odd, obscure ancient texts. Modern writers do NOT have the market cornered on weirdness!

    Oh…just one? 😥 There are so many characters I would love to bring back, but if it has to be just one, it would be a certain girl with honey-blonde curls.

    Edward IV, England’s Forgotten Warrior King, by Dr. Anthony Corbet. THAT is a book that deserves to be thrown across the room–not for careless research, but for a horrific misuse of logic. I’d love to do it, but it’s on my Kindle, and I don’t really want to break that….

    Worst book-to-movie adaption? Why don’t we go with Disney’s Jungle Book? Nothing like the book. Change the names and nobody would guess they were related. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can choose a best; the better I love a book, the harder I tend to be on its film adaptions.

    Thanks for these questions, Emily. They are loads of fun!

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    1. You are very welcome!
      Laundry detergent? My dear girl, it’s a wonder you are alive! 😉
      I love how you just mentioned Gollum and Aunt Wealthy in the same sentence….
      The girl with honey-blonde curls? Oh…. 😥
      And I would gladly throw Anthony Corbet’s book across the room for you…also, what is that other historian I wanted to throw??
      Glad you had time to answer the questions! 🙂

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  20. Congrats girl! It’s been a pleasure reading all of your posts and seeing the opinion of an excellent writer! The worst book to movie adaption EVER was the new Prince Caspian. Absolutely NO respect for the books! I would really like to get stuck on a roller coaster!! Cheers to you! 🙂
    -Esther

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    1. Thank you, love! I am glad that you have enjoyed the blog. 🙂
      Yeah, Prince Caspian was no good. (Except for Sergio–he was pretty cool!)
      You WANT to get stuck on a roller coaster?? You are crazy, but I love you anyway. ❤

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