Sunshine Award | S.J. Maylee

The writing journey is a hard one. Got it. But the friends you make along the way have the best timing. Right when you need them they throw a Sunshine award (thank you Siobhan Muir and Lorraine Patton), the Versatile blogger (thank you Jamaiquina), and the Liebster (thank you Claire Gillian) your way. You guys are the best. 😀

Below you’ll find all kinds of random things about me and the newest nominations for these memes.

Questions from Siobhan’s and Lorraine’s Sunshine award post:

Favorite Color: depends on what’s blooming in my garden. Right now, red
Favorite Animal: dolphins are pretty amazing and I adore penguins.
Favorite Number: 6 <~ my number from my first audition. I got the gig, cheerleading in 4th grade 🙂
Favorite Non-alcoholic Drink: Coffee. I love coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee
Facebook or Twitter: I enjoy them both, but I hang on twitter much more often.
Your Passion: I’m passionate about my writing and reading, that’s a given. Outside of the written word, my passion is movement. Dance was my first love. As a kid, I spent hours in my room dancing/acting out the songs on the radio and this is where my love of story telling started. I’ve studied dance since a young age, through college and even danced on scholarship with a famous company in Chicago.
Giving or getting presents: Giving.
Favorite Day: I do love fall and Siobhan’s answer to this question. My favorite day is any day my husband and two sons are with me.
Favorite Flowers: Last November (in my 1st Trifecta post) I listed Ranunculus and in that post you’ll see the pretty flowers. They’re gorgeous. Since my red Poppies are blooming, they’re getting my vote this time.

Seven things about me for Jamaiquina’s Versatile award

I’m more Polish than Italian, but you wouldn’t know it by the way I cook. My dad makes fabulous horseradish, but my specialty is more with meatballs and tomato sauce, “the gravy.”
I don’t like scary movies, although I saw Scream I in the theater with my Grandpa. I saw Scream II in the theater with my husband, then boyfriend. At one point I screamed so loud that the lady in front of us said, “That lady scared me.”
I do enjoy sweets, but I prefer salty.
I root for all the Detroit sports teams, including the Lions and any team that has a player from the 2004 Pistons team (the year we beat the Lakers in the NBA finals).
Love Star Wars, I’m definitely a Browncoat, and although I enjoy the new Star Trek movies, I’m not a Treky.
My husband is a musician and he supports the family by teaching lessons, recording, a little producing, but mostly by playing music in Chicago pretty much every weekend. He plays all the hits for weddings, festivals, clubs, and several times a year he gets to travel for corporate events. He just got back from Orlando.
I asked my mom to give me some help with number seven and she said I’m sweet, warm-hearted, and kind. Aw, thanks, mom.

Questions from Claire’s Liebster Award

Which family member influenced you the most? My Grandpa. He’s amazing.
If you could read only one genre for the rest of your life, which would it be? Romance.
Name your favorite alcoholic drink. beer
Would rather see America (or any country of your choice) by auto / RV or by biking / hiking / walking or by mass transit (airplane, train, bus)? My husband would say the tricked out RV. I’d like a little of all, but you can leave out the bus.
Name your favorite television show. SYTYCD
If you could change one aspect of yourself, what would it be? I’d be taller
What’s your zodiac sign? Pisces
What’s your shoe size? 6
What’s your “day” job? Project Manager
What kind of car do you drive? Rav4
What, if any, sports did you play when in school? soccer

Time to share the love. You have your pick of Liebster, Sunshine, the Versatile blogger award, or all three. Link back to this post, answer the questions, give us some random stuff, and find some new victims. Have fun. 😀

Kimmy Donn ~ Julie Glover ~ Alberta Ross ~ D.C. McMillen

Angelica Dawson ~ Gemma Parkes ~ Naomi Shaw ~ Doris O’Conner

I’ve been tagged a few times for these fun awards, most recently by EM Castellan and
Cara Bristol. Over the summer I was tagged by Savannah Chase for the Liebster,
Sandra Bunino for the Sunshine award and
Kait Nolan for Eleven Random Questions.

I love that list of authors, because each of these ladies have a blog I highly recommend, you’re probably already following them, but if you’re not you should. They’re must reads.

Before I share some random stuff, I want to take a moment to thank these ladies and all of my social media family. You inspire me. You’re the place I can go when I need a good laugh, when I’m not sure about something, and you’re all around fantabulous company.

Thank you.

Liebster and Eleven Random Questions follow the same type of rules:

1.Answer the questions set by the tagger.
2.Create eleven new questions to ask eleven new participants.
3.Share links to those eleven people in your blog and let them know you’ve tagged them.

Sunshine takes a different spin:

Nominate 7-10 blogs and to share 7 things that others won’t know about you. If you like, you can share excerpts/artwork/photos/etc. that you’ve not shown before.

I’ve taken questions from all the posts mentioned above, some I’ve answered and I’ll ask a few others to answer the rest.

If you could only watch one movie ever again, what would it be? The BBC’s Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth
What is your best dish to cook? I have to say my spaghetti sauce, although I make killer pizza, a yummy pot pie, and taco night around here is the bomb…no, I don’t kill anyone when I cook, seriously.
What is your favorite flower? I love so many, but Ranunculus, with all its layers is very impressive.
What would you choose Handcuffs or Whips? I’m very much a handcuff kind of girl, soft and cozy, but restraining, leather handcuffs.
What is your earliest memory of life? I’d love to incorporate my first memory into a story, it’s a strange thing, because no one in my family knows what I’m talking about. It’s a simple image. I’m one of a handful of kids sitting around a picnic table (I can still see their faces) and it appears the house is located near downtown Detroit. That’s all I’ve got, but the image is strong and has been with me for as long as I can remember. We moved out of Detroit when I was three-months-old.
If you could be in any country right now, where would you want to be? Italy.
When you get writer’s block, doing this helps. I listen to music, I read, I watch tv, I watch a movie, I look out the window, but I don’t wait at the computer. Once I feed the muse, she always comes back to me.
What goal are you most focused on right now? I’m focusing on finishing the edits on what I hope will be my first published book.
Who was your favorite actor or actress when you were growing up? Olivia Newton John, oh yeah. Grease is the word. She was my first concert too.
Something you consider a necessity? My e-reader, currently a first-generation Ipad, but in another week it will be the Ipad mini and I can’t wait. Happy early Christmas to me.
What was your first job? Whopper flopper at Burger King.
Can you keep a secret? Yes. I can’t share anything more, my lips are sealed 😉

That was fun, right? 😀 Now, for some new victims, lol. I honor you all with a Liebster, some Sunshine and Eleven Random questions.

Angelica Dawson ~ Naomi Shaw ~ Gemma Parks
Dianne Hartsock ~ Julie Glover ~ Jenny Hickman
Carrie Crain ~ AuroraRose Andromeda

Okay ladies, here are your questions, answer as many of them as you’d like.

What book had the biggest impact on you as a kid?
What is your favorite time suck?
If you were in a movie who would you like to star with?
What is your favorite past time?
What is your favorite drink, it can be Alcohol or non-alcohol?
Tell us three things about a favorite character you’ve created.
Which author influences you most as a writer, and in what way?
What was the first thing you remember writing?
What is on your bucket list (things you want to do before you die)?
If you were to write a “Thank you” note to someone you’ve never actually met, who would that be and why?
Your favorite TV show?