Tags! Tags! Beautiful, Lovely, Tags!

Kudos to whoever can guess where I got the inspiration for the title. (hint: it is an old disney movie)

I'm finally getting around to all those tags!

(Actually, I only remember these three, so if I forgot yours, please give me the link to your post in the comments so I can appease thy disgruntled attitude get back on top of it.)


Olivia: Liebster Tag

Rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Answer the eleven questions.
3. Tag 11 bloggers, and let them know you tagged them.
4. Ask your tagged bloggers eleven questions.

1.) Tell us four names (if you don't know the answer to any, just tell the ones you do know): one that your parents would have given you if you were the opposite gender, one they considered once they knew your gender, one you would choose if you got to choose your own name, and one you would NOT like to have.

1. Probably Christian, because that was their default name for me if I turned out to be a boy since Lydia wasn't.

2. I have no idea. They always narrowed it down pretty well, in fact, I don't know if they were ever considering a different name for me.

3. I've always liked the name "Marie," but that's my middle name. 

4. Nellie. Mom read us the Little House on the Prairie books, and we used to watch the show, and she was my least favorite character. 

2.) If you were to adapt one of your favorite stories, what story would it be and how would you tell it? (movie, musical, webseries, play, book, etc?)

*can't think of a single favorite story*

I can't even look at my bookshelf for help, y'all! Because I'm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and my bookshelf is in the middle of North Texas. 

Ooh, ok! I think that "they" should make a movie of The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis. 

3.) Tell us four of your favorite words.

Frabjous 

Cornucopia 

Gargoyle

Mountain

4.) What is a life lesson you have learned in the past year?

If you can believe it when somebody tells you you're ugly, you can believe it when somebody tells you that you're beautiful. Don't let anyone dull your sparkle. 

5.) Who is your favorite secondary character in a book you've read recently?

Duncan and Neda from this series. I posted a feels post last year on these books here.

6.) What are five of the books on your TBR list right now?

Here's six.

King Arthur and His Knights

The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Grace in Thine Eyes

Five Glass Slippers

Five Enchanted Roses

Five Magic Spindles

7.) Tell us one talent/skill you have, and one you'd like to develop.

I'm pretty good with chopsticks, and I'd love to learn how to barrel race.

8.) What's the best joke you've heard recently? (Awful puns are highly acceptable!)

I don't even remember. O.o

9.) Share a quote from the book you're currently reading.

I'm not currently reading any published books, however I'm beta-reading Abi's book: Martin Hospitality. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share any quotes, so I'll share a quote from what she shared on her blog (post here).

After keeping a straight path for several minutes, worry began to plague her since she hadn’t encountered any trees. Her eyelids were heavy and her head throbbed. If only she had thought to bring water; her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth.

Bravely she tromped for what seemed like the normal length of a cornfield in one direction and then another. She began to doubt her decision—many of the stalks towered over her, obscuring her sense of direction.

Finally, she sat right where she stood and tucked herself against the row of tall, green stalks. They provided some shade, at least. Gemma tried tasting the under-ripe kernels, but found them tart, firm, and dry. She threw the ear into the field with a grumble and rested her head on the palms of her hands.

10.) What song is stuck in your head right now? (Or just share one that's been bouncing around recently if you don't have one right now.)

*song instantly leaves*

Ehe. Hmmm. Something Wild.

11.) What do you want your life to be like when you're a little old lady? )
I want to have a bunch of cats and dogs. I'll live in a small house with a pasture in the back where I want to have a couple of horses. Books will be everywhere. And I want my hair to still be long. So many women cut their hair short when they get older, I want mine to be as long as possible.


Evangeline: Music Tag

Rules:
1. Thank the marvelous human (or extraterrestrial, we don't discriminate here) who tagged you, and link back to their stunning blog. Thanks!
2. Probably answer the questions.
3. Tag some people (in the blogging world, not just on the street. We here at An Odd Blog are not condoning you running up to a stranger and tagging them, but hey, it's your life.)
4. Add your own question to the tag for your nominees to answer.
5. Include these rules in your post.

1. Do you play any instruments?
I wish, but no.

2. What is your favorite music genre?
Soundtracks. Is that even a genre? Pfft, whatever.

3. Is there a music genre you absolutely cannot stand?
Rock music really gets on my nerves. Even soft rock. It grates on my ears, I don't even know why.

4. What is your favorite way to listen to music? (CD, vinyl, MP3, radio, etc.)
On my phone or iPod. I use Spotify a lot.

5. Top three favorite bands/singers?
Seriously? I'm not even sure if I listen, or even like that many. Let me see.

Owl City is pretty good.

Lindsey Stirling isn't bad, but after a while I have to stop listening to her music because of all the techno.

Piano Guys.

Funny, I haven't really listened to any of those artists' music in a while.

6. What are your three favorite chords?
C, um, E and G? I don't know!

7. Is there any instrument you cannot stand in a song?
I don't think so. 

8. Someone else's Question: If you had to pick one song to sum up your entire life, your very essence, the core of your being, which song would you pick?
I don't know, but I've been listening to a lot of Broadway lately. 

9. Evangeline's Question: What's your guilty pleasure artist/song?
This one, right here: 

Jonathan: Wisteria Writer Tag:

Rules:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you. Thanks!
2. Answer the ten questions asked.
3. Add ten (writing or book related) questions of your own.
4. Nominate people.

1. Which of your writing projects is your favorite and why?
You are asking me to choose a favorite part of my soul, why? 

Probably The Songbird, because I'm really looking forward to seeing how it'll come out, also because it's going to be book one of a (at this point) four book series. 

2. Can you share some snippets from your favorite project? (and no you cannot say no to this IT IS MANDATORY)
I can. But will I? 

Fine. I'm probably going to scrap a bunch of what I've written so far so I can make plot changes, but here you go regardless. 

Ash rained from the sky like a grim snow. The crimson land, though it looked suffocatingly hot, it was cold as death. Outside the queen’s fortress, a red haze filled the thick air, making it almost impossible to see the desolation of the great kingdom once known as Malentîr.

            The water shivered. A black wolf entered into her abode. The queen turned to greet him, and he bowed his head.

            “What did you see in your wanderings?” She asked.

            “Well, we may have come against a slight problem,” he replied.

            “How so?”

            “The queen, excuse me, the ruler- that is still not the right word,” he shook his shaggy head.         

            “Just say the news, never mind how it may anger me in the future.”

            “Your highness, I’m afraid an heir to the mortal throne is being born. Right now. At this very moment.” He ducked, waiting for the queen’s fury. It never came.

            “An heir. So, he has been successful.” The queen smiled. It appeared rather sickly to the wolf, but he didn’t put it past her.

            “Yes, my queen. He is by her bedside even now.”

-

 King William strode down the dimly lit corridor in search of his steward, who was strangely absent at three o’clock in the morning. The invitations must be designed and written for the upcoming event before he forgot about them, and by that, I mean the banquet that would not take place until at least several months had passed. Anyways, back to the story.

            William already had the basic idea of what he wanted the invitations to look like, something with roses- he would need the royal painter to decorate the cards of course- he would also have to find the royal calligrapher, and hope that his hand would hold out for so many messages.

            He stopped in his tracks. “What am I doing here, and why in goodness sakes am I the only one awake at this hour?!” He scratched his head, then rubbed his chin, a habit he had developed long ago. “Oh. Right. And this is why I need a steward. Where is the man anyways?” William resumed his walk, still not fully comprehending that it was three o’clock in the morning, and that his steward was most likely in bed trying not to remember all the things he needed to remind his king of the next morning.

-

“Well, I can’t say he was always the brightest of stars in the universe.” The queen said, removing her hand from her forehead, where it had landed with a resounding slap a few moments before.

            “Star?! He’s not even as bright as a dying ember!” The wolf countered.

            “Oh, do be fair! He managed to pass most of his lessons with flying colors,” the queen’s defensive side came through.

            “And by that, you mean they were just barely dragging above the ground?”

            “I am queen! You have no right to question my facts!”

            “Oh, so now you’re calling your foggy memories, eighty-five percent of which were washed away when you became what you are, facts? Strange how things like that work.” The wolf argued.

Satisfied?

3. What is your favorite tense (past, present, future) and voice (first, third; I don't think it's actually called that but I'm using that word because it makes sense to me and I can't think of the right one. XD) to write in?
Present, Third.

4. When is your favorite time to write?
Whenever inspiration strikes.

5. What is the the most unpleasant thing you've put one of your characters through? (random note but this question stems almost entirely from a Camp NaNo April conversation in which we discussed why it's good to be mean to your characters. XP Yup, I still remember it.)
I don't think I have put them through anything really bad yet, but boy do I have plans.

6. Are you a more character-driven writer or a more plot-driven writer?
Plot-driven.

7. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Pantser.

8. What is your favorite word processing system to write in and why do you like it? (SCRIVENER FOR THE WIN)
Um... Word docs? That's what I've got on my laptop. I sure do miss the days when I wrote on an Apple.

9. If you were left on an abandoned island with the last character you wrote about, how would that go for you? (I know it's super original but unfortunately not from me. XD I pulled it off a meme.)
The last character was a college student about to go home for summer. She is an undercover spy-type-thingy. I would say that it'd go pretty well, because she would always have a way to contact the base she works at.

10. What is your favorite writing resource? (this could be a blog, website, newsletter, writing book, that one pet who listens to all your writerly ramblings, anything basically XP)

*coughcough* Pinterest *cough*

Thanks y'all! If you are even remotely interested in any of these tags, go ahead and consider yourself tagged!