Liebster Award Answers

Hi everyone! Good to see all of you. Matt Anderson nominated me for a Liebster award, after he got nominated for one. To get the award, I am going to answer eleven questions that he has posed, provide eleven random facts about myself, and then nominate five bloggers who each have less than two hundred followers, asking them eleven questions.

1. Who are You? [the Who]

I am Priya Sridhar, an American with Asian heritage from the country of India. I am completely Americanized however and do not speak a word of Hindi or Tamil; my languages are English and Spanish, with a smattering of Japanese.

2. Are you Happy Now? [Michelle Branch]

I'm always happy when I write, unless I'm venting. At the moment I'm not venting so I'm pretty happy, especially since I got an acceptance in a week of rejections.

3.Who Do You Want to Be? [Oingo Boingo]

I want to be J.K. Rowling, William Joyce or Scott Westerfeld. But since I can't be any of them, I'd rather be myself at the moment. 

4. Will You Be Ready? [Imogen Heap ft. Murdock]

No. I will never be ready. But I will prepare to the best of my ability for whatever comes.

5. Where's Your Head At? [Basement Jaxx]

Somewhere in the book that I was reading, a Maya Angelou biography. 

6. What is Love? [Haddaway] 

Not answering this one because the song annoys me to death. 

7. Turn Down For What? [DJ Snake & Lil Jon]

I've mainly been turned down for internships and jobs. Still, eventually the rejections stop coming.

8. What's your Flava? [Craig David]

No comment, except that my favorite flavor of dessert is chocolate.

9. Do you Believe in Magic? [The Lovin' Spoonful]

No, except in the magic of words and in artwork. The supernatural is beyond me. 

10. (is there) Life on Mars? [David Bowie]

There was, billions of years ago.  Now, probably not.

11. Any Advice? [Nonpoint]

Just this: no matter what anyone tells you, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Just remember to learn from them, without losing your head.  

So the eleven facts . .  .

1. I used to have an intense phobia of snakes and drowning, and no the two were not related to each other.

2. I am an obsessed HTTYD fan. When I was a kid and teenager, the obsession was Harry Potter. Harry Potter still rocks.

3. On principle I will not watch the movie Maleficent, good as it may be. For more information, see my Tumblr post about my reasons.

4. I do not like iguanas. At all.

5. My story "The Fish With Legs" came out today. Hope you get the chance to read it and comment.

6. I am a member of Toastmasters, a public speaking seminar.

7. Favorite holiday is Halloween

8. Favorite webcomic at the moment is Love and Capes, closely followed by Albert and Serenity.

9. I love chocolate.

10. I also love cute animal videos; they're my weakness, especially ducklings.

11. I do not know how to use an Ames guide for lettering comics.

Now, for the five bloggers I will nominated several of my writer and editor friends: Corissa Glasheen, Morgan Dragonwillow, Philip Tolhurst, Terrie Leigh Relf, and Kathryn Phillips. Here are my questions for you four lovelies:

1. Why do you write?

2. What do you fear the most when reading a new book?

3. Dragons, vampires, or mermaids?

4. What do you love the most when reading a new book?

5. Do you listen to background music while writing?

6. Stephen King believes writing about scary things means they'll never happen in real life. Diana Wynne Jones had events from her books happening to her after she wrote them. Do you think writing about an event stops or causes it from happening?

7. Favorite genre?

8. Least-favorite genre?

9. Ideal vacation?

10. How powerful can books be, in the right or wrong hands?

11.  What book will you read over and over again?

Happy answering! Hope you all enjoy these tidbits, answers and questions

What Diana Wynne Jones Meant to Me

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDSjuRueqXMVTMe8YMvV5SxJoZ_wNTzD1MjSNca_HIS2QA1A0lTyFxEDgSYmyXmVcd6kFXU3SbhIUjSSba8v5cCHFpIeXVP6UPPjEwdzGyjs7G9U3spWeRlcofildHGe0vofb9i9TDeM/s1600/Diana+Wynne+Jones.jpg

If you want to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. You may have even wanted to write because of the books you read and enjoyed; this happened to me after reading Harriet the Spy, but I digress.

I deeply regret that I did not discover Diana Wynne Jones until middle school, when I found a copy of Seeing is Believing in the library and picked it up for its title. When you have stories where a girl with mumps creates a story with a bloodthirsty heroine that comes to life, a writer who finds success after getting a computer (and the customary typos), and the story of a cat who helps a stupid magician's servant, you have no choice but to find the rest of the authors' books. I discovered A Charmed Life, Dogsbody, The Homeward Bounders, and proceeded to read every book by her in both the school and public library.

Diana Wynne Jones taught me that anything can be magical, whether it's the green flakes in a chemistry kit or a Friendly Cow. She also taught me Murphy's Law for fantasy novels: anything that can go wrong with magic will, and the disasters will make you laugh. Wizards do not always appreciate people cleaning their houses for that, and they are not necessarily elderly, well-behaved gentlemen; sometimes they are angry fathers pretending to be evil magicians. Heroes won't always know who's in trouble, or how to correct their spells; sometimes you might break your neck twice and still live. Use every implement that you introduce, since golden bricks may be useful to drop on the villain's toes.

Villains can be hidden in plain sight; your parents may not be the villains, but they are certainly no help when push comes to shove. Kids have to rely on their own magical objects and abilities, even if they didn't know that they have abilities. Don't underestimate a pit of orange juice or a cocoon of bookcases if your college roommate is targeted by assassins. Also don't underestimate the insults that brothers can exchange after one decides to attend university.

Most of all, there are no formulas to follow. Jones admired Tolkien's work, but she came to mock the sword and sorcery fantasy that succeeded Lord of the Rings; that fact made me admire her the most. For the record, I tried reading Lord of the Rings twice, and I learned that there is such a thing as too much description. Not all villains are pure evil, and you shouldn't have to travel alone. There is more than one way to solve a problem, especially if you are creative; there is no need to slay dragons with swords when a hot chili pepper will do.

Rest in peace, Diana, and thank you for your writing.