1. I live in New Jersey (please don’t judge me. No one here talks, acts or dresses like they do on that horrid show).
2. Sons of Anarchy and The Punisher
3. Cauliflower. I have no reasoning except it’s pale like me.
4. Spain. Dream vacation would probably be Italy.
5. Movies: Requiem for a Dream and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Books: Night by Elie Wiesel. TV Shows: Walking Dead, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel
6. My mother once said to me, “Don’t ever stop trying to be the best version of yourself. You owe yourself that much always.”
7. I love that I have surrounded myself with wonderful people.
8. Target or World Market
9. I love spending time with my dog. She is huge and sweet and a ton of fun to be around.
10. Favorite healthy meal: vanilla protein shake with pb2 powder. It’s my lunch every day

evilfairies wrote: »

7. What do you love about yourself? I make people laugh at work a lot (though being the funniest accountant maybe isn't the world's greatest achievement

You manage to make accountants laugh????? That's a hell of an achievement!!!!!

(I used to be one.....escaped 2 weeks ago!)

GothicsDarkAngel wrote: »

5. What are your favorite movies / books / tv shows? For TV....Rosanne

Awesome show. I grew up feeling especially socially out of place until I watched that show and realized I was Darlene- through and through.

1. Where are you from? West Virginia (born, raised, and educated here, but was exiled in PA for 13 years because I had to leave to find a job. But I've managed at last to get back across the border!)

2. What are you currently binge watching on Netflix / Hulu / etc? I don't watch TV and haven't had cable in years. I haven't found a modern tv show that I like in a long time. However, I do have some of my older favorites on DVD, and the last one that I actually bing-watched was the 1989 Family Channel series "Bordertown" and found that I still loved the show as much now as I did as a 9 year old girl

3. If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be? potato - I'm large and not proportional, plain and dumpy, and spend way too much time sitting around.....

4. Where is the best place you've ever traveled? OR Where would your dream vacation be? I loved the Grand Tetons in Wyoming and Bar Harbor, Maine. I'm determined to go to Glacier National Park one of these days, and to Durango, Colorado. I'd love to visit the back country of British Columbia, too! Outside the country, I'd like to visit Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, maybe Iceland and Germany. I love mountains and would much rather vacation in the mountains than go to the beach!

5. What are your favorite movies / books / tv shows? Oh heavens, this list could go on forever!
Books:
- I'm a Tolkien fan and even read the Silmarillion (though the proper fans would tar and feather me as I also loved the movies and have all sorts of the merchandise made for it from video games, board games, etc. Though I'm cringing at the idea of Amazon's tv series.......)
- I also love Louis L'Amour westerns, with my favorites being the Kilkenny trilogy and the ones involving Tell Sackett
- I read a lot of Christian apologetics and Christian fiction, though I'm leaning way more toward historical or fantasy these days than I did in the past. I love CS Lewis's Mere Christianity as a non-fiction book
- I was a huge Hardy Boys fan as a child
- Right now almost all my reading time is devoted to fanfiction lol
- One secular series that I adore is Drew Hayes Spell, Swords, and Stealth series. If you've ever played D&D or know anything about fantasy pen and paper RPGs, you'll get the humor of this series, though I enjoyed it because it doesn't take itself serious and enjoys poking fun at the genre in a light-hearted way. That and i just love the characters, from the gnome-ex.minion turned paladin, to the former city guard turned burglar, to the orc who becomes the magic caster, to the mayor's daughter - former kidnapping victim turned beserker warrior My only gripe is that the language is rather salty at times, which is why I won't buy the audio books to listen to on long trips. It's easier to mentally skip a word when reading through a paragraph quickly than to skip hearing it spoken!

Movies:
-LOTR & the Hobbit are my top favorites hands down.
-I dearly, dearly loved Return to Snowy River as well (better than Man from Snowy River)

TV Shows:
-the old family channel Border Town and The New World Zorro (NOT the Disney version)
-Bonanza, Big Valley, and the 90's Magnificent Seven
-I still enjoy the 80's A-Team as well once in a while
-the Animaniac's cartoon show from the 90's - I STILL love that cartoon series!
-I'll occasionally get in the mood for the 90's Highlander TV series (hated every single one of the movies that my friend had me watch, but loved the tv show)


6. What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given? OR Who inspires you the most? the one I cling to is the old maxim "This too shall pass"

7. What do you love about yourself? um, my imagination?

8. If you won $1mil but could only spend it in one store, where would you spend it? easy - Lowe's or Home Depot. I'm a new home owner who had to gut and totally remodel the place and I have a list a mile long of things I still want to do

9. What do you most like to do in your spare time? my guilty pleasure is LOTRO or the original Battle for Middle Earth Game. I recently dug out my PS2 for LOTR: Third Age (get the theme here? lol) Though I do like the western strategy game Desperadoes a lot, too. If I'm not playing video games, then I'm reading way, way too much fan fiction. But what I tend to spend most of my spare time doing is plotting stories, inventing characters, and trying to create a fictional world of my own so I can spin off my characters and my friend's characters into their own world and their own story.

I'd love to try pen and paper RPGs, but I don't know of anyone in my area who do that, and I'd want a game that would be kept relatively clean, anyway.

10. What question would you like to have people answer? What is an interest or hobby that you have that you enjoy but are rather embarrassed when most people find out about it?

For me, its definitely the interest in RPG's and the whole spending so much of my time plotting stories and characters and such. I don't really work or live in a community that is overly inspirational for imaginary endeavors like that. It's a more traditional, down-home kind of place. I love it, but yeah, some of my interests don't really fit in.

Oh, and the fan-fiction reading thing. yeah, that's rather hard to explain, especially at my age 90% of my plots that I play with are related to fan fiction.....

Great idea for the thread! I'm loving reading everyone's answers. Okay... here goes mine!

1. Where are you from? Grew up in Memphis, TN. Currently living a grand 15 miles away in Southaven, MS!

2. What are you currently binge watching on Netflix / Hulu / etc? I'm on a Coupling kick right now. It's an older show, but still pretty funny. I'll binge anything that's quality comedy from 30 Rock to Parks and Rec to the IT Crowd! Brooklyn 99 was surprisingly good too.

3. If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be? Probably a tomato because it's round, squishy, and really a fruit!

4. Where is the best place you've ever traveled? OR Where would your dream vacation be? I've been lucky enough to go to the Bahamas three times now. Once when I was 11 and then twice more in the last 5 years. The water is just beautiful there and the people seem very friendly and nice! I wish I was better traveled though. I guess The Bahamas has to be my answer when it's the most exotic place I've been.

5. What are your favorite movies / books / tv shows?
Movies: He's Just Not That Into You. I know it's a stupid rom-com, but it has a FANTASTIC message! I can't tell you how many guys I got hung up on in my late teens and early 20's when I should've just told myself, "He's just not that into you!" and moved the hell on. This stupid rom-com seriously helped me get my head on straight. Also, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Books: I love sci fi and fantasy. If I had to list my favorites they would probably be Ender's Game, Harry Potter, and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

TV Shows: I guess I kind of covered that above. Pretty much all comedies are all my favorites.

6. What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given? OR Who inspires you the most? It doesn't matter how slow you go as long as you don't stop.

7. What do you love about yourself? I have a lot of flaws, but I like that I'm honest and I'm usually very good about not gossiping. I hate the idea of people talking about me behind my back, so I do my best not to be that person either.

8. If you won $1mil but could only spend it in one store, where would you spend it? Since I can't cheat by listing my favorite store (Amazon,) I'll cheat by saying I would spend it all somewhere like a car dealership! Then I could turn around and sell the cars I bought for a quick, tidy profit that I could spend anywhere.

9. What do you most like to do in your spare time? I play a lot of video games. Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Stardew Valley, MASS EFFECT!, The Sims 3... I could go on.

10. Favourite healthy meal? Shrimp cocktail! It's so delicious, full of protein, and like 10 calories per shrimp, but it's also kind of expensive...

11. Why this time? The perfect storm kind of happened for me. I came into enough money recently that I was able to pay off the majority of my credit card debt which helped relieve a huge amount of stress and depression and then my fiance agreed to have his vasectomy reversed so that we could start trying for kids soon. I finally started to feel hopeful again for the first time in years... Hope is really important.

12. What is an interest or hobby that you have that you enjoy but are rather embarrassed when most people find out about it? I usually don't admit that I like video games. I feel like people are either going to A. judge me for being a 30 year old woman who is into what most people consider a childish hobby or B. try to challenge my "gamerness" by asking a bunch of questions that I may or may not know the answer to.

13. What question would you like to have people answer? What do you do for a living?

@GothicsDarkAngel & @CheezWhiz88 I seriously don't think I've met other people who adore Roseanne before! I loved that show growing up because it was just so REAL, but still made you laugh. I mean their living room looked almost just like ours down to the afghan blanket on the couch and Dan Conner is basically my dad. Are y'all excited about the new season that's coming out??

@theowlbox Farscape... high five! If you win the 100 million lottery, I volunteer myself for the unburdening of your money though.

I will always love the pre lottery winning years of Roseanne, but especially because Glenn Quinn went on to be Doyle in Angel! It all comes together!

1. Where are you from? I consider home to be Kansas but moved to South Carolina about a year and a half ago.

2. What are you currently binge watching on Netflix / Hulu / etc? I am rewatching Grey's Anatomy right now. I also have Friends queued up pretty much all the time for something that is familiar and sure to make me laugh.

3. If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be? A potato... because I'm versatile?

4. Where is the best place you've ever traveled? OR Where would your dream vacation be? I've been to Eurasia and Germany and would love to go back to Germany for a longer period, but I'd so love to take a long Mediterranean cruise!

5. What are your favorite movies / books / tv shows?
Movies: Someone Like You. I love dumb romantic comedies that make you feel good... @rabidhamster87 I couldn't agree more about He's Just not That Into You after watching, I found myself realizing how much truth there was in those relationships!

Books: I love classics by Austen and the Brontes, Harry Potter I've seriously read at least ten times, and each time I swear I catch another sly thing Rowling said or did, and she's also written some detective stories under Robert Galbraith that are great.

TV Shows: I like watching sports if that counts?

6. What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given? OR Who inspires you the most? I'm going with the golden rule here: treat others how you want to be treated.

7. What do you love about yourself? My independence.

8. If you won $1mil but could only spend it in one store, where would you spend it? uhhh... I don't really shop except online. I guess it would have to be a home store of some kind.

9. What do you most like to do in your spare time? read, chill with my dog, apparently do quizzes on MFP.

10. Favourite healthy meal? chicken taco soup. It's filling and plenty of vegetables can be thrown in, spicy and warm.

11. Why this time? honestly, no idea. Just felt a switch and decided now is as good of a time as any.

12. What is an interest or hobby that you have that you enjoy but are rather embarrassed when most people find out about it? ha, my love of terrible movies that I already shared above.

13. What do you do for a living? I'm a supervisor in a chemistry lab.

14. What question would you like to have people answer? If you could have lunch with a person, dead or alive, who would it be?

rabidhamster87 wrote: »

11. Why this time? The perfect storm kind of happened for me. I came into enough money recently that I was able to pay off the majority of my credit card debt which helped relieve a huge amount of stress and depression and then my fiance agreed to have his vasectomy reversed so that we could start trying for kids soon. I finally started to feel hopeful again for the first time in years... Hope is really important.

12. What is an interest or hobby that you have that you enjoy but are rather embarrassed when most people find out about it? I usually don't admit that I like video games. I feel like people are either going to A. judge me for being a 30 year old woman who is into what most people consider a childish hobby or B. try to challenge my "gamerness" by asking a bunch of questions that I may or may not know the answer to.

Depression is SUCH a horrible enemy. you are right - finding a little light in the darkness can sometimes make such a huge difference!

on the video games: I know! *grins* There's only a narrow set of games that I play, but am on the lookout for others, but it feels a little embarrassing to be going into Gamestop at my age, shopping for myself. I went to a nearby store this weekend on the advice of my brother - they have a huge selection of video games, from the original Nintendo up to the modern systems. Thankfully, the staff wasn't THAT much younger than I am

I also used to spend WAY too much time with LOTRO. However, right now, I can't afford to put hte internet in until I can get my old house sold and stop paying double utilities. I've got my PC set up at my parents' house, but the desk isn't comfortable to sit at for long periods, and dad plays the TV at top volume which just gets my on nerves. Oh well - I've got plenty to keep me busy in unpacking! and I did unpack my PS2 and my Wii....... lol

crazykatlady820 wrote: »

2. What are you currently binge watching on Netflix / Hulu / etc? The Golden Girls, That 70's Show, and Bob Ross (It relaxes me.). I've always got a few shows in rotation, though- Friends, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Doctor Who, and Star Trek: Voyager are among them.

7. What do you love about yourself? I'm a crafty, artistic kind of person. I cry at the dumbest stuff including tons of commercials... but I love it! People seem to always be opening up to me. Including random strangers. Wherever I go people just start talking to me and telling me stuff about themselves. It seems like stuff they want to get off their chest or just things they can't tell others. It's weird, but I love that people feel comfortable with me even when they've never met me. And I love listening to whatever it is they have to say. I just like hearing people out and being that shoulder to cry on, ear to listen, whatever. I must have a friendly face?

8. If you won $1mil but could only spend it in one store, where would you spend it? The practical side of me says Walmart or Target because they have all the essentials and some fun stuff too. The me side of me says Michael's because think of the craft hoard you could have!

Golden girls is my sister's favorite show; you'd get along fabulously lol

I understand about the crafting! I made the mistake of going into Jo Ann fabrics this weekend, looking for sunflower material to make placemats and such for my new kitchen. I was in there way too long, and walked out with material for a dress, several new patterns 'cause 99 cents each! though I've got a tub full of patterns......

I've got at least 2 tubs of material, another 2 or three of scraps 'cause they make excellent quilt square pieces and doll clothes, at least 1 of stuff that I need to get around to repairing, and then 4 of those large plastic drawer things and a couple of smaller ones filled with yarns and thread and ribbons and buttons and cross stitch supplies......I'm not sure where I'm going to put it all in the new house! lol

And with the new material, I'm really in the mood to dig out the sewing machine, which would be a good thing anyway, as I need to hem the front curtains for the kitchen.......

So yeah, I totally get the Michael's thing lol

I was looking for a group that sort of fit me and you all seemed like a really great bunch, so I couldn't pass it up.

1. Where are you from?
I currently live in Indiana, but I always tell people I am from Montana because that's where I was born and (mostly) raised and I miss it terribly.

2. What are you currently binge watching on Netflix / Hulu / etc?
My PF has these awesome new machines that have Netflix available, so I watch Once Upon a Time while working out because it's almost the perfect amount of time for my walks right now and gives me a good yardstick to measure improvement by with every episode being right around the same length. At home, I tend to bounce around between things, but I mostly game instead of watching tv.

3. If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be?
Probably a carrot. I'm not sure why.

4. Where is the best place you've ever traveled? OR Where would your dream vacation be?
Disney World. I had the opportunity to live in London for 4 months, and I really did love that. It was an incredible experience, but Disney World is my favorite place to be in the whole world. I love Disney.

5. What are your favorite movies / books / tv shows?
For movies, as I said above, I love Disney. Books, I read mostly fantasy (Tolkien, Rowling, Mull.) My current favorite series is Fablehaven. I read it at least once a year. TV shows, again anything fantasy (except GoT) or sci-fi, or a little weird. I love Lost Girl, Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, Grimm... all that kind of stuff.

6. What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given? OR Who inspires you the most?
Carrie Fisher inspires me the most. She was what she was, and she fought hard and she was so special and claimed her own existence whether people liked it or not. She is a constant reminder that people don't have to like me for my existence to be worth something.

7. What do you love about yourself?
My creativity. I'm pretty flexible when it comes to most things and I have creative solutions to problems. I write and I roleplay and I think that being creative minded helps in lots of different aspects of my life.

8. If you won $1mil but could only spend it in one store, where would you spend it?
Amazon xD. I wouldn't be able to decide between books and games, so I'd have to go someplace that I could get my grubby little mits on both.

9. What do you most like to do in your spare time?
Video Games. I spend a lot of time at my computer because I write, but that time is compounded by video games. I love gaming. Currently I'm pretty hooked on WoW, but any RPG with a good story, fun abilities, and decent characters will do it for me. I also like survival games and building/crafting games like Minecraft, ARK, Rimworld, ONI, etc. I could talk about games all day.

10. Favorite music/band?
I love My Chemical Romance. Their music still inspires me. Gerard still inspires me. I listen to it almost every day, and I cried... as a full grown adult woman, I cried when they broke up. I also really love Tokio Hotel and had the chance to meet them and it meant so much to me that they were generous, kind, open. It was a wonderful experience and their music is a driving force behind my creativity.

11. Why this time?
I honestly can't answer that. I'm not sure what it was that clicked this time, but a friend and I decided at the same time that enough was enough and we were getting our butts in gear. We started as a NY resolution and have oddly stuck with it. I don't know why this time is different for me. All I know is that something finally clicked and I'm on the ball right now.

12. What is an interest or hobby that you have that you enjoy but are rather embarrassed when most people find out about it?
I used to be embarrassed about a lot of things, but I've mostly gotten over that. I used to be embarrassed about playing D&D because I used to be one of like three girls that would go into our tabletop gaming store and that was embarrassing, but I got over that, too. Now not only do I play, but I DM from time to time. I guess, maybe... I still like cartoons, and I mean like cartoons aimed at kids. My Little Pony, Steven Universe, We Bare Bears... that kind of thing.

13. What do you do for a living?
I'm a writer. I'm trying to get published. If that doesn't work I might self publish, but I spend my days writing.

It’s fun reading people’s answers- there’s a wide swath of interesting responses!
New questions:

Why this time? My husband and I are getting really serious about wanting a family and we’re getting older so it’s kind of a now or never situation for us in regards to losing for that reason. It was easy for me to put off weight loss when I was the only one affected, but since I’ve gotten married and we have pets and we want kids, I’m realizing that my unhealthy lifestyle affects more than just me, and could greatly impact not just my future but my husband’s as well.

Interest or hobby I’m embarrassed by I used to be super embarrassed by my dvd collection, but now that I’m older, I have just accepted that I love movies and enjoy owning my favorites. The last time I counted was probably a year ago and I had a little over 3500.

What do you do for a living? I’m a writer. It’s nice because I get to work in my pajamas, but I have to stay super vigilant about my eating habits.

If you could have lunch with one person, who would it be? Elie Wiesel. He is the only author to move me to tears, and I based my dissertation off of his work. He was an incredible man.

@gin_rummy I love to crochet! I have a very neglected crochet blog and used to have a shop where I sold quirky crochet accessories. I haven't picked up my hooks in a long time. I finally had to close my shop for good because I just wasn't good at time management and it was causing too much stress. I've been sad about that and so I haven't hooked in many, many months. I would like to start writing patterns for my blog again though. I enjoy putting free crochet patterns out into the world!

1. Where are you from?

Tupelo, Mississippi (birthplace of Elvis Presley )

2. What are you currently binge watching on Netflix/Hulu/etc.?

Charmed for about the hundredth time!

3. If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be?

I’m a potato aspiring to be an asparagus.

4. Where is the best place you've ever traveled? OR Where would your dream vacation be?

A couple of years ago I went on a trip to Washington DC and New York City. This was pre-weight loss, so I really want to go back once I get closer to my goal!

5. What are your favorite movies / books / tv shows?

I’m a sci-fi/horror junkie. I also love true crime and chick flicks. My current regular shows are Grey’s Anatomy, This Is Us, Orange is the New Black, and The Walking Dead. Of course I binge watch Charmed regularly. I wish I was a reader... I do have to read a lot of for my job which I will talk about below.

6. What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given? OR Who inspires you the most?

I can’t really think of any specific advice I’ve been given by an actual person in my life, but my younger sister really tries to push me out of my shell. I’ve mentioned this in another forum, but he character “Kate” in “This Is Us” is a fictional character who I can really relate to! The first episode spoke to me so much that that was actually the moment I decided I really wanted to do this.

7. What do you love about yourself?

I’m still working on the self-Love thing, but I do love that when I really commit to a goal, I don’t let anything stop me.

8. If you won $1mil but could only spend it in one store, where would you spend it?

I’m gonna go with Amazon! They have everything!

9. What do you most like to do in your spare time?

Lurk the MyFitness Pal forums

10. Favorite music/band?
I’m really eclectic with my music preferences. I love 80’s/early 90’s hip-hop when I’m working out.

11. Why this time?
It just finally “clicked” for me this time. It’s the first time I’ve actually gone beyond the planning stage or the crash diet stage.

12. What is an interest or hobby that you have that you enjoy but are rather embarrassed when most people find out about it?

I still watch “The Rugrats” (90’s cartoon) sometimes... does that count?

13. What do you do for a living?

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor, but my current position is Co-Occurring Disorders Specialist. In a nutshell, my job is to research evidence-based approaches for treating people with Addiction and Mental Health Disorders and train clinical staff within my agency. I spend about half of my days researching and putting together trainings and the other half actually doing trainings.

14. What other question would you like people to answer?

Do you have any pets? What kind and what are their names? Bonus points if you post a photo!!

I have two cats: Piper and Joey.

UnicornSmoothie wrote: »

@bmeadows380 Omg! I can never find people that aren't into GoT and everyone treats me like I'm broken for not really enjoying it?

IKR?!!! I've looked at the wiki synopsis and the whole story is just too dark for me. And frankly, I just don't like the characters or the plot line. Or the porn elements.......

Maybe because deep down I'm a romantic and like happy endings and detest seeing my favorite characters die lol I like to follow a character and get to know them and relate to them; I'm not much into a story where the characters are killed off so frequently that you can't form that bond. And if I do manage to relate to a character who is killed off, that's when I go looking for AU fanfiction that has an "everyone lives" theme.......*coughs*Thorin Oakenshield*coughs*

UnicornSmoothie wrote: »

Tabletop RPGs are all about adventure and creativity, world building and storytelling. Think of the rules as more liked guidelines and just... take off. It can take a lot of work to run a campaign, but it's so much fun. It's fun being the DM, as well, and may make things easier without having to act out a specific character. You have a host of characters you can speak for in different situations.

Which games do you play? Classic D&D? Pathfinder? Gurps? another system? I've looked into D&D & Gurps, and like what I've seen of Gurps, especially the wide open part where it can be used in pretty much any genre you think of. But I've seen a lot of likes and dislikes for it. The problem is, since I've never played, I don't know how difficult either system is.

I like fantasy, but not heavy-handed magic fantasy, which is why I trend more toward Gurps than D&D - the magic in D&D just seems so prevalent that it overpowers everything else; at least, that's the impression I get from reading through the materials and reading the first Dragonlance novel.......

My best friend and I are heavy Middle Earth fans, and were always wanting to really get into an RPG in that setting. I tried the Decipher books that came out after the movies, but I could just never understand the rules to that one or how to conduct a game. Plus there seemed to be a lot of errors in it, which made it all the more confusing. I hear there's supposed to be another out, but I haven't run across it yet. And I've never seen the books for the one that was out in the 80's.


the world building aspect is what intrigues me the most. I love the idea of creating your own worlds, your own cultures and histories and maps and societies, and its usually the world building process that gets me off on a tangent and then I never get anywhere My best friend rolls her eyes at that one because I can't quite get a set up that I'm satisfied with, so I'm always tweaking it *grins* And then RL gets in the way and I don't have time to work on it, and then I get distracted......

Have you seen Drew Hayes NPCs novel? Its a humorous series based on 4 RPG NPC's. It starts out with a DM with 2 or 3 really nasty players and 1 newbie. He tells them he wants realism in the game, but the 3 nasty guys want a hack and slash game and end up getting killed in a tavern right off the bat and have to go create new characters. Then the story cuts to the tavern and 4 NPCs (the classic Orc tavern owner, gnome minion, mayor's daughter-kidnap victim, and new city guard) who realize that their town will be in danger if the 4 "heroes" don't show up to the summons. So they take the stuff and decide they're going to act the part of heroes.

there's 3 books in the series so far, and I've loved them all Its very tongue in cheek and its obvious the author has been gaming for a long time on both sides of the table because he pokes fun at some of the major stereotypes all the while creating a really fun Dungeon and Dragon's inspired RPG world and characters that I adore.

the language gets salty, which is why I won't buy the audible versions (wish I could get a filter for my audible books its one thing to be reading a story with certain words in them - my mind usually is going so fast I can blank on those when reading it - but its always jarring for me to actually hear them in an audio book) but I really enjoyed the books regardless.

UnicornSmoothie wrote: »

I am trying for fantasy. Mid-grade to young adult, about the same target as Harry Potter or Fablehaven, really. I've always liked the sort of stories that grab you when you're young, but stick with you for the rest of your life. I still read a huge amount of mid-grade to young adult fiction, as well, so I feel like it's the target audience I know the best lol.

see, that sounds a blast! my best friend and I have characters we created for LOTRO that have developed enough that I'd love to spin them off into their own world and their own stories. We've got our own AU version of Middle Earth that tweaks elements of Tolkien, then throws in fairies (after all, its rumored a Took once took a fairy to wife *grins*) including the Seely and Unseely courts plus my own invention of the Alameed Court and the Pixie confederation (of course, none of the fairies like the pixies, considering them "uncouth"). Tolkien already had the Valar and the Maiar, so we generally treat the fay as lesser Maiar or a third order of spirits below the maiar that are more tied to Middle Earth and the physical world than the 1st two categories. They would be consider more independent and wild than the Maiar

She wanted the Labyrinth mixed in, so the goblin king got incorporated as the son of Oberon, king of the Seely. She also loved Dragonlance, so there is a smidge of that pitched into our little 'head world' as well. I'd love to spin it off into my own thing, but I haven't quite figured out a plan that I like. My biggest problem, though, is that I have characters with rich backgrounds, and I have ideas for a world (though i still can't get a history or a map that I'm satisfied with), but I can't get a story for them, and it drives me crazy.

If I ever do get a story, though, the more I think about it, the more I think it would fit better for YA than adults, even though most of our characters aren't teens.

Anyway, as you can see, I love talking world creation and story plotting, so if you ever want a sounding board, send me a PM!


Oh, and if you like YA fantasy, have you come across Andrew Peterson's Wingfeather saga? It's more childrens than YA and in some places feels like Narnia meets Dr. Seuss lol but I really got hooked on it and listened to the entire series on audible. He creates his own world and his own creatures with silly names that will appeal to children (toothy cows, for instance) but he has adventures for his characters that are sometimes intense, such as the oldest brother getting captured and sent to a factory and what he experiences there, or the middle brother getting "fanged", and he doesn't shy away from characters being hurt, distressed, beaten or even dying. It's not a series I'd read to a young child, at any rate, but considering I was reading Hardy Boys casefiles and Louis L'Amour westerns at age 10, I don't think its too much for older children.

@Mellykay88 I love Charmed! It got a little silly with magic school and all that, but I still love the show!

Also, I will add pics of my kitty in a bit!