I Got Tagged!

Kate tagged me on her blog!  How nice of her. Now I have to answer ALL these questions and tag eight more bloggers.  Sounds like a lot of work!  *rolling sleeves* Okay, here we go!

Do you think you're hot?
Haha!!  Let me guess... This questionnaire was written by a young, single person?  I've been married for 18 years, so I don't really care whether I'm hot or not. I'd rather not be, honestly.  Less trouble.  I think friendliness and kindness are more important than "hotness."

Upload a picture or wallpaper that you're using at the moment.
At home, I'm using a picture of Fallingwater, a famous building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Being an architect, my husband was really interested in visiting this amazing house built on a waterfall.  He took this picture during our visit.

For my work computer, I'm using a picture of a stunning galaxy I found online.  I find it impressive, for some reason, and indigo is one of my favorite colors.

When was the last time you ate chicken meat?
A few days ago.  I cook a lot of meals using chicken.

The song(s) you listened to recently.
Feeling Good, by Muse.  Somehow the lyrics are a good fit for how I feel at the moment.  :)  I hope it lasts! If you had asked me about a month ago, I would have said this song.  Glad the storm is over!  I also listen to Coming Back to Life, by Pink Floyd, a lot recently. Can't get enough of this song!

What were you thinking as you were doing this?
I'm thinking about who I'm going to tag, and what they might answer.  LOL

Do you have nicknames? What are they?
On certain writing websites, my nickname is Dutch Hill Girl, hence the name of my blog.

Tag 8 blogger friends.
Okay! The fun part. *grin*
#1  Ralene Burke
#2  Louisa Clarkson
#3  Frankie (S.M. Blooding)
#4  Jay Eckert
#5  Anastasia Pergakis
#6  Cyndi Tefft
#7  Kurt Chambers
#8  Tania Walsh

(I know some of you have been tagged already, but I'm running out of names.)

Who's listed as #1?
Ralene is an awesome Christian fiction writer, who until very recently was the moderator of the online review forum I've been part of for the last two years, and that I'm now co-moderating with Kurt, listed on #7.  Ralene is a real life angel, performs miracles, and loves absolutely everyone.  Well... I'm exaggerating a little, but not much. ;-)

Say something about #5.
Ah! I have a LOT to say about #5.  Anastasia was once my creative writing teacher.  She founded the Inkwell University, which used to be housed on writing.com under the name of Writer's Academy. I was one of her first student and used to call her Professor. :-)  I have a lot more to say, but it would take a whole page.  Basically, she's a wonderful person who's always ready to help others and is an excellent web designer. In fact, she now has her own business, Anastasia Creatives, and offers her services to writers at a very affordable price. Check her out!

How did you get to know #3?
I practically owe Frankie my writing career. She's the founder of the critique group I belong to, mentioned above (see #1), which is what helped me most so far in developing my writing skills and improving my novel.  The BEST critique group/review forum in the WORLD! I'm quite sure of that.  She taught several workshops about creative writing at the YA Novel Workshop on writing.com, and is now a teacher at Inkwell University (see #5).  She's also a very talented writer, who will soon be published by TLT Publishing. In her own words:  Eeeeeek!  :D So happy for her.  I know she worked hard on these novels. She's one of the few people I met online that I actually had a chance to also meet in person.

How about #4?
Jay is a fellow New Jerseyan who's also part of my critique group... although now he's very busy studying and working and raising his kids, so I doubt he'll even have time to answer these questions, but I tagged him anyway because he's just too awesome to ignore. He's a very skilled writer with an interesting sense of humor, judging by the few chapters of his novel I've read.  He helps other writers by keeping a list of middle grade and young adult publishers and agents on his blog, which he updates regularly.  He's also very helpful in giving feedback and suggestions on everyone's chapters.  In other words, a great guy to know if you're serious about writing.

Leave a message for #6.
Hi, Cyndi! *waves* So happy your book is now in print! You're so much fun to chat with on Twitter, and I'm looking forward to see you around the next WriteOnCon in August. You'll be there, right?  Right?  Don't forget us little people once you're rich and famous selling your book. :D

Leave a lovey dovey message for #2.
Louisa, you're wonderful. You're the best, and I'm so lucky to have you as a friend. Um... Can you please send me some more Tim Tams?  ;-)  Just kidding.  They were SO delicious, but that's not why I appreciate you as a friend.  You're a fun person to be with, a great reviewer that gave me very helpful comments on my novel, and just an interesting person in every way.  Can't wait to finish reading and reviewing your book and to hang out with Isabelle, Boldrick and Mozzy again. When are you coming back on the forum? Miss you!  P.S.  Here's your chance to update your blog, which is looooong overdue. Hum! Hum! Your fans are waiting!

Do #7 and #8 have any similarities?
Oh, yes, they do! Kurt and Tania are both part of my critique group (yeah, most bloggers on my list are, as you can see), they both write for children, and they are both friendly, fun loving people I had a chance to chat with on Skype a few times.  Oh, and they both have foreign accent, Kurt being from England, and Tania from Australia.

Whew! I made it!  I answered every single question. Now your turn!

And I just remembered that I promised to write a blog post about the Tim Tams Louisa and Tania sent me.  In case you're wondering what Tim Tams are, they're ...  wait - I'll explain it in a future blog post.