"Mr. Sandman, bring me a [meme]." (Or two.)
Okay, I got these interview questions from carebearssparky the other day...last year...so I figured I'd answer them.
1. Who is your favorite author and why?
Gah. Only one? I think I can only limit it to three:
Peter S. Beagle: He's a genre writer who elevates fantasy to literature, but unpretentiously. His prose is poetry. And even though he writes about magic, he seems to know that people -- life, love, relationships -- are real magic.
Neil Gaiman: I used to prefer fantasy that had no basis in reality, but I've since come to appreciate writing in which a little bit of the unknown trickles into our world. That's still escapism, but it's an escape to something more, rather than something different. Gaiman offers this kind of escapism. He presents his characters compassionately; his plots are imaginative in scope and detail; and his stories are rich with folkloric allusion (which I love).
Philip Pullman: Not only does he write beautifully -- he writes truly: I marvel at what he says as well as how he says it. He writes for young adults, but doesn't shy away from the horrors of human behavior. His characters are well-rounded, his plots well-developed. I get lost in his stories, and don't resent him for making me cry.
There's also Wilkie Collins and Rafael Sabatini....But on to the next question!
2. What would you do with 5 million dollars?
Wow....Hmmm....Retire early; buy a nice home (for myself and a few friends); do well by my family; donate generously to an animal charity (assuming I don't just found my own); and travel the world (e.g., Germany, Ireland, Australia, France, Japan).
3. What do you want to do for a career?
Here's the one I can't answer. Something highly-creative but minimally-stressful. Any suggestions?
4. What's the story behind your screen name?
Well, I used to be "gossamer in the gloaming." I like "gossamer" as a noun: some wispy thing half-there and half-absent. And there's something wonderful about twilight: half-day or half-night. (How noncommittal of me.) And I'm a sucker for alliteration. When "gossamer in the gloaming" got to be a bit too cumbersome, I changed to "gossamer gull," which is still alliterative and also manages to incorporate my seagull totem.
Yes, I know the seagull is an unpopular totem. No, I don't much care.
Of course, I've been "gossamer gull" for a couple of years now. Perhaps I'm due for a change....
5. Who would you most like to talk to, alive or dead?
Wilkie Collins. He's pretty fascinating, and not at all a product of his culture (19th-century England). At a time when women went corseted, he preferred the natural form. In a place where sexuality was so heavily-sanctioned, he shamelessly kept two mistresses (with their mutual knowledge). And damn, but he could write!
Your Kinsey Number is 1.2
Predominantly Heterosexual, Incidentally Homosexual
What's Your Kinsey Number?
More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva
No surprises here. I'm straight as an arrow....that's unevenly fletched.
1. Who is your favorite author and why?
Gah. Only one? I think I can only limit it to three:
Peter S. Beagle: He's a genre writer who elevates fantasy to literature, but unpretentiously. His prose is poetry. And even though he writes about magic, he seems to know that people -- life, love, relationships -- are real magic.
Neil Gaiman: I used to prefer fantasy that had no basis in reality, but I've since come to appreciate writing in which a little bit of the unknown trickles into our world. That's still escapism, but it's an escape to something more, rather than something different. Gaiman offers this kind of escapism. He presents his characters compassionately; his plots are imaginative in scope and detail; and his stories are rich with folkloric allusion (which I love).
Philip Pullman: Not only does he write beautifully -- he writes truly: I marvel at what he says as well as how he says it. He writes for young adults, but doesn't shy away from the horrors of human behavior. His characters are well-rounded, his plots well-developed. I get lost in his stories, and don't resent him for making me cry.
There's also Wilkie Collins and Rafael Sabatini....But on to the next question!
2. What would you do with 5 million dollars?
Wow....Hmmm....Retire early; buy a nice home (for myself and a few friends); do well by my family; donate generously to an animal charity (assuming I don't just found my own); and travel the world (e.g., Germany, Ireland, Australia, France, Japan).
3. What do you want to do for a career?
Here's the one I can't answer. Something highly-creative but minimally-stressful. Any suggestions?
4. What's the story behind your screen name?
Well, I used to be "gossamer in the gloaming." I like "gossamer" as a noun: some wispy thing half-there and half-absent. And there's something wonderful about twilight: half-day or half-night. (How noncommittal of me.) And I'm a sucker for alliteration. When "gossamer in the gloaming" got to be a bit too cumbersome, I changed to "gossamer gull," which is still alliterative and also manages to incorporate my seagull totem.
Yes, I know the seagull is an unpopular totem. No, I don't much care.
Of course, I've been "gossamer gull" for a couple of years now. Perhaps I'm due for a change....
5. Who would you most like to talk to, alive or dead?
Wilkie Collins. He's pretty fascinating, and not at all a product of his culture (19th-century England). At a time when women went corseted, he preferred the natural form. In a place where sexuality was so heavily-sanctioned, he shamelessly kept two mistresses (with their mutual knowledge). And damn, but he could write!
Your Kinsey Number is 1.2
Predominantly Heterosexual, Incidentally Homosexual
What's Your Kinsey Number?
More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva
No surprises here. I'm straight as an arrow....that's unevenly fletched.