10 Things About Me

8/25/2015

I was inspired by a fellow author's website to share 10 interesting facts about me. Hmmm... Here goes:

1. I love video games! I play Sims Medieval & Sims every other month. I also like Wizard101 and am teaching my daughters how to play it. We own and play Super Nintendo, XBox, PS2, & Wii games on a regular basis. I am passing on the video game gene to my children, as well.
2. We used to own fainting goats! Fainting goats are a special breed of goats who stiffen up and fall over (faint) when they are scared. They are awesome! If we ever move to a home with more land, I will own fainting goats, again. P.S. We do have chickens here. 4 of them!
3. I was in the Navy! I left for bootcamp just 9 nine days after I turned 18. I've lived in South Carolina, Illinois, & California while on active duty. I met my husband while in Illinois and we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year. He is still active duty Navy.
4. I have 4 1/2 years of college and... wait for it... no degree! That's right. I had 1 1/2 years of college under my belt before I even graduated from high school, then I spent 3 years in school after leaving the Navy. I made my own curriculum, so I don't have an actual degree. But I have earned certificates in both Accounting and Business Administration. My majors were: Baking & Pastry, Accounting, Business Management, Web Design & Computer Programming.
5. I love playing dress up! I am a bit of a drama queen (I blame it on being a Leo) and love a good costume. I really get into it and have dozens of costumes, which take up the back 1/4 of my closet. I also have costume wigs, literally, hanging on my bedposts. I will share a few of those costumes at the end of this post. I REALLY like it and I have a pretty good British accent to go along with it, too!
6. I own a licensed home bakery! For those of you who don't know me, personally, you may be surprised to know that my "day job" is a baker/business owner. We do wedding cakes, cakes, cookies, desserts, etc., and ship cookies and other treats all over the country.
7. Music rules my life! I listen to music when I work, when I bathe, when I write, when I clean, when I drive, when I sit on the porch swing... When don't I listen to music? Only when I sleep, really. But then I do hear songs in my dreams and wake up singing them, so... yeah. My father played several instruments and was in a rock/country band. My brother plays guitar, as well as my step-father (who also used to DJ) and my sister sings. I also make up song lyrics while doing all of the above things. I have lyrics written down on nearly every notebook in the house. I did attempt to learn 6-string and bass in high school. I still have my guitar and bass, saving them for a rainy day.
8. I have a fantastic long term memory and sense of smell! I can remember things that happened when I was 2-3 years old. No, really. I have vivid memories from my younger years and remember exactly what my first day of kindergarten smelled like. Most of my memories are triggered by smells or certain music. I do, however, have a terrible short term memory. I can barely remember things that happened within the past 10 years or the past 10 days.
9. I love cheesy made-for-tv movies! Mostly, they are from the Disney channel: Halloweentown (all of them), Brink!, Motocrossed, Zenon, and recently the new Descendants, to name a few. And even though I don't like sappy movies, I will gladly watch just about any Lifetime movie. I do, however, have a weakness for scary movies (horror movies). I've seen a LOT of horror movies. Go figure...
10. Speaking of movies... I fast forward through conflict scenes in movies! Yes, even Disney movies. After I've seen a movie once, I will skip the really sad/mean parts. I like to live in la-la-land, where everyone is happy, all of the time. And writing about sad/mean parts in my books actually affects me, physically. I have been unable to sleep when writing certain scenes. In fact, the best/worst scene in Blood Moon has already been written. I decided to get it out of the way so I don't have to think about it for a while. 

As promised, here are some examples of my costumery! Yes, I know that costumery isn't a real word. I have a few of my medieval themed outfits, but I don't have photos on my computer. These are from Halloween and birthday parties. One day, I may even get into Cosplay!

~J.D.