Friday, November 1, 2013

1 Word Interviews with C. Lee Mckenzie and Mark Means

Please give a warm welcome to C. Lee Mckenzie and Mark Means, my guests today for 1 Word Interviews!

C. Lee is a writer with an upbeat attitude. Her YA book, Princess of Las Pulgas, was one of my favorite reads this year. She's also written Sliding on the Edge, and Alligators Overhead.

Mark Means loves superheroes, comics, and genre mash-ups, and is a writer whose work I look forward to reading soon. He hangs out at Google+ and his blog Left and Write.


1. What's your current favorite word?

C. Lee: Overwhelmed (but you knew that already) :-)

  Mark: "Imagine"
 
2. In one word, what inspires you?

C. Lee: A friend. A day with people I love. A beach or a mountain. A foggy morning. Food with the "Ahhh!" factor.

 Mark: Creativity
 
3. What's one word that describes your writing habits?

 C. Lee: Erratic and tucked in among other things in my life.


Mark: Procrastinizational. (Is that a word??)
 
4. What's one word that you wish you could get rid of in your writing?

C. Lee:  Erratic. I'd love to get back to a schedule. I used to have one of those, but it was lost in the shuffle.

 Mark: "Actually"
 
5. What's one word that describes your writing desk?

C. Lee: Big-messy-thing. Okay I cheated, but I used hyphens. Can I cheat?

 Mark: Organized
 
6. Share the best writing advice/tool/quote that helps you. (please limit to one sentence)

C. Lee: The only way you can guarantee failure is to give up.

 Mark: "Write something....anything....every day."
 
7. What's your current project?

C. Lee: I've just started the sequel to my middle grade book, Alligators Overhead. I'm at 14,000 words and holding.

 Mark: "Last Chance"

Procrastinizational is definitely a word! Big-messy-thing works!

And overwhelmed . . . I totally get that, because as you probably noticed today, I had an unexpected mash-up of two writers who I love, and I hope that they are ok with sharing the day. Now, go, give them big virtual hugs!


Celebrate the Small Things:

I almost forgot, but then I remembered to Celebrate!!!

1. My niece's wedding was absolutely wonderful. I know that God guided my words. The bride and groom seemed to love it, and my sister-in-law's husband (father of the bride) had tears in his eyes when he gave me a hug later. I felt blessed and privileged to be a part of the celebration. 

2. I'm taking on my own Revision Challenge for the month of November. By month's end, I will have Champion in Flight ready for proofreading. I'll be posting my progress weekly. Any takers for proofreaders or beta readers?

3. My oldest daughter ran a 1 mile, end-of-the-year race for cross country to see how much she has improved. She started the year running 1 mile in about 10 minutes, and at this last race she ran 1 mile in 7 minutes and 19 seconds!

4. Our dear friends, whose daughter Jessica has had so many painful surgeries, are off to Disneyworld soon on a Make a Wish trip for Jessica. She's been a whole year without any surgeries, and has had a huge improvement in her health.

BTW - yes, I married our niece Jessica and her husband Jason, and we have friends whose sweet daughter is named Jessica - just to clear up any confusion.

Best wishes to all who are starting NaNoWriMo today! I'm cheering for you!

Now, please, go hang out with C. Lee at The Write Game and  Mark at Left and Write!





 

28 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Procrastinizational sounds like a word to me!

Unknown said...

actually, I'm also trying to get "actually" out of my vocabulary.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I believe I used "organized" to describe my desk, too.

Maurice Mitchell said...

Now I can't get John Lennon out of my head Mark. Great interview Tyrean! The simplicity of these works!

SK Anthony said...

Procrastinizational lol love it... I might be a culprit of the same writing habits o_0

Tyrean Martinson said...

Alex - it does to me too! :)

Adriana - It's funny that Mark chose that word because I'm actually trying to use it less when I write but more when I talk . . .in replacement of "um" which is worse in public speaking. :)

L. Diane - I wish I could say that, and I can at the moment, but then . . .I know that an hour from now it won't look this way. :)

Maurice - I know what you mean about that song! And thanks!

SK - me too! :)

cleemckenzie said...

Loved sharing the day with Mark!

Unknown said...

"The only way you can guarantee failure is to give up." Hear! Hear! :D

StratPlayerCJF said...

Great interviews. C. Lee hasn't quite mastered the "one word" aspect, but I enjoyed her answers none-the-less. ;)

And Marks was stellar! If "Procrastinizational" isn't actually a word, then it absolutely should actually be one! I'll spearhead the efforts to get it absorbed into global daily use! Uh, when I get around to it... someday...

Julie Flanders said...

Great to see both Lee and Mark here - two of my favorite people in blog land. :) And I'm totally going to start using procrastinizational, that's me to a tee.

So glad the wedding went well, what a wonderful experience for all of you.

Mark Means said...

Thank you very much, Tyrean, I appreciate you 'one wording' me and it was fun. It was also fun being teamed with Lee, she's a hoot, for sure :)

Sounds like you have a lot to be thankful for, which is worth the overwhelming feeling, in my book!

Thank you all for your great comments and, yes, let's get "procrastinizational" in the dictionary! :D

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great interviews. I can totally relate to feeling overwhelmed. That's me these days too.

Al Diaz said...

I can't even pronounce Mark's number 3. It might be that I'm not native English speaker or it might be the virgin snack I'm eating right now.

Nice one word interviews and excellent celebrations, Tyrean!

Christine Rains said...

Great interview! I love this one word reply idea. And wow, lots of great things to celebrate! :) Have a wonderful weekend.

Unknown said...

Fun interviews. :) Mark, keep making up those words.

M Pax said...

Procastinazational is a great word.

My desk is messy too. I'll have to clean it soon so there's room for my tea and my cat.

Wonderful that the wedding went well.

Tyrean Martinson said...

C. Lee - I'm so glad that it worked out! Thank you!

EJ - total agreement!

Chris - C. Lee's almost-one-word answers are funny, and I think we should all work on getting procrastinizational into use.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Julie -they are two of my favorite people too. :) And thank you - the wedding was definitely one of those mountain top experiences.

Mark - yes, that thankful list is also part of my overwhelmed list - it's kind of interesting how those two go together sometimes :) Thank you for joining C. Lee and I!!!

Natalie - but you are so good and making it all look so easy! :)

Al - it's a new word to the English language, and watch out on that snack - some of those ladies pack sharp pointy swords. :)

Christine - thanks! have a great weekend!

Julie - Thank you!

M Pax - mine goes from neat to messy in just an hour or two . . . and then my cat just rummages around and sits on everything. :)

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne said...

So happy that everyone enjoyed the wedding. I love weddings. Very nice interview as well. Happy weekend.

Claudia H. Blanton said...

great interview, and wow nice things to celebrate - how can one not celebrate the connection of two people - blessings to you and yours

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tyrean .. great one word interviews with Lee and Mark .. you probably got your alphabet a bit haywire too .. hence L&M together and therefore one post .. not to worry - we're all overwhelmed and procrastinized out!

Fun times ... and so glad to read about both the Jess' - heart-warming reading .. Hilary

Ruth Schiffmann said...

I've clicked over from Lee's blog today. Nice to meet you. Love the idea of the one-word interview! Well done.

VikLit said...

Glad the wedding went well, and go your daughter with her improvement in speed!

Anonymous said...

That's great about the whole year without surgeries. Those are things to celebrate.

I love the one word interview.

Heather R. Holden said...

I want "procrastinizational" to be part of my vocabulary now. XD

Glad to hear the wedding went well! Also, good luck with all your revisions! I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get it proofreader-ready by December. :)

Jack said...

Those interviews are a cool idea.

I am looking forward to one of Mark Mean's books too 8-D

I'm glad to hear the wedding went well!!!

And I'd like to offer my beta reading survives! What month might it be in though? November is very full, but December is more open.

Mark Koopmans said...

A one-word interview - that's an awesome idea, made better by your wonderful choices :)

Congrats on all the positive family events and good luck with the Revisions (somehow that word needs to be capitalized :)

PS: Thanks also for your support with the 50 States of Pray event.

I will not be procrastinizational and have made a note that you will represent Washington :)

Carol Riggs said...

Fun, the one-word interview idea. :) And how neat to do a Revision Challenge during NaNo, since that's where you are and need. Good luck!