Another Golden Oldie: 16 Random Things About Me

Here's my second "Golden Oldie with an update" post while I'm on vacation. About a year ago, I wrote:

Both Jess Lindsley and Evelyn Whitehill have tagged me on Facebook for this "game." Here's the rules:

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 16 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 16 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

I have Facebook set up to snag my blog entries into notes on my profile, so I figured I would list the 16 random facts here, wait for the note to show up on Facebook, then see if I can figure out how to tag folks from there. This will be another learning experience for me! Anyway, here's the random facts.

1. I was a software engineer in my former life, but I've been writing fiction seriously since 1999 when I retired.

2. I'm an avowed chocoholic, the darker the better.

3. I obtained a BS degree from William & Mary in 1978, a double-major in Computer Science and Psychology (I use the psychology in my fiction writing).

4. My masters degree in software engineering was completed in 1983 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

5. 1983 is also when I married my husband, Neil.

6. Neil is my website and email newsletter guru, bless him!

7. I have two children, both in college now.

8. I am interested in keeping fit, so I exercise at least five times a week: lifting weights/elliptical at the local Y, swimming, hiking or walking the dog, bicycling, skiing, using the Nordic Trac at home, or finding some other way to keep the pounds from piling on.

9. I love to eat (hence the need for #8), especially ethnic foods.

10. I'm the author of the gift basket designer mystery series with protagonist Claire Hanover who lives in Colorado Springs, my hometown. The first is A REAL BASKET CASE and the second to be released in May is TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET.

11. My TBR pile includes lots of mysteries, but also some literary, women's fiction, romance, and short story anthology books.

12. I'm in a book club that meets monthly to drink wine, eat dessert, gossip, and discuss that month's book.

13. I took a speed-reading class in elementary school, so I can read pretty fast.

14. My favorite children's picture book is Possum Come A Knockin'. My kids tired of it long before I did. It's hilarious!

15. I did indeed read Nancy Drew when I was young, but my favorite mystery writer in my teenage years was Edgar Allan Poe.

16. I enjoy cooking and learning new recipes, especially from the vegetarian cookbooks that my vegan sister sends me.


Now, here's the update. Four more random things about me, so there's an even twenty:

17. I have owned both cats and a dog as pets, so I'm both a cat person and a dog person.

18. I used to be a whitewater canoeist in the 1980s, running whitewater rivers in a canoe stuffed full of floatation bags, and I still enjoy whitewater rafting and the thrill of running rapids.

19. The first time I tried fly-fishing, I snagged my thumb with the hook. Am I going to use that experience in my writing? You betcha!

20. My science fiction novella, The Epsilon Eridani Alternative, was released in eBook and paperback by Virtual Tales in December, 2009. For more information, go here!