I've Been Tagged!

Friend and fellow Colorado author Patricia Stoltey tagged me on her blog to answer the following five questions about myself.

For a "Tag" you answer 5 questions 5 times to share a bit about yourself. I hope my answers are as entertaining and enlightening as Pat's were!

Question 1 - Where were you five years ago?

1. Living with my husband and children in our home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which is currently up for sale.
2. Shopping my first mystery manuscript (A Real Basket Case) to literary agents.
3. Revising the second manuscript for the series (To Hell in a Handbasket) while desperately hoping the first one sells.
4. Making plans to vacation in Cozumel, Mexico, over Thanksgiving week, which were changed to Mazatlan after hurricane Emily wiped out Cozumel.
5. Celebrating the publication of my second short story, "Global Domination," in the Kansas Writers Association anthology, Words Out of the Flatlands.

Question 2 - Where would you like to be in five years?

1. Living in Breckenridge, Colorado.
2. Thinner and fitter as a result.
3. Celebrating the appearance of my ninth novel on the New York Times bestseller list. (It's good to dream big.)
4. Packing for an extended trip to the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu.
5. Enjoying my first grandchild. (Not to pressure my children or anything!)

Question 3 - What is on your to-do list today?

1. Write two blog posts.
2. Give a set of website updates to my husband, who is my techie guru.
3. Enter a bunch of new names from Malice Domestic and the Festival of Mystery into my newsletter subscriber list.
4. Make plans for a trip to the Texas hill country in June.
5. Get some exercise!

Question 4 - What snacks do you enjoy?

1. Chocolate, the darker the better.
2. Berries of all kinds.
3. Air-popped popcorn.
4. Walnuts dipped in Nutella (my guilty pleasure).
5. Frozen chocolate pops (notice a theme here?).

Question 5 - What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Become what I've always wanted to be, a philanthropist, and donate money wisely to my favorite causes where it would do the most good.
2. Travel to all the places on my long "bucket list."
3. Help our grown kids and other relatives and friends fulfill their special dreams.
4. Build or buy a dream house in Breckenridge and fill it with entertaining games and sports toys so the family will always want to visit.
5. Employ a full-time housekeeper, gardener, and cook.

Now I get to tag five other bloggers I admire. I choose:

1. Bill Crider at Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine
2. Jen Forbus at Jen's Book Thoughts
3. Lesa Holstine at Lesa's Book Critiques
4. Janet Rudolph at Mystery Fanfare
5. D. P. Lyle at The Writer's Forensic Blog

"Creative Writer" Blog Award

Some of my fellow bloggers have decided to nominate me for this award. This fun award was created by Lesa Holstein at Lesa's Book Critiques. Are authors natural born liars? That seems to be the point of this blogosphere game.


The rules for this award are fairly simple.

Recipients must -
1. Thank the person who gave this to you. (Thanks Sue Ann Jaffarian, Maryann Miller, and Keith Raffel)
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person(s) who nominated you. (See #1)
4. Tell us up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth (or the other way around). (See below.)
5. Allow your readers to guess which one or more are true.
6. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies (or as many as you would like).

I nominate the following:
Patricia Stoltey
Bill Crider
Terry ODell
Donna Lea Simpson
Joanna Campbell Slan
Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace
Terri Thayer

7. Post links to the blogs you nominate. (See #6)
8. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them. (Done!)

So, below are some things you might not know about me. Truth or fiction? You be the judge and let me know what you think in a comment. At least one is false and at least one is true. Here's a hint: read them carefully! I will post the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth here on Monday.

1. I have snorkeled with sea turtles, barracudas, and stingrays, but not sharks or dolphins.
2. I love to ski the green (beginner), blue (intermediate), and single black diamond (advanced) ski slopes of my home state of Colorado, but I stay off the double-black diamond (expert) slopes.
3. I broke my arm on the playground when I was young, then danced the Virginia Reel with it afterward because I didn't want to miss the dance.
4. I wore a walking cast for six weeks after dancing on a bar at a college fraternity party and slipping on a beer puddle and falling.
5. I've hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.
6. I used to have a car vanity license plate that read FAKE IQ.
7. I've spent a night in jail.