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!