Encyclopedia of Me - T

1. Tennant, David

He wasn't my first Doctor, but he's my favorite. To me, he's a classic. He's got that perfect blend of pure curiosity, empathy, eccentric tendencies, humor, passion, pain, rage, and a love of adventure.  I love that he's a total goofball one second and can make me cry the next. A lot of Whovians see the TARDIS as a beacon of hope, but that feeling is multiplied when it's the tenth Doctor inside.

2. Toni

If you're confused as to why Dianna Agron is on the collage for the letter "T," let me clear that up. One of the characters in the "Supernatural" roleplay I'm in is named Toni, and Dianna Agron is her face claim. But the real Toni (the girl who plays her) is one of my best friends. Half the time I'm giggling into my phone, it's because she sent a hysterical text. She's got a great sense of sarcastic humor but also gives great advice and jumps right into action when one of her friends needs to be cheered up. She's a great friend to have.

3. These Broken Stars & Throne of Glass

I love both of these books for different reasons (although something they have in common is that they have freaking awesome covers omg).

These Broken Stars is a light sci-fi survival story that revolves around two characters who despise each other. They get into petty arguments and bicker all the way across a deserted planet. So, of course, they're totally ship-able (it's a word 'cause I just made it up. If Shakespeare can do it, so can I).

Throne of Glass is a more complicated plot with a lot more action, but also has great characters. It's very plot twisty and dramatic and rooted in an extremely well-crafted storyworld. It's like Game of Thrones for teens. It's very addictive.

4. Terrible Things/"Terrible Things"

A couple years ago, I got a request to write a "Supernatural" fan-fiction based on the Mayday Parade song "Terrible Things." Some of my favorite fan-fiction challenges have to do with tying a song into a story, and I had so much fun with this one. It ended up being a fan-fic series, also called Terrible Things, that's now over 20,000 words long, but I love it. I got to do a lot of character development with the reader and Dean, and I made a few fans cry, so that's always a plus. #FandomLife



5. 'Til the Last Star Dies

One of my favorite writing projects was 'Til the Last Star Dies, which is a YA paranormal romance that involves witches and demons and magic and curses and an impending apocalypse. Here's the short pitch for it:

An immortal firstborn witch, Lila, falls for a mortal witch hunter, Melody.  What starts as complicated ends up labyrinthine when the demon Angelique sets her eyes on Lila as the newest addition to her army. And Melody is the perfect bargaining chip.

And the book trailer, which took me hours to make, but was totally worth it.



6. "This Is Us"

This is one of my new favorite shows. Every episode has some sort of plot twist, and since it's told in a non-linear fashion, it makes for all kinds of interesting character developments. Sometimes you see a character in the present day and have no idea how they could possibly end up the way they did, and then you get a flashback to their childhood that explains it. It's super cool. And I love all the characters. I highly recommend it.

7. Tea

My go-to drink for when I'm settling in with a good book, a good TV show, or a good writing session. So pretty much any time of day, I could go for a cup of tea.

8. Time travel

One of my FAVORITE plot devices. It's in "Doctor Who," "Supernatural," "Timeless," "Back to the Future," Harry Potter, and countless other stories. It's especially fun to watch how each story takes it in a different direction in order to deal with all of the contradictions that come with time travel. Will meeting your past or future self affect your timeline? How much will history be changed if you mess with one tiny thing a hundred years ago? It hurts your brain, but in a good way.


9. Taylor Swift

She was my favorite musical artist for several years, and I still love tons of her music. Her later work is especially impressive (like "Safe and Sound," "Wildest Dreams," "You Are In Love," and "Begin Again," to give some examples), but the amount of success she had at a young age was really inspiring to me as a young artist. Every one of her albums is better than the last. I can't wait to see what she does next.

10. "Talking In Your Sleep" by The Civil Wars, "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer, "Toxic" by Melanie Martinez

These are all very alternative songs that I recommend checking out (you can click on the hyperlinks of each song title to listen to them on YouTube). "Talking In Your Sleep" was the theme song for one of the parts of a fan-fiction series I was addicted to. "There She goes" is on the playlist for one of my ships in the "Supernatural" roleplay. I heard "Toxic" when my family first watched "The Voice" and totally fell in love with Melanie Martinez's voice.

Edit: It was brought to my attention after this post was published that I somehow forgot to add TJ to my list! Color me Ashamed™, as he really should've been the most obvious addition. We've only been friends for a little over a year, but it feels like longer. It's been so much fun to geek out over musical theatre, books (I've basically shoved dozens of various YA books into his hands so he'd read them, and he's incredibly patient while I do this), superheroes, and more. He's invited me to two of his school dances, which has been great, because we can both be wallflowers and dorks together with the band kids instead of trying to look "cool" in the middle of the dance floor (trust me, we're having way more fun than anybody there). And I probably would've for real passed out before my theatre audition if he hadn't been both pumping me up and calming me down. All in all, one of my newest and best friends (even when he's talking about how great "The Emoji Movie" is going to be--are you happy, TJ? I mentioned "The Emoji Movie" on my blog and it wasn't over my dead body). Since I can't edit the collage above, here's a nice big picture of us that's one of my favorites.

TJ's right in the middle next to me. This was a great candid shot from my mom.

What would you list for the letter "T?" Leave a comment!

Encyclopedia of Me - S

Scout

I can't even begin to describe how great my dog is. She's turning seven this year, but she still has tons of puppy energy. She's goofy and snuggly and sweet and a total spaz. The mere mention of UPS has her flipping out and slamming into walls in her haste to protect us from the big brown truck that dares to enter our neighborhood. But thank god for our ten-pound watch dog, otherwise we'd all be murdered in our sleep by the mailman. One of my favorite things about coming home after going out for even ten minutes is being greeted by her crazy self. She gets so excited any time we walk into a room, and she climbs all over us to give us kisses before pawing at our faces to hurry up and scratch her behind the ears. I can't really remember a time before having a dog, she's totally part of the family.

Sushi

AKA the greatest food in the universe. There are endless possibilities for rolls, which means every time we go to a Japanese restaurant, there's something new to try. We have a restaurant about twenty minutes away from us that makes delicious food and gets my mouth watering the whole drive there. One of my favorite holiday traditions is getting a gigantic spread of different kinds of sushi on New Year's Eve to eat. We get so stuffed, but it's so worth it.


Stana Katic

In case you couldn't tell, I've been mildly obsessed with "Castle" recently . . . okay a lot obsessed. But one of the many reasons for that is how well-written the characters are, one of which is Kate Beckett, played by Stana Katic. I can't imagine anyone else playing her, she's perfect for the role. She can be dead serious one second and crack a witty joke the next, make you cry, make you laugh, and get you so invested in the show you forget she's fiction.

"Sherlock"

This is hands down one of the best discoveries I've made on TV in the past couple years. I don't know how it wasn't on my radar before, but many thanks to my blogging friends for making me aware of it! Despite the fact that we only have ten (yay for Christmas specials!) episodes so far, these characters and the plot are so well developed. I can't believe how much genius they're able to cram into ninety minutes of fast-paced dialogue. The actors are brilliant, the writing is brilliant, the scheduling for each season . . . not so much. But we're able to (mostly) look past it because Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have so much chemistry and make us forget how long we've waited when we finally do get more episodes.

"Supernatural"

I absolutely loved getting to binge-watch the past ten seasons over holidays and fangirling with Cait. I never thought I'd watch a "horror" series, but holy crap it's so well-written and planned out. There's a reason this show has such a huge fanbase that got it to last 11 seasons (and still going strong!). This show has made me laugh and cry countless times. It's not only introduced me to a whole new fandom, but lifelong friends within that fandom. I have so many great memories attached to the story and the characters.


Sophia, Sammy, and Soph

Three close friends of mine who all make me laugh and smile whenever I spend time with them. :) Sophia and I have been friends for years, having met through our family's homeschool group. Though I've known Sammy and Soph for almost a year online, it feels like much, much longer. And I'm getting to meet Sammy in person for the first time for my sixteenth birthday! I'm so excited.

Sleeping At Last

I found this band through Tumblr last year and I've been crazy about their music ever since. They have a great Indie sound and an album called "Atlas" I've listened to over and over and over again. It offers tons of creative inspiration. My favorite songs by them are "Jupiter," "Neptune," and "Turning Page."


Sam Winchester

He's the younger of the Winchester brothers on "Supernatural," and he's one of the main driving forces of the show. Together, he and Dean have a small but incredibly strong family. And they make an amazing team with everything they do. Sam's often considered the brains of the pair, but just like how Dean isn't just the muscle, that's not all he is. He's brave and quick on his feet and always the first to offer a listening ear to friends and strangers. The character development he's gone through these past seasons is unbelievable, but you never lose the Sam you fall in love with when you first meet him.

Song, River

Ahhhhhh, I love this woman so much!!! She's hysterical and smart and adds a spice to the later seasons of "Doctor Who" that the show needed. I love her with the eleventh Doctor. And Amy and Rory. And everyone. But I won't give much more away because, well . . . spoilers.


Stars Hollow/Sookie

"Gilmore Girls" makes me happy. As soon as I hear the music, I'm transported right back to that tiny, magical town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. I love how whenever one of the characters walk down the street, they can stop and talk to seven people they know just on their way to the grocery story. I love the town meetings and Luke's coffee shop and the seasonal festivals and the people. The quirky, wonderful people that make that town home. And one of those people is Sookie St. James. She's an adorable, clumsy, bubbly person and one of the best friends you could ask for. Who wouldn't want a friend who shows up at your house with an amazing home-cooked meal and a laugh that brightens the room? (Plus, watching her in the kitchen suddenly makes me realize I'm not the worst klutz in the world.)

Summer and Sunshine

This crazy winter has me seriously missing warm weather. Though I suppose over three feet of snow in one day has anybody missing it . . . I'm ready for the beach and some sunshine and being outside with a book. Parks, bike rides, the pool, walking Scout, barbecues, I'm so, so ready for all of it.

What are some "s" things that you love? Leave a comment!

Encyclopedia of Me - H

Harry Potter

(You knew this one was coming.) One of the hardest things to do is explain to somebody how much you love your favorite book. It's almost impossible to accurately and eloquently explain the passionate love you have for it without USING ALL CAPS OR TONS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS AND EMOTICONS OR TYPING GIBBERISH LIKE AKLJSDOGIH!!!!! But seriously, everything about this series is close to perfection (and the only reason why I say "close to perfection" is because I don't believe any book or movie or work of art of any kind can ever be perfect, no matter how amazing). The unique characters, the attention to detail, the backstories of each character (even if you don't learn them until playing Pottermore), and the storytelling just astounds me. If I had to pick one thing that inspired me to become a reader, it would be this series. I first finished the Harry Potter books when I was seven, and I haven't stopped rereading them since. Each time I read it (or listen to the audios by Jim Dale, which are also incredible), I pick out bits of foreshadowing or details I hadn't noticed before. I fall in love with it over and over again and never get tired of reading it. Hogwarts feels like my home and the characters feel like my family. It's the series I go to whenever I want to escape or simply just curl up next to the fire and dive into another adventure with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I think we all that one book or that one series that stays with us forever, no matter the circumstances, and Harry Potter is that series for me.

Hermione Granger

Hermione is the best. She's my favorite character in Harry Potter, and probably my favorite character ever. She has it all: Smarts, wits, loyalty, bravery, sarcasm, friendship, and all around awesomeness. In all the adventures she, Ron, and Harry have, she's usually the one who figures out the mystery. And she knows everything about everything. Harry may have defeated Voldemort in the end, but Hermione certainly helped him along. A lot. She's my fictional hero. Also, I can't think of a better person to portray her than Emma Watson.

Hogwarts

Like I mentioned before, Hogwarts feels like my home. When we went to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios a few years ago, my favorite part was getting to walk through Hogwarts. I'd pictured it so many times while reading the books and seen it on the big screen, but actually getting to go there?! It was awesome. I'm pretty sure I grinned the entire day. How cool would it be to have paintings that talked, staircases that moved, secret passageways behind tapestries or under statues, and a ceiling that looked like the night sky? If I could actually go to school there, I would. I'd be in Ravenclaw, of course, and play as a Chaser for the Quidditch team.

Happiness

This one pretty much goes without saying. :) I'm a happy person. I enjoy being happy. Simple things make me smile (books, chocolate, the theme song to my favorite TV show, sunshine). A day doesn't go by without me laughing at least once. My brother is usually the one cracking the jokes that make me spew water across the table. (Yeah, dinnertime's fun at our house.)

The Hunger Games

This was the first dystopian book I read, and I am so glad I did. I never knew such a genre existed before reading this series. It was one of the longest books I'd read in less than a day. I started it the night I got it and finished it the next morning. Same with Catching Fire and Mockingjay. It's also the book that made my best friend, Kirsten, like reading. My dad's taken me to see all the movies (which are fantastic), and I read The Hunger Games five times in a week before going to see it. That's how excited I was.

The Host

I tried reading Twilight and couldn't get past the Amazon sample, so I didn't think I'd ever read The Host. But then I saw the trailer for the movie, had it recommended to me by Kirsten later that week, and had to pick it up. It was so good. Sure, Stephenie Meyer's writing isn't the best, but she's a great storyteller. I fell in love with her characters right away and couldn't put it down. I read all 620 pages of it in two days. The movie was a good adaptation, but didn't do it nearly enough justice. If you like dystopian books, this one is a great choice.

"The Hunger Games" albums

I love the style of music that's featured on these albums, particularly the first two. "Safe and Sound" is my favorite song because of it. The dark, haunting, and sometimes somewhat creepy songs fit the theme of the movies perfectly. They also make for great inspiration when I'm writing. I've used many songs from the albums on my book soundtracks. It also introduced me to The Civil Wars, one of my favorite bands, after I heard "Kingdom Come."


"Here Comes the Sun"

This is my favorite Beatles song. It's light and happy and fun. This stands out to me as a summer song more than anything else, and I often listen to it while I'm at the beach or reading in the backyard.


Hugh Nicholson

Hugh Nicholson is a minor character in my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel, an MG fantasy book called August Knight and the Sword of Gold. He's an extremely old, very eccentric, narcoleptic wizard. He's adept in all magic and potions and would slay the dragon himself if it weren't for his arthritis. He's also known to fall asleep in the middle of his sentences, wake up, not remember what he was saying, and not even remember your name. He's called August a variety of names because of this, including Alan, Augustus, Augustine, Alex, and Audrey, all within five minutes. He always smells like pickles, too, though no one really knows why.

Homeschooling

I'm so glad we homeschool. If we didn't, I wouldn't have nearly as much time to read and write as I do now. Plus, it's tons of fun. Our schoolwork is mostly playing games and going to lectures and getting together with our friends. We learn all sorts of stuff and have fun with it. (And we can stay up late and sleep in the next day if we feel like it.)

What's on your "h" list?

Encyclopedia of Me - C

Cait

Cait is one of my best blogging friends, and is hysterical. Every single post she writes makes me laugh. She makes an effort to respond to every comment she gets, which I always appreciate in a blogger, and her comments are the best. She is responsible for getting me obsessed with "Supernatural," one of my favorite TV shows, and is always up for some fangirling. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have read The Lunar Chronicles, Throne of Glass, or These Broken Stars (all five-star books, too. Our tastes are super similar). Also, she's the Queen of Gifs. No one dares challenge her unless they're ready to face defeat. You can find her at "Paper Fury," where she's working hard, and succeeding, at turning her blog readers into faithful minions for when she takes over the world.

Castiel/Charlie Bradbury

Aside from Sam and Dean, Cas and Charlie are two of my all-time favorite characters on television. You can't help but love them.

Cas is an angel. Literally. Though he's had his ups and downs, Cas ultimately uses his divine powers for good and doesn't hesitate to stand up to his own kind if it means protecting Sam and Dean (especially Dean). But he also has lots of human qualities about him that make him endearing and hilarious. He doesn't always understand social cues, the importance of personal space, or how to use voicemail. But he does love texting. And emoticons.

And Charlie! Charlie is the best. If you've ever seen Felicia Day in anything else (especially "The Guild," which is so funny and highly recommended), you'll know that she's basically playing herself. Charlie is quirky, socially-awkward in the best way, and a total geek. She's a lover of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, LARPing, and more. She makes me laugh and cry in each episode she's in and she has a fantastic relationship with the Winchesters. I keep hoping they'll make her a regular, but no such luck yet. Oh, and she's a lesbian, but a well-written one that's not thrown in just for the sake of making the show diverse. I've seen some poorly written gay characters in books that are clearly there to shake up the cast of characters a little. Charlie's not like that at all. She's awesome. I want to be friends with her and fangirl over books together.

Characters

What would a story be without characters? Characters drive the plot. Characters make a story come alive. Readers fall in love with them, laugh with them, cry with them, and sometimes hate them. Some of the best people are fictional, especially if they're written well. They can feel like family.

And since I have some fascination with names beginning with "c" that I only noticed while writing this post, here are a few shout-outs to characters of my own creation.

Cassandra Day/Cornelia Moonstone/Clara Day/Cricket Moonstone from my MG fantasy trilogy, Fantasya. Cassandra and Cornelia were the main characters of the first book A Giant Problem, which I wrote when I was ten. They were the first characters that I wrote and completely fell in love with. I felt like they were my friends, I wanted to hang out with them, I could picture them clearly in my mind. I wanted to live in Fantasya and meet everyone there. Clara and Cricket were the children of Cassandra and Cornelia and the main characters of the sequel The Trouble With Trolls. I loved them just as much, if not more, than Cassandra and Cornelia, and I think the sequel is much better than the first one I wrote. Writing the characters of Fantasya is like wrapping myself up with a warm blanket.

Cosmo Moonshine and Celeste Smitherson from my YA contemporary, Cosmo, would totally be people I'd be friends with if they were real. I think my favorite thing about writing the two of them is the dialogue. Cosmo's witty. Celeste is quirky. I love the friendship that they have. (Also? I love Celeste's dads. I feel like there aren't a lot of parents in YA fiction that are present in the story, especially dads, and I wanted to change that.)

Chippy from my chapter book, The Adventure That Started With Nuts, was the chocolate to Nutty's peanut butter (har har). Chippy was a chipmunk, and her best friend was a squirrel named Nutty. Chippy was the cautious one in their adventures, always the voice of reason, but Nutty helped her to break out of her shell several times (apparently I'm full of puns today).

Christina Michaels! She's a character from my YA dystopian novel, Flightless Birds, who shows up about halfway through the story. She's spunky, tough, and independent, but sometimes she can be a little blunt. Rude, even. Raven, the main character, helps to soften her a bit, though she remains kickbutt as ever.

Charley Echoes, from my WIP, a YA fantasy called Sing a Song of Raindrops, is a bit like Christina. But where Christina tries to avoid too much attachment (at first) for the sake of being independent, Charley is insanely protective of her family. She would do, and does, anything for them, no matter the cost. She's also a fan of alternative music, the color blue, and peanut M&M's.

Christine Hawthorne is a character I loved to hate. She's a secondary character in my YA contemporary romance, Beneath the Moon and Stars and the mother of one of the main characters, Lane. She's rich, haughty, and has a serious grudge against Kya, the other main character. She's all smiles and compliments when she's face-to-face with a person, but once that person turns her back, she's catty and mean. In the name of keeping up appearances, she does everything she can to keep Kya and Lane away from each other. I couldn't stand her, but I loved writing her.

Calvin & Hobbes

Calvin & Hobbes gives me the warm-fuzzies. :) I've stayed up late into the night--and sometimes the morning--reading it by the light of a flashlight since I was five. I got a beautiful treasury set when I was six for Christmas and still pull it out to read to this day. It's imaginative, funny, adorable, and sweet. Calvin and Hobbes continue to be some of my favorite characters in books. It's definitely my favorite comic, probably even more so since my brother and I used to have adventures with our stuffed animals all the time. I've also had a stuffed cat named Menedy (no clue why) for almost twelve years now. She's definitely well-loved. She used to be white, fluffy, and able to hold her head up on her own. Now she's gray, her fur's matted down, and floppy. I was so worried that Scout would tear her apart when we first got her, but Scout loves her and sometimes snuggles up next to her. It's so cute.

The Civil Wars

Ever since I heard them featured on "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift, I've been obsessed with their music. They're country, but not a super twangy kind. They're haunting and unique and perfect writing music when I'm writing something especially dark. I was so sad to hear that they split up not too long ago. Some of my favorite songs by them are "Kingdom Come," "Poison & Wine," and "Falling."

Cookies

Hands down, my favorite dessert! Soft or crunchy, chocolate chip or chocolate peanut butter, homemade or store-bought, Chips Ahoy! or Oreos, I love them all. (Except for snickerdoodles. I've never liked those for some reason.) I will never complain if you randomly show up at my house with a plate of them. (Hint, hint.)

"Carry On My Wayward Son"/"Counting Stars"/"Cups"

Three awesome songs with great memories associated with them. I will never be able to hear "Carry On My Wayward Son" without thinking about "Supernatural" from now on (not that I'm complaining). But I do tear up every time I hear it now. I always have to brace myself for the season finales, because I know I'm going to break down once the intro starts to play.

"Counting Stars" offered lots of inspiration when I was writing Flightless Birds for NaNoWriMo in 2013. I always think about Raven and Flynn when I hear it now. Plus, it's by OneRepublic, whose songs frequently rock.

"Cups" is super catchy and makes me think about summer when I hear it, because I taught myself the cup routine in mid-July, and then I taught my friends. We all sat on the front porch with plastic cups for the longest time. It was so much fun.

Capture the Flag

My friends and I play this at the park every summer when our homeschool group has our Park Days on Fridays. We'll play it for hours on end. Sometimes the games are short, sometimes they last a couple hours. But they're always massive and tons of fun.

Christmas Eve

Since my mom's 100% Portuguese, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. We'll make a nice dinner and then open all of our presents that night. We'll stay up until one or two in the morning opening and playing with them, then sleep in the next day and make a big breakfast. We try not to go anywhere during the week between Christmas and New Year's so we can just relax and hang out at home as a family.

What's on your "C" list?

Encyclopedia of Me - I

"I Don't Eat My Drumsticks":


This is the name of my little brother's blog, and though he doesn't post a lot, I always love reading the ones he writes! He especially loves writing about games, music, and photography.

Imagination/Inspiration

I combined these two because I think they often go together. The inspiration for all of my artistic projects is often imaginative, and therefore tons of fun to create. I use my imagination daily, from the moment I get up and ponder my current novel in the shower to the minutes just before I fall asleep, when I tell myself stories in the hopes that my dreams will finish them for me. You can make any mundane project fun with a little imagination, which helps when I want to pass the time while folding laundry or washing the dishes.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

This book was almost as good as its predecessor, Divergent, which I absolutely loved. A bunch of my friends and I are going to go out to dinner in March and then catch the movie afterwards. The trailers for it are amazing. I can't wait!

It's the End of the World As We Know It by Kate I. Foley

This is the short story I wrote for the Fauxpocalypse anthology. I had so much fun writing it and couldn't get the song out of my head for weeks. Plus, it's the first story I've ever had published!

iPod

I carry my iPod with me everywhere. It's such a handy tool when I'm out and want to look something up or write something down and my computer isn't nearby. It also has all my music on it, which is a necessity when I'm writing. I often use the mail app when I want to catch up on my e-mails whenever I have a few minutes, or check my Twitter and Pinterest accounts. (I also want to give a little shout-out to the song "I Will Wait" by Mumford & Sons, which was a huge inspiration to me while I was writing The Sorceress, and the band Imagine Dragons, which I listen to on a regular basis.)

I.N.C.H.

This is the name of the homeschool group that my mom set up, and I'm so glad she did! Without it, I never would've met my best friend, Kirsten, let alone all of the other amazing friends I have today. Even though a lot of my friends who started out homeschooling have gone to public school, they often come to the park with us during the summer and make sure to keep in touch via text or e-mail.

Isabel

Isabel is my (sort of) middle name, and I absolutely love it! There's actually a funny story as to why I have it. When I was little (maybe four or five), I was under the impression that since Max's middle name is Perry, mine was Perry, too. When my dad broke the news to me that I didn't have a middle name, and that Perry was only Max's, I started crying. A little bit later, my mom and dad told me that they had thought about giving me the middle name Isabel, and asked if I would like that. Of course I loved the idea, and the name, and have used it ever since, even though it's legally not my middle name (yet).

Isabel is also the name of the main character in my newest WIP, Sing a Song of Raindrops, which is a YA fantasy novel. She usually goes by the nickname Izzy, though. (Click HERE to see my Pinterest board for it, if you're interested. Lots of cool pictures there.)

Internet

(I totally stole this one from from Max. He couldn't believe I didn't think of it myself, but I couldn't resist using it once he'd mentioned it.)

The internet is pretty freaking amazing. We have instant access to all the knowledge in the world, and then some. We can communicate with anyone, anywhere, anytime through a thousand different websites. We can create videos that go viral. We can download music with the click of a button. We can share ideas and inspire people to create their own, all with a few taps of the keyboard. I can't imagine a world without it.

Encyclopedia of Me - N

nevillegirl:

Nevillegirl is one of the first bloggers I ever met and talked to regularly. We met a couple years ago on the "Young Writers Program" (NaNoWriMo for kids under eighteen) and bonded over our love for Harry Potter. I commented on nearly every single one of her posts and try my best to keep up today. It's been awesome to connect and introduce our favorite fandoms to each other. If it weren't for her, I might never have watched "Doctor Who!" You can check out her blog at "Musings From Neville's Navel."

New York City:

Even though I wouldn't want to live there, New York City is such a fun place to visit. Our family even went to the top of the Empire State Building! My brother and I even made up a song about New York when we were little. Several of my books take place in New York, as well, including Cosmo.

NaNoWriMo:

It had to be in here somewhere. ;) NaNoWriMo is on par with Christmas for me. I love it. This will be my sixth year participating, and it definitely won't be my last! I've spent months planning my book for this year (a middle-grade fantasy novel featuring a legendary golden sword, a dragon named Button, a narcoleptic wizard, and an eighty-year-old cat lady/retired assassin) and am very excited about it.

Neville Longbottom:

Ah, Neville. A klutz and a proud member of Dumbledore's Army, you can't help but love him. I definitely wasn't the only one who cheered in the movie theater a couple years ago when he sliced Nagini's head off. I love seeing his character develop as I reread the series.

Encyclopedia of Me - E

Eleanor & Park: After Harry Potter, this is my favorite book. It's so simple, but beautiful and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. As Eleanor once said, "I just want to break that song into pieces and love them all to death." That's how I feel about this book!

The Ellie Sweet series: Every teenage writer trying to get published should read this series. It deals with things we all go through--querying agents, critique partners, editing, balancing writing along with your other priorities, etc. It's very addictive, too! I read both books in three days each.

Ed Sheeran: Not only is he an amazing lyricist, but he also raps, plays guitar, and did a duet with Taylor Swift. And he's only 23! Some of my favorite songs by him are, "Give Me Love," "I See Fire," and "Kiss Me."

Eggs: You can boil them, scramble them, fry them, put them in a sandwich, put them in a salad, make omelets with them, use them to bake cookies, and so, so much more. What's not to love?

"Enchanted," "Everything Has Changed," and "Eyes Open": Three of my favorite Taylor Swift songs. Handy that they all started with 'e.' ;) Also, the "Everything Has Changed" music video is one of my favorite music videos.

Europe: I definitely want to visit Europe someday. Places to visit include England, Portugal, France, Italy, and Greece.

Eccleston, Christopher: The first Doctor from "Doctor Who" I was introduced to. :) I was convinced that he was going to be my favorite--because how in the world could I like any Doctor more?--but then David Tennant came along and changed my mind pretty quickly. But "The Parting of the Ways" and "Father's Day" are still some of my favorite episodes.