I'VE NEVER BEEN ONE TO BRAG, BUT ...

When we're growing up, our parents tell us not to brag too much about our achievements. So when Twitter friend and follower, Portia Sisco awarded me The Silver Lining and Honest Scrap Awards, I felt a little guilty that I couldn't wait to show off my shiny new badges. Thanks for the double-whammy, girl! All kidding aside, I am grateful that she's found a kernel of inspiration in my fledgling blog. 

Before I get to my responses, I'd like to recommend two entries Portia recently posted on her blog. In case you haven't met her, she blogs about "the paranormal and anything else that goes bump in the night." But When Will You Send It? and Make Them Hurt touch on two aspects of writing that we can all relate to, the external pressure to submit a manuscript before the writer "knows" it's ready, and having the fortitude to inflict some "pain" on our characters. By pain, she doesn't mean torture, but believable pain in the form of obstacles and challenges that fit the plot. Check them out.

THE SILVER LINING -- Gratitude

Thank you, Portia, for considering me a part of the silver lining in this journey. You, and several of the supportive friends I've met on Twitter, have inspired me at moments when self-doubt has temporarily paralyzed my finger tips. Finding you, the wonderful people at Writer's Digest, and my writing teacher has truly been a blessing, in what most times seems a solitary endeavor.

HONEST SCRAP -- Say it isn't so.

With the Honest Scrap, I'm supposed to share ten things about me that you might not know. So, here goes:

1. English is my second language. I started kindergarten not understanding one word the teacher spoke. Seared into my memory is the first time I had to "ask" to use the bathroom, which I liken to an episode of Charlie Brown. "Mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa-mwa." Yup. That pretty much sums up my first couple of years of school.
2. After my son's birth, I worked in the beauty industry between corporate gigs -- I'm licensed to cut, color, re-texturize (a fancy word for perming and straightening, same chemical, different process), manicure, do nail enhancements, apply lash extensions, remove hair, perform facials, and my favorite to this day -- do make-up. Although it's very hard work, I enjoyed all of it, except for the cutting part.
3. Ezzy is a nickname I picked-up while on the playground in the fourth grade. I was born "Esmeralda." Honestly, I would've been happier with either Monica or Natalie. Esmeralda? That's the name of a witch or gypsy.
4. I grew up in Southern California and moved to Boston twelve years ago to attend law school.
5. My favorite shows growing up were Night Gallery, Creature Feature, The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, and Star Trek. I love suspense, not gore.
6. I'm scared to death of spiders. I'm not kidding, either. Petrified.
7. I've never cared for Barbie. Cared even less for The Bratz Dolls. Ack.
8. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was the first "older" novel I read as a little girl (maybe nine or ten). I developed a crush on Mr. Darcy and a taste for an intelligent story with romance intertwined, at a very young age.
9. I'm shy under most circumstances (ISTJ).
10. My fingers shook the first time I submitted a writing assignment for critique. I've come a long way in two years.  

The Awards go to ...

Instructions on The Silver Lining are to award it to bloggers who inspire you in some way. The Honest Scrap Award is pretty simple. List ten things about yourself that some of your blogger friends might not already know about you. I've chosen six people whose tweets I look forward to every week, as their energy is infectious. Have fun!

Alex Carrick

Donna Carick

Katie Kuhl

Chris Ledbetter

Tony Noland

Layna Pimentel