Thirty Questions – A Challenge to the #Darker Authors

I have decided that I need to get back to my schedule, Tuesdays are about live events, #Darker, and Leeds first, then, #HOSSE and others to follow.

I saw this over on Martha Reynolds page and decided what better way to get to know myself and hopefully some of the other Darker authors, so you can read Martha’s answers here, and if any of the other authors rise to the challenge I shall reblog them here.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?  Well of course the first thing I wanted to be was the Doctor’s companion, then an athlete until I realised that I was never going to be as good as I wanted to be. I always knew I would write a book, and considered being an English teacher, but honestly I think it is tough expecting you to work out what you want to be when you are a kid.

Which Friends character do you relate to most? Why? I would be the genetic lovechild of Monic and Pheobe, I am a bit of a hippy and free spirit like Pheobe in many ways but there is an innner Monica that is a bit of a control freak, likes lists and plans.

Do you like your name? Why? No! I ended up with the name Paula by default, I was supposed to be a boy, my parents were so convinced that I was they only picked the boys name it was the midwife who suggested adding an extra ‘a’ when they couldn’t think of anything else on the spot.

Are you messy or neat? I would love to say neat but with kids and pets I fight a losing battle, however my desk is organised chaos whic maybe is a truer reflection of how I operate lol.

How tall are you? I’ve always said 5ft 5 but recently I got measured during a medical appointment and they said 5ft 6, I did wonder if it was due to the spinal surgeries, maybe they made  stand up straighter?

How tall were you when you were ten? I would take a guess at about 5ft 2, I grew in height really quickly for a while and until I was about 14 was taller than most of my friends and classmates, then I seemed to stop growing and they all went past me.

What is your guilty pleasure? I am not sure I I have one, don’t get me wrong, plenty of pleasures but none I feel guilty about unless maybe it is buying more books when I still have loads waiting to be read.

What are you saving money for now? Darker of course, I know there are a few books I want and I need to spend an afternoon with the pre-order list choosing which books I want.

How many Pringles can you eat at once? What flavour lol but seriously if you are asking in one sitting about half a tube if I do not restrain myself, I only put one in my mouth at a time though but you know how it goes, you are watching a good film not paying attention to the tube and before you know it half are gone.

Tea or coffee? Coffee in the morning, then pop or water for most of the day unless I am editing in which case more coffee is required.

Are you an introvert or extrovert? By nature probably an extrovert, I have always been fairly confident loved dancing, can chat to anyone, however there are times when because I have gained a lot of weight I can be quite self concious and introverted.

What will be your Hallowe’en costume this year? I have brought a dress for Darker which will double as am amazing vampire or witch outfit, I love dressing up and am lucky enough to have a day job that lets me occasionally.

Sweet or salty? A bit of both, preferably in the form of salted caramel!

Favourite social media? Facebook for keeping in touch with people, though I have to say I love Instagram for all the pretty pictures without the other political stuff you have on FB.

Who is the last person you kissed? My son, that counts surely? Romantically? Last summer I kissed a guy I went on a couple of dates with, it didn’t work out but damn those kisses were good.

What is your favourite breakfast? It depends, I am not a big eater first thing on a morning so normally it is breakfast biscuits dunked in coffee, but if I can take my time or if I am at a hotel then I do like a full english, the only time I make it at home is Christmas day, I do bacon butties sometimes on a Sunday morning.

When is your birthday? September, I am a Libra and yes I do have the traits.

When did you start your blog? I first started a blog on my birthday 2011 over on eblogger but it was a few months after that I moved here to WP and have never looked back.

What is your opinion on the Kardashians? Not really spent a lot of time thinking about them, I guess savvy business women with lousy taste in men, attention seeking but I do like the fact that Kim does not fit the stereotype size zero.

How would you describe your style? Casual, don’t get me wrong I love to get dressed up and I love a lot of the steampunk clothes but at the size I am now I am very self concious about what looks okay, plus with my spinal issues comfort is also something I consider for everyday dressing, plus I have to wear a uniform at work so I love lounging in yoga pants and baggy t-shirts at  home.

What colour is your hair? Purple!

What colour socks are you wearing? No socks at the minute, the ones I had on this morning got soaked on the school run so I took them off, will put on more later.

What is your dream job? I want to be able to quit the day job and make my living from writing, I see author friends travelling the country doing signings and while I might never be an international best seller (though of course I live in hope) I want to be able to make writing my career.

Dogs or cats? We have both, two cats one dog, technically I am a dog person but I am also a sucker for sob stories which is what both my cats are, one Molly mog is a stray that came to live with us and we have no idea how old she is but we know she is not young, the other two pets I expect to have for at least another ten years.

What makes you weird? Me weird? Probably, what makes me weird, I am a geek, I watch very little TV and spend half my life with characters inside my head, occasionally my thoughts can only be described as sick and twisted.

Celebrity crush? Jason Mamoa is the current crush, there have been a couple of WWE wrestlers at different times and John Taylor is my life long crush from being a teenager.

Opinion on cigarettes? Oh dear, Hands up I am an ex-smoker, I will have been smoke free 5 years on Halloween, the last cigarette I smoked was the morning of my last spinal surgery, I have come close to breaking twice, once when my gran died and the second last week when I was under stress due to my son’s issues.

Do you want/have any children? Was never really fussed either way about kids, then I got pregnant and had my daughter, she was enough, then years later her brother came along and I started over again.

Three favourite boy’s names. Jack (my son), Michael, struggling to come up with a third, guess it is something I never really considered, maybe Baldrick, of course I would never call a child that but would love a horse called Baldrick.

Three favourite girl’s names. Samantha (my daughters name), Isabella, Ecaterina (After Ecaterina Szabo the gynmast)