Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

We haven't followed a meme for months and months. Today I got tagged by Ed Champion, and I feel like playing along--a good meme helps you stretch your writing legs, meet new people and read new blogs.

Here are the rules to this complicated meme that explores your personal backstory:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1- I played flute from grade school until I graduated from high school. In my small town, boys did not play flute. I earned a lifetime's worth of anxiety and perseverance by breaking that simple gender assignment.

2- I've had a life-long fascination with private detective novels. I still carry the private detective badge I made in grade school with crayons. My favorite private detective novel is The Long Goodbye, I read it once a year. Continue reading...

3- I quit smoking two years ago using free nicotine patches from the New York City Department of Health. Back then I wondered if I would still be able to write without a cigarette burning. Now that kind of smoky thinking seems silly.

4- When I first quit smoking, I nearly clawed my eyes out with excess energy.  I followed Jeff VanderMeer's advice, and signed up for the gym a year and a half ago. I am now a dedicated gym lover, something I never, ever, in a million years expected. 

5- I spent two years in Peace Corps Guatemala. 

6- My whole life turned around in Russia during a 2004 reporting trip. At the time I was broke, confused, and way too skinny, but I spent all my nights discussing books and drinking wine. Russia is heaven for skinny boys with glasses who like to write.

7- I have loved Neil Diamond music for years, he was the first rock music I ever listened to--skewing my musical sensibilities for the rest of my life.

8- I love concept albums. From Jethro Tull to Radiohead, my favorite songs have melodramatic vocals, over-the-top instrumentation, narrative lyrics, and a story arc. See number 8 for explanation of these strange tastes. 

I tag: Nichelle and Easton and Liz and Gordon and Jeff (happy birthday!) and John Coyne and Chris Hampton and Kimberlee