About the Author
Posts that provide more information about me, from interviews to Q&As.
- About the Author, Blog, Love Letters, My Creations, Reflections, Slice of Life, Traditional Art, Writing Progress
September/October 2019 Fly-By Status Report – My First Tattoo Experience! (I’m a Grown-Up Hobbit, Part 2)
Posting a month late, twice in one year? Hey, come on, I always have a good reason! This time, I was waiting til a very specific wound healed so I could get a good photo. That is, I took my temporary tattoo idea I mentioned in my January Fly-By Status Report, and made it permanent! I couldn’t shake my desire for one, even though I had some reservations, but finally decided I should just go for it! So I got my first real tattoo the year of my 33rd birthday after all! (If you’re confused or feel like you’re missing context, read the post here.) So what does the tattoo…
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Fighting Anxiety & Procrastination by Giving Myself Accountability (hopefully, this one will stick)
Once again, I have found myself in need of some accountability to keep up with the things in my life that are hard, like exercising, tidying, and writing *facepalm* I’ve tried giving myself monetary rewards (too expensive), food rewards/coping mechanism (oops, gained 10 lbs), and various schedules that I stick to for a week and then inevitably drop. After a long stretch of feeling like a failure–yet again–discouraged, I talked to my counselor about it, and she encouraged me to keep hunting for accountability, and after a few good suggestions, I was motivated and ready to climb back on the wagon! But how to motivate myself in a new way?…
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Project S.T.I.R.: Authentic Armenian Fassoulia (Tomato String Beans)
On this warm, Georgian Thanksgiving morning (the state, not the country ^_^), I begin my yearly personal tradition. I leave my dozing husband to stretch out in bed, while I take care of the cats and turn on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I’ll leave it on in the background (and cry at the sweet/sappy holiday commercials) while I cook two things to bring to our Georgia family Thanksgiving meal. The first is cornbread, with the recipe off the back of the White Lily cornmeal mix bag, and Armenian fassoulia, or as my family has always called it, tomato string beans. As I’ve mentioned in my previous Project S.T.I.R. blog…
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Project S.T.I.R.: Mediterranean {Armenian} Egg Fight/Game of Eggs
In which I goofily teach an Easter game that my family has played since I can remember. It’s called an egg fight (or an egg war), and no, you don’t throw eggs at people. To avoid confusion, I’ve renamed it “The Game of Eggs,” where you either win, or you crack. Wervyn helps me demonstrate! Want More Armenian Food Traditions? Check out my family recipes for Rice Pilaf and Fassoulia (Tomato String Beans)!
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I’m an Official Project S.T.I.R. Ambassador!
I’m excited to say that I’ve been interviewed and featured on Sarah Shott’s blog, introducing me as a Project S.T.I.R. ambassador! This is such a great project, it’s my pleasure to support her! What is your favorite kitchen memory? My Armenian grandma teaching me how to make rice pilaf on Thanksgiving. That, or dad making pancakes on the weekends, and us all singing and laughing together. Continue reading the interview on her site >>
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On Being Armenian, Project S.T.I.R., and how to make Authentic Armenian Rice Pilaf
↓ CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE RECIPE ↓ So, in case you guys didn’t know, I’m half Armenian. You might not know what that is, but here’s where we come from: And hailing from a small, lesser-known country, we cheer super loud for our tiny Olympic team during the Parade of Champions and freak out over the slightest offhand mention of Armenia in any sort of media. Like Conan O’Brien going to Armenia with his Armenian assistant! Better believe I’ll be watching that! People might not realize it, but Armenians are all over the place in pop culture, like Dave Seville (a.k.a. Ross Bagdasarian), creator of The Chipmunks, and…
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My YouTube Channel’s Intro Video!
Hey guys! I’ve been meaning to make an intro video for my Youtube channel for a long time, and here it is! It makes me happy <3 One day I will get a better mic…
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13 Books that have Stayed With Me
It began with a Facebook survey that my mother-in-law tagged me in: In your status, list 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take more than a few minutes and do not think too hard. They do not have to be the “right” books or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way. And then the clever Sarah Shotts said she wanted to re-post her own answers on her blog, and I knew I had to do the same! Favorite books are such a special part of any writer’s life (everyone’s life!), I just wanted to share my list of enduring, memorable picks…
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20 Things You Might Not Know About Me | Blacksburg Belle Blog Tag
This blog post is a part of the “20 Things You Might Not Know About Me” Blog Tag started by April from Blacksburg Belle. She began this blog tag experiment to build community among creatives, help us bloggers to connect more and get to know each other better. This month’s topic is all about sharing just a little too much information about yourself. If you’d like to participate or want more info, check out the beginning post right here. Figured I’d post this to kick off the first week of NaNoWriMo 2014! Thanks for the tag, Sarah Shotts! Let’s a-go! Question 1: How tall are you? 5’2″. I’m fun-sized! Question 2: Do you have a hidden…
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Interview by M.G. Boal
I’m so honored that my favorite author cousin M.G. Boal interviewed me on his blog! He asks me about my plans for this year’s NaNoWriMo, as well as my success tactics for new NaNo-ers. Here’s an excerpt: M: Welcome! As you and I know, National Novel Writing Month is coming up in 3 days. So in honor of that, I thought I’d ask if there’s anything you can tell me about your planned novel. C: Uh, well, it’s sort of a magical, steampunky story, set in Victorian London. An orphan girl named Mindie wants to work with flowers more than anything else in the world, because her family did before…
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My Writing Process (Blog Tour)
Thanks to the adorable and very talented Sarah Shotts, I’ve been tagged to participate in The Great Blog Tour, aiming to make a web of authors that stretches as wide as the internet is long! I’m so honored to be included, and I’m excited to talk about my writing process (and to show off some cool pictures I took for the question headers)! So, shall we begin? •~~~•~~~•~~~•~~~• Since late middle school/early high school, I’ve been building my own fantasy world filled with characters, which has grown and changed throughout the years, as I have. I worked on it tirelessly, until college, only pausing to focus on my studies, with just…
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Youtube Survey 2012
Answering the 2012 Youtube Survey! Why are you called that? Tell us about your favourite school teacher? What’s the strangest food you’ve ever eaten? Tell us about your first gig? What is your favourite place in the world? Who do you want to answer the survey next? Swot Sisters: www.youtube.com Official Wench: www.youtube.com The Mean Kitty: www.youtube.com
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Writing Throwbacks | “Just Dracula and Me”
Cleaning through the old family books and files at my parent’s house a few years ago, my mom came across a bunch of my old stories I wrote in the early to mid 90s. I plan to present these stories in their original glory, with no added punctuation or corrected spelling or grammar. This is the first in what I hope to be a fun tradition, and serve to remind that all authors have to start somewhere 🙂 I figured this one would be perfect for Halloween! This is supposed to be a conversation between me and Dracula, and I definitely had the writing bug, but I hadn’t mastered the…
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The House That Built Me
While with my parents over Christmas, I find remnants of a younger me with writerly aspirations. Also, made this entirely on my new Gen. 4 iPod Touch with the iMovie app, which is simplified but quite nice once I learned how to use it! Wherein I play around with my new iPod touch and shoot a vlog about a younger me, and the pieces of her I found at my parent’s house. The centered video with black sidebars reminds me of a certain Imogen Heap video, just with significantly lesser production values ^_~
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My First Vlog
I’m very excited to post my first vlog ever! Hope you guys like! Thanks for watching! Well, it’s a start anyway! I’ll really do better with the lighting next time! Music from incompetech.com
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My First Interview
INTERVIEW with writer Christina Nelson, author of The Sign of the Sparrow, first in a medieval-esque fantasy fiction book series focusing upon young teen Charlotte Imadara, who comes of age in a mysterious world filled with complex surprises. Radiating an abundance of positive energy as she approaches the table, writer Christina Nelson sits down for the interview at a popular luncheon spot. Her engaging smile highlights an attractive face, bright hazel eyes and past-the-shoulder dark hair. Raised outside of Richmond, Virginia and a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, Nelson is mid-twenty-something. For the interview, she is comfortably dressed in a simple, beige-and-brown print sundress. Silver hoops at…
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The Origin of "Puella Docta"
Happy February, everyone! (A bit belated, but still!) Thought I’d start the month off with an informative entry! So, I’ve used the handle “puelladocta” on a lot of sites over the years, including my twitter. When this journal was on Blogger its url was “puelladocta.blogspot,” and after a stint as canelsonauthor.com, it went back to puelladocta.com again! I’m sure a few of you out there are wondering. “Why, Christina?” you may ask. “Why, oh, why, oh, why ‘puelladocta’ of all things? Your name isn’t even close to Puella Docta, nor are you a docta (read “doctor”), and what the heck is a ‘puella?’ Do you watch Madoka?” Well, I’ll tell you, Little…