Siblings…I have three of them and love them all dearly. They inspire me, motivate me and support me. In fact, when I have good news, they are the first people I call. I’ve been known to write with them, for them and about them.
Today will be one of those days.
Over the past week, I was graced with a beautiful award by the lovely Lisa Gibson and TK Richardson. I love it because it’s green.
Green is one of my favorite colors this time of year, as it symbolizes growth. Fresh ideas, new sprouts, a lush back drop for any moment in time.
Green also promotes reading and learning. For some reason, this soothing color kick starts the brain. It must be why I love reading and writing in my garden and why the woods are such an inspiring place for writers to hang out.
Anyway, I digress. Please stop by and visit Lisa and TK if you haven’t done so before. Both are great friends–inspiring, motivating and supportive–just like my siblings. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for thinking of me and will try to do justice to this award by following all the rules–paraphrased by me of course.
- Thank those who loved me enough to bestow this gift.
- Share seven things about myself. This is where my siblings come in.
- Bestow this honor onto 15 newly discovered or followed bloggers–in no particular order–who are fantastic in some way.
- Drop by and let my fifteen new friends know I love them.
Seven Things About Me–and My Sibs
- My big sister used to be afraid of the basement, so I hid under the steps. When she went down into the dingey, dark, creepy, smelly dungeon, I grabbed her leg. I’d take it back now…and not just because I had to do all the basement runs from that day forward.
- Once, when my baby brother was crying in the car after a shopping spree, my sister and I let him suck on a bottle of Plotchman’s mustard. He didn’t complain. Of course, he couldn’t talk yet either!
- We had a lemon tree in our backyard when I was little. My big sis and I would dig up fresh carrots, poke a hole in a lemon with a stick, dip our carrots into the tangy insides and munch. I still love lemons.
- My little sister used to call our mom “Poppy” and the vacuum cleaner, “Momma.” Thankfully she’s a little more articulate these days. She’s the one I’m writing the ABC story with and have cheered on during NaNo. I can’t wait til she finishes her gummy bear noir.
- When my little brother was 1, he snuck into my room and broke my entire kitty candle collection. I wanted to strangle him, but was told I was the “adult” in the situation. I was 14. At 38, I’m glad I didn’t bump him off–who else would I play Cool Words Scrabble with?
- By definition, big sisters should be bigger. However, the moment I outgrew my mine, I held her down and spit in her face. You know the kind where you let the string hang indefinitely before clamping down with your lips? While it sounds mean, I was just getting back at her for telling me that if I stepped on a railroad track after a train went by I would burn up. To this day, I still hop over tracks.
- My DH’s been around since before my little sister was conceived. She used to look just like me, and when we would take her out in public, people would tsk and shoot us dirty looks for being teen parents. I didn’t mind at all. Taking care of her and my brother was part of the reason I wanted to be a mommy in the first place.
Siblings are great for a lot of reasons–novel fodder is only one of them!
Now for my list of new blogging buddies.
- Mia at Aspirations
- Lua at Bowl of Oranges
- Chris at Perkisize Minds
- Eric at Digging with the Worms
- Donna at Donna’s Blog
- Kate at Kate’s Book Blog
- Laura at Wavy Lines
- Lori at Habitual Rhymer
- Patricia at Patricia Stoltey
- Scribble Chicks
- Indigo at Shattered Prose
Obviously I was too busy spitting on my sister didn’t learn anything about integrity or playing fair as a kid, since I only have eleven new bloggers I’d like to share with you. Maybe it’s time to go back to my childhood and learn some manners from my wonderful sibs!
Have you used any childhood snippets in your writing? If so, how? Feel free to share a sibling anecdote here. Your secrets are safe with us…
Words from the Woods 
I’ve only just started being able to eat mustard on anything, 25 years on from that. I still can’t do regular yellow mustard though.
It was her fault. I just followed my big sis on that one!
Hi Cat,
Just dropped by to read about your siblings (since I get the e-mail feed to your blog) and saw my name on your list for The Versatile Blogger Award. Thanks bunches. It’s a cool-looking award, and I’m excited to see some new (to me) bloggers on your list that I can check out.
When I did the first draft of The Prairie Grass Murders, I had several snippets from my childhood in the first draft…too many. Had to use the red pencil. And since I only have a younger brother, and my main character’s brother is older, the stories I could tell on my own bro don’t really work for Sylvia and Willie. There are stories I’d love to tell though…maybe someday.
Patricia,
You’re welcome for the award and mention. I do enjoy finding other bloggers from visiting blog sites. I hope you enjoy some of my new picks as well.
As to the sibling stories, I’ve only ever had one of my MC’s follow in my footsteps. He spit on the bully in a very amusing scene. Both he and bully ended up with poison ivy. I’m sure I just got a black eye out of the deal!
Your story about grabbing your sister’s leg in the basement made me laugh.
I haven’t used any sibling stories in my fiction writing, but this reminded me of when my slightly younger sister and I rigged a cup of water on top of our littlest sister’s bedroom door. We shouted for her to come upstairs and waited gleefully in the next room for her to get drenched, but the cat unexpectedly set it off and tore past her on the stairs, soaking wet. Ah, the good old days. 🙂
Life with siblings was the bomb! I bet your little sis was never so happy to see the cat beat her to a room!