Our next Glass House author, however, admitted that summer IS NOT her favorite season (gasp!) because she doesn’t like to be overheated. Though she says she’s still looking forward to the warm up of spring! For R.K. Brainerd, Memorial Day is waaaayyy more exciting than the 4th of July … due to the meaning behind it.
She also thinks baby goats in the spring are the cutest, and is excited about using her goats to build a business this summer (anyone in the Portland area need some brush cleared in a sustainable, eco-friendly way?)! Lazing around, writing, and watching her goats munch is her ideal summer day!
What is the THE event that you’re most looking forward to this summer?
Ah, jeez. To be honest, I'm a big ol' introvert, so going and ... interacting with people ... takes a bit of effort. How do you look forward to that? (Ha) But no seriously, I really enjoy the Willamette Writer's Conference -- and I love County and State fair (I used to show my goats there all the time!). I'm also hoping to launch a part-time business this summer, does that count as an event?
FOLLOW UP Q: OOH… What kind of business?
So I really want to start an eco-friendly brush-clearing business -- with goats. I think it would be kind of perfect: I'd load up all the goats, take them around to eat brush, get paid to feed them this yummy brush, and have some time to write while I'm watching them. The only problem is ... I don't think I have enough goats. I probably need at least fifteen to make it worthwhile for me (and clients!), so I'm either going to have to adopt a bunch more goats, or figure something else out.
Where do you live? Describe this winter in three words.
I live outside of Portland, Oregon. To sum up the winter: Too much snow (I love snow, but enough is enough with us unprepared we-never-get-snow people)! ‘Unprepared WestCoast people’ also works.
What do you hope to accomplish in your writing over the long summer days?
Editing! I want to get the first INITIUM book at least through developmental edits (my editor might be laughing at me now). And I want to get a first draft of the prequel that I am now writing done. Oh, and I want to finish writing the first book in another one of my series... it only has a few scenes left and I think I can finish it.
What trend or catch-phrase are you going to start this summer?
Oh, trends, YUCK. No I'm kidding. Um, how about anything having to do with being environmentally sustainable?
What is the BEST summer story from when you were a kid?
Going to Hawaii with my grandmother and whole extended family. We hiked, hung out on the beach, stood in thunderstorms, and generally ate enough mangos to have hives.
What is the WORST summer story from when you were a kid?
Well, when we went to California once I got so sunburned I killed the nerves in my back. I had to hang out in the pool most of the night just to keep my skin cool, and when my nerves came back online about a week later, it felt like someone was slicing up my back with a knife.
Summer blockbuster you are most looking forward to watching and why:
Ooo. Okay. I really enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy as it didn't take itself seriously and played off a lot of cliches, so I'm looking forward to the sequel. I am REALLY looking forward to Wonder Woman... but I can't get my hopes up too high because DC has been missing the mark on a lot of these. I also heavily enjoyed the first Kingsman, and I'm really hoping the second one won't disappoint.
Rapid Fire Questions:
The All-Time Best Song of Summer is: There's no way I can choose!
Your Summer Guilty Pleasure: Napping in the sun with my goats!
Daylight Savings Time for Summer: yes or no? END ALL DAYLIGHT SAVINGS. THE EXTRA HOUR IS NOT WORTH THE LOSS OF THE HOUR EARLIER. Ha!
Beach or Mountains? Beach. But only because I have so many good memories with family there...
Swimsuits: yes or no? Sure why not?
Sandals or Bare Feet? Bare feet. ALWAYS.
Ice Cream or Popsicles? Popsicles!
Memorial Day or Independence Day? Memorial!
Mostly because of the concept behind them (uh oh, going to get political). While the 4th of July makes sense at face value, yay freedom and separation from Britain (and I'm not downplaying how revolutionary or amazing that all was), I feel it's blatantly ignoring the fact that there were, I don't know, other people already living here. Colonials took the US from Native Americans, and while the 4th could be fudged to say the Natives were also being freed from British rule... I don't know, I don't think people think about that. What came after was pretty sickening when you look at it from the Natives’ perspective, so it really taints the whole holiday in my view.
This is opposed to Memorial Day, which is honoring those who've died in military service for the US. It's easier for me to feel like celebrating it, because whether or not the wars that these people fought were justified or right isn't so much the point -- they still sacrificed their lives. (Sidebar, going along with the Native American theme, did you know that Natives serve in the US armed forces in greater numbers per capita than any other ethnic group, and they have served with distinction in every major conflict for over two hundred years?)
Put these words in order: Swimming, Baseball, Hot Dogs, Ice Cream, Air Conditioning, Vacation
Vacation, swimming, air conditioning, ice cream, hot dogs, baseball
Sum up Summer 2017 in five words:
Hoping to create new life.
Follow R.K. Brainerd on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to visit her blog for more information about his upcoming books:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rkbrainerd/
Twitter: @awakedragon (R. K. Brainerd)
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