YA Author Anna Silver is taking over the blog today and discussing some things about her most of us don't know. Sit back and enjoy because some of these are hilarious!
One of my favorite
things about being an author is that all your eccentricities, of which I have
plenty, are considered an acceptable side effect of the job. Writing in the
Young Adult Science Fiction and fantasy subgenres means I have a wild
imagination. Here are ten things you probably don’t know—never even
dreamed—about me.
1. Christmas Elf
I’ve had a lot of odd jobs.
Primarily because I bore easily and I have always been intrigued by the atypical
so I don’t often look for employment in the usual places. But maybe one of my
more impressively strange positions has been as a holiday designer. In other
words, I decorated Christmas trees for a living…for four years. It was actually
really fun work with some of the coolest people I’ve met to date. But it tears
up your hands and is truly more grueling and exhausting than you can imagine. There
is no way tiny elves could do that work. Sorry, Santa.
2. Brewmaster
Okay, I’m hardly a brewmaster. More like a brewminion. But I have brewed my fair share
of beer, and I’ve brewed a few batches of mead as well (a.k.a. wine made from
honey). I love doing it because it makes me feel connected to something ancient
and magical. I mean, as magical as yeast can be.
3. The Number 8
I’m one of those weird people who
have a favorite number and not just a favorite color. I have no idea why, but I
have loved the number 8 and considered it my lucky number since I was just a
girl. Very odd, I know. I even used to repeat things I said in my head 8 more
times. Did I mention I was an unusual child?
4. Surgery Seconds, Please!
This is kind of a sucky one. I got
appendicitis when I was six and for some ungodly reason, no one knew I had it.
They knew I was sick. I’d been to the doctor more than once. But somehow it went
undetected until my appendix ruptured. Enter violent, life-threatening illness
and emergency surgery. I spent maybe a week or two in the hospital recovering
and was sent home just in time for the holidays only to get deathly ill again
with an infection. Enter surgery number two and a hospital Christmas. I have
these oddly vivid memories from that time. I can still taste the broth they
made me eat for days. And I remember this pillow all the nurses pitched in and
bought for me to squeeze as I walked my rounds (because it huuuuurt to get up
and move). And I remember having my blood drawn so much it’s a wonder I have
any left. But the upside is, I have no fear whatsoever of needles or hospitals,
which is more than I can say for my husband.
5. Fairy Architect
I love art of any kind. I paint
(oils) and have even had some of my work in a gallery here in Houston. But probably everyone’s favorite art
of mine is my fairy houses. I design, construct, and sell miniscule abodes for
homeless fairies. Which equates to just about the coolest nightlight you’ve
ever seen. I haven’t done any in a while, but here’s a picture so you get the
idea.
6. Tarot
I LOVE tarot. I love the decks of
cards. I love reading them and collecting them. I have kind of a
gypsy-fortune-teller-archetype complex. Throw down some tarot cards and
crystals and I’m right at home. It’s this very bohemian vibe my mother did her
damnedest to train out of me, but no such luck. Now all I need is a vardo.
7. Escalaphobia
Don’t laugh, it’s totally real. I
have a ridiculous fear of escalators. I can usually go up with only mild
anxiety. But I can only come down about half the escalators I come across, and
that’s with me white-knuckling that rubbery handrail all the way. The other
half, for whatever reason, I deem too hazardous to even try. Go figure.
8. My Psychic Life
I’m a bit psychic. I’m not gonna
say I can tell you when the next earthquake or stock market crash is going to
hit, but I will say that I’ve had one too many precognitive incidents to rule
out my very strong intuition. Although some of the things I dream or sense
before they occur are really random and useless. So I’m like the world’s most unnecessary
psychic. The good thing about it is that my family is all a bit spooked by it
now. They don’t try to pull anything past me, and they listen when I tell them
something. Very handy stuff with teenagers in the house
9. Tattoo-plasty
Remember the surgeries I talked
about in number four? Well, they left a nasty little scar that I hated my whole
life. Then one day I watched this special on how tattoos can cover scars and I
thought, “Bingo!” Give or take a few years and here I am, down one scar, up one
brilliant tattoo. Granted, it’s a little bit bigger than it had to be. The scar
is the size of a large paperclip, but the tattoo is more the size of…a man’s fist.
You know, go big or go home.
10. Pineywoods
Everyone who knows me knows I have
a pine tree obsession. It’s really weird. I spent my weekends as a kid
exploring the East Texas Pineywoods with my dad. I now use pine oil in my body
spray, light pine-scented incense, and mop my floors just so I can smell the
Pine Sol. I seem to have developed this positive neuro-association that there
is just no use fighting. Finally, my hubbie gave up last year and let me move
us all north of the city into the pine trees. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!
Author Bio:
Anna Silver is an author and artist living in the
greater Houston
area with her family, pets, and overactive imagination. Her art has been
featured in the Houston
gallery Las Manos Magicas. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s
University. She's freelanced for private clients and small publications like
the Hill Country Current. OTHERBORN, her first published novel, has been
featured on 2 of Amazon's "Bestsellers" lists. She is represented by
Rebecca Podos and Nicole LaBombard of Rees Literary Agency.
