Hello, everyone! I’m very excited ’cause this is my first blog hop ever. It’s all thanks to Less Than Three Press celebrating their fourth anniversary. Less Than Three will be publishing my first novella this summer – another first for me – and I’m already enjoying working with them very much. It’s a warm, welcoming family, with very professional people dedicated to help writers out. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to work with them. I hope not to disappoint (crossing fingers) XD. Happy Birthday, LT3!
The theme of this hop is “way to your heart”. That means I’m supposed to talk about something I love very, very much, aside from writing.
I pondered a lot over what to write about, since I have a lot of things I love.
Coffee would have to be on the top of my list. I’m absolutely addicted to it.
I also love police shows and j-doramas, j-rock and k-pop, fashion (Andrej Pejic’s and G-Dragon’s styles in particular), crochet and crafts in general, Dr. Who, Castle. Anime. Manga (shoujo, shounen-ai and yaoi, but sometimes shounen too), my favorite one being Skip Beat.
I love baking and I’m a huge fan of the whole Bio trend. So much so that I make my own face creams, hand creams, bread, you name it. Usually, I like to challenge myself.
And manicure. In fact, I did my nails especially for this post. I don’t know if you can see, that’s a heart in a heart – it’s a purplish pink like the orchid, but the lighting was bad 😛
But there’s something else I like more than all of the above, sometimes even more than writing (*gasp* pretend you never read that). And that is art. The thing that eats up most of my time when I’m supposed to write or study or work, besides reading other people’s blogs, is browsing through deviantart, tumblr and pinterest in search of new paintings to admire. I’m a fan of digital paintings and watercolors, in particular. I love that misty effect watercolors have. it’s pretty much why I chose my pen name. Mist is really cool, especially in paintings. It gives that melancholic feel, arouses the imagination.
One of my favorite relaxation methods before bedtime is painting with watercolors or drawing with my favorite music playing in the background and a nice cup of warm tea put aside. Sometimes accidents happen. One time I almost stuck my brush in the tea, one other time I used my favorite brush with the masking liquid and completely ruined it (I almost cried my eyes out) and ,more often then not, I spill water where I’m not supposed to. Well, it’s part of the creative process and I’m the one who cleans it all up anyway. No harm done 😛
I have no art studies though (which is something I regret very much), so I just follow my instincts. Here’s some of the things I’ve painted/drawn. I hope to improve in the future. Thank God for Youtube and all the nice painters posting tutorials for newbies like me. BTW, I seem to be obsessed with trees. Lately I doodle them everywhere, even when I talk on the phone or when I’m at work. Something’s up with me. Hope that’s not a bad sign, psychologically speaking O_O
I was too lazy to take photos of my agendas and random papers filled with trees. Wish you could see them. They’re everywhere!
that’s my finger ↑
<=== Awkward leaf
Irises are my favorite flowers
Would love to hear if any of you have the same hobby as me.
Here are some links to a bunch of awesome artists that I follow.
http://huachui.deviantart.com/
http://aurorawienhold.deviantart.com/
http://jenniferhealy.deviantart.com/
http://zancan.deviantart.com/
http://viccolatte.deviantart.com/
http://sakimichan.deviantart.com/
http://saimain.deviantart.com/
http://tincek-marincek.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://leejun35.deviantart.com/
http://phoenixlu.deviantart.com/
http://grimdreamart.deviantart.com/
http://omupied.deviantart.com/
Too lazy to search, but there are also heise, feimo and ElephantWendingo, who draw some really hot men. Like really hot! And there’s also Genzoman and Artgerm who draw some amazing comic style women.
Anyway, I better stop before I end up spamming my own blog post LOL
You got the drift. I love art.
Honestly, my favorite artists are way too many to count, but you can check out my Pinterest “gorgeous art” folder if you’re curious (link is in the upper corner of the sidebar).
As part of this hop, I’d like to give away something nice. I have no books out yet, with the exception of my free story, Jayded Sunrise, which is part of the Love is Always Write anthology – volume five. *kukukuh* A little self-promo never hurt anyone, right?
However, I will give a 10 $ gift certificate from Less Than Three Press to one lucky winner, so they can celebrate together with us by reading the LT3 releases of their choice 🙂
To win it, please leave a comment below with your e-mail address and tell me who are your favorite artists (I can’t imagine anyone not having at least one favorite artist). By artist, in this case, I mean painter, photographer or drawing artist. If you have a link to their portfolio it would be great (not necessary, but I’m an avid link hoarder, as you can see).
Winner will be chosen through random.org and I’ll announce who they are after April 14th. Thanks, peeps. Lots of hugs and kisses to you all!
PS I almost forgot ( you’ve probably noticed that I’m an airhead so that happens a lot). Follow this link to see the other hop participants, though I’m pretty sure that’s how you find mine. In any case, follow it or I’ll (virtually) spank you!
EDIT : I’m extending the contest for a few more days due to my issues with the new ID. You have time until the 17th to comment. The winner will be chosen through random.org on the 18th at 2 pm GMT+3 time http://www.wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/
They’ll have 48 hours to reply my e-mail. If they don’t, I’ll choose someone else through random.org
Shayla Mist 