SNOWFLAKE CHALLENGE #4: ME ME ME

[queenslayerbee]

 

IceBreaker Challenge! Tell us about yourself. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I'm gonna cheat just a little bit, because really, I find talking about myself extremely difficult. But! Lucky for me, I already had to do such titanic effort when I had to introduce myself on January 1st for my brand new author's newsletter (#selfpromo). So I'm just going to borrow from that section. If you want to read the rest (writing updates, an excerpt from an upcoming story, recommendations), you'll have to click the link :P

I was born in 1996 in Spain, where I’ve lived for the past 27 years, moving back and forth between my city and my hometown for my various temp jobs (paralegal in the city, farm work in the country, and camp counselor during some summers).

This 2023, after some really bumpy years, I finished my law & politics degree, and my long-term plan is to… keep studying (and working), this time with the goal of attaining a particular position as a public servant that will both give me a comfortable salary & means, and require me to travel a lot outside the country like I’ve always wanted. It’s not an easy position to attain (or an easy job to do once you attain it), and I anticipate it’ll take me a couple more years to get there, but right now it feels worth the extra effort, both for what it entails and for its perks.

For the first time in I don’t even know how long it feels like my life might finally be somewhat on track *knocks on wood*, and I think that’s going to mean good things for my more artistic side. I don’t think writing for a living is something I would want to do even if I could do it, but writing is certainly what I love doing most in the world, and I’m happy to say I’m moving forward with that too.

What do I write? Mainly fantasy, and speculative fiction in many forms; always directed at adult audiences, and always, always centered around women. The tone and specific subgenre varies, but it’s true I tend to work on the grim, melancholic side of things. If any of that sounds up your alley, you’ll find it here.

And just to tell you a few other things about myself… I do some amateur photography; I’m weirdly fascinated by owls; I want to re-learn how to play guitar; I love everything purple/lilac/maroon/etc.; I just started learning Arabic; and I am currently deep in the clutches of Detective Comics Comics.

As for an ice breaker... ask me a top 5 [insert anything here] in the comments, and I'll reply!

Comments

[tjs_whatnot]

Yay for finally feeling like you're getting your life in order. I'm right there with you--unfortunately I'm in my 50s so... ;)

I love melancholy, speculative fiction centered on women and would love to read more. Sadly, I don't think the link transferred over in the cut/paste. :(

And finally, here's a Top 5 for you since I too want to travel:

Top 5 Places an Out of Towner Should Visit in Your Town/Country:

[queenslayerbee]

I think one probably never feels like their life is fully on track, fwiw ^^U. But since it's been an uphill climb the last few years, I welcome something clearer lol.

Huh, weird. It works for me, but I'll c&p it here just in case: https://queenslayerbee.substack.com/p/new-year-newsletter

1. I really recommend the north coast, especially if you travel in the summer. Softer summers xD. And it's truly, truly gorgeous. I loved Asturias, in particular. If you like mountain parages, los Picos de Europa are a beautiful place. If you go in August you get to see the start of a piraguism competition lol. And in autumn, although it can get freakilishly cold, the views get unreal and stunning practically anywhere in País Vasco. I love a good beech so I try to visit those.

2. Mérida. Aptly named "Little Rome". There are remains from Ancient Roman Empire times and they're more than worth the visit. It's also a small, tranquil city.

3. The exact opposite in that sense is Madrid, the capital. You WILL leave with a headache lmao. But you can do practically everything there! Museums (with free days and great offers), theatre, historical buildings, practically every social or physical activity you can think of...

4. Granada. Honestly I don't remember anything in that city (I visited it last as a child) EXCEPT the Alhambra. But that's enough reason to go. It's a group of castles and gardens from the time of muslim rule in the area and it's one of the places one MUST visit if they have the chance.

5. There are so many gorgeous cities and natural parages... Toledo, Cuenca, Cádiz, Barcelona... I'm gonna recommend the Canary Islands if you think you'll like a semi-tropical climate because I did love the last time I visited. It was February, NOT tourist season, perfectly warm and comfortable without being too hot, so peaceful... I know it must be horrid in the summer, but in February it was perfect xD. It also goes all out in Carnival, which depending on your taste, can either be reason to go then, or to avoid it lol.