A milestone: won't you introduce yourself?

[pegkerr]

Hey, my friends list just hit 100! I remember when I first started this journal, I felt as nervous as if I was getting ready for a party (is the house clean enough? Do I have enough pistachio nuts?) I'm so pleased to meet you all. How did you find my LiveJournal (and why do you stick around)? Won't you please introduce yourself? Or just wave "hi" if I know you already?

Thanks!

Cheers,
Peg

Comments

[lcohen]

hmmm. i found you through the friend of a friend of a friend sort of thing--as i recall elisem linked to something you had written (an entry about making up a story about why you were unable to bring donuts to work or something, iirc, or maybe i just bopped around a little from the linked entry and found that) and i laughed and laughed and loved your writing so i friended you so that i could read more of it.

and then i found out you are a writer so i got your books (and i've since made other people read them--yes, i am a book pusher) so that's been fun--and reading your writings about writing has been fascinating. but mostly i've enjoyed "getting to know you" (because i know that one's LJ only shows a fraction of the person) by reading your journal.

[splagxna.livejournal.com]

i think i found the journal through epicyclical's journal; she doesn't know me from adam, but this is not the point. i knew of your literary genius already :-) and so it was fun to read about 'cool author who actually lives like a real person.' and you and i share an alma mater, which i've always found to be sort of funky.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lindsay_/]

I found out about you when people in the fandom waved flags and heralded your coming. I was interested in this cool published writer who was in the fandom too. (how cool is that?) So I bought your book. :) erm..haven't read it yet. I have no time! ::whines:: After I finish Return of the King (again) and ManifestA... I don't want to de-prioritize your fine writing cause I know it will be great. I also noticed that your book is mentioned in one of Nick Hornby's novels (don't remember which one...) do you know him or is it just really random? Anyway, I love hearing what you have to say day by day. It's a fun slice of life. ::schnoogles::

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Hey, if you've bought the book, that's great, even if you haven't gotten around to reading it yet (although I hope, of course, that you will). Nick Hornby? I've never heard of him. (Which of my books did he mention?)

Curious . . .
Cheers,
Peg

Re:

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lindsay_/]

Nick Hornby wrote "High Fidelity", "About a Boy", "How to be Good", and...that other book of his I haven't read....he mentioned "Wild Swans" but it was more than just name dropping. I'll have to go look sometime and report back. ;)

[corinnethewise.livejournal.com]

::waves hi:: I found your journal right away and came on and squeed that one of my favorite authors had a live journal. Did much tooby fangirl squeeing to your comments (anonymous as I had no journal at the time). Then when John gave me a code I made my journal and friended you, and you friended me back! (There was much tooby fangirl squeeing then too). I've been rather quiet lately, since I was getting ready for Chicago. I really need to get back into the swing of things. Oh, back on topic, I stick around because you're fun and you're interesting and I rather like you, as well as your writing.
~ Corinne

*Waves*

[kalopsia.livejournal.com]

Hi! I found your journal through another friend (_lindsay_) when she pointed me to your post on themes in The Two Towers. It was fascinating and I love your writing style so I added you. I can't wait to check out your book!

[ambar.livejournal.com]

<aol>
Me too!
</aol>

(Except I haven't gotten around to getting your books yet. I blame the stack of bills on my desk, I do.)

Gee, thanks for asking

[debellatrix.livejournal.com]

I think, like so many, I came to know your lj through epicyclical (hopes I'm doing the html code correctly). I lurked in her friends lj list for about a year, then about two months ago isilya was kind enough to give me an lj code, and I friended you and many others immediately. I thinks it's very interesting that a little over a year ago, I didn't even know fanfiction existed, now it's one of my favorite genre's, mainly due to authors like yourself.
BTW, went to buy your book last week; it was sold out.

[dragonpaws.livejournal.com]

Same here! Except I'd never read your books, and in fact still haven't- I was close at the local B&N yesterday but my friends dragged me away before I had the chance. They're on my reading list, though... unfortunately, along with about five thousand other books. *grin* I'll get to them eventually.

Waves

[alyeska.livejournal.com]

I found your Journal through heidi and epicyclical. I had heard them speak of you and Wild Swans often, even before you had your LJ. I stick around because I love to read about the process you go through when writing and the anecdotes you write about your every day life.

My particular favorite was the battle of wills between you and the Aragorn action figure. I would have gone back for him too. :)

[shusu.livejournal.com]

fandomdirectory browser here. Then I did a double take and said "Is that the same Peg Kerr whose book I bought because Lois recommended it x years ago?!" (I used to be one of her listies.)

And lo! It is! :) That, and I like to collect Twin Cities ljers. Because no one else can possibly understand our weather.

[shusu.livejournal.com]

Oops. fandomdirectory.

[sundancekid.livejournal.com]

I found your journal through someone else's (can't remember who) and was muchly impressed by your actual published writer status. Went out and borrowed Emerald House Rising, loffed it, and bought Wild Swans (really ought to buy Emerald House Rising too), and loffed it too. :D So I added you so I could quietly fangirl and keep up with the new novel. :)

Allie

[amegoddess.livejournal.com]

Hello,

I'm an artist and I draw comics. It's pretty boring and tedious so LJ and blogs is how I amuse myself on-line. It's a little better then constantly checking my e-mail. I read a lot of fan fiction on-line and stumbled across your journal from epicyclical who mentioned you. Haven't had the time to track down your books as the Christmas season is busy with comics (in deadline hell) but would like to. Er, not sure what else to say.

Shrug. Nice to meet you.

-Diana

[rabican.livejournal.com]

Hello, I'm Tinderblast! I used to be on HP4GU (as Firebolt, back in the early-ish days - June 2000?), and while wandering through friends' friend pages, I saw that flourish had you on her list, and I friended you 'cause I recognized your name from above-mentioned list.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Hi! Found you through semperfiona. Haven't gotten your books yet, but they're on my list... :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lore/]

Hullo!

Lessee...several Harry Potter friends of mine were crowing over your entrance into LJ one day, so I came over to see what was up. I stayed for the book reviews, the writing process, and the thoughtful questions. Thanks for putting up with all of us lurkers. :)

love, lore

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Hi! I know you from your writing, and from Minicon... I found your journal from reading Elise's Friends page, and it was reading your noodling about writing that made me think that having a journal of my own was something I wanted to do.

[sdn.livejournal.com]

i know you from your work and we met briefly at WFC. i have bought your books and cannot wait to read them!

Hi!

[ase.livejournal.com]

I found your journal while skimming epicyclical's friend list recently. Your name jumped out at me, and I had to check to see if you were the same Peg Kerr whose books I'd read. I keep reading your LJ in hopes of additional interesting and coherent entries like your comments on The Two Towers and the bowling ball anecdote from the White Elephant New Year's game.

Also, I love your default icon. Did you make it?

[aome.livejournal.com]

I found you through Heidi. I recall your being mentioned because of the proposed Writers In Residence program, and then saw her promote you when you arrived at LJ. I went out, read your books, and signed on as your LJ friend because a) you had interesting things to say b) there's a touch of the 'celebrity' here - I get to communicate directly with a real, live published author! ;) c) I'm always interested to catch a glimpse of someone else's home life if they're willing to share - gives me an idea of what others go through, how they cope, and what I might myself be facing someday. And now d) I'm fascinated by the process of writing a novel, speaking as someone who only writes short stories.

I have much fun being able to mention to my friend Jen (who has read EHR but not yet WS) "I read the most interesting thing on Peg Kerr's LJ the other day...." *g*

Anyway - I know I'm otherwise a relative stranger, so I hope you haven't minded my frequent comments.

It's all your fault, Peg

[pameladean]

I can't even remember when or where we met. Minn-Stf, I guess. But you sent me email when you started your LJ, and I was interested, having always liked the email you sent out about the girls when they were smaller, and having always liked talking writing with you; so I started lurking. As an indirect result of this Minnehaha (K) found out that I was reading LJ and gave me a code. Aieeee.

Pamela

[penmage.livejournal.com]

I beleive I met you through the lord of the rings lj community - I commented on a post of yours, and you friends-ed me, and I friend-ed you back (funny how that word has become a verb via livejournal!)

Navah

[aome.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, another reason I 'stick around' is because you use cool words like "snabble" - as in "after he has snabbled Frodo away from the Lord of the Nazgul...." I've had that word rolling around in my head ever since you posted it, and - darn it - it's a *fun* word. And, of course, whenever I see that scene in the film, I think of it. *g*

[aurianrose.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't remember how I found you. I just remember being really excited because I have read your books and now I get to learn more about you! I really like when you post about the process behind writing. I'm not particularly talented in the creative writing field, so I value the chance to grow and learn from your experience.

And, as if you weren't cool enough already... You like LOTR!

Re: Hi!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I hope you keep reading--and commenting! Yes, I did make that icon myself, and I like it very much, too. I got the picture from the Noble Collection, here. And yes, I do own the brooch. I plan to get the necklace, too.

Cheers,
Peg

Nice to meet you, too.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks for introducing yourself.

Cheers,
Peg

I like your comments

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I understand what you mean about enjoying "listening in" on a real writer's conversation, because that's exactly what I did for years and years as I was starting to write myself. pameladean fulfilled that role for me, among others. It helps you understand the process when you have the chance to hear other writers think out loud.

Please keep commenting! Glad you like the 10 cent words, too, like me.

Cheers,
Peg

Re: It's all your fault, Peg

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

And very smug I am that I got you started, too.

By the way, I love your icon

Cheers,
Peg

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

It's been interesting that some people have read the books first and then found the LiveJournal, whereas others have gotten to know me through my LiveJournal first and then read the books. (Of course, there are those who never get around to the books at all, but that's okay, too.)

Yes, I've been a long-time LOTR fan (I first read the books over twenty years ago). I won the regional award in a Tolkien national essay contest back in 1986 (topic: "Why I want to go to Middle Earth"). I still have the T-Shirt I won (Frodo Lives!). I also did one of my Plan B papers for my masters degree on Tolkien and the rest of the Inklings, so yes, I've been thinking and writing about Tolkien from way before the movie.

Because I love Tolkien so much, I was pretty pleased when The Wild Swans was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award. (Alas, I didn't get to take home the Aslan statue; Peter Beagle snabbled it up that year.)

Cheers,
Peg

[lcohen]

heh. long ago and far away, i won a lovely copy of the hobbit by winning a hobbit trivia contest sponsored by a local bookstore. i still have that copy, as well as the annotated hobbit and the regular copy that i bought for myself with my own dime (literally) at the library book sale after my fourth grade teacher read it to us. i waited to read lord of the rings until i was eleven or so--i don't think i understood huge chunks of it--i reread it every year for about five years and it made more sense and i liked different parts each time.

it's fun to recall discovering the books all those years ago.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Hey. *waves* I have little memory of how I stumbled upon your journal, but I suspect it may have been a link from queerasjohn's. You hooked me with your discussion about the writing process. I'm one of those billions of people who aspire to write myself; I'm struggling against the constraints of a university creative writing course and sporadically doing a webcomic in my spare time.

[taelonmahal.livejournal.com]

I don't remember how I found your journal. --- As to why I added you: your entries seemed interesting to me and the fact that you are a writer made it even more interesting ;)

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

Nick Hornby is worth reading. You'd like his stuff, I think.

I found your journal through your comments to Minnehaha's journal. They were witty and made me look you up.

[pameladean]

Isn't the nomination a great sensation, though? TAM LIN, along with three or four other books, lost to A WOMAN OF THE IRON PEOPLE. But wow, that was a great few weeks beforehand. Fantasy in the tradition of the Inklings. Whee!

Pamela

[vass]

Hi. Elise Matthesen mentioned The Wild Swans on Usenet (I can't remember which group or when, but probably alt.poly some time ago,) as a book to buy and read right away. I'd been lurking there a while, and had read enough of her posts to know that I could trust any recommendation of hers completely, and followed her advice. I've reread it many times since then.

I'd feel easier about the whole Livejournal 'Friend' category if they'd called it somewhere else. What it's for, after all, is to make it more convenient to read the journals you want to follow regularly and not just dip into. Lots of people on my 'friends' list I don't know to talk to, and I wonder (a little guiltily) what they must think of my listing them as a friend. So all I can say is, well, your book's a friend, anyway. And I like your journal.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

elisem linked to a post you made about... hm. Some sort of Rite of Spring, I think, with a procession. I think you posted pictures. I loved your writing style and the things you had to say, so I added you to my list.

Then I took The Wild Swans with me to Iowa and was up half the night reading it and crying. I haven't read your other published book yet, but I'm eagerly following your posts about the creation of the next one.

Another eavesdropper...

[skg.livejournal.com]

Hi Peg,

This is why I have you on my friends list! I found you through the HP fandom (like many others have also mentioned) and started reading your LJ with interest, as I am an embryonic writer. :)

I am reading Wild Swans now, having requested it as a Christmas present--but Emerald House Rising is out of stock at Amazon. *sob*

Me in brief: Project manager in the IT consulting industry, live in NYC, getting a (3rd) degree in English Lit, love reading fantasy, trying to write...

Sarah

[fairestcat]

I found your books, when Lois McMaster Bujold posted several raving reviews of the Wild Swans on the Bujold mailing list. I picked it up and was absolutely blown away by the story and your writing. I only just recently got involved in livejournal, and when ase, a friend of mine from the Bujold list, told me that she's found livejournals for you and pameladean I added you both to my friends list, to follow your engaging and enjoyable writings and wait impatiently for new books from both of you.

[serendipoz.livejournal.com]

Just went to look at (who) you were - though I didn't meet you at WFC (I spent most of my time in the art show running it), I have been reading though the Firebird web site.

*thank you* for reprinting so many of my favorite books. I think this is great!

I just need to find a few of them that I missed the first time out.

[serendipoz.livejournal.com]

Oh, I met you at a long ago MinnStf meeting I think. And I've read your books, and I see you several times a year at various places.

I've been enjoying your writing about your life, writing and bats (et. al.)

Thanks for doing an lj!

[slightlights.livejournal.com]

While epicyclical was the original reccer (pusher?), I wandered over to check out your LJ because I'd already read and enjoyed your books. These days, I'm particularly getting a kick out of seeing how you're balancing writing with family life and The Day Job, not to mention the specific development of Jack and Solveig; even when things aren't going smoothly, you write about them in such a way that you seem, hm, engaged with what's going on, and that appeals.

Wave

[eileenlufkin.livejournal.com]

Hi!

[irielle.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid this is a belated introduction because I'm a new mother. Will's 4.5 months old and teething. I found your lj through my husband who saw it mentioned on your website. Your books are in our stack of books to read from Uncle Hugo's and I felt like I found a kindred spirit when I saw you using the Pemberley FUPS. Oh, and we live in the Twin Cities area too.
Anyway, happy new year to you!

p.s. Anton just peeked over my shoulder and said he already read Emerald House Rising, and enjoyed it. "A lot. I did!"

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I also found out from Cassie Claire and other HP fandom people. I recognized your name, and I'm pretty sure that I've read Emerald House Rising but I don't remember it! I'm not really on your friends list, because I don't have an LJ, but I read your journal anyway, because you're a famous, well-known author, and because your journal is interesting. Glad to meet you!

~Mark356 (http://www.mark356.net)

[(Anonymous)]

Nick Hornby mentioned 'Wild Swans' by Jung Chang, not 'The Wild Swans' by Peg Kerr. Sorry.

Re:

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lindsay_/]

ah, thank you for correcting me ;)