Scheherazade in Blue Jeans

I will write five pieces of Shayara flash fiction on the plane.

You can request characters (and specific moments, if you're familiar enough with my universe, but I don't guarantee you'll get them; the entirety of Act III is off limits due to me not wanting to tell you which of your favorite characters die horribly at the end of Act II), you can ask questions, you can give me one-word prompts.

But you have to do it by 1:00, which is when I leave for the airport. Because unless Logan all of a sudden has free wifi, I'll be offline from 1:00 til I land in Florida.

I'll post the fictionbits tonight.

Okay. Requests?

I have turned this post over to guest blogger Elayna. Elayna is eleven years old; please comment accordingly. She's a mature kid, so I'm not saying don't get technical. I'm saying don't get R-rated.

Without further ado, guest blogger Elayna (pictured)!

I like the street, but I don't like roads.
I like grass, but not plants.
I like greetings, but not cards.
I like copper, but not metal.
I like puppies, but not dogs.
I like kittens, but not cats.
I like eggs, but not yolk.
I like yellow, but not blue.
I like trees, but not bark.
I like swimming, but not water.
I like the pool, but not the beach.
I like running, but not walking.
I like arrows, but not archery.
I like ribbons, but not bows.
I like sonnets, but not poems.
I like coffee, but not tea.
I like roofs, but not houses.
I like guppies, but not fish.
I like the floor, but not the ground.
I like wood, but I don't like tables.
I like Mommy, but I don't like Grandma.
I like spoons, but not forks.
I like hello and goodbye, but not hi and bye.
I like platters, but not plates.
I like mittens, but not gloves.
I like glasses, but not cups.
I like books, but not reading.
I like sneezing, but not coughing.
I like being funny, but not laughing.
I like calling, but not phones.
I like muffins, but not bread.

Can you think of other things I might like and not like? :)

And this is a serious question, though funny answers are okay as well - just be aware that this is, in fact, research. :)

About cons.

What are your favorite sorts of panels? Imagine your ideal con schedule - what would you be attending?

And the biggie: If you could request a panel on absolutely anything, what would you request?

EDIT: Subset: If there's anything specific that you'd like to see me in particular talk about on a panel, tell me. :)

Let's talk about naming.

You'll have noticed that I use aliases for some people on my LJ. The thousand-person spotlight? Not for everybody. (Spooky, at first. The Craftsman.) But sometimes I use aliases just because they suit the person. (The Scholar.)

It's funny how these things come about. Let's break that down...

Spooky. Those of you who know her know that there's no better nickname; this is the woman from whom, as the Scholar said, "it's Halloween all year long". And she calls me Story. :)

The Craftsman. He's using an alias because my sexfilter is a bit large for his taste. :) He chose his own name - "It's both a philosophy and a brand of sex toys", he says. :)

The Scholar. The Scholar is so named because Miss Spooky and I spent the first night of his visit impishly, crow-girlishly, calling him Professor as he speechified. He'd've been The Professor, save for the fact that I work at a university and wouldn't want anyone thinking I was talking about an actual professor!

So my question this Friday is this:

Given the opportunity to name yourself, what name would you choose?

And what would you name me?

Because I know I'd forget this if I held it til Friday...

What little inexpensive gift never fails to brighten your day?

We'd all love iPods and ponies, yes. But there are also those little things. Tell me something that costs under $5.00 - under $10, if you're really pressed - that just makes you beam when someone hands it to you.

This post prompted by the tin of Danish butter cookies the book buyer just handed me. Oh, I bounced. I particularly love the pretzel-looking ones, with the sugar-that-looks-like-salt on 'em. :)

This Friday Audience Participation is dedicated to the fabulous rhiannonhero, who is putting together an Amazon wishlist for her soon-to-be-baby...

What books did you love as a child?

What did you lose yourself in? What did you read til you had to tape the covers back on? What would you still pick up today?

Why?

Eviscerate your memory
Here's a scene
You're in the back seat laying down
The windows wrap around
To the sound of the travel and the engine
All you hear is time stand still in travel
and feel such peace and absolute
Stillness still that doesn't end
But slowly drifts into sleep...
--REM, "You Are The Everything"

Give me a memory. Any memory. In as much detail as possible. Reach back and touch something and show it to the world.

You've told me why you picked your default icon - why you chose that picture to represent yourself to LJ-at-large.

But what about the word you've chosen?

Tell me why you picked the username you did. What does it mean to you?