Wednesday, September 14, 2011

If I Could Be...

The wonderful Talli Roland is releasing her 2nd book in ebook format today. Of course you remember her great debut novel, The Hating Game. Her new book is Watching Willow Watts and it is fabulous!! The main character, Willow, decides to take on the identity of Marilyn Monroe in the book, so Talli thought it would be fun to have a blog party finding out who we'd like to be. Check out Talli's blog for a list of everyone who is participating today :)

In reality, I'd choose to be myself, but I love this kind of thing, so let's play. Lots of choices immediately come to mind. Michaelangelo, whose mind would be an incredible place to visit. Roberta Bondar the first woman Canadian to travel in space. Nora Roberts whose books have brought such enjoyment to so many. JRR Tolkein so I could live in the mind that created Middle Earth. Billy Joel or Elton John - to know the power of such musical talent. Jacques Cousteau whose explorations of the sea are legendary. Jane Goodall. David Suzuki. My grandmother...

And then there are the characters: Anne Shirley. Jo March. Sam Gamgee. Katniss Everdeen. Maniac Magee. Nancy Drew. Hercule Poirot.

So many great choices! I should probably choose a real person, but, for today (I might change my mind tomorrow!) I'd choose to be...

Lessa from Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern series. I've loved this series for years. Can you imagine riding a gold dragon and fighting thread? Lessa didn't lead the easiest life - none of dragon riders do - but it was also full of challenge, joy, and dragons! Love it! (I'm frest out of dragon rider leathers, so I took the easy way out and posted a picture instead!)

Don't forget to check out Talli's new book - here's the link to Amazon.com.
So, tell me, who would you be?

80 comments:

Laura Pauling said...

Such a tough question. Of course I can't answer the question right now but it'll come to me later.

Old Kitty said...

Oh wow!! A dragon rider!! Lessa the dragon rider! How fabulous!! Yay!! Take care
x

Jemi Fraser said...

Laura - that's exactly the way it usually goes, isn't it? :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Old Kitty - I love the Pern series! And Lessa is a fabulous character :)

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I'd love to hop on a dragon when I'm fed up with life. :)

Laura S. said...

Good choice! When I saw the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" I wanted more than anything to have a pet dragon, LoL.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Alot to choose from I like Billy Joel his piano playing is awesome.

Yvonne.

Yvonne Osborne said...

I love the idea of Jacques Cousteau. Used to watch that amazing series every Saturday. I don't have a picture of my choice, but yours sure is a kicker. Wasn't Talli smart to have such a fun kick-off blog party?

Creepy Query Girl said...

Wow, lots of great choices for all the reasons mentioned. My pick was pretty shallow in comparison but..what can I say? lol

Susan Fields said...

You've listed some wonderful choices here. I've never read that series, but dragon riding sounds pretty challenging and exciting!

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Sounds like a great character! Dragon riding would be amazing...

Anonymous said...

Neat choice. I like being myself, but sometimes it is fun to pretend. I would choose to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. One of my favorite movies.

J.L. Campbell said...

Dragon riding would be awesome, if I could kick my fear long enough to get on one of those scaly beasts. :)

erica m. chapman said...

Very cool! That would be exciting! You picked some great ones! Hmmm. Well, I like Olive from Easy A. Her parents are as cool as it gets. I think life would be a lot easier with parents like hers. And maybe, Scarlett Johanson so I can kiss Ryan Reynolds... Or Lady Gaga. - I mean, never a dull moment with her, right? Or... Amy Lee from Evanescence. I LOVE her voice.

I wouldn't mind being an astronaut. So I could see the moon up close. That seems pretty cool, and almost no one gets to do that.

I like being me (most days,) so if it was temporary, that would be the best ;o)

Awesome post! Sounds like a great story. I'll put it on my list ;o)

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

That picture was painted by my favorite artist of all time, Michael Whelan. I love his work.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, such a tough question with some great answers. I have no feckin' clue who I'd be, so I'll resort to my default thought that I was born in the wrong era.

Despite the hard work and lack of comfortable ammenities, I'd like to go back in time to either Ancient Egypt, the Dark Ages or the American prairies of pioneer days.

Anonymous said...

Riding a dragon would be very cool. My concern would be it'd get hungry and turn its head and eat me.

Anonymous said...

Ahh...to crawl on a dragon's back and fly. That would be exiting indeed! Good one!

Anonymous said...

I meant exciting but exiting kind of works too! :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Jemi the Dragon Rider! I love it. :)

Gina Dickerson said...

A dragon rider - how cool! This blog party has been fun!

Talli Roland said...

LESSA! What a fantastic choice! I loved her and the whole Dragon Rider series!

Thank you so much for taking part, and for your kind words about Willow! I really appreciate it, Jemi! Hugs!

LD Masterson said...

I keep thinking more of who I'd like most to meet, then I would just pick someone close to them. Too many choices.

catherinemjohnson.com said...

Only writers can ride on dragons in their spare time, great choice!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Fun choice! Haven't seen too many fictional characters today.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Fantastic list and choice.

Dragon riders are certainly lead an exciting life. I'd have to pass, I get terrible motion sickness. LOL

Bethany Elizabeth said...

Did you know my mother almost named me Lessa? *sigh* I wish she would've - little did she know I'd grow up to be a fantasy writer! :)

Lindsay said...

Great choice. Being a dragon rider would be awesome!

Southpaw said...

Great choice. I'd love to be a dragon rider too!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Squee!!!! I am a HUGE McCaffrey fan. Thought about listing her today. Lessa was great, but I think my first choice would be Jaxom. He rode the only white dragon on Pern - how great is that?

Kelly Polark said...

I love all the initial choices and that you ended up with a great character!
Fun blogfest!

Anonymous said...

If I could be anyone I would probably be Kate Hudson. Shes smart, an amazing actress and absolutely beautiful.

Julie Flanders said...

A dragon rider, how fun! I didn't even think about a fictional character, great choice! :)

Golden Eagle said...

She sounds like a great character! :)

I've never read anything by Anne McCaffrey; I keep meaning to get around to it!

Jemi Fraser said...

Journaling Woman - wouldn't it be great? A dragon ride up in the clouds! I'd love it :)

Laura - I've always loved dragons! They might be a little big, but they'd be great companions!

Yvonne - I adore Billy Joel! He is such a talented man. So many great songs :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Yvonne O - Jacques Cousteau was an amazing man! Such vision and insight into our world :) I agree - Talli had another great idea!

CQG - I doubt it! I'll head on over to check it out. There are so many great choices!

Susan - McCaffrey is a great fantasy writer. Her world is very, very real - I love it :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Elizabeth - I'd love to ride a dragon - and be in telepathic communication with them (that's the case in the book) - awesome! :)

Susanne - great choice! I love that movie too - probably my all time favourite! :)

JL - the Pern dragons are friendly and even communicate telepathically with their riders!

Jemi Fraser said...

Erica - those are AWESOME choices! I agree with all of them! I considered the astronaut thing too - but there were just too many choices!

Michael - really? That awesome - I didn't know the name, but I've always loved the work - very cool :)

Cat - I love those eras too, but I'm pretty attached to my indoor plumbing so I'm not sure I'd be too successful at them! :)

Alleged Author said...

I've never heard of that series. Off to Google it now!

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephen - yeah - that could be a definite down side! We'd have to make sure they're well fed before we get on!

Lynn - exiting... exciting... they both work! Especially when these dragons teleport and do exit their real times

Tricia - it DOES have a nice ring to it, doesn't it? :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Gina - I agree! Talli has the best ideas! :)

Talli - you're so welcome! I'm loving the story!! And the blogfest is a blast! :)

Linda - that's a fabulous idea! It would be wonderful to meet so many incredible people :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Catherine - thank you! I thought it would be such fun. Can you imagine all the writers swooping around? Awesome :)

Alex - thanks! I haven't made the rounds yet (what with that pesky job and all...) - can't wait to see who people chose!

Michael - thank you! I don't think motion sickness would be a great combination with the dragons though!

Jemi Fraser said...

Bethany - wow!!! That's so cool! What a thrill that is (even though it didn't quite work out :))

Lindsay - thank you! I've always wanted to be a rider :)

Holly - awesome! We could be a great team!! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Diane - I almost picked Jaxom for that reason too! I love them all - she's such a fabulous author!

Kelly - thanks! It was such a fun idea - love thinking of all the possibilities!

C'est la Vie - that's a great choice! She seems like a terrific person, but I couldn't put up with all the media annoyances :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Julie - thanks! My mind tends to wander off on its own - I just happen to be along for the ride :)

Golden Eagle - I think you'd love McCaffrey's work - at least from reading some of the teasers you've posted!

AA - Anne's mostly retired now, but her son Todd has written a few new books in the series. I'd suggested starting with the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy :)

Ann said...

I agree with you..it was hard to choose. A dragon rider, how exciting, how thrilling.

Jemi Fraser said...

Ann - it really was tough to choose! But I'd love to ride those dragons :)

Cali MacKay said...

Riding dragons just sounds like too much fun!! Isn't amazing how books have the ability to transport us. Love this game!!

Jemi Fraser said...

Calista - me too! Talli has come up with a brilliant idea. Again! :)

Hannah said...

I have never read the Pern books. They've been on my list forever. One day...one day...

Jemi Fraser said...

Hannah - I know the feeling. My reading list and pile and downloads are more than a little overwhelming too! But, if you get a chance, give them a read - start with the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

fantastic choice. Lessa is a strong woman in a cool world. Love it.

Jemi Fraser said...

Lynda - thank you! I love Lessa - and the whole Pern world :)

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Great choices! OMGoodness I love Katniss!

Congratulations to Talli for her second novel launch day. :D

Jemi Fraser said...

Sharon - Katniss is awesome!! :) And so is Talli!!

Janet Johnson said...

I remember those books from when I was young. Thread is nasty stuff!

Too many options in this game. I think I would be Emma of Jane Austen fame. I could stand being a wealthy heiress. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Janet - thread is definitely nasty stuff! And being a wealthy heiress is a great way to go! :)

Jen said...

I've read some great answers to this question. I think I like yours the best. Being able to ride a dragon? That would be too great to pass up!!

~Jen

LTM said...

omg! We have these books, and hubs is constantly telling me to read them! Now I must. This is a great post. And yay, Talli! :D

Julie Musil said...

Yay for Talli! And your pick was so cool, Jemi!

Jemi Fraser said...

Jen - thanks so much! I'd love to ride a dragon - it would be amazing!! :)

Leigh - listen to your hubby! I love the whole series - McCaffrey is a great story teller!

Julie - thank you! Yay for Talli indeed. I've loved this idea :)

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to read the book!

Jemi Fraser said...

Michelle - yay! It's awesome :)

laughingwolf said...

nice choices, jemi :)

of course in my wee tale, my dragon rider, dragon, and many others, fall to overwhelming numbers... her horse lives, but only because it could not become airborne....

Rosalind Adam said...

I'm loving blog hopping to see who everyone wants to be. I wouldn't choose anyone with a scary life like Lessa. I like the idea of being Hercule Poirot though.

Jemi Fraser said...

Laughing Wolf - Yikes! So sad ... would it help if I found some pom poms and cheered them all on??? :)

Rosalind - Great choice! I loved Hercule Poirot from the moment I read my first Agatha Christie! Love that choice :)

WritingNut said...

Ooh.. that's a terrific choice! :) It's been so fun reading these!

Jemi Fraser said...

Writing Nut - thank you! I agree - it's so much fun! :)

Leslie S. Rose said...

Can't wait to read Talli's book. I would want to be Wendy in Peter Pan. I would have stayed in Neverland until Captain Jack Sparrow showed up on Captain Hook's ship.

Jemi Fraser said...

Leslie - Wendy's a terrific choice! Neverland would be a fabulous place to visit. 2nd star to the right and straight on 'til morning!

Anonymous said...

There are a lot of people I'd like to be but J.K. Rowling tops the list. Fictional characters, I'd like to be Elphaba from "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire. We're already pretty similar.

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Jemi Fraser said...

E - I was just visiting your new blog - it looks fabulous! I think we cross posted :)

To be in the mind that created Harry Potter's world would be incredible!

Arlee Bird said...

Riding a gold dragon would certainly be a thrill I'd say.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Jemi Fraser said...

Lee - I think it would be amazing. McCaffrey's created an incredibly real world - very vivid!

Anonymous said...

It would be awesome to ride a dragon. Great choice.

Congrats again to Talli. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Medeia - I agree! McCaffrey's world has sure pulled me in!

And yay Talli!

Deniz Bevan said...

Love your choices! I wouldn't mind being inside Tolkien's head myself - all that lovely language! I wonder if I'd be brave enough to be Sam or kind enough to be Anne Shirley?
I feel like Jo a lot :-)

Jemi Fraser said...

Deniz - thank you! There are so many great characters. I'm definitely a little like Jo at times - but I don't have her courage. She's such a great character!

Nas said...

Loved your choice! Does this Dragon eat humans?

Jemi Fraser said...

Nas - nope! The dragons of Pern are carnivores, but they are alos tied telepathically to their human riders. They're buddies! :)