5 February 2010
by Cerella Sechrist
Author Cerella D. Sechrist wraps up her week of guest blogging with a special version of the Pop Culture Personality Quiz (inspired by Entertainment Weekly). Each of these questions was designed to give you a closer look at the woman behind the stories and to grant a glimpse into what inspires her (and perhaps what does not)! Be sure to stop by her blog and let her know how much you’ve enjoyed her time here, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of her book, Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Remember, today is our BIG GIVEAWAY! Be sure to read all the way to the conclusion for details on how you can enter to win. Winners will be posted on this blog, Saturday, February 6.
What book do you wish you had written, and whose career would you like to have? I wish I had written Liz Curtis Higgs’s
Lowlands of Scotland series. Placed in eighteen century Scotland, the books are an updated historical telling of the brothers Jacob and Esau. Higgs did a brilliant job transferring the Biblical story into 1764 Scotland. I was reading it, thinking, “Brilliant! Why didn’t I do this?!?” LOL
I’d love to have
Ted Dekker’s career. He’s innovative and well-established enough that he gets away with whatever story he puts out there. Not all of his books are favorites of mine, but I have a great respect for the way he weaves plots, conjures theories and settings, and surprises you with unexpected lessons. He is the most unique writer, and yet he pulls most of his ideas off with pure panache.
Have you ever written a fan letter? The one and only fan letter I ever wrote was to Charlie Schlatter (see Tuesday’s post about
Pop Culture Favorites). I had to have been 11 or 12 years old. After I sent it, I was completely mortified that I wrote it in the first place. I think I even sprayed some cloying perfume on the stationary before tucking it into the envelope.
I never sent another one.
What piece of pop culture memorabilia from your childhood do you wish you still had? When I was about three or four, I had this insanely COOL Strawberry Shortcake cardboard dollhouse. It was about four stories high and outrageously colorful. I absolutely adored it.
It disappeared during a move, and I never saw it again. I’ve been heartbroken over its loss ever since.
What do you consider your geekiest possession?I recently purchased a Disney Pocahontas PEZ dispenser. In my defense, I was with a six-year-old at the time, and she insisted I get it to accompany her Belle PEZ dispenser.
What is your biggest guilty pleasure?Mia Bella Candles. My mom became a distributor of these natural wax candles several years ago, and she has us all addicted. I don’t feel like I’m at home unless I have one burning. My favorite scents are Eucalyptus, Japanese Pear and Snowberry Pine.
What one interest do you refuse to apologize for?Food. I love the variety, the cultural aspect, the creation. Mostly, I love the history of it. It took me awhile to realize that when I set out to research historical time periods for novels, the very first thing I wanted to learn about was what the people in that era ate.
I grew up in a family where food was the center of many of our holidays and gatherings. We had ‘corn day’ where all the extended family would gather to husk, boil, shell and freeze corn for the year ahead. As a kid, there was nothing better than summer days sitting on the cool of the basement floor, gnawing on denuded corn cobs while the adults chattered above you.
Then we had ‘cookie baking day’ where the same crew would gather, the day after Thanksgiving, to bake over 80-dozen cookies. The kids were in charge of the sand tarts — with colorful egg wash dyes, we’d paint the tarts, inserting little edible silver dragées for eyes and decorations. The adults would constantly chastise us for sneaking into the living room, where all the cookies were stacked to cool before they were bagged. It’s too much temptation for a child.
Yes, I come from a family that probably eats too much, and it’s resulted in my being a little rounder than I want to be. But I can’t be sorry for it, and I won’t apologize. Food brings people together, and it’s
an art in its own right.
What is the most embarrassing song on your iPod?My brother, Caleb, should answer this one. He is a music connoisseur. He likes to provoke me by playing the first three notes of any given song and making me guess what it is. Yes, he’s one of
THOSE. So when he was home for Christmas, I made the mistake of letting my iPod lay out, and he began scrolling through it. I winced at his tone when he said, “Cerella? Seriously? BB Mak?”
It’s a good thing he didn’t scroll any further to encounter Hilary Duff’s “So Yesterday.”
What is the song that makes you dance any time you hear it?“Love Addict” by Family Force 5
The movie you watch every time you see it on television?Zoolander. Because the people in it are really, really good-looking.
The last awesomely bad movie you got sucked into on cable?Probably something of the
Jackass nature. I know those boys need to grow up, but I have a secret crush on
Johnny Knoxville, so… I’m usually suckered into it by his presence long before my good sense catches up with me.
What is your favorite awesomely bad movie?Pauly Shore movies would be at the top of the list. I know, I know… but he’s just FUNNY, even in his awesomely awfulness. My two favorite films of his are
Son-in-Law (“Thank God I’m a country boy!”) and
Encino Man (“stone-age Tupperware”).
I would say he’s an acquired taste, but his best awesomeness was back in the 90s. If you didn’t acquire the taste back then, you probably never will.
Name the movie that always makes you cry.
Many years ago, my sister and I bawled for thirty minutes solid (gushing, endless tears) after we watched the movie Sommersby. No lie. And it was our fourth viewing of it, too! LOL! My mom was honestly concerned about us. When I mentioned this question to her, the first thing she said was, “Well, there’s always the times you watched Sommersby…”
When do you talk back to the TV?
This would imply it would have to talk to me FIRST, which it never has. =D
I don’t usually talk to the TV, but I do gasp on occasion. You know, if someone is unexpectedly hit by a bus, Cerella is the one in the corner that draws in her breath sharply and causes everyone to look her way…
Which five items will you take with you on the 3-hour tour that shipwrecks at an uncharted island? A machete, waterproof matches, toothpaste, the entire Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, and a volleyball. (Preferably a Wilson, but a Voit would do in a pinch.)
When you go on your big publicity tour, what items will you demand for your dressing room? Gourmet coffee, chocolate-covered strawberries, a serenity fountain, my own personal masseuse and high-speed internet…
When can we make this happen? =D
Lastly, choose just one:
It’s been a great week, and I hope everyone has gotten to know me and my writing a little bit better. Thank you, Jules, for featuring me!
In honor of the release of Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Cerella is giving away this amazing gift package inspired by the book and its sweet story.
- Autographed copy of Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania (personalized to the winner, if you choose)
- A handcrafted journal made out of recycled materials — created with book pages and featuring a stencil design
- A bookmark made from a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar wrapper
- An angel suncatcher, in honor of Sadie’s restaurant, Suncatchers
- A votive candle — Chocolate Kiss scent — in a glass votive cup
- A copy of Briar Cox’s CD Letters to Myself (mentioned in Wednesday’s post under Currently Listening)
To enter* for your chance to win, leave a comment here and answer for yourself one of the questions from the Pop Culture Personality Quiz above. The contest will remain open until Saturday, February 6, at 5:00pm EST. One winner will be chosen by random number generator, and that winner’s name will be posted on this blog Saturday evening, February 6.
*One additional entry may be earned by mentioning this post via Twitter. Be sure to return here and add your Twitter post link to a second comment so it will be counted as an entry.
*One additional entry may be earned by leaving a comment on Cerella’s blog via this link.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by this week and participated in this celebration of Cerella and her debut novel! Be sure to visit her blog to stay up to date with all the happenings surrounding Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania. You can also find her at her official website, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
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There are invisible strings attaching me to New Kids on the Block. I’ve tried to cut them; for years I’ve tried to put this period of my life into the past for good. But, just as Pacino said, they keep pulling me back in. It all began the year this photo was taken: 1989. First it was just a love for their single, “The Right Stuff,” and then a larger interest in the group itself. But after that it snowballed, as so many of my interests do, and I was suddenly obsessed with everything about them. And my college roommate (pictured here in mid-sentence, bless her) was unfortunate enough to be sucked into the vortex, as well. On the night this photo was taken we were headed out to a New Kids concert — my second that year — and I was fully immersed in all things NKOTB. Underneath that bowler I’m wearing was a very short hairstyle with the lower half buzzed to almost nothing and featuring single horizontal stripes shaved from the temples to a single point at the base of my hairline in the back (like Jordan Knight once sported). In my left ear were four piercings — rhinestone studs in the cartilage at the top curve and in the center cartilage of the ear and in the lower lobe, just above my regular piercing for costume jewelry — which mirrored Donnie Walhberg’s own ear piercings. It went further for years afterward, my obsession spilling over into dreams, even. I was 20 years old at the beginning of this phenomenon, and though I eventually tired of the music and moved on to other obsessions, I never could quite find release from the New Kids. Actually, I should say that I couldn’t find release from Wahlberg. He’s the one I seem inherently tied to. The one I can’t seem to resist when he pops up in movies or tv. It started quite unexpectedly, actually, when I was finally past any form of interest in the group but then saw him in the movie Ransom. I was shocked to find him acting. And I felt it necessary to seek out his other projects because the curiosity just got the best of me. But then, years later, he appeared in Band of Brothers, and then Boomtown, and he was really, really good in both. Since then I’ve been a sucker for anything he does. I even had to check out the New Kids’ “comeback” project a couple of years ago. As I said, the curiosity just kills me. After all these years, I’m a sucker for the group, and still a fan of Wahlberg. I think it boils down to one thing, something that can be seen in this photo: being a fan was a shared experience at a time in my life when everything seemed dark and hopeless. But these guys made me happy when very little else did.
