Donna K Weaver: Where I Live and Why I Like It

My guest this week is one of the most supportive blogger/authors around. Donna Weaver is constantly promoting other writers and attending writer conferences to improve her own skills as a writer. A published writer of romance adventure novels, she's also honed her skills in another art--martial arts. She's a black belt in karate.

1.      Geographical Information:

Country:  USA

State or Province:  Utah

City or Town:  Orem

District within City or Town: N/A

Neighborhood: N/A

2.      Is there any place in your area that’s considered a pilgrimage site, such as a religious shrine? If so, have you been there? Calling the state a pilgrimage site might be a bit much, but this area was definitely a gathering place for early Mormon (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). I think there are probably more redheads here than I’ve ever seen anywhere else, simply because there are so many people of Scandinavian descent.

3.      Is there a site that has special meaning for you? Outside of my private religious feelings, I love the area because of the mountains. I’ve lived a lot of years in Sacramento. It’s a beautiful area, but relatively flat. It was easy to forget that there were foothills less than an hour away. Here, I can’t look outside and not see gorgeous mountains. As I write this, the fall colors are already coming on. *sigh*

4.      Is this where you were born and/or grew up? If not, how did you come to live here? I was a Navy brat. I started school in Seoul, South Korea. We also lived in the Philippines for two years. Between 8th & 11th grades, I went to four different schools. Then I joined the US Army and served in Germany. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve ever lived anywhere in my life.

5.      What do you like best about where you live? I think we have the best of both worlds. While the community has over 90,000 people, it doesn’t really feel like a big city. I like that, but I also like having amenities close by.

6.      Do you plan on living here the rest of your life? Probably not. When we retire in a few years, we’re tentatively planning on living close to my hubby’s brother and his wife. She prefers a community that isn’t quite a built out as this one. So, not quite small town enough for her.

7.      Do you have family in the area, or have you ventured out on your own? When we moved here 22 years ago, we ventured out on our own. Our two oldest kids have ranged quite far, one lives in China and the other in Hawaii. The three youngest are within half an hour though.

8.      Are you happy where you live? As long as I don’t get to fretting about some of the local psycho politics.

9.      For tourists, what would you recommend seeing?

• In the immediate area, there’s Sundance Ski Resort up Provo Canyon. And yes, Robert Redford owns it. We’ve even seen him when we’re up there. They open the ski lifts in the summer. If you want to mountain bike, you take your bike on the lift up and ride down. For us less brave souls, we ride the lift up and back down. This time of year, with the changing colors, is gorgeous. 

• There’s also the amazing Timpanogos caves or hiking the glacier on the back side of Timp.
• About twenty minutes from us is a huge dinosaur museum with hands-on exhibits for the kids. It’s at Thanksgiving Point, and they have some amazing gardens there. There’s also an amphitheater for outdoor performances. Last year we saw the amazing Piano Guys perform
• If you want to venture a little farther out, you can check out the Kennicott copper mines—this you can see from outer space.
• Get a little closer to Salt Lake City, and there are lots of historical and religious sites to see like Temple Square and This Is the Place Park. There’s also Hogle Zoo/
• If you travel a few hours south or southeast, you can visit Zions National Park or Moab where you can see the Arches National Park. This state is amazingly beautiful.

• Not quite that far south is Cedar City and the Shakespeare Festival. They won a Tony award one for their festival.

10.   What do you do for entertainment where you live? Sporting events, theater, concerts, so on and so forth. We like to watch movies, and there are lots of theaters. But there’s also live theater here as well. There’s the Hale Center Theater Orem, which does live theater in the round. Close and intimate an experience. Sundance has lives plays as does the SCERA Center for the Arts. There are also two major universities within about eight miles of each other, and they each offer both sporting events and cultural/artistic events. The Orem Owls (a minor league team feeding into the California Angels) has its home at Utah Valley University in Orem. If you’re into college sports, having two universities so close provides lots of games to watch.

11.   If you’re a writer, have you included where you live in the settings of any of your stories? If you’re a painter, have you painted any of your area’s features? I haven’t so far, but I will be with my next book which will be set here in Utah. The reason I chose it, though, is that it will be a small-town political thriller. I run my city’s elections, and I needed to know how things work. That meant taking advantage of my knowledge of state election law.

12.  Would you recommend others to move to where you live? Why? The economy is booming. American Express built a large facility in Salt Lake County because there are so many bilingual people here. And by bilingual I don’t mean a large group that speaks English and one other language. Because there are so many people here who have served internationally as LDS (Mormon) missionaries, they are able to get employees who are bilingual in a large number of languages. Adobe just built a large facility about fifteen minutes from here.

A lot of people come here to go to college, like it, and stay. That’s good and bad. Utah has one of the highest education levels in the country. It sometimes means the competition for jobs can be pretty intense. Fortunately, there are a lot of jobs right now.

Thanks again,

Richard

Thank you, Donna. It's been a pleasure learning about where you live. I've been to Utah--Zion National Park, and that was amazing--but that's it. Maybe someday I can make it to Orem. Please visit Donna at Donna K Weaver.

Denise Covey: Where I Live and Why I Like It

My guest today is a world traveler if there ever was one. Denise Covey is often on the go to foreign countries. Her blog posts about her travels are always entertaining. With over seven hundred followers, I'm not the only one who enjoys her blog. Her posts, especially about writing, generate many comments. She definitely knows how to run a blog. So, here is some information from Denise about where she lives and what she likes about it.
My Place – Paradise in Australia.

Geographical Information:

Country: Australia

State: Queensland

City or Town: CITY – Brisbane. VILLAGE – Peregian Beach

Neighborhood: West End

  

1.     Is there any place in your area that’s considered a pilgrimage site, such as a religious shrine? 

The closest you get to a pilgrimage site in Queensland is the Suncorp Stadium just up the hill from my place. Here is where the mighty Bronco’s Rugby League team thrash all comers in gladiatorial contests. Another religious site is The ‘Gabba, where the mighty Aussie Cricket Team thrashes England in the Ashes test.

suncorp stadium

2.     Is this where you were born and/or grew up? If not, how did you come to live here?

I was born in Outback Queensland, but moved to the coast as a child. My parents chose the Sunshine Coast (100 kilometres north of Brisbane) and this is where I grew up. My husband and I built a large beach house at Peregian Beach when we settled down after travelling all over Australia. Now we work in Brisbane, so we live in the Big Smoke (as the city is referred to over here) and spend the odd weekend/holiday at the beach. Best of both worlds.

No problem finding a private beach at Peregian

I love the koalas in the trees near the beach house

3.      What do you like best about where you live?

We bought a Heritage property terrace about a year ago which we have renovated and finally found a home for all the antiques we’ve collected over the years. We love living in West End, which is an avant garde suburb, just across the Brisbane River from the inner city (where we used to live). West End is peopled with alternative-lifestyle characters, health shops, indie bookshops, street music and fresh-food markets—a heady mix—and just a five-minute walk from our door. We rarely use the car!

West End style

Markets along the Brisbane River

4.      Do you plan on living here the rest of your life?

Probably not. It suits us while I tutor English at the State Library of Queensland which is also close by. Our plan has always been to move back to Peregian Beach and live the bohemian lifestyle in between overseas’ trips…eventually.

One day I'll get back to my sunset-watching bench again

This says it all - Australia = Beach. Walking to Noosa National Park

5.      Do you have family in the area, or have you ventured out on your own?

All of our four children live in Queensland, which is always a bonus.

Peregian Beach at sunset...fishing. That is Coolum Beach township you can see - Peregian Village is over the dunes behind the fisherfolk

The people along the sand

All turn and look one way

They turn their back on the land

They look at the sea all day.

6.      For tourists, what would you recommend seeing?

Film and Television students along the river this morning

The Cultural Centre, which includes both a traditional and modern art gallery, a museum, the State Library, the Performing Arts Centre which puts on world-class theatre and plays, the South Bank which is a fantastic collection of restaurants of all persuasions, funky people exercising along the river, wonderful views of the city…I love My Place! And do take a CityCat up and down the Brisbane River. It is a fantastic thing to do, day and night. Plenty of neighbourhoods to explore along the way.

The Cultural Centre in the background. Here is a recent Night Noodle Market on the river

7.   If you’re a writer, have you included where you live in the settings of any of your stories?

I’ve set my first, unfinished novel in and around Noosa, which is an iconic beach community ten minutes from Peregian Beach. I’ve used Brisbane as a setting for some short stories (one a very recent post). Outback Queensland is great for setting tall tales of the bush as even though I’ve never lived there as a grown up, I’ve travelled the length and breadth of its vastness and feel a deep affinity. This is my favourite flash fiction on the outback I wrote a few years ago if you'd like to read it.

In Noosa, surfing is king

8.  Would you recommend others to move to where you live?

To me, this part of Queensland is paradise, but the pace would be too slow for a New Yorker, for example. The heat and beach make for a relaxed lifestyle. Most hyperactive Australians choose to live in Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra, all much more upbeat, or they escape to New York or London. But…if you like the lazy, laid-back lifestyle, rather than the crazy lifestyle, South-East Queensland is the place. Downside: it’s about 20+ hours in a plane to access the hubs of the world—Paris, London, New York.

Thanks for inviting me, Richard. It's been a pleasure to share a little of my life. So there you have it. My Place. Sure, travel is my passion, but I always return home.

Thank you, Denise, for allowing us to see where you live.

And please take a look at Denise's blog: Denise Covey

R. Mac Wheeler: Where I Live and Why I Like It

I've been following Mac for a couple of years now. He is both a prolific writer and prolific photographer. He's a fellow Floridian, though not a native Floridian as I am. I went to college in Tampa, so I know a smidgen about that area of the state, where he lives. Farther south than Jacksonville, the climate is a bit different, a bit more tropical, I'd say. And he takes full advantage of all the Gulf Coast has to offer.

1.      Geographical Information:

      Country: USA

      State or Province: Florida

      City or Town: Tampa

      District within City or Town: Seminole Heights

2.      Is there any place in your area that’s considered a pilgrimage site, such as a religious shrine? If so, have you been there?

Raymond James Stadium…home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I attended one game at the old Sombrero before they tore it down. But I like watching my games at home where the fridge is a few seconds away. We’re hoping Coach Lovie Smith can turn the Bucs around. Go Lovie!!

A good runner up would be Clearwater Beach. Definitely a pilgrimage site. Just see how the traffic backs up on the causeway.

3.      Is there a site that has special meaning for you?

Any place on the water…and Florida has lots of water. If you walk in a straight line for five minutes you’ll hit a river, swamp, lake, or bog. Come visit Florida WITH your camera with a spare battery. Bring bug spray if you aren’t going to hang on the beach.

4.      Is this where you were born and/or grew up? If not, how did you come to live here?

I’m from El Paso, Texas…a place I say is a great place to be from. Not to trash the old home town, but I don’t know what keeps people there. I returned for five months to help a family member in hospice, and between the heat and the dust storms….argh. I transferred to Tampa with GTE back in 1986 and have no plans to live anywhere else.

5.      What do you like best about where you live?

Paradise has something to do with it. Though the five hurricanes that came through in 2005 made me rethink my living here the rest of my life. But between the moderate climate, the parks, I can’t say you can beat the quality of life. No downhill skiing anywhere near, but with the way my blood has thinned since living down here, I doubt I’ll ever consider skiing again.

6.      Do you plan on living here the rest of your life?

You betcha

7.      Do you have family in the area, or have you ventured out on your own?

Not having family here was the hardest thing to adjust to. Harder on my wife. Doesn’t help she is a couch potato and hates to travel. Doesn’t get back to the Southwest much. So neither do I. (I do miss the open horizons and mountains.)

8.      Are you happy where you live?

You betcha. Gets a bit hot here July through September, so unless you get out on the water, you stay inside during that irksome stretch. (Spring last I ended up in the hospital dehydrated, ready to die. I carry a lot more water with me now.) But the other nine months are worth it. Going hiking in shorts and a golf shirt in January is nice. You’ll sweat even then. But sweating is healthy. (Carry water.)

9.      For tourists, what would you recommend seeing?

The tourist traps in Orlando, just an hour up I-4 from Tampa, are worth the trip by themselves. My wife and I had season tickets to Disney Word for a few years. Don’t get tired of the place. But there are county, state, and national parks every fifty feet in Florida. It is a sportsman’s paradise. Louisiana uses that tag, but it really belongs to Florida. We have a lot more than bayous. Did I mention beaches? There’s also Busch Gardens, the Amphitheater, Lowery Park, the Aquarium, cruise ships, Westshore Balustrade…. If you’re into any water sport, get your gig on.

10.   What do you do for entertainment where you live? Sporting events, theater, concerts, so on and so forth.

Were’ talking FLORIDA. Not just parks, but theater, symphony, Buccaneers, Rays, Bolts, Rowdies and Storm. Did I mention beaches? The water?

11.   If you’re a writer, have you included where you live in the settings of any of your stories? If you’re a painter, have you painted any of your area’s features?

Tampa is a key locale in all of my novels. The main characters are at least from Tampa, whether they’re scientists in a post-apocalyptic, a teen in a vampire or werewolf noir.  

12.  Would you recommend others to move to where you live? Why?

No!!! I don’t want anyone moving here. The area is expanding with too many people anyway. But bring your vacation dollars.

You can visit Mac at his website r mac wheeler and see his awesome lineup of books he's written and more photos than you can point a camera at..

Thanks for stopping by, Mac.

Mark Koopmans: Where I Live and Why I Like It

My guest today for "Why I Like Where I Live" is a popular blogger who actually lives in paradise, and his answers to the questions prove it. Mark Koopmans is a writer and blogger whom I've followed for two or three years now. His blog Aloha! Mark Koopmans says Hi from HI is always entertaining. Being from the island James Joyce was from, it should be. He's a stay-at-home dad of three boys. I can imagine the joy and happiness they share on a daily basis. Those are three lucky boys. But, enough from me. Let's let Mark speak for himself.

1.      Geographical Information:

Country: USA

State or Province: Honolulu

City or Town: Honolulu

District within City or Town: Pearl Harbor

2.      Is there any place in your area that’s considered a pilgrimage site, such as a religious shrine? If so, have you been there?

There are several, but probably the most famous is the USS Arizona Memorial. Apparently, it is the #1 free tourist attraction in the state of Hawaii, and after visiting there many times with friends and family, it certainly is a must-see.

3.      Is there a site that has special meaning for you?

One of the most recognizable landmarks on O’ahu is Diamond Head. 

I can see the extinct volcano from our front door (it’s not very close, but I can see on a direct line!) To me, this is one place that symbolizes the history of Hawaii.

4.      Is this where you were born and/or grew up? If not, how did you come to live here?

No, my wife is active-duty U.S. Navy, so we’ve been here on O’ahu for three years – and have one more left before we head to places as-yet unknown. (I’m originally from the island of Ireland – “only I’m not on my island” (name that movie for 10 bonus points :)

5.      What do you like best about where you live?

It never, ever, not once snows.

6.      Do you plan to live here the rest of your life?

 I wish.

7.      Do you have family in the area, or have you ventured out on your own?

No official family, but have made friends with other military families.

8.      Are you happy where you live?

See question #5 :)

9.      For tourists, what would you recommend seeing?

If you can get access to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, I would check out the historical sites on Ford Island. 

The Bishop Museum is amazing,

 as is the Polynesian Cultural Center, and if you want a quiet(er) beach than Waikiki—check out White Plains Beach.

10.   What do you do for entertainment where you live?

I’m a stay-at-home Dad, so we go out on field trips several times a week. There’s no professional soccer or baseball team on Oahu, but there is so much else to see, including a drive to the famous North Shore.

11.   If you’re a writer, have you included where you live in the settings of any of your stories? If you’re a painter, have you painted any of your area’s features?

Not a painter and haven’t included anything of Hawaii in current WIP, but if the chance comes up, I will.

12.  Would you recommend others to move to where you live? Why?

Seriously, who wouldn’t want to live in Hawaii?

 Feel free to add any other relevant information you might want to mention.

Thanks, Richard, for including me as a guest blogger today! Blessed with the chance to live in paradise, we will always look back on Hawaii with very fond memories :)

Thank you for sharing a bit about your life with us. BTW, I'll be in O'ahu next week looking for a place to stay for a couple of weeks. What's your address? Just kidding. I think you do live it paradise.

Tanya Reimer: Where I live and why I like it.

My first guest post for my new series 'Why I Like Where I Live' is by my longest blogging friend: Tanya Reimer. I met Tanya through the Agent Query Connect website maybe three or four years ago. We've critiqued each others work and shared some personal family stuff. But there's still more I'd like to know. Her guest post today has helped me to get to know her a little better. 

Here are Tanya's answers.

Where do you live?

Canada, Saskatchewan, “On the Prairies”.

What makes our community so unique is that it’s not a city, town, or even a village. It’s a rural community, which means most of the population lives on farms, not in the hamlet itself. In fact, only about 40 people live in the “hamlet” part, yet the school has over 85 students and when we throw a community festival we see around 200 people who come from farms or surrounding towns.

Is there any place in your area that’s considered a pilgrimage site, such as a religious shrine? If so, have you been there?

Religion has always been a big part of this community. It was the French Catholic priests who encouraged settlers to found it in the late 1800 and early 1900s. Over the years, it has seen three churches, having one lost to a fire before it was even finished.

As for shrines, there is a pretty cool one. It was built back in the 1950s. We call it La grotte (the grotto).

There is also the Saint Maurice statue that stands in the shadows at the cemetery. It’s symbolic. When the settlers first moved here, they used St Maurice in the name to identify that the town was not the same one as their hometown in Belgium.

Is there a site that has special meaning for you?

I think of my community in terms of feelings, not spots, which makes it hard to brag about. There’s the spot under the trees by the school where I bring my friends when they need to cry because time stands still there.

Oh! And the path I took when I had a breakthrough in the world’s most complicated plot.

The creek is always a nice place to visit when I need strength. It is full of life from turtles to beavers. 

If I brave walking in it, there are insects and fish that freak the heck out of me.

And of course, there’s the cemetery where I go when I want to feel the wisdom of all my ancestors. Because even if I didn’t know them, living here makes me a part of their lives, because each one made this place home and that means they left a trace of themselves behind in the school they built, the rink they worked in, the church they tried to save…each one is a story I wish I could share.

Is this where you were born and grew up? If not, how did you come to live here?

I feel like I did all my growing up on the prairies of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We live here by choice. My husband and I went on an adventure after we finished school and found a city we liked. One night we were sitting on our tiny little step overlooking a ‘green space’—well not our step, we were renting a room in a basement that was not home—and across the way, children gathered. With a content sigh, we said to each other that one day our children could play in that park…only there was no laughter or running, and the children were not smiling, in fact they were up to no good which we found out soon enough. I don’t even remember a debate. We packed up and moved to our new ‘home.’

We bought a house that needed love, but it has a huge front step that overlooks a play park. Yup, we live here by choice. Some say it has nothing, yet when we sit on our steps, we see children playing and running and laughing and, somehow, it has everything.

What do you like best about where you live?

The connection I feel to the prairies.

For tourists, what would you recommend seeing?

This really depends on the tourist. One guy said, he was shocked when he heard silence for the first time in his life. No ticking clocks, no humming fridges, just…silence. I had no idea that was a tourist attraction…but he was amazed by it.

I see some who park on the side of the road and take pictures of wheat fields, pump jacks, sunflower fields, grain elevators, deers…and they are enthralled by these common things.

Others need a little more excitement and for them, learning to drive in a blizzard is more what I’d recommend. (Just kidding. Don’t drive in a blizzard, grab a book and stay warm.) Seriously though, if you like adventure come in the winter, it’s much busier. Hockey, curling, dances, violin concerts, and snowmen to build…we’re busy.

Now, there are a million treasures out on the prairies. Every year we go for an adventure to discover a new one. We loved the tunnels in Moose Jaw, and the Native American dancers at White Bear. Oh! the settlers village at Cannington Manor and the dinosaur bones at Eastend were great hits,too.

This year we’re going to Fort Walsh and to discover a few more of our parks.

Saskatchewan is really BIG. I remember visiting a lake when I was a kid by a volcano. It was beautiful and I want to take my kids there, but no one remembers where it was in Saskatchewan! LOL.

If you’re a writer, have you included where you live in the settings of any of your stories? If you’re a painter, have you painted any of your area’s features?

As a writer, I find the tranquility of the prairies haunting all my stories. I find that even nature has a personality all of its own. The wind reacts to the moods and sets the tone. The storms stop or push the plot. Even in the quiet of the fall, the Northern Lights seem to whisper secrets as they dance across the skies.  Nothing is more romantic than sitting on a square bale with snow lightly falling and the skies coming to life for my hero’s enjoyment.

Would you recommend others to move to where you live? Why?

I would, but dang, if ya’ll move here where the heck will I go to hear the silence?

You can learn more about Tanya at her excellent blog Life's Like That.
Also, I'm a guest on her blog today, answering her questions about where I live.