Hello! And welcome to the wonderful world of Cheryl!! (A world where exclamation marks are used too freely!)

You’ve clicked on my profile which means that you either want to know something about me, or you want to know if there’s a reason why I haven’t updated my stories recently.

Well, the latter is the simplest to answer. If you’re reading anything but WTECS, I apologize but I can’t seem to find the creativity to update. I do have nearly a full chapter for Race Against Time (it’s only been three years – don’t rush me!), Experiment X, and Something Wiccan This Way Comes. Problem is, they’re still on hiatus. As for WTECS, I’m sorry, but I’m suffering from this dreadful (and life-threatening!) disease known as writer’s block. Which is stupid because I have the next eight months of story planned out… I just can’t get my muses to focus.

So, if you’ve clicked to find out more about me, here goes.

I’m called Cheryl. (We may have covered this, LOL!) I’m originally from just outside of Manchester (England) called Chapel-en-le-Frith, making me a Man City supporter. Something I have been all my life, much to the disgust of my Man Utd supporting family. Well, blue is a better color than red!!

I moved to Hull to go to university (American Studies graduate) and never went home. Whilst on this four year degree I spent a year at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and despite the fact I was there three weeks and Katrina hit, another month and Rita payed a visit, and then Wilma decided to get in on the action, I fell in love with the Bayou state and I would give my left arm to go back there (I write with my right arm and I don’t think I could live without writing – you hear that, muses??)

I’m now twenty-four, and still at university. I’m doing a part-time Creative Writing degree (yup, another!). I work on the campus in the commercial services where I’m a Conference and Functions Coordinator, and for the first time in literally years, I will walk into my job smiling, and walk out of it smiling!

As well as this, on a night time I work in the building next door which is the Student’s Union. Here I am the Wednesday night resident DJ, and that makes me the DJ of the biggest and most popular student night in Hull. Yes, I’m bragging a little here, but I’ve worked hard to get to this so I figure I’m allowed. I stick mainly to the current hits and the student anthem classics – it’s what they want. But if I get the chance to do an 80s night, I’m happy too! I’m working my way around the BBC Radio 1 DJs – Chris Moyles, Greg James, and next on the list, is Scott Mills!! I think we’ve confirmed Zane Lowe, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that, lol!

When it comes to music, I will listen to anything. Honestly! It just depends on my mood. Unless it’s Christmas songs. I hate Christmas. I’m a right Scrooge!! At the moment, my favorite song is Supernova by Mr. Hudson, ft. Kanye West. I’ve really grown to love Kanye! And I’m a huge Britney fan (yes, I was one of ‘those’ who was supporting her when she shaved her hair off!) However, I DJ a lot of weddings over the summer and I get sick of listening to the same music, so I tend to have a country mix CD on in the car. I love Little Big Town, Garth Brooks, a bit of Taylor Swift, Rascal Flats and don’t laugh, but lots of Trace Adkins!!

I love writing. I have so many ideas running around in my head that I end up having really strange dreams. Because of this, I have to get them out. Heck, WTECS actually started out as a dream! I have some stories published on Mibba and Fanfiction’s sister site, FictionPress. They’re both the same stories, but on different layouts. If you want to have a gander, by all means do! One is a crime story, and the other is actually a sci-fi piece. Again, I really need a cure to writer’s block to get more chapters written.

I also love to read, but that’s happening less than the writing. I adore the Dark Desires series by Kresley Cole. My housemates refer to it as vampire porn. It’s not that bad, but if you’re in to smutty supernatural stories, I would definitely recommend them. I also love Jackie Collins and own every single book by her. Despite this, I actually prefer reading teen fiction – either the supernatural or fantasy genre. My favorite books include the House of Night Series by PC and Kirsten Cast, the Twilight series (although I’m not sure why, because let’s face it, Bella is a HUGE Mary Sue and it’s not actually that well written… and yet I continue to re-read it!), the Harry Potter Series (again, whilst it has an exceptionally well put together plot, that’s not that well written either). I love the Artemis Fowl series. Oh, and the Chronicles of Narnia. And finally, not a series, but I love Companions of the Night by Vivien Vande Velde.

When it comes to Fanfiction I only seem to be reading the CSI:NY stories. Occasionally I may read a Supernatural story, but I really love OC stories and I’m finding it hard to find a decent one. And if I’m really disillusioned, I may try to find a Smallville story, but I only really like a Chloe/Oliver pairing. Now, this may lead you to believe that I read a lot of fanfiction… I don’t. The truth of the matter is I’m rarely on my laptop anymore, and therefore, rarely on the internet. I’m trying to find a routine whereby I can find some time, even if it’s only half an hour a day, to read some fanfiction. I know I’m behind on the stories I have on alert and this saddens me greatly. There’s also the fact that I know there will be some great stories out there that I’m missing out on. I feel like a lot of people read other people's work and don't leave any comments and that's not fair. Writers work hard on their pieces... or some do, at least. Either way, if they've gone to the trouble to write it, and you've gone to the trouble to read it, why is leaving a review so hard? As someone who is on the receiving end of that, I can understand the frustration. I read somewhere that 1 in 11 readers leave a review. Think about that!!

I’m beginning to think that part of the problem lies in my Playstation. Yes, I am a bit of a gamer girl and I am completely hooked on the Final Fantasy series. I’m currently working my way through XII as I’ve had it ages and I’ve still got to complete it!! I think when that’s done, I might be able to focus on something else.

When I can’t sleep. Or when my housemates (a couple – seriously… don’t allow your housemate to move her boyfriend in… three weeks they said… that was last June!) are arguing, I tend to watch TV. And by TV, I mean TV shows that I have downloaded. Oh, I should share this with you. As downloading TV shows is somewhat illegal, I also stream them. Follow the link and head to this site if you want to stream shows. Just try to look for the ones marked ‘average’ and above for streaming time. It’s legal!!

My obsessions lie in CSI:NY and Supernatural. However, I’m also somewhat addicted to The Bill (I love Smithy, Mickey, Jack and Neil!), Smallville, One Tree Hill, Criminal Minds, Cold Case, True Blood, Bones, House and for some reason, Dollhouse. The ones that are no longer running that I keep going back to are Veronica Mars, Buffy, Angel, Party of Five and of course, Third Watch. (I FINALLY watched the very last ever episode, and my god was I bawling my eyes out!)

So what else is there that you could find interesting. Well, I have black hair with bright blue streaks (they used to be cerise but I tend to wear a lot of blues and it was clashing). My favorite food is either lasagna or duck, but I have developed a taste for octopus!! I refuse to give up drinking Pepsi (I’m a Pepsi girl, not a Coke girl, and I don’t care what you say – I can tell the difference!).

I figure that people fall into one of three categories. You’re either a dog person, a cat person, or a rodent person. I am most definitely the latter. I have two rabbits - Jack and Luna. Jack is a brown Netherlands Dwarf. He looks like a wild rabbit, really. And he’s really affectionate. And I don’t care what people say, he is actually really intelligent, knows when he’s being told off and when he escapes from the garden, not only will he not stray further than either next door’s garden or my front garden (despite the lack of walls/fences in the front, he will also come back when called! Luna is supposed to be a Dwarf Lop, and she's about as dwarf as Flack is. She's black and ma-hu-sive! But they're my babies and I love them.

So that’s my hobbies and interests. As for my personality, well, I’m a Sagittarian through and through. I’ve scourered a few sites and come up with this. And to be honest, it’s pretty damn accurate!

“Change and variety are what spice up life for Sagittarius. They like variety in their work along with challenge, which makes them happy.”

“They are not at all selfish but big hearted, understanding, and entirely lacking in hatred.”

“The day you grow up will be the day the lights go out. Brilliant storytellers. There’s a flamboyant quality about you, and you do have a tendency to exaggerate. But that’s what makes you so colorful.”

“Larger than life, open minded, boisterous and boyish, you’re hardly likely to be sitting on the sidelines, are you?!”

“Optimistic, freedom-loving, jovial, good-humored, honest, straightforward, intellectual, and philosophical. A tendency towards blind optimism, carelessness, superficiality, restlessness and tactlessness.”

“Strong personality with leadership qualities.”

“They very rarely tell lies, in fact they're so open about everything, the whole world knows what they're up to. They have marvelous intuitions that they should take notice of. They're pretty clever because they're so interested in everything. They can be a bit rude but that's only because they're very honest and will say exactly what they think. They love travel, fast cars and horse riding. They also love spending money, so a credit card should be avoided!”

“Sagittarians need an unconventional lifestyle, preferably one that allows them to travel. They cannot be cooped up in a cramped environment and they need to meet new people and to explore a variety of ideas during their days work. Money is not their god - they will work for a pittance if they feel inspired by the task.”

“They are basically ambitious and optimistic, and continue to be so even when their hopes are dashed. Their strongly idealistic natures can also suffer many disappointments without being affected. They are honorable, honest, trustworthy, truthful, generous and sincere, with a passion for justice. They are usually on the side of the underdog in society they will fight for any cause they believe to be just, and are prepared to be rebellious.”

Sagittarians are extremely independent, truly free spirits and yet, they are the nicest of all the zodiac signs. Sagittarians are kind, openhearted souls who do not expect anything in return when helping a friend. There are no hidden secrets to a Sagittarius - what you see is what you get. Creative, clever, straightforward, congenial - all these traits describe Sagittarius.”

Finally, the profile picture if of the wonderful actress, Taylor Cole. If you read WTECS, this is who I see as Taylor, sharing the same name being complete coincidence!

But yes, I feel that is enough information about me. If you want to know anything else, drop me a PM. I’ll be honest and say don’t expect a reply straight away, but I will message back! (Unless you’re going to send me hate mail. Then I’ll ignore you!)

The English Language.

aka Cheryl's pet hates:

The word "Yeah" (summed up nicely by Aurilia)

'Yea' is pronounced the same as 'yay' (as in OMG!YAY I'm so glad that happened!) and the only real use I've ever seen of 'yea' is at the beginning of whatever that bible quote is that keeps worming its way into my horror movies ('yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil'). The spelling you want to use when someone's saying the shorthand of yes in your stories is 'yeah'. Freaky English spelling rules dictate the 'ea' vowel combination is a long-A sound, while adding an 'h' on the end makes it a short-A sound.

"Text" (1)

"Text" should never be made into a verb. It's lazy enough to start using weird acronyms to spell whole sentences (LMAO). Let's not start removing words and changing the make up of others just because it's quicker to say. Rather than "They just texted me back," I'd say "They just sent me a text message." Yeah, it takes longer, but I think it sounds better.

"Text" (2)

Unless you're writing a text message in your story, DO NOT WRITE YOUR STORY IN TEXT LANGUAGE! LOL is not an acceptable way of writing, s/he laughed loudly.

Speech Marks and Full Stops/Periods

"Hi!" she shouted. NOT "Hi!" She shouted.

"It's a flying pig." she muttered. NOT "It's a flying pig." She muttered.

1) There is no such word as "alot."

2) One does not go to the store "everyday." It's "every day." "Everyday" is an adjective, meaning that something is used or fit for every day, common - "an everyday occurrence."

3) Don't put quotation marks around everyday words.

4) An apostrophe is never used with a personal pronoun; therefore you shouldn't write "The movie bored it's audience," but "its." It's true! (In that little sentence, the apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter "i"). Similarly, it's incorrect to write "Who's book is this?" Or "The fault was their's."

5) "Pick-up" and "check-out" are not verbs. You "pick up" a sailor or "check out" a library book. No hyphen. "Pickup" without the hyphen is a noun. It's the jolt you get from a bracing cup of Earl Grey. "Checkout" is the time at which a lodger must vacate a room, or a counter or area in a store where goods are checked out.

6) "Thank you" is not one word!

Actually I have one last thing to... ask... When I was 16 (back in 2001), when I should have been revising for my GCSE's, I was instead starting my novel - my true baby. Recently I have returned to it, and I have about four chapters I am completely happy with (for a first draft of course - what I mean is it now doesn't sound like sixteen year old me wrote it.) Anyhoos, I want to try to get it published, but I was after some opinions on it. It's a teenage fantasy (complete with dragons, knights, lost kingdoms and vodka). The thing I have to ask - is there anyone out there who would genuinely be willing to give it a read (I'm not after a beta for it - just opinions), and basically tell me if it works and worth continuing with, and if not, what doesn't work about it.

Seriously - if you fancy giving it a read, please do drop me a line!!

Coming Soon (or when I actually get around to write it) A little section for 'more information' about my stories. By that I mean what actors/actress do I have in mind for characters, dresses, cars, etc.