I met author Heather Grace Stewart “randomly” last year through the blogging community on WordPress.com, even though we grew up in the same city.  We have never met in person yet have so much in common.  Therefore, when she asked me to take part in this blog hop – I jumped at the opportunity to get to know my new “friend” a little more.

Since she shared her answers with me, I had to open up and let her get to know more about me too!  Heather is an amazing mentor and friend.  Heather Grace Stewart is a Canadian magazine writer, author and poet. Her first poem was published in her school newsletter when she was five, and she's been hooked on writing ever since.

"Heather Grace Stewart's work is a breath of fresh air. She writes from the heart with such pureness and vulnerability. I couldn't put this book down, as I truly connected with her words and could relate to her, even though we have never met." – My review of her new collection of poetry, Three Spaces.

Please visit Heather’s post here: http://heathergracestewart.com/2013/03/05/bet-you-didnt-know/

You can also read her Profile of Perseverance interview here: http://ariannasrandomthoughts.com/2012/06/06/heather-grace-stewart-carry-on-dancing/

Since tomorrow March 8th is International Women's Day, I am tagging the following female bloggers and authors who have inspired me on this journey. Could you please visit them this week? I think you’ll love getting to know them and their work. There are so many women that have inspired my journey - thank you for being you!

Jacqueline:  http://6Monthstolive.me, Katie: http://chronickatie.com/, Tina: http://www.tinainstride.com/, & Felicity: http://bodyacceptancecrusader.blogspot.co.uk/

**Those who have been tagged should post on their blog a blurb about the person who tagged them, their answers to the questions, and the people they tagged.  It is a fun way to get to know other bloggers! I hope you will take part.

BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW… THIS ABOUT ARIANNA

Tell me about your writing process. Do you plan out what you're writing  or sit down and do it? What was the greatest surprise about this writing process for you? 

Perhaps you are like me: you have many random thoughts in your head and you are looking for an outlet to get them down.  I have always kept a journal as I mentioned before. So when I came up with the idea of creating a blog, I immediately started a journal where I wrote out possible ideas for blog posts. I keep a journal with me at all times so I can write down my “random” thoughts.  I don’t plan it – I find for me I jot down the ideas as they come. Then later elaborate on those notes. That is how my book was created.

Also, every few weeks, I meet with a friend and we share our writing with one another. Our sharing and caring about the other’s writing journey has been pretty awesome; it has helped our writing and creative output skyrocket!  We talk and share our ideas. We also hold one another accountable to our writing goals and to being authentic and believing in each other’s vision. Many times, especially during writing, the process is solitary. So, it’s nice to have someone look at your thoughts on paper and suggest areas for improvement. I come out of our meetings empowered and excited to share more.

What was your worst job ever? (doesn't have to be about writing) and why? What did you learn from it?

If you asked me this question years ago, I may have told you a different story.  However, now my outlook has changed. I haven’t had an overall bad job.  There have been aspects of the work I didn’t like but I know the importance of not letting that element cloud my judgement of the work.  Looking back, it wasn’t so bad.  It wasn’t the work itself that was bad, just in some cases I saw others being treated unfairly and I couldn’t do anything about it. It taught me so much about leadership and relationships.  I learned some important life lessons in those experiences.

If you knew tonight was your last meal for a week, what would you eat? 

That’s a tough question.  Probably many many slices of pizza from my favourite pizza place.  A couple slices fill me up so having many would last a week :P

How do you feel about frogs? 

I am like Heather, I truly love them! I think I got this love from my mom. At my grandparents cottage, we used to see so many and just learned to love them.  Also, we used to always go up to Gatineau Park, Quebec as a family and see all the tadpoles in the spring.

Where's your favourite place to chill out, and why?

The beach. Being by it or being in the water renews and refreshes my soul – some of my best ideas come from the beach.  It doesn’t matter where I am in the world as long as I am by water, I feel alive.

Thank you for reading and your presence at this beach retreat. You Rock! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

See you at the beach!