It felt wonderful! I'd never dreamed of being a bestseller like many writers do - all I ever wanted was to be a historian, but it was fantastic not only for me but for everyone else who helped to make the book such a success.

I'm thrilled. Writing is a solitary profession. It isn't until the work is out there for public consumption that a writer finds out if her creation has all the right ingredients to connect with readers. It's a like creating a new cake recipe. When you think you have a winner, you hand someone a slice and hope for a "Yummy" response. Necessary Force has gotten yummies!

It has been a wonderful experience teaming up with my daughter for the House of Night. I do all of the writing, and Kristin serves as my front line teen voice editor. It was awesome knowing that Kristin had my back, which allowed me to focus on the story.

Kristin and I have always been close, so that hasn't changed. I have learned to appreciate her skills as an editor. I am very proud of her!

At first I relied heavily on Kristin to be sure that I didn't make Z and/or the Nerd Herd sound, as Kristin once put it, "like a disgruntled 40-something year old school teacher". But after the first few books the characters were so firmly set that Kristin had very little dialogue editing to do. It was then that she and I began discussing the overreaching story arch for the entire series. Most of the time Kristin was my sounding board, and by discussing plot points with her I worked my way through potential problems. Sometimes she had a very strong voice in what I was considering. Example: Grandma Redbird was almost a casualty. Kristin was very vocal about that! "Nooooooo! Don't kill Grandma!" And I didn't!

As I did all of the writing we really didn't have these kinds of disagreements. During the editing process Kristin would leave me comments about the manuscripts, but it was ultimately my decision about whether I would follow her advice or not. Mostly that advice was about cutting descriptions that were too wordy, and I usually followed it.

Thank you! I have been acting since I was 8 and I have been fortunate to be a part of some great projects. This is always a hard question to answer because I feel a connection to every role I have played and they were each an important step in my career. But, of all the projects I would say "The Lone Ranger" ranks a little higher because I got to work with one of my acting idols, Johnny Depp. That was amazing.

I'll be writing till the day I die, particularly nonfiction help books in the EveryGirl series. It's probably the reporter in me but I have a deep passion for gathering and sharing information, especially with fellow women. I feel like many people's lives can be positively enhanced if they come in contact with the proper information. Growing up, my parents and I lacked information on a host of subjects that made life far more difficult than it needed to be. I want to help people, especially women, avoid that.

Well I got hit by a car and it was pretty bad, but Jenny Kido still did her thing. I am very proud of her. I didn't use any pain killers, I just did a lot of icing.

When I first read the script, I thought it was absolutely hilarious. I just love how brazen Holly is with everything. She's so amoral and inappropriate, like it's all just so wrong, but to me, that's what makes it so great. It's so much fun to play her because of all of the outrageous situations she gets into--I always get excited to see what the writers have written for her.

It was SO amazing hearing that the show had officially been picked up! There was a lot of screaming and calling friends! It's going to be a really amazing ride!

It's always a great time to get fit and STAY fit! But new years gives you a chance to start fresh, especially after the holidays where the average person gains 4-8 pounds, so we're all in need of a jump start. My 10-week plan makes it easy and do-able.

I've always been drawn to dark, Gothic stories going back to when I first read "Picture of Dorian Gray" and Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is something about it that lends itself to the exploration of our darker nature that intrigues me.

Of course. In 1981, three fourteen-year-old boys witness a horrific murder in the Oregon woods near their homes. Sucked into becoming accomplices to the subsequent cover-up, they swear never to talk about what happened. Thirty years later, Tommy Devereaux has become a bestselling author, using writing as his therapy. Finally, he is ready to tell the world what happened, even if he disguises the killing as fiction. But his life is set to unravel when he is approached by a woman who asks for his autograph, leaving behind a note which reads: 'You didn't even change my name.' Tommy's worst nightmare has come true. A figure from his past has returned, threatening to divulge his darkest secret unless he agrees to do everything she asks of him. Thus begins a deadly cat-and-mouse game that can only end with one or both of their destructions.

The story takes place in the near future, when virtual reality technology is extremely advanced and lifelike. A teenager named Michael is a big gamer who is very skilled at programming. His help is sought when terrible things start happening in the virtual world, causing people to show up brain-dead in the real world. As he digs deeper and gets more involved, his own life becomes endangered and the line between what's real and what's not becomes blurred.

The show surrounds 5 women who all live in or near the same neighborhood, and the men they love. These characters ride an emotional roller coaster that takes them deep, I mean real deep. It's Full of secrets and deception at every turn. This is the type of show that will definitely have you yelling at the tv. Lol.

It was more fun than expected. We really enjoyed opening up our lives and sharing our trials and tribulations. I believe what we experience throughout our first year of marriage is very relatable.

I wouldn't take anything back... I believe everything happens for reason. I am now able to help raise awareness towards the deadly disease of addiction, and can show individuals currently struggling that there's a life worth living if you can find recovery.

I think I remember him saying the first album was him and my mom writing songs for my older brother. When it took off they realized they were writing them for all kids.

I think that growing up with someone in a creative field who is making a living from it is huge. It fostered a feeling in me that was like, 'Yeah this is what you do, you work really hard, write a ton of songs and it works out.' Some people have to overcome a large fear to even begin working in the arts, I didn't really have that.

It was more like the worst and worst songs. I always looked at the guitar purely as a songwriting tool. So before I could even play chords I was writing one note songs. Needless to say, those were not very good. I honestly don't remember the lyrics, it takes a lot of writing to get to anything good in my opinion. That was my early stages of just getting a ton of reps in.

"This is the time of night when all the street lights rub their waking eyes, the day and night find compromise in dark blue" - from a super old song I wrote called "The World is Yours."

Street performing was huge for my development. It got me singing for up to 8 hours a day which helped hone my voice, I really found my sound out there. It was also a crazy hustle which the music business always is and will be. It was a great training ground.

It was awesome. Going from street performing and trying to get people to stop as they walked by to playing sold out venues in cities all across the country was/still is incredible. I am very grateful for my fans.

The head of S-Curve found this new technology out of Israel that allowed us to make the first choose your own adventure music video. We were really just going for something that would allow the technology to be displayed. You can watch it a bazillion times and see different shots and scenes, it's pretty cool. To be a part of something like that on the front end was really cool.

I did. Street performing can be exhilarating when a crowd of a hundred gathers around and the energy is electric, it can also be an 8 hour day of people just passing you by. It takes a lot of resilience to stay up. I wrote 'Keep Your Head Up' after one of those long days where I felt like I wasn't even seen. All good though, got me that song.

I think that for whatever reason right now it's cooler to be cynical. There is something about apathy that is kind of in, maybe it always has been. It's hard to get the happy or positive feelings into song without it sounding obnoxiously cheesy. When it's successfully done though (ex. 'Happy' - Pharrell) we all freak out cause we need those songs. As the writer you just have to be willing while writing to look stupid and not be afraid of it. Cause every once in a while you get 'Keep Your Head Up' and it's all worth it.

Lauryn Hill has always been a North Star for me. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was SO GOOD and still so damn cool. I don't even know if you would call it happy so much as grounded and looking up. That's what I'm going for.

Writing this second album was crazy because I had never really written under pressure before. I think it took the first 50 songs to get through nerves and expectation. So the second 50 were just writing from a more genuine place. I'm so proud of this both because of how good I think it is and how hard I fought for it.

I think the first album was like a nice conversation with someone you just met. Charming and showing the best parts of yourself. Magazines or Novels is how you would talk with a close friend. It's more vulnerable and honest. Specifically sound-wise I think the first album was Lauryn Hill meets Coldplay meets John Mayer and the new album is Macklemore meets Lumineers meets Drake.

I feel like we are an ADD listening generation. We flip through songs like shiny pages on a magazine. Sometimes on occasion a group of songs will slip through and we'll really dig in. I tried to create music to me that was catchy enough to grab the ear but hopefully meaningful enough to have staying power.

Novels. A magazine can grab your eye but if you love a novel it can stay on your shelf forever.

Home to me is Los Angeles. I know LA can get a bad rap for being plastic or fake but to me it's where my best friends are. I have got an incredible down to earth group of friends that remind me of who I am every time I come home.

I don't think there was any on the album. Always live though. Many other interesting sounds on this one though. The track with the vocoder is awesome.

Well from a strictly sonic perspective I like simple. Meriting a good simple song that is different enough is really hard to do. I find those are the catchiest ones. Also I try to write things that have an element of truth in them about life. When you get that right those resonate a lot too.

It's always changing. But as far as getting me started it was Lauryn Hill, John Mayer and Coldplay.

Please for the love of god let me tour with Coldplay.

That can change each tour. This one in particular New York City, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Portland and Seattle were insane.

It's something that reminds me why I even do this. Music at its essence is a service for others. I love hearing the stories of how people use it in their day to day.

I'm gonna be in New York City, we'll be playing the Today Show the next day.

"True Love" by Coldplay... So good.

Illustrated epigrams in a special self-concocted format. The essence of an epigram is that it is a short meaningful expression.

From advertising slogans and graffiti. The truth is, there was no "original idea." It was a process (which may still be going on.) For years I wrote crazy little thing and just put them away in boxes and drawers. Not till my thirties did I begin reciting them (eg at parties) as a kind of one-line poetry. People urged me to publish them, but I thought of each one as a separate complete work, hence the idea of postcards (which I still think is the ideal form for them.)

Essentially yes: A maximum of 17 English words, easily translatable.

10,000 so far published.

Not until you asked that question.

A wide variety of print, electronic media, and manufactured products. Since their beginning on postcards in 1967, Pot-Shots have appeared in many books (my own and, by permission, other people's), as a syndicated newspaper feature, and on various licensed products, including t-shirts, greeting-cards, mugs, calendars, magnets, plaques, place-mats, and many more (although many proved to be one-time ventures.) Our current most popular product is the Catalog on CD which contains words and graphics of all 10,000 published Pot-Shots in very useful database form. They are been estimated to have been printed on over 100 million items.

As an epitaph on a tombstone in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Buena Vista CO. It was used with permission, and contains a copyright symbol. It's #1041: "Before I knew the best part of my life had come, it had gone."

Not that I'm aware of.

I like them, and have a whole set. But there is little similarity to my work.

"In a 1979 case a Federal Judge (William Byrne) declared my copyrights to be "valid, subsisting, and enforceable. The case involved a Southern California company (W.B. Productions) making and selling t-shirt transfers, on which they used 3 of my lines, despite being asked repeatedly to stop. They hardly put up any defense, and to my surprise paid the $18,000 judgment in full. I can't remember if a lower court was first involved, but if that did happen, I didn't have to appear in person, as I did before Judge Byrne. The only question he asked that I can remember was whether I had paid Clifton Fadiman to write the words of praise which introduced my first book. Of course my answer was an emphatic NO. We had a very good lawyer named Ronald S. Laurie, who went on to specialize in software copyright cases."

There are many more, but I stopped publishing at 10,000, feeling a lack of incentive to continue.

Not in any serious legitimate commercial way, that I know of.

"#937 They're all my children, and it's very hard for me to choose between so many. I particularly like #937, ""Fundamentally, there may be no basis for anything,"" because of the simplicity, the meaningfulness, the wit, and how well my illustration goes with the words."

Yes. I'm currently doing a series of "Bedtime Stories."

Yes, e.g. in my play "Begetting." - but it's not intentional.

That they can find out much more from my website www.ashleighbrilliant.com and from my series of books of "Brilliant Thoughts."

To me it meant that I could get another book deal, which was the main goal. When I began writing the book, I always hoped that it would do well enough to garner a second.

I've been a fan of TMNT since I was a young girl, so getting the opportunity to play Karai was a dream come true. I used to fantasize about what it would be like to have a slumber party in the Turtle's lair and eat pizza with the Turtles. So when I walked onto set and entered the TMNT universe, it really was surreal. And by the way, who doesn't want to be a ninja???

Time to put the holiday cheer down, cut those alcohol calories out of your diet, and back away from the desserts. Let's get back to eating clean with a high protein diet starting with FitPro Protein to help build your muscle while burning fat and giving your body all the best nutrition it needs to build a healthy body. FitPro is lactose free, gluten free, and has no added hormones - hands down it's the best protein on the planet. Let's cut the carbs and sugars and start drinking the proper amount of water to release those fat burning cells. I recommend Essentia water to stay properly hydrated while you start grinding out the intervals in the gym.

Much appreciated thanks! Yes, it's both in the sense that you get to see these makers design and build a piece of furniture in 24 hours by hand. The biggest difference is we're all visually familiar with furniture and don't have to taste or have a particular body type to know if we like it or not.

I was drawn to audition for KINGDOM by the complexity of the characters and the original setting of the world of MMA - Mixed Martial Arts, which has a unique culture and code. I do not feel Christina CHOSE to abandon her family for a life of drugs and prostitution, but as she descended deeper into her addiction, it was the only route to survival she could see. I believe she felt she must protect her sons from herself. I was excited for the opportunity to explore a woman who is battling demons, inside and out, who is street-wise and unexpected, raw and inappropriate.

My favorite genre is comedy. I also like sci-fi and action films, but comedy is something I'm really passionate about because I love to make people laugh. I'm naturally funny, so I feel that comedy plays to my strength. Judd Apatow is one of my favorite comedy directors. He directed "40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up". I also like Todd Phillips who directed the "Hangover" movies. David Fincher has directed some very unique films that I love, like "Fight Club" and "Seven". For sci-fi, Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors and I enjoy his films a lot. There is a huge market for sci-fi films. Lots of people are fascinated with them, so it's a good genre for producers to focus on. I feel like action movies are great for me, since I'm a pretty active person and I wouldn't have a problem with action sequences.

I've been producing my entire life, even back in school where I was producing plays. When I moved to Los Angeles, I started producing reality shows and a few short movies. I decided to focus on producing full length feature films so that I can have a hand in the creative process and to be able to cast people that I enjoy working with.

I noticed how people loved "Rapture", which was a sci-fi thriller I co-produced with Clint Eastwood's daughter, Kim Eastwood. We got a lot of positive feedback so that made me feel more inclined to doing another sci-fi movie.

Not yet, but I would say that we anticipate a domestic and international release date around mid-2015.

I'm a romantic person who believes in true love, so my favorite part was the love story.

The film website is www.DominionTheFilm.com. What films are on your watch list for 2015?

I'm looking forward to seeing Mission Impossible 5. It's Tom Cruise so you can't go wrong. Disney Pixar's Finding Dory is going to be good. For comedy, I can't wait to see Ted 2. I thought that the first movie was hilarious so I'm glad there's going to be a sequel.

Yes, the classes I took gave me a foundation to work with, but I found that the best school is to actually be on set, even if it's just for a small role. It's like learning how to swim. You can talk about techniques all day, but at some point you have to get into the water and do it. Working directly the directors and producers on different projects has helped me to see the entire process of what it takes to make a movie. Writing the screenplay, casting, putting a crew together, budgeting and raising money, shooting, special effects, editing and getting distribution... there's a lot involved but it's fun and I enjoy everything about it. There's nothing else I'd rather do.

Thank you! I'm new to the pageant world, so it's been fun to experience something that I've never done before. When I was a little girl, I used to watch the Miss America and Miss World pageants every year with my mom and sisters. It was like a ceremony for us. My mom would make food and invite my aunts and clients from her beauty salon and we would have a blast all day. It was a very important date on the calendar for us. I think my favorite part of the pageant experience is just being able to share my stories with them. It sounds simple when you say it that way, but they were so excited about it so that make my heart glad.

I hope that I can use the title of Miss Los Angeles to help charities and see if I can use it as a vehicle to brand myself and get more work as a talent. The Miss United States Organization provides an opportunity that I feel is useful for me since I can use it as a platform to be for visible and meet people who I can potentially collaborate with in my career as I move forward.

Free time? What's that? No, I'm just kidding. Truthfully, I don't have a whole lot of free time, but when I do I usually use it to work out or a nice night out for dinner and a movie with my friends. Also, going to get a massage is one of my favorite things to do. I always try to find some time to fit that in to my schedule. It helps me relax.

I've always wanted to be an actress or a producer, ever since I was a child. The film industry has always fascinated me and I'm still very passionate about it.

First of all, have confidence in yourself. That's very important in any industry that's highly competitive, such as modeling. Second, don't become distracted with anything that can hurt your future such as drug addiction or alcohol abuse. Lastly, always stay positive. Participating in activities that help you neutralize negative energy is very helpful. For me exercise and volunteer work keep me in a good state of mind, but find something outside of modeling that works for you and do it.

I'll answer this question from the standpoint of a talent in both industries. As a model, maintaining my look is probably the most important thing. Of course, there's a lot more that goes into a successful modeling career and if I went into all the details, I would probably have a book to publish. As an actress, I would say that there is a different type of discipline I have needed to have. Memorizing my lines and being able to deliver them well usually require me to rehearse, rehearse, and then rehearse some more. Also, there is usually work I do to put myself in the mindset of the character whose role I'm playing. Depending on the role, it can get pretty intense. There is a lot more time that goes into preparing before you perform on set and even though it can be really challenging, it's also very rewarding work!

My biggest influence is Cindy Crawford, who started modeling at a young age, like me. It's an inspiration to how her modeling career became a springboard for much more in her career. As we all know, she went on to become a very successful business woman and spokes model for several campaigns. And look at her right now, she's stunning. She still looks amazing, like she hasn't aged a day.

I would choose my pair of Nike Air Max shoes. They are so comfortable!

Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, AMC, my pal Bob Odenkirk, and the words "Breaking Bad Spin Off" were plenty to draw me to any role on that show. The icing on the cake was that I do not think we have seen a female character quite like Betsy Kettleman before.