Tuesday Talk

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive. ~American Quaker Saying

It rained yesterday. Rained a lot, thankfully (but not for long -- just dumped a few bucketsful and headed out). A little thunder, but nothing too bad. It was overcast most of the day, which is a drag, but did we ever need the rain! If I were in charge, I'd have it rain EVERY night between 3 a.m. - 4 a.m., a good, solid, soaking rain. Then clear and pleasant.

Of course humans are notoriously bad about being grateful (we're happiest, I think, when we have something to complain about), so maybe a day of bad weather now and then would be in order to make folks happy about the sun.

LOL...

Yesterday, Tori asked: Is it nice having your mom back?

Of course! It's been interesting, though, because it both feels as though she never left AND that incredible amounts of things have changed since she left. It's been a rough few weeks getting her all settled in, but I think it's finally happening.

Maria Zannini commented on the Milkweed Tussock Moths: It almost looks like you can use those caterpillars as scrub brushes.

I think they are one of the coolest pillars I've ever seen. I liked the Luna moth pillar we found, too, but mostly because it was SO HUGE. But the tussock moths almost look like something you could keep as a family pet.

As an aside, this is a Luna moth pillar:



And this is a Luna moth:



And they are one of the pillars I discovered that I could raise indoors if I wanted to -- I can even buy babies. It's very tempting, as they are no longer as numerous (and are even considered endangered in some areas).

And Brandy said: Sorry to ask so many questions.

You don't! If I sounded frustrated yesterday, it's because I am frustrated over the lack of pillars. I get very angry sometimes about big agriculture's lack of consideration about the health of our country: people and critters. It's one of my "hot buttons". Pesticides, herbicides, GMOs (like corn that makes its OWN pesticide so bugs that eat it die... what happens when WE eat it?) ... big ag and I are not on good terms. And I really think they are largely to blame for our current honeybee crisis and the declining numbers of so many good bugs.

Okay, end rant again, lol. Told you it was a hot button. On to other stuff...

It's only a month before DD starts school. This whole "back to school" thing is new to me. I have to check her wardrobe and make sure she has enough of the right clothes to wear. I need to get a list of school supplies to buy (on a side note, I went to Staples last week and scored HUGE on their sale: cap erasers for $0.01, ball point pens for $0.01, two reams of paper for my printer for $0.25/each and more).

She's nervous. Excited, too, but fear of the unknown is worse. I think she's going ot enjoy it. She's going to do one sport (I think team sports are awesome for kids). Depending on what they have, she'll do soccer or volleyball (her choice -- *I* think she should do basketball ... that was my sport, and she's so tall she'd be perfect). They have art, drama, and more. I'm excited, too.

For now, though, it's time to wake the house and start my day for real. Have a great Tuesday!

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You Are Plucky and Brave

You enjoy variety and new challenges. You're always looking to shake things up a bit. You are deeply emotional. You are a very soulful person, and at times you're downright fiery. When you want to get your way, you're assertive and gusty. You are a good actor, even when you're not feeling brave. You are easily excited and inspired. You are engaged with the world in many different ways.

The Train Oracle

About 50/50...

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Two Words: Spell Check

Politeness is the art of choosing among one's real thoughts. ~Abel Stevens

Okay ... I have a pet peeve. Actually, I have many (I'm a little neurotic, what can I say?), but I'll only address one today.

If you are an author (or maybe even if you aren't), the face you show the public is important. Lately, I've been doing quite a bit of social network promoting for LASR/WC. Our Facebook account has nearly 2000 "friends" on it, so I see a LOT of updates, primarily from authors.

I can't tell you how many of them are littered with grammar errors.

Not typos (we all make those now and then). Not "chat" speak (though I really hate seeing: "how r u?"). Flat out grammar errors that make the writer sound utterly ignorant. Wrong word use (I've seen: concur instead of conquer, for instance, as well as the usual suspects: there instead of they're, too instead of to, etc). I read one a few days ago I wish I'd kept to use as an example. Not only was it so poorly constructed as to make nearly no sense at all, but the spelling and grammar errors made my eyes bleed. Things like "deel" instead of "deal", etc.

Look, I know it's fairly informal, but I'm inclined to think that if you sound that ignorant publicly on a regular basis, then your writing isn't going to be stellar either. An editor, no matter how good, can't take a rotten apple and make a diamond. There's not enough pressure in the world.

If you know you have issues with spelling, then run your status through spell check (actually, if you use Firefox, it does that automatically). I realize it won't catch homonyms, but it will catch "deel" instead of "deal". It's a start.

I really think the internet has great power -- but it can be used for evil or for good. It's mind-boggling how many folks rant and rave on their statuses, spew hateful diatribes full of profanity as punctuation and don't think that's a problem.

Is it just me?

Sound in, folks... what do you think?

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In other news, I gave myself a lovely second degree burn on my left index finger last night. Note to self: make sure that you're both completely awake (even if it is 2 a.m.) AND that you turn on a light before trying to add wood to the wood stove. A stove that's running at 600 degrees really isn't something you want to tangle with.

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Your Personality is Somewhat Common (ISFJ)

Your personality type is stubborn, conservative, trustworthy, and caring. About 13% of all people have your personality, including 18% of all women and 7% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

That pretty much pegged me... LOL...

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What Not To Blog

Sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel. ~Author Unknown

Warning: mild rant ahead.

I follow a lot of blogs for various reasons. Many are author blogs, some are friends, some are country living or cooking blogs, some are just fun blogs I've stumbled across. But they are numerous.

I'm fairly patient and relatively tolerant about what people post. I'm well aware not everyone shares my opinions (even though I'm right *G*) and that they're absolutely free to talk about whatever they want on their blogs. Just as it's my right to follow and read or NOT follow. For the most part, if I typically enjoy a blog, a jaunt in a direction I don't particularly care for won't put me off permanently.

However...

Recently, I stopped following a blog of a person who I very much like, but who has -- in the past two weeks -- posted long-winded rants about a large religious organization who she believes is utterly corrupt, and a political rant that got ... extremely unkind and personal.

Here's the thing: I'm not a member of that religious organization, and feel much the same as she does about it, but her post was vicious and rabid. Ditto the political post. What really distressed me, though, is that she's a published author who is (I assume) trying to use her blog to promote her writing. And she's lost me and probably others from her list of followers because of her virulent rants.

Those of you who know me well know I have strong opinions on a variety of subjects. And I'm sure that some of it must leak through here now and then. BUT... this blog isn't for the discussion of religion or politics. I'm not in the least bit interested in starting debates about any of that (I'll reserve that for my IRL conversations). I find the lengthy, passionate discussion of such things off-putting ... even when I may agree with the heart of the post.

I stopped following one of my favorite authors of all time when she began getting extremely political on her blog. If I want to read a blog on politics, I'll read a political blog (and I DO have several blogs on politics in my Google Reader). I just don't expect a romance author's blog to cover politics day in and day out.

I miss her. But I haven't been back in over two years -- even though, odds are she's not still posting about politics every day (she might be, though -- who knows?). She put me off that much. Interestingly enough, I've also stopped buying her books, though it wasn't really an intentional decision (and only just occurred to me as I wrote this).

What about you? What will cause you to stop reading a blog? What do you like about blogs that you read, and what do you find off-putting?

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You Are an English Garden

You are creative and vibrant. You are inspired by everything around you, and you don't have any one style. You like a mix of old and new. And you always have something unique to add to the equation as well. You are informal, open-minded, and flexible. You love to play around with art and design. You tend to change things up a lot. Whether it's your own clothes or your home, you can't stay with one look for long!

What Kind of Garden Are You?

Um... 50/50.

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The Faster I Pedal...

.... the behinder I get.



Yesterday was one of those days that zips past and you look back and wonder what they heck you got done because you can't figure out how you just spent the fastest ten hours of your life.

I feel like I accomplished nothing. I'm sure I got SOMETHING done, lol, but it wasn't a terrifically productive day.

The cat woke me up this morning before the crack of dawn, throwing up. I think it must be the soft food. I'd run out of the stuff the vet gave me, and put her back on her old food. It's the only change... so, today, whilst I make dog food, I'm also going to make wet cat food -- it's similar (cats don't get grain/starch is all)-- and see how that settles in her tummy.

I suppose I could continue feeding her the stuff from the vet, but I have a very real issue feeding her something that has, as its first two ingredients, two kinds of grains and it's only "protein" is chicken-by-product meal (from Wikipedia: Poultry by-product meal is a high-protein commodity used as a major component in some pet foods. It is made from grinding clean, rendered parts of poultry carcasses and can contain bones, offal and undeveloped eggs and from Flint River Ranch: Animal by-products are ground, rendered, and cleaned slaughtered meat carcass parts such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, bones, heads, and intestines ... In many cases, by-product meals are derived from "4-D" meat sources — defined as food animals that have been rejected for human consumption because they were presented to the meat packing plant as "Dead, Dying, Diseased or Disabled." ).

She prefers fish to chicken, though, so I will most likely get her some tilipia to add half and half to chicken and chicken livers (along with a few veggies). Tuna is too high in mercury to feed her on a daily basis, though sardines are also an option.

It's a good thing she's cute.

As a side note, DD and I were watching Animal Planet last night, and an ad for Meow Mix came on. At the end, their big claim as to why you should by it? "contains real chicken and fish FLAVOR" ... I turned to DD and said, "Contains real 'flavor'? Why can't they say it contains real chicken and fish?" Probably because the first two ingredients -- according to Pet Health -- are Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal -- two things your cat really can't digest and actually doesn't need for nutrition.

Okay, I'll step down off my soap box, but pet food companies make me crazy. They are unregulated and, for the most part, feed our animals stuff that may keep them alive, but isn't really good for them.

/rant

Anyway, time to start my day for real... hopefully I'll actually accomplish something today!!

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You Are Massachusetts

You are smart, serious, and quite traditional. You don't have a lot of time for junk in your life. It's likely that you're well educated and hard working. You live a very goal oriented life. You are probably socially liberal, but personally quite conservative. You would never be described as wild. But you're more diverse than people give you credit for. You're equally comfortable at a business meeting and at a rowdy sports game!

What US State Are You?

Ugh... I do NOT like Massachusetts. However, the answer is about 75% correct.

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A Small Writing Rant

"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." - E.L. Doctorow

Okay... time for my annual rant about writing.

Recently I've talked to folks about complaints from books (mainly eBooks) they've read. I hear authors frequently saying that they think the "rules" can be ignored if you break them correctly and with enough writing skill.

I disagree.

Take head-hopping. This is a biggie for me (and several other people, apparently, based on what I've heard in my conversations). I realize that many authors (even big selling ones ... yes THE NORA head-hops, I know, I know but you're not her) get published with their head-hopping stories, and I know many readers don't seem to mind them. BUT: head-hopping can make the story difficult to follow and some readers may lose patience, stop reading and then never buy a book by that author again.

Is it worth it? If you lose even one reader because of something this basic, is it worth it?

Another complaint I've heard about is lack of real conflict. Simply having the H/H not like each other isn't enough. There needs to be more, even in (or maybe especially in) a short story. Readers aren't reading to read page after page of Joe and Martha's relatively simple courtship. They are reading to see Joe and Martha overcome something. Conflict can be internal (maybe Martha has a trauma in her past that doesn't allow her to trust easily, or Joe's ex-fiancee cheated on him with his best friend, or Martha can't have children and doesn't feel like a "real" woman, or Joe has massive scarring from a fire he was caught in when he saved six kids and their dog, so is self-conscious about his looks), or external (Joe's ex-fiancee returns with the news that she's pregnant and thinks it's his kid, Martha loses her job but is offered another one halfway around the world). But stories need to provide something that the H/H MUST overcome to get their HEA.

Something else I've seen happening a lot is having something happen off screen and then the characters recount it later. There are times this is appropriate, but there are times when it's better to let the reader actually SEE the action (IMHO, this is most of the time -- if something is important enough to the plot to mention, and involved the hero or heroine directly -- because we'll be in one of their POVs, right? -- then it's important enough to show the reader directly).

The last complaint relates to editing. I realize that we, as authors, have editors to help us tidy up our work. This does NOT meant we get to be lazy when it comes to grammar knowledge. You should know whether to use a semi-colon or a comma, or what the difference between peek, peak and pique is. If you don't, it behooves you to learn. This is your trade. A brain surgeon goes to medical school, a plumber doesn't just start turning wrenches and hope for the best. So, a writer must learn to write properly. An editor is just another human who may miss things that are wrong in your manuscript. And, to be honest, some of the editors in eBook publishing aren't as well-trained as they should be. It's YOUR work. YOUR name is on it. You want it to be something to be proud of, not something people snicker about ("Did you see here where she said it "peeked" her interest? :::: much laughter ensues ::: ).

There is more, but I won't bore you any longer. I'm not a pro, either, but because of my exposure to hundreds and hundreds of books every year (via LASR) and equal numbers of reviews (and complaints from my reviewers) I know what's being published out there, and I know what folks seem to like consistently and what gets on their nerves.

And, the author part of me tries to listen. I realize we can't please everyone with our writing or the story may not interest some folks when others find it amazing (check out the two reviews Allie got on her recent release to see what I mean), but we can at least strive to get the mechanics down correctly. Right?

Of course right.

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Okay... who can tell me how to get my blog posts to go up on Facebook automatically? I was using Twitterfeed and sending them that way, but that isn't working for me anymore for some reason.

Help?

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You Are Calm and Thoughtful

You aren't the type of person to rush to judgment. You weigh all of your options carefully. You tend to gravitate toward what's old-fashioned and classic. You wait a while before you give anything new a chance. You tend to have a lot of depth. You study subjects carefully, and the relationships you have tend to be strong and deep. You don't have much time for frivolity in your life. You are a very serious person.

The Handbag Test

Yep... that's pretty dang close.

====================

A Commentary on Snark

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true. ~Robert Brault

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are. ~Author Unknown

Don't be yourself - be someone a little nicer. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

Warning: [RANT]

A few days ago, I had added a status to my Twitter/Facebook pages that said: " I appreciate good, healthy sarcasm, but do not like plain old snark. Just saying."

This was prompted by some serious snark in Twitterville started by members of a very large writing/reviews blog regarding a particular publisher. Now, this publisher may or may not be all the things the blog member says, but I'm all about stating facts and subtracting snark when it comes to something like that.

Last night, the same blog members apparently tore apart one of this publishers books, line by line, in a very nasty and unkind way. Again, this may or may not have been the worst book ever written, but my back goes up in an automatic response to how nasty and unkind they were.

When Judy and I started the LASR reviews site, the first thing we agreed on was "NO SNARK" and no completely negative reviews. If our reviewers don't like something they read, we simply decline to review it. And I decline reviews everything month. Additionally, we have plenty of reviews that rate fairly low on the "positive" scale, and our reviewers are not hesitant to point out the weaknesses in a particular story -- BUT (and this is the important part), they point out the good parts, too.

Interestingly enough, Judy and I must be in the minority because some of the biggest writing/review sites are the ones that are the snarkiest. I find that fascinating insight into the human psyche. We love snark (unless it's directed at us). And, yet, the snark must be directed at someone... so why revel in it?

It reminds me a bit of the story "First They Came..."

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out for me.

So... (and, understand, I'm not against pointing something out when it's wrong) it's okay when someone attacks an author for a particularly bad bit of prose, or a publisher for publishing it, or someone who does something that is shady or just plain stupid (cuz, yanno... I never do anything stupid), it's all fun and games then.

Until they come for you. Not so fun when they tear apart YOUR work. Not so fun when the attacks get personal. Not so fun then, is it?

And so, even when I may agree in theory to what is being said ("Yes, it was stupid for that author to do that thing." or "Yes, that really is terrible prose and should never have been published,"), I can't condone the way it is presented.

There are all kinds of cliches about they way we should treat people. Let me quote you a couple:

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

or

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Of course, the big bloggers who are participating in these things aren't going to read my blog, but it's really been bothering me because of the current Snarkfest, and I needed to get it off my chest.

[/RANT]

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You Need Success to Be Happy

You are a responsible and serious person. You like to do things well. Reaching your goals is very important to you, and you don't like getting sidetracked. You feel great when you are mastering new tasks and solving problems. You believe in hard work. Nothing makes you feel worse than feeling like you are doing a bad job.

What Do You Need to Be Happy?

That's pretty much on target...

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Warning: Saturday Snippiness

“PLUNDER, v. To take the property of another without observing the decent and customary reticences of theft. To effect a change of ownership with the candid concomitance of a brass band. To wrest the wealth of A from B and leave C lamenting a vanishing opportunity.” - Ambrose Bierce

I'm feeling a little snippy this morning. Fact is, one of the things that has made me snippy is something that shouldn't surprise me. So, warning... rant ahead.

[begin rant]

It started about two weeks ago when my SIL told me she'd bought the ENTIRE series of "Little House on the Prairie" and would I like her to copy it for my DD? Then, I found out that the series she'd "bought" off of eBay was a bootlegged copy to start with.

Hello? Bad enough to copy and GIVE away stuff. Highly illegal to copy and SELL stuff.

I told her no. DD will have to do without. And when I commented on copyright violations, and that it's theft, etc., my SIL -- who is a very God-fearing person -- basically shrugged and said, so what?

Then, all week long, I've been reading about sites online that offer eBooks for free -- one message board has folks requesting specific ones and folks sending them out. When one of the Samhain authors pointed out that this was illegal and why she had a problem with it, the basic response was: you don't complain about the library, do you?

Well... no. BUT... the library only has ONE paper copy to share. You can send out thousands... millions... of the same eBook. And, when the library's ONE copy wears out, they can buy a new one. AND, you don't get to KEEP the library's ONE copy in your own personal collection. Do you? But, you surely do keep the eBooks you like, right? You don't read them and delete them after two weeks if you like them, do you?

I'm a library patron myself. I read too much to buy everything. BUT... when I read a book I love, I run out and buy a copy for myself to keep.

And, folks, fact is -- most authors make next to nothing on their work. My royalties barely keep me in printer ink.

What amazes me is that people who would NEVER reach into your purse and take out a dollar would think nothing of doing basically the same thing by sharing eBooks.

When I give away a copy of my eStories as a promotion -- I buy a copy. Do I have one on my hard drive? Absolutely. That's not the point. If it was a paper book, I'd have to buy one to give away. It's the SAME THING.

I hear people say they can't afford to buy all the books they read... well, prior to eBooks, what did you do? Did you walk into WalMart or Barnes and Noble and shoplift?

Give it some thought the next time you "borrow" an eBook from someone. Or share one with a friend. It's not the same as a library.

[/end rant]

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It's sunny today. Blindingly so because of all the white stuff on the ground. Boy, oh boy, does that reflect the light!!! No worries, though. We have another Nor'easter coming in tonight that will take care of that pesky sunlight.

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Worked on my writing again yesterday! How is that possible?? Two days in a row? Woot! I'm loving layering in the little touches, and innuendos. Still haven't layered in a puppy. Think I will. Maybe today, as I am shooting for THREE days in a row *G*.

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You Communicate With Your Body

This isn't as bad as it sounds, it just means that you're a "touchy-feely" person. You need a lot of affection in your life. And for you, this means both giving and receiving little touches. Warm hearted, you bond with people easily. In fact, you often feel a little sad when you're not in the company of others. A little moody, you tend to be controlled by your emotions. But a bit hug always comforts you!

How Do You Communicate?

Um. NO. Except maybe the "moody" part. *G*