Category Archives: Senseless Ranting

Oops. Missed one

Posted on November 19, 2012 | 5 comments

Oops I missed one. I had a brilliant post written for today, really I did. But a headache that would have taken out Godzilla and some trials with the kids left me forgetting to post it last night. I’m driving to work this morning saying “crud- Monday blog post”

Ugh I never claimed to be perfect.

Anyway, at least this gives me a chance to test writing a blog post from my phone. 🙂

I’ll post the normal Monday series on Wednesday this week if I can get things back together.

Hope you have a great week!

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Updating the Dictionary. A Good thing? Yes, and No.

Posted on November 17, 2012 | 15 comments

Dictionary.com just made a bunch of updates and new additions.  That’s great, right?

I will be the first to agree that our language is evolving.  Especially now, when our kids are living in a world that is so much different from when many of us grew up.

I remember the first time my five-year-old said the word “modem” or “keyboard”.  It sounded so odd.  Last night my six year old and eight year old were fighting because one of them threatened to “delete” the other’s “file”.  If you think about it, 30 years ago that would sound like Star-Trek like stuff.  Right?

So yes, I agree with updating the dictionary… to an extent.

Pixelate, aggregator, and cyberbully…yes, I would agree to adding these words to the dictionary.  They are new, and a part of our lives now.

Anyhoo????  Please, come on, say it isn’t so.  This one makes me cringe as much as when they added “ain’t.”

Yes, they are saying it is “informal” and a “humorous alteration” but what will they add next? BFF?  a’cause?

I love the English Language.  I hate when people abuse it in their laziness, or when something silly someone says catches on to the point of annoyance.  I used to hear “anywhoo” and not blink, because someone was being derogatory or making a joke… but now to add it to the dictionary?

I hope I don’t wake up in five years and find I can’t read the dictionary because every word is either ‘new made up lingo’ or has been replaced with shortened versions that are easier for texting.

IMO, Anyhoo and I will never be BFFs.  LOL.  Fureal.  Gedit??

And, by the way… my spell checker flags “anywhoo” as mis-spelled.

My spell-checker and I are buds 🙂

(But that doesn’t mean I want “bud” added to the dictionary as “slang, abbreviation of buddy”)  Erggh.

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Big Publishing House, Small Publishing House… Red Fish, Blue Fish. What the Heck do you do?????

Posted on November 10, 2012 | 21 comments

Help me think through this, ‘cause it’s driving me nuts. I’m finishing up my novel, Fire in the Woods. I felt pretty cozy about it going in to the beta process. Now, rounding to home plate, I’m really excited.

I’m excited because, as authors, we always think what we’ve written is great. The Beta Process is usually a slap in the face as reality sets in. For me, the slap was not so hard. Yes, it needed tweaking, but every single beta reader is just as excited about this novel as I am. Wow… it’s a pretty great place to be. (Ten beta-readers, in case you were wondering)

So now I am sitting here with a novel that I am reasonably sure is good enough for a big publishing house. No brainer, right? Send it on out!

This is where I hit a snag. Am I a patient person, or an impatient person?

The truth is, that the big houses that I am interested in… Baen, Daw, Tor, Random House, Entangled (a little smaller) are now — are you ready for this –

ACCEPTING UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS.

Wowzers! No need to take a year to find an agent, and then wait another year to get your stuff read. (If you can get by without an agent-there are pros and cons to this)

Anyway, the problem is that many of these houses do not accept simultaneous submissions. That means they expect you to send your manuscript to them… and only them. Now, this would not be a problem, but all of them, in their submission requirements, give themselves a HUGE timeframe to review novels. I understand that they get a lot of submissions, but you want me to take a year before I even hear back from you? And then if you decide to pass, I’ll need to wait another year to hear back from the next one?

My goal is to have Fire in the Woods traditionally published in printed copy format. I want the perks of professional editing and layout and cover design (etc) However, there are plenty of small houses out there who will read your query in a day, and read your manuscript in a month or so.

So, what, I wonder… other than prestige… would I direct myself to a big house when I have the possibility of getting my novel in the hands of readers in a year, as opposed to two to three years or more?

Hmmm. I think typing this just made things more clear to me.

Anyway… what are your thoughts?

(Self-publishing is not of interest at this time. I don’t have the time or money to do it right)

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I am so stinking glad this election thing is over

Posted on November 7, 2012 | 11 comments

Well, at least I’m hoping it is over when you read this. I am scheduling this and going to bed.

Personally, I am surprised that they are still having the election. Many parts of the East Coast of the USA are still underwater. Thousands (tens of thousands if not 100,000 are still without power) If the election rides on any of these coastal states, I wouldn’t be surprised if the “loser” calls foul.

Anyway… the reason I’m glad it’s over is because I want to get back to normal. I want to be able to turn on Facebook and not look at political propaganda. (Seriously, guys… you’re not changing my vote) I am tired of getting calls from Bill Clinton and other politicians I’ve never heard of before (Oh yeah… by the way… those of you who start your conversation with “For those of you suffering in the wake of Sandy…” SHAME ON YOU for using this disaster for your own political gain.

I am tired of people in the cubicle next to me putting down one of the candidates, spouting that their way is the only way. I am tired of people bashing former presidents saying “Sure the economy was better, and everyone had jobs, but he blew his nose in a purple tissue! He can’t be trusted!”

I am tired of hearing people shout out that things I feel strongly about are not as important as the issues they are concerned with.

OMIGOSH! My employer yesterday actually sent out something on company email bashing one of the candidates politics. — Now, I happen to agree with what they said, but outright bashing one candidate’s stance in hopes of coercing employees? How wrong is that?

Ugh. It is just insanity, and I’m tired of it. I hope everyone voted. Voting is important. It is the only way to voice what we want in our government.

But today, as you discuss with friends… don’t berate someone if they didn’t vote for the same person as you. Everyone has a right to their own opinion. Don’t drive wedges where they don’t belong.

And most of all… and it doesn’t matter who you voted for… support the candidate who won. No matter your personal opinion, they are going to be the president. You can still voice your opinion with your senators and congressmen/women. (umm–congresspeople?). They will take your votes to their branches of government.

And if you still feel the need to spread any annoying anti-somebody propaganda… please send it somewhere else. It’s not going to change anything for another four years anyway.

Goodnight.

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Hurricane Sandy Update – My hometown isn’t there anymore

Posted on November 1, 2012 | 34 comments

I had a post all set for today, but I’ll send it to you some other time.

This is one of those events that really puts your life into perspective.  I finally got in touch with my sister today.  She lives on the water at the Jersey Shore, in my home town.

She evacuated to my brother’s house, where there was little damage.  They are just without power.

Yesterday, she drove through what she called a “war zone” and got as close to her house (the house I grew up in) as she could.  She then had to wade through hip-high water for several blocks just to see if the house was still there.

Luckily it was still standing, but the waters had surged over 20 feet higher than normal and flooded the basement and garage. She was very lucky.

My home town is flooded several miles inland.  The church I got married in is under water.  The elementary school I went to is still under water and probably a total loss.

My nephew took a canoe out toward the ocean and got as far as he cold before the national guard stopped him.  A huge house floated down the canal and rammed into the bridge that separates the beach side of town from the boro side.  The ocean/beach starts at the base of the bridge now.  Miles of houses between the bridge and the former line of the ocean are under water or just plain gone. The boardwalk where I worked as a teenager is not there anymore.  Structures that are standing are past repair.  Highways suddenly stop and turn into beach.  Where there are still roads, she said she couldn’t navigate because so many trees are down.  She called the street my husband used to live on “a war zone”

Seaside Heights and Bay head are still on fire.  Some houses survived, but now they are burning because there is a river of water between them and the rescue workers.  The national guard is just trying to get any survivors to the other side of the bridges.

My sister is a hospice nurse, and has been working since Saturday relocating/evacuating/saving patients.  She then worked on finding homes/shelters for eight of her coworkers whose houses are a complete loss.  One of her friends is missing.  She waded to the girl’s house, but it wasn’t there anymore. It was just gone.

This is insane.  This is the type of thing you hear about in movies, or see on the news in “other places”.  This kind of thing does not happen in your home town.

I feel so incredibly lucky to have suffered so little damage where I am.  So many lives will be changed forever.

Please pray or send positive energy to all those effected by this horrible storm.

It is very surreal, knowing that the places you grew up with, the places where you worked and played … are just not there anymore.

 

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Hunkering down for a Hurricane. AKA Go Away Sandy.

Posted on October 28, 2012 | 23 comments

Hurricane, Huh?  Isn’t hurricane season over?  And I don’t live in Florida.  Wait a minute the eye of the storm is heading where?  Straight for me?  Whaaaaaaaat?

Normally, I don’t even blink about hurricanes, unless I am in the Caribbean, since I always seem to vacation during hurricane season.  But now what they are calling the mother of all storms is heading right at me.  I’m kind of inland, but not far enough inland to be out of the danger zone.

The storm isn’t here yet and the schools are already closed.  The power company, the gas company, and the insurance company have all called with directions about what to do.  Yikes.

Luckily for me, I grew up on the Jersey shore, and know how to batten down the hatches.  I know that just about anything can turn into a projectile.  In a family group effort today, everything that could move in the backyard became safely stowed in our garage.  Our Halloween decorations are all down, and piled up in out living room (The chances of them getting back up are slim)

So now, we sit and wait.  It’s already raining.  At this point, there’s really not anything more we can do but see what happens.

For everyone else in Sandy’s path… keep safe, and stay inside.

For everyone outside the danger zone, prayers or positive energy is always appreciated.  Hopefully, this will all just blow over. (no pun intended)  🙂

Safe wishes to you.

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Are Dragons and Mermaids Real? Well, Maybe… Just maybe.

Posted on October 27, 2012 | 14 comments

I just read an article on CNN about a monkey that they discovered in the Congo that has been identified as a brand new species.  Does that mean that the species didn’t exist a few years ago?  No, of course not… It’s just that this area of the planet has not been explored by scientists, so no one other than the “locals” new about them.

If you haven’t heard about this, click the link below.  If anything, just take a look at the picture to see how amazingly “human” this monkey’s eyes seem.  Then read below.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/africa/dr-congo-new-monkey/index.html

“Why the heck didn’t the locals tell anyone there was a brand new primate population in their backyard?” you might ask.

You look out the widow every day and see sparrows.  They are part of your everyday life.  You don’t have modern technology in your life.  You only communicate with the people around you… and they’ve all grown up with sparrows, too.  You have no idea that no one outside your village has never seen a sparrow.  (And maybe the sparrows fly away whenever one of those loud scary “car-things” drives into the village.)

It’s possible that there are TONS of species like this!  Can you imagine?

So, of course my demented mind started wondering.  Dragon and Mermaid lore came from SOMEWHERE.  Who’s to say that all those sailors were just drunk?  Who’s to say that dragons are not in the high uninhabited hills in China?

In one of my favorite movie lines ever:  “Just because you haven’t seen [a million dollars], doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

With the wonders of today’s technology, the idea that there are still species that “science” has yet to discover is extremely fascinating to me.

The truth is, that we DON’T know everything.  We HAVE NOT seen everything.  Isn’t that exciting?

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Let’s take a few moments to talk about Fluff

Posted on October 20, 2012 | 57 comments

As most of you know, I am going through the beta-read process right now with my WIP Fire in the Woods. Odd things pop up when you read people’s comments. If I see one, and it doesn’t make sense to me, I make a mental note, and move on. If a second person says the same thing, then I take notice. This is what brings me to Fluff.

Fluff. Am I the only person in the world who knows what Fluff is?

Out of curiosity, I did a Google search. Yes. Fluff as I know it is the number one thing to pop up.

So, next I went to Wikipedia. Here is the definition of Fluff:

Fluff : From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fluff is a noun for anything light, soft, or fuzzy and may also be Belly button fluff, also known as navel lint

A brand or product

  • The name of a lifestyle brand created by artist Claudette Barjoud
  • Marshmallow creme, a food product

So yes, Fluff was on Wikipedia too, but oddly listed below belly button lint… which is a bit weird.

Picture property of Wikipedia commons. Thanks!

Okay… so there is a point to this post. Fluff is a food… Well, I guess it’s debatable that it’s a food. I don’t actually think it has any nutritional value. But what it is – is delicious!I grew up with fluff. There is nothing better to take away the dreariness of a bad day than a big dollop of fluff on top of extra crunchy peanut butter hugged between two slices of bread. MMMMMmmmmm. Just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about it.

But the odd thing to me, is that my main character, Jess, rifles through a cabinet, finds the peanut butter, and is upset that she can’t find the Fluff.

I was shocked that several beta readers had no idea what Fluff was.

What is this world coming to?!

So, like a good little girl, I removed the reference to Fluff, because I do not want to confuse or offend today’s health-conscious society.

But I give everyone homework today. If you have never experienced the joy of Fluff, you can find it in the same aisle as the peanut butter. A Fluffernutter sandwich is bread, a small amount of peanut butter, and as much Fluff as the bread can handle.

Everyone should experience the joy of a Fluffernutter sandwich at least once in your life.

Go ahead. Take a bite. I dare you.

Then come back and share the sugar-shocked joy your body experiences.

Mmmmmm. I think I’ll run to my cupboard now and grab a jar to join you.

What’s your favorite food from when you were a kid that makes you smile every time you think about it?

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Sooo… Did I lose 16 pounds in two weeks?

Posted on October 18, 2012 | 43 comments

Ha!  I didn’t think I could do it either.  Nope, didn’t happen.

After two weeks of exercise and careful diet, I hopped onto the nifty machine at work, and I weighed EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT as I did at the last screening.  I mean literally the same weight… right down to the ounce.

Then the nurse starts looking at the results and starts jumping up and down and getting all giggly (which is scary when she’s nine months pregnant and ready to pop at any minute.)

“Oh!  This is so exciting,”  she said.  “Look at these numbers!”

Honestly, I was glad she was there again to explain those numbers to me, because considering the short time frame, they WERE good.

My Lean body mass (What you want to be) went from 96.8 lbs to 100.3 lbs  and my Body Fat Mass (The bad stuff)  went from 55.3 lbs to 51.8 lbs.  I’d lost 3.5 lbs in body fat.  My Body Mass Index stayed exactly the same, but my Percentage of Body Fat dropped from 36.3 to 34.1.  Now, that’s still higher than it should be, but it’s pretty cool after just two weeks.

How can I lose fat and still weigh the same?

I gained GOOD WEIGHT – That’s muscle.  My arms went from 86.1 and 85.7% muscle (far too low) to 92.3 and 90.1 which is just inside the normal zone (one arm is stronger than the other).

My saggy belly (which is noticeably less saggy) went from 89.4% to 92.7 %  Even my legs, which I think look fat but the machine said had enough muscle two weeks ago… gained in muscle. (Yes, I can see the change in my legs too, but I still have a way to go, since that’s where most of my lard is)

I am now just tipping into the “normal range” instead being really low across the board. Yay!  Not scrawny anymore!  I lost three and a half pounds of fat, and gained three and a half pounds of muscle.

What did I do?

I really didn’t change my eating too much.  If we were having pasta, I just had one helping instead of two.  I ate three tacos instead of five.  I found if I ate slower, I filled up faster and did not have to eat as much.  I do admit to celebrating with an ice cream sandwich one night… but I made sure not to do it EVERY night.  Cut up fruit is just as yummy.

I still treated myself to a handful of dark chocolate covered pomegranates a day (ya gotta live a little)  What I did, though, is poured out a quarter cup or so, and left the rest sealed up in a cabinet, because I know if the bag is sitting on my desk while I’m working/writing a little gremlin comes along and steals them so I have to keep refilling my bowl (stinking gremlins)

I’m sure there was exercise involved

Yes, of course.  I also did the Tony Hornton Power Half Hour every other day with hubby (who recently lost about 70 pounds) and every other day we’d do weight training (I am lucky enough to live with someone who could show me how to do it correctly to get the results I wanted and not hurt myself.)

So, the big change was ½ hour a day of exercise to make up for sitting on my butt all day at a computer. Cardio one day, Weights the next, and one day off of exercise a week.

So far, so good.  I’m going to keep it up for the next three months, and hop on the machine again.  At this rate, I could quite possibly have my Babe-tastic figure back by January.

Go me!

What do you think?  You can find 30 minutes a day for a healthier you, can’t cha!  Come on!  Get healthy with me.

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Having your novel Critiqued live in a chatroom. Crazy? Maybe.

Posted on October 13, 2012 | 8 comments

A few weeks ago, I sent the first page of “Fire in the Woods” to the Writers Chatroom.  They posted it, and the group critiqued it live, on-line.

Nerve racking?  A little, but overall it was a positive experience.

A few people asked me what I thought of the experience, and what it was like.  Well, going into it I felt good.  I think mine was number eight “at bat”.  As I watched the other critiques go up, I did get just a little nervous.  The critiquers had a whole lot to say, and they didn’t hold back.

The hard part about it is that everyone talks at the same time, and sometimes they are talking about different parts of your story.  Because of this, I copied the pages as they scrolled by, so I could be sure to go back later and make sense of it.

The big things I got out of this are

1.      The opening seems pretty good.

2.      Despite the necklace being important, I don’t want it distracting.  I’ll ease back on that a bit.

3.      The “Mirrored in the glass overhead” part need to be re-written.

4.      Change headphones to earbuds

I decided it would be fun if I posted the actual comments about my work below.  The only editing I will do is changing the names of the critiquers, since I did not get their permission (I wouldn’t know how to contact them anyway)

This may be confusing, because one person may be typing an answer to a previous post… but meanwhile three or four people have said something else, so the answer comes far down the “scroll” and not right after the original comment.  I was going to place everything in “easy to read” order, but I figured I’d show it to you exactly as I saw it.

My work was posted, and then there was one minute of “silent time” for everyone to think it over, and then the fun began.  Here is the “transcript”  (Which is just me cutting and pasting as the conversation scrolled by)  In case you are interested, the novel starts with an explosion (no surprise, right?)

[MODERATOR] End. One minute please!

<Everyone reads>

[MODERATOR] Comments!

[ZADA] great suspense & description!

[Karina] very nice. I’m interested!

[ZADA] nice “showing”

[SAGE] yeah it was very descriptive but not over the top

[Deadend] Deascription was awesome..

[boop] so sorry the full screen format is screwing me up when I try to scroll up

[SAGE] it got me interested

[DETROIT] Excellent word use and it definetly keeps me wondering what is actually going on. What’s next, the whole house crumbling down? Nice!

[MODERATOR] Boop, just use the scroll bar to the right.

[HORN] Where did the smoke and fire come from?

[BOOP] Pink headphones? the description are fantastic!

[MODERATOR] I agree. The descriptions are terrific.

[PIKE] Mirrored in the glass overhead, over the clouds? The lightbulb blew out, or blew up? caught my interest with the action, mental works for action too. good job

[MODERATOR] I am wondering if the necklace has significance.

[DEADEND] Teachers try so hard to teach us not to use adjectives and overloadinding description, maybe they should read your short?

[GIRLYGIRL] Good. I want to know what’s going to happen. Great suspense and action.

[MCDONALDS] Almost on the point of “less can be more” – possible OVER-use of adjectives? Places where ONE might be enough instead of 2 or 3

[ZADA] it seems the necklace does have significance – at least that’s how I took it

[LISA] I’d start at “The ground shook…” Good descriptions

User WARRIOR has signed out.

User WARRIOR has entered this room.

[BOOP] Yes, or magical I thought maybe on the neckllace

[LAURA] The description was fantastic, although I sometimes felt it was too much – a bit overwhelmed, as it were.

[WIDDER] ‘likness mirrored in the glass over the cloud of grey smoke …’ – this didn’t make sense …. otherwise great descriptions … love the macro and micro description.

[MODERATOR] I don’t know, MCDONALDS. There are a lot of adjectives, but I felt they made the scene come alive.

[GIRLYGIRL] Less commas makes the pace faster I noticed in some places.

[LISA] A minor detail. Headphones are worn on your ears. Earbuds are in your ears.

[FLOW] i like another kick-ass girl (pink headphones)

[PIKE] but LAURA, it needs to be overwhelming, war is like that

[WIRED] there were a couple sentences that need rewording/refining other wise great job very showing

[DEADEND] Jesus.. Isn’t it great that we all love what we do?

[BOOP] Is the character a guy/girl

[LAURA] That’s true

[WIDDER] sure is DEADEND

[MODERATOR] Laura, the pink headset said “girl” to me.

[LAURA] I guess the main character is overwhelmed, too

[WORKING] I like the imagry! But couldn’t follow this “My likeness mirrored in the glass over the cloud of gray smoke wafting into the air” – I am asking myself “glass over smoke?

[PIKE] I have shooting, helicopter crashing etc in mine, lol love those women who are strong

[KATTIE] Visual, lyric writing = engages the senses – action vivid, very visual, each image pulls the story forward from the speaker’s viewpoint – the descriptions draw me into the story = I would want to read more, significance of the necklace in the maelstrom

[WARRIOR] Nothing wrong with commas

[BOOP] That’s the word, Laura, I concur the imagery is fantastic. It’s what makes a writer effective, in my opinion and this author has it

[FLOW] i’m thinking locket from her deceased mom

[PIKE] who wrote this?

[MODERATOR] This one is from another relative newcomer, Jennifer M. Eaton.

[PIKE] ahhh

[BOOP] congrats Jennifer

[ZADA] great job Jennifer!

[WIDDER] excellent Jenifer! …. want to read the rest of this one too

[KATTIE] Mirror – maybe it’s ‘through’ the cloud of gray smoke ??

[MODERATOR] Jennifer, is the necklace important? We all want to know!

[PIKE] good job Jennifer

[DEADEND] excellent

[JenniferEaton] Thanks, guys

[MODERATOR] WB Jim.

[LISA] Very nice, Jennifer

[PIKE] sure it is, that’s why she mentioned it so much

[KATTIE] Jennifer! I’d love to read more of this excellent story ^_^ Write On!!

[JenniferEaton] Yes. THe necklace is very important, and belonged to her dead mother

[HORN] Good job Jennifer.

[WORKING] Back story on the necklace would be great.

[MCDONALDS] Good hook, Jennifer!

[JenniferEaton] You’ll get the backstory on the necklace later in the story

[WORKING] Prologue perhaps?

[MODERATOR] Great job Jennifer.

[JenniferEaton] Thanks everyone!

[PIKE] since it’s ‘future’ I was thinking the necklace had some sort of ‘power’

[PIKE] no prologue, work it into a conversation, or using it, or thinking about it. ‘holding the necklace brought her comfort as she thought about her mother’

[MODERATOR] ready for the next?

[WORKING] yepper

[SAGE] yes

[GIRLYGIRL] Ready.

[LAURA] Me too

There you have it.  So, What do you think?

Is this an interesting way to get a critique, or totally insane?

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