Forward Thinking

I don't much use this blog for anything political.  If you're my friend on FB, then you might see a few posts about elections and whatnot, but usually I simply move right along.
Not today, friends.
Not today.
I cannot, I WILL NOT, let this mid-term election debacle go without a word or two.

Republicans won back the Senate.
This state re-elected a Republican Governor who is the epitome of egocentricity.

What happens if your daughter is raped?  What happens if she becomes pregnant from the worst event of her life and won't be given the option to terminate the pregnancy?  And what happens if she lives in one of those GREAT states where the rapist gets visitation rights?
Do you fear for your daughter?  For your GRANDDAUGHTER???

Do you think your daughter should be paid as much as your son for the same job?  Do you realize that the numbers of single parent families are through the roof right now?  So your daughter working her ass off won't make as much to support your grandchild as your son?

Do you know how many households go to bed hungry each night because the minimum wage is far below what it needs to be?

Do you know what I see every day?
I see homeless people.  I see 18 year-old young adults who have to stay at the Salvation Army because they have NO PLACE left to go.  They have no skills and no transportation to acquire them.
I've had customers tell me that they were kicked out of  a friend's house where they were staying because there wasn't enough food for all of them.

Are you listening?

NOT.  ENOUGH.  FOOD.

I've seen more pregnant teenagers than I care to count because this state teaches abstinence.  Yeah. That's really making an impact.

NOT.  ENOUGH.  EDUCATION.

We send our kids to school every day not knowing if it will be their last.  I don't want to take your God damn guns.  I only want to make sure that some lunatic who doesn't need an assault rifle never gets one.

NOT.  ENOUGH.  REGULATIONS.

So now I'm living in a country that's so divided they can't even work together to better the lives of its citizens.

This great country?
Not so much.
Not if we cannot work together and quit using elections as pissing contests.

ARE YOU LISTENING???
*******

Don't Give Your Power Away

Don't give your power away.

To the takers who take take take. And the people who manipulate and wind around and wear you down and drain you deep. 

Don't give your power away.

To the leeches who suck you dry and come back again when you've built yourself up. And the people full of sweet words that drip poison if you don't do what they want.

Don't give your power away.

To the assholes who care nothing for you but everything about themselves. And the people who would leave you in a ditch unless you promised them something you don't even have yet.

Don't give your power away.

To the so-called friends who say one thing to your face and several others behind your back. And the people that agree with them and then turn around and agree with you.

Don't give your power away.

To the liars who say want you want to hear when you want to hear it. And the people who talk out of both sides of their mouths because they have no spine and no convictions.

Don't give your power away.

You walk tall. You give yourself love. You dismiss those that try and tear you down while not sinking to their level. You are proud. You are convinced. You know what you want and will not stop until you get it.

And, please...Don't give your power away.
*******

Booty

Yes.
I'm talking about butt, rear, ass, etc.

JLo put out a music video that may or may not be called "Booty".  Honestly, I don't know the title.
Nor, honestly, do I care.

I watched the video partly because it has Iggy Azalea and partly because I hoped I would like JLo's more current releases.

I will never get those four minutes back.

The lyrics are meh at the best.
The video is trash.

Here's a few things JLo needs to realize:
1.  She is not Beyonce.  Nor will she ever BE Beyonce.  There is one Queen Bey.
2.  Rubbing and shaking your ass at 45 (no matter the shape of the ass) is pathetic.  Your youth ran screaming at the first slap.
3.  Trying for some homoerotic moves appeal to teenage boys.  If that's your only market...you need to reevaluate life.
4.  The cut scenes aren't sexy.  They're nauseating and will more than likely cause a seizure.

Who sanctioned this shit?
Did no one have enough balls to tell her self-proclaimed highness this entire video sucked "booty"?
And Iggy!!!  I expected so much more.  So.  Much.  More.

There you have it.  Another video that completely ruined the song for me.  Not that I had high expectations, anyway.
But, seriously.

Grins*

Word Synchronicity

This post has been floating about in my head for a couple of weeks now.  Just now getting to it.

Something bothers me when I watch certain movies.  I noticed it a great deal in "Divergent".  Loved the book.  Movie was alright.  Read the book first.  That seriously helps.  If not, you'll be a bit lost.
But I digress.

Divergent is the anomaly.  Fair enough.  Our fair heroine, Tris, does not even hear the word spoken until she goes into testing to find her faction.  It's mentioned a few more times during the movie in a hushed whisper.
All good.
So far.
But then in one of the last scenes, everything previously building to a nice climax only for Tris to tell the evil villain that she's dIvergent.
Okay.
Here's the problem.
Every time it was pronounced previously...it was a soft "i".  Divergent.  No prob.  And it's obviously not a word bandied about on a regular basis.
But what is this???
Tris pronounces it with a hard "i".  What the hell?
It's that moment that takes me completely out of the movie and smacks me with the realization that these are simply actors.  Shailene Woodley pronounces the word differently than the other actors.
*sigh*
Another example would be Gandalf in the beautiful Tolkien books.  Elijah Wood pronounced the "l" specifically in Gandalf's name.  I don't particularly recall anyone else in the movies doing so.  Most pronounce it "Gandoff" not "GandaLf".

These are little things.  I realize that.  But I also believe it takes away from the momentum AND the story.
You need synchronicity for anything to flow.
Hiccups in the story will take you right out of it and lessen the impact of whatever you're viewing at the time.

Big things are important.  Obviously.  But so are the little things.  They can make or break a story.
And sometimes those are the most important things of all.
Grins*

Terrified

Never been scared shitless to write ANYTHING before.  Never.  Pretty damn fearless when it comes to the writing stuff.
But now that's changed a bit.  And I guess that's great.  Right?  Being terrified to write something?  I'm not frightened of "it" per se...I'm scared that I will not be able to give it everything I want it to have.
Crazy, huh?
Considering I'll be the ONLY ONE who will be able to do that.
Still fucking terrified.

I spoke at the Oklahoma Library Association this last Wednesday.  Man, I love speaking on panels about writing.
But when asked about the works I have in progress, I popped off immediately with about 10,000 words left in the C&S story.  A third of the way through my Paranormal Erotic story.  And then:
"Have you ever seen something so beautiful, you're afraid to touch it?"
That popped out of me.
And it was the perfect description of this book.
I am scared to death that I'll miss something important.  Or I will not give it all the attention it needs.

In my heart of hearts...I don't believe either of those.  I will sculpt the hell out of it until it's EXACTLY what I want.
But damn.
Really???

Daunting.  Good damn word for what this one is.  Because it's huge, my friends.  HUGE.

So I simply need to calm my ass down and let the words come.  They've not failed me before.  They won't fail me now.
Onwards and upwards.
I hope.

Grins*

I don't write porn

But I could.

I tend to get that a lot.  You write porn right?
Um,  no.  But thanks for asking.
I write romance.  Sub-genres of said romance could be Time Travel, Erotic, Contemporary, Paranormal, or Fantasy.
Erotica, in my opinion, is literary porn.
Erotic romance is explicit romance with non-PC terms for genitalia and sexual acts.  ROMANCE.
That neat little word there is an indicator of happily-ever-after (HEA).  Porn doesn't care about the HEA.
I do.

When I speak on panels, there are oftentimes questions such as the porn one.  I try to educate, but a lot of people have it stuck in their heads that any explicit romance is porn.  Maybe it is.  Who am I to judge?

Not all readers need a closed door during sexual acts.  Some enjoy reading the explicit.  Neither one is "wrong".
And that's the bottom line for me.
Read what you enjoy.
WRITE what you enjoy.

I may have one sex scene in a book.  I may have twelve sex scenes in a book.  I don't have a handy little diagram that tells me to "add sex scene" here.  And even if there was one, I would tear it up.
I let the story dictate to me the rhythm of the scenes.  Be that ANY scene.

So let's all quit slinging mud on things that aren't our cup of tea.
And roll those sex dice.
Grins*

Getting it right the first time

When I'm writing my lovely stories, I'm not a fan of the delete or backspace key.  I use them, but I use them sparingly since, to me, that's wasted time.
Editing at the end is different.  Snip here.  Change there.  We're not talking brain surgery here.  I'm not reinventing the wheel.
So imagine my disappointment, okay---pissed off at myselfness--when I realized that an entire scene from my current book is shit.
SHIT, I tell you!
What was I thinking?
Was I thinking at all?
Who wrote that drivel?
It doesn't even fit with the two characters.  Okay, ONE of the characters, but still!!!
WHAT HAVE I DONE???

*breathing*

I tried to fit the square peg in the round hole.  I do that on occasion just to make sure I still can.  But this???  This is wasted time.  This is squandering my precious writing time.  This is...unacceptable.
And I didn't get the click.
I should have known better.

So I'm going to open up my latest writing venture and do some surgery without anesthetic.
Take out the scene and write it as it should be written.
Because meeting my own approval is simply brutal, folks.

On a lighter note, I'm eating Easter peanut M&M's.
Life is good.

Grins*

Update:  Gutted the last third and made it work.  Damn bossy characters.

Cave Girl?

Please explain to me why the blue hell choosing food has become such a bitch.
After living on sausage balls for nearly a week, I decided...screw this.  So thought I'd do a bit of research and find some more nourishing noshing.
HA
And HA some more

Let's see.  Vegetarian/Vegan?  They suggest using tofu and soy.  But those are "processed".  So that goes against Paleo, right?
And no little cute cartons of egg whites as they are likewise processingarily compromised.
Oh, help me.
Paleo sounds okay, I guess.  I don't mind eating a bit cleaner.  And after looking it up, I'm a bit scared.  Not a fan of root vegetables or "rabbit food".
Now.  I like me a salad.  Don't get me wrong.  Don't care for croutons.  Not a big fan of meat up in there, either.
Simply clean eating?
Um, okay.  But that's a bit of a strict regimen, isn't it?  I'm  not saying I can't live WITHOUT an occasional breaded something.  I'm just saying I shouldn't have to.
Butter vs margarine?
Butter, in all its full fat glory, seems to be healthier than margarine.  Score one for me.  How about ghee?  Should we be purchasing that and using it?  Coconut oil?
*rubs forehead where a nice headache is forming*
And pasta?  I've tried the whole grain.  I...didn't care for it.  So I asked for and received a lovely little tool for Christmas where I can run it down my defenseless zucchini and make "zoodles".  Pretend pasta, if you will.  Still waiting on trying that.  Perhaps this weekend.
Also picked up some spaghetti squash.  Yes.  I love pasta.  But white processed stuff makes me tired.  That's indicative of an allergy, right?
Pass the water.  I think I'm safe there.
Grins*