Writing…and junk

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blog posts, books, drugs, having nothing to say, health, movies, tv, writing

A lot of writers blog about writing. Often. I have no idea how they find that many things to say, but I’ve noticed most of it falls into a few categories:

Writing advice. I don’t have any. I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t help you. Besides, most of this seems to be either highly subjective, old (as in, “this worked for me ten years ago so if it doesn’t work for you, it’s because you suck), or judgmental (self-pub sucks, traditional is for tools, Nanowrimo is for losers, etc. You know what? Do whatever works for you. You have the ability to churn out whatever formula makes you rich, go for it. You want to write your thoughts on the smell of cupcakes? Have fun. Whatever. Again, I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t help you. (Just don’t let other people boss you around. They’re probably guessing, too.)

Protectors 2 is in the wild

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alex segura, anthology, books, charity, children, hilary davidson, joe r. lansdale, joelle charbonneau, laura k curtis, Protect, thomas pluck, writers

The new Protectors anthology (benefiting PROTECT) is out today.

Outsider Syndrome

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art, belonging, books, fandom, fans, hobbies, life, stationery, writing

No, that’s not a real disease as far as I know. But I do often feel like I just don’t fit it. Anywhere.

I mean, I love office supplies and stationery and pens and planners, but… I’m not a high end collector, but I also don’t just buy anything shiny at the Target Dollar Spot, which seems to be the two most vocal extremes. I don’t care for the Pilot Frixion pens either, which might be as blasphemous as saying I don’t care for Mont Blanc.  I can find no other fans of my favorite pens even in the most vocal stationery communities and as for planners? I’m not buying an Erin Condron. Ever. I don’t constantly buy new ones or spend hours washi-taping and stickering my weeks. Which makes me kind of an outlier in those groups, too.

Am I good enough yet? Does it matter?

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books, consumption, entertainment, movies, publishing, reading, tv, watching

Am I good enough? Will I ever be? Should I quit now? What if no one ever reads my writing? What if no one ever likes it? What if no one ever likes me? What if? I suspect most writers wonder some variation of these questions at some point. I suspect many never stop wondering.

There exists a certain number of repeated themes among writers, agents, publishers, and their various fans and cheerleaders.

Book Covers: friend or foe

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art, book, books, covers, design, genre

Last week I went to a book signing up in Delray on the suggestion of a friend. Based on the cover, the book honestly wasn’t doing much for me. It looked like a cozy, and while I know those have some rapidly loyal fans, that’s not really my thing. The titles for the series made it sound like a cozy. And the whole package came across as VERY cozy. The description the author gave didn’t sound so cozy. It actually sounded like something I might read. I may even pull it out of the TBR pile and read it one of these days.

Which makes me wonder. Did the publisher decide to disguise it as a cozy because those sell well? Or did the cover designer just not get the right memo? Am I just not the target age group?

All this got me to thinking during my snot-infused week of sickness about what kinds of covers to attract me.

Camp Cooking Part 3: Valley Girl (the butane cookstove edition)

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beans, books, butane, camp, camp cooking, campstove, cheap eats, cooking, outdoor cooking, picnic, potatoes, recipe, recipes, road trip, travel cooking, vegan, vegetarian, veggies

So, our most recent roadtrip took us from Las Vegas out to Long Beach. The shortest distance between two points might be a straight line, but there are very few straight roads out in the mountains and that’s no fun anyway.

Candle Tins!

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bcon2104, books, bouchercon, candle, candle scents, candles, neptune and nutmeg, poll, soy candle, soy candles, travel tins

Candle fans, I’m test-marketing a batch of my soy candles in travel tins during Bouchercon. If I keep them, they’ll be a bit more expensive on the website (plus shipping.) So, if you want to leave Bouchercon with some yummy soy candles in little travel tins (great for freshening a funky hotel room and small enough to fit in the suitcase or box you’re taking books home in), help me pick the scents to bring.

I’m making three sizes (4oz, 6oz, and 8oz), two of each scent in each size. So, the top twelve scents below get made. Here’s your chance to pick the scents (up to twelve). Ready? GO!

Review: Thomas Pluck’s BLADE OF DISHONOR

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action, american, battle, blade of dishonor, book, books, fiction, fighting, historical, history, japanese, katana, mma, ninja, pulp, reading, review, samurai, sword, thomas pluck, Tommy Pluck, wwii

It’s been a while since I did a review (that isn’t on Criminal Element).
It’s been a while since I read this book, so…parallels. *twirls in chair, gets dizzy*

Blade of Dishonor is riotous good fun and it has a little bit for nearly everyone. Plus ninja.

ADD without the H

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add, adhd, books, coping, daydreamers, depression, exercise, life, mental health, productivity, quote, writing

I’ve been going through, sorting, and packing up the thousands of books that have found their way into my world. I came across this paragraph that I’d underlined — quite boldly, too. It describes me, not the all-the-time me, but a big part of me.

These are the daydreamers. These are the kids–often girls–who sit in the back of the class and twirl their hair through their fingers while staring out the window and thinking long, long thoughts. These are the adults who drift off during conversations or in the midst of reading a page. These are the people, often highly imaginative, who are building stairways to heaven in the midst of conversations, or writing plays in their minds while not finishing their day’s work, or nodding agreeably and politely while not hearing what is being said at all. They steal away silently, without the noisemaking of their hyperactive brethren, but they steal away just the same.

Book Reviews: Honesty and all that jazz…

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books, dishonesty, fake, honesty, integrity, lies, reading, real, reviews, sockpuppets, writing

There’s been a lot of rabble-rousing on the internet the past week about fake reviews, paid reviews, sock-puppet shenanigans, and other unethical behavior.

All that? I lack the time today to cover this in depth and people more eloquent than me have tackled it already. So, I’ll just stick to this blog and this little mouse’s hovel of the internet.

Reviews here might be for books I bought, books I was given, or books I got through Net Galley. How I got my hands on it doesn’t affect what I say about it. No one pays me for the opinions on this blog. And I don’t review things I haven’t read.

That said, I try not to bash books here. Yes, I’m snarky, bitchy, cantankerous, and cranky in general, but not about books. If it wasn’t my thing, I’ll say so — and explain why so you can still decide if it’s for you. (We all like different things and that’s great!) If I hated it so much my only opinions are of the vitriolic type, I just won’t mention it. You’ll never know unless you know me personally and we run out of other things to say — or you ask me directly offline.

Because of all the things I lack, a strong filter seems to be the thing that most hampers me socially. Sorry.

That said, enough of this. I have books to read, stories to write, and a lot of hummus to eat.