They're so much better off now...

Well, it seems the US has its own Marie Antoinette.
In true, "Let them eat cake" style, Barbara Bush cheerfully tells the press that the refugees are no worse than before, because they were poor to begin with. And now, of course, everything is looking up.
A sock anyone? Or more rope?

"...While touring the Houston Astrodome, where thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees have been huddling, Barbara Bush said they didn't have it so bad because, heck, they were poor to begin with. "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," she was quoted as saying in an interview on National Public Radio. Thousands of hurricane refugees were sitting on or near their green army cots, perhaps thinking of lunch, presumably waiting to be fed something hearty. Anything but cake.
"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," Barbara Bush said.
And here comes the fastball over the middle of the Democratic plate: "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."
At least she didn't ask them to sing and dance.
But I'm sure it's working out very well for them.
How often does something nice like a hurricane come by and change your life so you can hang out with thousands of others in the Astrodome and have Barbara Bush say it wasn't so bad, because you were poor anyway?..."

Courtesy John Kass at the Chicago Tribune

Time

Gym class starts today, and I'm happy to be going back to work out (and hopefully work off the extra pound summer sloth-ing brings) I also go to yoga on Tuesday nights to straighten out the kinks from my back. I've always had back pains until I started yoga - so now I go regularly.
I'm waiting to hear back from my editor about the last installment of Paradise Earth. I sent her the finished product - but in a very rough draft form, as I wanted some imput about it. My crit partners are all busy this summer, and I didn't want to post it through my online crit group as it means I'll have to do some critting in return and I haven't got the time. (the truth about having critiques done is that you feel guilty if you can't return the favor - and some authors send you whole books and never critique anything back...so it's a hard balance to strike. )
I have a crit partner I really love, she really criticises, which is sort of the whole idea. Some people are afraid to hurt your feelings. I understand that - but if you want to progress, you have to learn to take some advice. You also have to learn which advice to take, and which to leave. It's a question of too many cooks spoiling the soup.
And then the book goes to an editor and you learn what real pain is like...

Frank Rich pulls no punches

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/opinion/04rich.html

This is quite a vitrolic article - Frank Rich pulls no punches, comparing New Orleans to the Titanic and castigating Bush for leaping into a plane for one person (Schiavo) while waiting two days on vacation while an entire city drowned.
I have to admit, he made my day.

Maureen Dowd on New Orleans

Maureen Dowd is my hero. She has an acid wit, a sharp tongue, and a straight-to-the-point style of writing that gets her ideas across in few words. It's sad that she has to comment on such a tragedy of errors to make her point. But she's right about everything. Moaning that 'It couldn't have been forseen' is ridiculous when everyone knows it was one of the three worst case scenarios possible for the US. For years there have been documentaries, studies, shows, and papers written on the eventuality of a hurricane hitting New Orleans. Not a possibiliy. Something that would happen eventually. Like the volcano looming over Naples, like the faultline running through California--those are all things that will cause a disaster someday...and everyone knows it.

That isn't any comfort to the survivors of this hurricane who have lost everything. I don't see the people in LA starting some mass exodus because they live in an area that can literally fall into the sea one day. New Orleans was as good as its levees - and the money ear-marked to repair them and strenghthen them got moved to other places--like a bridge in Alaska, from what I read. If that is true, then the federal government should be tarred and feathered, like in the good old days when politicians had to answer for their acts.
Luckily, people are generous. There are offers to help from all over the US and all over the world. old Europe has donated reserves of oil. All the writing organizations and publishing companies I work for are trying to find ways to help. Donations are coming in from everywhere. And Maureen Dowd is telling it like it is.

Allergies

Angie posted that her daughter is dairy allergic, and how hard it was to give her a varied diet. I remember when my twins were allergic to dairy and had to have soya products. Thankfully they grew out of them. I have grown in and out of different allergies all my life. They are Such a pain. But dairy allergies are pretty common. I think Chinese and oriental foods have very little dairy in them. My uncle said he had no milk or cheese for the five years he lived in China. I just watched a program on Indian cooking and there was no dairy in there, except for the clarified butter they use in many dished. Otherwise they use coconut milk for sauces and plain vegitable oil to cook with. Most of their dishes are vegetarian. I loved seeing them make the rice pancakes - and the fish curry with coconut made me Drool!
Getting hungry here. Must be time for lunch!
My son has asthma and is allergic to a few foods. The twins were dairy allergic for more than a year. And I just this year developed an allergy to strawberries (I never liked them much, so it's no big loss) But now if I eat one I get a terrible pain in the back of my throat and head. Isn't that wierd??
One of my favorite romance heroines had an allergy to peanuts. I remember that stood out in the book. Allergies are also one way to make a character more unique and memorable. Notice I said Character - I can't for the life of me remember the book or the plot, lol.

A Prayer for New Orleans

I'm shattered by the devestation in New Orleans and the surrounding cities. The plight of the people living there is desperate.
I'm also sending a prayer for Jamie Joy - she designed my website. Her home is New Orleans, a city I visited once and fell in love with.
The refugees from the hurricane are like refugees from a war zone. They have lost everything and need our help. Another website has posted that the American Red Cross is the best place to send donations. Please don't hesitate to contact them.

Luck and writing

I wonder if luck exists, or if you make your own luck?

Well, that's my deep thought for the day!

The weather report says there are thunderstorms coming this afternoon. So far it's sunny and bright so I'm heading out the door for a while to spend some time in the garden. I have a few projects for today: vacuum and mop the floor, clean the entrance way, and change the sheets. But that will all wait until it starts to rain! I also have to finish a novella I've started and finish writing an outline for a book I'd like to write.
...thoughts about writing...Usually I write an outline for my books. It makes writing them easier, and it makes synopsis's and query letters easier to write as well. An outline consists of a chapter by chapter description of the book. (each chapter condensed into about a paragraph) with the major action and plot. It's also easy that way to check that there is a plot - conflict - a resolution - and character developement. That said, outlines are flexible. The plot can change and the characters develop differently than first imagined! That's what makes writing so interesting for me, but I do need that first outline to head me in the right direction and help keep my writing clean and clear.
...More thoughts about writing....
I was just editing one of my books the other day and noticed Another Alliteration! They seem to plague my writing. In every book I find one - and it usually cracks me up. One went: 'A wave of whispers washed over the watching women' - another was with each word starting in 'S'.
I used them on purpose in 'My Fair Pixie' - they can be very funny. (and I always hope I catch them in edits if I didn't mean to use them!)

virgins

Someone described the 'perfect' heroine as a 25 yr old veggie-virgin-rights' activist who'd never been kissed. I was drinking my coffee when I read that, and managed not to choke. Because, after all, everyone is entitled to their opinions. I suppose that the story of a 25 yr old virgin with tendancies towards empassioned preachy prissiness would really entertain some people. Especially if she discovered a passionate liking for bondange and ended up as Masterful Mistress M. at the end of the book. (dressed in black vinyl because she is still a veggie and won't wear leather.) (She doesn't realise her whips are made of leather, but we won't tell her that.)
But I digress.
I like books where I can identify and sympathize with the heroine. In the vamp post below I explained this. But the post about the virgin also got me thinking. I have a couple virgins in my books. (The Argentine Lover, Princess Lily, Diamina...) and Diamina waits until she's married to her beloved Lyo before giving in and giving away her virginity. So, maybe I am overreacting. Maybe more people than I imagined would think a 25 yr old virgin veggie with activist tendancies would be the perfect heroine. Would you?

Vamps

I read a series this summer all about a gal who falls in love with a vamp. It's cute and campy and tongue-in-cheek - everything I like about a book. It's also preachy and vaguely annoying at times. I could tell who was going to die. The character drank. Or he was gay. Or he participated in an orgy. Those characters died. The heroine, a spunky bartender who can read minds, was fresh and fun...and everyone fell in love with her. Everyone loved the heroine. Her boyfriend the vamp. Her boss. Her vamp boyfriend's boss. The boy next door. The dog next door. Hell, everyone loved her. And I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Sure she was cute and spunky (heroines are called kick-ass but it basically means spunky.) but she was nothing special. I don't even know if I'd want her as a friend, which is kind of my criteria for really liking a heroine: 'Would I want to hang out with this person?' If yes, then I really like the heroine. For the hero it's a bit different. It's more: 'If he asked me on a date would I laugh in his face or go out with him?'
Anyway, this gal gets a regular infusion of vamp blood from various vamps which boosts her stregnth and gives her a 'glow'. I guess it must be that glow. Anyhow, I read the series and liked it OK. Just OK, not loved it, or even hated it. I liked it. And that, I guess, is the kiss of death.

Back home again

I've been gone all summer, and with hardly any internet connection.
First I was in NY with my family, and then I went to Spain. My husband was working there, and my daughter and I accompanied him. We stayed at a hotel with a fabulous pool, right near the rock of Gibralter. It was very hot, and there wasn't any internet at the hotel, so I really couldn't get my e-mail or post. But it was nice and relaxing. Not to say I didn't work. I took my laptop and got half of the next installment to Paradise Earth done. It's called 'Appocalypse', and it's pretty cool, if I can say so myself! I am also in the middle of edits (as usual). This summer I edited three books (when I say I edited, I mean my editor edited and I made the corrections, lol) and I still have one book to go. It will be coming out at Cerridwen Press and I'm pretty excited about that.
OK, I have to get back to edits, or I'll never finish.
I will be blogging more regularly now. Sorry about the vacation.
:-)

on the road

Vacation is here, and I'm in NY visiting with my family. I grew up in this sleepy little town, and it's both reassuring and nice to see how little it has changed. A lot of my school friends still live here, and the bank is still in the same historical building. Because the village is a historical village - it is protected from being built up. Not so around my dad's house, which used to be the only house down in the hollow. Now houses are springing up nearby, there are lots plowed up and for sale in what used to be a meadow, and there is talk about draining the wetlands. (I hope that comes to nothing - it's a great place for wildlife) But despite the building, or perhaps because of it, we are seeing lots of wild animals that I never saw while growing up there. A bobcat, a flock of wild turkeys, and several families of whitetail deer live in my father's property. I hope they are here to stay.

Looking cool this summer

It's going to be Hot in Europe this year - the weather report from the official sites are announcing a hotter than usual summer, so everyone is gearing up to beat the heat.
There are few air conditioners here, but there are portable ones for sale. And there are fans. Since there are few bugs, windows stay wide open to catch the breeze, but when the sun hits, the shutters close. So what to wear? This year Indian cotton is in, as are Indian type skirts, sandals and loose, flowing dresses. Shirts and dresses sparkle with sequins and beads, and even make-up is shiny this year. My newest eye-liner has gold-sparklys in it. Very chic. Ethnic is in. Preppy is out. The brighter the colors, the better the look. Flower and paisley prints are everywhere in Paris. And in the shops, Brazilian style bikinis have started to make their appearence. The bottoms are skimpy, without being strings, and the tops are colorful triangles often beaded or sequined. Hot on the beach are the mis-matched bikinis - a solid bottom with a bright print top. Toss your beige, white, and navey blue clothes and go for orange (the season's hottest color) lime green, fuschia and buttercup yellow. Forget drab...this summer's coolest look is Brilliant!

STEPS IN OVERCOMING MASTURBATION

This essay is attributed to the late Mark E Petersen of the Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints. I lifted it from Mrs. Giggles' (www.mrsgiggles.com) excellent blog 'The Toilet Bowl'.
My husband is trying to stop smoking. I thought I'd use this and substitute the word smoking for masterbation. What do you think? At any rate, it's a riot to read, and the part about wearing tight clothes to bed that are hard to take off was frankly exciting. (I can't wait to try it!)


STEPS IN OVERCOMING MASTURBATION by Mark E. PetersenCouncil of the 12 Apostles
Be assured that you can be cured of your difficulty. Many have been, both male and female, and you can be also if you determine that it must be so.
This determination is the first step. That is where we begin. You must decide that you will end this practice, and when you make that decision, the problem will be greatly reduced at once.
But it must be more than a hope or a whish, more than knowing that it is good for you. It must be actually a DECISION. If you truly make up your mind that you will be cured, then you will have the strength to resist any tendencies which you may have and any temptations which may come to you.
After you have made this decision, then observe the following specific guidelines:
A Guide to Self-Control:
Never touch the intimate parts of your body except during normal toilet processes.
Avoid being alone as much as possible. Find good company and stay in this good company.
If you are associated with other persons having this same problem, YOU MUST BREAK OFF THEIR FRIENDSHIP. Never associate with other people having the same weakness. Don't suppose that two of you will quit together, you never will. You must get away from people of that kind. Just to be in their presence will keep your problem foremost in your mind.
The problem must be taken OUT OF YOUR MIND for that is where it really exists. Your mind must be on other and more wholesome things.
When you bathe, do not admire yourself in a mirror. Never stay in the bath more than five or six minutes - just long enough to bathe and dry and dress AND THEN GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM into a room where you will have some member of your family present.
When in bed, if that is where you have your problem for the most part, dress yourself for the night so securely that you cannot easily touch your vital parts, and so that it would be difficult and time consuming for you to remove those clothes. By the timeyou started to remove protective clothing you would have sufficiently controlled your thinking that the temptation would leave you.
If the temptation seems overpowering while you are in bed, GET OUT OF BED AND GO INTO THE KITCHEN AND FIX YOURSELF A SNACK, even if it is in the middle of the night, and even if you are not hungry, and despite your fears of gaining weight. The purpose behind this suggestion is that you GET YOUR MIND ON SOMETHING ELSE. You are the subject of your thoughts, so to speak.
Never read pornographic material. Never read about your problem. Keep it out of mind. Remember - "First a thought, then an act." The thought pattern must be changed. You must not allow this problem to remain in your mind. When you accomplish that, you soon will be free of the act.
Put wholesome thoughts into your mind at all times. Read good books -- Church books - Scriptures - Sermons of the Brethern. Make a daily habit of reading at least one chapter of Scripture, preferably from one of the four Gospels in the New Testament, or the Book of Mormon. The four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - above anything else in the Bible can be helpful because of their uplifting qualities.
Pray. But when you pray, don't pray about this problem, for that will tend to keep [it] in your mind more than ever. Pray for faith, pray for understanding of the Scriptures, pray for the Missionaries, the General Authorities, your friends and your families, BUT KEEP THE PROBLEM OUT OF YOUR MIND BY NOT MENTIONING IT EVER - NOT IN CONVERSATION WITH OTHERS, NOT IN YOUR PRAYERS. KEEP IT OUT of your mind!
The attitude of a person toward his problem has an affect [sic] on how easy it is to overcome. It is essential that a firm commitment be made to control the habit. As a person understands his reasons for the behavior, and is sensitive to the conditions or situations that may trigger a desire for the act, he develops the power to control it.
We are taught that our bodies are temples of God, and are to be clean so that the Holy Ghost may dwell within us. Masturbation is a sinful habit that robs one of the Spirit and creates guilt and emotional stress. It is not physically harmful unless practiced in the extreme. It is a habit that is totally self-centered, and secretive, and in no way expresses the proper use of the procreative power given to man to fulfill eternal purposes. It therefore separates a person from God and defeats the gospel plan.
This self-gratifying activity will cause one to lose his self-respect testimony becomes weak, and missionary work and other Church callings become burdensome, offerins.

travelogue

I love to travel. I love finding new places, meeting new people, and seeing new sights. So it's with great pleasure I tune into Wyn's travel blog and read about her travels.
http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com/
I'm reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and was amazed to see that although living in the twelfth century, she travelled extensively through Europe and the Orient, even going on the Crusades with her first husband, the king of France. Eleanor was a thoroughly modern woman living in an age where things were changing rapidly. Her influence on that time is not negligeable (She married two kings, was kidnapped twice, went on the Crusades, and raised seven children!)

Have fun reading Wyn's travel blog, and if you would like to know more about Eleanor of Aquitaine, there are some wonderful books (both fiction and nonfiction) available.

More about love and sex

I just read a post by a well-meaning romance author. Sure sex is all right (she reasures us) but romance is all about love, and love is bigger than sex. (she goes on to say).
And all the poster-people after her hurry to agree that yes, love is not sex, and that their idea of love is (one person's words here) "a child bringing flowers to her mother".
I guess it's time I spoke up. Romance books are fine without sex. They are fine with sex. It makes no difference to me, as long as I know what I'm getting when I buy it. But to say that romance books don't NEED sex is absurd.
Love and sex go together when it's about a couple - and a romance book isn't about mother-love, or sister-brother love. And even if love is bigger than sex (agreed, agreed!) sex is a pretty darn important part of a relationship - and a healthy, loving relationship with great sex is far better than a loving relationship with terrible sex, or having one partner afraid of sex, or hung up about sex, or having been molested unable to equate sex and love. So, maybe romance books with sex can have their place too - a place to express the wonder and excitement of sex. A celebration of sex. It's about time human beings loosened up about sex and equated it with love and romance, don't you think?

expressions of love

What is the link between breastfeeding and homosexual couples holding hands in public? Both make people 'uncomfortable' and both are expressions of love. In our society, it causes less of a stir to be seen carrying a gun than nursing your infant.
Movies show murders all the time, and the RWA (romance writer's of America) says nothing about romance books with murder in them (romantic suspence) while books with sex in them are causing a storm in a teacup.
What is it about our society? We can't show expressions of love, but we are invited to show expressions of violence!
Why is violence accepted and tolerated, while sex, love, and breastfeeding one's child are not? Isn't sex more productive (pardon the pun) than murder? Isn't a baby at one's breast more inspiring than a gun strapped to one's shoulder? Why can't gay couples hold hands? Why should any expression of love be frowned upon? You can't tell me that 'Jesus said gays and sex are sinful.' He never said that. God never wrote any of that on the ten commandments - (the only thing that came straight from God, not invented by man i.e. - the bible, koran, etc.)
God said (and he was very clear) "Thou shalt not kill." What part of that does mankind have a problem understanding? Why do so many people get so upset with love and kindness, sex, breasts, and babies, and yet they make sure gun lobbies keep their power and will watch films with their kids in which several people are killed and maimed. (The same people wince when two women kiss.)
I think that we have to re-educate ourselves. Common sense has deserted us. Perhaps it's overcrowding - nature's way of keeping the population levels down: war, violence, intolerance. It is certainly easier to shoot a stranger than to kiss one. Personally I prefer the saying 'Make Love, not War.' It's way out of date, conjures images of hippies and psychadelic flowers. But at least it's an expression of love, not violence. And I'd rather live in a world where expressions of violence are frowned upon, while love rules.

To join or Not to Join

That is the question.
I've joined the new RWA chapter for erotic romance. It's a great place to be - nobody has a hissy fit when you mention the word porn, and everyone is working together to try to bring erotic romance into the respected world of women's fiction. I do like the new chapter, but I'm not crazy about being part of RWA. Why? Well, for one thing, they don't seem to really want erotica to be a part of their group. You have to understand that erotica encompasses a huge array of genres and writing, just as romance does. Some is midly erotic, while some is so hot it scorches your eyeballs. Some writers proudly proclaim they write smut, while others will only owe up to writing 'erotic romance', and still others (you know who) think they write porn for women. So, it will be interesting to see behind which banner the chapter will march. They've called it Passionate Ink - because apparently RWA won't accept a chapter with the word erotic in it. To me, this is called 'getting off on the wrong foot'. We write romance but it is so explicite that it's rated R or even X, and it's for the Over 18 crowd. If the RWA accepts us, it will have to do so on those terms. Sugar-coating won't work. Another idea would be to make a whole new organization - Erotica Writers of America (EWA) instead of RWA. It makes sense when you think of the Horror writers' association, the sci-fi and fantasy org. and the Children's writer's association - each of which is very helpful. (I belong to several writing orgs and they can be helpful)
At any rate, I will be happy to join the RWA as soon as they show they are happy to have me join - until then, I will continue to support my new chapter and look forward to seeing what happens in the wonderfully wild world of romance writing.

Let's Procrastinate

I have been so lazy lately. The weather has a lot to do with it - who wants to sit inside when the sun is shining and the breeze is stirring the lace curtains, making shadows dance across the tiled floor? The shadows whisper 'Come play outside! Come for a walk!' So I have to get up and go into the garden. And then, I have to check the flower beds. Are the nettles coming back? Should I get my gloves on and pull them out? Are the nastertiums growing yet? When will the climbing rose start to bloom? So I walk through the garden, down the path, into the orchard, and then back to the steps, all warm from the sun. How can you walk by stone steps and not sit on them for a while? Little lizards dart up and down, bees drone by, and then I feel like having a cup of coffee outside. One of life's pleasures is sitting on sunny steps sipping coffee. So, being a hedonist, I go make some coffee. My dog, who follows me everywhere, plops down at my feet and leans against my shins. I scratch her ears, her tail thumps. The sun shines. It's a perfect day for doing nothing, except maybe pulling a few nettles from the ground!

Sudoku

http://www.griffiths-jones.co.uk/sudoku/index.html

I just posted a wonderful, witty post about my new rage, SuDoku. Unfortunately, the gods of the blog have decided to drive me crazy, and so I hit the wrong button thus destroying my excellent post.
In all fairness, the gods probably didn't have a lot to do with it. I just got done mowing the lawn, and my hands are kind of numb because of the vibration of the lawn mower so it's hard to type. But I had to tell everyone about SuDoku, a Japonese numbers game. It's a lot of fun, it's tricky, and it takes both logic and creative thinking. So far I've done five, goofed two, and finished three, including a 'hard' one. :-)
Above is a link to get you started on this relaxing (but time consuming & surprisingly addictive) game.
Have Fun!

Tagged!

Scott Oden has tagged me to take part in another blog exercise.
I've never been tagged so I'll probably mess this up - but here goes:

Total number of books I own: I can't count them all. Suffice to say I have three huge bookcases stuffed with them, in multiple layers, plus the ones vying for space in various cupboards, drawers, and shelves. Not to mention the hundred of electronic books as doc, pdf, and lit files in my computer!

Last Book I Bought: 'Guns, Germs, and Steel' by Jarod Diamond.

Last Book I Read: 'Angelica' by Sharon Shinn. I got it in St. Louis and she signed it for me. I finished it when I went to Germany this weekend, and I loved it.