Tag Archives: blogs

Websites for Writers

By | |
Comments Off on Websites for Writers

So every once in a while I’ve been throwing out some websites for the writerly type. Whether your goal is to write that one book to meet some bucket list type idea or you want to be a career writer, checking out other writers’ sites isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it is a brilliant thing.

One of the best sites is Kristine Kathryn Rusch‘s webpage. I discovered Rusch as a newb reader back in the day when I devoured sci-fi/fantasy books by the dozen. I LOVE her works. Her ability to create worlds rich in three dimensional characters is amazing. Her books are some of the few I have carted from place to place as I move. Even when I have thrown out/given away/traded  other works to make room and save poundage. However, I didn’t figure out how great she truly is until I began reading her blog. See, she CAN get multi-book deals and have the corner office agent. But she chooses not to. And she tells you why. And then she tells you how to get multi book deals or self-pub for maximum benefit ON YOUR OWN, just like she does now. That’s right, she fired her agent and cuts her own deals and pubs her own books. All the while giving pointers to the rest of us. Even if you don’t like her genre and have been reluctant to pick up her books, go read her blog. You’ll be glad you did. Information and education is THE most important tool in a writer’s toolbox. Seriously.

Along the vein of trying to help out, Brian Grove has compiled a list of over 100 publishers in various genres accepting submissions. It’s a good place to start compiling YOUR list of who you want to sub to, with or without an agent. Not that your agent won’t know about some of these houses, they probably will. But on the off chance they don’t, it’s a good thing for you to know so that if you start running out of houses, you can gently suggest one off this list. The list is invaluable, however, if you are subbing works yourself. Start here as the base for a subbing list. You won’t be sorry.

Last but not least, go read the Pub(lishing) Crawl. It is a blog written by publishers, writers and other in the industry. There is some insider info, some announcements and some good writerly advice from people who live, eat and breathe books and writing and publishing. Insightful. Funny. Sometimes, brilliant. It gives a voice to the thoughts of some industry professional from whom us peons would never get to hear. The list of contributors is a virtual who’s who in publishing.

Random Thoughts Part… the 8th

By | | ,
Comments Off on Random Thoughts Part… the 8th

It’s been a long while since I’ve had a random thought. Most of my thoughts have been pretty targeted. That happens when you got 3 back to back book releases while trying to hawk some more stories to various publishing houses. But for the last several weeks, I’ve taken a vakay from all things writerly to focus on other aspects of my life. Like getting my oldest off to college. And rediscovering how much I like READING books and stories and other people’s writings. What it’s really done is give me a chance to recharge, renew and get excited about MY writing again.

I hate getting older. Not only does time seem to be passing me by at warp speed, but my body seems to be failing at a scary exponential rate. It’s pissing me off. Every. Frickin’. Day. If I knew the person in charge personal like, I would be bitching constantly about how it’s not right to make time move so goddamn fast all the while my earthly vessel deteriorates like there is no tomorrow. See, in my opinion, it should be one or the other. Death should be flying rapidly to meet me -OR- not and, mind you, OR my body should be falling apart like a cheap Chinese toy. But not both. Never both. But I don’t the person in charge personally. So I have zero say in matters. Sucks to be me.

Even thought I am no longer in school, the end of summer is still signaled by kids going back to school. I don’t care what the calendar says. Fall starts when school starts. End of story. No other marker is needed. Period. Oh okay, if there is a holiday that might, just might, signal fall, it would be Labor Day. And who made the rule that a woman can’t wear white after that date. Seems arbitrary to me. Cause it should depend on the weather, season and where you live. I mean, it’s pretty damn hot in certain parts of the world. And white is a great reflective color. It gets the heat off your back. Literally and figuratively. But mostly literally. So white might be necessary after Labor Day. So there, you crazy fashion police bitches.

When are we gonna come up with an alternative fuel that doesn’t use oil? And by fuel, I mean for cars. I am so tired of paying through my nose to drive my gas guzzling vehicle. Yeah, I get the irony part of that previous statement. So what. I still want cheaper gas. And I still want fuel that doesn’t begin as dark sludge. And I want it yesterday. We’re smart. We could do it. My problem begins when I think about why we don’t. Politics. Plain and simple. Shit. Given the amount of money changing hands just to keep oil as king, we’re gonna have to run out of oil before we seriously start developing other fuel sources. Pisses me right the fuck off. Politics. Sucks.

That is all.

Summer Lovin’ Blog Hop T minus 3 Days

By | | ,
Comments Off on Summer Lovin’ Blog Hop T minus 3 Days

SummerLovin_Button

 

Rebel Ink is going to give away a Kindle Paperwhite and some other swag just for following the blog hop. The posts will be about Summer and Lovin’. So be prepared for some heated posts. Hot. Hot. Hot.

Starts in 3 days. The count down has begun. 😉

August Blog Chain

By | |
6 Comments

It’s that time of the month again- AW‘s blog chain is here!!! lol What did you think I meant?!?! My flash fiction piece is below. At the end is a list of the other participant’s blogs where their flash fiction pieces will be. It’s a kinda cool topic this month, so go read some of the others.

 

This month’s prompt:
Child of the devil

Whether the devil be literal, figurative, or Cruella. As always, can be prose, poetry, play, fiction, nonfiction.

Instructions:
Simply post your blog’s URL in this thread to join. I’ll let you know in this thread when it’s your turn. Once your turn comes up, you have two days to complete a blog post using the prompt. When you are finished, please add a link to your post on the thread.

1000 words or less

Date Night at the Devil’s House

“Don’t scare Trevor, dad,” she told her father. Then she turned to Trevor. “Don’t let dad scare you. I’ll only be a second grabbing my wrap.”

She turned and walked out of the room confident the two she’d left behind would get along. Her surety lasted only so long as it took to grab her wrap from her room and return. She almost walked into a low yet heartfelt discussion.

“I promise I only have the utmost respect for your daughter, sir.” She heard Trevor say so earnestly, it almost colored the room.

“Don’t stay out past her curfew. And if I find out that you’ve laid one single hand on my daughter, I promise I’ll make your life hell.” Her dad’s tone of voice was even, which was incongruous with the words he’d spoken.

She didn’t doubt her dad would make any guy who hurt her regret it. Could possibly make that guy’s life a living hell if he desired. Literally. He was the Lord of the Underworld. The proverbial devil- with a capital D,  after all. Satan. Beelzebub. And a host of other really odd sounding and spelled names.

She’d long ago given up the hope of having a second date with any guy while she still lived at home. Most guys took her out once.

Before meeting her dad, they would be all excited to have her agree to a date. Then they would meet her dad. Not wanting to offend him, they couldn’t very well turn tail and run on the spot. So invariably the date would proceed. But it would proceed in the sense that the guy would treat her like his kid sister and not an almost adult female. A few had given her a chaste kiss goodbye. Most just said ‘see ya later’ and then ran-walked as fast as they could far, far away from her and her house and her dad.

In the beginning, she’d just thought the guys were being nice in a gentlemanly sort of way. But as she waited and waited and then waited some more for a phone call about a second date, she’d finally gotten a clue they hadn’t been nice or gentlemanly. No, they’d been petrified of her father.

At first, her feelings had been hurt. But over time, she’d realized that such spineless ninnies weren’t for her anyway. Still, she’d wished that at least one of them had had a backbone. Seriously, was every guy such a wuss? Apparently, all the ones that came into her sphere of existence were.

Trevor would be the same. She had no doubt he would be like all the others. After overhearing her dad’s spiel, she at least understood why her other dates had all but peed themselves.

Resigned, she stepped back into the front room where Trevor was standing close to her father.

“I’m ready,” she said in a cheerful manner that belied her certainty that this date would be like all the others and just fizzle.

“I forgot to tell you that you looked fabulous, Lily,” Trevor said.

He walked over to her, pretended to help adjust her wrap and then kissed her lightly on the cheek.

She was so surprised by his actions, she couldn’t form a reply.

Her dad looked murderous. Whether it was because she was in the room, her dad kept his silence, however, just glowering in his dadly way. On anybody else, the the smoke coming out his nose would have been hypothetical. But since her dad was her dad, he had real little puffs of smoke coming out of his nostrils. Not a lot. But enough for her to know he was ticked.

She’d have to talk to him later. It wasn’t as if she were a child. She was 17 after all and a kiss on the cheek was pretty damn tame compared to some of the stories she’d heard from other girls.

She smiled. Maybe this date wasn’t going to be like all the others. It had certainly started out different.

She turned her head slightly so she could look directly into Trevor’s eyes. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Her dad followed her to the door and waited with the door open as they got into the car. As soon as the doors were shut, words tumbled out of her mouth.

“You’re brave, you know.”

“Not really. But if I had let him see I was afraid it would have colored our relationship.”

“Yeah? How?”

“I just wanted him to know he could care about you but so can I. Plus, it was a man thing. Trust me, he’ll respect me more for it and next time I come pick you up, he’ll be less intense.”

“Seriously? Is there like a handbook on this?”

“Nah. It’s just that my dad behaved like your dad when my sisters were dating. I figured it out then.”

“You’re dad’s a dick too?”

Trevor laughed. “Not normally. But the guys my sisters would date thought so. Until they started bring home guys he couldn’t intimidate. Then he chilled.”

“Great,” she muttered. “Wished I’d figured that out ages ago.”

Trevor broke out into a full on smile then. “No way, babe. Then you might’ve been taken when I was ready to ask you out. Besides, your dad’s gonna be more pissed when he figures out who my dad is.”

“Who’s your dad?”

“Michael.”

Well shit. What were the odds?

“Umm, my dad and your dad used to be friends. I overheard my mom talking about it once when she was complaining to her BFF that dad doesn’t get out for a guy’s night out anymore.”

“Yeah, I think they had a falling out.”

“Must have been serious. How long have they been on the outs?”

“A pretty long time,” Trevor told her. “But maybe if we keep going out, we can get them back together again.”

“The world might end if we do.”  Literally.

“True.”

“We’re going out again?” She couldn’t keep the hope and surprise out of her voice.

“Absolutely.”

“Cool.”

 

Participants and posts:

ishtar’sgate – http://chickenscratchbc.blogspot.ca/ (link to post)
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
areteus – http://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
BDavidHughes – http://bdavidhughes.com/ (link to post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
articshark – http://www.drslaten.com/blog (link to post)<———–me
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Anarchic Q – http://anarchicq.com/ (link to post)
meowzbark – http://www.lizzylessard.com/ (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes – http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post)
grace elliot – http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)

milkweed – http://www.thistlequill.blogspot.com/ (link to post) [after 8/15]

Writerly Web Sites

By | |
Comments Off on Writerly Web Sites

So the last time, I focused on sites that helped with the craft of writing, namely editing. Today, I am going to give you a few sites to help with some other things.

First up is David P. Vandagriff‘s Contract Counsel page. He also writes the Passive Voice blog and tweets as Passive guy. Passive guy has breaking news on the business and legal aspects of the writerly life. Both pages that he maintains has a wealth of information about the business of writing. Because, like me, I am assuming that writing is not something being done for the fun of it or as a when I think about it kind of hobby. But rather, because writing AND making some money is the goal. So while I know that it might be more pleasant to focus on the art aspect of writing, don’t do that at the expense of the business of writing. Stay abreast of current happenings. You’ll be glad you did. Plus, if you are unagented and get a big 6 5 publishing contract, he has rates for having a professional look it over for you. Always a good thing.

Next up is Stephie Smith‘s contest chart. Yes, that’s right- contests. At some point, you will need or want or be encouraged to enter your writing in a contest to pitch it in battle against other writerly types. Seriously. Even if you don’t like competition, writing as a business is ALL about competing. When you submit to an agent, you are competing. When an agent or you submits to a publisher, you are competing. When your books get released into the world wide marketplace, you are competing. So take this shit seriously. And along the way, enter a few contests. Not only does this help develop you as a writer- it really does, it also gets your writing much needed exposure. Maybe a few of the judges in the competition see your work. Never hurts. Especially if you are unagented and the judge is from a house that only accepts agented work. This gets your writing which would have never crossed their desk in front of them. And if you win? Sheesh, accolades are never a bad thing.

Last but not least, boys and girls, are writer conferences, retreats and workshops. Stacey O’Neale has a list on her site. It is by no means a comprehensive list. Locus has a conference list and there are several other sites that list lots of these go and learn some crap events. Going to these events serves several purposes. First, there is the networking aspect. You get to meet a lot of people you normally wouldn’t have ever met if you’d stayed in your writing bat cave. Second, you might actually learn some new shit about writing. No one knows everything about how to be a great writer. No one. You can always learn something whether it is an advanced class or a beginners class. Even if you think you already do it correctly, go take an entry level class to reaffirm you are the shit. Or it might show you a new way of doing old shit. And last, writing is about what’s happening IN THE WORLD. Get out from behind your computer and/or desk and go experience some shit so you can incorporate that shit into some new writing. Seriously.

July Blog Chain

By | |
13 Comments

Doing AW‘s July Blog Chain. I hadn’t planned to do this month’s cause I am seriously busy, busy, busy. I just left editing hell for revision hell and am on a crash course for more writing, editing and revisions. But I couldn’t resist the prompt.

This month’s prompt:
Dog Days of Summer

In other words, the hottest and most sultry part of summer. Etymology lesson here. As always, can be prose, poetry, play, fiction, nonfiction.

Instructions:
Simply post your blog’s URL in this thread to join. I’ll let you know in this thread when it’s your turn. Once your turn comes up, you have two days to complete a blog post using the prompt. When you are finished, please add a link to your post on the thread.

Each post should be less than 1000 words if possible.

Dog Days

“Did you find them?”

“No, my Lord. They’ve hidden themselves well,” replied the soldier. His mouth was in a tight line. His eyes showing the fatigue his body did not.

“Search every house in the quarter. I want my slave back. And I want him back too,” Lord Andier’s voice sounded calm. His eyes were fevered, however.

The soldier kept his thoughts to himself. Wisely. The heat was making everyone crazy. Although, the soldier knew it wasn’t just the heat making Andier crazy. Andier had been crazy long before the sweltering summer heat. Trying to find Dideron and the stolen slave, Isla, was trying to find a needle in a haystack. There were too many people. Too many poor. Dideron and Isla could be hiding anywhere.

“If you can’t find them by tomorrow night, there will be hell to pay,” Lord Andier’s voice was still flat, holding no emotion. “Do I make myself clear, Major Ascanto?”

“Perfectly, my Lord. It shall be done,” Ascanto replied.

“Excellent. Find Isla. Bring her to me bound and naked. Bring them both to me bound and naked. Then raze the entire city,” Andier spoke.  Ascanto wasn’t sure he heard correctly.

“My Lord?”

“Bring that bitch to me and the mongrel she’s fucking, then kill everyone on this planet,” Andier’s voice was razor sharp.

Ascanto kept the horror off his face, but it was a near thing.

“Lord, there are a little over a million people just in this settlement,” Ascanto tried to reason with his Lord.

“Yes, and they hid my traitorous Isla, no? And spawned Dideron from their loins,” Andier’s eyes lost their feverishness as he spoke. “I loved her. I gave her everything. She betrayed me. With a street rat. Kill them all. They are mine. This planet is mine. The city is mine. They live by my sufferance. And now they will die by my sufferance as well.”

Ascanto knew better than to answer. Not this time. Andier had just dropped verbal landmines. But Ascanto couldn’t hide his thoughts from himself. It hadn’t taken long for Ascanto to realize Andier was insane. Completely and clinically insane. Andier was also too powerful for any to speak of his insanity.

The vision of the city burning along with its inhabitants made Ascanto’s stomach turn. He knew it then. He should have never accepted this post. He’s had reservations about it from the first. He knew the superstition about the Sirius sector. Had chalked it up to imagination and the need to blame the unseeable on the unknowable and hadn’t put credence in the warnings that something was wrong, seriously fucking wrong, here.

Now Ascanto knew it was true. All of it. It was also too late. He’d been caught in the madness. Caught by his arrogance.

“Shall I warn them, my Lord. At least tell them to evacuate?” Ascanto kept the horror from his voice, knowing it would fuel Andier’s anger to even greater heights.

Andier didn’t speak for long moments. “Yes. Let them scurry to try and evade the destruction. Whoever remains will be sacrificed. Those left behind will be payment for those allowed to escape.”

“It shall be done, my Lord,” Ascanto replied as if Andier had made the suggestion. It was safer for all of them if Andier thought it was so.

Ascanto turned and walked to the door.

“Major,” Andier called. “Don’t fail me. Your men will pay for your failure. While you watch.”

Ascanto was glad his back was turned and he was facing away from Andier. He wasn’t sure he could kept the revulsion from his face. This Sirius sector assignment had been a clusterfuck from the first. It had just gone past clusterfuckiness all the way to fucked up beyond all belief.

“It will be as you wish, my Lord.”

Ascanto stepped out of the Lord’s chambers and into the scorching summer heat. It was so hot, it felt as if the flesh was melting straight off his bones. His men should be resting, sleeping off the heat. Instead, they were going to go searching for a missing slave and her lover. House to house.

Sacrifice. Sirius. The height of summer. The words kept repeating in Ascanto’s mind. Over and over again. Until Ascanto threw back his head and laughed. It wasn’t a laugh of amusement. Not at all.

“Perfect. History is come alive. Repeating after nearly a millennia,” Ascanto spoke to himself. He entertained the thought that he was perhaps going slowly mad himself. Cracked. Like Andier. It wasn’t the first time he entertained the thought that it was the sector driving them crazy. Something in the air, or not in the air.

Sacrifice. Sirius. Height of summer.

It was a loop none of them could avoid.

Sacrifice. Sirius. Height of summer.

He should have never taken this assignment. He should have begged for the spot in the Orion sector. On his knees if he had to. He should have pleaded for a transfer when he realized the extent of the rot in the Sirius sector. He didn’t. And now he would pay. His men would pay. They would all pay.

Sacrifice. Sirius. Height of summer.

Madness had come for them all. All because of a crazed Lord, and a love affair. Forbidden love affair, true. It was the insane Lord that turned the love affair from a romance to a tragedy. That turned the sheltering of lovers into a mass treason. That was going to turn this city from a bustling market into a slaughterhouse. And make everyone on the planet a sacrifice.

Ascanto gave orders to his men. His men were too well trained to show any emotion. They moved to carry out his orders.

Sacrifice. Sirius. Summer.

Ascanto wondered if other soldiers in other times listened as those very same words reverberated within their minds. He should have never accepted this assignment. His realization came too late, however.

Sacrifice. Sirius. Summer.

Three words. Embedded forever in his brain. He wouldn’t survive. He knew it. He accepted the inevitable. Then he moved to follow his men. Searching each house. Until death came for them all.

Participants and posts:
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com (link to post)
articshark – http://www.drslaten.com/blog (link to post) <———— you are here
Sunwords – http://susannedoering.wordpress.com (link to post)
Diem_Allen – http://mindovermistakes.blogspot.com (link to post)
U2Girl – http://ancatdubh.org (link to post)
robynmackenzie – http://www.iwanttobeawesomewhenigrowup.com (link to post)
Lady Cat – http://radomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.ca (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes – http://www.taraquan.com (link to post)
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com (link to post)
Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
SuzanneSeese – http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Diana_Rajchel – http://blog.dianarajchel.com/ (link to post)
HistorySleuth – http://historysleuth.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
AshleyEpidemic – http://www.soipondered.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
SRHowen – http://srhowen1.blogspot.com (link to post)

Random Thoughts Part 6

By | |
2 Comments

Why is it when you have guests in your home, your home doesn’t feel like your home anymore? It feels like you are the one on vacation and you’re in a strange location. Don’t get me wrong, I like having guests. It brings out the whole hostess in me thing. But the invasion of my home feels odd. It really feels like I am in another location if the people in my house are staying longer than an evening. Weird, right? Even weirder is that I WANT them to come and visit. But then I want them to LEAVE. It is a serious issue. A condition for which I have no cure. Damn it. I am a walking contradiction. lol

I don’t like the whole hurry up and wait thing we have going on in various parts of our lives. We speed on the roads only to have to come to an abrupt stop for traffic or lights or something. We hurry up to get to an arena for viewing- concerts, lectures, shows, etc., only to have to wait until it comes on. And then it is usually late. But we hurried to get there. Hurried to get seats. And in some cases, hurried to buy the damn tickets in the first place. We hurry to doctor’s appointments, dentist’s appointments, hair appointments, only to have to wait. Some of it is on us. We want to be first, on time, whatever. But some of it is just shitty traffic engineering. Bad light timing. Or shitty venue timing. Or just plain shitty doctors, dentists, hairdressers, etc. And don’t get me started on the hurry up and wait that goes on in airports when- god forbid, you have to fly somewhere. Jaysus.

When did it become okay to be misogynistic tools? Has the anonymity of the internet made the haters hate harder? I don’t think so. It as just allowed the cowardly bastard to express their hate using a wall to hide behind. Cowardly fucktards. Dude, if you are so sure of what you’re saying, so proud of who you are- BE YOU. Without hiding. Without shame. Without the sad stupid ass barrier of anonymity that internet use affords you. Because it also affords you the CHOICE of being all in by being ALL THE WAY OUT. Anything less is the pussification of your views and viewpoints. Stop being juvenile. If you can’t say it with your identity known by all and asundry, then you don’t have worthwhile viewpoints. At ALL. And just so we are clear, even if you do come out in the open with your vitriolic hate messages- against women, minorities, the moon in retrograde, it doesn’t mean you are any less of a fucktard. It just means you aren’t a hide behind the anonymity of the internet kinda of fucktard. Unfortunately, for you, your fucktardness isn’t something you change. Like losing weight, getting hair plugs, going under the knife to change your visage. No, your fucktardness is way past skin deep all the way into the marrow of your bones. For you, you will languish in the land of fucktardary until you draw your last breath. Yes, you asshat who belongs to the sfwa… this message is specifically about you and generally about all asshats.

Stop using your social media to turn yourself into spammers. You could be interesting. You could have sparking conversation, witty dialogue and kick ass discourse. I will never know because I unfollowed your ass, blocked your access and created a spam filter just for you. Cause that shit is just annoying. Seriously. STOP THAT SHIT. A shout out occasionally to promo your shit is cool. I get that. I do that. But if every tweet, every FB comment, every email is about your product- no matter what that product is, then you ARE A SPAMMER. A hated, reviled member of our electronic interaction community. You have just made yourself the red-headed stepchild.

That is all.

 

June Blog Chain

By | | ,
10 Comments

Doing AW‘s June Blog Chain again. Might the last for a bit. I got a lot on my plate right now.

This month’s prompt:
Bugs

Yep. Bugs. Simple and easy. Prose, poetry, play. Fiction, nonfiction. It’s all good, all bugs.

Instructions:
Simply post your blog’s URL in this thread to join. I’ll let you know in this thread when it’s your turn. Once your turn comes up, you have two days to complete a blog post using the prompt. When you are finished, please add a link to your post on the thread.

Each post should be less than 1000 words if possible.

Bugs

“Don’t let them escape,” she cried.

“I’m tryin’ not to,” he answered.

“Oh my god. Get them.” She was horrified.

Silas wasn’t a very forgiving overseer. Not even a drop of compassion flowed through his veins. She and Orrin would be written up and their pay docked. The last thing she could afford was to have her pay docked.

“Hurry and get ‘em back into their containment units, Chessie,” Orrin’s tone was forceful while his voice was low. “Mebbe they won’t notice. Or mebbe we can tell ‘um they died in the unit.”

“That won’t work Orrin. They added the unit weight monitors yesterday. The units just got calibrated,” her voice held the resignation she felt. “It’s useless. I’ll file the report.”

“Shit.”

It wasn’t a minute after she hit send on the report, the communicator on the console started beeping. She didn’t want to hit the green button, but she did.

“Ms. de Marco?” asked Silas.

“Yes, this is she,” she answered, albeit reluctantly.

“I see from the report, your team lost a little under a gross of cockroaches,” he said. His voice held neither disapproval or approval.

“Yes sir. That’s correct,” she said. “It was my fault, sir. Mr. Abernathy bears no fault.”

“I noted that on the report as well,” he stated.

“It’s the truth,” she said emphatically. “Although Orrin helped me when I tried to get them back. They ran, sir. We couldn’t catch them.”

“The loss of the gross will cost the company just under $10,000 dollars, Ms. de Marco. How do you propose to rectify this situation?” Silas asked her.

“Well, I’ve given it some thought, sir. I would be willing to be docked half pay and work over time for the remaining portion,” she suggested.

“Acceptable,” Silas told her. Again, no inflection in his voice to indicate emotions running one way or another. “Computer please note the date and time of the agreement.”

“Agreement noted and entered,” a chipper female voice acknowledged.

“Will that be all sir?” she asked miserably.

“Yes. Good day,” Silas sign off. The communicator beeping one long beep to indicate the call was over.

“Crap,” she cursed.

“Doan worry, Chessie. I kin share my rations. I know you need ‘em,” Orrin offered.

“This can’t go on Orrin. We need to figure out a way to get the overflow when we open the units,” she said.

“How kin we do that if the company hasn’t?” Orrin asked.

“The company doesn’t care Orrin,” she said. “They dock the workers pay if any of those bugs get out. So they don’t have a profit loss. No profit loss equals no motive to fix the situation.”

“I guess that’s true,” Orrin agreed.

“Well we might as well eat lunch while we think about it,” she told him.

“Alright,” he agreed readily.

Orrin hit a series of buttons. Two bowls appeared with grayish extruded paste in them. He handed one to her and kept the other for himself.

“Hot sauce?” he offered her the bottle.

She took it. While the paste was nutritious, it tasted bad.

“Thanks. I can’t stand the taste plain,” she told him. “Since I started working here. Seeing how they live, I have to put something on it.”

“I just like the hot sauce,” Orrin grinned at her. “Even if the paste didn’t taste like shit, I’d put some on there.”

She didn’t say anything in response. There wasn’t really anything to say. So they finished their meal in silence. Each lost in their own worlds. She was pretty sure they were two vastly different worlds, but still, Orrin had his moments.

He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but he was funny and nice. He was real nice. He’d helped her out on more than one occasion.

“Do you think we’ll ever get anything else to eat?” she wondered out loud. “I read about all the food that didn’t survive and I can’t imagine what they’d taste like.”

“I dunno, Chessie. Mebbe someday, the ground will grow things again. Or they’ll find somethin’ sides us and the bugs survived,” he said. “Until then, at least we kin eat all we want. Working with the food gots some benefits.”

“Yeah, at least my kid won’t starve,” she said sadly. “He just won’t have much besides food for a while.”

“Naw, girl. I told you I’d help out. And I will,” he said good naturedly.

“I can’t let you do that Orrin. You’ve been helping me out too much,” she said. “Who knew taking care of the food was so difficult?”

“They’re just particular. They don’t want ‘em to get out in case some other folks start to breed ‘em too. Then if everybody could grow ‘em and breed ‘em, the company’s profits would go down,” he said in a surprising moment of insight.

“Yeah. That makes sense,” she said. “It was just easier when I work part time in the office before Eric died, you know?”

“Yeah. I do,” he patted her shoulder. “Welp, it’s time to water the little buggers. Got to keep ‘em plump so they weigh more for sale.”

“Better than feeding them,” she shivered. She hated feeding them. Hated dealing with the corpses. The cyclical nature of the how they bugs ate human corpses, getting fat and then the bugs were ground into paste to feed living humans. Well, it just kind of freaked her out. If she’d never worked in this department, she wouldn’t have it in her face. She could have pretended. But when you’re the one feeding the damn things, it was real hard to pretend.

“Now ain’t that the truth.”

“You’re right. Let’s get back to work,” she sighed. “But one of these days, I am going to figure out how to get them from one unit to another without losing any of them.”

“That’d be a good thing, Chessie. Help us both out,” Orrin grinned at her.

Micro-farming cockroaches was essential now they were the only source of protein left on Earth. Well other than humans. But no one wanted to go there. At least not yet.

Participants and posts:
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
Diem_Allen – http://mindovermistakes.blogspot.com (link to post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com (link to post)
articshark – http://www.drslaten.com/blog (link to post) <————————–me
Lady Cat – http://randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.ca (link to post)
U2Girl – http://ancatdubh.org (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes – http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post)
SuzanneSeese – http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
robynmackenzie – http://iwanttobeawesomewhenigrowup.com/ (link to post)
Sunwords – http://susannedoering.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
susanielson – http://somesemblancethereof.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
HistorySleuth – http://historysleuth.blogspot.com (link to post)
SRHowen – http://srhowen1.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Lyra Jean – http://beyondtourism.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
xcomplex – http://arielemerald.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
milkweed – http://www.thistlequill.blogspot.com/ (link to post)

 

Cool Places on the Interwebz

By | |
2 Comments

When I first wake up on a Saturday morning, I have the house to myself. It is bliss. Quiet, peaceful and devoid of distractions. It’s almost like a scene out of a movie. You know, where the film makers pan to the breaking dawn, glorious waves or something else that symbolizes how wonderful a quiet, beautiful day can start.

Then, the rest of my household awakens and chaos reigns for the rest of the day. Taking my zen with it.

So, instead of trying to get words on a page, I cruise the internet. I have some go to sites.

Steep and Cheap and Woot are the first places I look. Hey, I like to shop and I like bargains. What can I say?

Then I check out writer websites. First up is the Grinder to check dates on the manuscripts I’ve submitted. Savvy Author is next to see if there are any interesting announcements, upcoming pitch contests and seminars that sound good. I keep a window to Absolute Write Water Cooler open pretty much all day. It’s an awesome community of peeps who write, edit and publish.

I also have other areas of the internet that interest me. Like Mark’s Daily Apple. It’s a primal living site and Mark talks about all things primal. From clothes to food to exercises. It’s cool and informative. Another gem, a jewel really, is Dr. Davis’s website and blog called Track your Plaque. If you or someone you love is serious about heart health, or needs more information on how to reverse, or at least stop the progression of heart disease, Dr. Davis’s blog is a must see. MUST. SEE.

At some in the future, I will list more blogs, sites and interesting places to visit on the interwebz. But for now, this is it. Enjoy.

May Blog Chain

By | |
19 Comments

Doing AW‘s Blog chain again this month. Loads of fun.

This month’s prompt:
Dialogue Only

Make a post that is only back-and-forth dialogue, with no description or tags. As always, it may be fiction or nonfiction, prose or poetry, or any other form you care to use. If you want an additional prompt for your dialogue, you can use Wrong Place, Right Time,” but this is strictly optional.

Instructions:
Simply post your blog’s URL in this thread to join. Each post should be less than 1000 words if possible. Read and comment on other participants’ posts if you possibly can–they’ll be doing the same for you!

Dialogue Only

“Oh my god. That feel so good.”

“Does it?”

“Yes. Yes it does. I didn’t think that I would like it so much.”

“Don’t think I’m not laughing at you. I told you would like it, if you just gave it a chance.”

“You were so right.”

“Can I mark today down in my calendar as the day hell froze over?”

“You are so not funny even if you were right. No need to be smug about it, you know.”

“I’m not being smug about it. I’m just being right. For once.”

“Laughing at me isn’t helping get you out of hot water, mister.”

“No. But it is making me feel better all the way around.”

“Oh god. That’s it. That’s the spot.”

“Right there?”

“Yes. Now a little to the left. Yeeeessss, perfect. Just right there.”

“Oh, I can feel it. It feels really tight.”

“Totally. But if you keep rubbing it, maybe that’ll change.”

“I like all those little moans you make. And every once in a while you squeak like those dog toys they have at the supermarket.”

“Are you saying that you like girls who squeak?”

“No. I’m saying that I like it when you squeak.”

“Oh. Well that’s okay then.”

“I should hope so.”

“No need to be dickish is there?”

“Other than I want to be dickish? Probably not.”

“Jeez, you can be really frustrating.”

“You think I’m the one who’s frustrating? Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. Didn’t I just say that?”

“Well, yeah. But I don’t see how you can think that. I mean, of the two of us, you are the more frustrating.”

“Says who? Did you take a poll at the local supermarket? You know, when you checked out the doggie squeak toys?”

“Um no. I just know. It’s my superior intellect brought on by me having a dick.”

“Oh using you and dick in a sentence is something I can so get behind.”

“Are you sure you want to taunt me when I have you in such a vulnerable position?”

“Oh yeah. Maybe I need to rethink my strategy on that.”

“Oh now, we’re going to be nice.”

“Well yeah. You just pointed out my precarious situation. I’m not a stupid girl. I know when to hold ‘em, when to fold ‘em and definitely when to shut up.”

“Perhaps you can decide to shut up now so I can finish?”

“I could. But where is the fun in that?”

“Are you trying to make me miss my stride?”

“You have a stride going on? How’d I miss that?”

“Obviously when you wouldn’t shut up and let me get on with it.”

“Okay man with the magic hands. Do your worst. Better yet, do your best. Get on with it.”

“I’m trying.”

“Try harder.”

“I’m going to need headphones if you keep this up.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t concentrate.”

“You need to concentrate to finish this?”

“Only if you want me at my best.”

“I always want you. At your best. At your worst. All the time.”

“Now you decide to be sweet?”

“I’m always sweet.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. And if you do a really really good job, I’ll show you just how sweet I can be.”

“Well, that’s some incentive.”

“True.”

“Almost done. It’s not suppose to hurt. Well, not too much anyway. Let me know if I hurt you, okay?”

“I will… oh sweet baby jesus, that is fabulous.”

“If your moaning is anything to go by, yes it is.”

“You keep doing that and I’ll keep on moaning.”

“Moaning is good.”

“I thought you liked the squeaking better?”

“Squeaking is cute. Moaning is like a 5 star review.”

“Gotcha.”

“Yes you do. And I’ve got you. My hands seem to really like you.”

“Well that’s good cause my body seems to really like your hands. It’s like a mutual admiration society.”

“I admire your society.”

“Not as much as I admire yours.”

“Almost finished.”

“Really?”

“I’m not ready for you to be done.”

“I don’t have anything else left. You’ve sapped my strength with all your tightness.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“Is it my turn?”

“To do me?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, in that case. Yes it is.”

“Okay. Turn over and I’ll get some oil.”

“Don’t use too much. We don’t want a huge wet spot on the sheets.”

“I got this. This isn’t my first rodeo, you know.”

“Okay. I’m ready.”

“T minus 2. I’m almost ready as well.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Now it’s my turn to make you moan.”

“I like this taking turns business.”

“I just bet you do.”

“We should do this more often.”

“Next time, let’s try a simultaneous mutual massage session.”

“I’m game.”

“Awesome. Now shut up and let me get down to business.”

“Alright. Shutting up now.”

“Not really shutting up if you’re still talking.”

“Oh my god. That feel so good.”

Here are some of the other participants blog links. Check them out if you have the time or inclination.

Participants and posts:
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
articshark – http://www.drslaten.com/blog (link to post) <——————- you are here
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Sudo_One – http://sudoone.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
Nissie – http://www.rinchupeco.com/ (link to post)
Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
Lady Cat – http://randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.ca/ (link to post)
U2Girl – http://ancatdubh.org/ (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes – http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post)
SuzanneSeese – http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
LanaK – http://lanaketrick.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
in_one – http://quirkythomas.blogspot.com/ (link to post)