When I Mentioned Love

In my previous post, I mentioned that I love the country I was born in. This is partially true. I do not love, but despise its past and current state she is in and the masquerade of arrogant exceptionalism she has had the privilege to strut around in while simultaneously "preaching" to other countries with …

I Hear You. You want to use All Lives Matter . . . BUT . . .

Yes, yes, I know. You want to use the #All Lives Matters hashtag to reclaim its negative connotation. You want to set yourself a part from white supremacists, white nationalists, detractors to the cause, idiots, morons, and people that don't have anymore depth than the limited complexity beyond a bumper sticker. You want to show …

Am I Your Beard?

This post is long, but it still didn't sufficiently cover everything that needs to be said. Just needed to get some things off my chest. 🙂 I had written it a while ago and I'm kind of glad I delayed posting it because this needs to be said now more than ever. 🙂 Recently, I …

Diversity Illusionist Part 2: What Not to Write

Growing up, I watched Golden Girls with my family. We enjoyed Sophia Petrillo's sensibilities, her spunkiness, and her flashbacks that were framed with one of television's best quotes: With that said, let's picture a golden age of technology where people—young, old, rich, poor, (please insert whatever and whoever you are)—with a clickety-clack-click-clackety of their finicky fingertips …

Diversity Illusionist Part 1: Mirrors, Windows, and Other Worlds

First things first. I tried to be succinct! Epic Fail. Apologies! So, what started as a quick response, ended up being almost 2200 words. And then that rolled over into more. Part 2 will be available in a couple of days. ********* Earlier this month another blogger, Raimey Gallant, discussed a not so Happily-Ever-After episode …

Thoughtful Tuesday: Confessions

When I was in high school, (decades ago 😦 #BlackDon'tCrack, #I'mPartElf,) I had read Lovecraft's "The Music of Erich Zann". I was like, "Cool. This is a really creepy story with a really creepy ending!" This was before information was so readily available and at one's fingertips within seconds. Perhaps the H & P in Lovecraft stands …

The War of the Genres and Why Fantasy Writing isn’t for Everyone! (I Feel Your Pain, George R.R. Martin)!

I love reading all kinds of genres. Whether it be poems, song lyrics, autobiographies, recipes, etc. I'm not a picky reader. In this post, I'll discuss something few talk about. The War of the Genres! Publish America and the Hasty Generalization That Pissed Off the Science Fiction and Fantasy Community Almost twenty years ago, a …

Goal: At Least 50 REJECTIONS a YEAR? No Problem, Let’s Go Crazy!

Typically, rejection doesn't hold a positive connotation. And why would it? Rejection is painful. When I was much younger writer, I often didn't bother submitting my work because I didn't think it would be accepted. Plenty of times while writing a query letter or a cover letter, the part that always froze me up was …

What Do Recurring Themes Say About You as a Writer?

According to HowStuffWorks.com, Many people have the same or a similar dream many times, over either a short period of time or their lifetime. Recurring dreams usually mean there is something in your life you've not acknowledged that is causing stress of some sort. ... In this case, the dreams tend to lessen with time. I've had recurring dreams, but the …

Racism? You Don’t Say?

A discussion came up on Facebook regarding the apparent lack of diversity in publishing when Martha Boss, book blogger, educator, and model shared her opinion regarding the lack of diversity at book events. She explained that she had no desire to attend any literary events that didn't have authors from all walks of life. And …