Cowgirl Contemporary Fantasy

Smoke Signals , written by Sherman Alexie, brilliantly demonstrates a major challenge for modern Native youth.  Who are they, as a people?  Not even they know.  Things are changing too quickly. During the Christmas season, many of us remember to think of others.  We often worry about the future of people thousands of miles away, but forget to reach out to our neighbors. Please pray for the Apsaalooke (Crow.)  This last year has brought them massive flooding and unconscionable acts of violence.   I fervently pray that they, and all Native people, can reach stability and prosperity, and buck both positive and negative stereotypes.  They are people, first and foremost, people that have always treated me generosity and warmth.

Greetings, scifi and fantasy nerds.  Due to an overwhelming number of book review requests and the insanity of the Christmas season, I am closed temporarily for new book review submissions.  I'm barely keeping up with the ones I've already agreed to do. Wishing you Happy Holidays, and don't overdo it on the eggnog. 

So, over the past month and a half I've been dealing with crippling back pain that I couldn't explain.  I have fibromyalgia, so that was on the top of the short list of suspects, but it turned out to be a combination of fibro, pleurisy, and a singing technique I was overusing.  In short, a perfect storm of bad juju that was comparable to off-and-on labor pains, only it was in my upper back.  Over six weeks.  Wasn't fun. Pain's an old friend, but one that I like to keep in the closet when company's over.  I learned two things very quickly after being diagnosed.  The first rule of fibro is not to talk about fibro.  It's muscle pain that doesn't result from compromised spinal structure, and therefore doesn't behave the same way as more typical back pain.  It's not limited to the back, but that's where it's always been the worst for me.  If I talk about it to the average Joe, Joe/Josephine automatically assumes I'm a lazy ass wipe that does...

No matter how hard I try, I have a filthy mind.  In fact, a group of high school kids figured it out.  They'd tell naughty jokes and speak in double entendres just to see what I'd do.  Usually, I'd choke back a snicker and reply, "That's not school appropriate!"   Chortle, chortle. My brain works against me, too.  Whenever I misread or misunderstand, my brain automatically slips dirty words into song lyrics and books.  For example: Oh, it doesn't show signs of stopping, and I brought some corn for popping... Turned into: Oh, it doesn't show signs of stopping, and I brought some porn for copping.... (A feel?) I accidentally did that into a microphone at our elementary school's Christmas sing-along.  It was a good thing many of them were dyslexic because no one noticed. So, yesterday I watched the  Conan: The Musical  video and got a pretty bad case of the giggles.  Shortly after, my husband and I read bedtime stories to ...

I came across this YouTube video.  It elicited the rare chortle/cackle/snort that annoys anyone within a 10-mile radius. After viewing the video, my husband mentioned that he'd never seen it, though I'd watched it a lot as a kid. We pulled it up on Netflix, and I soon came to two conclusions. First, I shouldn't have watched it as a kid. I suspect a few of the scenes were censored by my brother.  The servile, naked women made me want to gag, though that hadn't bothered me when I was younger.  Second, I hadn't realized how old school the filmography had been.  It felt more like a movie from the 50's or 60's. I'll be interested to see how the new movie turns out.

We've all had it happen before.  You're watching a movie, a TV show, or reading a book, and you see something very, very wrong.  A non-flammable chemical explodes.  A doctor uses a goofy term.  Arnold Schwarzenegger fires nineteen rounds from a five-round shotgun without reloading. Everyone's always telling us to write what we know, but the truth is that writers often have write what they don't know.  Getting the details right creates a sense of realism, but slugging through the mounds of research that doesn't apply can be time consuming. I'm putting together a section of my blog aimed specifically at helping authors cut to the chase, get the information they need, and get it right.  Maybe you know guns.  Maybe you're a master chef.  Perhaps you tinker with software programming.  Let's pool our resources to make it easier for authors everywhere. Guidelines: Focus on helping others understand the system behind the details. Show ways th...

Most self-pubbed authors realize that platform is important and therefore establish a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and their own website.  Though I want to be a published author myself, I'm writing this post from the perspective of a book blogger.  I often visit authors' websites to gather information to include in my reviews, and I'm starting so see problems in their websites that make my job much harder. Do: Have clear contact information on your website. Have a clean, uncluttered appearance. Have good graphics.  Our culture is moving more and more toward the visual sense.  Consequently, my toddler can operate an iPad with a considerable degree of skill. Use professional and ethical language.  It's nearly impossible to rebuild burned bridges.   Include a professional headshot, not a cutsie pose in front of your webcam. Invest in decent cover art. Spend time writing a good pitch line.  You're pitching directly to the public, but the rules a...