Annette Mori's Blog, page 26
November 1, 2019
Author Impeachment
I’ve been obsessed with the news around impeachment. Every night, while I either write or go on Facebook, I am also listening to CNN through my AT&T Watch app. I got to thinking. What if writers could be impeached for abusing their power?
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I know, I know. A ridiculous thought, because you’re probably challenging me on the notion that writers have any power at all. But I think we do. All writers, including journalists, wield the power of the pen. On numerous occasions, this has had a profound impact.
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Let’s suppose for a moment we go back to politics and look at one of the most influential documents written. Yup, I’m talking about the Constitution. Don’t you think that for over two hundred years the authors that wrote the Constitution had tremendous power? The Constitution is the foundation of our democracy (or so everyone claims).
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Now, how about a scary example. Has anyone ever considered the impact of Mein Kampf written by Adolf Hitler? Could the publishing of this book be considered an abuse of power? An impeachable offense?
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You see, I think written words, much like words recorded in the visual media age, are powerful because they remain for generations to come. Before the visual media, the biggest problem society had was recording those words inaccurately. Thus, we come to another example of the power of the written word. The authors of the Bible claim to have recorded the words of Jesus. Although there is debate regarding the number of years between his death and the New Testament, many years did pass. So, I ask how accurate is the Bible? Our memories are notoriously inaccurate. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday morning or if I even had breakfast! Imagine trying to remember someone’s words 15-300 years later?
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How exactly does one impeach an author? Or would we more accurately label an author’s word, reckless abuse of rhetoric? What would be considered an abuse of power? If history has taught us nothing, it is that hindsight is better than foresight. In that respect politics and writing share similar principles. Mein Kampf was a best seller in Germany after Hitler’s rise to power? Even if we were able to impeach an author for reckless abuse rhetoric, we might not likely come to that conclusion in enough time to stop the madness. Think about that for a second. Perhaps there is an analogy here that is happening right now. Often, we don’t act quick enough to stop the damage.
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Don’t get me wrong. I believe in free speech, freedom of the press, not burning books, etc, but maybe there should be a method of impeaching an author or their work if that work is dangerous. Yet who would be the judge and jury? Certainly not the readers (remember the popularity of Mein Kampf). Perhaps the answer is to fight fire with fire or to use that very same power of the pen. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, words matter. Write on my fellow authors, and use, not abuse, the power you have!
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Want to see how I’ve used the power of my words? You know the drill, click the links below.
Pre-order Compound Interest
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Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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October 25, 2019
The Planner and the Pantster
My wife is a planner. She likes organization. I, on the other hand, am comfortable with chaos and spontaneity. As we arrive ever closer to retirement, her planning gene is showing itself in very funny ways.
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Although our maiden journey won’t be until sometime in March, I nearly fell off my bed laughing when out of the blue she sent me this text message on September 15th.
My Wife: Watching the Seahawks game, then washing the RV. Do you think we should make a list of frozen foods for our trip in March?
Me: LOL no
My Wife: OK
Me: Let’s go with the flow baby (at this point I am laughing so hard, my cat Nico has crawled under the covers because I startled him so badly)
My Wife: Sure! 14/13 Seahawks (and…back to the game).
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In my wife’s mind, this was a perfectly reasonable question. She wanted to plan out what to put in the freezer in preparation for our journey because we would need to potentially cook certain items, such as chili. In my mind, everything and anything we would want or need, we could get on the way. I told her when I saw her in person that I was positive restaurants, grocery stores, and farmer’s markets were abundant no matter where we traveled. We would not starve!
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It is no surprise she is researching AAA versus Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) five months in advance. She’s also researched and sent me videos and pictures of all the places she wants to travel to. My job is to purchase whatever items on Amazon are needed for the RV, including a very complete set of maps (as soon as she finds the set she wants after hours of research). Because…of course, we need to plan this out years in advance. I get these text messages at random intervals and they always make me laugh.[image error]
If it were up to me, we’d simply get in the RV and drive to wherever the road takes us. Detours welcome. But, as much as we are different, we are the same. We’re both obsessive and we both do tons of research. We just do different types of research, for different reasons and obsess over different things. It is the thing that both brings us together and makes us a complimentary set. As a couple, we work.
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I often wonder how I survived before my wife. As a pantster, not only do I write in such a way that I never know what is around the corner, but I also live my life that way. At times, I paint myself into a corner and have to figure out a new direction. I’ve had more than my share of “whoops”. However, pansters are nothing if not adaptable. As a “go with the flow” kind of person, I am usually very Zen about problems. I must admit, it is nice to have lodging and travel arranged for me, so I don’t have to worry. My wife has taken over all travel arrangements, even when she wasn’t able to accompany me to conferences because she’s so much better at it than I am.
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As I think back on the people in my life, I’ve always gravitated to my polar opposites. I sensed I needed that. When I was an exchange student, I joined the exchange program and traveled with a friend. She made practically all the decisions on where we would travel and when. She was like my own personal travel guide. She’d researched all the places to go and would rattle off their history. Yet, people should never mistake planners as being stuffy or rigid. My friend was a wild child and my wife brings her own brand of fun to any and every event. Truth be told, she’s the party animal, not me, and everyone loves her for it.
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I’m comfortable with my pantster writing style AND my approach to life. As much as my wife balances me out, I think I allow her a little more spontaneity. If you want to experience my pantster writing style…you know the drill, click the links below.
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Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
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Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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October 18, 2019
I’d Hit That….
Recently I heard the slang, “I’d hit that.” I am often fascinated with slang or colloquial phrases since my writing style has been described as “colloquial” (not sure if that was a compliment or not). Anyway, I digress. I wanted to explore this further, including similar expressions and whether lesbians or women loving women use this particular phrase after seeing an attractive woman. Believe it or not, I found a site that lists 400 different euphemisms for sex (many have aggressive or more violent overtones).
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I’ll admit, at first, after hearing phrases like, “I’d hit that” or “I totally nailed her” and a hundred other euphemisms for sex that seem, well, a bit on the aggressive side, I wondered if they were disrespectful to women or distasteful in any way to lesbians or women loving women. So…in my usual fashion, I did a bit of informal, independent research in the form of a Facebook post. In complete transparency, to some, this was distasteful or disrespecting to women, to others, not so much. I was also a bit curious about other phrases and the origin of “I’d hit that.”
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Let’s start with what I found out about the title of this blog. I looked for the origin and could not find the definitive root of the phrase. There is a notation in the Urban Dictionary as early as January 23rd, 2003. Another person posted they’d heard the phrase as early as the ’80s. Since the etymological origin of fuck is a Germanic meaning strike or hit, perhaps this phrase goes back even further. One other interesting fact about this was that McDonald’s included this phrase in a web advertising campaign in 2005 for a double cheeseburger…hmmm, double? There are also songs noted in the ’90s with the phrase. I’ve saved the best for last. Apparently, this phrase is used in a Shakespeare play, Titus Andronicus, Act II Scene I. Demetrious and Aaron are talking about wooing a woman and say this:
Demetrius
Aaron, thou has hit it.
Aaron
Would you had hit it too!
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I suppose if Shakespeare used this phrase, it can’t be all bad! Now, back to what lesbians or women loving women might say. On my not so official research here are some of the phrases noted (some I’ve heard of and others…not so much):
I’d tap that – A lighter version.
I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers or she could eat crackers in my bed – I’ve definitely said this one.
Cup of coffee – Meaning she’d spend the night.
I’d let her sit on my face – I quite like this one.
I’m calling shotgun on that – I need to add this to my repertoire…very clever.
She could put her shoes or slippers under my bed – Apparently an oldie, but goodie.
She can park her boots under my bed any day – An alternative to slippers.
I’d do her – I might have used this in my distant past.
Let her make me beg – Oh my!
Wouldn’t say no to some of that – Nothing aggressive about this one.
She’s a tall drink of water I wouldn’t mind quenching my thirst with.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, I’d sop her up with a biscuit – Gotta be a Southern saying so of course I love it.
I’d risk it – Only lesbians and women loving women think in emotional terms!
Damn – Simple, I like it.
I’d like to hook up with her – Direct!
Damn, she could do me – I like the turnaround phrase…apparently popular with the younger crowd.
Oh, my gawd, take me now – Yup that might work.
I would be delighted to take her to breakfast – Nice.
I’d knock boots with her – What is it with boots? An alternative in typical lesbian fashion was I’d knock Doc Martens with her.
I would Netflix and chill with her – Well now you’re talking my language. Love my Netflix.
I’d tie her cherry up in a knot – Hmmm….trying to imagine how to do that?
I’d do her and her sister, too – Hmmm, not that’s ambitious.
I’d dance in the sheets with her – Trying to imagine how to dance in the sheets. Do you use the footboard?
I want to die in her cleavage – Yes, indeed very dramatic!
I’d lick her – Yup!
Shake it, shake it baby, don’t break it. If you break it I’ll wrap it up and take it – Okay this is definitely one of my favorites!
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I’m a writer and hang with other writers…so I decided to come up with a few of my own…don’t judge!
She can see my messy bed head any day of the week.
Time for dessert.
I’d wax it for that.
I’m calling U-Haul right now.
My phrases are a bit on the Vanilla side, so I’d love to hear from other folks who are racier than me. Maybe I’ll use one of the above in a book. I do love to make up words or phrases. If you’d like to read how I’ve done that or my colloquial style…you know the drill, click on the links below. Also, be sure to check out the Bookbub special for Indiscretions by Barbara Winkes, an author I very much respect for her writing style and interesting stories.
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The price for Indiscretions is 99cts instead of the regular price $3.99. Here is the link: Indiscretions Link
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Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
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Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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October 11, 2019
Tradition
I’ve been attending the Left Coast Lesbian Literary Conference (LCLC) for the last five years and in my distorted view of the world, I’d started to view our annual trek to Palm Springs as tradition. That got me to thinking about tradition and of course I had to do some research. I began to think about other things I used to consider tradition, I wondered how those “traditions” were different from ritual or habit. Are they synonyms (something I learned we ought to pay special attention to as writers) or completely different concepts.
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My thought processes meandered along to writing rituals or habits and whether I or others have distinct ones we would readily admit to. Surprisingly, I don’t have writing rituals or habits. I don’t need a certain ambiance or beverage or whatever else is required for those who pay homage to a ritual or tradition that works for them. And yet, I do believe in tradition. Or what I thought was the definition of tradition before doing the research on this blog.
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For those of you who do not know the differences between tradition, ritual, and habit, I googled the definitions.
Tradition: A long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another. Or…and this was fascinating…an artistic or literary method or style established by an artist, writer, or movement, and subsequently followed by others.
Ritual: A series of actions or type of behavior regularly and invariably followed by someone. Or…(of an action) arising from convention or habit.
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Habit: An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. Or…a particular practice, custom or usage.
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At my very first writing conference, the Affinity Rainbow Publication writers started what I thought was a tradition but now seems more like a ritual or habit based on the above definitions. We began as a group to take a fireball shot in the evenings that soon evolved to fireball shots as a group whenever the spirit moved us. We readily pulled others into our ritual because come on, who wouldn’t want to join in the fun?
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I don’t like the fact that I can’t call this a tradition just because we haven’t been doing this ritual long enough to pass along to other generations. Will I be around long enough to ensure this ritual becomes a tradition? Not likely. So, because I enjoy making up my own rules, I’ve decided, screw that. I’m not only going to consider fireball shots a tradition, but I’m also going to decide that a group of lesbians, wearing various funny hats, and having high tea is absolutely a tradition. It doesn’t matter that we’ve only done this twice. I’m convinced this will continue for many years to come and maybe, just maybe, it will be passed down to the next generation of lesfic writers who attend the LCLC conference.
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There is one other tradition I quite enjoy that started five years ago when my hand shot in the air after the presenter on police procedures asked for a volunteer and there were handcuffs involved. Every year after, I’ve enjoyed being her volunteer for various demonstrations even when those demonstrations did not involve handcuffs!
I’m not sure if I follow a tradition related to writing as in a method or model followed by a famous or not so famous writer, but if you’re so inclined to ferret that out through a perusal of my writing, please be my guest and click on the links below! For those who want a screaming deal, Compound Interest, the final installment in the Asset Management/Book Addict combined series is on pre-sale for .99 cents!
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Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
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Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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October 4, 2019
On Being Childish
I’m fascinated with what happens to people as they age. Recently I read that women who experience dramatic hot flashes for a prolonged period are more prone to dementia and heart disease. Ugh! Have I mentioned I’ve been suffering from hot flashes for the last fifteen years and there is no sign of this particular nuisance diminishing?
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However, that isn’t what this blog is about. Although the topic is somewhat related. Now, y’all know me…I’ll get there. I seem to enjoy going the long way to connect the dots! There is a common myth that as one gets older, they become more childish. I say myth because the research suggests it doesn’t happen to everyone, but rather to those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s.
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I shouldn’t joke about either of those afflictions. They are serious and debilitating. There is, however, a fine line between what happens to all of us as we get older and the more pronounced side effects of those diseases. I do believe that to some degree, many of us take on more childish tendencies, or perhaps we just don’t care anymore how people perceive us.
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I can’t blame my childishness on the advancement of years. In all honesty, I’ve exhibited adolescent behavior non-stop since adolescence. I’d like to think that it is simply me keeping myself youthful, but others might not agree. So, what’s the evidence you ask?
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I laugh at movies that are typically designed for 13-year old boys: The Hangover, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, etc. Fart jokes are funny to me. I’ll admit that. Crude sexual humor will sometimes elicit a chuckle when innuendos are present. And, I’ll offer my own sexual innuendoes. I titter (te he he yes I chose that word purposely) when my books hit 69 on the top 100 and feel the need to always post when that happens. However let me be clear, I do draw the line at any joke that would advance rape culture or oppression of women. Those are not funny to me. Neither is name-calling. That type of childishness is not okay.
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My childishness is not limited to enjoying the kind of movies that adolescent boys seek out. I admit to reading all of the Twilight series and liking it. They are definitely favorites of adolescent girls. Don’t judge. They were, in my opinion, a breath of fresh air regarding the depiction of vampires. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t dig a sparkly vampire? Fortunately, I get to live smack dab in the middle of Twilight territory. I’m going to admit to being somewhat influenced by Twilight when I wrote my debut novel, Love Forever, Live Forever, because I wanted my vampires to be able to walk in the daylight. They weren’t sparkly, but their ability to walk in the daylight came with a small price. A dilemma, so to speak. You’ll have to read the book to figure that one out.
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Despite not necessarily being thrilled about this because I have other issues with my father; I am my father’s daughter. He often talks about being a grown-up Peter Pan. He never wants to act his age and he doesn’t. To get a rise out of my mother, he had a sign made that stated: “The family that farts together, stays together.” My mother hated the word, fart. She viewed it as the crudest word possible, worse than fuck if you can believe that. I never knew why.
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Personally, I believe there are many advantages to childlike behavior or reverting to our childhood. Let me name a few:
Children see the joy in everything.
Small children get to take naps in the middle of the day.
Small children haven’t learned to hate yet.
Children can still be awed.
Children have more curiosity and enhanced creativity.
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When adults are asked about brainstorming the number of ways a person can reach the top of a tree, they come up with maybe five to ten ways, while children can think of fifty or more. For this reason, I believe as writers we should develop that inner child and not let it wither and die on the vine. The more childlike behaviors we can adopt, the more creative our stories become.
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I think some of this playfulness and maybe regressiveness comes out in my characters. They will taunt one another like adolescents. Some readers find that funny, others don’t appreciate sophomoric humor as much as I do. Enough readers have enjoyed that brand of humor to allow me to write what I want and include that playful side. Not all my books have those kinds of characters and yet I think I enjoy those characters the most, especially as they complement a character who is more stoic or serious. That is not to say, I don’t also write about serious issues, but in my opinion, humor always has a place, lest we take ourselves too seriously. There is a big difference between childishness and foolishness.
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I’ve been told I’m very creative in the development of my stories. Do you think they’re saying I’m immature? I credit my childishness. If you want to check my creativity out for yourself…click any of the links below.
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Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
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Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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September 27, 2019
The Good Advice I Just Can’t Take…
It’s not that I don’t believe those who have gone before me or the ones that are successful right at this moment. Nor do I take the advice lightly. I don’t discard the advice without mulling it over…again and again and again. And finally, I am truly appreciative of that good advice. So why can’t I take it? Why do I rebel? Before I answer those questions, let me spell out the advice I don’t take:
Avoid politics and religion when posting in social media.
Avoid personal relationships with your readers.
Work hard on increasing your mailing list.
Develop a specific author brand.
Don’t read reviews and for goodness sake, if you do, don’t acknowledge them.
Stick with contemporary romance.
Write tried and true plots with characters over 20 and under 40.
Make your characters beautiful by conventional societal standards (whatever the heck that is).
Don’t write about cheating.
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There are times I try really hard to abide by the advice. But like the time I tried to squish my body into my bike shorts (my version of a girdle), that extra flesh popped out the top. The same happens when I try to toe the line. Pressure builds and I can’t control my urges. Sometimes I don’t want to hold back, other times when I do, it kills my passion and creates other issues like a flat story.
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Politics is my biggest hurdle. I don’t even try to stuff a social media sock in my mouth. I posted on Facebook last week that I believe with every fiber of my being if I remain silent, I am part of the problem. I simply cannot do that.
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I’ll be doing a panel for LCLC coming up in October on reading reviews. Full disclosure…I read them and thank those who take the time to write a review. For those who recommend we don’t read or acknowledge them, there are two main reasons: 1) To avoid feeling the sting of a bad review, which may discourage us from continuing to write; and 2) Puts the reviewer in an uncomfortable spot if the author responds. I’ve always believed it was rude not to acknowledge someone who has taken the time to leave a review because the bottom line is that reviews do help.
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Ultimately it comes down to, I’ve simply got to be me and do the things that don’t make that extra skin pop out above the spandex. I like talking about politics and sharing stories from CNN. I have personal relationships with several readers where we exchange private messages or e-mail back and forth. I don’t work hard on any specific marketing plan because I hate marketing. Finally, I believe it is quite obvious I don’t stick with traditional contemporary romance or tried and true plots. Sometimes my characters are gasp…older, persons with a disability, not conventionally beautiful and on one occasion, a bigamist – the biggest cheater of all.
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Now I’ve got that Sammy Davis Jr. song running in my head. I’ve Got to Be Me! I triple dog dare you to listen to this classic song and really tune into the words! They are epically awesome.
Wanna see how “being me” affects my writing, you know the drill….click the links below. One link I want y’all to pay special attention to is the link to sign up for My Lesfic.com a newsletter that gives you the inside track on lesfic/WLW special deals. This week, guess whose book is the first deal featured?
This week’s deals: Current Deals
[image error]Hot off the Press Review of Free to Love: Free to Love Review
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Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
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Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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September 24, 2019
Fianna the Gold Blog Tour
I’m honored to introduce Louisa Kelley and her book, Fianna the Gold. Super cool that she lives near me….well as close as pretty much anyone can get considering I live in the middle of nowhere. How about a few short Q & As to start.
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Introduce yourself.
This is Louisa Kelley, fantasy romance, and dragon-obsessed author. Greetings from Portland Oregon!
What is the last book you read?
Besotted, by Melissa Duclos.
If you could only speak one word today, what would it be?
Help.
What part of the human face is your favorite?
The eyes. The whole “windows to the soul” thing is true.
What makes someone a hero?
An act of kindness can be heroic. Saving someone in a burning building is one kind of hero, and standing up for justice in the face of severe oppression is another. There are millions of kinds of heroes and right now, we need every one of them.
When you are old, what will children ask you to tell stories about? Maybe about my time on The Farm, a famous hippie commune, and the place where they were born.
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Bio
Louisa Kelley is the author of a series of well-regarded erotic paranormal books and urban fantasy stories, including the trilogy, Daughters of Draca. Her writing features fantastical stories of sensual romance, intrigue and magic, often with modern day characters based in Portland. ‘Fianna The Gold,’ book one in her newest fantasy series, has just been released by Dirt Road Books.
She resides in Portland, Oregon where, in a strangely perfect combination of rainy winters and urban skyline, her writing inspiration abounds. She’s also slightly obsessed with dragons.
louisakelley.com
https://www.facebook.com/louisakelley.author
Member: Romance Writers of America
Member: Willamette Writers of Oregon
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Tour Schedule
Date
Host
URL
9/16
Dirt Road Books / Louisa Kelley
https://www.dirtroadbooks.com/
https://louisakelley.com/
9/17
KD Williamson
https://kdwilliamson.org/
9/18
RG Emanuelle
https://rgemanuelle.com/
9/19
Clifford Henderson
http://cliffordhenderson.net/
9/20
TB Markinson
https://lesbianromancesbytbm.com/
9/23
Annette Mori
https://annettemoriauthor.com/
9/24
Andi Marquette
https://andimarquette.com/
9/25
Women and Words
https://womenwords.org/
9/26
Caren Werlinger
https://cjwerlinger.wordpress.com/
9/27
Dirt Road Books / Louisa Kelley
https://www.dirtroadbooks.com/
https://louisakelley.com/
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Woo Hoo…A Giveaway!
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September 20, 2019
Flawsome
A very dear reader shared this word with me because she said it reminded her of the characters in my books. My very first reaction was to write a blog about it because how else would I be able to honor a word so deliciously fabulous? Then I began to second guess myself because that is one of my many flaws, a healthy dose of insecurity at times. I wondered how in the world could I write an entire blog about one word. A frickin’ brilliant word, but still.
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Finally, I decided what the hell, I can write a blog with just about anything as the central theme. I’ve done it before, I can do it again. Because you see, that is another prominent flaw, my propensity for verbal diarrhea that I absolutely embrace as if it were a long lost cousin, from Italy…a place I may retire to because they have fabulous food and wine. And there you have it…another rabbit hole.
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Back to flawsome. There were many different definitions and I would be remiss if I did not include every single one. So here they all are in their unvarnished flawsomeness:
Something that is totally awesome, but not without its flaws. Example: Jumping from an airplane after losing your job like in A Window to Love.
You are awesome and wonderful even if you do have flaws. Example: Every single character in every single book I’ve ever written! Oh and maybe I could even be considered flawsome! An addendum to this definition was to celebrate your flaws and be proud of them because nobody is perfect.
An individual who embraces their flaws and knows they are awesome regardless. This is the one the reader shared with me.
It’s your flaws that make you perfect.
Combination of ‘flaw’ and ‘awesome’ meaning the opposite of ‘awesome’, often used in situations where one cannot foresee the reaction of others hearing the statement as one can easily claim to actually have said ‘awesome’. I don’t think it is any great surprise, I’m not partial to this definition. Here was the example used:
Girl: Honey, I am pregnant!
Guy: Flawesome!
Girl: What?
Guy: I said awesome!
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After Googling the word, I learned that the model Tyra Banks began using that phrase as far back as 2014 and did a solid for all women by talking about body image in a People Magazine article. Noteworthy in that article was the notion that we should neither subscribe to stick thin or the notion that real women have curves. Instead, an encouragement to embrace ourselves exactly as we are and being okay with it. A perfect body does not exist.
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I am literally jumping for joy right now to have a word to describe the subtle or not so subtle subtext in many of my books. I crave flawsome characters. I seek them out. I write about them. I often describe beauty and desire outside of societal conventions and I want the world to do the same. Why? Because if readers can embrace unconventional characters as flawsome, they will be able to see their own flawsomeness and know deep within their bones how truly wonderful they are just exactly the way they are. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t believe everyone should strive to learn and grow and become the very best person they can be, but certainly giving ourselves a little grace is something to strive for.
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I hope you will choose to get to know some of my flawsome characters. I think a few of them are worth spending time with. Simply click the links below and enter my world, flaws in all manner of awesomeness.
[image error]Read 1st Chapter Here
Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
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Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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September 13, 2019
Subtext
I’ve often joked about my made-up word, romash, to describe my books. What I realized recently, with the help of some readers, is that a more accurate description of what I write is a romance with subtext. I love the definition of subtext: “an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation.”
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Of late, my favorite subtext has political tones. It doesn’t take much to rile me up and go on a writing spree about whatever topic caused the bee in my bonnet.
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Sometimes I have more than one subtext in a book. Of course, I am going to talk about Pleasure Workers, which has two subtexts: immigration and stigma placed on pleasure workers (also known as sex workers-but I don’t like the negative connotations to that descriptor).
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If you dig deep enough, there is another subtext in Pleasure Workers that for whatever reason finds its way into many of my books: the broader notion of beauty. I wrote the main character is such a way that it is clear how she appreciates women of all shapes, sizes, ages, etc. I like that about her.
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My challenge is how to balance the subtext with the romance. Give too much attention to one over the other and some readers might feel unfulfilled. Either they didn’t get enough romance, or I didn’t do justice to an important social issue.
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I am struggling with that very issue as I balance those two themes in my current work in progress. One Shot at Love is a contemporary romance, that has a strong subtext of gun violence. If I highlight the subtext more, I fear the book will sound too preachy and lose the central beauty of the romance. I suppose the other subtext is about how two very different people can come together through dialogue and compromise. The question I must always ask myself is whether my books have the perfect blend of romance and subtext to satisfy those readers who enjoy both separately.
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What I won’t do is toss into the garbage my made-up name of romash, because, come on, there is something so wrong about Romsub, or Romtext, or Subrom. It just does not roll off the tongue like romash and I do like when things roll off or along my tongue. Don’t you?
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If you are curious about how I developed the subtext in Pleasure Workers, all the applicable links are below. Don’t forget about Ali Spooner’s Trophy Wives Club. A real treat as a precursor for Pleasure Workers.
[image error]Read 1st Chapter Here
Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
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A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
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Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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September 6, 2019
An Aging Brain
Shit happens when you get older. Yes, really, it does. I forget a lot more today than I did even five years ago. My wife and I are good-natured about this inevitable part of maturing. We joke about not remembering squatola as we enter our final phase together. Hopefully, we will remember we are married and how to have hot and steamy sex!
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In my twenties, I was fortunate enough to have a photographic memory. That was an especially useful thing in college. I could read something once and could tell you the page of that particular passage. When adding footnotes to a term paper, I simply pulled the book from my shelf, went right to the page to double-check and bam, there it was. I did very little studying and a lot of partying in college because I only had to read the chapter once and because I was OCD, re-read my highlights before a test.
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I’ve been packing up a little of my apartment in Forks in preparation for retirement and my move back to Moses Lake when finally I get to live with my wife full-time. I didn’t think I would need my hammer, so I brought both along to put into storage. My wife said, “We don’t need two hammers. Get rid of one.” I didn’t tell her there was a third hammer in the toolbox in our storage unit. See, here’s the thing…while I don’t remember purchasing the second or the third hammer, I probably bought them thinking we didn’t have any. That’s what I do. If I can’t remember where I put something, which is happening quite a lot lately, I simply buy a new one. Thus, the three hammer phenomenon. There might even be four. I haven’t checked the RV….
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One of these days we will have to go to that damn storage unit and rid ourselves of the duplicates, which I have no doubt there are many. Combine an aging brain with packrat tendencies and one has an overflowing storage unit.
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The other thing that is mildly frustrating and often amusing is the way I forget words. Whenever medical professionals talk about aphasia, it is usually related to a medical condition. Sometimes it is linked with dementia or Alzheimer’s. I honestly wish they would assure those of us who are maturing, that mild aphasia or dysnomia, which is basically forgetting words or having trouble expressing something in words, comes with age. It is normal. It happens to most of us. For a writer, this is more than frustrating but sometimes hilarious.
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Recently, I used a word that I knew was incorrect, yet slipped by every one of my betas, except one. During all of my OCD reviews of the manuscript, it jumped out at me as wrong, but I could not for the life of me think about an alternative, so I left it there. I must have used nozzle versus barrel (in reference to a specific part of a gun) because I always remember fondly the story of when I used the garden hose nozzle attachment like a gun against my father. We had epic water fights while growing up. One day, when he came home from work in his three-piece suit (it was the 70’s), I let him have it. Then my sisters and I locked him out and mocked him through the sliding glass door gesturing while taking bites of our dinner. Dad was always good-natured about the pranks we played on him.
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A thesaurus does not help when a writer can’t even recall one word for what they are trying to convey. Writing will get incrementally interesting for me as my aging brain continues to play tricks on me. I hope I will continue to laugh and poke fun at this phenomenon and I am sure my wife will laugh right along with me as I ask, “Hey hon, what is the name of that wiggling toy we used….” She might answer, “My finger.” And then I would correct, “No, no, the rubber thing….” Okay, just kidding, but I am looking forward to those fun discussions and perhaps it would be prudent to begin recording everything so I can include those discussions in a future book. That will offset the frustration of my aphasia.
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Speaking of remembering important things, Pleasure Workers came out on September 1. So don’t forget to get your copy!
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Pleasure Workers – Affinity Site
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Australia
Pleasure Workers – Amazon Canada
[image error]
A Window to Love on Amazon Australia
A Window to Love through Affinity Rainbow Publications
Join Mailing List
Amazon Author Page
Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!
On Kindle Unlimited
[image error] [image error]
Artist Free Zone (All Proceeds go to charities)
On Sale
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