S.R. Howen's Blog, page 7

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Faded blue jeans, or what happened to my 501's?

This is this months, Absolute Write, blog chain's post.

 This month's prompt: 
Suggest-A-Prompt

We have so many good prompt ideas that don't get used, so it's now time to mix it up. Posters get to suggest a prompt for the next blogger in line! 

Faded Blue Jeans, prompted by meowzbark 
A short one-- 
My first thought when reading the phrase, faded blue jeans, was oh, a nice pair of 501’s and a hunky guy to go with them—in or out of them, your choice.  Then, I wondered, do blue jeans even fade anymore?  While I like the new “jeans” with their stretch fabrics, I miss the old jeans, that over time conformed to your body as they aged.  You had your favorite pair, the ones with a rip across the knee and that hole by the pocket on the back—wear the black underwear, it won’t show!—and that fade over time.
Now, I don’t even know what size to get, the new 9 is the old 12 or 14, and what fits in the store, isn’t going to fit 3 hours later when they have stretched themselves to the point of falling around your ankles if you don’t hold them with one hand as you walk ala “styling.”  And if they get a hole, forget it, they rip like a magical elf took a scissors to them the moment you get out of the car.  Note: that elf never slices and dices at home as you get in the car, no, only when you get out, already late, at your destination. 
I have jeans I wore in college.  Some of them, don’t have holes, they are only faded a little and still maintain their shape—if only I were so lucky.  The oldest pair of these new “comfort fit” things I have is less than a year old.  Why?  Because they don’t last for shit.  Who ever heard of jeans snagging? And they don’t fade.
I have to wonder, have belts also adapted this new way of thinking?  Have the sizes of belts changed?  Last time I went to buy one, to hold up the now sagging jeans I had on, the women’s belts were now x-small, small, med, large, x-large, xx-large and so on.  So I have to think that manufactures have adopted the same mind set, and changed the sizing labels on them as well.  No more, well my waist is this big, so I get a belt this size.  My daughter was laughing her ass off as I tried to figure out what size belt to get, only to discover that the belt loops on these new so called jeans, were not designed for a good thick rugged belt, no, they wanted a little thin dainty belt, that wouldn't work at staying up any better than the dang jeans!
Somehow, I think I will only have fond memories of those old faded blue jeans that I loved so well.  These new ones, just don’t have the same appeal.  Unless of course you luck out and find some at a yard sale—oh, for winter to be over.    
Participants and posts:
orion_mk3 - http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post) Yuppies Who Hate the Family Business
ConnieBDowell - http://bookechoes.com/ (link to post) Unexpected Library Encounter
bmadsen - http://hospitaloflife.wordpress.com/ (link to post) Cupcake Disaster
MsLaylaCakes - http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post) Unfortunate Sports
HistorySleuth - http://historysleuth.blogspot.com/ (link to post) Less-than-fortunate Foods
writingismypassion - http://charityfaye.blogspot.com/ (link to post) Blind Date with a Ventriloquist
katci13 - http://www.krystalsquared.net/ (link to post) Evil CupidKitCat - http://twilightasylum.wordpress.com/ (link to post) Hunting with Hounds
Angyl78 - http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post) A Ghost's Bad Day
randi.lee - http://emotionalnovel.blogspot.com/ (link to post) The Wrong Bar
Lady Cat - http://carolsrandomness.blogspot.ca/ (link to post) Visitors
pyrosama - http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to post) What the Leprechaun Said
Ralph Pines - http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ (link to post) Under the Bed
dclary - http://www.hardhobbittobreak.com/ (link to post) Warm Kitty, Soft Kitty, Evil Ball of Fur
meowzbark - http://www.lizzylessard.com/ (link to post) Road Trip
SRHowen - http://srhowen1.blogspot.com/ (link to post) Faded Blue Jeans

Bumped:
Amanda R. - http://www.twoamericansinchina.com/ (link to post) Topic
Briony-zisaya - http://fantasywriterwannabe.wordpress.com/ (link to post) Topic
CatherineHall - http://theelephantinthetemple.blogspot.com/ (link to post) Topic
And for my prompt for the last three-- 

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Literary Boot Camp with L. William Gibbons

Please Welcome Guest Blogger L. William Gibbons . . . .  


Literary Boot Camp with  L. William Gibbons
Upon my return to full-time college attendance at the age of sixty-three, after decades absent from a university environment, my first class was English 103, Freshman English. The professor was a feisty, authoritative, knowledgeable lady who explained, in no uncertain terms, what would be expected of all students.
The others, none of whom were over nineteen years old, seemed unsure of what they had stepped into. I was the old man – in fact, older than the professor – but I began to relax when I recognized the professor. Granted, her face was not the same, her build and stature were different, and she was not a man. Physical appearance aside, she was the embodiment of my drill instructor in boot camp when I joined the Air Force in 1965. I began calling her Sarge when talking to her without other students around.
I soon realized that the course would center around discipline – more to the point, self-discipline, one of the primary goals ofmilitary boot camp – when writing in an academic environment.
Positive responses to my writing from the professor and other students prompted me to tackle a work of fiction that had been teasing my mind for the previous ten years. During Thanksgiving break of that semester, I put pen to paper – uh, fingers to keyboard.
After writing that novel and several short stories, it became apparent that self-discipline is required not only in academic writing but in any writing intended for publication. Of course, proper grammar, punctuation, verb tense, and other fundamental aspects should be obvious, even to the untried novice. But self-discipline is also required to stay within the character's mind and mindset, to remain conscious of voice and style, todevelop and maintain plot arc and, where appropriate, character arc.
During editing, self-discipline is even more critical. The writer must adopt the roll of reader, with an eye toward preventing lectio interruptus, interruption of reading. Frequently lethal to a writer's work, jarring the reader out of the story can be caused by factual inaccuracies, repetitive word usage, boring narrative, gratuitous scenes or dialogue, and other literary sins. As Stephen King noted in his highly-regarded book, On Writing, "Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's."
Among other writers of note, King also suggests that writers "kill your darlings." In other words, passages that don't contribute to furthering the plot, enriching the scene or dialogue, or serving some other significant purpose, should be cut from the manuscript, regardless of the attachment that the writer might feel toward them. That can be painful – and requires self-discipline.
Being aware that self-discipline is required in writing is one thing; internalizing it and making it second nature is quite another. For my latest publication, Marrow Bone Road And Other Tales, I learned that the serious writer would do well to create an imaginary drill sergeant, named Sarge, who looks over the writer's shoulder at all times during the creative process.
Where to find more of  L. William Gibbons
Website: http://www.LWilliamGibbons.com
Blog: http://l-william-gibbons.blogspot.com

Check out  L. William Gibbons  newest release    
   Print version and Kindle edition
   Other ebook formats

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Carmen Stefanescu guest blogger

Please Welcome  Carmen Stefanescu Romania Author to my blog.  I am Carmen Stefanescu from            http://shadowspastmystery.blogspot.ro/
            I live in Romania, better known as Dracula's country, in Eastern Europe.            Books have always meant so much to me. They still do. I cannot imagine having no books in my life, either in print or e-books nowadays. Books created, in my mind, a new landscape that allowed me to see life differently. It was the only way to escape, evade reality during the grim years before 1989, the fifty years of communist dictatorship when just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.
            My novel, Shadows of the Past, was released on 4th December 2012 by Wild Child Publishing, USA. It's a paranormal romance/light horror. For me, a Romanian, this is a huge accomplishment. I can tell you it was a tough task for a beginner and I, a non-native English speaker, can say it was a real challenge. Being able to enter the highly competitive world of publishing isn't easy. Living overseas made it even more difficult.             The fact that writing my novel took me two months, while finding acceptance for itspublishing took more than seven years, took me by surprise. I looked for literary agents at first and then, receiving rejection after rejection, I started contacting publishers directly.The only solution for me was e-publishing.   However, in this long process I have learned much and keep doing it. Now I’m at a new stage in my learning experience with promoting, blogs, websites, review requests, etc.             The fact that people who read Shadows of the Past say it's a compelling story, "that will keep you glued to the pages" showing they enjoy it, even "could relate to the characters" makes me happy; it feels nice and warm.            People ask why I publish abroad and above all why English. As a teacher of English for so many years, I felt it easy to express my thoughts and feelings in English, even if vocabulary usage may be a bit tricky. I started with poems that met acceptance abroad and in 2004 I was awarded the Silver Cup for poetry.             Regarding my novel, I absolutely didn’t want to go self-publishing. I wanted to know, and this could be told only by a professional editor, if my writing had any value. It appears it has.            I would suggest to aspiring authors to roll with the punch of rejections and stand up and try again. And above all: Read! Write! Read and write! In my opinion, these are the main rules to becoming a writer: read a lot and write a lot. You can’t do one without the other, no matter how much you try.            I want to thank again my editor Shawn for making my debut novel a dream come true, and for inviting me as guest on her blog!Happy Writing and Reading to everyone in 2013!

Buy her book here


http://shadowpastmystery.blogspot.com/ http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/CarmenStefanescu http://youtu.be/6LmY-9yDl5s http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/paranormal-c-84/shadows-of-the-past-p-410.html

Guest Blog--Patrick Royal

Please welcome my guest blogger today:
Patrick Royal Author of Sleep Stalker from Wild Child Publishing
Author’s ideas come to them in many different ways but mine came in sort of a vision. It was one morning on my way to work. A morning I’ll never forget. Gray clouds blanketed the sky and blocked out the sun. Wind blew hard through long blades of grass and sent them into rolling waves.Now, I don’t consider myself psychic by any means. However, these certain scenes seemed to unveil itself to me. I remember sitting at a red stoplight when a car in crossing traffic passed in front of me. From where I was there was no driver. The light turned green, and I went straight. I traveled a block further, and a shadowy being hovered and floated on the side of the road. When I passed it, I turned my head and looked over my shoulder; it was gone. Can I say that every writer experiences this? No, I can’t; I only know what happened to inspire me. I bet if you ask 9 out of 10 of them though, they will tell you something overwhelming has inspired them what to write.
Please check out Patrick's latest work:
Sleep Stalker

A group of people are experiencing nightmares. They are a bit more than just bad dreams. After numerous reports of an outbreak of nightmares, unexplainable deaths begin to occur. Three decades later, it happens again. There is speculation that the deaths are at the hands of a demon. Is it a Demon or something more sinister? If it is a demon, can it be stopped?Sleep Stalker will appeal to the YA13+ crowd as well as adult readers. It takes you on a wild and terrifying ride from the 1960's to modern time and to Hades and back. Do you have your coins for the ferryman...Genre: HorrorBook Length: Category Novel
Word Count: 61,174
Pages: 216
Price: $4.99

Just read Sleep Stalker by Patrick Royal. I was intrigued by the different stories. Good show of characters and imagination. Would like to see more from this author.
Date Added: 01/06/2013 by Sandi Sipe

This is truly an awesome book and story line!!! It kept me guessing throughout with all the turns and twists! I grew up in the Hobart, Indiana area so to visit the landmarks and the people from my home town, was awesome!!! Great new author to add to my favorite list!! I have read two of Patrick Royal's books and was totally absorbed with both for the few days it took me to read them- couldn't put them down!!! With each new book- the twists and turns continue... Can't wait for your next release Patrick!!!!
Date Added: 01/06/2013 by Rhonda Burton 

 Just finished Sleep Stalker and loved it! glad to see a good novel in this genre that is not full of gore. Patrick Royal is an author worth reading. My only regret is that I am finished with it. Will definately be looking for his next endeavor. I highly recommend it any wanting a new author to follow. Keep'em comming Patrick. You have a new fan.Date Added: 11/26/2012 by david smith