Dawn Metcalf's Blog, page 27
August 21, 2012
Smart is the New Sexy, but Genius is Pure Evil
Irene Adler's infamous quote from BBC's Sherlock keeps ringing in my mind. Okay, so I'm as Sherlocked as she is, but there's a fact that keeps nagging me: try as I might, I'm having a tough time thinking of "Good Guys" being genius. In fact, the phrase "evil genius" is so ingrained in our vocabulary it's a well-worn cliché, but one which we never grow tired of seeing, reading, watching and adoring. Admit it: we love the guy in black.
From infamous intellects like Moriarty, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and Ozymandius to young protégés like Cadel Piggot and Artemis Fowl (and, depending on your iteration, Lex Luthor), those who possess astounding intellect tend to go over the edge to the Dark Side with very little encouragement, and they have a TON of fans waiting for them there. Maybe it's the old truism that absolute power corrupts absolutely, ergo to think beyond the scope of the average person tends to make you think of those same persons as "lesser" and then it's a short hop, skip & a jump to true evil-doing. Or maybe that's just the flipside of heroism: that "super powers" are counterbalanced with having smarts. (How different is Bruce Wayne or Eric Draven from Elijah Price, really?) Just ask Vordak if you don't believe me.
I cannot adequately express how much I love these evil geniuses.
Of course, there are the bad guys we grow to love like MegaMind or Dr. Horrible, the anti-anti-heroes who we root for in the face of their arrogant goody-two-shoes nemeses, but it would be a stretch to claim that either one of them wanted to be the "good guy". (And who can blame them? The status is *not* quo!) So we can understand the women who love them -- we empathize and fantasize and can see the allure, but I have to say, these gals are often more than a little off their rocker themselves. Let's be honest, neither Irene Adler, Mirage, Dr. Anabel Leek or Harley Quinn could exactly be poster girls for sanity. Yet sometimes it's the ladies who are the ones with the Big Brains. A certain
But I'll throw this one to the Internet Hive Mind: can you think of any *good* super-geniuses? Or is it the fate of all the great minds to don black capes and outlandish makeup? And why are they still so irresistible? (Even "good-ish" geniuses like Tony Stark and Dr. Gregory House are in the gray zone of bad-boy-inclinations-with-serious-issues in my mind and we might as well add Sherlock Holmes to that pile, too.)
Maybe it's not just that smart is the new sexy, it's because geniuses are hot.
From infamous intellects like Moriarty, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and Ozymandius to young protégés like Cadel Piggot and Artemis Fowl (and, depending on your iteration, Lex Luthor), those who possess astounding intellect tend to go over the edge to the Dark Side with very little encouragement, and they have a TON of fans waiting for them there. Maybe it's the old truism that absolute power corrupts absolutely, ergo to think beyond the scope of the average person tends to make you think of those same persons as "lesser" and then it's a short hop, skip & a jump to true evil-doing. Or maybe that's just the flipside of heroism: that "super powers" are counterbalanced with having smarts. (How different is Bruce Wayne or Eric Draven from Elijah Price, really?) Just ask Vordak if you don't believe me.
I cannot adequately express how much I love these evil geniuses.
Of course, there are the bad guys we grow to love like MegaMind or Dr. Horrible, the anti-anti-heroes who we root for in the face of their arrogant goody-two-shoes nemeses, but it would be a stretch to claim that either one of them wanted to be the "good guy". (And who can blame them? The status is *not* quo!) So we can understand the women who love them -- we empathize and fantasize and can see the allure, but I have to say, these gals are often more than a little off their rocker themselves. Let's be honest, neither Irene Adler, Mirage, Dr. Anabel Leek or Harley Quinn could exactly be poster girls for sanity. Yet sometimes it's the ladies who are the ones with the Big Brains. A certain
But I'll throw this one to the Internet Hive Mind: can you think of any *good* super-geniuses? Or is it the fate of all the great minds to don black capes and outlandish makeup? And why are they still so irresistible? (Even "good-ish" geniuses like Tony Stark and Dr. Gregory House are in the gray zone of bad-boy-inclinations-with-serious-issues in my mind and we might as well add Sherlock Holmes to that pile, too.)
Maybe it's not just that smart is the new sexy, it's because geniuses are hot.
August 16, 2012
What I'm Doing Instead of Blogging
I've been watching this instead of getting anything done.
I have no remorse.
I have no remorse.
August 10, 2012
Do Kick-Ass Heroines Really Need to Kick-Ass?
It's not a new topic: strong female protagonists. We want 'em, we love 'em. Give us your Buffys and Xenas, your Katnisses and Katsas, your Scarlets and your Trises! We want to see action, weaponry, fighting for her life and the lives of her loved ones or to stand up to the Old Order and take it all down in flames! And while I'm as much a fan of these books as anyone, (Buffy and Nell being high on my Personal Best list), is this a requirement for strong female characters in YA lit? Because I'm worried that "armed with sharp pointy objects" could become shorthand for "strong heroine" and, for me, that just isn't good enough.
The shelves are full of danger and magic and sharp, pointy objects and it reminded me when everyone and their auntie on TV was suddenly well-versed in martial arts across time and space. (When did the Greek g-ds, the newly undead, and swarthy space cowboys start doing flying side-kicks, anyway??) Suddenly EVERYBODY'S doing it to prove how strong they are and that gets cliche very fast. So I started thinking about female main characters who are seriously strong but *don't* need to prove it with literal fisticuffs, swordplay and/or massive explosions.
Frankie Landau-Banks was the first gal to spring to mind: a strong undeniably female character who is undeniably awesome. Everyone underestimates Frankie because she's a girl and she uses that to her advantage to out-smart, out-plan, out-wit and plain out-maneuver everyone who's ever doubted her. I cheered the whole book through. Another smart chick who also put herself on the line was Tally Youngblood. You want action? You want adventure? You want to see the world and all its wrongs fall into a burning heap of rubble and revenge? Tally does all this and more, both inside and out, without lifting a fist. Need more? How about being locked in space where no one can hear you (let alone understand why) you scream? Amy is the only one who is "awake" on board the spaceship Godspeed, surrounded by people outside her time and world who label her "insane" as she swims against the current of institutionalized insanity. Too far out for you? There's plenty of contemporaries from Hazel to Cass to the entire cast of girls who share one pair of pants, to name a few.
And what is it that makes these ladies so damned admirable? Brains and the guts to use them.
So while I'm a huge fan of kicking tush and taking names, being a Black Belt sort of gal m'self, I have to say that I'm a MUCH bigger fan of mind-bendy brilliance. I am floored by those who stay a step ahead of the pack and take down their enemies by use of wit and savvy and a great one-liner. As Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) said in BBC's Sherlock, "Smart is the new sexy." And I think that's true for truly strong heroines as well--you don't have to wield a sword, shoot a bow, know martial arts or punch a guy in the face, you just have to have the confidence to stand up and be yourself.
The status quo can't stand that!
The shelves are full of danger and magic and sharp, pointy objects and it reminded me when everyone and their auntie on TV was suddenly well-versed in martial arts across time and space. (When did the Greek g-ds, the newly undead, and swarthy space cowboys start doing flying side-kicks, anyway??) Suddenly EVERYBODY'S doing it to prove how strong they are and that gets cliche very fast. So I started thinking about female main characters who are seriously strong but *don't* need to prove it with literal fisticuffs, swordplay and/or massive explosions.
Frankie Landau-Banks was the first gal to spring to mind: a strong undeniably female character who is undeniably awesome. Everyone underestimates Frankie because she's a girl and she uses that to her advantage to out-smart, out-plan, out-wit and plain out-maneuver everyone who's ever doubted her. I cheered the whole book through. Another smart chick who also put herself on the line was Tally Youngblood. You want action? You want adventure? You want to see the world and all its wrongs fall into a burning heap of rubble and revenge? Tally does all this and more, both inside and out, without lifting a fist. Need more? How about being locked in space where no one can hear you (let alone understand why) you scream? Amy is the only one who is "awake" on board the spaceship Godspeed, surrounded by people outside her time and world who label her "insane" as she swims against the current of institutionalized insanity. Too far out for you? There's plenty of contemporaries from Hazel to Cass to the entire cast of girls who share one pair of pants, to name a few.
And what is it that makes these ladies so damned admirable? Brains and the guts to use them.
So while I'm a huge fan of kicking tush and taking names, being a Black Belt sort of gal m'self, I have to say that I'm a MUCH bigger fan of mind-bendy brilliance. I am floored by those who stay a step ahead of the pack and take down their enemies by use of wit and savvy and a great one-liner. As Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) said in BBC's Sherlock, "Smart is the new sexy." And I think that's true for truly strong heroines as well--you don't have to wield a sword, shoot a bow, know martial arts or punch a guy in the face, you just have to have the confidence to stand up and be yourself.
The status quo can't stand that!
August 6, 2012
Eggshells Online
Dear Internetz:
So I've been debating jumping on the bandwagon and starting a Pinterest or Tumblr account, not only because all the cool kids are doing it (and I love a ton of the pages out there!) but because I imagined that I could create a "visual playlist" to help me organize my thoughts into a sort of montage of imagery that would feel like the world I'm trying to create and share it with everybody. Since I'm not a music maven like many writers who can type along with aural stimulation, I thought this would be perfect: I'm a visual arts gal myself and this speaks to me! There are lots of pretty pictures and people who capture what I'm trying to do perfectly and to see it all together would be like dropping into a vatload of awesome. It's new tech and sort of scary to add one more thing to my plate, but wouldn't it just be ~*shiny*~?
Well, yes, it *would* be shiny...but then I read this, which is something I already knew, but it really hit home because this was a blogger and an author like me. Roni Loren got sued for using photos on her blog, something we're all encouraged by the industry to do, to show off our favorite thoughts/ideas/eye candy/cat pictures of cats that aren't ours/etc. with the universe at large and build our platform/audience/database of followers in order to justify that we're really out there because people who know us are statistically more likely to buy our books. Blog posts get more hits with photos and video, we're told. But few of these images are "common use" and even though I (like many) am careful to mention where we got these images and thank them for it in the subtext, even provide links back to where the images came from, it's still making no money for the artist whose permission was never granted.
Now I'm not going to use the excuse that "everybody's doing it." As an author (as opposed to a disgustingly Lawful Good person who wouldn't run a red light in the middle of an empty desert), I don't like it when people pirate my (or, more likely, Big Name Friends') work and am quick to say that this takes away from the earnings I work hard for in order to feed my family, too. Of course, as an artist, I also know the power of WoM (that's Word of Mouth, but it sounds like some deity from Ghostbusters, doesn't it?) and using a cover image on a book or a snapshot of a model showing off couture or a bit of comic with a link is hopefully helpful in encouraging someone else to read the book/buy the clothes/become a fan and pass the word along, but I can't guarantee that this will happen. Just because I go all agog for M.T. Anderson or Myco Anna or Faith Erin Hicks doesn't mean that sharing pictures of their work online will translate into sales (or fangirlish glee), but I hope it does because I *love* their stuff and hope that you will, too, the way that good friends hope each other like the movies/books/restaurants that they recommend one another...but this doesn't mean I'd steal an appetizer from Simon Pearce and smuggle it over to you so you could take a taste and see if you like their food enough to go out to dinner there yourself.
Take, for example, my userpic. I found it for use and credited the creator. But while I own the box set of Firefly episodes, I didn't credit Jewel Staite for her portrayal of Kayleigh or Tim Minear for his help in writing the character or
There are common use licenses and art made for just such a purpose--book covers and movie posters are designed for the express purpose to be shared and recognized to build "buzz" for the product--but that is different than sharing the product itself; when artists share their cleverness, their talents, or their designs online, how do we share it without giving it away? After reading the threads generated by Roni Loren's article, I saw so many artists angry at how users of Facebook, Tumblr & Pinterest steal their work with no permission and no compensation and they felt so helpless and I knew how they felt. So despite wanting to blog pretty eye-candy and squee over art, I find I'm more than a little reluctant to do it. I know that this leaves me well in the dust of the "hipper" and "cooler" crowd who have the blitz and the bling, and thus the followers and the buzz, but I can't do it until I figure out how to do it right.
Bottom line: I'd rather be respectful than cool any day, (check out my wardrobe for proof!) but how do other Tumblr/Pinterest users do it? My mind boggles at the permissions process or the costs that would be involves for proper use. Or do they care? Is this something only Old People worry about in the age after Napster and words like "e-piracy" in the dictionary? Anyone who uses these platforms willing to chat about the "ins and outs" of it when you're not just a fan, but also a creative business onto yourself? It's these sort of mires that make me bound for the tar pits while others evolve wings and fur to survive this great New World out there.
Prehistorically yours,
Me
So I've been debating jumping on the bandwagon and starting a Pinterest or Tumblr account, not only because all the cool kids are doing it (and I love a ton of the pages out there!) but because I imagined that I could create a "visual playlist" to help me organize my thoughts into a sort of montage of imagery that would feel like the world I'm trying to create and share it with everybody. Since I'm not a music maven like many writers who can type along with aural stimulation, I thought this would be perfect: I'm a visual arts gal myself and this speaks to me! There are lots of pretty pictures and people who capture what I'm trying to do perfectly and to see it all together would be like dropping into a vatload of awesome. It's new tech and sort of scary to add one more thing to my plate, but wouldn't it just be ~*shiny*~?
Well, yes, it *would* be shiny...but then I read this, which is something I already knew, but it really hit home because this was a blogger and an author like me. Roni Loren got sued for using photos on her blog, something we're all encouraged by the industry to do, to show off our favorite thoughts/ideas/eye candy/cat pictures of cats that aren't ours/etc. with the universe at large and build our platform/audience/database of followers in order to justify that we're really out there because people who know us are statistically more likely to buy our books. Blog posts get more hits with photos and video, we're told. But few of these images are "common use" and even though I (like many) am careful to mention where we got these images and thank them for it in the subtext, even provide links back to where the images came from, it's still making no money for the artist whose permission was never granted.
Now I'm not going to use the excuse that "everybody's doing it." As an author (as opposed to a disgustingly Lawful Good person who wouldn't run a red light in the middle of an empty desert), I don't like it when people pirate my (or, more likely, Big Name Friends') work and am quick to say that this takes away from the earnings I work hard for in order to feed my family, too. Of course, as an artist, I also know the power of WoM (that's Word of Mouth, but it sounds like some deity from Ghostbusters, doesn't it?) and using a cover image on a book or a snapshot of a model showing off couture or a bit of comic with a link is hopefully helpful in encouraging someone else to read the book/buy the clothes/become a fan and pass the word along, but I can't guarantee that this will happen. Just because I go all agog for M.T. Anderson or Myco Anna or Faith Erin Hicks doesn't mean that sharing pictures of their work online will translate into sales (or fangirlish glee), but I hope it does because I *love* their stuff and hope that you will, too, the way that good friends hope each other like the movies/books/restaurants that they recommend one another...but this doesn't mean I'd steal an appetizer from Simon Pearce and smuggle it over to you so you could take a taste and see if you like their food enough to go out to dinner there yourself.
Take, for example, my userpic. I found it for use and credited the creator. But while I own the box set of Firefly episodes, I didn't credit Jewel Staite for her portrayal of Kayleigh or Tim Minear for his help in writing the character or
There are common use licenses and art made for just such a purpose--book covers and movie posters are designed for the express purpose to be shared and recognized to build "buzz" for the product--but that is different than sharing the product itself; when artists share their cleverness, their talents, or their designs online, how do we share it without giving it away? After reading the threads generated by Roni Loren's article, I saw so many artists angry at how users of Facebook, Tumblr & Pinterest steal their work with no permission and no compensation and they felt so helpless and I knew how they felt. So despite wanting to blog pretty eye-candy and squee over art, I find I'm more than a little reluctant to do it. I know that this leaves me well in the dust of the "hipper" and "cooler" crowd who have the blitz and the bling, and thus the followers and the buzz, but I can't do it until I figure out how to do it right.
Bottom line: I'd rather be respectful than cool any day, (check out my wardrobe for proof!) but how do other Tumblr/Pinterest users do it? My mind boggles at the permissions process or the costs that would be involves for proper use. Or do they care? Is this something only Old People worry about in the age after Napster and words like "e-piracy" in the dictionary? Anyone who uses these platforms willing to chat about the "ins and outs" of it when you're not just a fan, but also a creative business onto yourself? It's these sort of mires that make me bound for the tar pits while others evolve wings and fur to survive this great New World out there.
Prehistorically yours,
Me
July 18, 2012
My Steampunk Runneth Over
This summer, I've been taking a break between projects and spending a little time doing other things...like becoming obsessed about NEW projects! My husband and good friends know that when I get a wild idea for some new crafty insanity, it's best to step back and smile in a non-threatening manner until the dust settles or I fall over unconscious, whichever comes first. The last major fever was when I learned how to make clothespin dolls and spent the next few months making roughly three a day. It wasn't until later someone told me the idea was to create angels or little girls as the nearly two hundred that festooned my shelves comprised of everything from elvish warriors to juggling clowns to puff-coated Victorian ladies walking golden-leashed afghan hounds and Native American families in beaded costumes with pet water buffalo.*
So since I'm writing a steampunk-y WIP, the fever almost predictably flowed over into impending doom. Some people have stars in their eyes--I have gears. I was seized by the idea of making some steampunk art. This may turn out to be a good thing as my walls are bare save for sticky notes and calendar reminders that I'm often late for something, and I gave myself a very small budget in which to indulge. I remember Holly Black advising that it's good to do other arts to fuel our writing because it uses a different part of our brain, forces us to use our hands and think in new dimensions. And that was just what I needed! Herein lies the first attempt:
It all started with a cheap frame and an old book with faded pages.
Then I destroyed liberated some images from magazines, old notebooks, calendars and those helpful free guides to pet care found in unsuspecting stores. Add to that some craft hooks and gears (shamefacedly admitting that I am actually putting gears on it and calling it steampunk and not even ones I scavenged honestly from broken watches; I'm too impatient for that right now).
I comforted myself that the images that were coming together were inspired by Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, which has legitimate steampunk elements inherent in it and I wasn't wholly pandering. I think of it as a peek into the mind of Dr. Marisa Coulter, one of my favorite characters from the series. (Unfortunately, I couldn't find an image of the golden monkey or an ermine for Lyra, but the polar bear was awesome as was adding a curl of blond doll hair!)
Finally, we pull all the insanity together behind glass and drill some tiny holes into the top of the frame, screw in the hooks and thread some machinations for Dr. Coulter with old brassy beads I used for the dolls and voilà:
My first attempt at steampunk art! This is the sort of thing that's been lurking in the back of my head along with the chattering crowds of three untouched WIP ideas and a ton of useless errata like what's for dinner and when to pick up my kids from camp. It will reside here on a library shelf until I make its mate and hang them up together on the wall.
I hope that you have some similar exiting geekery happening in your world to fuel your through the summer months and really get those synapses cracking! Care to share? I love to hear other people's inspired insanity!
And I'm already thinking about the next Steampunk Tea Party... Bwahahahaha!
* No, I'm not kidding. My madness is a blessing and a curse...often repeatedly while gluing @#$%^&*! tiny pieces into place with a tweezers and a hot glue gun.
So since I'm writing a steampunk-y WIP, the fever almost predictably flowed over into impending doom. Some people have stars in their eyes--I have gears. I was seized by the idea of making some steampunk art. This may turn out to be a good thing as my walls are bare save for sticky notes and calendar reminders that I'm often late for something, and I gave myself a very small budget in which to indulge. I remember Holly Black advising that it's good to do other arts to fuel our writing because it uses a different part of our brain, forces us to use our hands and think in new dimensions. And that was just what I needed! Herein lies the first attempt:
It all started with a cheap frame and an old book with faded pages.
Then I destroyed liberated some images from magazines, old notebooks, calendars and those helpful free guides to pet care found in unsuspecting stores. Add to that some craft hooks and gears (shamefacedly admitting that I am actually putting gears on it and calling it steampunk and not even ones I scavenged honestly from broken watches; I'm too impatient for that right now).
I comforted myself that the images that were coming together were inspired by Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, which has legitimate steampunk elements inherent in it and I wasn't wholly pandering. I think of it as a peek into the mind of Dr. Marisa Coulter, one of my favorite characters from the series. (Unfortunately, I couldn't find an image of the golden monkey or an ermine for Lyra, but the polar bear was awesome as was adding a curl of blond doll hair!)
Finally, we pull all the insanity together behind glass and drill some tiny holes into the top of the frame, screw in the hooks and thread some machinations for Dr. Coulter with old brassy beads I used for the dolls and voilà:
My first attempt at steampunk art! This is the sort of thing that's been lurking in the back of my head along with the chattering crowds of three untouched WIP ideas and a ton of useless errata like what's for dinner and when to pick up my kids from camp. It will reside here on a library shelf until I make its mate and hang them up together on the wall.
I hope that you have some similar exiting geekery happening in your world to fuel your through the summer months and really get those synapses cracking! Care to share? I love to hear other people's inspired insanity!
And I'm already thinking about the next Steampunk Tea Party... Bwahahahaha!
* No, I'm not kidding. My madness is a blessing and a curse...often repeatedly while gluing @#$%^&*! tiny pieces into place with a tweezers and a hot glue gun.
July 13, 2012
Happy Friday!
Let's end this weekend on a happy note, or notes, shall we?
1) I wrote 5500 words in the Summer Fun Project! YAY!
2) I have (finally!) begun planning new creative projects that have nothing whatsoever to do with writing including the next Steampunk Tea Party, decorating my kitchen, and possibly doing a podcast with my favorite cohort, the Pigtailed Overlord.
3) I found this video via Alex Bennett and have been captivated/gobsmacked/giddy ever since. I believe the words I used with Better-Than-Boyfriend were, "Holy WOW!" So here ya go, have a smile this weekend:
1) I wrote 5500 words in the Summer Fun Project! YAY!
2) I have (finally!) begun planning new creative projects that have nothing whatsoever to do with writing including the next Steampunk Tea Party, decorating my kitchen, and possibly doing a podcast with my favorite cohort, the Pigtailed Overlord.
3) I found this video via Alex Bennett and have been captivated/gobsmacked/giddy ever since. I believe the words I used with Better-Than-Boyfriend were, "Holy WOW!" So here ya go, have a smile this weekend:
July 11, 2012
Update:
After thinking about it and having many people say, quite logically, "You should contact the parent company," I contacted the parent company. They routed me to Customer Service and I gave my story as well as insisting that the problem wasn't what was done/not done as much as the fact that no one knew quite what to do...and *that* is a problem in an emergency situation.
Today, I got the following email (edited to protect names/places):
Thank you for contacting [Store X's] Customer Service regarding your experience at our [local location] store.
I have spoken to our Store Manager, [Name], and he was in fact the Manager involved with the care of the fitting room associate, which you had assisted after her fall in the store.
First, our associate is not a minor (she is 19 years old). Also, the Store Manager indicated that an ambulance would have been called if the associate was a minor and/or unconscious. [The Manager] brought the associate to the office, asked her appropriate questions to determine her alertness, gave her an ice pack, water and something to eat. It was the associate's decision to have the Store Manager call her mother rather than being taken for medical attention.
We appreciate your concern, and again, thank you for assisting our store associate in this matter.
Sincerely,
[Nice Customer Service Representative]
Okay. It was considerate that they got back to me even though it wasn't necessary and I asked that they not contact the manager to give me a call--he certainly didn't have to justify himself to me--but I still feel that there are still several things wrong with this letter:
1) Okay, she wasn't a minor. She was 19 years old and had suffered a head injury on the job. My point was that no one was there, no one knew what to do & there was no emergency procedure evident in case of an emergency.
2) She *was* unconscious. This 19 year old, non-minor had hit her head and had been shaking on the ground. An ambulance should have been called immediately. End of story.
3) She had just suffered a head injury. It doesn't take a brain surgeon (pardon the phrase) to figure out that while a 19-year is perfectly capable of having an opinion about her own health and well-being, she might not reflect sound thinking at this very moment as she'd just suffered a head injury! Of course, her parent or guardian or Emergency Contact should be called, but so should 9-1-1.
So now I'm debating a follow-up course of action. Hmm.
Today, I got the following email (edited to protect names/places):
Thank you for contacting [Store X's] Customer Service regarding your experience at our [local location] store.
I have spoken to our Store Manager, [Name], and he was in fact the Manager involved with the care of the fitting room associate, which you had assisted after her fall in the store.
First, our associate is not a minor (she is 19 years old). Also, the Store Manager indicated that an ambulance would have been called if the associate was a minor and/or unconscious. [The Manager] brought the associate to the office, asked her appropriate questions to determine her alertness, gave her an ice pack, water and something to eat. It was the associate's decision to have the Store Manager call her mother rather than being taken for medical attention.
We appreciate your concern, and again, thank you for assisting our store associate in this matter.
Sincerely,
[Nice Customer Service Representative]
Okay. It was considerate that they got back to me even though it wasn't necessary and I asked that they not contact the manager to give me a call--he certainly didn't have to justify himself to me--but I still feel that there are still several things wrong with this letter:
1) Okay, she wasn't a minor. She was 19 years old and had suffered a head injury on the job. My point was that no one was there, no one knew what to do & there was no emergency procedure evident in case of an emergency.
2) She *was* unconscious. This 19 year old, non-minor had hit her head and had been shaking on the ground. An ambulance should have been called immediately. End of story.
3) She had just suffered a head injury. It doesn't take a brain surgeon (pardon the phrase) to figure out that while a 19-year is perfectly capable of having an opinion about her own health and well-being, she might not reflect sound thinking at this very moment as she'd just suffered a head injury! Of course, her parent or guardian or Emergency Contact should be called, but so should 9-1-1.
So now I'm debating a follow-up course of action. Hmm.
July 9, 2012
Contest Winners & Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction
Firstly, I'm happy to announce the winners of the Pink Skull Prize Packs are: Melissa and Lauren, who both entered via the website, www.dawnmetcalf.com and who will, I hope, enjoy some great books, pretty bling & sweetness this summer! And now, the winner of the Grand Prize Luminous Summer Gift Box is...
*** oarlock_queen!!! ***
Congratulations!!! (cue fireworks, balloon launch, and triumphant brass band)
WARNING: The rest of this post is dedicated to Twilight Zone-like weirdness.
I knew I had to write this blog post, even though I doubt you'll believe me unless you know me personally and can attest to the many, many strange things that happen to me on a regular basis. Still, the truth is out there and must be told, so I'm going to tell it like it is. Or was. Anyway, this is what happened:
This weekend, I went to return some clothes and had shopped around for some things to try on in order to make an exchange. Stopping by the fitting room, I asked where I could park my cart and the girl behind the counter pointed to one side. I started dutifully counting out hangers, but couldn't remember if the store's policy limit was eight or ten and turned to ask the girl behind the counter, but she wasn't there. I looked down. She was on the floor, shaking, the phone off the hook and no one else in sight. I quickly looked around for another employee but saw no one. I bent over the young woman, her hair fanned out behind her and her eyes rolled up, the whites showing between the fluttering mascaraed lashes, and she was quivering. I hung up the phone and dialed zero. When it connected, I said that someone had collapsed in the fitting room.
Voice: "What?"
Me: "A young woman is unconscious in the fitting room."
Voice: "Huh? Who is this?"
Uncertain whether I dialed the phone operator or the store, I hung up.
She was still shaking, but it was starting to ebb.
Turning out into the store at large, I said very loudly: "Can someone please get a manager NOW?" Three or four heads looked up from their shopping, glancing at me in disbelief and then went back to their shopping! Disgusted, I knelt down and held the girl's hands to her chest as she began to wake up. A grandmotherly shopper stuck her head in and asked if I still wanted her to get someone. I said, "Yes, please!" The girl had stumbled to her feet, obviously shaken and embarrassed.
I tried to keep her lying down but she wouldn't listen, insisting that she was fine. I ignored her and helped her to sit on the nearby bench in the shoe department. Another salesgirl finally came over and I calmly requested that she get the manager and an ice pack. I kept talking to the girl, asking her where it hurt and telling her what had happened. She had a lump on the back of her head the size of a nectarine and complained that she felt sweaty, but there was no blood. I tried to sound calm and light-hearted, explaining that's what happens when you lose consciousness and I was familiar enough with it because I was in the martial arts! Our dojo was next to the town where she lived. I kept her talking until the manager came over. He asked if she was okay, and, of course, she said "Yes" but I shook my head over her shoulder "No." He asked if she had fainted and she said "Yes," but despite not wanting to scare her, I said, "She was having a seizure. She didn't faint." I asked that he call 9-1-1. He didn't. (Later he said that most people don't want to call an ambulance because of the insurance. I said that as a business owner, you should always call 9-1-1. He said it's only in case of minors or if they lose consciousness...which she was and she did but I digress.) Finally, I asked if she had been drinking enough water and she said she had a bottle with her and he got it for her to take a few sips. I reiterated that she had fallen and I didn't know if she'd hit the counter on the way down, but she had to have hit herself pretty hard to get a lump like that and should go to the ER. The manager escorted her to his office and said that they'd call her mother. I watched them go, feeling frustrated and helpless and disapproving, and continued into the fitting room...
...when it hit me...
This happened IN MY BOOK! The first chapter of Luminous describes the main character fainting in a fitting room and hitting her head, gaining a lump on the back of her skull! AND NOW THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED! *I* was one of those faceless women helping the girl to sit up and asking someone to get her juice! And, what's even impossibly weirder, is that it happened in the very store whose fitting room I used for the book! I was in shock. I stood there muttering how I couldn't believe it and no one would believe me and G-d help me, please tell me that she's not Latina because that would just make my brain explode. I wanted--no *needed*--to tell somebody who'd understand and called my writing buddy, my husband, my best friend, my Mom...and they believed me because they know how strange my life can be in that eerie, quirky, Bizzar-O universe that is my Fate from time to time and how this was no exception.
And it really happened. And I feel like I'm in Stranger Than Fiction. And so I had to write and tell you because, well, yeah.
And now I'm wondering if I should submit this to the store's parent company?
*** oarlock_queen!!! ***
Congratulations!!! (cue fireworks, balloon launch, and triumphant brass band)
WARNING: The rest of this post is dedicated to Twilight Zone-like weirdness.
I knew I had to write this blog post, even though I doubt you'll believe me unless you know me personally and can attest to the many, many strange things that happen to me on a regular basis. Still, the truth is out there and must be told, so I'm going to tell it like it is. Or was. Anyway, this is what happened:
This weekend, I went to return some clothes and had shopped around for some things to try on in order to make an exchange. Stopping by the fitting room, I asked where I could park my cart and the girl behind the counter pointed to one side. I started dutifully counting out hangers, but couldn't remember if the store's policy limit was eight or ten and turned to ask the girl behind the counter, but she wasn't there. I looked down. She was on the floor, shaking, the phone off the hook and no one else in sight. I quickly looked around for another employee but saw no one. I bent over the young woman, her hair fanned out behind her and her eyes rolled up, the whites showing between the fluttering mascaraed lashes, and she was quivering. I hung up the phone and dialed zero. When it connected, I said that someone had collapsed in the fitting room.
Voice: "What?"
Me: "A young woman is unconscious in the fitting room."
Voice: "Huh? Who is this?"
Uncertain whether I dialed the phone operator or the store, I hung up.
She was still shaking, but it was starting to ebb.
Turning out into the store at large, I said very loudly: "Can someone please get a manager NOW?" Three or four heads looked up from their shopping, glancing at me in disbelief and then went back to their shopping! Disgusted, I knelt down and held the girl's hands to her chest as she began to wake up. A grandmotherly shopper stuck her head in and asked if I still wanted her to get someone. I said, "Yes, please!" The girl had stumbled to her feet, obviously shaken and embarrassed.
I tried to keep her lying down but she wouldn't listen, insisting that she was fine. I ignored her and helped her to sit on the nearby bench in the shoe department. Another salesgirl finally came over and I calmly requested that she get the manager and an ice pack. I kept talking to the girl, asking her where it hurt and telling her what had happened. She had a lump on the back of her head the size of a nectarine and complained that she felt sweaty, but there was no blood. I tried to sound calm and light-hearted, explaining that's what happens when you lose consciousness and I was familiar enough with it because I was in the martial arts! Our dojo was next to the town where she lived. I kept her talking until the manager came over. He asked if she was okay, and, of course, she said "Yes" but I shook my head over her shoulder "No." He asked if she had fainted and she said "Yes," but despite not wanting to scare her, I said, "She was having a seizure. She didn't faint." I asked that he call 9-1-1. He didn't. (Later he said that most people don't want to call an ambulance because of the insurance. I said that as a business owner, you should always call 9-1-1. He said it's only in case of minors or if they lose consciousness...which she was and she did but I digress.) Finally, I asked if she had been drinking enough water and she said she had a bottle with her and he got it for her to take a few sips. I reiterated that she had fallen and I didn't know if she'd hit the counter on the way down, but she had to have hit herself pretty hard to get a lump like that and should go to the ER. The manager escorted her to his office and said that they'd call her mother. I watched them go, feeling frustrated and helpless and disapproving, and continued into the fitting room...
...when it hit me...
This happened IN MY BOOK! The first chapter of Luminous describes the main character fainting in a fitting room and hitting her head, gaining a lump on the back of her skull! AND NOW THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED! *I* was one of those faceless women helping the girl to sit up and asking someone to get her juice! And, what's even impossibly weirder, is that it happened in the very store whose fitting room I used for the book! I was in shock. I stood there muttering how I couldn't believe it and no one would believe me and G-d help me, please tell me that she's not Latina because that would just make my brain explode. I wanted--no *needed*--to tell somebody who'd understand and called my writing buddy, my husband, my best friend, my Mom...and they believed me because they know how strange my life can be in that eerie, quirky, Bizzar-O universe that is my Fate from time to time and how this was no exception.
And it really happened. And I feel like I'm in Stranger Than Fiction. And so I had to write and tell you because, well, yeah.
And now I'm wondering if I should submit this to the store's parent company?
July 4, 2012
Happy Fireworks Day!
Time to celebrate the ol' Red, White & Blue! Thanks to http://www.allrightmagazine.com for the pic!
It's the 4th of July! Independence Day! The perfect time to honor our freedom and independence by joining others on giant, rolling fields of green and watching stuff explode! Seriously, what better way to enjoy a holiday than spending an evening with friends, family, food, fun & fireworks? I have the additional joy of having finished my WIP (Hooray!) and have been celebrating by cleaning my office!
Oooooo! Ahhhhh!
Okay, so maybe it's not the ideal way to celebrate summer, (although it inspired a want to grab matches on more than one occasion), but I've removed all the excess clutter, packed the paper and supplies in readily-accessible places, swept the room clean of the past, and am ready to tackle the next bright, shiny idea! I'm happy to be enjoying this gracious grace period between projects when the weather is warm and sunny and the breezes are gentle and cool. This is the time to let the first drafts marinate and let new ideas percolate so I can return to the keyboard smiling and eager to dive in...after a walk by the river, some tea time with friends, work on my tan, get in a workout at the dojo, and then enjoy something hot off the grill in the backyard while the fireflies dance in the dark.
This? This is summer!
Everything's lighter and brighter with the sounds of frogs and birds and the perverse tinkling music of the ice cream trucks troll the neighborhoods in search of sugar-starved kids in swimsuits and floppy hats. I have several new ideas vying for attention and several fun trips planned for research and pleasure. All in all, it's a nice way to start fresh: clean office, clean palette, and a sky full of colors.
What do you like to do when you're ready to start on Page One after you're done writing the coveted words "The End"? What clears the way for a new set of thoughts? New characters, a new world, and a new story to explore? Do you sit back, relax, and do your happy dance? Or do you hoot and holler, light things on fire, stand back and watch them explode? BOOM!
Enjoy a great holiday! And as you get ready for the fireworks to light up your night, don't forget to go enter the LUMINOUS SUMMER contest & giveaway for your chance to win pretty, yummy & sparkly prizes!
June 29, 2012
1st Anniversary Luminous Summer Giveaway
***HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY, CONSUELA!!!***
It's been ONE YEAR since the launch of my debut novel, LUMINOUS, and it's been a wild ride of signings and events and parties and giveaways. Looking back, I can say there's nothing better than seeing your book on the shelves and hearing back from people who loved it. To celebrate this and to mark the one-year countdown of my next novel, INDELIBLE, due out July, 2013 by Harlequin Teen, I'm having a 1st Anniversary LUMINOUS SUMMER GIVEAWAY!
***GRAND PRIZE: LUMINOUS SUMMER GRAND PRIZE GIFT BOX***
ONE lucky winner wins:
1. A gorgeous decorative butterfly-design gift box
2. A signed & dedicated hardcover copy of LUMINOUS
3. A $20 Barnes & Noble gift card
4. 1 package iridescent sparkle dust
5. 1 bottle green glitter glow-in-the-dark nail polish
6. Gobs of golden Werther's creamy caramel hard candies
7. A signed luminous bookmark
Gorgeous gift box pictured here: perfect for notes, stationary, jewelry, keepsakes or, my favorite: sweets!
***TWO RUNNERS-UP WIN: A LUMINOUS PINK SKULL PRIZE PACK***
1. A spunky "pink skull" zippered coin purse
2. A $10 Barnes & Noble gift card
3. A one-of-a-kind original butterfly art pendant made by Saundra
4. Whatever golden Werther's creamy caramel hard candies I can stuff into whatever space remains
Interested? HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
1) Mention in the comments how *YOU* plan to have a Luminous Summer! Planning a trip? Hitting the beach? Tackling that TBR pile wearing a pair of cheap sunglasses and a tan? Conquering a fear? Seeing an old friend? Tell me what's going to light you up this summer! Please be sure to include your email so that I may contact you in case you win!
2) Tell others! Pay It Forward! Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, or your blog. This counts as 1 EXTRA ENTRY EACH. (Please cite them in the comments!) Active accounts only, please. YOU MUST COMMENT ON THIS POST WITH LINKS FOR YOUR ENTRY TO BE ENTERED INTO THIS CONTEST!
Sample tweet: It's the 1st Anniversary Luminous Summer Grand Prize Giveaway! Books, boxes, sparkles & sweets! http://bit.ly/LFrhSp
And, last but not least:
3) This contest is open to US residents only.
The LUMINOUS SUMMER GIVEAWAY contest runs from right now until midnight, Friday, July 7th. Winners will be announced shortly thereafter, probably Monday, with virtual post-holiday fireworks. Here are icons for your ganking pleasure:
Go forth, good luck & have a LUMINOUS summer!!!
It's been ONE YEAR since the launch of my debut novel, LUMINOUS, and it's been a wild ride of signings and events and parties and giveaways. Looking back, I can say there's nothing better than seeing your book on the shelves and hearing back from people who loved it. To celebrate this and to mark the one-year countdown of my next novel, INDELIBLE, due out July, 2013 by Harlequin Teen, I'm having a 1st Anniversary LUMINOUS SUMMER GIVEAWAY!
***GRAND PRIZE: LUMINOUS SUMMER GRAND PRIZE GIFT BOX***
ONE lucky winner wins:
1. A gorgeous decorative butterfly-design gift box
2. A signed & dedicated hardcover copy of LUMINOUS
3. A $20 Barnes & Noble gift card
4. 1 package iridescent sparkle dust
5. 1 bottle green glitter glow-in-the-dark nail polish
6. Gobs of golden Werther's creamy caramel hard candies
7. A signed luminous bookmark
Gorgeous gift box pictured here: perfect for notes, stationary, jewelry, keepsakes or, my favorite: sweets!
***TWO RUNNERS-UP WIN: A LUMINOUS PINK SKULL PRIZE PACK***
1. A spunky "pink skull" zippered coin purse
2. A $10 Barnes & Noble gift card
3. A one-of-a-kind original butterfly art pendant made by Saundra
4. Whatever golden Werther's creamy caramel hard candies I can stuff into whatever space remains
Interested? HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
1) Mention in the comments how *YOU* plan to have a Luminous Summer! Planning a trip? Hitting the beach? Tackling that TBR pile wearing a pair of cheap sunglasses and a tan? Conquering a fear? Seeing an old friend? Tell me what's going to light you up this summer! Please be sure to include your email so that I may contact you in case you win!
2) Tell others! Pay It Forward! Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, or your blog. This counts as 1 EXTRA ENTRY EACH. (Please cite them in the comments!) Active accounts only, please. YOU MUST COMMENT ON THIS POST WITH LINKS FOR YOUR ENTRY TO BE ENTERED INTO THIS CONTEST!
Sample tweet: It's the 1st Anniversary Luminous Summer Grand Prize Giveaway! Books, boxes, sparkles & sweets! http://bit.ly/LFrhSp
And, last but not least:
3) This contest is open to US residents only.
The LUMINOUS SUMMER GIVEAWAY contest runs from right now until midnight, Friday, July 7th. Winners will be announced shortly thereafter, probably Monday, with virtual post-holiday fireworks. Here are icons for your ganking pleasure:
Go forth, good luck & have a LUMINOUS summer!!!
