K.A. Jordan's Blog, page 3

Profiling Courage

The Freshmen Class of Democrats, who brought new blood to a stale party, have some real firecrackers in their midst. As refreshing as it is to see them and hear how they’ve scared the Old Guard silly, there’s more at stake here than the present day. These freshmen are looking at decades in Congress (just like the current Speaker of the House).

Let me savor that for a moment. (Ahh!) All those clear young minds pitted against two senile old men. There IS hope for America if we can #HoldTheLine.

I’m big fan of The Squad: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). Though I’m much older than they are, I find their energy, drive, and media savvy (plus that dash of blood-lust) utterly refreshing.

I also have respect for Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, as well as the rest of embattled Democrats in Congress and the Senate.

We live in perilous times, there’s a raging Bull in the White House and an Evil Turtle running the Senate. The bright spot is the gavel of the House of Representatives sitting in Democratic hands.And, of course, The Old Bull has made the four young women known as The Squad his target. After all, what better, more fitting, target than young women and dead men?

Oh, oh, I know, single out the naturalized immigrant!

A true test of wit and courage, that choice of target, for a senile old man; I hope his epitaph will read: “He beat up small women and dead heroes.”

It’s not like The Old Bull can actually DO anything constructive. He’s failed at everything he’s put a hoof to: replacing health care with some ‘great’ program that everyone loves, getting ‘manufacturing jobs back’ to the Rust Belt, balancing the Deficit, infrastructure, including the vanity wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for. He’s great at playing patsy with Communists and other dictators, I’ll give him that.

So he thrashes around the White House, spewing B.S. from both ends, attacking young women, locking the poor and their children in cages to impress – whomever it is that holds the ring in his nose.

Such courage!

Speaking of courage, please note the vast outrage expressed by the GOP, the Party of Morality and Fiscal Responsibility…er…not peep out of them.

The Evil Turtle stuttered his condemnation of – wait for it – Democrats – a feeble attempt to appear less senile than he is. He didn’t even know who the racist was.

Poor old man, someone find him a nurse, he didn’t get his green Jello at lunch and he’s cranky.Hasn’t Kentucky had enough of this wizen creature? Can’t we move on, perhaps to someone who has proven their courage?

How about a Marine Corp fighter pilot? https://amymcgrath.com/

She could win on just her tag-lines:

ANTI-CORRUPTION.
ANTI-OBSTRUCTION.
ANTI-B.S.
Come on, Kentucky, it’s time to #DitchMitch and make America sane again.

Jordan's Croft Is Back

Yes, I'm back with more commentary from my tiny farm in Kentucky.

After a couple of years of radio silence, I've revived this blog, even without my URL, because there are somethings I can't stay silent about, and Twitter just doesn't cut it for me.

I'm watching The Old Bull and his Evil Turtle, now that we are on the cusp of the 2020 election, I'm digging in my heels. This might cost me readers on my favorite international writer's platform. I certainly hope not, because they've been good to me. I'll apologize to them in advance.

This also means I'm going to need to deal with the Trolls who hit this blog on a regular basis and stole clips of my work to post on Facebook.

Regardless, I'm not going to allow the Old Bull spread his manure unchallenged from #FlyOverAmerica. It's time to get out the pen and use it like a sword.

Two Tracks? A Railway to Hell!

I wasn't going to write another political piece. I swore I was done with them.

But the fact that somebody in that Big White House felt this was the time to blow the lid off our "Two Track" Presidency was the last thing I wanted to know.

Out here in #FlyOverAmerica we've been busy, working our $7 hour jobs, cussing the way the GOP has screwed up our Healthcare - even WORSE, and trying to living our lives but secretly afraid that the world's gone crazy.

Many of my friends fall into categories when it comes to politics. They are either: a) glued to MSNBC news, b) hiding from the news, c) watching Fox and sneering at the liberal News, d) trying to carry on when terrified that the USA will become a dictatorship tomorrow, e) praying to any God that will listen for deliverance from all those crazy bastards in DC, f) drinking, popping pills or shooting dope because they can't take the News anymore.

I went from B to E when I heard about the New York Times piece about The Resistance in the White House. I'm not 'reassured' - I'm not surprised, either. The Insane Clown Car pulled up to the White House and discharged the whole freaking circus two years ago, after all.

I've got some big fat doubts about that person's motives. In fact, if I was going to put a bet on who wrote it - I'd say it was a Big Fat Pinko Troll.

That OpEd had Friends of Vlad the Impaler written all over it.

Some has to say it, so it's gonna be me: The Russians Won the 2016 Election. They used the GOP/NRA/KGB gerrymandered election system against them to install the Manchurian Candidate, only this time they used a senile, greedy, despotic excuse of a con man.

And November isn't going to make it any better.

I can see the footprints of the Russian Trolls all over Facebook. I see people that I care about falling for the propaganda being pumped out by Fox News, or paralyzed by the hysteria of MSNBC. I see the Memes against kneeling for Social Justice. I see the Memes targeting our soldiers, trying to rile them up against the 'liberal snowflakes.' I see the "love our AR-15 machine guns or get out of 'Merika" propaganda. (The damn things are for sale at the freaking FEED STORES for the love of God.)

And I see the footprints of Pinko Trolls all over my blog.

I've logged out of my Twitter account. I logged out of Facebook. I cancelled Direct TV. And I still love my friends and family members who have bought all the bullshit and drank the Orange koolade. Most of all - I still have my friends who were born in other countries, or who were born of other ethnic groups, no matter what their skin color might be.

But - and this is the big one - the last thing I want to see is some mealy-mouthed toady bragging to the world that S/HE is a hero because they stole a sheet of paper of the desk of a madman. That this anonymous ring-kisser is 'the adult in the room' and that America should sleep better knowing The Resistance is in the White House.

REALLY? where the fuck are you Mitch McConnell? Paul Ryan?

You were the first ones in line to crucify THE THREAT TO THE FREE WORLD when it was a WOMAN and just a bunch of E-MAIL. You called her a TRAITOR and never so much as blushed.

You brow beat us all with eight damned YEARS of posturing and chest-beating when it was a BLACK MAN sitting at that desk in the Oval Office.

Now, y'all are showing your yella backs like the stink-bait you are.

If there really is Karma - y'all will be born as sewer rats for the next thousand years.

Goals - Publishing

I just finished a blog on Icy Road, it's an announcement of taking K. A. Jordan e-books 'wide' to as many outlets and vendors as I can.

In addition, I've taken steps to publish as many of my mother's short stories as I can in the next two years. I've enlisted some people to help me. I've pulled out the fourth volume and started reading. I've sent packets of short stories to a Beta Reader for evaluation.

Because, it will be 10 years since I started publishing e-books in 2020. And in ten years, I should know if this hobby of mine will ever become a business, or if it will continue to be a drop in the bucket. The best way for me to figure it out is to make a big push to see what happens.

After all, the Hoard is gone, my parent's farm is gone, the estate is settled and I have my life back. Two of my horses are over 30 years old, I'm looking to re-home the young mare so I don't have to put her down when the other two cross the bridge. The alpacas are slated for a new home this fall. We can sell the geese and the ducks without any problem. I can bring my chickens with me, just not the roosters.

Honestly, by the time 2020 rolls around, I'll have a better idea of the political climate. Right now, the news concerns me greatly. As does the report I get from Google on my blog readership.

In 2020 I'll reach a personal milestone - and I've been asking myself if I want to spend the rest of my life working on this farm, or do I want to retire to the City? There are a lot of nice cities out there. And I want what the millennial generation wants, a place with public transportation. I'd like to be part of an artists colony, but those are very hard to find.

The long list includes: Cleveland (it has RTA and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Erie PA, Buffalo NY, Panesville OH, Fairport Harbor, Madison on the Lake and Ashtabula Harbor.

So I'm going to work it out in the next two years.

Back Yet Again - Bug Off Trolls!

I closed this blog down because the majority of hits I got were from Russia and China.

Well, I'm back.

I don't know what I'll post here, but I'm not going lose years of content because of them.

So how do I know that the majority of traffic to this page was from Trolls? Operating systems. Lenix is the #1 operating system used by people who came to this page.

#

Karma Is A Bitch - Mitch

 Karma really is a bitch,

Congress had this coming for the last 20 years. They whined and wailed about Hilary this and Obama that, every time a Democrat farted they shrieked like they were about to be donkey-raped.

Now the old bull has Congress by the short hairs and is crawling up their backs and breathing snot down the back of their necks. Even the FBI has been taken down a peg.

And we all know that the old bull is gonna get re-elected. Vlad the Impaler will see to it. We've got 7 more years of this crazy old SOB to go.

I predict that unless somebody slips the old bull a Russian mickey, there won't be a whole lot of the East or West coast left by the time he's gone.

Meanwhile, #flyoverAmerica will have a front row seat to the carnage.

Let's see how those smug, supercilious SOBs Mitch and Paul like being treated like so much garbage to be chewed up and spit out.

Fraking Facebook - Log Out Now

I'm sick of Facebook Trolls.

They claim to be Americans, but I'm not so sure. I think the fraking Communists have taken over Facebook.

There's only one thing to do in a case like this -- Log Out.

Here's why I'm so fraking pissed off:

We live in a country where damn near every politician has signed the Grover Norquist pledge for No New Taxes. Making ANY changes to security in our schools is going to cost money. But there isn't any money -- there won't be any money because we just had the biggest tax cut in history.

So there will be no help from the Federal OR State government for the schools. NONE -- ZERO -- ZIP DOLLARS.

So let's get real. No new taxes, no money for the public schools. The 1% already has their offspring in private schools, they aren't going to pay for school security for the 99%. (See The Grover Norquist Pledge.)

I got pissed off because the Trolls and the Idiots on Facebook are pushing to arm teachers and they are jumping anyone who says it's the job of the police to protect taxpayers and future taxpayers from armed gunmen.

No - these Trolls are pushing us to reinvent the wheel. They want the Teachers(!) armed with guns like some kind of private security firm to patrol the halls of our schools. (So who's teaching the kids while the teachers are on patrol?)

They don't want to PAY for these guns, or this training. Just like they don't want to pay for school lunches and school supplies. Wouldn't school life be better for everyone if PUBLIC schools had the money to provide lunches and supplies for ALL students?

Not gonna happen because rich people are sucking all the resources out of the economy and not paying their fair share of taxes. But you can't tell anyone that, they're all stirred up by Trolls.

It's a Troll's Dreamland on Facebook.

I logged out the first time the day of the shooting and I've logged out for most of the day since. I can't quit cold turkey, but I'm gonna see if I can get off Facebook and stay off Facebook for good.

What Makes America Great?

It's that time of year again.

Nostalgia for the 'good old days' and so I'm going to look back and point out some things that I recall from 'good old days'.


America is great when we invest in the education of our citizens, so our high schools and colleges are the envy of the world. America is great when college is affordable with Pell Grants funding the education of low-income families.America is great when 'free speech' is words, not money.America is great when living people have more rights than non-living corporations.America is great when it is safe to drink the water and breath the air.America is great when there are millions of family farms.America is great when we build housing that is affordable to all income levels.America is great when labor unions can battle corporations and win.America is great when the infrastructure is a top priority.America is great when it has a thriving middle class.America is great when it puts the welfare of the middle class ahead of the tax cuts for the rich and corporations.America is great when all people have equal rights and equal pay.America is great when law-enforcement doesn't kill tax-payers.America is great when it has a strong GI Bill and support for Veterans.These are just off the top of my head. I'm sure that some people can think of more. 

DIY Publishing 2017, Part 2

Mechanics Rule Final Cover


If you're a writer, you've seen the writer's getaway cabin in the woods, tucked in the most romantic isolation. Or you've heard the story of J. K. Rowling writing Harry Potter in the coffee shop down the street. But the nuts and bolts of writing are FAR less romantic.Most of us have a less than romantic space to write, maybe in bed with our laptop, at the kitchen table or on Notepad at work. We might spend years working on a manuscript, and in the end what counts the most isn't our lovely scenes, exciting characters or lofty plots. Here's the dirty little secret few professional writers want to talk about: the most important thing a writer needs is a superior grasp of grammar and sentence structure. Now, a whole lot of new writers are going to roll their eyes and spout a cliche right now: "That's what editors are for." But can you afford to pay that editor? That level of editing is very time consuming and expensive. Editing at that level can cost upwards of $5 per page (500 words). Even if you find an independent editor who will edit your grammar for $1 per page, it will take 2 or 3 passes to get all the corrections done. Some editors charge $1 per error found. At a certain skill level that's a bargain. Until then it's a nightmare. A traditional publisher, or (perish the thought) an agent, will read your manuscript up to the first grammatical error and stop. If that's in the first sentence, all your work after that is for nothing. If your lucky, they won't tweet your name and some disparaging remark to their colleagues.
Warning: This blog (but not, I hope, this series of posts) contains subject matter that other's might find offensive as well as blog posts that have snarky language. Feel free to roll your eyes and click away from posts that offend you. The opinions expressed here were only valid on the day of posting, after that I've probably forgotten what I posted. I think the eye-roll emoji is either ::-( or 88-(, I no doubt deserve it if you leave one in the comments.

Do It Yourself Publishing - 2017 Part 1

My Road to DIY Publication
2009 Cover

I often talk to Independent authors with newly-launched books. They all have the same questions, and I’m always glad to offer up my experience to help them on their way. I’ve been DIY publishing e-books and paperbacks since 2009 and I can tell you that this business changes every few months. I did well for a short time, a mere 10 weeks, but now I struggle like most other authors.I’ve decided to put what I’ve learned into a short series of blog posts for my Kentuckiana Authors Association friends. I’ll try to keep these short, feel free to comment, by all means ask questions. I’ll put in links as I go. I might rearrange the links on my website to make it easier to find stuff. I think it was in 2007 that I joined a local writer’s group called the Bard’s Corner. I learned how to outline, which made a big difference in my writing, but my work schedule kept me too busy to attend regularly. It was my first exposure to writing groups and peer review; it changed my paradigm on writing forever by opening my eyes to a larger world.Once I learned to outline, I was able to finish my first novel “Let’s Do Lunch.” At that point (2008) I joined a couple of websites for writers so I could learn more. “Forward Motion” was the best of the writer’s websites – I don’t know if it is still around, I hope so, because it offered the first ever open peer review that I’d ever experienced. I got feedback by people who had skill-sets superior to mine and I learned a whole lot in a short period of time. I edited the manuscript using every bit of feedback that I could get.2009 I entered Amazon’s Breakout Novel Award – I uploaded the manuscript during a horrendous ice storm via dial up because we had no electricity here at the house, but the phone still worked. My novel made two of three cuts, and garnered some feedback that has me rolling my eyes to this day. It was during that contest that I learned of a website run by Harper-Collins called Authonomy. I spent the next 4 years on that site, learning a lot, but none of my books ever got any traction on the contest to the Editor’s Desk.I spent 2009 and most of 2010 watching the phenomena of the Amazon Kindle shake up the publishing industry and allow authors to upload their books to the new e-book format and get some readers, and get paid. I uploaded my e-books to Barnes & Noble’s Nook Press platform, Kobo Writing Life and Smashwords as well. Those were heady days indeed.My brief appearance on the Amazon best sellers list was 10 glorious weeks on the romantic suspense chart in the UK where Let’s Do Lunch hit #3 for a few hours and settled to #8 for several days. It then slid off the Top ten list into the top 25, then the Top 100 and then down into the mulch layer with about 50 million other e-books. After that the sales trickled in, a handful a quarter but not enough to pay for the endless hours I spent marketing my e-books. I was obsessed, always a bad sign, and getting nowhere but discouraged. When ’50 Shades of Gray’ came out, my sales evaporated completely and I’ve struggled just to stay somewhat in the game ever since. I hope this series of blogs will serve to open a dialog with my fellow writers.
Warning: This blog contains subject matter that other's might find offensive as well as blog posts that have snarky language. Feel free to roll you eyes and click away from posts that offend you. The opinions expressed here were only valid on the day of posting, after that I've probably forgotten what I posted. I think the eye-roll emoji is either ::-( or 88-(, I no doubt deserve it.