K.D. Sarge's Blog, page 63
July 31, 2011
His Faithful Squire Out Tomorrow!
Am I excited? Oh, just the teeniest bit… 
Six-Sentence Sunday–from an argument in the middle.
"You let people think I won you," he growled, "that I'm—I'm some kind of big shot, I won you, I keep you, I'm such an incredible man I can hold you despite how easily distracted you are—like you don't deserve a damn bit of credit for loving me and putting up with me and turning down every last person to proposition you when it happens every goddamn day!"
"Well, damn it, no one else could get me to do...
July 30, 2011
He's a Magic Man
Once upon a time back in my semi-wild youth, I was trying hard not to be head over heels for a completely unsuitable person. My practical side was overwhelmed, my dreamer side madly in love. I knew to the bottom of my soul that he would turn my world inside out and leave me in pieces, and I couldn't care. The only thing–don't I know it!–that saved me was that he didn't return my feelings. We were good friends, but he was shallow and I wasn't pretty. I know this was the main reason because he ...
July 28, 2011
Are Customers a Dime a Dozen, Then?
I use this icon because that's how it felt–as if I were invisible.
The only Apple Store around is in a very expensive area. The I've lived here twenty years and never been near it-type expensive. It's in a gorgeous shopping center with lovely landscaping including waterfalls (in the desert, remember), fountains, and real trees. It's not the type of place, I would think, where a shopper is accustomed to being treated as if no one cares about her presence.
When we arrived, it was the noisiest...
Sticks and Stones
I work at a middle school. I've been called a lot of names by 11-to-14-year-olds in nine years. Doesn't bother me; angry kids will say angry things.
In those years I've also talked to a lot of kids who got in trouble because "he called my mom a ho!" or "she called me a bitch!" and they got in a fight. My question is always the same. "Does his/her saying it make it true?"
I try to live by that as well. I'm not particularly thin-skinned. When someone makes assumptions about me that aren't true...
July 27, 2011
Go Green AND Save Yourself Trouble
I dunno, maybe I'm the last one on this particular bandwagon though I've been on it a while. It just occurred to me (duh) to share.
Have you heard of Catalog Choice? It's free. It's awesome. It's good for way more than stopping annoying catalogs.
Check this out.
All I did was go to their site when someone annoyed me (CareMore, I'm looking at you. How did you get my name on your Medicare list?) and use their help to get companies to stop sending me junk mail.
July 26, 2011
A Rant Against Internet Rants
I started reading an article yesterday in which the writer railed against everything from profanity in blogs (somehow relating this to Fight Club) to indie authors calling themselves "indie" when all self-publishing is crap. Apparently the only novels that are self-published are the ones not good enough to be traditionally published. And when I say railing, I mean "waxing vitriolic and flat-out mean."
Whatever.
Another writer, another article, an indie author ranting against the people...
July 24, 2011
I Need a New Brain
Or at least a back-up brain. Please?
At work I've long used the calendar function of old Outlook to remind me to do things, but I never got in the habit at home–one reason being that I don't own that version at home.
Recently I decided I needed the brain back-up, and started using reminders in Lightning, the calendar add-on to Thunderbird. Unfortunately, after a few days, certain reminders just stopped popping up. For instance, I completely forgot to nag my kid about practicing her flute...
A Flail By Any Other Name
One week tomorrow and I'll be back at work. Normally I'd be flailing about complaining I didn't do anything, but this summer–at last!–that's not true. I may not have done everything I'd hoped, but (as usual) my hopes were unrealistic. I still did pretty damn well.
Fifty thousand words written in two months. Two hundred fifty thousand (or more, really) words edited. Lots of loafing and even a little housekeeping done.
Of course, the lack of complainy-flailing could be because there's no time...
July 23, 2011
Want Some Fiction with that Realism?
When people compliment my stories, one thing often mentioned is the realism. I have a main character with a life-threatening allergy. It's consistent, not just a plot-point. Falling in love doesn't mean everything will be perfect forever. Minor characters have lives and goals; they don't just exist to help or thwart the main characters.
Realism, though, has only limited use in fiction. Try using "realistic" dialogue and you'll see what I mean.
"Hi."
"Hi! How's it going?"
"Oh, okay. You?"
"Doing...
July 21, 2011
Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping…
Today it's hard to get moving. That's not helped by the fact that I slept till nearly noon, but I think the real problem is the heat.
It's 2200, and 91 degrees. Bleh.
I'm trying to do the final final edit on His Faithful Squire. It should be easy–I've been through it so many times I should be at the point of fixing punctuation and formatting and that's it. But there's a problem in the last big fight. It's not a big problem, but it's nagging at me. I understand the problem. I want to fix it. I j...
