Rusty Carl's Blog, page 18

I've Been Around the World... And the Whole Place Stinks

I’m back. Wait, did you even know I was gone? Well, I was. Now I’m back. I spent a week and a half gallivanting through the South in the car with the family. Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas. I came away with a few thoughts.
1)      Alabama has the worst bathrooms in the United States. Period. This cannot be questioned. If you doubt me, drive through the state and stop to use the restrooms while there. This isn't the only one, either. ...

Sketcher Girl Studios!

I met Vic Caswell during the A-Z Blogfest this April and fell in love with that girl's skills as an artist. Check out her official grand opening below. Also, I should be in the middle of our family trip deep into the heart of Texas. Nobody break into my house and steal my stuff.

GRAND OPENING!!!!Today is the day that Sketcher Girl Studios, LLC officially opens for business!
In celebration of this momentous event, Vic Caswell (owner/operator) is hosting a give-a-way.
Using the "Contact...

Insecure Writers - May Edition!

IWSG - May edition.

During the month of May, rejections for stories submitted through the first half of the year began pouring in. And I do mean pouring. I know writers can struggle with confidence, and I think I can struggle more than most. So my precious, fragile ego took quite the beating.

It does make me nervous, I was thinking that I might be getting close in my writing, approaching the oft-coveted ability to take a story and make the reader get carried away with it. Sigh. So, what does th...

Big, Long, and Pointless... An Ode to Pagelism

Disclaimer: This post is long and pointless. It’s to answer points brought up by Briane Pagel in a comment to something I had posted elsewhere on the internet. Yes, a post so self-referential only I, and maybe Briane, will be able to follow. Do yourselves a favor and stop reading. It’s really that boring. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Enrico Fermi was considered by many contemporaries as, perhaps, the smartest man alive during his time as a citizen of earth. He certainly had a reputation as...

Twice in One Week? Geez!

I don't want to accuse mother nature of being inherently evil - but seriously, what's the deal?

Giving 110%

I'm not sure I ever understood those type of statements. Because if I'm giving 110% then I suppose I'm working on a scale of 1000. So that would mean I'm really giving 11%, which is kind of lame. But whatever, that has nothing to do with anything. I just wanted to put a number in my title.

I'm sure everyone will be happy to know that my tooth sorta took care of itself. I don't think it was an infection, but instead something stupid, like clenching my teeth really hard in my sleep.

So, after ins...

Don't Look, Because I'm Not Here

I am taking a nice little vacation from blogging right now. I was going to post some stuff this week, but then I decided I won’t, well, except for this. I have a ton of stuff I need to catch up on - artsy things and writing goals.
As I’m sure the world waits with baited breath for my return. I thought I’d at least post this, which is a notice that I’m not posting. It may seem contradictory to do that. But it makes perfect sense to me.
Have a good week.

The Backworlds!

Like all things in life, I even arrive at scheduled internet parties late. Sorry to Mary for dragging my feet on this. But I am very excited about her new release, The Backworlds.
I read her novella, Semper Audacia, last year, and it was one of the more memorable stories I read. I quickly moved on to her other shorter works and loved them all. I've been anticipating this release for a very long time. I can't wait to read it. 
So, please go check out this release. I think you can get i...

A-Z Reflections Post...Plus, My Tooth Hurts

Today is the official reflections post for the A-Z challenge. Yes, it’s an official thing. I’m not just being overly introspective. I would have provided a link or something, but  as it is almost every day when I try to check out someone's site, blogger is down, so I don't have a link to share.
Despite the fact that I’ve been blogging since 2009, I didn’t participate in the A-Z challenge until this year. Mostly because my immediate reaction to anything that everyone else is doing makes me...

Insecure Writers... May Edition

Can’t believe the whole A-Z challenge thing is over. I’ll be reflecting on that next week. But for now I’m here to talk about my insecurities. I think every post I do is about my insecurities, but I suppose this in the one-time per month I have a permission from a support group to post about it.
Yes, it's the brainchild of Alex J Cavanaugh - a monthly look at all the things that writers stress over. Click to learn more.
For me, possibly my biggest insecurity, or at least the one I try...