Jessica Scott's Blog, page 21
December 10, 2012
Reflections on 2012
Is it too late to start the looking back on the year posts? Ah well, I guess I’ll be somewhere off the beaten path, either too early or too late but whatever. I’m rarely where I’m supposed to be.
2012 started off interesting. I was out of my first command, waiting for my second to start. I was working on my fiftieth draft of my 2nd book. My husband had just returned from Iraq and all but a handful of soldiers had left that war behind.
Both my mother in law and my father had open heart surgery. I’m thankful that as the year draws to a close, both are still with us.
The year saw new friendships formed and others ended. Some, I now know were not good relationships. Others, I will miss tremendously but that’s what life is, right? Enjoying the moments for what they are.
I made international news when I opened my mouth about birth control. I was accepted to teach at West Point and completed my grad school applications. As the year draws to a close, I find myself wondering what school I’ll attend next year. I’ve also considered the obligation I have to speak about issues and tried to weigh my words more carefully. I have not always succeeded and hey, my mouth has been getting me in trouble for a lot longer than I’ve been running a blog.
2012 was not without its challenges. I learned some tough lessons about the publishing world, lessons that have left their mark on me but hey, we never learn when things are all unicorn poop and rainbows, right? So I’ll chalk those experiences up to lessons well learned and move on. Or at least drink my way through therapy and try to not to repeat those mistakes again.
Command this time around was arguably more ethically challenging as I confronted the true scope of what my fellow army officers army wide could forgive. I confronted the fallacy of the “good soldier” head on and ran straight into that wall. A good soldier can be forgiven anything. I have not yet come to peace with that lesson. I may never do so. I’ve questioned things I never before questioned and the answers have left me uncomfortable.
Looking ahead, 2013 is going to be an interesting year. I’ll have to uproot my family for the first time ever, taking them with me to wherever I end up attending grad school. We’ve never moved as a family before. The last time my husband I PCSd together was 2002 and we had significantly fewer pets, kids and possessions. I’m sad to see leave our home, more sad than I thought I’d be but there it is.
I will also leave behind command for good in 2013. I may or may not get the chance to command a battalion so I will remember the fun I’ve had as first Viper 6 and then Hooligan 6. There is great power that comes with the guidon. Maybe I’ll write a book about how to better wield that power. All the books out there talk about how to lead tactically. Maybe I’ll write one about how to lead ethically. I didn’t always succeed at that but I did my best. Maybe that’s all we can do.
What do I hope for in 2013 as far as my publishing career goes? I plan on seeing Trent & Laura’s story published as well as Reza & Emily’s. Shane and Jen are getting at least one short story, maybe two. I’m going to grad school, though, at the end of the year, so I’m not sure what all I’ll be writing except for papers. Lots of papers. I know a certain editor who will probably be getting more work from me as the one thing I learned this year is the power a great editor has to make your work really sing.
2012 was a mixed year on all counts but there is one thing I am beyond thankful for. My husband came home from the war for good. His retirement paperwork has been approved. He will hang up his uniform and finally get to be a dad. When we were deployed together in 2009, I wrote a post about how I got my husband back. How we learned to be a couple again but I had to kiss him goodbye again and worry until the day he crossed that border into Kuwait. He’s finally home from the war, and for that, I count my blessings every single day.
December 4, 2012
Esquire Americans of The Year – Jessica Scott
So the Esquire article is up and running on the Esquire website. I can’t cut and paste here for obvious reasons but if you’re interested, here’s the link
November 30, 2012
Christmas Books Giveaway Hop
Ah the holidays! I’m giving away a copy of the NAUGHTY OR NICE anthology out this year with stories by Ruthie Knox, Stephanie Sloane and Molly O’Keefe! And of course, I’ll add in copies of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU and BECAUSE OF You. Hope you’ll enjoy!
Merry Menage Hop
It’s closer to the holidays! Here’s another great hop where you can win UNTIL THERE WAS YOU and BECAUSE OF YOU!
November 29, 2012
Thoughts on the Senate’s Action re Military Sexual Assaults
Yesterday, the US Senate voted to force any soldier convicted of sexual assault, rape or forcible sodomy to administratively separated from the military if the court martial did not automatically do so in the sentencing phase of the hearing.
I think it is bold for the Senate to take such actions and it is also long overdue, however, I don’t think this will have the broad impact that they are hoping for.
Commanders are required to administer administrative separation. They are not required to separate. So even if the process is started to separate someone who is convicted of these crimes, there is no guarantee, unless higher levels of command, ie the brigade or higher commander intervene, that these soldiers will indeed be separated. Commanders can, and far too often do, vote to retain soldiers who do all sorts of activities that good soldiers should not do.
Additionally, you have the problem of retention boards. Any soldier who has over 6 years of service is allowed the option of having their case heard before an administrative separation board. Far too often, the good soldier defense is used to keep otherwise unfit soldiers in the military because, well, they deployed so many times or they’ve been a stellar NCO/officer. If you have a sympathetic admin sep board, you’re going to find that some of these individuals remain in the army.
And while the Senate’s action is a step in the right direction – and I in no mean intend this post to be a this won’t do any good kind of post – there are significant challenges in getting sexual assault cases to go to court martial. There are a multitude of reasons that I applaud the idea of taking sexual assault allegations out of the lower level chain of command’s hands. Quite bluntly, far too often, there simply is not enough evidence to take these cases to court martial. Trust me, I know. I tried.
These are all positive steps in the right direction but more action is needed and it needs to start with commanders/leaders being held accountable. If a commander fails to report a suspected crime, they should be held accountable. If an NCO brushes something under the rug, they should be held accountable. Until we start holding people accountable for failing to report and failing to take the appropriate actions to force the system to work, we will continue to put band aid solutions over a sucking chest wound.
The Good Soldier defense for these kinds of crimes must come to an end. Good soldiers don’t do this kind of thing.
There is no place for sexual assault in our military and commanders, it starts with us to make a difference.
November 22, 2012
Black Friday Bonanza Hop
I’m giving away a copy of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU and BECAUSE OF YOU for the Black Friday Bonanza Hop!
Black Friday Blitz Hop
It’s Black Friday and if you’re like me, there’s no effing way I’m braving the crowds! But here’s a great chance to win a 25$ Amazon or BN gift card!
Enter the Rafflecopter for a chance for the gift card or leave a comment in order to be entered into the grand prize!
Now what are those prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $75 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!
November 21, 2012
Fall In Love Giveaway Hop
I am thrilled that some of my friends are having awesome years! So to celebrate the love, I’m giving away a copy of Ruthie Knox award winning novel ABOUT LAST NIGHT plus Shawntelle Madison’s COVETED as well as both of my books BECAUSE OF YOU and UNTIL THERE WAS YOU.
Added bonus? 25$ Barnes and Noble gift card!!
So check out the Fall in Love giveaway hop!
November 18, 2012
Facebook vs Bit.ly
Facebook has been in a bit of a stew lately b/c authors and other brands are starting to get really upset with the fact that they have to pay money to reach their full audience of folks who have liked their page. Yours truly is included in this pool of irritated business owners.
So I decided to run a little experiment with Facebook ads and see if what they told me happened to my links matched what bit.ly told me happened to my links. Here’s what I found:
Post #1
# seen: 22,000 ppl
# likes: 156
# clicks: 460
# actions: 332
# comments: 13
According to bit.ly: 213 have clicked on the link
Post #2:
Promoted link stats according to FB:
# Seen: 2800
# likes: 42
# Clicks: 87
# Actions: 35
# comments: 1
Same link stats according to bitly: 37 clicks
So there seems to be a little bit of a disconnect between what Facebook reports as clicks and what bit.ly reports as clicks and I’m not really certain as to which report is more reliable. I do think that Facebook has a vested interest in showing you high numbers of clicks and likes but if what they’re showing you isn’t panning out through actual clicks on promoted links, then we the consumers might be getting scammed.
The other thing I noticed is that there was no correlation between anything Facebook reported happened and the number reported by bit.ly. So I can’t say that the number of actions matches clicks, though that seems to be the closest corresponding number in some cases.
Your mileage may vary. I’m thinking though that any promo I do in the future on Facebook, I’ll be checking the stats!
November 14, 2012
Gratitude Giveaway Hop
It’s the time of year where we sit back and remember to be grateful for the good things in our lives. So for this hop, I’m giving away a 25$ gift card to Barnes and Noble in the hopes that the winner will use it to do something good for someone else.
And check out the rest of the stops along the way!
