Delilah S. Dawson's Blog, page 48

sometimes, I get frustrated.

That, followed by this.


50k into the WIP, a YA early dystopian called PAYBACK.
I will now fight my frustration with words.
*

PSA: dirty pool at JustFabulous

You guys might remember these fabulous skull shoes by Iron Fist-- scroll down to drool.
I love them. I love almost everything Iron Fist produces. And that's why I joined a boutique deal site called JustFabulous. They had Iron Fist shoes for about 50% off.
Of course, the first round sold out by the time I got there. Yet, oddly, all of those Iron Fist shoes are still listed on the site, despite being totally gone. Frustrating, right?
When a new selection popped up, I bought the sugar skull heels immediately. Shipping was quick, I had a first-timer discount, and I was super happy with my shoes.
That should be the end of a happy story, a satisfying online purchasing experience.
But it's not.
Today I received an email saying that I had a credit for $39.95.
My initial thought was, "Yay! Maybe a friend signed up or something. I earned a credit!"
Further investigation revealed that they had simply charged my credit card as if I had purchased something. Now, one frustrating Facebook conversation and a few lame Twitter messages later, and their sneaky tactic is revealed.
If you don't go to their website in the first five days of the month and click a mysterious little box that says "Skip This Month," they automatically charge your card.
Granted, you have an entire year to spend that "credit". And it's frightfully easy to show up and click that button, once you've found it and provided you remember to do so during the first five--and arguably most busy-- days of the month.
But up until the email, I had NO FREAKING IDEA that in purchasing one pair of shoes, I had signed up for this "credit" service.
I DON'T WANT IT.
There was never a chance to opt out. I never read any message about it. And of course, as they keep telling me, it's there in the FAQ. But honestly, should I have to go read a FAQ to purchase a single pair of shoes? Did I give them permission to retain my credit card number, something I *never* do when online shopping? The answer, in my mind, is an unequivocal no. There was no box to check or uncheck; me giving them my credit card number became my unwilling compliance.
And that is not cool.
JustFab, you can tell me again and again to read your FAQ, but the point isn't that you're right and I'm wrong. It's that you use a sneaky trick against your customers, and now I don't want to do business with you.
Intead, I want to tell all 1500+ of my Twitter friends and 380+ of my Facebook friends about my bad experience.
Much like the BMG music scam that made my life hellish for three months in college, I became a victim because I didn't read the fine print and just assumed I was buying shoes. Fool me once, shame on you. You won't fool me twice.
And that's why I'm going to quit being furious about being taken advantage of and go write my book about what would happen if the fine print you sign for credit cards gave the bank the right to kill you.
They make fine print impossibly small and hard to decipher for a reason, folks.
*
Update: They called to apologize, further explain the FAQ, and offer a refund. I accepted the refund. I still do not agree with the business tactic, but I appreciate their attempt to make things better.

we interrupt this picspammery with toilet humor

me: Son, why are you throwing pretzels in the toilet?
son: To keep my poops company.
me: Buddy, there aren't any poops in the toilet.
son: They coming soon. They waiting for the pretzels to get there, first.

*
me: Hey, Goose!
daughter: DON'T CALL ME GOOSE. I AM A SWAN.
me: Hey, Cygnet!
daughter: I AM NOT A CIGARETTE.
me: No, dude. A cygnet is a baby swan.
daughter: You can't prove that.
*
son: One day, I will put you on a hook and the crane will take you up so so high, and then you cannot come down.
Krog: Why would you do that?
son: So I can rescue you.
*
Back to picture ogling and whatnot. I said I would decide tomorrow.
Eep.

zoom out

This choice?
IMPOSSIBLE.
Monday. I'll decide Monday.
Because I'm PROCRASTINATING.
Until then, here are the full-color, uncropped versions of the images between which I'm trying to decide.
1.

*2.

*
3.

4.

5.

*
Now I just need to write a book awesome enough to get my pic in full color. =)
*

so this girl walks into a graveyard...

...and had her picture taken.
Can you help me decide which one to use as my author photo?
These are all cropped down small and would appear in the back of my book in black and white.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Which one should I choose?
1.

*
2.

*
3.

*
4.


*
Thoughts?
*
All images courtesy of Simon Effendi of Artistic Moments Photography in Roswell, GA. He does fashion, head shots, weddings, and family photos. Highly recommended!

confessions from the bar(re)

I once dreamed of growing up to be a ballerina.
And that hope died when someone told me, at a very young age, that I didn't have the right body type, which is a nice way of telling an eight-year-old that she's overweight. Thanks, Jean!
But I got over it. Still, one of my favorite rainy day movies is Center Stage, which chronicles the lives of young ballerinas at the American Ballerina Academy in NYC.
Can I relate to most of what happens in this movie?
HELL, NO.
Being thin, being an amazing dancer, going to a special school in a magical city, riding on the back of a handsome stranger's motorcycle, hanging out with Zoe Saldana on a ferry... not my life.
But I had a needlessly difficult day today, the kind where you doubt yourself and doubt the world and end up devouring your kids' leftover Halloween chocolate and thinking, "WHY DO I CARE SO MUCH? I'M JUST SUPPOSED TO WONDER AROUND, EATING FRUIT OFF OF TREES AND KILLING SMALL ANIMALS TO MAKE A SHIRT. I'M JUST A DAMNED DIRTY APE WITH AN ENORMOUS HEART, AND NOTHING IS ACTUALLY WRONG, AND THIS IS RIDICULOUS."
And the same thing kept coming to mind, every time I started the downward spiral. This quote, from Center Stage, which I haven't seen in a year, since my VCR broke.
"You don't like him very much, do you? I don't blame you. He's impossible. Headstrong, egotistical, arrogant as all hell. The thing is, you'd be hard pressed to find any choreographer or company director who isn't like that.

The unwise dancers blame them; "He didn't like me, she was unfair, I should've had that part." The smart ones know where to look when things get rough.

It isn't there. (Lays hand on barre) It's here.

No matter what happened in class, in performance, last week, five minutes ago. If you come back here, you'll be home."

And so I came home, to my barre, by which I mean my writing. I've written 8 pages today on the newest book, a YA quasi-dystopian. Writing is my escape, my comfort, my drug. When I'm making up stories, I'm not worrying or overthinking or feeling sorry for myself. I'm being the root of who I am, and it feels good.

I'll never be a ballerina, but I can dance with words.

*

a few of my favorite things

I had author photos taken last Saturday by long-time photographer friend Simon Effendi of Artistic Moments Photography in Roswell. Simon has been shooting me since 2005, and he never ceases to amaze. Although I just got the disk today and he hasn't had time to perfect the shots, I just had to share the photo above.
It will never make it to a book cover, but it includes three of my very favorite things: my sugar skull heels, my lucky owl necklace, and my beloved car, The Iron Duke, named for the steampunk romance by Meljean Brook.
No wonder I'm smiling, even though it was about 30 degrees and my nose was falling off.
*
In a couple of days, I'm going to count on you guys to help me choose which photo to use. And, if you're lucky, I'll show you a couple of the hilarious outtakes, although I don't think Simon caught the one where I knocked over a tombstone.
*

take cover!

No, really. Take one. They're like tarot cards.
Except that they all tell the same fortune.
And I can't tell it to you until next March.
*
These are cover flats, which I didn't even know existed until I learned that they were beautiful, shiny, and on their way to my house. They are basically a replica of the exact book cover, down to colors, words, ISBN, and the deliciously raised-up letters, and they are often used for marketing purposes. I'll definitely be taking them to a few of my local indie bookstores.
But what to do with the rest of them?
First, I snuggled them.
Then, I took the above picture and put it on my Facebook author page.
Then I thought about placing the cover flats in the bathtub and rolling around in them naked, like Scrooge McDuck.
Then I thought about how I would inevitably have to take pictures of that or no one would believe me, and the pics would get around to my family, and I would have to clean the bathroom first, and, yeah, NO.
Then I thought about making a dress with them. I nixed that when I remembered about paper cuts.
So I ask you guys: What do I do with these cover flats?
*

skelefamily fun

So that's going to be on the cover of the Christmas calendar this year.
I hope we don't give my grandmother a heart attack.
But I always want to remember our first all-family costume as carcasses.


Halloween is my favoritest.
Dressing up like a weirdo is actually ENCOURAGED.
Even for adults.

Plus, I got to wear a big coat, birthday boots, and striped stockings.
Here's to hoping everyone had as fantastic a holiday as we did.
Happy Halloween, y'all!
*

the secret

[image error] Me as Mia Wallace, 2004*
*
I wrote out this long blog post.
And deleted it.
I want to say something important, and I think shorter will be sweeter.
The secret to writing a book, having a great Halloween costume, or just flat out reaching your dreams is all the same thing:
Don't be afraid to make a complete fool out of yourself.
That's all.
Now go dress up and do something fabulous.
Just like The Rock.
*
*also known as "The day I realized I wasn't meant to work in a cube",because everyone kept saying that they liked my haircut, but I had a booger.