Kimberly A. Bettes's Blog, page 15

Here’s My Take On…Whitney

It seems that everyone has an opinion on the death of Whitney Houston. While normally I grumble about these things to myself and move on with my life, I feel compelled to say a little something this time.

I’ve always found it peculiar that everyone forgets these icons until they’ve died, then suddenly the icon is reborn, though in death. Links to videos, the sudden boom of cd sales, etc. I’ve always wondered, ‘where were they BEFORE the death?’ If you loved this person so much, why weren’t you talking about them before they died? Where were the posts of those videos before? Why weren’t the cd sales through the roof then? Odd.

Last night, I saw some video footage of Whitney’s failed comeback tour in 2010. It was horrible, to say the least. She looked more than awful and sounded even worse than that. I couldn’t believe my ears. Could this be the same Whitney that had belted out such beautiful music only years before? I wasn’t the only one in shock over this. That tour was cancelled.

Then it dawned on me. Whitney Houston was dead long before her death. She killed her voice with cigarettes. She destroyed her body with alcohol and drugs. She had taken an amazing talent that most people can only dream of and crushed it. She could’ve had the world. She did have the world for a time. But she let it all go. And those were all HER choices. No one held a cigarette to her mouth and forced her to inhale. That was her. And while it’s true that Bobby Brown may have played a role in her dug addiction, no one can force you to take drugs. That was once again all Whitney. She killed herself by not taking care of herself.

It was the same thing when Amy Winehouse died. Everyone tried to say she battled demons, she had an addiction, blah blah blah. Who isn’t battling demons? Who doesn’t have troubles at some point? These people have the money to get the best help possible, and they choose not to. Yes, they CHOOSE not to. They chose to start doing drugs, and they can choose to stop. And to all the people that say addiction is a disease, I say bullshit. Cancer is a disease. You can’t stop having cancer. You can stop your addiction. If you choose.

Of course I feel bad for Whitney’s family. It’s hard to lose a loved one, no matter the cause. But do I think Whitney’s face should be splattered all over television because ‘poor Whitney was led to her death by her ex-husband’? No. Absolutely not.

And that’s my take on Whitney.

 

Here's My Take On…Whitney

It seems that everyone has an opinion on the death of Whitney Houston. While normally I grumble about these things to myself and move on with my life, I feel compelled to say a little something this time.

I've always found it peculiar that everyone forgets these icons until they've died, then suddenly the icon is reborn, though in death. Links to videos, the sudden boom of cd sales, etc. I've always wondered, 'where were they BEFORE the death?' If you loved this person so much, why weren't you talking about them before they died? Where were the posts of those videos before? Why weren't the cd sales through the roof then? Odd.

Last night, I saw some video footage of Whitney's failed comeback tour in 2010. It was horrible, to say the least. She looked more than awful and sounded even worse than that. I couldn't believe my ears. Could this be the same Whitney that had belted out such beautiful music only years before? I wasn't the only one in shock over this. That tour was cancelled.

Then it dawned on me. Whitney Houston was dead long before her death. She killed her voice with cigarettes. She destroyed her body with alcohol and drugs. She had taken an amazing talent that most people can only dream of and crushed it. She could've had the world. She did have the world for a time. But she let it all go. And those were all HER choices. No one held a cigarette to her mouth and forced her to inhale. That was her. And while it's true that Bobby Brown may have played a role in her dug addiction, no one can force you to take drugs. That was once again all Whitney. She killed herself by not taking care of herself.

It was the same thing when Amy Winehouse died. Everyone tried to say she battled demons, she had an addiction, blah blah blah. Who isn't battling demons? Who doesn't have troubles at some point? These people have the money to get the best help possible, and they choose not to. Yes, they CHOOSE not to. They chose to start doing drugs, and they can choose to stop. And to all the people that say addiction is a disease, I say bullshit. Cancer is a disease. You can't stop having cancer. You can stop your addiction. If you choose.

Of course I feel bad for Whitney's family. It's hard to lose a loved one, no matter the cause. But do I think Whitney's face should be splattered all over television because 'poor Whitney was led to her death by her ex-husband'? No. Absolutely not.

And that's my take on Whitney.

 

Yay For Me!

So I spent all of yesterday formatting and uploading my ebooks to Amazon. I'm happy to announce that I've already made some sales. Am I breaking records? No. Am I topping the Bestseller lists? No. Do I expect to become part of the 1% anytime soon? No. Do I hate people who ask and answer their own questions? Yes. But it does tickle me to have already made sales so soon, and with virtually no advertising. Makes a gal feel warm and fuzzy inside. Of course that could be the medication. Or the alcohol. My point is that I'm excited and would like you to be too. If not, I'll share said alcohol, but not said medication. You must forage for your own as I have done. In the event that I do top those Bestseller lists and become one of the snotty, sneaky 1%, I'll let you know. Then it's alcohol AND medication for everyone!

Review of My Review

So I was perusing through some of my reviews the other day and I came across this little gem:

"Great beginning but then it became so unrealistic, how sad." One star.

Before I go any further, I'd like you to know that I'm not the type of person to whine over a review. I know that they won't all be good. I get it. But you should also know that I'm the type of person who wants to know why. Above all else, WHY? (I can't touch that? Why? You need to borrow some money? Why? You hate the color blue? Why? It's a curse, I tell you.) So you have a problem with my work? Fine. I'm cool with that. Just tell me why so I can sleep at night instead of staring at the ceiling, going over every word of the book, wondering what it was you didn't like. After all, the whole point of reviews is to help the author as well as the reader. It doesn't help me much if you don't tell me what you found unrealistic.

So I start thinking. Now if you're not familiar with Annie's Revenge (this may spoil it a bit for you if you haven't read it), it's about a girl who is raped in high school by 3 classmates. She spends years of her life plotting and exacting her revenge on them, one by one. When she gets to the last guy, things happen and she develops feelings for him. That's the part I'm thinking was referred to as 'unrealistic'.

As much as I try to ignore this review, it keeps nagging at me. So while I attempt to continue living my life as if I'd never read this (remember, it's not that they didn't like the book, it's that I don't know what they found so unrealistic about it), I think to myself what a shitty review that is. Sure, it started out flattering, saying it was a great beginning. I like that part. But the unrealistic part just gets my goat. Grinds my gears. Melts my butter. Spits in my ice cream.

For the love of all that's good, WHY?

And then I decide – screw 'em. If a mentally unbalanced, naive, emotionally fragile young woman developing feelings for one of her abusers is unrealistic, but a gigantic sewer-dwelling spider that manifests itself as a clown to lure young children into its lair isn't, so be it. Duly noted.

And after I post this steam-blowing blog post, I'll never think of this review again.

 

Worse Than Pirating by Robert Swartwood

I had no idea this sort of thing was going on, but must say that it doesn't surprise me. It's horrendous, and I will be keeping my eyes out for not only my work but for my fellow authors as well.

Worse Than Pirating.

"No Time," They Cried.

If you know me at all, you know that there a great many things that get under my skin and irk my nerves. Usually, I mouth off about it and move on with my life as best I can while surrounded by nerve-irkers. On this ever-growing list of annoyances of mine, are those people – and since there are so many of them, I'm sure you know at least a few – who are always complaining about how they don't have time to do things. "I don't have time," they whine and complain. Seriously? You don't have time? You sit at home all day, do virtually nothing, and yet still manage to not have time. Meanwhile, Joe & Jane Blow each have 2 jobs and go to school, and still manage to find time to keep their shopping done, their house clean, their 3 kids fed, clothed, and off drugs, and somehow squeeze in family trips and time with friends.

I suppose the pinnacle of this peeve of mine was when I mentioned to someone (one of the people I know that are ALWAYS going on about they have no time for anything yet sit at home all day doing absolutely nothing) that I had gotten a foot bath for my birthday. And this person said, (and I quote because for crying out loud, you can't make this stuff up) "I don't have time for a foot bath." Seriously?! You don't have five or ten minutes to soak your feet in delightful bubbly water?

Don't get me wrong. I know a lot of people are busier than a Mormon at a wife-swapping party. I get it. But what I don't get is how people (especially those with no jobs – by choice, I might add) can sit around and be so damn 'busy', yet never get anything done. If you ask me, they're just very lazy people who try to fool others into believing that they're not lazy just busy. 'I don't have time' sounds better than 'I just don't want to'.

Here's what it boils down to , folks. We all get the same 24 hours each and every day. It's up to each of us to whittle them away as we choose. If you're sitting on your ass doing nothing for the majority of those hours, don't whine to me about how you don't have time to get anything done. I know people who do more in a day than I do in a week, and on the other hand, I do more in a week than most people I know do in a year. I sport a great deal of hobbies, plus manage to keep up with my housework, read, write, take pictures, go on walks, and still have time to watch TV, socialize, and spend time with my son. Do I ever wish there were more hours in a day? Of course. But I always make time for the things I want to make time for. If I want to read more, I watch less TV. If I want to soak my feet in a foot bath, I do it while watching TV. That there, students, is what we call multitasking. Like sewing while watching TV, or getting in those social phone calls while cleaning. It's how the world really works. Prioritizing will take you far, kids.

SOPA and PIPA postponed indefinitely after protests – Jan. 20, 2012

Ha!

SOPA and PIPA postponed indefinitely after protests – Jan. 20, 2012.

25 Reasons Readers Will Quit Reading Your Story

I found this to be a fascinating, honest, and overall spot-on list and I immediately thought of you good people and just had to share.

25 Reasons Readers Will Quit Reading Your Story.

Epic Kindle Giveaway!

Authors Scott Nicholson, J.R. Rain, H.T. Night, and Aiden James are giving away free Kindle books, free Amazon gift cards, and free Kindle Fires from Jan. 11-13. Oh yeah. I said they're GIVING THEM AWAY. Makes ya think there just may be something to the whole 'writers are crazy' thing, huh?

Epic Kindle Giveaway.

Need a Laugh?

This is exactly why Konrath and Strand are among my relatively small group of favorite people. They're entertaining, to say the least. And if they have inflated egos, they keep them chained in the basement where no one can see them. Right next to the growing pile of human appendages.

So if you have a few minutes and are looking for a giggle, head on over to Konrath's place and read the interview with Strand. Or as I like to call it, two dudes talking at the lunch table in the mental hospital.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing.