Kimberly A. Bettes's Blog, page 5

Those Poor Celebrities

I don’t know how I get sucked into these things. My unending curiosity, I suppose. But I just spent several nonrefundable minutes of my life looking through before and after photos of celebrities who’ve ruined their face with plastic surgery. There’s just something about it that gets to me. So if you don’t mind, I’m gonna rant about it for a minute.

When I was a kid, I really wanted to be an actress. However, now that I’m grown and see how the world really is, I’m glad I never pursued that dream.

I’m a writer. I sit at my keyboard and pound on the keys in the privacy of my own home. No one sees me. I don’t wear make-up, I don’t fix my hair, and I don’t have to look glamorous. Most of the time I’m not even wearing pants, if you want to know the truth. Like now. No pants. I also pretty much live in t-shirts and sweatpants. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you it’s true. Sure, I have jeans and dress clothes, but I’m much more comfortable being, well, comfortable. I hate wearing make-up. I hate fixing my hair. I hate dressing up. And in my line of work, I don’t have to do any of those things. I can be whatever I want to be and look any way I want to look.

Actors don’t have that luxury. If they dare to go out without all the glitz and glamor that fans expect from their celebrities, then photos of the star are spread throughout the media, garnering laughs and jokes because how dare they go out like that? How dare they venture out into the world as they really are? When you’re an actor, your entire career is based on your looks. It should be based on your ability to act, but let’s be honest, it’s not. It’s based on looks. And once those looks fade, bye-bye career. Bye-bye A list. It’s over.

So the celebrities do what they feel is necessary to boost their career. They get cosmetic surgery. They desperately try to hold on to that glory, to stay on top of the world as the #1 actor or actress. And they’ll do whatever it takes to stay there. They’ll starve themselves. They’ll suck fat out of their asses and shoot it into their lips. They’ll slice off pieces of their face and sew it up to smooth out a few wrinkles. They’ll rearrange the cartilage in their nose. They’ll sew bags of saline into their breasts. They’ll do whatever it takes to stay on top. And that’s absolutely horrible.

See, for them, for the celebrities, it’s a no-win situation. If they grow old gracefully, they’ll be ridiculed for letting themselves go, for not getting a little touch-up here and there. And if they do go under the knife, they’re ridiculed for getting the surgery, especially when it’s botched or they go overboard and get one or two too many surgeries. I hate to name names here, but let’s look at what happened to Jennifer Grey. All she had was a nose job and it basically ended her career. Before she had the surgery, people said she was beautiful ‘but her nose is ugly, she should do something about it’. Do you see? Do you see how unfair it is? Have some celebrities gone absolutely over the top with their surgeries? Definitely. But I see why they did it. And that’s why I’m glad I chose not to purse my acting dream.

Happy New Year!

Way back in 2013 my social media feeds were filled with folks complaining about what a horrible year they’d had and how they just couldn’t wait for it to end. Well 2013 was a pretty good year for me. But then 2014 rolled around and BAM! I got what all those other folks had in 2013. Between multiple surgeries, a stream of health issues, and constantly battling insurance companies, I felt their pain, albeit a year late. Though 2014 wasn’t all bad (I did manage to squeeze in a living room renovation and write a couple books), I was more than happy to see it end. My only hope now is that 2015 will be good to me. And to you. Cheers!

Winner!

The winner of the signed copy of 22918 is…*drum roll, please*…JIM BROWN!!!

Congratulations, Jim! Thanks to all who have read 22918 and left a review.

Giveaway!

Kimberly A Bettes:

Just a reminder that you could win a FREE signed copy of 22918!!

Originally posted on Kimberly A. Bettes:

I mentioned on Facebook a week or so ago that I was going to have a giveaway for a signed paperback copy of 22918, and I promised the details would come. These are those details.

So here’s what I’m thinking. It’s super hard to get folks to leave a review for a book. Not sure why. It only takes a minute, but still it’s like asking for volunteers to get a root canal. I thought maybe this would help persuade the reluctant people to get that root canal. I mean leave a review! Yeah. A review. No root canals.

Not today.

If you leave a review for 22918 over at Amazon, send me an email to let me know. I’ll write all your names on a piece of paper, jostle them up in a bowl, and draw a name. That person will win the signed copy of 22918.The…

View original 160 more words

Giveaway!

I mentioned on Facebook a week or so ago that I was going to have a giveaway for a signed paperback copy of 22918, and I promised the details would come. These are those details.

So here’s what I’m thinking. It’s super hard to get folks to leave a review for a book. Not sure why. It only takes a minute, but still it’s like asking for volunteers to get a root canal. I thought maybe this would help persuade the reluctant people to get that root canal. I mean leave a review! Yeah. A review. No root canals.

Not today.

If you leave a review for 22918 over at Amazon, send me an email to let me know. I’ll write all your names on a piece of paper, jostle them up in a bowl, and draw a name. That person will win the signed copy of 22918.The drawing will take place on December 12th. That should be enough time for the winner to receive the book in time for Christmas. If you’ve already left a review, you’re still entered. Just send me an email.

In the email, I’ll need a couple of things:

1) A link to your review

2) Your physical address (so I know where to send the book)

Don’t worry. I won’t show up on your doorstep. Although I know there are at least a couple of you who would absolutely love that. But I won’t mention any names…RODNEY!

So that’s it. That’s all you have to do. Be honest in your review. Don’t feel that you have to schmooz me with a 5 star review to be entered in the drawing. Honest reviews are what I’m after. I’ll post the winner all over the place when the name is drawn.

Thanks in advance for your reviews and good luck to all of you!

22918

For those of you who have been waiting patiently, your wait is over. My newest novel 22918 is here!

 

 

 

Lester Wine is a serial killer. Having brutally murdered dozens of women, he serves out his final days on death row. As his execution date nears, he recounts his story to a young journalist and budding author, telling every gory detail of his life and of the crimes he committed, all while fantasizing about the chance to do them one more time.

22918 is available now at Amazon.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday

When I was a kid, I hated Sundays. Saturdays were great because there were cartoons in the morning, usually followed by a full day of one activity or another. But Sundays were always horrible days. It seemed everyone stayed home to recoup that day, which meant I had no other kids to play with and nowhere to go. And what was on TV was the farthest thing from appealing. We only had one television and 13 channels. My step-dad spent the day watching pretty much the only thing that was on Sundays — black and white shows (which I loathed at the time) like The Three Stooges, Andy Griffith, and of course westerns and Kung Fu movies. I hated them the worst.

When I was older, I spent my Sundays relaxing after working all week. While the laundry washed and dried, I stretched out on the couch and watched movies. It was nice to have a day off, really off. A day to leave out my contact lenses and just lounge around with no bra and no pants (the ladies know what I mean). When I wasn’t working Saturdays, I used that day to do my running around, taking the husband and the son out for shopping and eating and having fun. So a day of rest was necessary.

Now that I’m the ripe old age of 36, Sundays have taken on a slightly different meaning. Since I work from home now, I don’t have to catch up on laundry and cleaning on Sunday. I keep up with it throughout the week. But I do still see it as a day of rest, a day to come down from the previous week and psych myself up for the upcoming week. Better still are Sundays during the winter, when football season is in full swing. The husband watches the game while I take a nap, read a book, work, clean, or just stretch out and watch football with him. Days like today. The game is on. I’m going to do some editing and then watch a few episodes of Doctor Who with my son. Quality time well spent on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

So how do you spend your Sundays?

I Stand With Stephen King

So the daughter of serial killer Dennis Rader is upset over Stephen King’s story A GOOD MARRIAGE, claiming that it’s based on her father’s story and exploits her father’s victims. Here’s my take on the matter…

As a writer I know what it’s like to read/hear/see something and be inspired to write a story. I’ve based many of my stories on actual events, most of which are serial killer-related. Can you tell? No, because they’re not accounts of THAT story. They’re completely different stories, only INSPIRED by that story. Which, if the statement from King that I read is true, is what happened in this case. King read of the Rader situation, particularly the part about Rader’s wife being totally unaware of her husband’s actions, and was inspired to write a story about a wife who stumbles upon a box in her garage that contains proof of her husband’s crimes. It’s not about Rader or his victims. It’s a story about a woman who suddenly learns that her husband of over 20 years is a serial killer. While I read the story years ago when it was first released, not once did Dennis Rader’s name come to mind. In fact, I was reminded of Gary Ridgeway and his wife, who also was unaware of her husband’s murderous ways. Ridgeway killed more than 50 women and his wife never knew anything about it. He’s who came to mind while I read the story. Not Rader. This story is a reflection of ANY wife or spouse of ANY criminal who was unaware of the crimes of their significant others. For her to claim it’s based on her father and exploits his victims is nonsense and untrue.

Every story ever written comes from somewhere. Something we’ve read, something we’ve seen, something we’ve heard. That’s what inspiration is. It’s hearing/seeing/reading something and having it trigger your thoughts, sending your mind whirring at the possibilities of a story. Because believe it or not, there’s a story in EVERYTHING. A simple trip to the supermarket could erupt into a full-blown kidnapping complete with police corruption, botched ransom drops, and a happy reunion with your family at the end. A power outage in an apartment building becomes a terrifying horror story with evil monsters lurking in the darkened corners. Everything is inspiration when you’re a writer. There’s no turning it off, no stopping it.

King did nothing wrong in this case. This woman is really reaching if she wants to claim that story is based on her father and exploiting his victims. It’s a wildly ridiculous claim and makes me wonder if it’s not she who wants to exploit the situation. And you know what? I do believe there’s a story there…

 

The Hunger (A Short Story)

Things are different now. Life has been replaced by death. The population has decreased immensely due to the many dangers in this strange new post-apocalyptic world. Life—what of it is left—is different than it was before in every way but one. Those who are left still need to eat.

There’s just one problem.

The food supply is gone.

Click here to get THE HUNGER now.

Available now!

The Kindness of Strangers

It’s 2 AM. She leaves work and begins the long drive home, exhausted after another twelve-hour shift. Suddenly a tire explodes on a desolate stretch of highway, leaving her stranded at the side of the road. With no jack and no cell phone reception, her only option is to wait in the car…and depend on the kindness of strangers.

Available now!