Nora Snowdon's Blog, page 6

not all men...

Like everyone else I'm appalled by the murders in Isla Vista, California. The youtube video transcripts by this killer are scary in showing how mentally deranged a young man can be and yet still function in society. And worse is that his hatred and misogyny was supported and egged on by the MRA (Men's Rights Activists) until he slipped over into actually killing people. Then they took down his anti-women diatribes from their site. But the hatred lives on.

An article in Salon about male entitlement was fascinating and depressing. This article also has links to others about the harassment that women face daily just for the crime of being female and daring to speak their mind. 

And it seems like there are more stories daily of females being held captive as sex slaves, campus rapes and women being murdered by husbands or boyfriends. So where do these rapists, murderers, harassers come from, and how do we stop this war against women?

Chuck Wendig's blog Not All Men, But Still Too Many Men is an enlightened plea to other males to acknowledge that, yes, there are men who feel entitled, abuse women and are general douche bags. Not all men, but still too many men. His blog and call to action are far more eloquent than I can summarize, so read it.

And then we need to work to improve treatment for mental health issues, stop selling guns--if not to everyone then at least to all people with mental issues (which I believe includes current NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre) and find ways to counterbalance all the right-wing hatred being spewed towards women on the internet and on TV. Maybe we could ask the Great Pumpkin or Easter Bunny to help???

Smut Writing 101

Ever wondered if you too could write Elegant Smut?  Well check out my beginners' tutorial  Writing Elegant Smut 101  on Lisabet Sera's BlogSpot .  It could change your life.  And if not, just comment on that blog and maybe you'll win a copy of my latest short story, My Hero. It's the story of an Elegant Smut Writer who pursues the model from her book cover. Hint, things do not go well for our heroine...

Lessons From Rob Ford

Rob Ford is a lying, uncouth, idiot who abuses alcohol and drugs. And he doesn’t seem to be a very nice person either. There. I said it. Now all you Ford Nation apologists can lambast me with your indignant responses to my insults.

What? No takers?

Okay, insulting Rob Ford these days is much like shooting wildlife that has been drugged, blinded and placed in a tiny pen. Not very difficult. But there are some things we as writers can learn from the inimitable Mr. Ford. No. Honest.

Rob Ford has remarkable confidence. No matter the fact that the Toronto council has stripped him of all mayoral powers and funding, Rob Ford still believes that he is doing a good job as mayor. He still goes out there in the face of all the booing and jeering and says that he is not only a good mayor, but The Best F—ing Mayor Toronto has ever had.

Wow. If you could channel 1/80th of that confidence as a writer, the negative Amazon reviews (and you will always get some of those) and your cousin saying, “Well your book would’ve been so much better if you had only…” would just bounce off your back like quarters off your hero’s buns o’steel. (Well, not that I’ve ever tried bouncing quarters off any guy’s butt, but you get the idea.) Because as a writer, you need to get out there and promote your book without reservations. If you aren’t promoting your book like it’s the next blockbuster romance that will make readers weep with joy, they’ll find another book promising unmitigated entertainment and escapism.

Rob Ford is incredibly stubborn. Despite a massive outcry demanding he step down, the man is digging in deeper and campaigning for the next Toronto election. (And with at least 12 moderate mayoral wannabes splitting the sane voters, the election may be closer than  one would hope.)  

This tunnel-vision commitment would really serve those of us procrastinating writers well. Set your sights on the goal and just power forward. If someone distracts you, just bowl them down as if they were a city councilwoman. If someone tells you the statistics on how few writers actually make enough money from writing to actually support themselves, make up your own “facts” on how well you’re doing and stick to your fantasy figures like a hippo on Red Bull. Try it, it’s fun!

And lastly, Rob Ford has fabulous family and friends support. (Well not that his family is fabulous—drug dealers, addicts and god knows what else—but their support is phenomenal.)  As a writer it’s important to gather people around who like you and enjoy what you do. If your family is not inclined to read smut, find other writers and readers to give you positive feedback. You’ll need writers and editors to advise you on where your writing needs improvement—we all do—but you also should have some go-to yes-women for those times when you feel incompetent. (Damn you, grammar rules.) Maybe like the Ford Nation you could even name your fans something like Snowdonites, Snowdonistas, or whatever works with your name.

Rob Ford may be using his overblown ego and drive for evil, but you can use the same powers to smutify the world. Go forth, my friends, you are only about thirty drunken stupors away from your goals!

Spring Fling Blog Hop

I love writing romance. I enjoy inventing two diametrically opposed people, throwing fabulous chemistry and seemingly impossible obstacles and challenges at them and then sitting back and seeing how it all works out. And it’s great fun writing wacky secondary characters that almost always have to be reeled in lest they steal the story. Then there are the “Aha!” moments where you suddenly realize what would make their situation that much more intense. And of course the payoff when your characters (whom you’ve bonded with almost more than with the real people in your life, because unlike real life, you know everything they think and feel) come together for their happily-ever-after ending.

I love reading romance novels, as well. A good romance takes you back to the first stages of love where you couldn’t stop thinking about the man and smiling. When everything was new and exciting and a single glance or touch could set your heart racing.

But what about the effect of romance novels on women? Do they set up unrealistic expectations? If I read a glut of novels about witty, intelligent, gorgeous men who never have erectile dysfunctions, fart, or would rather watch golf than make mad passionate love on a Saturday afternoon, am I setting myself up for disappointment in any actual relationship?

In romance books the heroes are often more effusive in their claims of undying love and (because we can read their inner thoughts) we know they mean it. In real life we may not realize the immense depth of his love when he murmurs, “Hey, babe. What’s for dinner?”

Well, women expecting flesh and blood men to act like romance heroes would be like guys expecting to get to save the world with superpowers or defeat evildoers with their arsenal of James Bond gadgets. There is a large gap between fantasy and expectations. And a lot of times what we fantasize about isn’t even something we’d like in real life. I'm sure vampires, werewolves, and ruthless billionaires would all be too high maintenance for me. And those action heroes usually get pretty beaten up which wouldn’t be fun for the average thriller/suspense reading guy.

But to be momentarily transported into the exciting, over-the-top lives of heroes and heroines for the day/week that it takes us to read the book, gives us a much needed shot of adrenaline to help power through our day to day drudgery. So by all means, bring on the romance and let me experience the imaginary loves of my life.

Is there a literary or movie hero that has fueled your romantic dreams? The Count of Monte Cristo had me swooning for weeks. Leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win an arc of my most recent release, “ The French Resolution .”

Please use this link to get back to the blog hop to discover other authors and don't forget to scroll down past the names to get to the rafflecopter to win some fabulous prizes!
(And much thanks to Jane Wakely for organizing this hop!)



Dancing for a Change

I was reading yesterday's paper--I'm too cheap to have daily home delivery, so I just get a Friday hard copy and scan the rest of the week on-line--and I came across an astonishing article.  The federal government has rejected a mining project in B.C.?!  And supposedly for environmental reasons!?!? (at this rate I'm gonna run out of exclamation and question marks pretty damn quick.)  Here's the link to the article

.Hard to believe that the Harper is listening to environmentalists. Especially as he has defunded all the scientists who  previously questioned his plundering of our natural resources at all costs. So I broke out the champagne and did a happy dance that one environmentally devastating mining project had been stalled.  (From my years working at WWF, I realize that a "No." to mining companies just means push harder and throw more money at government officials and it will eventually go through, but even a delay in this process is a monumental step forward.)

Then I started reading various other articles on this ruling. (Caveat. As a pinko, tree-hugging leftist, all news articles must pass through my anti-government/pro let's try to keep some wildlife/wild spaces alive and viable filter.) These other articles highlighted the B.C. politicians' deep regret that the feds don't appreciate how they will force the company to curtail poisonous leakage from the tailings facility. And they questioned why the federal government was permitting equally destructive oilsands development in Alberta whilst denying their dirty money-maker.

So I also started to question the federal government's reasoning for rejecting this deal. (Not that I don't believe the mine should be stopped--we can't keep draining lakes, filling them instead with poison and not expect the inevitable ensuing tragedy when the groundwater is contaminated.)  I mean, why would a corporate slut like Harper suddenly learn to say "No" to a wealthy john like Taseko Mines?  Especially as Harper is currently circling the globe searching for new mega corps and countries to sell our resources to. (Don't get me started on FIPA and the TPP. My happy pills aren't strong enough for that discussion.)

No, what I wonder is why this particular project was rejected when Harper's team is hell-bent on killing the environmental for profit. Could this ruling be Harper's way of chastising BC for opposing the pipelines through our protected parks to transport Alberta's bitumen?  And will we suddenly face a series of negative ruling with future resource extraction applications. We can only hope. 

Even better would be if we could get Harper pissed off at Alberta so he'll turn down some of their crap in retaliation. Okay that's just a pipe dream. (hah!)  But meanwhile I plan on celebrating Harper's one environmentally responsible action regardless of the possible reasons behind it. We need something positive in amongst all the dirty dealings. And if this is all there is, then let's keep dancing...

Weight. You can't Win...

Like many females I have been waging the war against fat most of my life. I’ve tried the grapefruit and hard-boiled egg diet, the cabbage soup diet, Atkins, L. A. Weight Loss, no carbs, all carbs, and parts of a gazillion other diet fads. And all with varying results.

I lose a bunch of weight, am inordinately pleased with myself for about a year, and then my weight creeps up again when I go back to my regular eating habits. I have four sizes of clothes in my closet because I know that, regardless of my current state, my size will fluctuate. Resolutions to eat moderate portions and exercise regularly are useless. After forty-four years (Yes, my sister put me on a diet when I was eight) I no longer assume that I can have consistent self-control. The facts are, I love sweets, wine and carbs and am an emotional eater.

So why write about this lifelong struggle now? (And with people struggling just to survive, how do I even dare call my petty weight concerns a struggle? But considering the billions of dollars wasted on discovering and promoting diet aids, it feels like weight control is important. Certainly in the North American culture, appearance is equated to self-worth. Although I know better, subconsciously I still subscribe to the thin is good bullcrap.) Well, I’m losing weight now. And I’m not on some weird diet or excessive exercise program. I actually just got a minimum wage job that requires me to walk around a lot and doesn’t let me pick at food all day. Who knew?

I’m enjoying the approval and jealousy (or maybe that’s projection on my part) of my female friends for my new svelte figure. I bought clothes to show off the improved silhouette. (Although I’m surprised to find as a newly minted size ten, I still fit the large size in the clothing brands carried at Target. If size ten is large, does that mean six is medium and two is small? Are they unaware of the actual sizes of most women in North America? And wouldn’t it make more sense to scale your sizes the other way to make women feel better about themselves when shopping so they’ll buy more? But I digress.)

The weird thing is how good I feel about this odd fluke of my weight loss. Even knowing that it won’t last and that it really makes no difference in my daily life—yes, I’m getting congratulations from fellow weight-warriors, but am I getting asked out on dates? Am I getting raises at work due to being a more socially acceptable size? If I get run over by a car, will the insurance company suddenly increase how much money my relatives will receive for my demise? Nope.

I might be a little healthier for carrying 20 pounds less, but even this is debatable. Most research on weight is conducted by companies hoping to make money off various diet drugs and schemes. So why do we let advertisers and major corporations bully us into thinking we should strive to be thin? Just looking at the famous models today you can see that most are unnaturally skinny. (The fashion biz has now started propping up stick figures with inflated boobs to pretend that they support healthier body weights. Yeah, right. That’s healthy.)  

So on the one hand I’m glad and strangely proud of not being overweight, on the other hand I feel stupid for allowing myself to be emotionally manipulated in this way. But if I’m going to feel fat and unattractive when I regain these pounds, shouldn’t I allow myself to enjoy their absence? Sometimes I hate being a woman. Yes, men also experience this pressure to conform physically to an attractive ideal, but certainly not from as young an age and so unremittingly throughout their lives. I hope the younger generation of females can fight back, I apparently have been too strongly brainwashed.  

Energy or the Environment?

I am getting increasingly frustrated by newspaper articles and letters implying that if I drive, or use any product that requires oil, gas or electricity, I have to be in favour of the bloody pipelines, tarsands development and fracking.

No. I don't.

I know that much of my life relies on these commodities and that we are still far away from finding cleaner alternatives. But just because we need some, doesn't mean that we should give resource companies free rein to demolish the environment in a rush to extract all the oil immediately. These new or widened pipelines are only required because these huge energy companies (and their political puppets) want to make as much money as they can before we discover alternative fuel sources or enforce cleaner extraction methods. It's not for sustainability, but instead for an instant cash grab.

The ill-conceived pipeline running through pristine parks and vulnerable rivers is a prime example of greed over the common good. Yes, there will be employment in the building of the line, and again more employment when the next massive oil leak clean-up is required. But the majority of the money and benefits will go to whichever international conglomerates the Harper government bestows the contracts on.

(The government will also make some money which they will use to pretend that, yes, they are balancing the budget. Considering how much of our money they've already wasted in advertising what good, caring, individuals these behemoth companies are, and in doing pro-gas environmental studies, the actual bucks they'll come ahead with has already been severely diminished. On a side note, think how much good all that money could've done researching clean energy alternatives.)

B.C. and Alberta fighting over royalties is annoying. The only discussion should be, how the hell do we get the inevitable disaster cleaned up when the pipeline breaks and/or the oil tanker runs aground? Saying that new safety standards will be implemented without ensuring they are in place before any ground is broken, is mere political posturing. It's especially galling after all the environmental monitoring agencies have been disabled. If a pipeline leaks in the wilderness, but no government agency reports it, can we just pretend it didn't happen?

There are incredible messes left behind from Exxon Valdez and the BP oil disaster in the gulf of Mexico. There are so many other leaks that newspapers have stopped reporting on the ongoing (we hope)clean-up efforts. Pipelines seem to be leaking and/or exploding on a regular basis. And yet the government and gas companies keep saying how safe they are. Bullshit! Harper just wants the money now to make him look good and then he'll pretend to be shocked and dismayed when the disasters occur. And he'll blame others when taxpayers are left on the hook for the majority of clean-up.

It's not as though there's not a hell of a lot of precedencies. Lac Megantic was screwed by the train company disassociating itself from its parent company so they could avoid paying. This would seem to be a major concern with tankers as well. They can be registered in foreign countries and claim no ability to pay the billions to restore the environment even half-way.

And after the devastation, somehow the CEOs of the companies involved will still get their million dollar bonuses, Harper will still pretend to be a fiscal conservative by propping up his government by pimping our resources, and the Canadian taxpayer will end up more in debt and with pollution problems rivalled only by China. (Although we can keep them below us in this department by shipping them bitumen so they can make their country completely uninhabitable. Always good to have someone you can point at as being in worse condition.)

I'm going back to bed...

the waiting game

One very frustrating part about writing as a business is the waiting. Generally it takes me a while to write, edit, get my works critiqued and  then re-edited before they are ready to be sent out in search of publication.  This all must take into account writer's blocks, procrastination, my friends' writing/critiquing schedule and just plain, 'I don't wanna!' time.

(You may think that IDW time is actually procrastination or writer's block, but it's a different beast involving intense hatred of the characters and/or their problems and not knowing whether to fix them or abandon ship. I sometimes wonder about all the half-formed relationships and cliff-hangers I 've left dangling in cyberspace. What f they all actually exist in some parallel universe? Will they meet up with other authors' forsaken protagonists and create their own endings? But I digress...)  

So when a story is ready to go out and face the world, I'm all over it. Last night I finished editing, "My Hero."  It's a short story (5,000 words) and I even knew which magazine I planned to send it to.  Yeah!

So imagine my distress when I checked the website and found my first choice publisher wasn't accepting new submissions until January 15!  I was discombobulated!  (I know, only two days away, but I'm an instant gratification kind of gal. I was ready to send it at 2AM last night and was thwarted. Thwarted, I tell you!)  

Usually the waiting game is after you've sent your baby out into the cruel world and you're waiting to hear if it has passed muster, but this is a new kind of torture.  I feel like I'm caught in limbo.  I should go back to writing "texas hold 'em"  about the racehorse trainers.  Or back to "psychics anonymous" which is actually at the 2/3rd mark, but I like to feel "My Hero" is out there before I move on.  Or back, as the case may be. 

And whenever there's a lull between writing projects, I get a few new shiny projects dancing in my head.  I was thinking about a story (probably a short one) where a woman finds a kitten who then turns out to be a witch's cat. (Fuzzy Magic as the title???)  This cat has magical powers but may not actually do what the hapless new owner wants.  But I'm trying to decide how much mayhem the cat would create beyond (of course) endless amounts of cat treats and toys...

What will I do now? Which story will win out in the race to fruition? And will I get over my devastation at having to wait?  Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Nora, Smut Writer in Process.

But meanwhile I think I'll look into the profiterole and wine situation. Or maybe there's still some chocolate around here somewhere...

It's All about Me!

I was asked to join an unusual blog hop by fellow writer and friend, Roxanne Snopek . She sent me four question about my writing which I will answer below, and then I was to tag two other writers to answer the same questions on their blogs next week. (those authors and their links will follow.)  So here goes...

What am I working on now?

Well, thank you for asking! I am currently working on a romance novel set in the world of thoroughbred horse racing. My hero is a Kentucky Derby winning trainer from San Antonio, Texas. (partially based on the trainer of Mine That Bird several years ago--he made a fabulous hero until he opened his mouth... )  My heroine is a slightly odd assistant trainer who has mostly worked for her alcoholic father who owned/trained low class claimers. After an unusual poker game, she finds herself working for the hero and much troubles, sex, and horse racing ensue. -oh and probably a murder or two, but not the hero or heroine because that would not be particularly romantic...

I'm also working on a semi-autographical short story about a romance author who is stalking her cover model.  So far things are not looking good for our heroine. sigh.

How does your work differ from others writing in your genre?

I like to think my sense of humour and Canadian spelling set my novels apart from the teeming masses of romance novels being produced hourly.

Why do I write what I do?

Hmm. When I was younger I used to want to write Important Novels that would win prestigious literary prizes and astound everyone with my brilliance.  Then after life kicked me around a bit (as it does to most people at some point over the age of 25) I found I no longer enjoyed reading intense and depressing tomes and instead gravitated to chick-lit and comedy. My writing style followed my reading choices and voila, I now write Elegant Smut!

How does my writing process work?

Process? What chu talkin about Willard? Sorry, that was a very old reference. I am not much of a planner when it comes to my writing. (or my life.)  I mostly have a vague idea about some characters I want to try and I figure an interesting way to get them together. Then I throw obstacles at them and see what happens. I tried plotting a novel in advance once, but I found that after I already knew what happened, I didn't want to write the damn thing. I sometimes have plot-envy of my more organized writing friends, but I'm sure they envy me for something as well. (probably my cat, Molly. she's pretty great!) 

So that's it for my part of this chain-blog hop. Next week (Jan 13th to be precise) please check out my friends Alicia Dean and Holley Trent as they reveal their deepest and darkest writing secrets.




Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma and is the mother of three grown children. Alicia loves creating spine-chilling stories that keep readers on the edge of their seats. She writes paranormal and romantic suspense for several different publishers and was one of the launch authors for Amazon’s Kindle Worlds with two Vampire Diaries stories and one Gossip Girl story.   She's a huge Elvis Presley fan, and loves MLB and the NFL. If you look closely, you'll see a reference to one or all three in pretty much everything she writes. If she could, she would divide all her time between writing, watching her favorite television shows-such as Dexter, Vampire Diaries, Justified, Gossip Girl, and True Blood-and reading her favorite authors...Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Lisa Gardner to name a few.
Alicia's blog is at: www.AliciaDean.com



Holley Trent is a Carolina girl gone west. Raised in rural coastal North Carolina, she's a lady with Southern sensibilities, but in 2011 her adventurous spirit drove her to Colorado for new experiences. 
She writes sassy, sexy contemporary romances and fantasy/paranormal romances set in her home state.                       Her protagonists regularly fall victim to her odd sense of humor and find themselves in improbable situations (with happily-every-after outcomes). Holley's cast of characters tends to swear, drink and do a fair amount of carousing, but they're generally well-intentioned and obey all laws and ordinances. 
Usually. 
Her work is available from Calliope Romance/Musa Publishing, Crimson Romance, and Lyrical Press. 
When she has a bit of free time, she self-publishes cross-genre stories ranging from romantic chick-lit to spicy paranormal/romantic suspense
Holley Trent's blog is at:.  http://holleytrent.com/blog/

Prediction Time!

Hey kids. It's that time again. Last year my predictions may have been a tad off, but this year I think I've got 'em nailed. I'll apologize in advance for some of the more obvious ones--predicting an ailing 93 year old's demise is much easier than that of a healthy 23 year old. And suggesting Charlie Sheen gets arrested for bad behaviour under the influence, well, that's a given. So without further ado...

1) John Boehner runs for president. His campaign slogan? "Orange is the new black."

2) Rob Ford makes an ass of himself, gains more supporters.

3) Drug crackdown in NHL. Quel surprise, they're all clean!

4) Justin Beiber checks into rehab for "rest."

5) Google buys Monsanto and creates a genetically modified search engine.

6) Blackberry gives up. Finally.

7) Gene Simmons buys a vacuum on sale at Target.

8) Snow storm in Florida. Seniors move north to Canada to avoid cold weather.

9) Major drought in Russia. Putin surprises no one by taking off his shirt.

And that's it for 2014. Feel free to add your own predictions in the comment section. Happy New Year!