What I Learned in 2012


FIAT LUX
It's waaaaaaaay too easy to shop online.Computer experts predict the Internet will soon be unable to accommodate all the blog tours going on. I'm getting nervous about people showing up at my house, demanding books and chocolate.Kindle with wifi off is far preferable to Kindle with wifi on.My underarm hair has mysteriously disappeared. I think it's now in JLA's ears.I still don't understand contests -- primarily, how they're judged and why writers shell out good money to to enter them (when, that is, the shelling out of money is required).Now that I have my own sanctum sanctorum in the house, my fondest dream is to have an unlimited movie-buying budget. I absolutely love whiling away the weekends watching movies!Dogs keep me sane.Maintaining gardens during a drought is hard work and often depressing.I'm a sucker for vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements, even though I have no concrete evidence they do any kind of good whatsoever.I suspect I'd earn more as an editor than a writer.My aversion to m/f romance has passed the point of no return.M/m romance saved me money by keeping me from buying Season 5 of "Queer as Folk." I couldn't stand watching an ending that wasn't a HEA or HFN.Readers can be weird.Writers can be weirder.Only Lanyon's Jake Riordan can get away with calling his sweetheart -- Adrien, of course -- "baby." (WTF is that about?)I can make money on Craigslist . . . and not by being an escort. (Yeah, had to give that up.)I'm going to chew the baseboards if Bart Yates doesn't release another book pretty soon.Crap rises to the top more easily than cream.I can live without a cell phone.My tolerance for small talk, ill-behaved children, homophobic bullshit, Internet wankery, and people without a sense of humor has reached an all-time low.Twitter is no longer a mystery to me.Facebook remains a mystery to me.Pinterest has no discernible reason for being.The Green Bay Packers aren't the worst team in the NFL, but they're far from the best.There's no longer any excuse for bad cover art.Goodreads is only good for me when I avoid my books' pages as well as the M/M Romance group.I'll never again be as prolific a writer as I once was.Now that I'm addicted to Gorton's tilapia, Marie Callender's Parmesan chicken pot pies, Progresso soups, Arby's roast beef sandwiches, Southern Comfort egg nog, and Heath candy bars, I no longer need to cook.I can keep my clothing budget to $12 a year by taking advantage of my local resale shop's bag sales.I'm sick to death of politics and politicians.Gun worship gone mad, schools turning out idiots, Christian fundamentalism, and the lack of universal heath care are our biggest national embarrassments.Only if I'm extraordinarily lucky will Merman have any readers once it's published.I'd like to write another YA novel, maybe set in the 1950s or '60s.  
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Published on January 10, 2013 17:01
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message 1: by K.Z. (new)

K.Z. Snow Sorry, guys! In its original form, this is a bulleted list. Needless to say, formatting doesn't carry over from blogs. :(


message 2: by Tam (new)

Tam I hate that part about GR. Also if you use pictures use pictures, it always reverts them to the original size, no matter how big/small you make them.


message 3: by K.Z. (new)

K.Z. Snow And knocks 'em out of order, too.


Experiment BL626 I can make money on Craigslist . . . and not by being an escort. (Yeah, had to give that up.)

That's a pity. You will be missed. :3


message 5: by Douglas (new)

Douglas Why the downer on Goodreads? Your books always get such good reviews.


message 6: by K.Z. (new)

K.Z. Snow Experiment BL626 wrote: "That's a pity. You will be missed. :3"

So my former clients have told me. It brings a tear to my eye, I'll tell ya. :'(


message 7: by K.Z. (last edited Jan 11, 2013 06:17PM) (new)

K.Z. Snow Douglas wrote: "Why the downer on Goodreads? Your books always get such good reviews."

I love Goodreads . . . as a reader. It's a gathering place for readers. But it can be a stressful place for writers. I learned this from past personal experience and I'm still learning it through other authors, many of whom repeatedly come unglued over GR and Amazon reviews.

We're a neurotic breed to begin with. Why make it worse? Besides, readers need a place to express and exchange opinions without feeling like authors are continually peering over their shoulders, monitoring every word they say.


message 8: by Ami (new)

Ami Hell yeah, Jake is the only one who can get away with calling his sweetheart, baby!! :-)


message 9: by Emma Sea (new)

Emma Sea I kinda like the stream of consciousness effect :)


message 10: by K.Z. (last edited Jan 12, 2013 07:47AM) (new)

K.Z. Snow Ami wrote: "Hell yeah, Jake is the only one who can get away with calling his sweetheart, baby!! :-)"

Oh no, Ami, take that back! :) (I do agree it's very sexy coming from Jake. One can almost hear his voice.)


message 11: by K.Z. (new)

K.Z. Snow Emma wrote: "I kinda like the stream of consciousness effect :)"

You must be a glutton for verbal punishment. :-D


message 12: by Chris (new)

Chris I love the bit about the blog tours. :D


message 13: by K.Z. (new)

K.Z. Snow Chris wrote: "I love the bit about the blog tours. :D"

Seriously, every time I turn around there's another blog tour going on! That's why I envisioned some of them being rerouted into RL, and waking up one day to find a busload of readers in the driveway. ;-)


message 14: by Ami (new)

Ami K.Z. wrote: "Oh no, Ami, take that back! :) (I do agree it's very sexy coming from Jake.(I do agree it's very sexy coming from Jake. One can almost hear his voice.) ..."

What, no, I'm serious. "Baby" has become of the of my major pet peeves. I even looked for that word first whenever I start a new MM romance because, well, I want to know how often that word would appear, since I have to prepare myself for some eye rolling and gagging.

Except for Jake. Whenever Jake calls Adrien baby, I just turn into goo.


message 15: by Emma Sea (new)

Emma Sea Ami wrote: "What, no, I'm serious. "Baby" has become of the of my major pet peeves."

It may be connected that I like both "baby" and fictional non-con. Two horrible things that are good in fantasy.


message 16: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen You have at least one reader for Merman already, KZ, cos I'm climbing the walls waiting for it, here!


message 17: by Jen (new)

Jen <3 this post. :D


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