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On James Frey, many notable authors have you covered. It seems that these writers may well be correct. There should be a business component to a writer’s education. We have some of this in genre fiction as well. Desperation or desire to publish will get writers to take less than stellar deals, rather than having their work not shown to the world. No preaching here. A writer has to decide what publishing is worth to them. That said, be careful out there. Use sites like Predators and Editors, one of the many sites to help you avoid stepping into steaming piles of James Frey since 1997.

That’s not what I’m talking about today.

It is difficult sometimes to remember why I started writing. The whole of it gets swallowed up in goals and deadlines, things that don’t work, revision, kind of the crafty bits. I know there’s not enough here to hold me. Believe me, I don’t need another thing to wear myself out on.

And yet, I am still here. What’s that about?

Continue reading “Authentically Living Living Authentically”

This weekend, I’ve met a couple of goals. I’ve planned a trip to Las Vegas for me and the husband. We’ll be flying out and back the last weekend in January to stay at the Luxor and see a couple of Cirque de Soleil shows. After I get back to work on Tuesday, I’ll be taking Friday off to then fly out to a writer’s workshop in Vegas, although the details of that have yet to be quite worked out.

I also finished all of my employee evaluations, finally.

But I know, you’re here for the shoes. These ones strike me as very much the future was then, and I could see Jane Jetson or one of the women from Meet the Robinsons wearing this little number. They also come in red, but I like them in the blue. And where you can order them? This is Fluevog’s Dollface shoe, a steal at only $255!

No, I’m not out of groovy Fluevog shoes. That’s the problem, init?

***

It’s going to be a really busy week as we register ELA students. I’m planning to get back tonight after Bible study and work on sending out this week’s agent queries. I have a post brewing about doing art (oh dear) and a goal to get a rough draft of Were-humans knocked out by Friday, so I can get that shaped into something that’s workable for Vegas.

As we sign off, we ask the musical question…is it a good sign that the agents are this quiet? Last time I did this, I received a lot of quick rejections, as well as requests for partials. This time, maybe people are more busy with more submissions and…Christmas shopping?

Gotta go feed the cats.

Catherine

I’m looking for some recommendations, and I will do a serious search for these next week, but what I need is some sort of computer program that organizes a time line. I have a multi-generational interconnected series of books, and I need a time line of significant historical events interspersed with significant events in my characters lives. It seems to me someone out there must have made this possible.

I could also use good character exploration software. My guess is that the problem here will not be whether or not something is available, but what is good among what’s available.

Any suggestions you have would really help.

Catherine

I am full of virtue. I have managed to wrangle some of MY work under control. Six more employee evaluations to write this weekend, and I am ready to register and roll next week.

I’m having a lot of fun posting pictures of great shoes. Without further adieu,

I’m loving these little olive and brown darlings. These also come in an attractive black and red. I see these with a nice 30s or 40s frock. If you have suggestions, I’m up to having my vintage bell pinged as well.

BTW, regrettably, I am getting no kick backs or discounts from Fluevog for bringing you their shoes. I am only getting the yumminess of looking at my favorite pairs of their shoes.

***

Recently, there has been a little backlash about too much steampunk. Well, yeah. And while we’re at it, at some time or another, there’s been too many vampires, too much high fantasy, too many zombies, too many classic novels mixed with some sort of monster trend, a lot of fan fiction about books that copyright has expired on, and a whole lot of paranormal romance featuring women’s torsos on their covers.

Because at one point or another, these things have sold, what happens is the publishing industry banks on more of these selling. And truth to tell, some people can’t get enough of a certain kind of thing.

Yet, at the same time, publishers are looking for the next gamble, the next thing. What’s a writer to do? What’s a reader to do?

What you always do. Writers, write what you want to write. Readers, read what you want. Writers, don’t worry about popularity or commercialism. Readers, walk away from what you don’t want to read, no matter how tired you are of its effects around you.

Continue reading “Literary Live and Let Live”

1. Internet buddies, you are the best.

2. Mary Robinette Kowal, John Scalzi, Aliette de Bodard and Miranda Suri on NaNoWriMo. Just write already!

3. Mary Robinette Kowal is on a roll, with There’s Nothing Wrong with Being an Amateur Writer When You Write Because You Love It.

4. I’ve been meaning to share this for a while. Catrina Horsfield introduced me to Fluevog. This is some serious shoe porn for people who have some extra cash. One of my favorite pairs?

Freakin’ Mary Poppins, y’all!

There are so many groovy pairs there, I don’t know where to start shopping. Something for the Steampunker in us all.

All right. I’m supposed to be doing work. I’d better be doing some.

Thank you, Amazon, personally, from me, for removing the book.

I think you may have done your reputation irreversible damage by first defending the book, and then removing the book. You might have done better by yourselves to actually have had an internal code. Now what you’ve done is upset every body.

I would also like to thank you for removing RapeLay earlier in the month, although I am surprised you didn’t see The Pedophile’s Guide as provocative in the same three-day period.

At any rate, thank you. No, I won’t be returning to your company. I find that among removing gay and lesbian titles as obscene, penalizing my writer friends who happened to work for Macmillan, making arbitrary free speech decisions, and shaking me to my very core yesterday, that I’m out of straws. You’ve used your last one.

I, for one, welcome our new Barnes and Noble Overlords.

***

I promise you a very frivolous post next. Being this serious blows chunks.

Catherine

PS Lorna update. We are certain she will be out another six weeks, as she just had an obstruction removed, which should solve her problem. Since the surgery was major and abdominal, it will take a while to heal. But we are getting a competent substitute for her, so some of the burden will be lifted from our shoulders.

ETA: This is the best commentary I’ve seen on the entire subject. I agree with the author that what has been addressed is a symptom of a problem, rather than a problem itself. What happens next is the issue, and my guess is that people will assume that this is the problem addressed and go back to placid denial.

As I said at the end of my angry post, I suggested that as a society we don’t do the ground work to protect children. On the news this morning, there was abjuration to help my state’s Human Services division, who had ten percent of their budget cut, to help watch for abuse cases. Riiiigggghhhhtttt.

I just can’t get away from this today. It’s like touching a sore tooth. You know you shouldn’t touch the damned tooth, so you avoid it, and there you are again, touching the damned tooth.

So, I’m going to take a deep breath, and be okay with owning my disappointment and anger and triggeriness.

And thanks to all of you who have understood and offered support.

And apparently I’m going to be a little angry and bitter, but that’s okay too. My journal, my free speech.

An example of how the story is hitting the national news. There are several other places on the Internet essentially repeating the same story. Note that Amazon supported a similar book in 2002. Free speechers, no need to debate. Amazon’s got your back.

Even though they didn’t have mine. My very rational letter was pulled down from the web site. Although I understand that the decision of removal might have belonged to Phillip Greaves, paragon of free speech. (ETA: Livia Llewellyn let me know my letter is back up under Kim’s review, although many of Greaves’ response posts in that thread have been removed by Amazon about an hour ago. I will make updates to this post as things continue (or not) to mutate.)

The book is as of this entry approaching number 5000 in the Kindle store, making our pedophile guide writer a serious amount of cash. (ETA: Jim Hines tells me this is about $20. Thanks, Jim. That at least makes me feel better.) Good for you, Mr. Greaves! I’m sure my brother will buy a copy and see if there are new tricks he can learn. My dad’s dead, so there’s a copy you won’t be selling. Looks like you don’t need his revenue though. Not that peds are the only ones buying. Thank you also, gawkers, for supporting this effort. Maybe you can set up a foundation for misunderstood molesters or something with the proceeds.

And thank you, Amazon, for getting this guy’s back. I’m thinking you were in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t position as far as the general public was concerned. What a PR nightmare for you! I’m sure the money you make, however little, will balm the wound a bit.

I also understand intellectually why you did this. Emotional!Catherine, however, is making the decision to transfer all her business elsewhere. Oh look, I’m back now, after sending you the email about canceling my account. Hey, none of my books are making you any kind of this percentage. Enjoy. No one said you had to censor the guy. We were advocating that you don’t have to distribute the guy. Nicely done, on behalf of all of pedophilia victims everywhere.

I can’t sum up my feelings about this any better than goodconceited does. Because you know, he’s angry enough for me too. I was trying to convince you all that I could be rational and normal about this, I don’t know, to give us victims some sort of credibility. But for you all, it’s just another issue to toss around in a dispassionate kind of way. And the pedophile gets all the news of the day. Wonderful. Nice. Feeling really good about that.

After I get over my anger and pain, I’m probably going to do something constructive with this. Not that whatever we do will get half the attention or sell half the books that the pedophile book will. Because you know, we live in a society that will defend the rights of a pedophile to sell a how-to book on Amazon, but won’t do the work necessary to keep kids like the child I was safe.

Unless of course, Mr. Greaves, you aren’t a pedophile, but only write guides for them. That makes you a different kind of reprehensible, but I don’t want to slander you.

Catherine

Damn it.

Regarding: The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure

My response:

Mr. Greaves:

You can scream whatever you wish about societal conditioning, but there are certain things about this that can not be ignored.

1. Children and adults are in a power differential. A child would be reluctant to say no to an adult. To believe otherwise is a naive ignorance.

2. Of course society is biased and prejudiced toward pedophiles. This is part of what makes the experience traumatic for children. We have all been conditioned against this behavior.

3. Children are considered minors for a reason. They are not capable of making many of the decisions that promote their own welfare and emotional well-being. To exploit a child in this manner when they are incapable of making this decision in other than a superficial manner is to discount years of scientific research in behavioral psychology and sociology.

I was a victim of incest. I never wanted sex at my father’s or brother’s hands, but I did consent to it. I was lying. You may go so far as to suggest that therefore this is my fault, but I can assure you that there were several times that I gave no for an answer, and it just didn’t matter.

I don’t expect to change your mind. I can assure you that your expectations are not only anti-societal, but aren’t helpful to children in any way, shape, or form, whatever you’ve convinced yourself about children. I hope you seek help before you damage the lives of other children.

I certainly expect Amazon to remove this content before you convince other people to do this as well.

Catherine

***

Besides sounding off in the comments, my advice is to write to Amazon about the inappropriate content here, and get them to get this book out of circulation, especially since now the description reads:

“This is my attempt to make pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certian rules for these adults to follow. I hope to achieve this by appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals, with hope that their doing so will result in less hatred and perhaps liter sentences should they ever be caught.”

The ignorance just astounds me.

ETA: I’m going to need to stay away from commenting further on this for now. Right now, it feels like people are more interested in discussing the philosophy of free speech in regard to whether Amazon should sell the book or not. I get that.

Something to remember though: As a victim, I am not an abstract idea. I am not just a what if. I am someone who has suffered materially at the hands of people like this guy.

And I can’t be very neutral about that. So, all the arguments about books written by murderers and anarchists, and how we don’t give a damn about them, and where do we stop with the censoring…pardon me, if in this instance, I can’t rise to the occasion.

I leave the intellectual gymnastics and stretching to others in this instance. I’ve responded to Mr. Greaves, I’ve written to Amazon, I’ve waded into the shallows of response on Twitter, and I’m finding myself in an emotional place I don’t want to be. So I’m going to work on returning to my now, and leaving my then behind for the moment.

If you need a case study to support your arguments, I’m here for you. Otherwise, I’ve done about as much as I can until I get my head on a little straighter again.

CMSS

This is me, taking a break from section numbers. Let me tell you, bears no longer like to be workaholics. Apparently, the therapy worked.

A brief update: our Lorna still remains in the hospital. Yesterday, while I sneaked away to the Secret Registration Bunker (TM) to work on registration materials (I close my eyes and I see synonym numbers), the rest of our office staff worked very hard to make payroll. I’ve had 21 minutes that have been mine the last two days. Woot!

***

Tonight I’ve been taking a bit of a break. I’ve used my writer time to submit to a few more agents and to update my links page with some Viable Paradise XIII’er journals. (If I’ve missed you, please let me know.) I’m going to take some time out to do some writing tomorrow, at least for a couple of hours.

***

Jim Hines posts about Reporting Sexual Harassment in SF/F

I’m going to comment on this in two capacities: as someone who supervises at a large organization, Kirkwood Community College, and as someone who is currently president of the Mindbridge Board, which hosts three conventions in Iowa: Icon, Gamicon, and AnimeIowa.

Continue reading “Harassment in the World of SF/F”

A general announcement: I won’t be online much at all next week, and probably not much the following week. I am going to return to my 2005 status of all Kirkwood, all the time until registration is over. We’ve had a key staffer kind of go down. She’s taken a long vacation, followed by some health problems, which may get more serious. We may get lucky. She might just be having an allergic reaction to the anesthesia the docs used during her gall bladder surgery, and that might be why she’s lost 20 pounds in the last week and can’t keep down any food. Or she may have more serious problems, like bile leakage and a lazy bowel.

Anyway, if you’re a prayer or a candle lighter, her name is Lorna, and she could use your vibes.

Meanwhile, the rest of the English team will be covering for Lorna, and it sounds like my teaching staff is already gearing up to help support registration if need be in the ways they can. But most of it falls to me, so just thought I’d let you know what was up.

***

There are some other issues here at Kirkwood that we’re working around. There’s one I am not allowed by personnel to tell you about, but it is aggravating when I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on, but no basis (student complaint) to go forward with. We’re also having issues of domestic violence surfacing at the end of the semester among one of our student populations, and so we’re trying to help counsel the teachers wisely about using appropriate avenues within the college structure to help students.

You can imagine this will lead to a post. There’s probably also a post about the Steampunk thing in me, so there will be reasons to come back in a couple of weeks.

So, not a pleasant vacation coming up from Writer Tamago. I’m going to spend this afternoon sending out queries, and getting geared up for the end of the semester work-a-thon. Any spare time I have best be spent writing.

Take care of yourselves, do a lot of art while I’m gone, and send Lorna good vibes.

Catherine