Bad Weather + Plane = Hold Onto Your Cookies!

I am not a huge fan of air travel.

Given a choice, I prefer to travel by car, though statistically flying is safer than driving.  And if you are still not fully convinced that flying on 'X' airline is safe, there is a handy site that allows you to browse airline safety ratings.  Or--if your partner is anything like mine--he will tell you the statistics days before you are scheduled to fly, even the bits you don't want to hear.

The Joys of Sharing. Or not.

Hummers really are great birds.  For being so tiny--though some can be large--they have alot of attitude.

It's fun watching a single hummer lay claim to the feeder and chase off any other hummer that so much as even looks at the feeder.

Why Beta-readers Are Essential to Your Novel

After close to three years of writing and rewriting, and editing my first dark fantasy novel, I have finally reached the point where I can say, “I am done”.  Done with the story, that is.  Because then comes sending out your story to trusted beta-readers.  In my case, friends who are well-read in the fantasy genre, and whom I can count on to be brutally honest. 

From my research, I discovered that what you want in a beta-reader is someone who will be an actual reader, an audience.  What you do not want is someone who will tell you how you can 'fix' your book and then lay out how it should be changed.

“But,” I told myself, “isn’t this what I want?  Someone to suggest what can make my book better?”

At some point, yes, but not on the initial reading, because you want your beta-reader to read your story the way your potential audience would.  Your potential audience is not going to dissect the book as they read.  They are going to find a comfy place to sit, open the book, and—hopefully—disappear into the world you have created. 

Spider-Coffee

I'm the type of person that can not function in the morning till I have had my coffee.  I also am the type of person who does NOT like being surprised until I have at least had two cups of coffee.  It takes that long for my brain to register that it's time to "wake-up".

Methane Cuddles

Dairy, sweet dairy.  Let me count the ways I love thee, yet thoust love me not!  </3

Full disclosure:  I had a cupcake today, and it was GLORIOUS!  To quote Woodhouse from the Archer TV series, "Hello old friend".

Now excuse me while I go lie down and nurse my conflicted stomach.

Jammies = Productive

Not gonna lie.  I love jammies.  They fit perfectly around the waist and do not restrict movement in any way.

In jammies, I don't have to worry about:

*Zippers or buttons that won't close because ice cream.

*I don't have to cut off half of the fabric because I am short.  I just roll those suckers up and pin them with safety pins.

*Fleece and jammies are long-lost lovers that reunited and should never be separated.  Never.  I have a hard time seeing fleece jeans working.  But maybe I'm wrong on this one.

*I can sleep, wake-up, and go back to sleep without ever having to change out of the same pair of jammies.  Sleeping in jeans is not fun.  Everything pokes you when you sleep in jeans, thus forcing you to expend precious energy as you change into something more comfortable...jammies.

*Jammies increase productivity.  This is proven science.  Well, not really, but it should be.

*In winter, jammies are usually pretty good at retaining body heat.  Whereas jeans are secretly plotting to kill you of hypothermia, take over your corpse, and go on a zombie rampage.

Don't get me wrong, I love jeans.  But, I love jammies more <3

Comics Are Books

I have been reading comics for as long as I can remember.  My mom was an enabler (love you mom).  She loved the written word in all its forms, and passed on that love.  To me, a comic IS a book.

Just because a comic relies on imagery to convey a character's emotions, or to flesh out the world they live in, does not make it any less valid.  Just as a book with poor description can leave you feeling disconnected from the characters and pondering what their surroundings looked like, so can a comic.

Really, comics are just books, but in a different format.

Maybe that's why when I run into people who I don't know well but are avid readers, I more often than not am taken aback when they dismiss comics as "not a book".

This has happened to me quite a number of times, especially when I meet people who are in book clubs.

Thanks to the successful movies/shows Marvel, DC, and AMC have released over the past years, people who otherwise would probably have never picked up a comic are beginning to do so.  And I am glad.  I'm glad because nothing makes me more happy than to hear people say that they were surprised to discover that comics can be just as intense as, well, as a book.