WTH Did I Do???

Earlier this week, when I arrived at my local coffee house, I was surprised to learn two friends were having a book signing there this weekend.  Awesome!  As soon as my new PC arrived and was able to access the internet, I posted about it. 

When I double-checked the particulars, I found out I was wrong about one detail and corrected it.

Showed up this morning and......no authors, just a packed house.

PM'd one author.....no answer.  I called; no answer.

Called the second....she told me it was TOMORROW and expressed delight that I planned to attend.

Two hours later, I checked my phone (it had been on the charger) and found the following message:

"Do NOT show up tomorrow.  If you do, I will call the cops.  You have insulted me as an author; you insulted my book."  (Paraphrased; I was in shock when I read it)

It was one of those messages where she'd PM'd me or messaged me under her pen name, so I neither accepted nor rejected the message, and went over to FB to see if there was an angry message under the review I'd left on GR.  Nothing.

And now I cannot even FIND the message.

I did PM her again, expressing confusion, and a sincere apology, saying IF I'd done anything to insult her, it was most definitely NOT intentional, and to please tell me how to fix this kerfluffle?

Silence.

I'm in turmoil.  Do I show up in the morning and risk her wrath?  Do I stick my head in the door and ask to speak to her in private?  Do I stay home and pray she answers my PM?

I honestly cannot think of one thing I've done to defame her.  My review was 4 stars; I've done everything I can to HELP her in her career.....so I'm praying this was simply a glitch?  Maybe she saw something she thought was from me and this whole thing is a huge misunderstanding??

At 2pm, I seriously began to wonder if I'd walked through some alternate universe/time continuam thing, since NOTHING was making sense.  Thankfully, everything on the home front calmed down after an hour.  Ever have moments like that, where you feel as is you've been thrust into the wrong version of your life?

So what do I do?


*****UPDATE Nov 25th*********
Showed up today and asked if we could talk privately.  Thankfully, she smiled and went outside, then expressed her anger at me in a calm manner. 

Turns out that a flippant, off-the-cuff remark from me back in JUNE (nearly six months ago!) caused her to feel disrespected.  I thought I'd made a joking remark; I thought we'd been teasing each other!

Apparently not the case.

My question is, why didn't she pull me aside the next time I'd seen her (or even emailed me???) to tell me this?  Why wait several months when I cluelessly tried to CHAMPION her?

Granted, this person has been under a great deal of stress, and in her mind, it was another betrayal.

I am in NO way 'in competition' with her; she's a newbie author, with only her 2nd book out, and I've tried to help her every step of the way, from introducing her to cover artists, editors, and even publishing houses. 

She took my remark and felt as if I was trying to belittle her.  That was most definitely not the case.

We've hugged and forgiven each other, and it taught me another valuable lesson:  I need to continue to guard my tongue, especially around people I've only known for a few years.

This just reinforces my belief that men are easier creatures to get along with.  I don't have to monitor everything I say when I'm with my male friends and colleagues.

Sad.

Done It Again.....

When will I learn do NOT post anything political/socially conscious/ANYTHING CONTROVERSIAL ON FACEBOOK????

Saw this on a friend's page and agreed with it, so I copied/pasted on my page:

"I copied and pasted this because there was not a share button on it. 
So why are the nfl players protesting? 
They were asked, and here are some of their answers...
NEW YORK (World News Bureau) - In a recent polling of 585 NFL players, nearly all of them were unsure of exactly what they are protesting.
Here's a sampling of responses to the question
"What are you protesting by kneeling during the National Anthem?"
"Pretty sure it's against Nazis - especially the white ones."
"We're protesting America becoming capitalistic instead of equal."
"I'm protesting against Trump saying black lives don't matter."
"We're against global warming and the police."
"We're showing the world that we care about, ahh, things such as... such as...ahhhhh, freedom from suppression?"
"Me and my fellow players are protesting the Constitution of Independence because of what it does to people of color."
"We are displaying our right to stand up by kneeling for our beliefs."
"We are protesting Trump, because he, you know, keeping the black man down and sh*t."
"Myself is kneeling to show that just because I'm American don't mean I got to act like one."
Sort of makes tears come to your eyes doesn’t it!!!!!
I would guess most of these NFL players graduated from college too
It says a lot about our education system doesn’t it. 250 -350 pounds of meat, the ability to catch a ball and zero brain in a swollen head."

(inserted by me)I rather agree with Phil Roberston: "Just because you have the right to protest doesn't mean you should." KNOW why you're protesting; don't just follow the crowd.

I didn't expect any comments, and the first two were fine:

(Cindy Bartolotto):  Sad

(Nick Kearney):  Yep very sad it shows the protest lost all meaning to the other players and I didn't see one right answer yet. 
They are obedient to their new master and that party was the founder of the KKK. The ones who know how to channel their anger and keep them angry. Mean while the brothers of color die in the hoods unknown, and for no good reasons.

But the next two?  GIVE ME A BREAK!  Now, granted, these two ladies are more on the liberal side of things.  But still, I resent the implication.

(Susan Holt Carroll):  Just to make sure you are aware, but the World News Bureau is satire.  This "warning" is posted on their website:

LIKE I HAVE TO TELL YOU
This is fictitious satire and any resemblance to persons, places, or events is coincidental.

(Billie B):   You know how to do research, mija. I’m disappointed. The site is satirical. But, while we’re on the topic, kneeling during the anthem is not a protest against the flag or the country. It is a protest (and a valid, peaceful one at that) against inequalities witnessed in our country. People who claim a private citizen has no right or reason to protest in a peaceful manner are the one’s who would deny the rights our country give us and all who visit here.

I didn't bother to comment, in fact, I'm deleting the entire post.  7 people 'liked' it.

I find it humorous that the friend I copied it from has NO comments, just two 'likes', one 'ha ha', and one 'wow'.  WHY is it when someone disagrees with you now, they feel it's their duty to tell you you're wrong?  What happened to simply scrolling by and keeping your mouth (or in this case, FINGERS) shut?

Oh wait.  We're in the age of 'everyone has an opinion' and that opinion MUST be rammed down everyone's throat, even if it's uncalled for.  And God forbid if we don't agree with EVERYTHING the left says, b/c we will be chased down and chastised until we agree with them, if only to shut them up to preserve our friendship.  

I'm getting tired of biting my tongue, and thinking seriously of going through my friend list.

Preserve Our History, PLEASE!!!!!

Over the past several months, there has been an alarming trend in our country.  First they wanted to remove all traces of the Confederate Flag (thank you SC!  I roll my eyes at your lack of spine); now they want to tear down all 'Rebel' monuments.

Have they never heard 'those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it'?  If you destroy all historic monuments to the Confederate side of the Civil War, what does that teach the next generation?

Leave Stone Mountain alone.  Leave the stained glass window in that church in Virginia, a testament to Stonewall Jackson the MAN alone.

Should we sandblast Mt. Rushmore, because Jefferson was a slave owner?  What about his contributions to expanding this magnificent country of ours?

Destroy the Jefferson Davis Memorial?  What about the OTHER side of the war's story? If you don't present both sides of the war, future generations will think only the Union's side mattered.  Just because we won doesn't mean we didn't make mistakes too.  Lincoln was assassinated, and his follow-up plan was never put into place.

What's next, remove all traces of the Revolutionary War, just because now England is our ally?

Idiots.

Eye Roll Moment

Received this a few moments ago:
There has been some concern about the erotica section, several authors have mentioned due to their jobs and such they can't be associated with erotica in anyway and they were concerned with it being on the site might cause issues."

Seriously?

1) My work is TAME compared to other 'erotic' romance authors' work.

2) If you write Romance, who cares if it's Contemporary, Historical, NA,YA, or steamy sensual? As long as it's not the hard core BDSM, M/M, F/F, threesomes, or hardcore Erotica? I agree; the latter categories need to be on another imprint.

3) You're the publisher. It's your call. You do what you think is best. I don't see how having separate categories on a website can cause such anxiety issues...."Oh no! My sweet historical is two clicks away from a FSOG work! AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!" "I can't have my customers being exposed to THAT! I INSIST you remove that genre or I'll take my business elsewhere....." "I could get FIRED if my boss knew that my book could be at the same table as that-that-that-trash."

Grow up, people.

Verbal Fireworks

We were having a nice, quiet holiday, even staying home while the kids went to the parade.  Fireworks had been purchased; food was ready to go on the grill.

Then the boys decided it was a good idea to set off bottle rockets.

At first they aimed them into a pool of water and enjoyed watching the water turn to steam.  When that got old, they began aiming them across the street at the empty green space.

Altercation #1:  Woman in pink shirt complains the rockets are landing too close to her kids.  Spouse told the boys to aim them elsewhere.

Altercation #2:  Pink shirt complains again when one bottle went rogue, and calls reinforcements, her family.  Profanity gets yelled.  Stepdaughter yells back, and a verbal pissing match ensues.

Altercation #3:  Grandson and oldest granddaughter add their voices to the fray, causing tempers to flare and a threat to be issued.  Stepdaughter tells Pink Shirt to 'come on over'.  Pink Shirt threatened to call the cops.

At this point, I intervened, and told both Granddaughter, Grandson, and Stepdaughter to stop talking and walk away.

Altercation #4:  Everyone starts yelling at ME, trying to justify their positions.

Which leads me to believe that common decency has nearly disappeared.  People are so used to hiding behind a computer/tablet/phone and saying (typing??) exactly what's on their mind, that when a face-to-face conflict arises, they revert to age 3 behavior.  Name calling, profanity.....no matter what the age of a child is present.  My efforts to calm the situation and diffuse it failed because I'm the only one who still has a shred of common sense left in her body!!!

Pink Shirt and her family eventually did move on to the public fireworks, which caused the stepdaughter and I to tongue-in-cheek wonder at some of the larger displays...."Is she complaining NOW about the fireworks landing too close to her kids?"

A policeman did show up, but no one 'fessed up about who was making the complaint.  He didn't question us.

Wonder what will happen next year?  Will she have on the same Pink Shirt, or will I be referring her as another color?  Will the family LISTEN to me next year?  Will the BOYS listen next year, and shoot them off in another direction?

Only time will tell.

On The Fence....

I've been watching the immigration debate with mixed emotions.

On one hand, I agree with T and the candidate for France; keep them out or allow them, provided they assimilate; after all, if we were to go to their country, we would have to wear the head scarf and not allowed to eat pork.  So why should we suddenly be forced to stop serving pork in restaurants; be tolerant of their religious beliefs by not mentioning Christianity; and in some cases, not go into certain neighborhoods after dark?

But on the other hand, Christ preached love and tolerance.  America was founded on religious freedom.

BUT.....white Christians are rapidly becoming the minority.  So?????

I want the freedom to pray in public;to walk w/o fear through a neighborhood in the daytime; to eat what I want, when I want, and how much I want.

Men.....Who Can Figure Them Out?

I was absolutely floored a few weeks ago, when I saw a PM pop up from a man whom I've not spoken to in three years.

And then it turned out to be one of those 'pranked' emails.

REALLY?

He dropped hints at our reunion that he wanted to continue a friendship with me; even prior to our meeting face-to-face, we'd frequently PM each other on FB.  On my birthday, instead of posting to my wall, he sent me a very sweet Happy Birthday message.

A month after the reunion, he revealed he was dating a former friend of mine.  Fine.  I had no problem with it, and in fact, was looking forward to meeting her again after 30 years.  I PM'd him when I was in town next.

Radio silence.

This continued for 6 months, then they got engaged.  I sent congratulations.

Radio silence.

Another six months went by.  They got married.  Again, I warmly congratulated them.

Radio Silence.

1st anniversary, same thing.

*crickets*

They just had their 2nd anniversary, and again I sent warm congrats.  She 'liked' my comment.  Again, radio silence from him.

I'm still wondering if I missed something at the reunion.

Let Me Get This Straight...

Hubby just told me an incident which happened last month (go HERE for the story) and it has me in a state of total shock and disbelief.

In a nutshell, a state trooper investigated a traffic accident.  A routine check of drivers license reveals an illegal alien, who's been involved in drug trafficking, had previously been deported, and was now back.  He calls ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and then finds himself suspended.

For doing his job.

Now I ask, what kind of message does this send?

To illegals:  'Don't worry; if you get caught, the mean officer will be reprimanded...'

To police officers:  'Yes, we have an illegal immigration problem, but in this county, we don't agree with the Federal law, so disregard it.  Just look the other way.'

If we don't pull together as a country, we won't HAVE a country anymore!!!!

For the record, I don't care who sees this post!

Double Standard?

More proof that *only* the Libs can post anything.....Conservatives cannot.

Double standard, yes?

You Want Me To Do WHAT?

******WARNING:  Rant ahead***********

Last night, I received the following email:

The editorial committee has reviewed the stories for the (name of the group and title withheld) Anthology and feels your in its current form is not a good fit for the anthology.

Say what?  It went onto say a beta reader had this criticism: "It (the story) isn’t about healing. It’s about how it destroyed them (the characters).  And murdering the person who did it.  It’s not a story that represents victims and could actually lead to other victims getting dark ideas.  Normally, I would be glad if it actually promoted healing, but it doesn’t, and instead promotes hiding and covering up…. The story makes me highly uncomfortable as a sexual abuse survivor and actually was a trigger for emotions.”

Okay, so in other words, you feel as if readers need a security blanket before reading it?  Sigh....this is what I get when 'snowflakes' decide to rule the world and inflict their issues on everyone else.

I don't mean that flippantly; I recognize certain readers would find this story disturbing-hell, I wrote it and even I found it a little disturbing that something so dark came out of my psyche!  But this is what the character revealed, so I wrote it down. 

Here's my beef:  This book is slated to be released in 13 days.  It's been up on a shared Google Docs file for over a year.  And yet you choose NOW to tell me it's not a 'good fit'?

Here's the part that really got me:  "Could actually lead to other victims getting dark ideas."  Um, have you not read any Stephen King?  Seen the TV show, How to Get Away With Murder?  Or even watched CSI or even any Law and Order?  Believe me, there are PLENTY of ways to think, "Oh, I could do that so much better and not get caught!"  

Please.  *eye roll*

I can't change the title; it's out there on ALL of my promo....books I've released, blogs written, even my website.  Yeah, I could go back and change them....and I may still have to, if I can't come up with a decent story to submit.  If I pull out, the antho shrinks even more, and I'd hate to see that happen, since I'm one of biggest names in it.  (Not bragging....just stating a fact.)

I tried seeing if one of my other short stories, one that's more upbeat, would fit, and it might.  On the other hand, as I was off to drown my sorrows at karaoke, another idea came to me, and I wrote 3 pages.  It might be crap; it might be a gem.  At any rate, my heroine finally told me her name this morning, so I'll type it up and see if the creativity takes off.

Can't hurt. 

But again, this just royally pissed me off.  Why the hell did they wait until NOW to tell me?

****Rant over*****

Smoke And Mirrors???

I've largely ignored the news the past week, and even eye-rolled as I watched the SNL skits about Certain People In Washington.  I stated in the last post that hubby has become an armchair politician, and this morning, had an epiphany.

Is all this media hype concerning a leak, tweet after tweet, problems with confirmations, all simply a case of Smoke and Mirrors?  Misdirecting the media, so they don't see what's actually happening?

DT seems to be largely unaffected by all the kerfuffle surrounding a Certain Brand being removed from stores, firestorms over His Mouthpiece and Chief of Staff.

And as someone pointed out, Dems dealt with Russians too, before they were elected, so why are they so up in arms about DT?  The raids in California were planned way in advance....not just thrown together last minute.  Don't blame DT.  That's on BHO.

I applaud the DNC chair who told his party to 'grow up'.

I'm also proud that only 5 incidents of slamming occurred at the Grammy's.....though I LOVED the 'fake tweet' gag!  But Bey, Busta, Paris, and Katy.....get over yourselves.  Really, 'Pres Agent Orange'? 'Resist' Was it really necessary?  Bravo to the one singer who stood up and wore the Trump Train proudly.  I've no idea who you are, but I'm told your album went to #1 on Amazon on Monday.  Bravo.

I didn't watch the SAGs or the Globes, but was disappointed in one prominent member of Hollywood.  I didn't like her in 1977, and in recent years, I've become a cautious fan, but after the rant onstage after she won, she needs to STFU.

Election and Shenanigans 2016

Anyone who knows me knows I hate politics.  Always have, and I suspect it's because this goes back to 1976 election when the person my parents wanted wasn't elected.  Plus, we only got 3 channels, and my favorite shows were often pre-empted because the President was on TV.

I was too young to care about the Iran hostages; I was thankful GF didn't have to deal with it, and I joined in with friends singing,

My peanut has a 1st name...it's J-i-m-m-y
My peanut has a 2nd name....it's C-a-r-t-e-r
I love to hate him every day
And if you'll ask me, why I'll say.....
'Cause Jimmy Carter has a way of messing up the USA!
(Theme of 'My Bologna' commercial)

Of course, now I'm 40 years older and realize he DIDN'T mess up the USA, and I was happy during the Reagan years (hubby wasn't!) and was disappointed when Dukakis lost to Bush, plus the 1st Gulf War didn't end everything once and for all, and it took a 2nd one to finally get rid of 'the bad guy', only to have another one rise up.  But I digress.

I was thrilled during the Clinton years, because gas prices dropped; our income rose, and I dismissed all the 'scandal' due to technology.  After all, our founding fathers hadn't exactly been saints either, yet I still adore hearing about Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.  If things had been different and 24/7 news coverage had been around at the start of our country, would any of THEM had been elected?

My BS degree was in social work, and in 1989, the line was clear:  Republicans were against social service; Democrats were for.  I would no longer vote with my parents.

But in 2000, I couldn't stand Al Gore.  And after 9/11, I was very thankful to have GWB in the White House.  Eight years later, I wanted to vote for John McCain, but felt he'd shot himself in the foot with SP as his running mate, as she made gaffe after gaffe.  WTH had he done?  I felt BO  was unqualified for the job; he needed another 4 years in the senate before trying again. I certainly did NOT want SP as the runner up, in case something happened to JM.  I literally took my absentee ballot (I'd not yet changed my address on my license, so I could not vote in my county yet) and closed my eyes, marked it, then stuffed it in the envelope w/o checking.  To this day, I still have no idea whom I voted for.  In 2012, that decision was clear; it HAD to be Republican, since the economy was tanking, PLUS BHO had reneged on every promise I'd heard him make.  Shelter dog??  HA!  Portuguese Water Dog.  Lower the National Debt?  HA!  More like tripled it.  Health Care?  What a joke!  I can't afford $600 a month.  I'm stuck with Short term that doesn't hardly pay anything.

So when Trump threw his hat in the ring and started saying what I'd heard everyone else saying, but NOT coming out of politician's mouths, I sat up and paid attention.

And liked what I heard.

My KIDS liked what they heard.

What everyone did NOT like was the fact that HRC was dodging the FBI, the CIA, Congress, etc, and was apparently snowing women everywhere with her rhetoric.  I stated to several close friends I will NOT vote for her 'just because she's a woman'.  Yes, we need a female president one day, but she's not that person.

Several close friends were on Bernie Sanders' train.  I think, had HRC not secured the nomination, we'd be looking at a situation similar to 2000, only without the 'hanging chads'.

Hubby became an armchair politician this year, binge-watching FOX News and listening to Patriot radio.  I listened because I had no choice while in the car, and heard about a book about HRC.

Son bought it for me for Christmas, and I just finished it.  Loved it, esp since it validated my memory of sketchy details I'd heard about the Clinton years, and filled in the blanks.  It also validated what I'd seen of what's happened to this country in the past 8 years.

I sincerely hope Trump can turn this country back around and get the economy back on its feet.  I'd also love to see some reforms to social welfare; mainly, the standards which have been in place have not kept up with the times.  People are being penalized for work well done; I have a friend in management who complains every time they reward someone with a raise, they have to quit because they'll lose their food stamps or health care.  We ourselves went through a small crisis several years ago and didn't qualify for assistance since we made $50 too much.

$50.  Surely there's some wiggle room?  I mean, COME ON!

I'll admit, my own income has dropped in the past two years.  In 2015, I was on track to have my best year as an author:  I hit the triple digit mark in MARCH, as opposed to June of the previous year, and had doubled that by August.  But then my publisher folded.....and I didn't get paid again until late November, thankfully, a double-digit deposit.  My cash earnings netted me nearly another triple digit number, though I had to pay out for some booth fees and travel expenses.  This past year, I spent over $1000 in booth fees and travel expenses, while only earning maybe a third of it back.  My last remaining publisher just closed its doors, so now I have to pay people to edit and create covers for me.  In short, I won't be able to do as many signings this year that aren't cheap.  The only three I'll cling to are KABB (Sept); Imaginarium (Oct), and ICTAHS (Nov-already paid half!).  And that's providing gas prices don't rise above $3 a gallon.  Otherwise, I'll be dealing with a spouse screaming about travel expenses.

Anyway, time will tell if we've made a colossal mistake.  I was alarmed when pundits began comparing Trump to Hitler....but then again, making the US a socialist economy wouldn't have done us any good either.

All we can do is pray.

And hope that WW3 isn't just around the corner, or that ISIS hasn't infiltrated past the point of no return.  That scares me more than anything, but I won't give into fear, because then they will have won.