Change of Scenery

Good morning everyone!

Thought I'd have a change of scenery on the blog and get some pretty blue going. I liked the parchment thing, but I have news that makes the parchment all wrong -

I've commissioned a new website! Yahoo! No more struggling with html and software that makes me go bald!

It was a hard decision since I am technically an IT junkie - it's part of my day job. And I'm a fairly decent programmer when it comes to financial applications. And I probably could have learned the website building if I'd taken the time to take some classes or read more in the books, but I finally threw in the towel over graphics. I am not an artist - not that kind of artist anyway. And all the websites I really love have these cool or ultra cute custom graphics.

So my new website is underway. Not sure how long it will take to launch, but I will definitely announce it here.

In the meantime, the proposal for Romance #2 is well underway and I actually like the work this time. It's amazing how your humor can return if you're not so danged stressed.

Oh well, off for now - must clean litter boxes.

Tagged!

My friend, Diana, tagged me, so here we go:

Four jobs you've had in your life:
1. Accountant
2. Bank Teller
3. Bartender
4. Lifeguard

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Steel Magnolias
2. Twister
3. TLotR
4. When Harry Met Sally

Four places you have lived:
1. Carlyss, Louisiana
2. Carrollton, Texas
3. Garland, Texas
4. Plano, Texas

Four TV shows you love to watch: (note - I barely watch tv so this is not four)
1. American Idol

Four websites you visit daily:
1. My blog
2. Diana's Diversions
3. Agent Kristin
4. Yahoo News

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Las Vegas
2. Destin, Florida
3. New Orlean, Louisiana
4. Myrtle Beach, SC

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Hamburger
3. Brownies
4. Beer (hey, it's considered a food group in Texas)

Four places I would rather be right now: (this is easy and requires only one answer)
1. anywhere with a beach

Four friends I am tagging that I think will respond:
1. Kelly Parra (Callihan)
2. Elly (where are you Elly?)
3. sorry, none of my other friends blog.........

Too Stupid to Live

Okay, so as writers we all hear of the heroine (or hero) who is too stupid to live. And it's the absolute death of any book. But what about the living-breathing morons in society?

I had to share this moment. I'm in my office at the day job and listening to the news on the radio when this broadcast comes across: "a man just shot a sixteen year old kid who was trying to rob him as he got into his car after leaving a gun club meeting."

Huh?????

Do you have a too stupid to live story to share?

Rant on Stupidity

Lots has happened in the past week or so and I've been meeting myself coming and going. The Dallas Area Romance Authors hosted their annual Dreamin' in Dallas conference this past weekend and it sold out two months prior! It was a great turnout and I got to spend a lot of quality time (and listening to rude people time) with my enormously talented and wonderfully nice agent, Kristin Nelson. I'm not sure what possesses people at conferences, but apparently some lose their mind. Example -

Kristin and another of her clients, Shanna Swendson, are doing a workshop on Chick Lit. I am moderator. A guy (yes, I said guy) starts with this whole line of questioning on the "educational level" of chick lit readers because, in his words, his wife reads romance and he knows that's fluff.

HUH?! Great way to influence people - in the WRONG way! I was sitting directly in front of him and actually broke an acryllic nail that I'd been picking on when that bit of wisdom came out of his mouth.

Fortunately, Kristin was quick to correct him before a good ole' Texas hanging occurred and one woman quickly ripped the RWA statistics out of her bag and informed him of the educational level of romance readers. What a jerk!

Then he has the absolute nerve to start pitching his book to Kristin after the workshop - IMMEDIATELY after he'd just insulted most of her client list and her own choice (sometimes) of reading material. HELLO!? Is there a brain working in there?

I simply don't understand what he thought he could accomplish. And I'm dismayed that this perception of romance readers and writers persists. I don't get it. Of the woman I know who write - exactly one - ONE - is a stay-at-home mom. But she's been to college and is hardly an idiot and certainly not interested in reading "fluff." The remainder are mostly college level graduates, some advanced degrees and (of the ones I know) highly successful at their careers - most hold upper and executive level management positions.

So what the f?

A piece of advice to all who are attending conferences - don't insult the genre of the conference you're attending. In fact, don't insult any genre. It only makes you look very small.