General musings

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    God’s going to get me …

    3 Comments

    I’ve heard horror stories about authors who get snarky comments about writing romance novels, but I’d never actually seen it happen.

    Until today.

    I’m sitting at a long table with a couple of other authors at the women’s expo I attended. Two women walk up and start talking to one of the authors about her books. The conversation goes something like this:

    “What do you write?” one of the women asks.

    “Romance,” the author replies, smiling proudly.

    The woman stares at her. “Do they have all that sex in them?”

    “Yes, my books are pretty steamy,” the author replies, still smiling.

    “God will get you for that,” the other woman chimes in, nodding her head.

    The two women put their names in the drawing for the goodie basket that the author is giving away and walk on.

    Evidently, God’s going to get us for writing about sex, but they can register for all the goodie baskets that they want to from us heathens.

    Oh my.

    These were not young women. They were probably married with grandkids by now. Odds are that they’ve probably had sex at some point in their lives.

    But they don’t want to read about it.

    That’s alright. That’s their choice.

    But don’t tell me I’m going to hell for it. 

    Why do some people think that writing about sex is evil? Why is that somehow worse than writing about serial killers and murderers and nuclear explosions that kill millions? I don’t understand how people can be so narrow-minded and judgmental.

    On the flip side, there were also two lovely women at the expo who were very enthusiastic romance fans. We all chatted about our favorite authors, and they got some pictures with the other authors.

    I hope to see those ladies again next year. I will gladly sign books and smile and chat with them. As for the other two, well, they won’t ever be getting a goodie basket from me — no matter how many times they register.

    What about you? Have you ever had someone make a rude comment about romance novels to you? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • Things I learned today …

    So, I went to my very first event as a bona fide author today — a local women’s expo.

    It was a real eye-opening experience for me, and I thought I would share some of the things that I learned. This is probably all old hat for established authors, but maybe it can help some other newbies like me. 🙂

    1) People love free goodies. I made over 100 goodie bags full of candy for this event. They lasted about 15 minutes. I could have made 1,000, and I still don’t think I would have had enough.

    2) People are more interested in your freebies than they are in hearing about your book. They tend to grab the bags and move on, avoiding eye contact at all times.

    3) People are more interested in freebies than buying anything at the expo — including your book.

    4) People think because you are sitting behind a table that you are somehow know what time they’re handing out door prizes in another booth.

    5) If you leave your booth for a few minutes, no one’s going to notice or complain. They’ve already gotten your goodies and moved on.

    So, these are the top 5 things I learned today. Despite the lack of goodies on my part, I still had a good time. It was a lot of fun talking to folks and the other authors there.

    See ya there next year …

  • The big Project Runway uh-oh

    I can’t believe they gave it to Jeff. He should have been kicked off the show half a dozen times. The very first outfit … the Mom challenge … the cocktail dress …

    Uli was totally robbed. ‘Nuff said.

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    Blurbs, blurbs, blurbs …

    I have cover blurbs! Yeah!

    Authors Rachel Gibson, Candace Havens, and Erin McCarthy have all given a big thumbs-up to Karma Girl. For more, click on the Home page or go to the Books page.

    Thanks to Rachel, Candace, and Erin for taking the time to read the book. 🙂

  • Pet peeves and me …

    We all have our pet peeves. I’ve got more than a few. But there is one that I seem to run into more than others these days.

    People who talk on their cell phones while they’re in the bathroom.

    Argh! It drives me nuts.

    I saw not one, not two, but three people do it. And that was just today. In about the space of an hour.

    I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to go to the bathroom when there are other people in there — much less a third party that can hear all the flushing action via cell phone.

    Not to mention that it’s rude to the person on the other end of the line. I’m sure they don’t want to hear you do your business anymore than I want them to hear me doing mine.

    So, I’m going to start a trend. The next time I see someone talking on their cell phone in the bathroom, I’m going to ask them to go outside and finish their call. If that doesn’t work … well, maybe I’ll buy a bullhorn to stuff in my purse. 🙂

    What about you? What pet peeves make you crazy? Inquiring minds want to know …