Spider Pope!

Happy Hump Day! It's the middle of the week and I am feeling a bit, well mean. Yep I feel like a Blue Meanie from the yellow Submarine. If I could freeze all the people that that has irked me in the past two days there would be quite a lot of people littering the fair state of Tennessee and maybe some out of state.

I have a thing against telemarketers. I even signed up for that "Do not call" list. Yet I am still getting calls. My pet peeve is that if your going to call someone and disrupt their day by trying to sell them crap they don't need you could at least PRONOUNCE their name correctly. I have been called so many different names in the past 24 hours I am beginging to wonder where these people were taught to read at, I'm guessing somewhere that doesn't support the use of phonics.
So I am being mean, everytime one of them calls and says my name wrong I let them stumble around till they sound ridiculous then I correct them a couple of times, and even use it properly in a sentecnce for them like I do my 4 year old that's learning to read. This is how I do it.
(Remember to do it SLOWLY so they can understand clearly.) Example, "Penny, my name is Penny. P-E-N-N-Y, as in, "I found a PENNY.". That usually pisses them off and makes me feel satisfied because I clearly just brought attention to their lack of pronuncation skills. Yep, you just got served.
Now don't go all soft on the side of the telemarketer. I used to work for a cell phone company and had to deal with off names all the time. If I was unsure of a name I would google it, ask a friend or ask the customer to pronounce it for me because it was an unusal name. I love new and exciting words, that's fun to me. But there really is no excuse to mistake Ruby for Rudy, or even Johnny (yep, one of them called me Rudy then Johnny in the next sentence he spoke). Really there's no excuse for this. None what so ever.
Together we can educate people and we all can be called the correct name!

Okay, that's my rant. I'm finished I swear. Now for a bit of fun. I saw this on TV and it had me giggling which is rare for me. I loved Pope John Paul. I wanted to go to Rome when he passed, if I would have had the cash to afford the flight I would have went and stood among the masses who morned his death. I thought he was brilliant. Now is sucssor is a different story, he is German, and I have NOTHING against germany or germans at all. I have met quite a few people from Germany and they all are pretty neat people. I have heard some crazy stories from people partying too much while there, and of course I adore the fact that most of them do not own refridgerators and ice is a rarity and they shop at open air markets. I wish we had large open air markets here. Oh, and don't forget that a pair of Levis is like gold there.
Pope Benidict XVI is a bit creepy to me, he reminds me of an evil (say it eeeevil) kebbler elf. Like he wanted to make bats blood cookies instead of fudge stripe and they kicked him out. This clip is from the Colbert Report on Sept. 29, 2009 and it is awesome. Enjoy!!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Spider-Pope
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

Soon to be released

Since True Blood on HBO is over till NEXT June, which to me seems eternally long, for those of us addicted to Vampires but will not be reduced to watching teen aged vampires struggling through puberty there is hope.


The last Sookie Stackhouse novel that was published was in May, if your eager for more and can't wait till June help yourself to the box set of Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris, it is available through Amazon.com for $32.71 for books
1-7, so far in print there are 10 books total. Come October 6 2009 book number 11 of the series will be published it is titled, "Touch of Dead" and is available for pre-order in HARDBACK edition only for $12.93, or the Kindle edition for $9.99.


Mrs. Harris also has a short Sookie Stackhouse story printed in the book titled "Bite" which also features Laura K. Hamilton among other writers. This short story covers a period of time that is not covered in her books, but if have read all of the books and felt like you missed something, well it's in this short story. It is also available on Amazon.com for purchase for $7.99.

Another one of my favorite writers is Kresley Cole. She has a wonderful series of books called the "Immortals after dark series", so far there are 7 full books in the series that feature everything from werewolves, vampires, demons, to shield maidens. I was hooked with the very first book called "Hunger like no other" and I have been hooked ever since. I have read "Hunger" at least 10 times and that means that my copy is very worn. Which is rare for me.


On OCTOBER 13, 2009 Kresley Cole and Gena Showater are publishing a book together. It will feature two stories, one by each author, for the price of one. Kresley Cole's half of the book will feature Murdoch Wroth and Daniela the Ice Maiden.
Gena Showater's will feature Aleaha Love. The book is titled "DEEP KISS OF WINTER" and is available for per-order from amazon.com for the price of $11.87 for hardcover, and I am unsure if this title will be released for Kindle.

Hopefully these titles will help get you through the gloomiest of winter days, and spice up your life. I can't wait to fill my shopping cart to the brim with them!

Swap

I know that if your like me you love to curl up with a good book on rainy days. There is nothing better that I like to do than cuddle up in a blanket on the couch and read with the house quiet. It's a rare moment when my house is quiet. The thing for me lately is that the selection of books in my local area are not quite up to snuff, they suck actually. If I wanted to read every version of a cup of soup for the Soul I would be set, or if I wanted to simply read crafting magizines. But I don't, I crave something thick with plot and characters that fly off the page. So I am bound to reading old favorites or hitting the library in the hopes that they have something decent.

Its somewhat frustrating really. I am a collector of books, I love the way they smell, the feel of their wieght in my hands, and the sounds of pages turning. I am addicted to simply put it. In order to broaden my selections a select group of my friends and I swap books. Yep, we collect five or six books, put book covers on them with the title and our name and we swap. They all get retuned to the owner once a month when we swap again. It saves me money, trust me I could easily blow a wad of cash on books, and I get to see my friends and have an excuse to get out of the house that does not involve me spending money.

My husband is relieved that I do this. I once walked into a Barnes and Noble and dropped nearly $300 on books in less than fifteen minutes. I thought he was going to have a stroke. Swapping is kid friendsly and also allows my kids to see their friends. It's kind of like a play date. It's a win-win really.

So as the hoildays approach and we must tighten our belts even more I highly recommend this. If you and your friends are addicts of other media, like Video Games or DVDs try swapping them. I know I was surprised with what selections my friends and family had that I didn't.

Halloween Contest 2009!

REPOST!!REPOST!!


Today is Hump Day! To take the hump out of your week I am here to announce that The Feathered Quill will be having a HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST! The contest officially begins TODAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 and ends on FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2009!

TO ENTER: Send a photo of yourself in your Halloween Best to me at rubyself@aol.com in JPEG format and include your name, address, contact phone number and your e-mail address with your photo. This information is for contest use only, I will not spam you.


PRIZES:
First Place will receive a $25.00 gift cerifticate to SIMPLYAUDIO.COM, second place will receive a copy of DAN BROWN'S "The Lost Symbol", and one winner will be chosen randomly to win a $15.00 itunes gift card.
The winners will be contacted by me R.J. Self when they are drawn. I will mail the prizes to the winner in the month of November and the winner will be drawn on NOVEMBER 7 2009.

RULES:
NO NUDITY! A selection of the entries will be posted to my blog as well as the winning entries, by entering the contest you agree to have your photo posted. Only one prize per person. If multiple people are in the photo you will have to share the prize, one prize per place awarded. Entries without contact information included will not be entered in the contest, they will be discarded. Everyone is welcome to enter, the photo's can be in black in white, but this contest is for BEST COSTUME it will not be judged based on the photographer's skill.

If you have a question please contact me at rubyself@aol.com or leave a comment on my blog.

I look forward to seeing all the photo's and I will re post this blog post EVERY TUESDAY for those that need the entry information. May the best costume win!!!!

Cliches

Today I am thinking about cliche's. Yep the boring of the boring for books. I realize that for your manuscript to fit into a genre it has to have some common elements with other books to fit in so we can add a label to our writings. Labels are uncomfortable for me. I despise having to say that my book will most likely be dubbed as a youth book when it really is an all ages book.

Cliche's are everywhere. From page one to the last page, from the moment we meet the villain and we know that he will be bad and do horrid things just to fit his label. From the vampires that fall in love with the sweet and innocent mortal to the perfect goody two shoes, who in the story has flaws but nothing really too overbearing, that totes the whole story.

The reason why I quit reading romances is because of the cliche's. I am sick to death of reading the same story over and over. The girl needs a man's man, and he's the one for the job even though he is clueless until he has a moment of perfect clarity and he realizes that he does love her. Gag me. Who hasn't read that 50 billion times over?

I want to PREVENT cliche's in my writing. I want the reader to feel something for my character's. I spent so much time inventing them and making them live why would I place them into the mediocre? That's senseless, I don't see the reasoning behind it. Why work if your not going to give your project 100% of everything you have? Not only have you wasted your time, but your readers as well. I have actually returned books to the store because of this. When the store clerk asks my reasoning for returning the book they look at me like I'm crazy when I say that it was dull, but I will not read another cliche story. I crave something more, I want to read something that will move me into another mode of thinking and living.

These days money is tight and needs to be well spent. Give your readers something worth their buck. Show them the story, not tell it, and give them something more. Reinvent your writing style if you have to, talk to people who actually have the same occupation as your main character if you haven't been there and done that. Get out there in the world and experience something then write about it. Drop the dull and overused plot lines and create something that leaps off the page into your readers hearts. Yes it will be hard, but dang it, aren't you worth it? Isn't your manuscript worth it? Isn't your readers worth it? Yes!! Let's open the minds and hearts of the world! We are the music makers and the dreamers don't be pushed around just to fill pages or to meet a deadline. Anything good is worth waiting for.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in all forms. It can be from a beautifully moving song, a movie, or a wonderful piece of art. Many things are inspiration for us writers. Some say a pay check or even fame is enough inspiration. That is true on some level. For us writers to receive a pay check and fame someone has to like our writing enough to feel inclined to PAY US, which of course means that someone appreciates our skill and VALIDATES us as a writer. All that we are striving for is to know that someone sees how hard we have worked and it has moved them in some way. This is also true for many occupations, but writers and artists are known to CRAVE that validation to outrageous points.

In order for us to make the work that someone will "Ooh", and "Awe" over we are in constant need for inspiration, some type of muse. For me life and nature provide that. I adore nature scenes where the calm is almost touchable, but then I also love the photos that dare-devil photographers take in the middle of a hurricane of palm trees bent backwards with their leaves being blown harshly by 100 mph winds and rain drops pelting the scene and the camera with a force that makes the skin sting and the water to bounce like hail off of the ground. It's a moment forever frozen in time. That is what moves me to want to try to capture the beauty and fierceness of the moment with words.

My main thing is to keep motivated. I try to see beauty everyday, and it up to me to try to describe it. If you are having a hard time narrating a scene go for a walk and look around. People find their muse in the most unexpected places. Mine is not a constant. It's not like I have a single person or item that makes me want to write. I write because what I experience in my life is overwhelming and needs to be detailed. I want to preserve the memory onto paper so that future generations can read about my life and know that we made it through some tough times, but it was only a select few bad moments that were surrounded by love and laughter.

Writing is complex. That's what people who do not write will never understand. It's not just having the dedication or the commitment to write, but being able to OPEN yourself up to different experiences and being able compose a symphony based on those feelings. I strive to write down my experiences for the day every single day and what my emotions were and how I reacted to these experiences. Then I can go back if I am stuck in a scene. I'll remember, "Oh, yeah. I went through that!" and I can read how I felt when that happened. Inspiration is great but it alone cannot get a writer through the day sometimes we need a little help.

I am offering you my readers a little help today. This week in Tennessee is rainy, wet and a bit on the chilly side. Usually this time of year we have nearly 90 degree (Fahrenheit) days, and this week we have yet to peak above 65 degrees. Yep, it's a spooky week. Fog covers the landscape, creeks are overflowing, the ground is saturated with rain and mud puddles are everywhere. It's a beautiful week. To show you how beautiful this week has been I have spent my morning driving around the area where I live to take photos. All of these were taken by me in my car. I didn't get out a single time, but I did make some U Turns and stopped quite a bit. It was fun. I recommend you try it.

Happy Friday! (to enlarge any of the photos simply click on them)

Revision, revision

I would say that my week off was a week of perfection, but it wasn't. It was a week of me working all hours of the day and night on my book. For those that don't know, I have written a book in a moment of weakness. It is a young adult fantasy fiction, and I am in the process of editing it and making a few revisions. I know that it will never be perfect, but hey I am giving it my best shot.

The revision process is grueling. The process tests you in ways you never expected. It makes your eyes hurt from staring at a screen for hours everyday, your shoulders hurt from the weight of the knowledge that you are ripping your baby apart. It makes you wonder if you should use a semi-colon, a period or some other means of punctuation. It makes you doubt yourself, your skill as a writer, and your work. Revision and editing is hell to put it simply.

There is a few simple things to help you get through this process with some measure of sanity intact, and perhaps a tiny sliver of your soul.

First thing to do is to READ your book. I know that you wrote it, and you have every single line memorized, but still read it. While you read it, on paper, highlight sections that you are not satisfied with. Also make notes in a notebook for things that you want to change and alter. Simple.

I take things step by step. A chapter a day. Go slow. If you feel rushed your work will reflect that. Take your time and SAVOR the process.

After you have a couple of chapters knocked out make yourself a deadline and mark it on your candler with a big red stinky marker. This deadline is your goal, but give yourself plenty of time. Remember DO NOT RUSH!

Part two entering your changes. Start simple, set a number of pages a day you need to complete. I try to do 30 pages a day. I work only Tuesday-Thursdays. Monday's and Friday's are too crazy for me to be able to get any PRODUCTIVE work done. Set a schedule, stick to it, and make sure it works with your everyday life. The important thing for me is that I have a flexible work place. Yep I said Flexible. That means I can work outside on my deck, at my kitchen table, on my bed, at my desk or even in my car. That is important.

If you tell yourself, "I can only work at my desk, but my kids are up and are playing outside. I guess I can't work." Wrong!! Take it with you! I love watching my boys play and I am more than willing to give them a push on the swing while I work a sentence over in my head.

The most important thing to remember is that life happens!! If you are feeling stressed and overloaded take a few days off. It won't kill you or your manuscript. When you are feeling better make sure that you are back on your work schedule. If you need to go to an event take a break. Your book will be waiting for you when you return like the best friend it is.

The second most important thing to keep in mind is that YOU CAN DO THIS! It's your book, your world that you have created! You can make ANYTHING happen. You need a purple tree in a green sunset go for it! It's yours make it happen! Don't give up and keep your confidence up.

Once you have your revision done print it out and read it again. If you need to go through the process again you can. Rome was not built in a day, and neither will your book. The best things in life don't come easy.

The life of a writer is never easy, and it can be lonely, but it doesn't have to be. Remember to keep in contact with your support (i.e. family and friends, and other writers that you have met). If you need something uplifting read my blog! If you are having a low day, remember it is just one day and it will pass. You can do this it's just words on paper.

Friday, Friday, Friday!

Happy Friday! This week has been crazy! I hope that you all remembered to tell a writer that you support and love them. It's Writer's Appreciation Week!

As everyone knows this weekend is Labor Day, I will be taking a Holiday week off! I will not be posting again until Monday the 14th. Yeah! Well, not really a holiday week, I will be working on my manuscript while sitting on a lovely deck. Remember not to drink and drive and DO NOT dive head first into the shallow end of a pool.

(Click on the photo to enlarge)


A small tid bit of weird news this week, Veterinarians at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum successfully separated conjoined rattlesnakes, saving the life of one of the diamondbacks, who'd been joined to his twin at the neck.

"We have every reason to believe that it wasn't the surgery that caused one of them to die," Craig Ivanyi, the museum's associate executive director for living collections, told AOL News.
"The one who died was the weaker of the two. He was being dragged around by his twin, and it was harder for him to recuperate."

Ivanyi says the conjoined rattlers were unlike anything he'd seen in his 25 years at the museum. They were found three weeks ago at a construction site north of Tucson and brought to the museum.
"It's unlikely they would have survived if left in the wild," Ivanyi said. "They'd be easily picked off by a predator."
Luckily, Dr. Jim Jarchow, a veterinarian who works with the museum, had experience separating conjoined tortoises.

I can see how special these snakes are with their two heads and all, but still they are VENOMOUS snakes that are a dime a dozen. I think that if I had of found these snakes I would not of called a vet but I would of fetched something to hack off two heads at once. Talking about killing two snakes with one stone.

NIV

For the first time in 25 years the New International Version of the Bible will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship. This was announced on Tuesday September 1, 2009. The revision is set to be completed late next year and published in 2011.

This promises to re-open the debate again about changing the gender of sections of the text. Past attempts to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences in different editions have been plagued by controversies about gender language that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.

The changes did not make all men "people" or remove male references to God, but instead involved dropping gender-specific terms when translators judged that the original text didn't intend it. So in some verses, references to "sons of God" became "children of God," for example.

"We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to its readers in a language they can understand," said Keith Danby, global president and CEO of Biblica, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Christian ministry that holds the NIV copyright.

Acknowledging past missteps, the NIV's overseers are promising that this time, the revision process will be more transparent and that they will actively promote what they describe as a long-held practice of inviting input from scholars and readers.
The NIV was first published in 1978 and more than 300 million NIV Bibles are in print worldwide; its publishers and distributors say the translation accounts for 30 percent of Bibles sold in North America.

The Committee on Bible Translation, an independent group of conservative scholars and translators formed in 1965 to create and revise the NIV, will oversee the new revision.

Many prominent pastors and scholars endorsed the changes. But critics said masculine terms in the original should not be tampered with. Some warned that changing singular gender references to plural ones alters what the Bible says about God's relationships with individuals.

The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution saying the edition "has gone beyond acceptable translation standards."

"We fell short of the trust that has been placed in us," said Danby, of Biblica. "We failed to make a clear case for the revisions."

Danby said that freezing the NIV in its 1984 state was also a mistake, however. He emphasized that in the revision, about 90 percent of the NIV will be unchanged.
Douglas Moo, a professor at Wheaton College and chairman of the Committee on Bible Translation, said the group is committed to "a complete review of every gender related change." "I am not sure how it's going to come out," Moo said. "We have a genuine, authentic review process ... Everything is on the table."

This has some issues being reopened, given that they never were really closed. Shall we wait and see how PC the bible can get?

There is a new book out about Marilyn Monroe, it's "THE SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE" By J. Randy Taraborrelli. T his book is causing quite a stir. It was released on August 25, 2009 from Grand Central Publishing.

The content of the book is what is making this book such a hot ticket. The National Enquirer has reported that the book states that her cause of death was a drug overdose, not information that she knew about the Kennedy Family. I have yet to read this, the 40th book about Marilyn Monroe, and to be serious I doubt if I will. It's just not my cup of tea, even though her story is tragic and she was beautiful and mis-guided.

Writer Appreciation Week!

This week is a week full of many things. This week I have fought with my possessed food processor, a half-way functioning electric can opener and I bruised my shin when I banged my car door into it. Even though this week so far has been trying for me, it is a great week for a numerous amount of other people. YES! Tons of people across the country, across the world are having the best week of their year. It's Writer Appreciation Week!

This is a week to celebrate all those people that have been published and those that are still writing and polishing their works of art. Tell a writer that you love them, that you admire them, and most of all BUY a NEW book. Don't go cheap and buy a used book from Amazon.com, even though it is tempting. Show your support and love for the written word and buy a book. You can also show your lovely support and admiration here by leaving me a wonderful comment!