I was once a big opponent of the no child left behind law. I felt that the only way it could work was by redirecting funds to the bottom end of the bell curve and cutting programs for the gifted. Since both I and my husband were considered gifted, it concerned me that our children wouldn't have the resources they deserved to do really well in school and not be bored to tears like I was.
In regards to no child left behind, I must now eat my words and retract that opinion. Not because my opinion was wrong, but because I've had to re-evaluate no child left behind from a new perspective. IDEA, no child left behind, is the guiding laws behind everything that is being or is not being done for my son by his school.
As a result, I am being forced to learn the ins and outs of that law very, very well. It's not in the school's interest to educate the parents in regards to their rights or their child's rights. IDEA forces them to evaluate the kid (Child Find) and construct an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) but when you get to the IEP meeting, the school wants to provide the minimum amount of services that they can get away with.
When Vasili was diagnosed as autistic, it was an unpleasant, unexpected surprise that I had barely begun to come to terms with when I had to meet with the school to discuss his education plan. I didn’t even know what the education plan meeting entailed when I walked into that room. There were six of them and one of me. Guess who won? I didn’t even know what questions to ask, and I’m the medical professional of the family.
Due to my own colossal, but now rectified, ignorance, Vasili is receiving a minimal amount of services by the school. A couple hours of group speech therapy per week, and the occupational therapist is barely involved. He is being mainstreamed, but has a visual learning aide/schedule to go by.
While I agree with mainstreaming Vasili, since he is not at all retarded, I am not sure that his current IEP is serving his interests as well as it could. It is adequate, however, so I will let it ride to the end of the school year. When he is starting 1st grade, however, and the annual IEP meeting is held, there will be... changes. Because I know his rights now, and I have the support of groups like the Autism Society of America to back me up and provide all the paperwork, advocacy, etc, I need to fight the school.
One of the more interesting side effects of Vasili's diagnosis is that it has changed my approach to nursing school(RN to BSN program, I am already a nurse) assignments. With each new project, research paper, and presentation due in school, I am delving deeper and deeper into the cutting edge of autism law, genetics, biomedical research, and so on.
My BSN capstone project will be on autism, too. And it wouldn't bother me to go into research on this topic. It is an epidemic, and the loosening of the DSM-IV-tr criteria alone *cannot* account for what is nearly a 1000% increase in prevalence! Nor do vaccines alone account for it, in case you wondered.
But between work, kids, writing and revising, and homework/research, the only free time I have these days is really late at night. So now I email everyone, and blog. Sometimes, I tweet.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Back to Basics
My five year old son had a seizure recently.
With luck, he will never have another.
But during the course of this event I learned that a lot of otherwise sensible people have no idea of what to do in a medical emergency, even if they have had CPR training.
So here are some basics to keep in mind:
First, remain calm. Panicking serves absolutely no use and is counterproductive.
Second, if in doubt, call 911. Paramedics would rather respond to a false alarm than have someone not call and die as a result of their hesitation.
Third, ABC! This simple mnemonic, used by every nurse, doctor, and EMT is apparently not as well known as I thought it was. My parents, both CPR certified, had never heard of it. Nor had my son's teacher.
A. B. C. stands for Airway, Breathing, Circulation. This is called primary assessment by ER types and anyone can check them.
First: Airway. Is the victim able to breath or is something obstructing the airway, like a tongue or foreign object? Opening the airway is the entire point of the head tilt, chin lift you are taught in CPR training.
Second: Breathing. Is the victim breathing? Can you feel or hear the breath? Are both sides of the chest expanding? This is where rescue breathing comes in, though that is now thought of as more optional than required.
Third: Circulation. Does the victim have a pulse? Check for the pulse by placing your first two fingers on the wrist, in the inside hollow just back from the pad of your thumb. That's the radial artery. Once you find it, you can assess quality: strong or weak, slow or rapid, regular or irregular. If you can't find it, start chest compressions.
There are few things in life as simple as ABC. Or as life-saving.
With luck, he will never have another.
But during the course of this event I learned that a lot of otherwise sensible people have no idea of what to do in a medical emergency, even if they have had CPR training.
So here are some basics to keep in mind:
First, remain calm. Panicking serves absolutely no use and is counterproductive.
Second, if in doubt, call 911. Paramedics would rather respond to a false alarm than have someone not call and die as a result of their hesitation.
Third, ABC! This simple mnemonic, used by every nurse, doctor, and EMT is apparently not as well known as I thought it was. My parents, both CPR certified, had never heard of it. Nor had my son's teacher.
A. B. C. stands for Airway, Breathing, Circulation. This is called primary assessment by ER types and anyone can check them.
First: Airway. Is the victim able to breath or is something obstructing the airway, like a tongue or foreign object? Opening the airway is the entire point of the head tilt, chin lift you are taught in CPR training.
Second: Breathing. Is the victim breathing? Can you feel or hear the breath? Are both sides of the chest expanding? This is where rescue breathing comes in, though that is now thought of as more optional than required.
Third: Circulation. Does the victim have a pulse? Check for the pulse by placing your first two fingers on the wrist, in the inside hollow just back from the pad of your thumb. That's the radial artery. Once you find it, you can assess quality: strong or weak, slow or rapid, regular or irregular. If you can't find it, start chest compressions.
There are few things in life as simple as ABC. Or as life-saving.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Just for Fun
Entirely for the fun of it:
http://tinyurl.com/akd6ro
I can't say how long that post will be up. Depends.
http://tinyurl.com/akd6ro
I can't say how long that post will be up. Depends.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Odds & Ends
Okay, it's 2009 now. That means... it's Derby Trail Season. Yipee! I love the three-year-olds. Mary Forney's Blog http://maryforney.blogspot.com is doing a good job of keeping me updated on the west coast contenders. Thanks. :) I'm growing fond of The Pamplemousse despite the name.
Sorrow: Curlin is retired. So is Big Brown. Hopefully in a few years we'll be seeing their colts on the track.
In a complete change of subject: The Holy Revision of the Dark Servant continues. If anyone is interested in proof-reading the ms, let me know. My eyes are starting to cross when I stare at it for too long, and the Workshop is sooo slow.
Someone suggested I go ahead and write the Hybrid as YA and someone else that I write the Dancer as erotica. That made me wonder... YA and Erotica in the same series?! With a murder-mystery in the middle?! Am I insane? Is that how I've managed to come up with this stuff?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tbeNzGBacOXSx3L-b_yr-hWa_wOZkYUt0BH8Un1rFIpZxWkIh5hPOO-OvCFgDxk6hOtdky7crkocHtsvm0kHBBv1zmM2DXrZfA77sPnEyohCze6MtKH74F3p0UgDKHHwnaqu2wW3J89NEizjXouXU=s0-d)
Sorrow: Curlin is retired. So is Big Brown. Hopefully in a few years we'll be seeing their colts on the track.
In a complete change of subject: The Holy Revision of the Dark Servant continues. If anyone is interested in proof-reading the ms, let me know. My eyes are starting to cross when I stare at it for too long, and the Workshop is sooo slow.
Someone suggested I go ahead and write the Hybrid as YA and someone else that I write the Dancer as erotica. That made me wonder... YA and Erotica in the same series?! With a murder-mystery in the middle?! Am I insane? Is that how I've managed to come up with this stuff?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Future of Bookstores
"In looking over the F&SF shelves, there was a very clear pattern. All that was left were the most recent paperback releases of name authors." L. E. Modesitt, Jr. http://tinyurl.com/2f9wdd
I've seen this pattern in most bookstores myself, including independents, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. I've even told management in these stores that I would have bought more if they'd bothered to stock Books 1 & 2 of so-and-so's trilogy. But they probably lack the power to change that. By not stocking the backlist, they reduce their own sales. But if they did stock every author's backlist, arguably, they'd soon run out of space.
Because of this trend, however, I am buying more and more books online. Amazon has better prices anyhow, and I don't have to spend another $25 for their discount membership. I've never quite gotten how I save money by spending the amount of a hardcover to get a savings club membership card. Waldenbooks Otherworlds Club discount card was free. With Amazon, I not only get a free discount, I can be pretty sure that they'll have the author's backlist.
The downside to Amazon is that there is far less impulse buying. The consumer is far more likely to only buy the book by the author that they're looking for and not pick up the book on the next shelf because it looks interesting. Amazon doesn't have shelves. And sometimes I wonder who decides on the books that show up at the bottom of the screen that proclaim "People who liked X also liked A, B, C, D."
But I remain aware of new and mid-list authors, and I look for them a couple of ways.
The used bookstore is my first stop there. I don't spend as much on the book, so I'm a lot more willing to take a chance. If I like the book, I'll add the author to the list of who I'm looking for at Amazon.
Another method is to read the reviews on Locus. Not 100% foolproof, but they have turned me onto some great books over the years.
I don't know what the solution is for the brick and mortar bookstores, but if I had to guess, it's going to be POD. Problem is, there's not much difference between shopping online and browsing POD titles. You can't pick up the book and skim a few pages. I've heard that it will soon be possible to have a POD kiosk inside a bookstore. You select your book, pay for it, and the machine prints and binds it while you wait.
This might be the solution for backlist. Put the newest offerings on the shelves to attract customers, then have the other books obtainable through the POD. One stop shopping that's actually competitive.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uGBwrRbBdH8wHB_2jNCXI6Y8Zfl_g_RBYHobuNWmN7gzN9gnQwYhbSyk7afo1PCstyE1BzCUpFJ2c1LC_spD9uFP5Rk1lyr4sCsbQrYezwi3XrPe4OQNJK0xYMM-k8kn6NrPDE-BI-a4VEknAzK0cG=s0-d)
I've seen this pattern in most bookstores myself, including independents, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. I've even told management in these stores that I would have bought more if they'd bothered to stock Books 1 & 2 of so-and-so's trilogy. But they probably lack the power to change that. By not stocking the backlist, they reduce their own sales. But if they did stock every author's backlist, arguably, they'd soon run out of space.
Because of this trend, however, I am buying more and more books online. Amazon has better prices anyhow, and I don't have to spend another $25 for their discount membership. I've never quite gotten how I save money by spending the amount of a hardcover to get a savings club membership card. Waldenbooks Otherworlds Club discount card was free. With Amazon, I not only get a free discount, I can be pretty sure that they'll have the author's backlist.
The downside to Amazon is that there is far less impulse buying. The consumer is far more likely to only buy the book by the author that they're looking for and not pick up the book on the next shelf because it looks interesting. Amazon doesn't have shelves. And sometimes I wonder who decides on the books that show up at the bottom of the screen that proclaim "People who liked X also liked A, B, C, D."
But I remain aware of new and mid-list authors, and I look for them a couple of ways.
The used bookstore is my first stop there. I don't spend as much on the book, so I'm a lot more willing to take a chance. If I like the book, I'll add the author to the list of who I'm looking for at Amazon.
Another method is to read the reviews on Locus. Not 100% foolproof, but they have turned me onto some great books over the years.
I don't know what the solution is for the brick and mortar bookstores, but if I had to guess, it's going to be POD. Problem is, there's not much difference between shopping online and browsing POD titles. You can't pick up the book and skim a few pages. I've heard that it will soon be possible to have a POD kiosk inside a bookstore. You select your book, pay for it, and the machine prints and binds it while you wait.
This might be the solution for backlist. Put the newest offerings on the shelves to attract customers, then have the other books obtainable through the POD. One stop shopping that's actually competitive.
Monday, January 12, 2009
ICU eavesdropping
Our redoubtable night shift charge is fond of challenging us to think outside the box. On the question of patient/family complaints about noise, he had this to say:
Pretend you're not a nurse. Walk down the hall, stop and listen outside of each room for a moment, then move on.
Some results:
1. "Don't put that thing in there!"
2. "Squeeze!"
3. "Work it!"
4. "Suck it in harder!"
5. "Blow blow blow blow blow!"
6. "Yes, you do have to do that."
There was nothing inappropriate going on in any case, but feel free to guess what the actual situation is. I'll post the real answers tomorrow.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_twX-FRdXENhPqAKctSkLPtEedcBauBScEwwyekCZl5MhMldJ8k_ldDWfcetVbvUvbjugg97B0yJU_M8j2He4jRLCyBHod8ojDRx0SH-EieGGv33obiPSUE9WojC1b9f9SuPr1gHXfpYPMJ2O8m_Mxm=s0-d)
Pretend you're not a nurse. Walk down the hall, stop and listen outside of each room for a moment, then move on.
Some results:
1. "Don't put that thing in there!"
2. "Squeeze!"
3. "Work it!"
4. "Suck it in harder!"
5. "Blow blow blow blow blow!"
6. "Yes, you do have to do that."
There was nothing inappropriate going on in any case, but feel free to guess what the actual situation is. I'll post the real answers tomorrow.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Works in Progress Eternal
Works in Progress (as of 1/8/09)
Fantasy
Ydron Chronicles (510,549)
1. Dancer (Rak 1) (55,098)
2. Novice (Rak 2) (55,726)
3. Priest (Rak 3) (33,405)
4. Dark Servant (Rak 4) (210,474) (Complete, in revision)
5. Thearch (Rak 5) (87,062)
6. The Hybrid (Stand alone) (68,784) (Complete, in revision)
7. The Temple (Stand alone) (Outline only)
Science Fiction
Rovanis Chronicles (61,648)
1. Yeri 1 (10,650)
2. Yeri 2 (15,919)
3. Yeri 3 (8,491)
4. Yeri 4 (6,404)
5. Yeri 5 (20,184)
6. The Forest (Stand alone) (Outline only)
Dark Star Chronicles (157,051)
1. Razorback (39,000)
2. Ghost Fleet (Outline only)
3. Last Stand (66,513)
4. Masquerade (86,638)
Total Word Count: 729,248
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy New Year
Courtesy of the night shift ICU charge nurse comes the best New Year's resolution I've ever heard.
"This year, I resolve not to make any resolutions."
"This year, I resolve not to make any resolutions."
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
This is originally from The Big Read - they think most people will only have read 6 out of the 100 books listed.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Underline those you intend to read.
3) Italicise the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them.
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’dolin - Louis De Bernieres Mans
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Underline those you intend to read.
3) Italicise the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them.
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’dolin - Louis De Bernieres Mans
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Publishing vs Nursing
I freely admit that I am an aspiring author who would very much like to leave my current career to write full time. But isn't that the dream of every aspiring, unpublished author? I am at least realistic. I know the odds are against me.
And after today's news of publishing houses laying off, restructuring and possibly placing freezes on acquisitions, now is clearly not a good time in the publishing industry. Publishers Marketplace dubbed it 'Black Wednesday' and bad news seemed to come from every direction.
Agent and editor bloggers that I follow and admire seem beside themselves as they worry about what's going to happen next. My heart goes out to all of them, and I hope they all weather this crisis in good form with their careers intact.
It's at times like these that I reflect upon my day, er, night job. As a Registered Nurse in a cardiac ICU, I don't have to worry about lay-offs. I have to worry about mandatory overtime and whether or not I'll get Christmas off.
There's a nursing shortage. If the hospital I worked for went under, I could find a job within days if I wasn't picky, a month at the utmost if I was picky. And given that sort of job security, I'd be crazy to want to leave the field.
And yet, as an author, I'd be able to set my own hours, eat like a normal human being, use the bathroom on an as needed basis, and see more of my family. But I'd be at the mercy of the economic climate and how well my books sold.
For now, I shall remain a CVICU RN. Yes, it means I'll have to work Christmas and New Year's, but at least I'll get holiday pay on top of the overtime.
And after today's news of publishing houses laying off, restructuring and possibly placing freezes on acquisitions, now is clearly not a good time in the publishing industry. Publishers Marketplace dubbed it 'Black Wednesday' and bad news seemed to come from every direction.
Agent and editor bloggers that I follow and admire seem beside themselves as they worry about what's going to happen next. My heart goes out to all of them, and I hope they all weather this crisis in good form with their careers intact.
It's at times like these that I reflect upon my day, er, night job. As a Registered Nurse in a cardiac ICU, I don't have to worry about lay-offs. I have to worry about mandatory overtime and whether or not I'll get Christmas off.
There's a nursing shortage. If the hospital I worked for went under, I could find a job within days if I wasn't picky, a month at the utmost if I was picky. And given that sort of job security, I'd be crazy to want to leave the field.
And yet, as an author, I'd be able to set my own hours, eat like a normal human being, use the bathroom on an as needed basis, and see more of my family. But I'd be at the mercy of the economic climate and how well my books sold.
For now, I shall remain a CVICU RN. Yes, it means I'll have to work Christmas and New Year's, but at least I'll get holiday pay on top of the overtime.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
NaNoWriMo Winner!
Well, I did it. Sort of. The novel isn't quite done, but I got impatient and went ahead and uploaded what I had. 52,725 words in 26 days. NaNo is an impressive motivator. I just hope and pray that I didn't write pure crap. My new goal, of course, is to finish the story by the end of the month. However many words that may turn out to be. Then I can happily revise it, create a query letter and synopsis for it, and send it out to every agent I can think of. The only question remaining, in my mind, is whether this novel is more suited for the YA or the general adult fantasy market.
Stoned Responder
It is my opinion that after having oral surgery, you should not then catch up on all the blogs you follow while stoned half out of your mind on Vicodin.
To those bloggers that I did, in fact, respond to, I officially apologize.
:)
To those bloggers that I did, in fact, respond to, I officially apologize.
:)
Friday, November 21, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Am-I-Dumb.com - Dumb Test
I am smarter than 99.81% of the rest of the world.
Dumb Test
Apparently I am bored tonight. Actually, I think I am procrastinating actually doing any work on my NaNo story. Even though it's getting good.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Free-IQTest.net - Free IQ Test
And I was not exactly awake or concentrating on it, either.
It was an okay test, a little tricky in places. But the really annoying was the end. It takes nearly ten minutes of clicking 'skip' to get get past all the ads and products they want to sell you.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
A Review of Anathem
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
A book review
From the word “anthem” meaning “a piece of sacred vocal music” and from the word “Anathema” meaning “a formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.”
This is the title of Neal Stephenson’s latest book. Now, I usually read science fiction and fantasy. I had never before read Stephenson because he is not a pure genre author. Most of his work falls under the category of historical romance. Some of his work is alternate history/near future. And his earliest work has been described as cyberpunk. None of these are genres or subgenres that hold any interest for me.
Then Stephenson wrote Anathem. The pre-release work-up in Locus was interesting, and I thought, “I might give it a read once it’s out in paperback.” But as the release date grew closer, I found myself thinking about the concept of the novel that I’d read about. And if I am thinking of a book I haven’t even read, well, I take that as a sign. I bought a copy, in hardcover, which I am loathe to do if it’s an author I don’t know, trust, admire, love, etc.
The first thing I noticed was that the book was 900 some odd pages long. Long books don’t scare me. I read Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth because it was a long book. I read very fast, you see, and frequently run out of book long before I’m ready to leave the story. My favorite authors, who by sane standards are prolific, don’t write fast enough to suit me. So long books don’t scare me.
I settled down to start reading Anathem. I thought it would take me several days to read it because I lack the time to devote to intensive reading right now, what with NaNoWriMo, the revision of my own book, school etc. Nuh-uh. Just over a day. Why?
Because Anathem is a complex book with many themes and concepts interwoven and I was afraid that if I put the book down for any great length of time, I’d lose the thread of it. At the same time, I found the book insightful, funny, and absolutely brilliant. And more importantly, it was an awesome read. I read a lot of books. This is the best book I’ve read in well over a year.
From the beginning the concept grabbed me. The plot took two hundred pages to show up, and I didn’t care. The concept, the background, the sheer detail of the fascinating world-building held me spellbound. Then when the plot did show up, it got even better! It alternated between philosophy and action and politics and science and math and religion. Any concept you can name was probably thought about at some point during this novel.
Anathem is what science fiction used to be. It is what science fiction should be. This is not a rehashing of the typical sci fi plot involving rockets and space colonization. It isn’t thinly veiled socio-political commentary. It isn’t space opera with nothing but lip service paid to the science aspect of sci fi. No, it’s innovative. It’s like 40s sci fi writ anew, based on modern science. Not Newtonian or Einsteinian physics, but sciences like quantum mechanics.
The science is dazzling, well researched, and logically presented in such a way that the average reader probably can understand most of it. Ditto for the math. And the characters are human, believable, and likeable. They make you want to keep reading to find out what happens to them next. All the way to the end of the novel. At which point, I heaved a huge sigh and said, “I wish there was a sequel.” Of course, the odds are slim, I think Anathem was written as a stand-alone, but still, what a wonderful, wonderful book.
Here’s hoping that Stephenson considers writing another book in the same world.
A book review
From the word “anthem” meaning “a piece of sacred vocal music” and from the word “Anathema” meaning “a formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.”
This is the title of Neal Stephenson’s latest book. Now, I usually read science fiction and fantasy. I had never before read Stephenson because he is not a pure genre author. Most of his work falls under the category of historical romance. Some of his work is alternate history/near future. And his earliest work has been described as cyberpunk. None of these are genres or subgenres that hold any interest for me.
Then Stephenson wrote Anathem. The pre-release work-up in Locus was interesting, and I thought, “I might give it a read once it’s out in paperback.” But as the release date grew closer, I found myself thinking about the concept of the novel that I’d read about. And if I am thinking of a book I haven’t even read, well, I take that as a sign. I bought a copy, in hardcover, which I am loathe to do if it’s an author I don’t know, trust, admire, love, etc.
The first thing I noticed was that the book was 900 some odd pages long. Long books don’t scare me. I read Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth because it was a long book. I read very fast, you see, and frequently run out of book long before I’m ready to leave the story. My favorite authors, who by sane standards are prolific, don’t write fast enough to suit me. So long books don’t scare me.
I settled down to start reading Anathem. I thought it would take me several days to read it because I lack the time to devote to intensive reading right now, what with NaNoWriMo, the revision of my own book, school etc. Nuh-uh. Just over a day. Why?
Because Anathem is a complex book with many themes and concepts interwoven and I was afraid that if I put the book down for any great length of time, I’d lose the thread of it. At the same time, I found the book insightful, funny, and absolutely brilliant. And more importantly, it was an awesome read. I read a lot of books. This is the best book I’ve read in well over a year.
From the beginning the concept grabbed me. The plot took two hundred pages to show up, and I didn’t care. The concept, the background, the sheer detail of the fascinating world-building held me spellbound. Then when the plot did show up, it got even better! It alternated between philosophy and action and politics and science and math and religion. Any concept you can name was probably thought about at some point during this novel.
Anathem is what science fiction used to be. It is what science fiction should be. This is not a rehashing of the typical sci fi plot involving rockets and space colonization. It isn’t thinly veiled socio-political commentary. It isn’t space opera with nothing but lip service paid to the science aspect of sci fi. No, it’s innovative. It’s like 40s sci fi writ anew, based on modern science. Not Newtonian or Einsteinian physics, but sciences like quantum mechanics.
The science is dazzling, well researched, and logically presented in such a way that the average reader probably can understand most of it. Ditto for the math. And the characters are human, believable, and likeable. They make you want to keep reading to find out what happens to them next. All the way to the end of the novel. At which point, I heaved a huge sigh and said, “I wish there was a sequel.” Of course, the odds are slim, I think Anathem was written as a stand-alone, but still, what a wonderful, wonderful book.
Here’s hoping that Stephenson considers writing another book in the same world.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Horses in Writing
As a writer of fantasy and a lover of horses, this blog post was pretty much inevitable. The following is a primer for those people planning on putting horses into their novels in any way, but particularly as a form of transportation.
1. The horse is not a machine. It needs to rest, it needs to eat, it needs to sleep. It drinks lots of water, very messily. And then the horse smears it’s wet, grain-and-dirt-and-snot coated muzzle across the shirt you’re wearing.
2. The horse has a mind of its own. It can get cranky. Or frisky. And they startle easily. The horse is a prey animal and wired that way. Its instinct says run away first, then wonder if that flapping thing is really trying to attack. So sometimes the horse goes sideways because a leaf flips over in the wind. Sometimes, the rider doesn’t go with the horse.
3. Some horses will hold their breath while being saddled so that the girth is too loose. And some horses will try to scrape their riders off on trees. And then there is propping. Propping occurs when the horse stops suddenly, usually at a gallop. The horse stops by planting its stiffened front feet to the earth. Propping them, see? The problem with that is simple: the rider rarely sees it coming and ends up flipping over the horse’s head.
4. Horses have bad habits, too. They need mental stimulation. A bored horse who has been in a stall too long picks up vices. Cribbing, for example. Cribbing is when the horse starts biting and chewing on the stall itself, and swallows air as a result. There are a whole host of stable vices that the budding author can look into.
5. The rider. The escaping princess leaps onto the back of a horse in her silk dress and gallops off into the night? She falls off after ten paces because silk is slippery. So are the bare backs of horses. Okay, she has a saddle. Ever try mounting a horse in a full length skirt? And side-saddles aren’t well balanced, so no cross country, which makes it easy for the guards to catch her. Dress sensibly: boots, long pants.
6. The characters ride all day long, hand their horses over to the stable boys, and saunter into the inn. Riding all day long is hard physical work. It’s exhausting. After a full twelve hours or more in the saddle, even given stops for nature-calls, the character shouldn’t be able to stand up straight, much less walk, much less saunter. And both people and horses can get saddle-sores.
There is plenty more to think about when using horses in a novel. The best recommendation I could give you is to find someone who owns horses and will let you experience the joys of riding AND taking care of their needs.
1. The horse is not a machine. It needs to rest, it needs to eat, it needs to sleep. It drinks lots of water, very messily. And then the horse smears it’s wet, grain-and-dirt-and-snot coated muzzle across the shirt you’re wearing.
2. The horse has a mind of its own. It can get cranky. Or frisky. And they startle easily. The horse is a prey animal and wired that way. Its instinct says run away first, then wonder if that flapping thing is really trying to attack. So sometimes the horse goes sideways because a leaf flips over in the wind. Sometimes, the rider doesn’t go with the horse.
3. Some horses will hold their breath while being saddled so that the girth is too loose. And some horses will try to scrape their riders off on trees. And then there is propping. Propping occurs when the horse stops suddenly, usually at a gallop. The horse stops by planting its stiffened front feet to the earth. Propping them, see? The problem with that is simple: the rider rarely sees it coming and ends up flipping over the horse’s head.
4. Horses have bad habits, too. They need mental stimulation. A bored horse who has been in a stall too long picks up vices. Cribbing, for example. Cribbing is when the horse starts biting and chewing on the stall itself, and swallows air as a result. There are a whole host of stable vices that the budding author can look into.
5. The rider. The escaping princess leaps onto the back of a horse in her silk dress and gallops off into the night? She falls off after ten paces because silk is slippery. So are the bare backs of horses. Okay, she has a saddle. Ever try mounting a horse in a full length skirt? And side-saddles aren’t well balanced, so no cross country, which makes it easy for the guards to catch her. Dress sensibly: boots, long pants.
6. The characters ride all day long, hand their horses over to the stable boys, and saunter into the inn. Riding all day long is hard physical work. It’s exhausting. After a full twelve hours or more in the saddle, even given stops for nature-calls, the character shouldn’t be able to stand up straight, much less walk, much less saunter. And both people and horses can get saddle-sores.
There is plenty more to think about when using horses in a novel. The best recommendation I could give you is to find someone who owns horses and will let you experience the joys of riding AND taking care of their needs.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Art and Personality
Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...
Conscientious, Fulfilled, and Spiritual
20 Renaissance, 14 Islamic, 11 Ukiyo-e, -23 Cubist, -27 Abstract and 2 Impressionist!
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence affected literature, philosopy, religion, art, politics, science, and all other aspects of intellectual enquiry. Renaissance artists looked at the human aspect of life in their art. They did not reject religion but tended to look at it in it's purest form to create visions they thought depicted the ideals of religion. Painters of this time had their own style and created works based on morality, religion, and human nature. Many of the paintings depicted what they believed to be the corrupt nature of man.
People that like Renaissance paintings like things that are more challenging. They tend to have a high emotional stability. They also tend to be more concientious then average. They have a basic understanding of human nature and therefore are not easily surprised by anything that people may do. They enjoy life and enjoy living. They are very aware of their own mortality but do not dwell on the end but what they are doing in the present. They enjoy learning, but may tend to be a bit more closed minded to new ideas as they feel that the viewpoint they have has been well researched and considered. These people are more old fashioned and not quite as progressive. They enjoy the finer things in life like comfort, a good meal, and homelife. They tend to be more spiritual or religious by nature. They are open to new aesthetic experiences.
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