From one of the most prolific writers I’ve had the honor to read since coming back online. If you’re a lover of horror fiction, not the usual vampire and werewolf kitsch but the otherworldly, creepy, paranormal kind of horror that evokes H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, and Rod Serling, you will love the fiction of Jessica B. Bell. Read on for how you can help the “creepy f**ker” keep writing ;)
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Katie Sullivan, the younger (by far) half of the D/A Dialogues is crowdfunding her new novel, Changelings: Into the Mist. Follow through and give her launch a hand. I was a beta reader for Changelings and I am really looking forward to reading it again!
So, I did something I never thought I would be bold enough to do: launch a crowdfunding campaign.There’s even a contribution on it (Thank you, Christopher – and no, this is not the official thank-you).
Through the campaign, you can PRE-ORDER your very own copy of Changelings, and even have it signed or personally inscribed by yours truely (and if you ask nice, I’ll even have D sign it!). There are also a lot of great perks to be had. I think I had the most fun looking for those!
All of this is an effort to expand the distribution for Changelings. I’ve pushed myself to become more active in my local community, and I want to be able to share this with them – with the libraries I love so dearly, with the bookstores and coffee shops – and distribution…
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For those of us still toiling away in office environments in order to pay the bills. For those of you who have the pleasure of no longer being tethered to a broken office chair in a windowless room. Here is John Howell’s hilarious list of things not to do when your boss is away.
This list was inspired by observing the behaviors of my co-workers when the boss had to leave the office for business travel or vacation. To be clear, I personally never did any of these things since I was always taking notes and was a goodie two shoes. (Don’t forget I’m a fiction writer). Hope you like.
Ten Things Not to Do When Your Boss is Traveling or on Vacation
10 If the boss is out of the office, do not think your workload has been reduced for the length of time the boss is gone. If you do, at best you will get away with the slowdown. At worst, you will be asked by the boss for a status of your projects first thing in the morning of the boss’ return.
9 If the boss is out of the office, do not think you will make brownie points with your…
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This “experimental” “poem” (feel like I should put both words separated in quotes because I rarely write like this) was previously published on The Community Storyboard.
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She called me her little Puerto Rican.
I was too young to remember, she said.
Not until I was an adult,
and she lay on her bed, her white hair spread like a fan on the pillow,
her wrinkled, spotted hands folded on her chest,
her opaque eyes fixed on the bluebird outside her window.
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A truly wonderful dedication from a truly wonderful man, Seumas Gallacher (gifted blogger, author, poet). I feel a kinship with the great man (“… the older I become, the less rational the world appears …”) and (too) often these days ask the question: “Why the Hell did you have to die?”
…I don’’t often cut and paste my Facebook posts as blog pieces, but so many people have asked me to do so with the post I made on there yesterday, in the hope that the message may go viral… if yeez wish to share it, please do so… LUV YEEZ!… here’s the post:
…the older I become, the less rational the world appears… I care not for the arguments and posturing that dress themselves as nationalistic, religious, political or downright greed… when a young man standing HONOUR GUARD in memory of those fallen in horrendous global conflicts around the planet is gunned down under some pretence of a deluded fanatic’s ‘righteousness’, my soul screams out, ‘Enough’! ….how present are the words of the song that ask ‘when will they ever learn?’ ..the ‘they’ being all of the creeds, nutters, even well-meaning hawks of all nationalities… last year, I unashamedly…
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Ha ha ha ha …
think again …
All will be revealed starting Friday, October 24, 2014.
(At least, I hope so because I don’t have a clue what the hell is going to happen on that day. I just hope I’ll be in a safe place … )
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I hate planning because, more often than not, my plans get upended by unforeseen circumstances. For example, …
I plan to finish a painfully detailed and tedious project at work by week’s end only to find an error in my SQL query which means I will have to fix said error and then redo several days’ worth of work. To add insult to injury, I crash our server in my effort to fix said error and then have to wait until the next day before I resume my work on the project. As of this post, I am still behind on that project.
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Are you required to participate in team-building events with your coworkers? Continue on to John Howell’s blog for ten good reasons to call in sick the next time you’re faced with a team-building event :)
This list was inspired by attending over 300 team building events in my corporate career. I hope you like it and find the advice useful for your next team building event. If you are in charge of team building events, I am begging you to stop holding team building events.
Ten Things Not to Do at a Corporate Team Building Event
10 If your company is having a team building event, do not think your team relationships will last. If you do, at best you will be seen as weak and someone to avoid. At worst, the next promotion will go to your new friend who explained to the boss how needy you are.
9 If your company has a team building event, do not fall for the old trust building exercise. If you do, at best your trust will not be reciprocated. At worst, you will place your trust…
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This short short story was originally published on The Community Storyboard in May 2013. With some minor revisions, I’m reprinting it here.
Sunday Dinner
The child’s cry pierced my ears, and I thanked God again that I was too blind to see her tear-soaked red face. Every Sunday they put me through this. As an old woman, a matriarch, I’m supposed to be grateful. And I cope well enough with the cacophony of patent leather shoes and Buster Browns tripping across my wood floors. I cope with the sting and stench of my son-in-law’s cigar smoke, fighting for attention with the sour aroma of sauerkraut and kielbasa, my shoulders constantly pressed and rubbed as if I needed a reminder that it’s another Sunday dinner with all my children and their children. (more…)
Marie at 1 Write Way 