Month: September 2005

bookmark_borderDangers of Researching (NSFW)

Posted on by PaulaO

NOTICE: MOST OF THE LINKS FOR THIS ARTICLE ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR VIEWING AT WORK!!

I was cruising Wikipedia for an image. Didn’t know what exactly I was looking for but I was cruising around. Came across an awesome photo, artistically that is, of a D/s collar.

Seeing it reminded me that I still had to figure out exactly what to do for NaNo. I remembered that erotica piece (no pun intended) I was working on and thought perhaps that might be a good one. So, using the links from the image, I did some D/s research.

D/s differs in that there usually is little to no pain involved. The whole thing is based on Dominance and submissiveness. If you want to find out more, look it up yourself! Anyway, I came across a link to a magazine called Domination Directory International (DDI). While not exactly what I was looking for (the lifestyle of a lesbian Domme) I did find the site, um, interesting. They have all of their magazine covers available for viewing. As I flipped through them, watching how the magazine changed over the years, I started seeing what these women were wearing on their feet.

     

(clicking on the image will take you to the DDI’s cover gallery. NOT suitable for work! Unless this is your work.)

Now, while I am all for wearing uniforms, I am rather amused with these boots. The first caught my attention which started me checking out all the shoes/boots on the covers. I mean, really, do they actually walk in them?? I imagine their studios are small. Or they sit and order the client around. And yes, all of the cover models were sitting. And check out the ones with the elevator soles! One hell of a spike but I think I’d get a head rush from the height change.

And, in case you were wondering and even if you were not, my favorite cover (not the boot) was actually one of the above: the one third from the right.

bookmark_borderShort Story Finished

Posted on by PaulaO

I use a text-to-speech program, TextAloud, to read to me. I also bought some ‘voices’ that were easier to understand. I use it especially when I have a section of a manuscript that I can feel there is something wrong, I just can’t find it. Hearing someone read it aloud helps me to find it. I could read it aloud but well, I am lazy.

I used the program to read my short story to me. I found four places that were ‘off’ and was able to fix them. I will print it out tonight and send it off to the competition tomorrow. Way cool and groovy, eh?

Wonder if sealing that envelope will be as odd as sealing the box??

bookmark_borderDear Dew Diary:

Posted on by PaulaO

It has now been nearly 48hrs since my last Mt. Dew. My hands are shaking, my face is sweating. I have a roaring headache. I considered charging up my chair and riding it the half-mile uphill to the little store and getting myself a fix. Just a sip or two, that’s all.

Just Kidding!!

I am doing just fine. No change in sleep pattern as of yet. We went out to dinner (Blue Mountain Pizza!!!) and instead of the Southern staple, sweet ice tea, I had a milk shake. Went well with the stromboli. We left before the music started, although they were setting up (the Baily Mountain Trio, I think). I had the stromboli (with extra cheese, bacon and ham) and Lorna had a flat pita with fungus and something green (portabello and green pepper). She also had a beer, I think a Sierra Nevada. Blue Mountain Pizza has a great beer selection both in bottles and on tap. If you ever go there, don’t forget to leave room for dessert! Their reese cheesecake is like, well, it’s good!

bookmark_borderForAllKids.org

Posted on by PaulaO

For All Kids Foundation is a non-profit grant-giving organization established by Rosie O’Donnell.

The foundation supports nonprofit organizations that provide child care, early education and other programs for at-risk and economically disadvantaged children in underserved communities. However, organizations providing direct child care services are given preference because the foundation’s board of directors believes the availability and affordability of quality child care are pressing concerns for families throughout the United States.

Currently, they are providing grants to the Baton Rouge area day cares, after-school, and elementary school programs that are providing support to the children of that area, even if they are no longer in that area.

Tonight (9/22), Kelli O’Donnell will be appearing on Larry King Live tonight on CNN (9pmEDT) to discuss the organization’s efforts in the Katrina disaster area.

Donate to For All Kids.org

UPDATE: In other Katrina disaster news, the last of the ‘lost’ dolphins have been found and retrieved!

bookmark_borderToday’s Progress

Posted on by PaulaO

in terms of word count, I failed. Got nery nary a new word written/typed down/in.

However, I made great progress on my agent query letter. I researched the AgentQuery website, gathering more information and double checking that each agent was still seeing clients.

Then I went to their websites, Googled them, read articles about, for, and by them, then I ranked them in the order I would prefer.

My #1 choice is Felicia Eth. After reading some articles and the like, I figured out what she wanted to see in a query letter and I put it together for her. I found that since I had a specific goal, I was much more betterer organized.

I even went so far to copy/paste the first 5 pages of BG1 in to the document and sent it off to Kait. Of course, within thirty seconds of hitting send, I realized I had cut/paste the wrong version of BG1, one that was full of errors. :banghead:

bookmark_borderSafe Landing!

Posted on by PaulaO

Lorna and I had the TV off. We turned it on as she was getting ready for bed to get the updates on Hurricane Rita. She flipped the channel over to CNN during a commercial. The plane in LA was just getting ready to land. We must have held our breath the whole time.

One helluva flight crew! I had a step dad who was a pilot and I often went up with him in his Cessna. I have a general idea of what it takes to fly one of those tiny planes. I know how difficult it is to keep the nose up on those things, but to keep it up for that long on freakin’ airbus??!!

NY Times Article

MyWay News article (AP)



(images from NYTimes article)

bookmark_borderMars Orbiter

Posted on by PaulaO

Found this at Slashdot via their RSS feed:

Mars Orbiter Sees Changes

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday September 21, @06:26AM
from the no-dead-batteries-on-this-probe dept.
pin_gween writes “The long-lived Mars Global Surveyor (8 yrs and flying) has enabled scientists to see changes in the surface of Mars. From the article: ‘New gullies that did not exist in mid-2002 have appeared on a Martian sand dune. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars’ south pole have shrunk from the previous year’s size, suggesting a climate change in progress.’ The probe’s primary mission ended in 2001 and scientists are hopeful the orbiter’s life can be extended for another 5 -10 years.”

So if you are a SF or F writer, this is some good information in stuff from world/moon building to story ideas.

bookmark_borderShrunken Essay

Posted on by PaulaO

I knew there was something I wanted to say here about my counseling appt (other than the news about the Mt Dew experiment).

I had taken in some of my writings, including some that I thought would help her to understand how I think at times. The Pit and the Paindelum was one of them. She asked me today if she could use it in a workshop on Friday.

My MD and my counselor are both at Mountain Area Family Health Center (FHC), one of the Mountain Arear Health Education Centers (MAHEC). Medical Residents come to the area to fulfill part or all of their residency at one of the MAHECs. The workshop on Friday is for the newest residents and is about patients with chronic pain. In the workshops they like to use local patients as case studies, making it more real for them. She thinks my essay will be a valuable learning experience for them.

I just hope she proofreads it first.

bookmark_borderSynopsisises

Posted on by PaulaO

Had a fit of creativity last night, er this morning, whenever, and managed to create an almost single page synopsis of BG1. The draft was two full pages which then got whittled down to just over a page. Whittled is such a mild word, actually, Hacked and diced would be better terms.

I also worked some more on the agent query letter, although I didn’t make much more progess than before. I haven’t looked at either of them yet today (for some reason I slept until 10).

I have an appt. in just a few minutes so I need to head out the door. Because we are down to one vehicle, Lorna had to take the day off. Of course, she hates it tremendously and is taking her frustration out on her Majongg. 😉

Okay, well, time to go get shrunk. Later!

UPDATE:

My counselor and I decided I will come off Mt. Dew. I may go through withdrawals. :rolleyes:

She is hoping that cutting down on the caffeine intake will help with my insomnia. I doubt it but I’ll give it a whirl.

After the appt., I came home for a short time then we went out to eat. Lorna and I discussed all of my projects. She wasn’t aware I had so many! She helped me with a plot-hole, though. We also discussed the query letter and synopsis. I think she is getting the idea that writing is not only about typing out the story. Now if only I could grasp that….

bookmark_borderWriting and Writing a Query

Posted on by PaulaO

I worked some more on the short-story-that-would-be-novel. It is going well and I’ve found a way to tie it into the Butch Girl books. I don’t know if it will be part of them or just linked.

At any rate, it is going good and is leaning toward the erotica at the moment. Which is fine with me, since I tend to lean that way. I am also doing it in first-person (“I looked across the room…” and “I opened the door to the truck…”)

Don’t know if I will stick with that. I may. What will most likely happen is I will set it aside and make it into my NaNo project.

I am also working on the agent query letter again. Kait sent me her query letter which is so smooth it is like whipped cream. Darn her! I’ve also read some of Irys’ which was also excellent. When I grow up, I want to be just like them! Well, not exactly like them. 😉

  1. Do I mention it is the first completed BG in the series?
  2. Do I list my nonfiction ‘success’?
  3. Since it is a romance, do I mention I am in a 15yr plus relationship?
  4. Do I mention what book(s) is/are similar? (and are there any???)
  5. How much into the agents do I check on? I mean, do I need to read some of the books they have represented in the past?
  6. And what about Naomi????

As an aside, Katrina seems to have washed away the infrastructure for the New Orleans Saints too, judging by the way they played tonight. :rolleyes: