6 Things Meme

Okay everyone. This is an official blogging "first" for me. I have finally—FINALLY—been tagged to do one of those blog about random things posts (although, I admit, I had to ask someone to tag me, which the wonderful Leah Braemel so kindly did).

The rules:

a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. I am a compulsive workaholic. Seriously. Since college, I have never had just one job, and not because I financially need to. I collect jobs like some people collect stamps. Whenever I see an interesting one, I get it, even if I don't need it.
2. I am Type A. I hate turning in anything sub-par and constantly challenge myself to do better. That also makes me my worst critic sometimes, but I think it's cool because when, combined with my compulsive workaholism (is that even a word?), I end up accomplishing tons of stuff.
3. I read the dictionary for fun. My favorite? Merriam Webster Online. I've also been known to haunt the online editions of the Oxford English Dictionary.
4. I LOVE X-Men— the animated series, not the comic book.
5. I always fall for villains in movies. It really doesn't matter if they're aesthetically hot if they have qualities that I find sexy. This does NOT mean that I would date these guys in real life though. My favorite sexy because they're uber-intelligent and sneaky villains? (DON'T LAUGH): For his voice and intelligence—Severus Snape from Harry Potter; For his voice, intelligence and mad rhyming skills—V from V for Vendetta; For his genius at composing music, seemingly super strength and ability to bust out an aria like nobody's business—The Phantom of the Opera.
6. I really get along with my immediate family. Not just get along, but really enjoy their company. For some, that might not seem "weird" or random, but in today's world, I think it's worthy of noting.

Okay. I am officially tagging:
Minx Malone, author of Hellbaby ;
Cora Zane, author of Wicked Temptations;
Shelli Stevens, author of Tempting Adam ;
Savannah Madanelle, author of Midnight Dream Girls:The Scent of Evil;
Jennah Sharpe, author of By Midnight;
Lia Sebastian, author of The Seventh Sense.

Ladies, do your thing!

Back from Vacation & It Feels so Good

I'm finally back from vacation. Though I was only gone for a week, it feels like so much longer--probably because of the drama I went through. Minx and I went on a tour of Ireland. The countryside was gorgeous: rolling, green landscapes with skies so close you can almost reach out and touch them; animals resting nearby; the smell of the sea perfuming the air; friendly natives; and lots of potato dishes.

No, the problem was GETTING to Ireland. Hence, my rant against the tyrant known as US Airways.
NEVER AGAIN will I fly with them. My friend warned me before leaving the US that American airlines don't do international flights well. I didn't believe her. Now I know.

First off, we were scheduled to fly out of D.C. Sunday, April 20. Yeah, that didn't happen. Freak rainstorms canceled many flights, others got delayed hours behind and worse, airline personnel had no answers and no sympathy. Our connecting flight to Philadelphia was delayed three hours, so we arrived about an hour and a half after our flight had left to Dublin International Airport.

The people at Washington Reagan airport decided to send us to Philadelphia anyway, despite our terminal being closed and them having no other flights to Dublin until the next day—at 9pm. Mind you: we were supposed to be on a guided tour. Anyone who's been in that position knows if you miss too much of it, you might as well not bother coming. We were in that position.

To make things worse, US Airways offered us a pittance: a hotel room at a distress rate of $75-80/night and no meal voucher for our troubles. So we had to haggle with them to let us get on a connecting flight to Boston and then to Dublin the next morning at 5:45 a.m. We decided not to go to a hotel since we didn't know when the airport opened. We had to sleep in the airport all night long.

However, once we got to Philadephia and tried to check in with Aer Lingus ( a FANTASTIC airline, by the way), it was only to find out that US Airways had neglected to give us a F.I.M. report. This stands for a Flight Interruption Manifest, which tells other airlines you were rebooked on them due to some issues. Of course, we were in the International terminal and had to catch the shuttle all the way back to the US Airways desk, where we met the Customer Service woman from Hades.

Seriously. US AIRWAYS, you can expect a letter from me, and maybe your local paper will as well. I think her name was Alex something. When we got there to ask her to print us out the F.I.M., she already had an attitude. She told someone else who had bought a First Class ticket and was about to miss his flight that he should have arrived earlier and to wait in line for "someone" to call him. Then when Minx and I waited for our F.I.M. to print out, I noticed it took a long time. So I asked if our stuff was showing up in the system. Her reply?

"No one has any patience anymore! Everyone is trying to rush me. U.S. Airways in Philly messed up your ticket and now I have to fix it."

Seriously. So I had to be extra polite because she looked ready to flip out. Everyone talks about customers acting a fool in airports but they don't mention the airport staff. Long story short: she had to totally redo our tickets by printing us paper tickets. Then we got to Dublin.

All's well that ends well, right? No.

The return trip to the U.S. was through another airline, Delta. Apparently, whatever that ticket agent did from U.S. Airways in Boston when she printed us paper tickets messed up everything on our return flight. No one could find us in the system. Luckily, I am a pack rat and had kept my original ticket number and Delta Airlines confirmation number that showed yes, we did book in advance. So we got on.

Did I forget to mention that I kept getting flagged by security? On the way to Dublin Monday morning, after I'd spent the night in the airport, security suddenly decided my scalp oil and Oil of Olay facial moisturizer and sunscreen were too large. I told them to just throw it out because no way was I going back to check that stuff. Then I got flagged going through security in Boston because I had foil wrapped packages of oatmeal.

OATMEAL, people.

Then I got searched—again— in Customs returning to the U.S.

The moral of the story kiddies? Never fly without these three things:
1. Flight insurance. (especially on international flights)
2. Trip insurance (if you are on a pre-booked tour)
3. All your original paperwork (or copies of that)
4. Valium

I would also like to send a special thank you to Aer Lingus and Flight 136. There whole airplane is like flying First Class. Just gorgeous.

SOLD!

SOLD! Feature article to Romance Writers Report (October 2008 issue)

Just wanted to share. Now I'm off to the daily grind. Write more later.

***FINALIST*** (X-Posted)

**Cross-posted on my main site, www.michellelaurenbooks.com **

Just wanted to share the good news: One of my novels, an urban fantasy, just finaled in the 2008 Fab Five Contest. I'm super psyched about it. My feelings on entering writing contests have changed over the past two years.

Formerly, I would refuse to enter contests. Why? My relationship with my novels are best described by American poet Anne Bradstreet in her poem "The Author to Her Book":

Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain
Who after birth did'st by my side remain,
Til snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
Who thee abroad exposed to public view;...

Thy visage was so irksome in my sight;
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
They blemishes amend, if so I could.

My point? As an author, I can't untangle my feelings from what I create, whether it's good or not so good, or just plain bad. I don't WANT anyone to trash my stories. But on the flip side, I know I have to let my "babies" walk on their own. I have received so much constructive feedback from the contests I've entered for two of my novels (both urban fantasys in different series). For that, I am forever grateful.

Having objective judges pointing out places where I could tighten my writing, or fix places where the story did not flow right really benefited me as a writer. One of my manuscripts didn't make the finals in a 2007 contest. I listened to the constructive feedback from the judges and made the suggested changes, which led to that same manuscript making the final round in another writing contest.

I must point out about this particular contest: When I entered the 2007, I entered two manuscripts. One went on to place high in after the final round. The other manuscript would have gone to the final round since it received two high scores, but it also received one tremendously low score. The low score showed me the huge discrepancy in judging, in everything from chapter contests to RWA Golden Heart & Rita, and even in the publishing world. Everyone won't like your work. Period. That doesn't mean it isn't good.

However, what I find...interesting (I suppose that's a good word) were the comments from the judge who gave my manuscript a very low score, then felt the need to bash me on a personal and professional level. To sum up her comments (I'm assuming it was a woman, but the judge could have been a man): "Your writing sucks. Take some classes to learn the basic skills of telling a story, or stop writing."

Mind you, this was a manuscript that received glowing scores and remarks from two other published authors who wrote in the same genre. At first, I just felt baffled. Where does someone come off telling anyone else their writing stinks? Or even to imply they can't write because a particular story didn't catch that individual's eye? Much worse, where does anyone come off saying I should NOT be a writer? [Do I sound bitter? I'm not, really. To find out why, keep reading.]

I liken this judge's attitude to the fact that I dislike certain genres of movies. I'm entitled to my opinion and to the right to express it. But it would be nonsensical for me to assume that my opinion on those movies is the only one, or that I have the right to tell anyone who makes those types of movies that they essentially have no business in filmmaking.

So, after I got over my initial hurt feelings, I realized I couldn't let this judge's opinion dampen my love for something I am good at, something I love doing: writing. Furthermore, it motivated me to keep writing.

Why? Because I know there are individuals who will love my stories, even if this judge did not. The experience even gave me ideas for future writing projects. (*Not that I would ever blast this judge on the internet for voicing an opinion, albeit one voiced in a tacky way.*)

The moral? Don't let anyone stop you from doing what you love. Write, write and write!!! It saddens me greatly when I hear from other writers who've said they actually stopped writing because of negativity in certain writing organizations, or due to discouraging critiques of their work. Publishing is a career. Like every career, you will have to deal with snarky coworkers, people who don't appreciate your efforts, receive less pay at times than you deserve, and experience times when you wonder: Is it really worth it?

*Steps off soap box* Have a great weekend!

http://michellelaurenbooks.wordpress.com

Hey everyone. Check out my Word Press site by following THE JUMP . Blogger apparently took issue with my pictures and broke random links. Why? Why the hateration, blogger?

So follow the jump to my Word Press site where I've told the woeful tale of my drama with wildlife, yet again (for those who know me, I often have random encounters with animals. For some reason, they love to terrorize me).

Computer Gripes

I'm currently struggling with trying to find a battery compatible with my laptop. I got an E1505 Inspiron from Dell. Other than the battery dying after 1 year, the laptop works fine. Problem is, the battery costs about $200 from dell. There are plenty of battery resellers or online companies selling compatible batteries but with so much selection, who knows what company to choose?

Dell is officially on my "list." Lately, I've really, seriously been thinking of switching to a Mac. It looks so user friendly and I don't hear people complaining about how it works compared to other computers. 

In the meantime...anyone have suggestions on reputable companies selling affordable laptop batteries?