kate rothwell

Here's what you do: go way back, way back, waaaaaaaaaaaay back, as in distance, not time. There are so many trees in those bloffle forests! To understand the most popular points, skim the 500 plus comments, vaguely keep score of what's being said, dump the outrageous posts on either side ("She's a whore!" "She's being unfairly attacked by demon-monster-posters!") as well as any posts that go Godwin. By the end you should have a fair view of what most people actually think. And here's the part I like: Except for the blogs that are full of the crazy or that dump any opposing POVs (Redstate, for instance) you end up with something that's usually basically pretty sound. People aren't so bad. We're all a bunch of hyper, scampering gerbils that squeak a lot as we run on our wheels but as fictional character JD** says, at the end of the day, it's not bad. _________ **I was really looking for another fictional character, named Martin, a B...

The dog knows we're going away though we haven't begun to pack. Heck, I'm not even thinking about packing. She follows me everywhere, which is normal, but now she tries to get into the bathroom when I'm in there and when I pick up my bag, she whines and runs to block the door. Those are not normal activities or she'd be living somewhere else. ** Speaking of Oscar , here's a picture I stole borrowed from a blog named sue ______ ** this is such a lie. My dog and I are an Item.

Me? I'm boring because the stomach has been hideous the last few days. That second brain needs some therapy. I suspect my kids will need therapy eventually, too. BUT I am only remarking on this now because I have found the perfect book for captivity. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield. It's a blog from the 1920s, I swear. I love this book. I got it from a library yard sale so it smells slightly mildewy which matches the story set in drizzily England. Still, once I'm released from current confinement, I'm putting it out in the sun with lots of baking soda. See? It's inspired me to talk about household matters. * * * Big plan for the day: Chop down the peach tree I planted four years ago. The tree is happy, healthy and terrific . Every summer it ends up loaded with peaches. Just about the time the fruit gets to the right size and starts to ripen, the squirrels eat every last peach. AND just to add injury to insult, the buggers break open the pits and leave ...

okay look, if you owe me an email--and you know who you are--send it along or I will sulk. I mean it. I'm not planning a tiny snit, either. I'm talking heavy duty sulking with so many passive aggression overtones, even the dog will notice the sighs and snorts. I'm off to eat the chocolate goop I made yesterday. (Heavy cream, egg yolks, bittersweet chocolate. Heated until perfect) The mousse-y goop is going to instantly add four pounds to my body and it's all your fault. Hope you can live with yourself.

Kate says: soon after I got The Call from Kensington, someone told me about Flo, who sold on the same day--both of us sold because of the NJRWA conference. No wonder I have pleasant associations with the woman. I'm going to feature authors on Thursday and it makes sense I'd start with Flo since we started together. 1. Flo Fitzpatrick was born in Washington DC (just like me!) and is tired of officious DMV type people who see her birth certificate and want to know which state the District of Columbia is in. (just like me!) . . . She doesn't update her webpage often enough. 2. Her Kensington books are Ghost of a Chance and Hot Stuff , a book she wrote in a couple of months. (About the same time I was writing my book in a month, only she was smart enough to read her contract so she got started earlier.) Hot Stuff got a 4.5 GOLD star review at RT and was nominated for best 2005 Romantic Suspense. She has another book, Sweet Dreams , with Harris and Hilliard. 3. She...

I'm researching British trials (for a book) and ran across this website. It's got all the fun stuff, sex, scandal, another appearance by Oscar Wilde's nasty tattling lover. . . Those Victorians did enjoy salaciousness. From the late 18th Century until the early 20th Century, according to the Shanmonster website , "one of the most consistent medical characterizations of the anatomy of the lesbian was the claim of an unusually large clitoris. Not only was the clitoris associated with female sexual pleasure separate from reproductive potential, but lesbians were assumed to be masculinized, and the supposed enlarged clitoris was one signifier of this masculinity. In presenting lesbians' bodies as less sexually differentiated than the norm more masculine - it was inferred that they were atavists - throwbacks to an earlier evolutionary stage and thereby 'degenerates'..." It was held that progressive differentiation of the sexes was one of the hallmarks of e...

Do you post anon? Why? This is kind of funny. I got a comment on this ancient post about the gay romance bloffle--kerfuffle, too, since it was also was in print. (Oh, look at the date! Apparently I have to be controversial once a year.) So here's the note: Yes, I'm posting Anon. Coward? Yes. The entire issue is just too hot, and it involves way too much politics and religion for my taste. However, as I see it (in my very simplified manner) there is a huge difference in the following two statements. 1) I prefer not to live on the same street with gays...therefore I will either not buy a house there or (sticking to my guns) move out of my current home. 2) I prefer not to live on the same street with gays...therefore I will go to my local zoning board, city council, etc., and get an ordinance passed so they CANNOT live on the street I choose.Over simplified? Yes. Not covering all the different combinations of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, nationality, politi...

I was trying to add Bettie and others but now my links are gone and my headline is gone. I hate html. If the whole blog disappears...I'll miss you guys.

So still in the mood for kiddie magic after finishing HP7, I've been listening to Lirial . Took a while to figure it out the rules of the world because I hadn't read Sabriel. About the time I decided I liked it, the Damn thing ended with a cliffhanger. Absolutely a cliff HANGER. And we don't have the next book. Grrr.

Okay, made the peace, whatever. No more nastiness. I've thought about it and wondered would I do it again? I'm probably going to be known in some circles as the misguided old biddy who couldn't take a pair of knee socks. What's more is that this whole thing has taken days of my energy. Stupid, but true. I haven't written a useful sentence since Thursday when I got my first email. My internal response to a not-as-bad-on-third-reading email was stronger more than warranted. Oh, and the house is a mess! ( okay, that's always true.) I have to say I'd change a phrase of what I wrote here or there--that's always true of everything I write--but no way am I going to stop blathering about potentially controversial things because other people might take offense. As long as you're not trying to deliberately hurt people's feelings, I don't get why anyone would expect you to hold back on that sort of conversation. As long as it's a conversation it...

Now I'm in for it. The axe is going the other way, old biddy! eeeiiiiiieeee I'm doomed because I am old and horrible! My opinions are worth shit because I don't know readers! Why am I so stupid that I get so worked up about a pair of tights? Why do I feel I have the right to put my horrible interpretation on the costumes? WHY did god let me be born so terribly conservative I shouldn't be allowed to live (Okay that last? Sheer exaggeration.) My main whine: Why do I get Teh Hate like Marianne and Liz and not the sales like Marianne and Liz? Yah well, everyone gets worked up and now everything I ever wrote about this will haunt me until I'm dead, dead, dead rotting in the grave or I turn off the computer for a couple of days. From now until Monday, I'll only open emails from Emily or Debs. ( UPDATE: Don't send me any emails unless you've actually read what I've written on the subject -- and not what someone else has apparently written about me. Did yo...

I really did think that was mostly a good time. If only we'd all been in a bar , would have been better. But boy howdy, the swan is dead by now. And in the end, in just about every world I currently occupy, I loved the swan. Unfortunately, I'm not alone in the world and so ....the swan should go. Costumes don't work. Right. Enough. Swan or horse = dead. It's my day to post over at Passionate Prose. More of the usual Whatever you do, don't skip the contest Sara's holding. Here's your chance to touch the future. "Ginormous" is in the dictionary now, perhaps whatever word you pick or invent will show up in future reference books. And you get a chance to win a prize. Oh that reference book thing reminds me--my friend Flo Fitzpatrick found that one of her characters' names, Tempe Walsh, ended up in a baby naming book, with a note about its source (Flo). How cool is it to imagine that a child some day will ask her mama, how'd you pick that name?...

Here I am happily following all the Bluffufle and weighing in and whatnot and I get not one, but TWO angry emails saying how dare I post that stuff about Marianne and Liz. I attacked them and they don't deserve this sort of negative pedophilia image for their happy costumes. And there are notes at SBTB about the horrible tone of the conversation. (I've already bellowed across the swamps with Gail K. whose commment " although Deborah Smith and Kate Rothwell’s pedophile-bait innuendos were*completely* out of line, IMO " is friendly compared to one of my notes.) Well, um, now a couple of days later, I can see where the squick comments at SBTB were probably not my best but I still don't get how what I wrote was an attack. If anything, I've probably gotten Liz and Marianne lotsa new readers. Heck, after I went and read the section over at shomi, I'm one of the new readers.

I think the word "buzz" for getting the word out on the internet** is stupid, so I'm hoping Sara Dennis , who invented bloffle , (a kerfuffle on the blogs) would come up with one. She wrote: I'm on word duty again?At the moment, I'm leaning toward N'type . You know, like N'sync? Only N'type, when pronounced, sounds like net-hype. Neh-type. No? Okay, maybe no. *back to the drawing board* Hmm. N'type. Maybe. Works with typing, net, hype. Could be. Anyone care to contribute? She's still polishing up opinionating. HEY AND NOW SARA' S GOT A CONTEST GOING she writes: I got so excited about coming up with a new word for this that I decided to actually turn it into a contest. . . if people want to participate and maybe win a gift certificate, they should go over and see Sara . ___ **I don't much like it anywhere, but it does make sense. Bees. Buzzing. Yeah, okay.

Even I'm tired of talk, talk, talk and I'm addicted to that stuff. But I want a black swan hat. I won't wear it, I promise. So. I figure if I whined about having to go to Vermont last week, I should talk about what was cool this week. 1. Rain storms meandering over a field. Always fun to watch, even if you know you left the umbrella 300 miles away. 2. All the stereotypes fit: white churches, cows, green rolling hills. All there. Cows! Across the street! We took pictures. 3. Noticing how little the state has changed in 10 years (last visit) except the rest stop was cleaner. 4. Country stores have lots of Ben and Jerry's. Sure it's for the tourists, but who wants to complain about ice cream? 5. Exchanging Unitarian jokes with the Unitarians set up and giving away sandwiches (for donations) at the Tourism Center. Can you imagine? a minister (or whatever the clergy are) didn't know the "what happens when you annoy a Unitarian?"/"He'll burn a ques...

Considering how much people have at stake (money and careers and whatnot) the whole discussion around the blogs is pretty civil. Of course I did make the mistake over at SBTB of assuming that Marianne and Liz were talking about me when they accused someone of accusing THEM .....and naturally, after deploring how people get defensive, I got defensive. Of course I'd missed the earlier comment someone else made that really did accuse them of being deliberately provocative. Oh, whoops. Sorry, M and L. Although the buzz? It's good to have so much of the buzz. There has to be a better word for that, though. Something internetish. Sara Dennis can make one up. Bluzz? Ugh. UPDATED: It took me a while to figure out that cosplay really is part of this culture now and that the kind of costumes M and L are wearing are basically mainstream. They're going to occasionally get responses like mine and even stronger responses, like Deb Smith's over at SBTB, but we're not their audien...

I read what I'm willing to bet real money is the epilogue of Harry Potter: DH. Tristan? You are so going to owe us dinner. You say you can only make stir-fry--that's fine. We'll take key lime pie for dessert, please.

I still want to know what the "slippery when wet" get-up looked like. I absolutely agree that if you're a professional writer, you should look like a professional, but... Do you want the romance writers to appear more professional? or Do you want the world's professional attire to be more fun? Fashion does change, after all. Bring back the bustle, day-glo colors and maybe white wigs. Someone over at SBTB said she'd love to go to a convention of lawyers where everyone showed up with a swan on the head. I dress to not show up in a crowd, always. What would happen if everyone wore something outrageous? I'd stay home, probably. * * * * Unrelated: About Shelfari: (I'm not putting in a link, but you'll know what I mean if you got this email a few thousand times yesterday and today: I just joined Shelfari to connect with other book lovers. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading. Click belo...

I got an email from someone who said, among other nicer things (like she liked my last book), it sounds as if I or maybe my friends are threatened by writers who are " willing to go that extra mile to get the word out about their books." I don't think my friends are threatened (having a contract keeps you secure). I suppose I am, to a degree. I purposefully ignore the fact that this publishing thing is a zero sum game and I don't like to be reminded of it. Ugh. I've done the extra mile thing--rarely to the point where I'm uncomfortable-- and I've discovered that even if promo can be fun, it can get in the way of actually writing and I'm back to wanting to be a writer. The answer is, I'm not giving up the extra mile, just not trying to beat my time or keeping careful track of anyone else's. I'm willing to go an 11 minute extra mile, say. Long distance extra miles. Hey! Also? If a writer gets energized by getting dressed up or doing fun stun...

That's the question some friends have raised. RT and Celebrate Romance have been the places where you meet the fans. But RWA has been about and for the writers. I've only been to two RWAs and I was intimidated enough not to notice fans except at the booksigning. I think I was too busy being a fan myself. I mean, omiGAWD, a lot of my favorite writers were there. The presence of actual reviewers bugged a couple of people. That's not why ferfe put up the pix at her blog, that was just for entertainment sake. But her blog entry did remind me of the emailed conversations I've had with other writers who've been around longer than I have, and are RWA conference regulars. Here's their take: (and I asked if I could put this up. I got a yes, but only if it's clear they wrote to me as a kind of venting, okay? Not trying to fan flames in public. ...No, that's what I'm doing) Oh, wait--one last thing from Kate. It wasn't just that there were reviewers present...

This sort of story by corn dog and EAP's stories and Aunt B's stories and Beth's stories..... Their posts are why I don't need The New Yorker any more. My parents got T he New Yorker when I was a kid and naturally I got addicted to the cartoons. I subscribed for a while, but I don't have time for those good slices of life in talk of the town. I'd rather catch up with people I sort of know. I used to love those short pieces, too, not usually pompous (like some of the fiction) and with clear imagery, the kind of simple, effective prose I would sacrifice chickens at the new moon to be able to write. But damn, there are only so many hours in the day and I can't be asked to give up things like the pig book story for a piece about some poodle groomer off Central Park.

Bronwyn won! Now dammit, someone should finally give her a contract so you can read her books. I'm just a finalist--an honorable mention in the Passionate Plume contest. One of the boys asked how many people entered? Oh, lots and lots. It's SBD but the only books I've read lately are unpublished. I did snag a copy of a Piers Anthony book, The Color of Her Underwear . The cover is to die for. And the boys are reading Skullduggery Pleasant which my inside-the-publisher contact says was very controversial with the people working there. Some people loved it, a lot of people there disliked it. I'll have to read it and see if I can figure out why.

Now we're almost all of us home again, except boy1, whom we foisted on relatives (that'll teach them to just say no). He only had enough clothing for two days, but it's summer, so he'd stink anyway. I only had to take a couple of doggy downers on that trip, so I barely ever drooled. Not bad. Oh, and I had a Bonnie Dee to read that NONE OF YOU HAVE READ. Hah! Neener, neener.

**PAN (published authors) will be open to any writer who's made 1K on a book. Publisher doesn't matter. Us already joined types don't have to prove our income. **All of PAN writers' print books will be eligible for the RITA **The new standards for publishers will toss out EC and Samhain and anyone else who doesn't pay advances: 500 for a novella and 1000 for a novella. "Tossed out" means that they won't get appointments or spotlights at the conference for free. It's fair, seems to be as inclusive as possible, and I think the board deserves a bottle of wine, dammit. I bet they're deep in some of those blue cowboy drinks I've been hearing about. I also bet this means the number of entries to the RITA (it's limited to the first thou? 500?) will be reached within the first day the contest opens. Did I get any of this wrong? Tell me! Or don't bother, after tomorrow morning [cue jaws or maybe psycho music] I'll be on the road. Whingin...

I was a finalist in the best novella category! Did I already post about that? I bet I did but yay, again. (I never got a cute lil button like last year, so you'll just have to take my word for it.) I've heard bits and pieces about RWA's decisions about epublishers and lots of sad people ranting...but I don't feel so much as a twinge about it. I did rant this morning on a loop. Oh, did you drop a hat? did someone in the background clear her throat? is that a small nod? no? It's just the light? Too bad, I'll post the rant anyway. I read about the whole RWA thing and about how some people wearing pink ribbons get treated like second class citizens and I'm reminded once again that no matter how hard you try, chances are, validation ain't ever going to come from the outside world. If you write to be an Author, then you'll probably get some fun lifts now and then--the first glimpse of a new cover, contest wins, a letter from a fan--but those lifts are no...

1. our 11 year old van is cranky and due to blow up someday. Isn't tomorrow Friday the 13th? 2. kids won't agree on what tape to listen to, ever. Never. Ever. Even when they all want to hear the same thing, they won't agree on principle. 3. someone stole our portable TV/VHS tape player a few years back. 4. someone usually gets carsick. 5. that someone is usually me. 6. and a kid. 7. and, if he makes any gross sounds, the kid next to him. 8. Poor Mike has to fight his instinct to be like Mitt Romney. Not with the dog jammed up on the roof, but with the "we're not stopping except for gas, no matter what, hold it in" thing. 9. we don't have Uncle Andrew coming along this time. We hope he'll be there next time, the lucky, lucky man. 10. no dog this time, so no excuse to stop and go for a walk. (attention burglars. The big nasty dog is going to have a big nasty dog sitter staying with her. They will both be eating all the Eggo waffles from the freezer down...

LOOK! It's up so I can point to it . Heck, I think I'll lift the cover and put it here. Pretty cool, eh? It'll be out in September in an ebook. I haven't gotten my edits on it yet and now I'm nervous. The Infamously Evil Angie's the editor on this one. Maybe all the partying at RWA will make her mellow. Of course now there's a lot of hyperventilating going on about the latest shifts in RWA's publisher recognition, so who knows what Dallas is like. Wait, I do. It's hot and humid.

and I'm left behind with a bunch of story and novel starts that are just a little off. Not quite there yet. Probably, due to some plotting issues, will never be there. No point in finishing any of them, even the one that's 50K. I think I'll go stare at some peeling paint (there's a lot in the bathroom) and feel sorry for myself. oh, and it's too damned hot.

My Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom is: Lord Voldemort discovers Jesus and becomes a Bishop by clever use of the Goblet of Fire Get your Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom

You know what I love most about wikipedia? The solemn pendantic tone people employ when discussing subjects like Hard Gay. It is now common knowledge that Hard Gay is not in fact homosexual nor particularly outrageous, but a rather ordinary male comedian portraying a character. Television programs in which he has appeared have increasingly made reference to this, and he himself has significantly reduced his comic gay mannerisms in live appearances on variety and other types of programs. Sumitani’s supposed homosexuality was exposed as a gimmick when he was caught in the midst of a date, with Japanese actress and swimsuit model Anna Suzuki , whom he has since married. He has been criticised for his stereotypical depiction of gay men and for building a career on parodying a social minority with bizarre and extreme antics. Also the fact that of course they have an article about the guy. Duh.

TJ over at dynamic trio has discovered the pitchman of the century . The bit where Hard Gay plays red light/green light? Yowza. This is been on the web for a year and I'm only just discovering him. I feel so rooked. OOo I just realized that I can embed him here! From Keith Olbermann to Hard Gay Ramen. Wow. (warning: perhaps not work safe depending on where you work.) More updates: HOoo There are all sorts of Hard Gay videos. Hard Gay cooking with kids. Hard Gay on fathers day. Wow. The man is Big in Japan. (isn't that the Tom Waits song?) My son says that's so disgusting, turn it off, for the love of God.

ESPN2 is featuring Rock, Paper, Scissors championship. No, I shit you not. mike: this makes my eyes hurt. boy1: it makes my brain hurt. mike: Instant replay? Who the fuck are all those people? boy1: They must be drunk? boy3 wanders into room: What's that they-- boy1 : shh shh, I'm trying to hear this. That guy's a longshot? Wow. mike: You're right. Look at all those beer bottles all-- boy1: shh, shh. Fifty grand is at stake tonight? Go Landshark! Won it with a scissors. me: For god's sake, turn it off, Mike, he's starting to pay attention. Mike switches to Red Sox. boy1 : Actually I saw that in a Far Side. No really, I'm not kidding. A Far Side comic about competitive rock paper scissors. My brain hurts. mike: Why were those people there? Why were they clapping? boy1: My brain hurts. (whimpering) You know what's even worse? I really want to go back to that to see who wins. me: I knew it. boy1: I hurt on the inside. (more whimpering) Turn ba...

I made a special award for myself. See? If you made the list, feel free to steal the award for yourself. Heck, steal it if you feel like you deserve it or if you just want it. It's not like the award says which Karen I'm talking about. If you have a friend named Karen you might want to get her to make a list of " Authors Not.... " and put you on it.

That has to be it. Someone forgot to notify me to be on the alert for EL moments. Damn them! Question: how many times in one day can a woman mouth off on the internet and then figure out she got her facts wrong? Or didn't read that which she mouthed off about well enough? Answer: many more times than you'd think. At least three, which makes three feet jammed into my mouth. Next time I won't revisit the scenes. I'd rather not know I'm a fool, thank you. I don't lose sleep over my fucktardiness moments at least. Used to be I'd wake up at 2 am and remember something that happened ten years earlier and get embarrassed all over again. Hot nauseating embarrassment or guilt. Talk about a useless exercise. I'm having a major ELD today and I won't do gerbil wheel brain about it. No, I'll rant out in public instead. Fine. Okay. Now that I'm through bashing my head against the wall, the immediate end of pain will be good. Boy three and I (poor lad als...

Linda wrote a nice review of Revealing Skills here. If I get my act together, maybe my thursday thirteen will be thirteen nice things people have said about my books. It would definitely be an entry designed for me--something to look at it when I get rejections or almost worse, the prolonged silence. This July equals three years? Four years? Since I sent a partial off to Time Warner. Last time I checked (back when they were still Time Warner) they said no, they hadn't lost it. anyway, the writer's mantra: Remember, a rejection or a bad review is just one person's response to your work. And all good reviews reflect the response of thousands of readers. Don't ask me how that works--it just does, okay? Linda said she liked the climax of the story which other reviewers have said sucked doo doo, or words to that effect. ** So there. Neener, neener. _________________ ** enough reviewers said it that I started fret mode. My rule of thumb: One person says somthing sux, you shr...

Maybe I'll do 13 later. I'm being besieged by boys and dogs and hiding isn't working today. It's all because my dog has an overactive anal gland. Whoowee, now that's a cause for lots of turmoil and the need for mom to get over here and smell this eeeewwwwww .... Have you seen Olberman's response to the non-pardon of Libby? The man's articulate when he gets all self-righteous. Honestly though, he's a dreamer to think the commutation of Libby's sentence is going to matter to most people. If the draft is reinstated or if gas prices go up again--then we'll see some major public outrage. Speaking of high horses, I wrote a long rant, posted it at a political site and it got deleted. I have no idea why it's gone...Guess the author (Lanny Davis) isn't fond of bloggers mouthing off. I wasn't mean or anything, though I did say that Tony Snow has to lie for a living. (And what a horrible job Snow has.) Hey, there's a thing to embed videos...

boom! teeny tiny irony alert: I just noticed that I lifted that image from the South Ayrshire Council in the UK.

I mean why now to commute the sentence of Libby? Easy. 1. It's a holiday week so everyone's more interested in fireworks and brews than news More important: 2. Colbert and Stewart have the week off. He knew he wouldn't get any real heat.

Why do I do this to myself? I knew I'd sit down and read the damn book cover to cover. Why did I have to start it at six pm? That means, now, as I compose myself for sleep, I have vivid descriptions of maggot-infested bodies in my head. The science and sleuthing and fascinating descriptions of both are all gone. Poof. Nope, the murder, decay and empty eye sockets remain at this time of night. Putrifying, stinking flesh. And let me tell you something else. Romance just doesn't work immediately after reading Death's Acres: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab The Body Farm. Damn you, corn dog and your niece, too. Oh, she actually took a tour of the place didn't she? Well, then. Also? Images of Patricia Cornwell's fame and wealth haunt me. She should give me a bit, too. Just because she has a ridiculous amount. (Sounds like she's a superb researcher though. Wow.)

Did you know you won the pimping the contest part of my contest ? It was a while ago-- I think you were on vacation. So writers and others, tell me: When you run a contest how much trouble do you go through to track down the winners? I have to admit that a couple of winners never notified me after I notified them, and I let it drop. I suppose if they ever contact me and demand I hand over the loot, I'll give them what they won. Even the woman who won a copy of Somebody Wonderful when the book came out. Practically an antique by now.