kate rothwell

So I noticed on another blog that someone was talking about how hard it was to see an ailing grandparent who didn't recognize her any more. Here's a note I started for her but decided to post here: I don't know if it helps to know this, but it did help me: At this point, your pain for your grandmother is way more severe or at least more of a continuous weight than hers is for herself. Both my parents went through dementia (my father's wasn't as bad as mom's) and it was horrible to watch, no doubt about it. But someone--actually several someones--pointed out that in the situation the suffering was way harder for me because I couldn't make the memory of it go away. For instance my dad was in a wheelchair and a few times when I was visiting him, he'd ask me to "help me out of this chair." I'd have to point out to him that he couldn't stand up. And the look of horror on his face--I'll never forget it, unless of course I end up in the sa...

I didn't even know they were memory loss stories. I think maybe I wouldn't have read them if I'd known. I don't like amnesiac titles and there are two? And I read 'em both? The interesting thing is in each book, someone lies for a big chunk of the book. There's a Mary Jo Putney historical up as a freebie on Amazon, and I found a Brockmann I hadn't read--so of course I had to load 'em up right away. In the Brockmann, the hero lies by not telling the heroine that he's got no idea who he is. I get why he does that--he's got a lot of hints that he wasn't Not a Nice Guy in his past. Of course just like the actual memory loss, the lie goes on too long. I didn't mind so much though. I liked the characters. In the Putney, the heroine lies by telling the hero he's her husband. Her lie helps her keep her house (kinda) After that she spends pages agonizing about the fact that he probably has a family somewhere and they'll be frantically lo...

Actually I'm looking forward to the Unleash Your Story event because I really did push and get a bunch of chapters done during that month. I think. The sad thing is I believe I'm still not finished with that story. I don't blame UYS. But come on, READERS and WRITERS !! you should sign on. It's hard to explain, easy to do. Here's the part I should have been helping with and have been dragging my feet about. It's less than a month away!!!! I need to find prizes for the readers and writers who raise the most money. Anyone have any books they can donate? Editors/agents? You guys have any time you can spare for critiques? Anyone want to send out some chocolate? Yum.

It's out in print so we're talking PROMO TIME!!! So I posted a start to a hot alien sex encounter over at erotic muses, the first Mars Needs Women bit, soon after the vile in-breeding plan is disclosed. Only wait a sec, it would be ex-breeding because they want to bring in some new blood. I actually skipped a little lot because Gack. Awk. Yikes. Who wrote that stuff?

I think it's past time to post another pupper picture. Did we ever see this arty portrait by cousin julia? It's one of my faves. My once neurotic dog has turned far too mellow. When she's not biting her butt, she sleeps too much.

I had put it up before but didn't like the idea of charging even ninety-nine cents for it. Then I noticed someone is selling a 30 dollar version of the lulu book (the one I made for a friend) Gack. But maybe Amazon has changed its policy and I can put it up free. That's what I'm attempting even now. The little green dial is ticking around as I upload it. Enough ancient history though. Rat Catcher is old. I need to write more better bigger brighter books. Huzzah! Sorry I haven't been answering your emails, especially you, BD. I've spent today in a fog. Tomorrow real life begins again.

I wish I could do a pithy review of RWA and give you scaths of wisdom that will help you and your writing career or at least tell you what was coming down the pike but I can only give impressions because most of my brain was shut down for the event. The good thing is that you can now go online and buy individual recorded workshops from the RWA site so you don't have to buy the whole thing. I know this because they announced it before all the recorded sessions. That bit of info sunk in. 1. The RWA bag this year rocked. It's so cool, a lady on the train asked where I bought it because she wanted one. 2. twitters really are a great way to get info. I sat in the rogue session about epublishing and the woman next to me was twittering. Her short synopses of the talkers' points were to the point and got rid of the superfluous (which I tend to latch onto Tangential Girl!). I didn't stop listening to the speakers but I did read over her shoulder. 3. that rogue session was good...

come find me if you're here too.

I've given up on listening to a J A Jance mystery because the reader was so terrible. She mispronounced words ("unflailingly"), sped up at odd places, and occasionally sounded like she was chewing on something. I could hear the book pages turning. Now that one is "so what?" but yeah, it annoyed me. I had no idea I'd gotten so fussy about who reads aloud to me. *** I read Passion by Valdez and wish I had gotten the Chase book instead. It was better than I expected, but it annoyed me. Big dick worship wasn't the part that annoyed me most. The whole sacrificing yourself for someone without telling them what you're doing--that's the theme that bugged me. Plus lots of purple sex. With the big, big dick. *** Also. I think I need to stop with the romance for a while. I keep sneering at the whole made for each other thing. Not a good sign. *** After a bunch of Patricia Briggs I tried to read a Layton I'd just discovered and the Layton seemed to dr...

so yesterday my book came out. The one based on Daddy Long Legs and so far it's gotten one response. A two out of five star rating and this comment: I love the book "Daddy Long Legs." It's one of my favorites. It's a charming and delightful read. The description of this book sounds as if the author has ruined everything I love about DLL. I will not be purchasing it. I don't rag on readers but in this case I can make an exception because honestly, she's not a reader. Naw, I won't rag on her because opinions really are fine. My opinion? I wish she'd read it before doing The Big Hate thing. I get the idea that some books are sacred and now I wonder if I've done a disservice to my book and DDL by mentioning DDL. I loved that story too, a lot, and hoped that would come through if you read my book. But only if you read it. Granted Ben is no Judy** But I did try to emulate Judy's spirit of persevering though rotten times, her thirst for knowle...

the part about me (this is a blog after all): I've spent years trying to be honest and disdaining bullshit about myself. Other people, if they have a myth built up about themselves, that's their business and I'll support them. As long as their tales aren't destructive to others, I figure they are the kind of people who'll make life more interesting-whether their lies are successful or not. More power to them, actually, if they can build and live up to an image that is a little better and cleaner than most actual humans can manage. Or if they're not very good at it or just tell random lies, too--I don't resent them. Their not-so-great lies make them more interesting characters, and make their personalities a little muddy, which is always a good thing in my world. Another reason I don't condemn or point fingers, there's the matter of glass houses. I was a liar for years and years and I wasn't particularly good at it because I didn't buy into...

Click here to check out The Hartford Area Writers! This is mostly just Wendy and me sitting and writing at the Borders. But I'm messing around with the meet up page and found some widgetty things. This part isn't a whine because that meeting thing at Borders WORKS. Not so great today, but usually, it makes me work. BICHOK. * * * * I thought I had a book out today but it's actually out in TWO days. July 9th. And such fanfare we're having here! Yessireee! Contests and alerts and interviews and chats and. . . all sorts of things that I'm supposed to be doing to prove I'm good at my trade! Yes indeed! My ebook will rise through the ranks to become a surprise best-seller, just you wait and see. Speaking of professionalism, I'm going to DC next week. Did I mention that about 30000000000000 times? Dee Cee. My brother said I'm welcome to stay at his house. It's a nice house, too, but oy. I think the last time I stayed there might have been the night my fat...

is over at erotic muses. Mike wants to know why the guy doesn't have his glistening chest on display (it's not that sort of book) and why his pants are on backwards (are they?). And what's with the motorcycle (it's in the book, but yeah.) I like the title font--I don't think I've seen it before.

Do you really want to go back to the scene of your childhood? I seriously don't. I'm going to in a couple of weeks. The RWA DC conference is across the street from my aunt's house (well, the place she founded, Woodley House, and where I used to hang out all the time) and it's about 2 miles from the house where I grew up. I'm fully expecting the anti-George Bailey experience. I'll see places and houses that meant the entire world to me back when I was a spring chicken. Those places and houses will have changed--or not--but none of the changes or non-changes will have anything to do with me or my influence. No one I know will be there. I will have left no footprints in the place I lived for 18 years. Who wants to be reminded how little they matter in the world? I plan on staying in that comforting atmosphere of anonymous hotel-dom.