The Tower from the Azathoth Tarot Deck
Hello Naughties and Roosties.
Things are going to hell in a handbasket, and every time I think that I'm okay to keep pushing myself, that ends up being not true. I'm afraid that I've behaved like a bit of an ass, and to anyone who was on the receiving end of that, I apologize.
For the time being, I'm going to confine myself to doing one session of blog hops when the new Cloned Heat book comes out. This means that for the foreseeable future, the Roost Recommendations posts will be monthly rather than weekly.
I will still do the Insecure Writers Support Group.
I may occasionally do other blog hops outside of the Big Four, but I've honestly found that I don't get much feedback from participating in these.
While I'm not going to stop writing entirely (like anyone cares if I do or I don't), I'm going to keep my WIP stuff a lot closer to the chest. I always thought that people would enjoy watching a work in progress, but nobody seems to be very interested. It takes effort to create the posts, so if they don't have an audience, I don't see any reason to make them.
I learned a long time ago that for people to take an interest in a woman's work, she has to be pretty. I'm not and never have been. I guess I kept hoping that people's attitudes would evolve and that we as a society would come to realize that looks are an overall meaningless attribute, but, if anything, things have only gotten worse.
Somebody once said that music was better when ugly people were making it. I think the same is true of writing. People who are writing from the most wounded part of themselves often produce the most powerful work.
The general public doesn't want the kind of work where someone has torn out their heart and spilled their guts. They want the shiny, the sparkly, the effervescent, soda pop, bubblegum. They don't want to see the scars behind the mask of perfection. I give the people the scars.
Oddly enough, after seeing the Black Mirror episode "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too," I think that Miley Cyrus may understand this better than just about anybody except for Britney Spears.
Anyway, after sitting there shaking and feeling like I am utterly losing whatever is left of myself and my questionable sanity, I realize that I really need to take care of myself. I'm 56 years old and my health isn't great. I need to tend to my body's needs and cultivate the haunted garden of my heart so I can keep pissing people off for at least another 40 years.
Your support is appreciated more than you know.
~Ornery Owl (still not Charlotte) Has Spoken~
Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors
Believe me, if I could get away with it, I'd be doing this.
