*headdesk* repeatedly

I can't whine about this stuff on my author blog because it's not kosher to rant about the stupid stuff I read where fellow authors can read it. But here? I'm just me, so y'all get to listen to me get all red in the face. Which doesn't make sense, but then, neither does the hero of the book I just started reading.

1. He's a geek. A seriously techy guy who listens to indy Steampunk bands in his free time.
2. He's a Quaker. This is where things start to go off the rails.
3. He drinks and swears and listens to techno-punk, the last of which isn't specifically prohibited by the Friends, but doesn't really go along with their thing of not being angry people. But the first two? No-nos for the Quakers.
4. He joined the military. Our ALL-VOLUNTEER forces. But he didn't want to shoot things, he just wanted to play with the gadgets like "Q" or something from the Bond movies.
5. Since this is a romance novel -- even though I haven't gotten very far into it -- I'm going to assume that at some point he'll be having sex with the heroine. Quaker + premarital sex = #religionfail. That's not to say that Christians don't have premarital sex, or that I don't personally write premarital sex in my romances. But since she's making a big deal out of his religious viewpoint, it just feels ooky.

All of this leads to me to a couple of questions: Why is he a Quaker? Why join such a fringe group?

You know, I have no problem with true conscientious objectors. I really don't. Everyone's got their reasons for believing what they do and far be it from me to tell folks they have to shoot at other people to be "real men" or "real Americans" or whatever.

This guy? Is a moron. What kind of idiot signs up for the military, but refuses to carry a weapon? It's not like there weren't a hundred thousand other things he could have done, but no. He's got to join up while we're at war. Frakking idiot. I mean, you HAVE to learn how to fire a weapon to get through the training program -- officer or enlisted. How does he get around that?

Even if he didn't join the Quakers until after he left the military, why? Why not just say, "I won't ever pick up a weapon again" which would be infinitely simpler?

But the thing that bothers me the most is the slippery veneer of spirituality that she had to paint on to somehow justify his unwillingness to shoot people. She couldn't have just made him a geek who doesn't know how to shoot. Most people in this country don't know how to shoot. But why, why, why twist him into this quasi-religious pacifist with completely illogical military experience?

You know why? BAD WRITING!!! I can't finish this book. The hero is stupid and I'm not required to spend my time reading about stupid people.

It makes me even madder that I've been waiting to read this book for ages because I've been dying for good Steampunk romance. hmph.

In case you're wondering, the book is Steamed by Katie MacAlister.

Comfort Reads

I’ve recently been in a state where I would wander to my TBR pile, realize that the very idea of it scared me, and I’d scamper back to my most well-worn, dog-eared copies of books that I’ve read over and over through the years.

I needed my Comfort Reads. Most of us have them. They clutter along the backs and edges of our bookshelves. Not quite stylish or cutting-edge enough to be displayed with the new shiny covers, but you can’t quite get rid of them, either. You might even own more than one copy because when you needed it, you couldn’t find it, so you rushed out to buy another one.

I just did that. I know I own Jodi Thomas’s The Texan’s Wager, but I also know it’s downstairs somewhere in a box. And I needed to read it NOW. When I went to the UBS, there it was. It sang to me, y’all. I could hear it.

It’s not just old books that comfort me, either. It’s authors who are familiar and easy. I got a new Jayne Castle novel. I like her other incarnations just fine, but the futuristics she writes as Jayne Castle are just to my taste. Especially those little fluffy things with teeth. I love those guys. This one doesn’t seem to be set in quite the same society, but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless. There’s just something about her style that makes me happy.

You know what else I’ve picked up? Christine Feehan. One Carpathian novel from the library and one Ghostwalker book from the UBS. Feehan is my crack. When I’m sane, I can pick them apart like nobody’s business (God love her), but I always feel like such a hypocrite because I Love These Books. Not in a “Wow! This book is awesome!” kind of way, but in a sticky, gooey, SyFy, made-for-TV movie kind of way.

Honestly, I’m not even sure these books make me feel better so that I can suck it up and face the day, or if they just make my wallowing place more comfortable. Either way, I’m not giving up my comfort reads.

What do you read when you’re feeling down?

Yesterday was pretty cool

The weekend was heinous, but Monday, aside from a shaky start, was pretty awesome overall.

I’ve applied for a job as a library assistant at a nearby middle school. As I was filling out the application, I realized that I’ve been volunteering in school libraries for the last 7 years. And for the last 2 years, I’ve juggled 2 libraries. Both of the librarians I work with wrote me lovely letters of recommendation.

This is an affirmation. I don’t suck. I am not a horrible person.

They also personally e-mailed the librarian who advertised for the assistant.

I don’t suck. I am not a horrible person.

I got more fan mail about “A Dark and Stormy Knight”! Yay!! I’m writing the next installment, but I got stuck until it was time to go to bed last night, when I got UNstuck, so now I can keep writing today. More conflict!

I am not a horrible person. I am a half-decent writer.

Also, dinner turned out well. It was just homemade sloppy joes, but I also found fresh green beans at the grocery store, so I steamed them until they were juuuust done, then tossed them real quickly in a bit of browned butter with a pinch of salt. Perfect! I could have eaten the whole pot!

And you know what else? I have friends who rock. I really do. They’ve absolutely got my back and that’s an amazing feeling.

I am NOT a horrible person. I’m not all sweetness and light, but I’m also not crap on the bottom of someone’s shoe.

I CAN write.

And I can cook, too.

A fresh Monday

I've been pretty lax in the household area for a few weeks now. One of my inevitable downturns, I suppose, but it's not too late to try to pick it back up.

It's the little things that are piling up. I haven't been doing my Minimum Maintenance, so I've got bits and pieces everywhere, on the verge of becoming overwhelming. But if I can pull it together now, then I'll still be on top.

So.

7:30 - Starting with laundry, then a shower.