Dazed and Confused

Today's stop on the blog tour . . .

Today I'm visiting the Conscious Cat blog, talking about -- what else -- my cats, including Miss Marple.

I hope you'll check it out.  Just click here!

Pet Peeve Thursday--Whatever happened to "throw the bums out?"

This past Tuesday was election day.  For most of the summer the local newspaper has been awash with letters from disgruntled voters, complaining about the problems both in Albany (our state capital) and here in the Rochester area.  It costs more to live in New York than even parts of California.  (We're running neck and neck.)  For all our tax dollars spent we still have roads and bridges that are falling apart, school children graduating with reading skills at the elementary level (if they even achieve that), and jobs evaporating like a puddle on a hot day in July.

The problem?  Too many of our elected officials would rather listen to the voices of special interests than listen to the problems of their constituents.  They seem to spend their years in office scheming how to STAY in office and raising war chests of loot to keep themselves in office, so they can continue to line their pockets from the lobbying of special interest groups.

The answer?  Vote them all out and start fresh.  That's the only way to clean house with new people to change the way our government is run.

And what does the voting population do?  They vote these politicians (who are mostly white and male) in again and again and again.  And then months from now those same voters will be complaining that nothing ever changes, that our tax money is wasted, and we're taxed to death, and still they won't see that they are part of the problem.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

But on a happier note, I've jumped off my soap box and am the guest today at Lori's Reading Corner blog (talking about old cookbooks).  Not only that, but I just had enough time to stop by the Jungle Red Writers blog, too.  (Those women know how to party!)  Hope you'll check them out!

But before you do:  What's Bugging YOU Today?

I only read good reviews

Okay, that subject line is a lie.  I read the bad ones and cry.  But I don't have to cry about the reviews I've received so far for Bookplate Special.  (I'm sure disgruntled readers will be posting some pretty nasty ones on Amazon any minute now.)

I don't usually brag (okay, not TOO much at least) about good reviews for my books, but this one really tickled me. (I mean, I love the crack about the plantar's wart.) The Feathered Quill Book Review site is relatively new, and I'm thrilled they wanted to review Bookplate Special. In case you're interested, click here to see the review. Not only that, but they also interviewed! Click here for that, too.

The Richmond-Times Dispatch ran a review on Sunday on their Book Blog, In it they said, "Barrett is skilled at making her characters flawed and fully believable. This book-based book is a perfect autumn read — right down to those smashed pumpkins."

Blush. Then again, as I myself am pretty flawed, maybe it's just easier to make my characters reflect my shortcomings. Either way, it seems like people are liking the book. And I hope they'll take seriously some of the themes featured--like going green and donating to food pantries.

Okay, I have a few more stops on the blog tour, and I'll be plugging them in the next couple of weeks, but after that--and inbetween--it's back to tomfoolery and tommyrot!

I promise.

1st Stop On The Blog Tour

Yikes -- almost forgot to mention that today is the first stop on my blog tour for Bookplate Special. I was interviewed on the Authors Exchange Blog. I hope you'll check it out: http://tinyurl.com/yh22rx3

Do I REALLY need another diploma?

It seems like every week I'm being spammed by a new schemer.  At first, it was "male enhancement."  And don't get me wrong, I'm STILL getting a lot of those kinds of emails.  And over the summer, I was getting a lot of solicitations for watches--all kinds of watches.  Cheap ones, expensive one, and some of them even came from an address from my own web site.  (And believe me, this isn't the first time those addresses have been hijacked.  I'm sure there are people in Timbuktu cursing the name Lorraine Bartlett for being inundated with offers of watches, drugs, and god knows what else.)

For the past couple of weeks, I've been bombarded with offers of fake diplomas from some pretty prestigious universities.  Hey, with just giving up my credit card number, I could become an instant graduate of Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Smith, and without the bother of attending classes or handing in homework assignments.  Pretty cool, huh?

No.  Pretty pathetic.

People who fall for these scams are pretty stupid.  Sure, put that institution of higher learning on your resume and you might get a call back and maybe even an interview.  Okay, some people have even gotten a job with phoney credentials, but somewhere down the line the truth will come out and then humiliation and the unemployment line will be in that person's future.  (And try getting a good job after that.  Can you say "Walmart Greeter?")

Unlike most people, I check my spam filter several times a day, and that's mainly because I have mail forwarded from my web sites.  Some of it is real mail I want to read, and without going to the site itself to retrieve it.  But it sure is a pain in the neck to wade through the other crap.

I wish everyone would check their spam filters on a regular basis.  You might also find important emails lurking in there.  Like maybe newsletters you've signed up for?  Many people sign up for my newsletter and then complain they don't get it.  Why?  Caught in their spam filter.  (I advise people who sign up to add my newsletter e-mail to their address books.)  And is just so happens -- I sent out my newsletter this morning.

How often do you check YOUR spam filter?

FIRST SIGHTING!!!

It was "dump your old pharmaceuticals" day at my local Wegmans, and boy did our family accumulate a LOT of unused drugs.  (It's a shame they can't be given to people who can't afford them.  But, up in smoke they'll go.)

So while I was there, I decided to check out the book section and HELLO!!!  There it was, Bookplate Special.  Three copies--which means one has already been sold.  I did a little happy dance and called to a woman who was walking by, "It's My Book!" like I'd never seen a copy of my book for sale before.

What the heck!  I'm happy! 

If you're local, please check out your Wegmans grocery stores (and even if you're in PA, VA, or NJ, too!) and maybe buy a copy?  :)

Weeee!  you never get over seeing YOUR new book on a shelf in a store. 

Glee!!!

Pet Peeve Thursday--Don't ask me for advice if ...

There's a certain kind of writer that comes to see me at my booksignings.  These people show up with no intention of buying my books.  They come to pick my brain.  They want to know how to cut corners to get published.  (These people also like to IM me when I'm on facebook or send me emails.)

This kind of thing is inevitable.  I'm used to it, and so is just about every other author who does these appearances.  But these writers also have a trait that really, really annoys me.  First and foremost, they don't write.  I mean it.  They come and monopolize your time, stealing your attention from real fans of your work to tell you they have the greatest idea for a book or a movie, and yet they don't have time to actually sit down and write it.  Why?  They're busy.

Here's a newsflash, guys (and it's almost always a guy), I'm busy, too.  But somehow, I always manage to find time to write.  I did that when I had a full-time and part-time job, too.  What are you doing that keeps you from writing in your non-working life?  Watching TV?  Sports?  I know you're not sitting around reading, because then you might actually do some research to find out what you need to do to get your non-existent work sold.

And another thing that bothers me; you ask for my advice.  I give it to you from the heart.  I even write it down for you.  Then you come to the next signing, ask for the same advice, and when I give it to you, you tell me, "You already told me that."  And did you look into that writers group? follow a certain author's (or agent's) blog, or even apply your butt to your computer chair and your fingers to a keyboard?  The answer you give me is a sheepish, "Uh, no."

Now I have a request to make of you guys:  please don't waste my time.  And don't waste another author's time and patience, either.  It's just plain rude.

And what's bugging YOU today?

Oops--missed my cue

I've had so much on my mind lately, I forgot that yesterday kicked off my (admittedly limited) blog tour for my new book, BOOKPLATE SPECIAL.  I was interviewed by Avery Aames of the Mystery Lovers Kitchen blog.  (And I shared a yummy recipe for mini spinach quiches--definitely NOT diet food, but delicious.)

So, if you want to read my pearls of wisdom (?) check it out.  (Scroll down to Sunday's entry.  Then scroll back up and read Avery's current post.  Then scroll down again and read everybody else's posts.  They've shared some really cool recipes.)

I've got a number of stops to make on this make-shift blog tour, most in November.  I've got them listed on my web site, but will try to mention them here as well.

My Dad

I lost my Dad this week. He was a wonderful man, and a fantastic husband and father. This is my favorite picture, taken on his Birthday several years ago. We celebrated with surf and turf--lobster and steak.

1926-2009

I MEANT to grow them that small . . .

The veggie garden is done for 2009.  The other day I picked the last of the beans (and what a magnificent crop it was), the peppers, and the lone squash.  The tomatoes were history about a month ago.  The heirlooms succumbed to the blight--so we didn't get to eat even one of them, but the celebrity tomatoes were magnificent.  Oh, they got the blight, too, but they were made of hardier stuff and if you cut out the black bit, were just fine to eat.  And of course, Mr. Groundhog completely destroyed the Brussels Sprouts and broccoli, so I won't even go into that heartache (again).

But getting back to the peppers . . . we got one full-sized (and that was on the small side) pepper, which I allowed to fully ripen.  It was a beauty and I lovingly tended it for about 6 weeks.  One other plant produced a pepper, but it rotted on the stem.  Then in September, the second plant suddenly bloomed and the next thing you knew, we had three tiny peppers. 

There's the rub--they were TINY peppers.  And so was the acorn squash.  I got that as a freebie from the local nursery.  We bought some annuals and they gave away one free squash plant.  Unfortunately, I put the little squash in the driest part of the yard.  I faithfully watered it, but the water seemed to flow downhill away from the squash.  Still, I got some beautiful glads, so I can't complain too much.

Hubby couldn't get over how darned cute that little squash was.  To convey the size, I figured I'd better include something to give it scale.  We haven't eaten the squash yet--and I wonder will we get get a teaspoon each--but it is awfully cute, don't you agree?