What's Wrong With This Picture?

Are proof readers a dying breed or is it the first position a publisher cuts back on? I kind of hope the latter, because if the former, then they're not doing a very good job. Of course, if that's the case, maybe those publishers better rethink things!

 

Now, I can excuse the occasional typo in a news article. Catching every error is almost impossible, especially if you've read the article several times. But headings? No. There's no excuse for a typo in a heading. I mean, the type is LARGE and BOLDED. Should be easy peasy to review, right?

Well, apparently not. As I perused my daily paper Wednesday morning, I came across this article and the heading stopped me (if you click on the photo, it should enlarge for you to see it better).

 

I thought the article was about some person personating an owl and couldn't figure out why it would be an offense. Not so. That one little missing LETTER made a serious article (about a shooting) look humorous (I won't even go into what my daughter had to say about the blurb before the article – she's a grammar freak, what can I say).

Proof reading shouldn't stop with books, magazines, or newspapers. People writing e-mails should practice the act – many times. I don't know how many e-mails I've received in the past where I couldn't understand what was being communicated.

I re-read everything I write – e-mails, comments, blogs, letters, you name it! It only takes one wrong word to turn something serious into a joke.

So what do you think about proof reading? Do you think people have gotten lazy or just cheap? Or is it the same thing? Hmmm.

CORRECTION: After all of the above, I realized I made a mistake (which I have since corrected) in a previous post about an upcoming Beatnik Café my writers group is putting on. It will be held on Friday, Dec 7 (NOT today). Don't know WHAT I was thinking! But hey, if you're still interested, it will be at the 4 Starters Coffee Café, 2495 Commons Blvd, Beavercreek, Ohio. It starts at 7 pm and runs until 9. And that is Friday, DEC 7 (yeah, Pearl Harbor Day AND my sister's birthday!). I'll be there.

Hope you have a super-duper weekend.

What I Read Last Week

Editing is going along great. I foresee finishing Ghostly Liaison by Thanksgiving. And because I'm going along at a good clip, reading time has been reduced. Here are the books I completed since last Wednesday.

Oct 31: "Iced Chiffon" by Duffy Brown. This book is a straight (cozy?) mystery. Blurb on back: "There's always something to gossip about in Savannah, Georgia, and Reagan Summerside always seems to be in the middle of it. She's busy enough running her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, with her vivacious auntie, KiKi, but now the gossip – and the sales – are about to pick up, after a gruesome discovery…" Not my usual genre, but the story looked fun and I attended Duffy Brown's Mystery Party during Lori Foster's Reader/Author Get Together (which she also helps run), so I bought her book. I sort of thought there might be some kind of romance involved, but there wasn't (although one was teased, sort of). I didn't figure out "who done it" until it was revealed at the end. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Nov 6: "Claimed" by Rebecca Zanetti. This is the second book in the series and now I need to purchase #3. I liked the story, although the alpha male is a little meaner than I'd prefer (I felt the same way about the alpha male in the first book, too). That won't stop me from continuing on with the series, though. Blurb on back: "Emma Paulsen is a geneticist driven by science. But she's also a psychic, so when a dark, good-hearted vampire frees her from the clutches of the evil Kurjans, she realizes he must be the man who's been haunting her dreams. But with a virus threatening vampires' mates, Emma may discover a whole new meaning of "lovesick"… As King of the Realm, Dage Kayrs has learned to practice diplomacy. Still, it's taken three hundred years to find his mate, so he'll stop at nothing to protect her – even if it means turning his back on his own kind…" I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads.

So what have you read this past week? Please share!

Here's to another week of happy reading!

 

 

Brainstorming

I need to brainstorm and thought you might be able to help. I'd like to write a short story (between 800-1000 words, yeah, REALLY short) for the Beatnik Café my writers group is holding next month. The theme is "Up on the House Top." I'm assuming that means Christmas.

 

It has to be clean since kids might be there. One guy in our group said "no centerfolds," so of course I want to use that (insert evil laugh here), but then I thought up something that was kind of dirty (but funny). I should also not dish Santa (just in case – don't want to ruin any kid's Christmas).

Now all I can think about is sexy romance or evil horror!

Sometimes one little word can get me going. My husband told me to write about a Ferris wheel and I was able to do that for the last Beatnik Café I attended (but then, we weren't given any theme). Then my husband said I should write about an alien, and I got a whole book written about that. So why can't I think of a clean short story with a centerfold?

Why does clean seem so BORING? Or is that just me? Do you have any suggestions for me? Any way I can use centerfolds and still keep it clean (and maybe funny)? Your opinions matter to me!

This is strictly for fun and not to be published (except maybe on this blog, if you're interested or I'm so inclined). My goal is to have something to read that night and to show people – hey, look, I can write (and it's not boring)!

I'm ready to brainstorm – as soon as I return from the gym, that is!

****

In other news… I heard back from the job I interviewed with AND the editor I submitted Book #3 to. Yep, both rejects. These things happen. I'll continue to send out resumes and I sent out Book #3 to another publisher. One of these days something good will happen. If I had my druthers (and I do), I'd rather be published than employed!

 

What Does This Picture Say?

It's said "A picture is worth 1000 words." So, what is this picture saying to you? Is it saying "Go out and buy some sunglasses"?

So, girls in bikinis get the car ads, and hunks, like this one, get the eyeglasses ads? Does that mean more women purchase glasses?

I seriously wonder what advertising agencies think in situations like this. Yeah, he's great eye-candy, but how many people do you think would go out and purchase eyeglasses based upon this picture? I would think a picture of the frames would do just as well. Hey, but that's probably just me!

Sorry for the late post. I was going to write something last night, but forgot I don't usually do that after my writers group meeting (since it ends at 10pm). If I planned it better, I would have had it written before I left for the meeting.

My writers group is having another Beatnik Cafe on Friday, Dec 7 at the 4 Starters Coffee Cafe, 2495 Commons Boulevard, Beavercreek, OH. It runs from 7-9pm. If you're in the area and want to hear local writers read their short fiction, come on by. The theme is "Up on the House Top."  I haven't decided if I'll be part of the readings (I haven't written anything yet), but I will be there to listen and support. The cost is FREE.

And lastly, the anthology, "Home for the Holidays," which includes my short story, "The Last Christmas Visit," is now in print and can be found HERE. I'll be getting my copy soon!! So excited.

Hope your weekend is fantabulous. If you're doing NaNo - go you! I'm not that brave, yet.

What I Read Last Week & Pictures of Halloween Decorations

Happy Halloween!! Before I get to what I read last week, here are some pictures to put you into the mood for the holiday. If you click on them, they will enlarge and you can see the detail a little better. These houses are located on the corner of Main & Maple Streets in Fairborn, Ohio.
 

 

Now, on to what I read last week:

Oct 25: "Seducing the Vampire" by Michele Hauf. I had been avoiding vampire romances because I write them, but realized, wait a minute, I'm not writing one now! So, I'm back to reading them. This one goes back and forth between 1785 and present day, and at first it kind of confused me (not for long, though), and then I got caught up in the story (it was hard to put down). It was kind of genius how she wrote this. Two stories, two goals, one man. I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads.

Oct 26: "Forever Vampire" by Michele Hauf. Yep, I started this the day I finished the previous book and finished it the next day. This book deals with the offspring of the characters from the previous book (so it has to be thirty years in the future, but seems like present day – at least technologically speaking). I enjoyed it (apparently, I read it fast enough), but I liked the characters in the previous book better. I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads.

Only two books completed this week, because I've been more engrossed in editing Book #4. I think I'm motivated to get it finished so I can give it to people to read (again). I want to start querying!!! Yeah, I'm nuts like that.

Here are some more pictures of decorations. Foy's is a store in Fairborn (they have like 4 shops) and they're really big this time of year, as you can see.

I would have posted more, but Blogger was being a slow pain. Thought I should quit while I was ahead. Hope you have a spooky day!