I am back from the SOKY Bookfest. I am exhausted and amazed. For a rundown of the weekend, including an encounter with folk legend Janis Ian, click Here
Since I first posted this I've come to learn that these female Ranger "graduates" were given a shorter course, allowed hygiene breaks, got by with failing grades, and that their training records mysteriously disappeared. All the talk recently about the first two women to graduate from the US Army Ranger School made me reminisce about my time in Ranger school, 37 years ago. Where to begin. Well, it was hard. Historically the graduation rate is around 50 percent, and most quit within the first few days, which surprised me. To apply for Ranger school you have to be recommended by your cadre or your commander, plus you have to surpass the prerequisites for physical fitness and military skills. Basically, you have to convince everyone that you're the kind of demented, hard-headed kook who could make it through the nine weeks of anguish. Before you left for the school, you are briefed by recent graduates about what to expect. I remember listening to their litany
WE at the League of Reluctant Adults are pissed. Miffed. Put out. Thoroughly riled. We don't often get political, nor do we often get angry. But an angry Leaguer is an UGLY thing. Just look at Mark over there, all snarly with rage. Why are we angry, you ask? BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET BOYCOTTED. There's this group calling itself "The Write Agenda," who claims to be a bunch of authors looking out for other authors. In reality, we're pretty sure they're a bunch of con artists who got mad at people calling them con artists. Why? Because they attack two of the best friends an author or an aspiring author can ever have: Writer Beware and Absolute Write Water Cooler . Here's John Scalzi's breakdown of what this Write Agenda is, and why they're doing what they're doing. For those not in the know, Writer Beware and Absolute Write Water Cooler are free services that collect information on agents, editors, and publishers. They report o
BEACH BLANKET BLOODBATH hit the streets over the weekend, two days early (believe me, I was just as surprised as anyone). And it's already hitting the lists (#12 in Satire, #55 in Urban Fantasy). Here's what's the dillio: Zombie socialite, Amanda Feral, and her undead friends, Wendy and Gil, shamble into an idyllic seaside village for an event promoting Amanda's memoir, HAPPY HOUR OF THE DAMNED and, as usual, to get some rest, relaxation and consume cute coastal townsfolk. As is their unique luck, plans are derailed when they become embroiled in a gory mystery at the Miss Sand Flea Pageant. Beset with perky, sinister go-go dancers, the inevitable wereshark attack and an annoying octogenarian writer, Amanda must, once again, take time out of her busy schedule of critique and ridicule to solve the crime and save a local bookseller from ruin. You can pick it up now (except not at B&N or iBooks, because ::shrug:: I have no idea why they're so slow
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