Lest We Forget

Pentagon – September 2001

I took this photo and the one below about a week after September 11th. We lived 15 miles away.



In June 2002, we took relatives into Washington DC. This was an eerie site:


A plane over the Washington Memorial.

I was also in Northern Virginia when terrorists with a white van were on a random killing spree. I still cringe when I see white vans.

In September 2002, we visited New York City and Ground Zero:




I have yet to visit Shanksville, Pennsylvania, but I will.

Now, photos taken of the September 11th mastermind by the Red Cross are being spread around by Al Qaida terrorists and sympathizers in order to garner support for another attack.

We cannot forget. And we cannot let our guard down.

Be safe, America. Freedom cannot be destroyed. We can’t allow it.

There hasn’t been one September 11th yet I have not shed tears for my country and the families and friends of the victims. I hope it never becomes enough “past history” that I’ll stop. For some of us, it will never be in the past. It will always be with us. 
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Music Review: Yellow Submarine

While listening to a short band interview the other day where they talked about pyrotechnics and wanting MORE for each tour, I had to wonder why it’s so hard now to go to a “simple” rock concert and just … well, LISTEN to the music. How about getting rid of all that elaborate, expensive menagerie of stuff, lowering the price, and focusing on the music?

I guess I’m a tad old-fashioned. I go to concerts for the music. I like bands because of the music, not because of the looks and hype. I listen to words. I pay attention to intricacies.

So, when I find new music that takes me back to the days of concerts focusing on music, I can’t help but share it.

On September 9th, 1971, 38 years ago today, John Lennon released the “Imagine” LP. Even those who know next to nothing about Lennon or the Beatles know the title track. Imagine. The Seventies were very much about imagining. It was a creative, highly artsy time. I was only 5 when the album was released so to me the Seventies meant starting grade school and family birthday parties and little contact with the wider world. There was, however, music. Within music of the times, as I mentioned in an earlier post, we find the inner depths and attitudes of the times.

Now, in the form of an intriguing, enlightening new CD titled “Yellow Submarine” and produced by Marino De Silva, we have a nice recapture of the times and soul of the Sixties and early Seventies.

I have to say when I first heard about the CD, I was less than overwhelmed. I expected it to be all Beatles remakes and in general, I’d rather listen to the real thing than to a remake. There are exceptions.

Why did I order it, then? I’m big on research. I have to be for my job. So I researched the CD and found that not only do proceeds from the CD benefit Angels on Earth, De Silva’s foundation to help children with autism, but De Silva has also been an advocate for assisting the military and their families. That sold me. What can I say? As spouse of a retired soldier and Desert Storm veteran, I do have fondness for those who at least try to understand and care about what the military deals with, and especially those who try to do something to help. I’m also supportive of children’s charities. I didn’t order one. I ordered two.

The review: What can I say? I’m so impressed with this CD I’m thinking I should have bought more than two and used them for gifts. I still might. I’m a sucker for acoustic music, especially acoustic guitar, and for music that highlights individual instruments. With Yellow Submarine, there are lots of acoustic and highlighted instruments. I’m enamored with Steven Swinford’s Two Of Us acoustic guitar track and John Argent’s gorgeous piano version of Lady Madonna. The flute highlight in Jethro Tull’s Pavane is impossible to work through instead of stopping to listen (and I can work through most anything). The production of songs featuring greats Jimi Hendrix, Roger Daltrey, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, and Jimmy Page is so well done I can hear every sound in all its glory. It’s crisp and clear and about the music, not the hype. I was introduced to a few names I didn’t know and will now remember. Of course De Silva’s guitar work shines through and the title track by Duncan Faure featuring Marino De Silva is one of the exception remakes, a great cover.

Along with incredible music, there are clips of interviews with the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

I love this mix of music old and new, all in the same style and texture and technical excellence. There is no mush here. This is music by those who excel at music.

This is a must-have CD for anyone who enjoys 60s-70s sounds, as well as for anyone truly into the sound and skill of music at its best.

Find it here: YellowSubmarineCD.org  and add them at Myspace

Find info on Marino De Silva on his website.

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Since I have an extra CD, I’m using it as a giveaway – a raffle for anyone who comments about this review. Leave your own review if you’ve heard it or just say hello! I’ll run it through the weekend to allow time and make the cutoff date Monday the 14th at noon Eastern. I’ll throw in a few things of my own, as well. ;-)

Weeds and Flowers

There is Scottish Thistle growing along the roads beside our house. We’re in western Pennsylvania, which apparently has such deep Celtic roots and ancestry that thistle happened to spring up from the earth. Okay, I suppose someone brought some back from Scotland. It wasn’t us, although we were there last summer, and although I had a lot of  fun admiring the country’s national emblem growing wild in the highlands and along roads and being depicted on street signs and shop signs. I didn’t notice it here before. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention.

To be honest, it likely didn’t have the chance to grow as well as it has this year because … well, our state has yet to approve a budget so weeds alongside the roads aren’t being cut. At least that’s my theory as to why they’re taking over the sideline landscapes.

Yes, I’m enjoying the purple thistle. It reminds me of Scotland and I have a true, deep love for that country. It doesn’t quite match the love I have for my own, but it would be one of two places I would relocate if I every got kicked out of here (and with some of my political opinions, maybe I will be). The other would be Italy, but then I’d have to learn Italian. The Scots at least speak English: not quite American English but close enough to catch on quickly.

No, I don’t have plans to move, but when I mentioned to my husband that a local plant nursery had thistle growing in front of their building, which I thought was very cool, he said, “I can’t imagine why anyone would plant a sticker bush.”

Oh. I suppose he has a point. As I thought about it, I decided I wouldn’t actually want it in my yard, either. It’s a weed, you know. It will spread and take over if it’s allowed. And although I enjoy the bit of it I see, there is a line things need to maintain or else they cause havoc.

I also enjoy the goldenrod not being cut down. I’m allergic to the stuff and definitely don’t want THAT in my yard, but in my car as I’m driving past with the windows closed, it’s very pretty. [Now I’m hoping I’m naming that bright yellow weed correctly. TC, my professional gardening friend, may correct me, a gardening amateur.]

But that’s the way it often goes – something that looks like a very cool idea in its bright and shiny glory at a distance changes once you start looking closer.  I think we see that in politics a lot. I’ll leave that thought for the moment. I blog politically blatant at Myspace and sometimes at Facebook, but not here. Don’t worry. I won’t start.

I know we see it in everyday life. And I see it in writing. Adverbs are weeds, for instance. In their proper place and kept at a minimum, they  are pretty words that help a writer get an image across. Left to spread uncontrolled, however, they muddy the waters and we’re left with so many of them it’s hard to see the grass. I love grass. It’s the basic structure, the spreading earthy grounding soul of a yard, and of a book. I’ve become obsessed with grass after living in the south for 12 years and having such a time trying to keep my yard green and fresh. I planted some recently here and go look out at it every day. It’s thriving. I did nothing but prepare the soil, throw some straw over top to hold it and mulch it, and timed it just before a few days of rain moved in … and it’s thriving on its own. A beautiful site.

The patch that was nothing but packed dirt and weeds is now soul-soothing (green will do that for you) and makes me feel like my thumb is a touch more natural than I thought.

Of course I have flowers, also. The marigolds in the photo above are now planted here and there around my flower beds. Many don’t like marigolds because they smell bad. Yes, but they are natural pest deterrents. Critters don’t like their smell, either. I put marigolds in with my veggies this year and have had very little trouble with Japanese Beatles.

Flowers are the extra description of a novel. They highlight the story, bring color and beauty. Again, though, too much of it and it  overpowers everything until the story is too hard to find.

Nature is about balance. Grass should be central. The Japanese would disagree with me, but I’m an American and so my statement stands. We like pretty yards of rolling grass without weeds and highlighted by flowers. That’s how I like my fiction, also. Rolling grass [story] with maybe a dandelion accent [weeds] here and there and a flowery [descriptive] highlight. 

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Tomorrow (September 4th)  I’ll be introducing myself during Classic Romance Revival’s “Author Intro” month, part of their grand opening celebration. Come by and see what you can win just by commenting!
http://www.classicromancerevival.com/blog

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CRR is HERE!

As a Classic Romance Revival affiliate author, I’ve been blogging at the CRR blog nearly once a month for some time now while awaiting the launch of the website … and now it’s LIVE!

What is the Classic Romance Revival? It’s genre romance in its classic form, meaning various heat levels but never pushing the line into erotica and always between two committed characters, one male and one female. While we respect whatever type of romance others like to write and read, we’ve recognized some have pulled away from reading any romance because they aren’t sure what they’re getting.

At CRR, you may get a fair amount of heat in our sophisticated line. You may get sweet romance with no more than a lovely kiss. Or you may get something in between. You’ll get contemporaries, historicals, fantasy, and paranormal. You’ll find musicians and soldiers and cowboys and bikers and time travelers and artists and pirates. You won’t find a lot of graphic detail. And you won’t find bed-hopping only for the sake of … well, for the sake of bed-hopping.

CRR does romance. Real romance. The girl-meets-boy. The struggles of forming and holding relationships. The happy endings.

You’ll even find a few of my books in the bookstore.

It’s a bit funny to advertise this here and now at this point when I’m not sure my next book fits the CRR category well, being more literary and less romance. However, I do have those that fit better and I have plans for stories that will fit even more. In fact, I may be starting one in November for Nanowrimo, a shorter work, more genre romance, historical.  It’s in formation stage in my head.

Anyway, go check out CRR! I’ve been reading some of the authors’ books and I can tell you there’s a lot worth reading there. ;-)

Love Your Libraries

One of my favorite childhood memories is walking the half mile through town with my older sister and perusing our little local library. It was, and is, little. So is my hometown. There’s not even a stoplight. The one room library was well-stocked for its size, however. It was a magical place, full of stories about everything and set everywhere. I rarely went farther than 25 miles outside my town other than family road trips on summer vacation. I don’t remember many of them.

My days at the library are firmly ingrained in my being.

I love stories. That’s a silly statement to make, I suppose, since I write them, but it’s not only the act of writing I like, it’s the true love for Story. With some books I read, I’m not so sure the author has enough of a love affair with Story. I think some like to hear themselves talk, as they say. I think some simply like the act of writing and struggle to find something to write about. I’ve often heard writers moping about being blocked and wanting to write but not having any good ideas.

I don’t get it. Anything can be a story. If you love Story, sitting on your front porch watching the leaves turn orange before it’s even September can become a story. A ladybug crawling along a picnic table can be the start of a story, especially if there are two ladybugs, one red and one orange, and you know the orange ones aren’t native to your area and shouldn’t be there while the red ones are highly beneficial and well-loved. There: a story idea. Where it goes from there would be different for each writer and that’s the magic of Story.

They are who we are.

I won’t go into the whole narrative therapy concept here, but stories help create who we are. We can change them, if we wish, and if we’re willing to accept we can.

Our libraries are full of stories that show how they shape us. They can let us be anyone. They can take us anywhere. Where would you like to be right now? Ask your librarian to help you find a book to take you there.

Where did I go on my story adventures in my childhood library? More places than I can remember. My favorite was solving mysteries with the Hardy Boys. I could be a detective, too. I loved being able to be anything even if only for the length of the book. Now, I love giving that back to others. I have lots of stories in my head waiting to come out to share. I hope that never changes.

Do you have a favorite library or a favorite librarian? Tell me about your library, either from your childhood or recent, and tell ALA about your favorite librarian--

The Carnegie Corporation is sponsoring the “I Love My Librarian” award. You can go here to nominate someone you think should win:
http://www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian/home.cfm

Libraries all over the country are losing funding right now with the current economic issues. Consider doing what you can to help promote the good they do for us and to encourage maintaining their funding. Ours is expanding with a lot of help from the community. It’s beautiful to see. And it’s very much needed.
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The Times in Music

There’s something about waking up to Quarterflash’s “Harden My Heart” and then moving on to The Fray’s “You Found Me” that makes you stop and think.

Harden My Heart:

"All of my life I’ve been waitin’ in the rain. I’ve been waitin’ for a feeling that never, ever came. It came so close but always disappeared. Darlin’ in my wildest dreams I never thought I’d go, but it’s time to let you know … I’m gonna harden my heart. I’m gonna swallow my tears. I’m gonna turn and leave you here.”

You Found Me:

"And I’ve been calling for years and years and years and years, And you never left me no messages, You never sent me no letters, You got some kind of nerve taking all I want! .. Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me, Lying on the floor, where were you? Where were you? Just a little late, you found me, you found me!

Think about this a minute…

For those who aren’t pop music buffs, Harden My Heart came out in the Eighties. It’s fairly typical of Eighties pop. The music is “simpler” in that you hear the different parts of the music clearly and it all blends together. There’s a sharpness about it and the lead singer stands out from the music while still working with it.

You Found Me came out in 2007 and was recorded in 2008. It’s also fairly typical of today’s music. There’s a “mush” feel where all the sounds seem to run together and it’s hard to differentiate one from the other, including the lead’s voice. We hear the words because they’re louder but it’s still part of the mush. The instruments are less sharp. There’s more “extra” stuff that jumbles it all together. Okay, I’m not a music critic and am not qualified to be, but Youtube these two songs and you’ll get what I mean.

The lyrics are my focus for this entry. I am a word critic. That’s part of my job. So yes, I analyze songs for their lyrics. The differences here are amazing. Harden My Heart: things are tough for her, she’s been hurt and betrayed and feels lost. So what will she do about it? Get together. Deal with it. Move on. It’s part of life and it’s her job to handle it as she needs. You Found Me: things are tough, he’s feeling lost and betrayed. So what will he do about it? Find God (smoking on a street corner, btw) and rant to him about why He’s letting bad things happen to him and those he cares about.

Yes, huge difference here in lyrics, and in attitude. But then, they reflect the times from when they were written. Song lyrics from the late Sixties to early Seventies tend to be pretty similar in attitude as You Found Me. In truth, there was a lot of whining about the lack of fairness of things. It’s all over the music, set in its history. The late Seventies and early Eighties pushed that aside and took command. Whining was suddenly for wimps, and the Eighties weren’t going to be wimps. They’d stand up and take care of things that went wrong and move on.

I’m also not a political science expert, but I can tell you I sure appreciate the Eighties attitude of “can do” that we had naturally. We didn’t have to be told we could, or persuaded to maybe think we could. We could. And we did. Sure, times change. Things are hard. But then, things are always hard. That will never change. It’s our attitude about it that makes the difference.

Me, I’m a harden my heart and move along kind of gal. That’s the kind of music I listen to by choice, also. Yes, I’m an Eighties girl. I graduated high school in 1984 listening to Quarterflash and Huey Lewis and the News (It’s Alright) and Sawyer Brown (Shakin’) and Joan Jett (I Love Rock and Roll) and Michael Jackson. 

I keep wanting to ask the guy asking where God was when things were tough, “What were you doing about it?” 
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Author Interview: Joanna Waugh

Blind Fortune
Joanna Waugh

Regency Historical Romance
322 pages
ISBN:9781419959028

buy link: Cerridwen Press

Read My Review on CRR 

LK: When I first heard about Blind Fortune and saw the cover featuring music, I knew this was a story I wanted to read. The combination of music and history was compelling enough, and then I got to know Joanna through mutual writing sites. Through her daily writings I could see she was well-studied in both her story matter and in the writing craft. I also enjoy her informative blog posts about the Regency period of England as often as I can get to them. As impressed as I was with the story of Lady Fortuna Morley and Charles, Marquess of Granville, I’m honored to have Joanna here talking about her debut novel. Welcome, Joanna!  
 

Joanna Waugh: Thanks so much for inviting me in today, Loraine. And thanks for the great review of BLIND FORTUNE.

The first question I always ask is if you have a response to my review. Is there anything you'd like to highlight or argue?

JW: I only want to say how pleased I am you liked the book. The feedback from readers and reviewers has been heartwarming. I’m overwhelmed by the positive response BLIND FORTUNE has received.

It’s all well deserved! Debut novels tend to be a huge learning curve and I think you’re starting ahead of the game. Speaking of starts, as I mentioned in the review, the amount of research you did for the novel is impressive. Are you a researcher by nature?

JW: I think so. I discovered I had a knack for it in the late 1980s when I researched my husband’s family tree. I was able to ferret out information about his great grandfather others had spent a decade trying to track down. Later, this talent stood me in good stead when I became involved politically. I think I would have made an excellent investigative reporter!

Yes, I’m guessing you would, also. Family tree research is an admirable skill, and tedious. I’ll bypass the political question that’s skimming my brain since I try not to do that here ;-) and move on.  

The Regency Period covers England in the late 18th to mid-19th centuries. How long have you been interested in this era? Did you grow up reading Regencies? If not, what was your favorite reading material?

JW: My mother belonged to Book of the Month Club and I grew up on authors like Mary Stewart and Daphne du Maurier. I had a voracious reading appetite. By junior high, I was sneaking into the grown up section of the public library. I couldn’t borrow the books so I’d sit there all day, every Saturday, reading them.

Mom loved history and historical romance. She still does. I remember once, when I was in grade school, the Kroger store had a special promotion of young adult biographies. Every week Mom bought me a new one – George Washington, Stephen Decatur, Abraham Lincoln, Louisa May Alcott. I loved American history! But I got hooked on the English Regency when I discovered Georgette Heyer as an adult.

How wonderful of your Mom to feed that interest! I started reading historicals because Mom did, as well, particularly with John Jakes and Irving Stone. I may have to look up Georgette Heyer.

Joanne, as well as history, I sensed a love of art in general from within "Blind Fortune" and had to go peruse your website to fulfill my curiosity. Can I say I'm not surprised you studied art? Now I have to say I also began college heading toward commercial art and changed paths, as well as also being pulled out of college for marriage. This is leading to two questions:

Was your art love a planned theme for this novel or did it appear as you wrote?

JW: How wonderful we have so much in common, Loraine!

Most blind people possess an affinity for music so it seemed logical that Lady Fortuna would play the pianoforte by ear. And because music speaks so deeply to the soul, I knew it had to be important to my emotionally wounded hero, Charles Lowden, as well.

Music, art and classical literature were an integral part of 19^th century life. Some of the greatest painters of the 18^th and 19^th centuries came out of England—Joshua Reynolds, John Constable, JMW Turner. William Hogarth and Thomas Rowlandson were wildly popular with their satires of English life.

Remember, this was before photography. The only way to memorialize a scene or person was in a painting or illustration.

That’s something I didn’t know about the blind. Interesting. And I’m applauding your point about music and healing. Speaking personally about the soul, did your own experiences play a role in Lady Fortuna's feelings and fears about married life or about life for women in general?

JW: I wrote BLIND FORTUNE based on personal experiences with my husband’s loss of sight from diabetes. Most human communication is nonverbal so he often misunderstood conversations. It struck me as an excellent premise around which to craft a romance.

I tried to imagine what life would have been like for a blind woman of good birth during the Regency. But the story really came together when I read Mary Wollstonecraft’s Maria or The Wrongs of Woman published in 1798.

Women of the Georgian and Regency periods were owned body and soul by the men in their lives. In BLIND FORTUNE, Lady Fortuna fears a husband might lock her away once he gets his hands on her dowry. It’s a legitimate concern, given how little time alone courting couples were allowed in order to get to know one another. An unscrupulous man could hide behind exemplary behavior until the marriage vows were exchanged.

In Mary Wollstonecraft’s world, a woman’s identity was subsumed with that of her husband when she wed. People literally believed the biblical doctrine “two become as one flesh.” Divorce was almost unheard of and required Parliamentary approval. Once married, a woman was trapped for life.

Ah, I read part of “The Wrongs of Woman” as part of a women’s literature class some time ago. Powerful writing. It’s amazing how far women have come and we need to pay homage to women such as Wollstonecraft for helping that come about. I’m glad you mentioned her.

As romance writers, we know there is a tendency for the general public to look down on romance novels. And yet, they are the best selling genre consistently. I know from your website that women's issues are important to you and you've done a fair amount of research in that vein. Do you think there's a connection between a general degrading of romance and 'chick flicks' that relates to women's fight for equal recognition?

JW: You are right that women’s issue are close to my heart. In the early 1980s, when my husband lost his sight, I needed to find a better job to support my family. As a union employee with the local gas and electric company, I was able to leave my clerical position and become the first female journeyman electric meterman.

As a writer, particularly an American one, I can’t help but bring this experience to my stories. Unfortunately, it makes them less true historically. I mentioned before that women of the 19^th century were at the mercy of the men in their lives. Most of them were content with this position. But that attitude doesn’t resonate with 21^st century women. More of them are entering the military; more are opting to have children outside of marriage. It’s difficult for them to identify with the past as it truly was so an author sometimes must bend the truth to fit modern sensibilities.

I think you did a nice job showing both, balancing the historical aspect with the needs of modern fiction.  I also have to think many women were not content with that slavery but unsure how to go about changing it. It was widespread battered women/victim syndrome where only the strongest dared fight it.

To lighten things up again, what is your favorite color? Do you wear this color a lot?

 JW: Blue has always been my favorite. But over the last few years, I’ve gravitated toward purple and lavender. It goes well with my gray hair!

Are you an outdoorsy type or do you prefer being within closed windows?

JW: Despite working outdoors for almost thirty years, I’m not the woodsy type. I don’t camp or hunt. My idea of roughing it is the Holiday Inn! But I do adore walks along Lake Michigan and boating.

There’s another similarity. I agree! So do you have any "different" hobby you'd like to share with us? Do you collect anything outrageous or scuba dive or so on?

JW: I collect Russian nesting dolls. Lovely little works of folk art. I have one whose smallest doll is roughly the size of a sesame seed. And it’s painted. With a magnifying glass you can make out its little smiling face.

Oh, those dolls are precious! I have a set we picked up in Germany but the smallest is nowhere near that small.

Speaking of painting and art, if you could claim one famous work of art as your own, which one would it be and why?

JW: Only one? What an impossible task! Van Gogh’s Starry Night.  Salvador Dali’s Invention of the Monsters with its flaming giraffe and his Persistence of Memory with its melting clocks. I absolutely adore Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. It’s on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. When my son was in grade school, I took him to see the painting. I dragged him up close before he had a chance to assimilate what the picture was about. Shoving him within inches of the canvas, I asked, “What do you see?” “Dots.” He said. Then I dragged him back and watched the wonder dawn on his face as the picture gradually coalesced. “The original dot matrix image,” I told him.

Joanna! La Grande Jatte is one of my all-time favorite works of art! I saw it at the Art Institute back in my college days after I’d studied it in art history class and it’s amazing. I had to use it in one of my books, I was so struck by the piece. Van Gogh is another fave. I love your picks.

Back to writing, tell us what you're doing now. Any projects in the works?

Right now I’m working on a Regency paranormal set on the border of Scotland in 1816. Home from the war, my hero accidentally releases the 6^th century spirit of a pagan king from a well in which it has been trapped for twelve-hundred years. The spirit follows him home and begins wreaking havoc. The hero and heroine must overcome their differences and work together to banish it. In the process, they rediscover the love they lost two years before.

Sounds like another great read. I’ll be watching for it.

Joanna, thank you for taking the time to be with us. I wish you all the best with future books. I also encourage any art and music loving readers out there to pick up Blind Fortune. Is there anything you would like to add? Be sure to leave us your links to find you!

Check out my resources for Regency readers and writers at http://www.joannawaugh.com

(Click on “Joanna’s Books” to read excerpts from BLIND FORTUNE)

Be sure to “friend” me on Myspace and Facebook

And don’t forget my blog about British customs and holidays at http://www.joannawaugh.blogspot.com/
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Wishing They Existed?

For the next two weeks, one of the blogs I’m a member of is featuring a heroes tribute, meaning fictional heroes in romance. I look forward to reading each post, in seeing the different and similar viewpoints about what defines a hero. Technically, a romance hero simply means the main male character. He can be in all different forms from moody and distant to funny but strong.

There are similarities within heroes of each writing era. In early days of genre romance it was normal for the hero to take what he wanted from his heroine. That was encouraged by publishers. Not so anymore. If you write that kind of hero in your novels now, good luck getting a publisher to accept it. Now readers want strong but good-hearted heroes, those who would never take advantage because of their strength. He does have to be willing to fight for his heroine in some form, though. Most end up in some kind of physical fight for their heroines, and yet in dealings with her, are very kind and soothing.

One of the excerpts posted on the Lindsay’s Romantics blog showed one of these hunks rescuing and then soothing his heroine. A comment asked why couldn’t there be heroes like that in real life.

Well, of course there are heroes like that in real life. I’ve seen plenty. I happen to live with one of my own. I think sometimes we don’t tend to notice what heroes our men are because of how toned down our world is as compared to medieval days of castles and armored knights. Also, in fiction we have the advantage of skipping over daily mundane activities such as grocery shopping and taking care of our certain personal needs no one wants to read about. We don’t have to show clothing dropped beside the bed instead of placed neatly in the bathroom hamper or dishes left on the counter instead of rinsed and dropped into the dishwasher. Those things don’t make good fiction except in comedic fiction where it’s used for effect. They do, however, tend to diminish our heroes in our eyes because we do have to deal with them on a daily basis.

How many of us women think our men wouldn’t actually step in to be our rescuer if needed? I happen to think most would. I know without a doubt mine would. Heck, he even asks people not to smoke in a non-smoking section for me. That may be a mild rescue, but it’s still a rescue and should be acknowledged as such.

Look at our soldiers. We have many heroes fighting for us on a daily basis, even though some of the population they’re fighting for may not approve of what they’re doing (and fictional heroines often don’t, either, but still have a respect for them) and then coming back home to be loving husbands and fathers. Some of the sweetest images in my  mind are of these sturdy, strong, fearsome men who get off the bus and fall into waiting soft arms with tears in their eyes and kiss their babies on their cheeks.

There are, indeed, still heroes today. We may have to look beneath the chinked and faded armor, but they are around us. Sometimes it’s the heroine’s fault when a hero doesn’t act a hero. Sometimes we’re too busy looking at the annoying little things to bother seeing the hero within. That’s a shame.

~~ visit Lindsay’s Romantics this week and next to get your hero fix!
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The Indie vs. Traditional publishing debate

Should You Sign With A Legitimate Book Publisher or Self-Publish

I wrote an article for this debate today on Helium. The title of it was rather offensive to me. What do you think?

More on indie publishing coming soon, as I'm in process of going indie again, but differently.

Nickelback Freakin' ROCKS!

18 July 2009
Post-Gazette Pavilion
Pittsburgh, PA
(actually Burgettstown, PA)

Nickelback
with Saving Abel, Papa Roach, and Hinder

Never mind this is a writer's blog and "freakin" isn't exactly "writer's vocabulary" material, and never mind that Chad Kroeger mentioned if you're going to do a job do it right, which means I should use the more powerful word: I keep this blog PG-13, so freakin' will have to do.

I went to see freakin' NICKELBACK last night at the Post-Gazette Pavilion. After wanting to go for years and watching the chances they got close enough pass by because the timing was not right, finally it was. All four of us went: me and hubby and the kids (only one is still a minor, barely). I won't mention what we paid for 4 tickets in the second tier of seats that were under the pavilion shelter and just behind the roadies taking care of the soundboard, plus the mandatory T-shirts, enough food not to starve, and drinks. Yikes. But we've waited a long time to be able to go and I wanted to actually SEE them in person not only on the monitor from the lawn.

This was also my first time at the Pavilion so I wasn't sure what to expect. I love outdoor concerts. I didn't like that rain was threatening all day and did start up while ordering food. Luckily (especially lucky for those on the lawn), it held off and it was, as Chad said, a beautiful night for a Rock & Roll Concert!

The huge gravel parking area, even as early as we arrived, was packed full of tailgaters bbq'ing and chatting and playing bean bag toss games as we rolled by waiting for our chance to park. We ended up close to the south gate and waited in line until the gate opened at 5. Never mind the "illegal" smell while we waited, most fans were fairly reserved and we listened to the cacaphony of music coming from car speakers, much of it of course was Nickelback. At one point, we couldn't distinguish what any of it was since there was so much of it from all directions.

Inside the gate looks like a mini town with merchandise vendors as well as food and drink vendors. It's a nice atmosphere and I appreciated the sign saying there is lawn space set aside for families with no alcohol or smoking allowed.

Finding our seats, we were happy with how well we could see the stage, considering we bought the tickets only a week ago! Of course, it  was still daylight, so the first three bands were quite easy to see. I have to say I didn't know much about either Saving Abel or Papa Roach before last night except my kids like them and truly enjoyed  seeing them. I couldn't understand anything they were singing since the bass was pretty overwhelming. No matter. The kids knew the words. And so did much of the audience, apparently, since lots were singing along. I do know a couple of Hinder songs and enjoyed seeing them performed, although again the sound balance gave us more bass than anything.







I felt a bit like an old stick-in-the-mud sitting there just sitting and taking a few photos but not really getting into the whole thing. Those around me were dancing and singing and having a great time and I was watching the roadies change sets in between and the guys at the soundboard in front of me and the crowd and the security and the event staff (research! a writer's gotta observe the details!). And standing up or twisting my knees sideways 50 times to let people walk back and forth out to and from the aisle. I know, when you go to a concert you should really just hang out and enjoy and relax ... but a writer who writes about music can't help the work aspect of it, also. *shrug*  If I had the nerve, I would have liked to go talk to the sound guys to ask them about their job. I don't have. Except maybe I will do that online. Stay tuned.

The stick disappeared when the band I went to see made its appearance. Along with the rest of the crowd, I was on my feet in full party mode (with soda instead of the tons of beer being consumed around me) cheering and yelling and singing along from the moment Nickelback took the stage. And they took the stage with a literal bang!  The light and sound effects were incredible -- major kudos to their techs.

Chad Kroeger was very funny, very likeable and flirty, very involved with the fans. They started with "Something in your Mouth" from the Dark Horse CD and kept rolling through songs and chatting in between. I was a bit surprised there were only a few Dark Horse songs in the show, but loved getting the All the Right Reason songs, and bringing the leads from Hinder and Papa Roach out to join them for AC/DC's Highway to Hell was a lot of fun. There was even a touch of country thrown in!

Daniel Adair's drum solo was glorious! But you have to hear it in person to truly understand how glorious it was. And if you're a drummer or ex-drummer, you can't help being transfixed.

Never mind too much camera focus on too-showy girls, since you have to expect that with Nickelback and most rock bands these days, I guess. It was an incredible show and by the third song, I was already thinking, "I've GOT to come see them again!"

I would like to make a public statement, here, though. When the staff tells you there is no smoking within the pavilion, would you listen, please? My husband asked several guys to put out their cigarettes because they were just in front of us and chain smoking and my allergies kicked in making me cough up a storm. Seriously, be a tiny bit considerate in public!  That goes for getting bombed or stoned out of your mind, as well. It's not fun for those around you when you do. Kudos to the event staff for kicking out the kids in front of us (yes, some of the smokers, two of whom got aggressive when hubby asked them not to smoke -- silly little boys considering who they were dealing with) who were falling all over the seats and climbing on them and pulling up the braless girl's shirt who was so out of it she won't remember the concert at all (with my 16 yr old right behind her). We paid to be there, for decent seats, and we had the right for those around us to be mannerly just as we were. Behave like humans or stay home. Maybe it was "Rock and Roll" but a lot of us were there for the music, not the debauchery. 

All in all, we left fully happy with a wonderful night of wonderful music and fun, and after sitting in the parking lot for half and hour waiting until it even made sense to start the car and creep along out to the road, we went in search of a nearby hotel. We planned (last-minute) to stay the night since it was 70 miles from home and late, and then go in and run around Pittsburgh today while we were there anyway. Didn't happen. There were either 22,000 people at the concert (according to Hinder) or 19,000 (according to Nickelback) and it was sold out. That's a lot of people descending on Pittsburgh. There wasn't a hotel to be found in the area except a smoking room with only one bed 12 miles out. Instead, we grabbed food and a lovely cafe mocha from a very slow Eat & Park and headed back home at 2 am.

Wow, am I getting too old for that! I'm wiped out today. I don't know how the bands and roadies do it.



If anyone is still reading this wordy review, I think you can click on the photos to see them larger. But please, they are copyrighted, so if you want your friends to see them also, send them here!

If you get the chance, GO see Nickelback live! Tell them I sent you. And then watch them look at each other and say, "Who?"  ;-)