Online Retail

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I love shopping online. Give me Amazon, Barnes and Noble, department stores... specialty shops and even travel plans. I love having the world at my fingertips. The convenience of online everything has become more and more apparent in the last five to ten years. Since 2000, there's almost no excuse for deliquency. Missed birthdays should be a thing of the past...

I say should because I'm still 'THE WORST EVER' birthday giver in the whole wide world.

2011 is going to be different for me. I've decided everyone in my family is going to get that email... that email-me-your-birthday-and-anniversary-dates email. Then they are all going into a calendar on my computer or email program. With reminders, how can I go wrong?

I do have one issue this Christmas. The store I am trying to purchase an item from has proven itself somewhat unreliable. :( I'm really disappointed, because their product is really COOL. But I'm at my wits end, trying to order from them. I almost get the feeling they don't want me to buy anything. Today I sent out a last-chance-email. The one saying, "hey. Are you there? Can I order from you or is this just a hobby, and I should worry about if I'll ever get the thing I want?" I don't know. I feel that if people are going to open an online store, they should be ready and available at least once a day. They should have email programs that aren't so spam vigilant. They have to expect that strangers will email them. :( Arg. Well, I don't know. I started a conversation. Now I would like to end it. That won't happen if I can't reach this gal and either order or confirm that ordering isn't possible.

So the question is... Is it okay to question a retailer's commitment? If you were in the position, would you [politely] ask about when and how the order would be placed? I mean, what if this gal has a nine to fiver and doesn't get around to putting together my order for another week or two? And if she has a nine to fiver, will she be able to get to the Post Office to mail my order when it is put together? If I don't hear from her in several days, what are my chances of being disappointed when all is said and done? *sigh*

It's really COOL stuff. Have I mentioned that? I'm willing to wait, but I need confirmation that I'm not talking to a virtual wall. :)

The 12 Days of eBooks

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Join me at Passionate Critters this week as we talk about our E-readers, what they mean to us and the eBOOKS we love.


This Thursday, I'll be featuring Jaci Burton's new release from Carina Press,

All She Wants For Christmas.

On Sunday, I get to talk about my new NOOK, the wonderful customer service I encountered....
and confessions on why in the heck I would need customer service. :P
Thanks for stopping here!!
Have a wonderfully Merry Christmas.
With Love,
Bethanne and Penny Dune

Took me a while, didn't it?

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:D But I'm back!
Of course, with a baby now, I need a schedule.
Otherwise, what you've seen in the last month is what you'll get--NOTHING! Haha.

Give me a few days to put something together.
Enjoy the new design while you're here. I'm loving it!! Thanks to Moira Keith for pointing me in the right direction. I was tired of the old. And this design speaks to me. :D I love the pink.

Can't wait to get into blogging again.
Love,
Bethanne

Are you Proud?

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I sent an informative message out to several of my crit partners, because after asking for crits for a synopsis, I ended up submitting what I had sans critique. I didn't intentionally disregard the fact that I probably needed a good crit/read-thru, but I did run out of time. I'm having a baby soon, and I just had the urge to clear my desk of all works in progress.

Not wanting anyone to waste their time on something I wouldn't be using right away, I sent out the notice.

And I received a lovely note from one of my critters. One that honored me and praised me for getting through the work and subbing amidst all the Real Life stuff I have going on. It was nice and, of course, a little embarrassing. I certainly wasn't tooting my own horn or begging a compliment. [not that she thought that, either!]

She said, Don't be embarrassed.
Be PROUD!

And you know what?
I am!
I am so proud of myself for getting that submission in. :D
It might fail completely, but I worked hard to get it polished and ready to submit, so even if it gets a big R, I guess I do deserve a little pat on the back after all.

Thanks for hanging with me all these months!
Looking forward to baby in 3 DAYS!!! Hugs and have a great start to November.
With Love,
Bethanne

Anthology Madness and Novella Length Stories

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I have to admit that I LOVE the idea of an anthology. Epublishers are going gaga over novella length stories, similarly themed and sold together. Here's what I like....

1. short stories -- the possibility of sitting to read an entire story without needing a bookmark is just AWESOME! A good book to sit down with at the end of the night...

2. new authors -- I need new authors shoved down my throat. There are authors I would never have considered reading if I hadn't been coerced by that new anthology.

3. cheaper prices -- new, hardback (or even paperback) mass market books are EXPENSIVE! Give me a novella length, epublished book any day, and I might be able to afford it. :P

Lucky me, I have an awesome group of writers at Passionate Critters who have just contracted a group of stories to be sold as a Christmas Anthology from Decadent Publishing! Whoot!

Congratulations, ladies.

Music Monday

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Well, I caught this one after my youngest came home from school claiming to sing the song, Stuck Like Glue, during class. When I played this song, though, he said, "Not that one!" :D But we enjoyed this one, too. Alot. Hope you do to. I love the story in the video. It's fun. Enjoy Sugarland. I just love how the guitar player sits on the couch, watching everything the crazy broad is doing. :D




For what it's worth, I've always wanted to eat a cake that way... just straight off the creation. No pieces inihibiting my portion. :D Well, maybe some day. LOL

Simple Descriptions

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Skipping Letters for Thursday because my brain is pickled...and by pickled, I mean pregnant. I have pregnant brain, and apparently, this time around that means my creative juices are at a minimum. :)

Our newspaper featured an article this past weekend. Of course, it caught our eye--and our neighbor's eye--because it referred to the blind. Woman Reads Playboy for Blind Radio Audience

Strange topic, I know. And I'm not advocating Playboy...

But I just have to comment on the way she uses description. It's very simple, concise. Not superfluous at all. She doesn't exaggerate the obvious. For example, "She is a 'Latina, brunette with dark chocolate brown eyes. She has long curly brown hair. She is in the first photo sitting in the ocean. Behind her shoulder, down past her arm, you can see her breast peeking out. ... There are no tan lines at all. She is not wearing any nail polish or jewelry or bathing suit or anything." That almost sounds like a police write up. Maybe some young, immature thing might get a kick out of the word breast... but don't worry, he'll grow out of that...and she'll probably grow out of hers! LOL :D *cough* anyhoo. *whistle*

I think there's something to be said for keeping it simple. As a fiction reader, and particularly one who reads romance, sometimes the effort to describe something that is at its core pretty darn basic can get tedious.

Next time you're tempted to flower your manuscript with purple prose [passages, or sometimes entire literary works, written in prose so overly extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw attention to itself. Purple prose is sensually evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment or pathos in an attempt to manipulate a reader's response], remember the playboy reader, and how, even without innuendo, she could draw the attention of thousands of blind listeners with every broadcast.

Working around the bulge

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I've hit a stage where I can't lean at all.
If I'm sitting, it has to be straight up.
Even at church today, I was nauseated in the pew because of the slight reclining position of the back. Ugh! This has wreaked havoc on my writing ability. My sitting times are shorter...

...and forget relaxing on the couch with my laptop! It's not working! If I pillow up and get straight, I have NO lap to place the thing.

I need one of those breakfast-in-bed trays....maybe, would be really nice if it had a rounded curve on my side in order to fit around my belly. :P

Help! What did you do when you were pregnant?
~Bethanne

Music Monday

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Well, I've been on facebook a good while now, and I'm noticing a trend, especially recently--not sure why. People LOVE talking smack about their spouses on facebook. Now, some of these people I know love their hubbies or wives...some, I don't know them enough to really judge. Mostly, though, I can't stand it. I get sick reading it. I mean, we all want to pull our hair out over a spouse on occasion. We all have been so spitting mad, we're not sure we can ever talk to our spouse ever again. Isn't this part of life? Isn't this part of growing and learning to love?

The thing is, if you're angry, please don't put it out there for the world to see and hear. Sometimes, life should be private! I like my life private. I like people to know that my husband is the best thing that ever happened to me. If my husband screws up, I don't want everyone to know about it. I care too much about him, about his reputation, about his feelings, to throw it out there so that people can now think less of him.

Do you WANT me to think less of your hubby? *sigh* Don't answer that. It's possible you do, but you know what? I can't. Because if you're on facebook calling someone an A-hole, it's more likely YOU that I'm thinking less of. :( Just my rant for the day.

You're going to love this video. It's for all the Dads out there. The GREAT dads who are also husbands--good, bad and ugly. :D


Music Monday

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Not sure what made me think of this song, but I think it's tender. Just alternative enough to satisfy that edge in my repertoire of music favorites. Fall begins the season of looking back, of contemplation. Quiet days and figuring out how the year has gone. Brandi Carlile's Turpentine speaks to that urge.

Enjoy it! ...by the way, if you get this message in your inbox, you have to click on the heading in your email, either Music Monday OR Bethanne Writes and it will take you to my blog where you can actually watch the video if you have time and are interested. Love you all.

Letters for Thursday

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August 12, 2027
Dear Mrs. Thursday Matthews,
This memo is to remind you of your committment to volunteer with the PTA this coming Saturday at the Annual County Steer Roast. Thank you so much for offering your services in the dunking tank again this year. My husband, Mitch, asks that you please not wear anything that could be too revealing when wet, for example a white t-shirt. Though your enthusiasm last year was unrivaled, we don't want to give the wrong impression to the townsfolk. After all, this is a family event.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Kemp
PTA president

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August 22, 2026
Hey Babe,
The kids loved seeing you get dunked! Especially Timmy. He couldn't stop laughing, and I almost dropped him he was so wiggly in my arms, jumping up and down like a monkey. I think everyone was surprised when it was Mitch who finally made the winning toss. He must be ninety and not a day younger. Don't let that Marge woman's sniping get to you. You looked beautiful, even soaking wet...okay, maybe especially soaking wet, but I'm allowed to notice.
With you, there has never been a dull moment (THANK GOD!).
I love you,
Dirk

...and the kids love you, too.
John, Parker, Rose and Timmy