The No News is No News Purgatory Thread, Vol. 7

Maryn,
Whose birthday should be happy

Couldn't help myself



Caleb,
VOO Warning ( is anything I say not VOO? geez)

I agree with what Clovia said,

BUT

I think keeping women in the subservient role in the military supports a sense of (false) masculinity that the armed forces has relied on to prop up boys and make them eager for combat. This rigid '50s style of maleness tells them "Boys don't cry" ( so when you are suffering from PTSD, shut the hell up, stiff upper lip, be a MAN fergawdsake!) For the men of the military, this leads to a suicide rate that is astronomical.

For the women of the military, this leaves them in an extremely precarious position-- anyone want to draw a line between this hypermasculine pumped up superman and the much higher than average incidence of rape for women in the military?

Yay, Para!

Yay, Phoenix!

Yay, Poop!

Yay, Ink!

*good thoughts for Lily's books*

YAY for puppeh poop

((((Lil)))

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAR!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYN!!!!!

SteveCordero said:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYN!!!!!

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Stealing. Hope it’s great!

So. I went to start errands and...

both sets of keys to my car and my purse are locked in the truck. No open windows — thing is shut up tight as a drum. Yay.

Bright side — there are no children in it this time.

And the insurance company is sending a locksmith, who should hopefully be here shortly so we can still make our lunch date.

Maryn said:

Thank you, thank you. It's one of those forgettable numbers. The Kid asked me how old I was, again? I accidentally added a year.

Maryn, looking a full year younger than that, easy

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I've never paid a lot of attention to birthdays. I haven't had a party since I was a kid, and usually have to think a minute when people ask my age. Except this year. For some reason this was the year I decided to join the mainstream and freak the fuck out about my age, making for a weird, unsettled year. I will be very glad to see the back of it.

Here's to age and treachery, Maryn! Happy Birthday.

Clovia said:

Yeah, I actually repped him to look into those stats while he was researching. When you pour all of "femininity" into one mold that very few people actually fit into, add inculcated rape culture, put in a war zone and shake, nothing good happens.

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Funny story: When my brother was graduating from boot camp we went down to celebrate with him.

He was super gung-ho at the time and he kept saying, "Lela, you should join up, you'd make a great Drill Sgt." blah blah blah.

Well, we were walking around and a boot class of women Marines ran by. He ( and all the others) immediately started dogging on them. THey were lazy. They were worthless. They should just clean the toilets and cook grub and not pretend they were "real" Marines.

At which point I pointed out that were I to be a Marine, I would be with those girls.

My brother is not a natural misogynist and I damn well didn't raise him to treat women that way-- but the all prevailing culture of the worthlessness of women is a hard tide to stem. Despite all the "gay jokes" and sometimes violent homophobia, I think that gay men will be more easily accepted. Why? Because they are able to prove themselves. Your gay *brother* Marine stands next to you in boot and proves every day that he is worthy. The "girls" run by on their way to their part of the barracks-- it's easy to believe the rumors that their showers are nicer, the food better, the training easier, the beds softer.

And I will shut up now.

Seriously? The locksmith just called and he’s stuck in traffic because of a wreck. GAH!

Yay Para! You are no longer flat(less)!

Yay Ink! Congrats on the first pass revs!

Yay, Kimmi! Mega vamp dust to go with that mega-agent with the full!

(((Sammy))) Take your achievement and enjoy it. Be proud of the mountain you've climbed, and don't dwell on the fact there are bigger mountains out there. Those are next.

(((Lily))) Best of luck.

raburrell said:

W00t!!! *small tear* I've never been so happy for a poop!!

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+1

Elisabetta said:

Whoo-hoo!

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Or should that be - POOHOO!!! Way to go doggie!

Haupe said:

Woot! And did anyone else realize we've had a Corn Man on this thread, and now a Corn Dog? Coincidence? I think not.

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lwalker said:

Sunna, thanks! *tosses more ground cullen, dances in the fallout*

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Hey, that last part is my specialty.

Little Red Barn said:

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYN!!!!!!!

get back in here and get your spankings! =)

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+1

I'm unplugging from the internet for the weekend, hoping to make some progress on the WIP. I'm about to take out the last expendable Purgy - Navy Seal Jake O'Hara gets a bullet in the head, but he saves our MC in the process. He's lasted longer than I had planned. Tough bastard.

Have a great weekend!

ETA: lwalker - oh, no! I hope you make your lunch date.

Hi all. A quick lunch time check in...

First, and stealing cause it's perfect:

LGwenn said:

Maryn,
Whose birthday should be happy

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Sammy - I get the frustration, and it can be scary to consider all the possible options, but I think there's a place for good, reputable, fair small presses. And I think we need to be real about the business side of publishing.

Not all books are going to be wide circulation books, and that's where good and reputable small presses are exactly the right course! But that course doesn't need an agent, and it wouldn't pay an agent, since the advance, if any, is so small.

But I think it's not quite correct to say large presses or agents "look down on" small presses. Good small presses are respected in the industry. But not all books would garner enough sales to be profitable to a large press, and therefore, to an agent.

It's a business. And in that business, some books are going to be more profitable if pubbed by smaller presses. Or even self-pubbed. That doesn't make larger publishers or agents "wrong" - it just means the agents or larger publishers didn't think the book would be profitable for them. And they have to first and foremost think about that.

I hope your book finds it's audience and does great, and that you and your press profit. That would be awesome. And if you decide to go small press for the next book, or even self-pub, I hope it also does great. But I don't think it's fair to say that "traditional publishing" or trade publishing looks down on a market or book just because they choose not to publish it, or an agent doesn't think they can sell it for enough to earn sufficient for their time.

The FSDs can be hard, and I know purgatory is a place to vent and talk out our insecurities. (Hugs for that). But I just thought maybe you were selling small presses, and their place in the market, short. Reputable and respected small presses are awesome! And just because a large publisher or agent doesn't think a book would be profitable to them, doesn't mean they were wrong or that they were snobby or looking down on anyone. It's about money.

Hugs to Dys for her wrist

Hugs to Lwalker for her keys

(Gentle) Hugs to Lily for the sore books (though yay on not worse and quicker results)

Hugs to Blond for unexpected requirements, but have fun!

Hugs to Maryn for the ants (yuck -- we get them from time to time, too. I like to taunt them as I squash).

Yay Ink for revisions prowess!

Yay Para for the flat!

Yay phoenix for the poop!

LRB - boo on the pass and computer, but yay for the request!

Kris - major hugs, and good thoughts for little kris. Keep us posted!

Haupe - yay for retreating!!! Enjoy and be productive!

Clovia - no additional advice to offer on the website - but yay!


~suki

Happy happy day, Maryn!

Thank you clovia and lela for chiming in on my topic.

Happy Birthday,Maryn!!!

(((lwalker)))

Caleb, LG and Clovia summed it up nicely. I'll just add, very unhelpfully, that patriarchy sucks.

Read since yesterday afternoon.

Thanks for the cover love. RazzDazzDesigns makes a lot of cool premades.

Oh, Lwalker, that stinks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYN!!!!!

Caleb, the statistic that really gets to me is the one that says a "female soldier in Iraq is more likely to be attacked by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire". W-T-F? I've been dying to see this independent film about the problem.

On a lighter note...

FLy-by from me:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYN!

Rab, Mr. Rab said a very gittish thing there. Thump him for me, will ya?

Busy, busy, busy. Day job rejected 4, said yes to 1 and requested a full. I always open a new sub, hoping I'll find something special. Usually, I'm disappointed. Don't these people read the submission requirements? Don't they know we're an erotic romance publisher?

*sigh*.

Received the edits for my anthology short, so busy doing those tonight.

firedrake said:

FLy-by from me:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYN!

Rab, Mr. Rab said a very gittish thing there. Thump him for me, will ya?

Busy, busy, busy. Day job rejected 4, said yes to 1 and requested a full. I always open a new sub, hoping I'll find something special. Usually, I'm disappointed. Don't these people read the submission requirements? Don't they know we're an erotic romance publisher?

*sigh*.

Received the edits for my anthology short, so busy doing those tonight.

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Have to say again that I’m always so interested to hear Fire’s tales from the slush pile. It’s cool to have one of us who has crossed to that side of the Query and can tell us what it’s like to be there.

Err... guess who just found out that a chunk of her electrical system is messed up and thus the stove & fridge aren't working?




I'd complain that I'm supposed to protected from Friday the 13th nonsense by my 13 tattoo, but then I remember it is probably just a kablooyed breaker that needs replacing and not two major appliances.