Pictures!
Okay, so I don’t have much of substance today, but I thought I could at least share some pictures with you. I’m super busy this week, but I wanted to put something up for you. Pictures are always fun!
Preparing the shipment for Rainbow Book Fair this weekend. I was actually pleased that Storm Moon Press now has so many print titles, we couldn’t ship and display them all.
Ready for shipping!
Kirei (Japense for ‘pretty’), one of our nine cats. Her nickname is Faterpillar.
Rada (Sindarin for ‘found way’), and her nickname is Kitten Face.
Mama Kitty, who is called Mama Kitty because she’s the mother of four of our nine cats.
Yume (Japanese for ‘dream’), Mama Kitty’s youngest.
Dorian, our youngest kittle, and my baby.
He’s permanently attached to me, I swear.
My living room! The lump on the sofa is Usagi (Japanese for ‘rabbit’), our eldest labrador (she’s 12 this year). I’ve always loved how much light the front half of the house receives.
The other half of our living room. K. was vacuuming when I took the photo. You can see not only Usagi, but our other labrador, Cala (Quenya for ‘light’).
Our second youngest cat, the kittle Basil. He’s Dorian’s brother, and he’s 100% Roger’s boy. XD
My kitchen! This is a place I love to be. It’s not ideal, but it’s one of the biggest kitchens I’ve had in an apartment setting.
Kitchen, part the two.
Most of my pantry. We’re in need of a proper shopping trip. That will happen this weekend. I need to get list making for R and K.
We have a drinking problem in this house. XD
My favorite sandwich in the whole world! It’s a seedy pumpernickel bread with a thick layer of tart cherry jam and an even thicker layer of good, quality cream cheese. So damn good!
Okay! So, pictures! I hope you guys like them!
A Hot Button Topic: Privilege
This has been brewing in my head for ages, but I haven’t quite felt comfortable enough to tackle the topic. I feel comfortable enough today. Maybe it’s the cold meds. 
I remember when I first saw the words ‘privilege’ and ‘agency’ thrown around. I also remember my first thought, ‘Really? Wow.’ My second thought? ‘If I never hear either word again, it will be too soon.’ But, the word ‘privilege’ with its modern meaning attached to it has dogged my heels since. I want to discuss three bullet points that have stuck with me, demanding to be voiced, for a long time.
1. Privilege itself isn’t bad.
The mere fact of having some form of privilege in some context is not, of itself, a bad thing. The problem comes when someone in a privileged group either does not recognize or simple doesn’t care that their actions and beliefs stem from their particular life experience as a result of being in a privileged class. That’s where the phrase ‘Check your privilege’ comes from. It doesn’t mean because you’re white/male/straight/cis that you automatically don’t have a right to an opinion. It just means that you need to be particularly aware of your thought process in subject matters dealing with groups that have a different level of privilege than you.
The flip side of that is that if you are a member of a group with reduced privilege or reduced agency, using the fact of another person’s privilege to immediately silence or discount their opinion is equally problematic. Which is not to say you can’t call people out on how their beliefs and actions show a blindness to their own privilege, but it does mean that the mere act of having some form of privilege does not immediately exclude one from a conversation. Too many times in these heated discussions, the jab will eventually be made that ‘Well, that’s your privilege talking, and I refuse to engage any further’. Privilege can’t talk. It’s not that a person has privilege that causes problems; it’s when a person refuses to recognize that their opinion is informed by that privilege, and that other people have different experiences that lead to different points of view.
2. You cannot tell someone’s privilege by talking to them.
Especially on the internet, guys. You don’t know me. 
I’m just words on a screen. You cannot tell from the opinions I hold what my life experience has been or what my particular intersection of privilege and marginalization is. You might find out that I’m white because I say I am and have posted pictures. You can see that I’m a cis female because I say I am and have posted pictures. Basically, that’s the extent of what you know. I don’t discuss my life experience or my medical issues or my religion or my economical conditions or my sexuality or identity or relationship status. You may find some of these things out through the course of conversation if I choose to make you aware of them, but until then, you can’t know simply by what I say on a particular topic what my life looks like. But this happens all the time. Assumptions leaped to based on an opinion held.
The second part of this is people playing the Oppression Olympics or seeing how many punches they can get on their punch card. ‘Oh, you were poor? Well, I was poor, but at least you were white.’ or ‘Oh, you’re a gay man? At least you’re a man.’ Privilege doesn’t work that way, and it shouldn’t. Everyone has some form of privilege over another marginalized group. Pointing out that your discussion partner or yourself may possess or lack some form of privilege that you or they do or do not, but that is irrelevant to the current discussion, is a derailing tactic. Saying, ‘Yes, it’s bad for Hispanics, but when women are just as oppressed!’ is just a way to shift the focus of the conversation. It’s not always done maliciously, I know. In this instance, someone who is not Hispanic may have difficulty understanding that particular life experience and may try to relate it to something in their lives to help them engage. Problem is, they don’t compare. It’s basically like being told by your friend, ‘I really like apples,’ and you–who has never had an apple–say in return, ‘Well, I had an orange once, and it was pretty good.’ You’ve taken their topic and made it about you. Don’t do that. If you are in a discussion that involves a form of privilege you do not have, the most important thing you can do is listen. You don’t have to relate. They know you don’t relate, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be an ally while understanding your own personal brand of privilege.
3. Wheaton’s Law: Don’t Be A Dick.
On either side. Okay, great, you were in a discussion and someone pointed out your privilege, and you thought about it and realized, yeah, that was problematic of me. Don’t turn around start obsessively pointing out the same behavior in others to the point of being a dick about it. You’re not going to change anyone’s mind with that attitude. It isn’t necessary to hound every discussion and point out every instance you perceive to be privileged speech, especially if you’re not a member of the marginalized group being discussed. If you’re straight, don’t go into gay spaces and point out other people’s straight privilege… at least, not with a sledgehammer.
Yes, if someone is being a racist or homophobic or slamming a religion maliciously, by all means, step up and point it out. But if someone is discussing a book or a comic or a television show and says something that may or may not have been privileged speech, point out the problem you perceived and ask them to clarify. On the internet, there is no facial expression or body language or tone of voice to subconsciously tell you what that person is truly trying to say. Folks need to stop wanking on each other, assigning motivations and intentions without all the facts. Assumptions only lead to butthurt and wank. Neither is fun, and in the end, it just makes the place of discussion a volatile cesspool only the most staunch, vocal proponents and opponents venture. Personal slurs and shouting don’t make you right: they make you a trolling dick. Don’t be a trolling dick.
—
I’m from the school of respectful, if heated, debate. I think more can be accomplished when you use well thought out arguments and solid facts instead of screaming someone has white privilege or cis privilege or is wealthy. Accusations don’t change the world. Activism, education, and tolerance do. And… I think that’s all I have to say on that. Yep, it’s a heavy topic, but I’m glad I finally put that out there.
For the record? I grew up in decent neighborhoods, but was pretty economically underprivileged. Our homes were forclosed on. My parents didn’t always have money for groceries. I didn’t always have new clothes. Our bills went unpaid because, sometimes, it was either pay the electric bill or pay for a doctor’s visit. Both my parents worked, and they worked hard for what we had. When I got married, things were rough. I spent a good five or six years either dirt poor washing my clothes in my bathtub or living with my parents. I’m a bisexual poly pagan submissive. I’m cis gendered. I’ve been the victim of sexual assault, and I am a survivor of rape. I’m a fat girl in a skinny-obsessed world. I have my husband I’m deeply in love with, and I’m involved in an asexual relationship with an awesome and talented genderqueer woman. I am in a financial situation that allows me to have a home, food, pets, clothes, and my own business. I know my privilege. I also know where I came from. And now so do you… a little.
This and That
I’ve been sick since Thursday. Well, I was sick before that, but it was just this low-level ick. Thursday night/Friday morning, though, it slammed into me. I’ve been fighting it since. I’m still not even 75%, but I’ve things to do.
Zombie Jesus Day was nice. We took the day, more or less, off. The husband-thing bought Bioshock Infinite and Assassin’s Creed 3, so he played Bioshock most of the evening. We also watched some of Season 5 Supernatural. Of course, I have issues with Season 4 and Season 5… and don’t get me started on Season 6 (which is where we stopped initially). But, I’m trying to slog back through it so I can get caught up. I’ve been told Season Eight was terrible, so we’ll see if I can even get there.
We had my Dr. Pepper Ham with cheesy baked mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, ginger ale carrots, rolls, and assorted fresh veg. It was lovely. I like cooking holiday meals (even if the three of us aren’t strictly Christian). I was dying for an easy day with nothing to worry about, and I made Sunday that day.
Today, I’m going to be focusing on Episode 3 of Overture and the first of the two bonus contents we’ll be posting for Season Pass holders. In the first bonus, you get to see the first time Dorian sits for Basil and what that was like for Dorian. I’m very excited about it. Basil was Dorian’s first great love. His only great love. It will be nice to share how we see the beginning of that. The second bonus, which will come out with Episode 6, is an art piece Nathie did from a scene in Episode 5. It’s gorgeous, guys. So gorgeous. If you don’t have a Season Pass, you should go grab one.
Once we finish up the Episode 3 edits and such, we’ll return to Episode 4 and finish that up to send it off to our editor, and begin Episode 5. I can’t believe it’s half over at this point! @_@ I can’t wait to start on Season 2, which K. and I will write through the fall and winter, and then begin publishing in February of 2014, a couple of months after the formal novel edition of Season 1 comes out.
My big purchases this paycheck were a new digital camera (finally!). My current one is about seven or eight years old, and it’s on its way out. 
It’s been a good little camera, though. I wound up getting the latest incarnation of it, and I can’t wait for it to arrive this week. I also bought an ice cream maker and a quick freeze ice pop maker. With my Hawaiian Ice shaver, I am all set for summer in Florida. It means some of my recipes may now become frozen, delicious treats!
Well, this is supposed to be a Recipe Monday sort of thing, so I guess I can share my Ginger Ale Carrots with you.
Ingredients
1 bag baby carrots
1/3 C ginger ale (full sugar, please)
3 TBSP butter
1 TBSP minced parsley
This is a very simple recipe. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add ginger ale. Cover with a lid and simmer over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Remove lid and cook over medium-high heat until the carrots are glazed and lightly brown. Add parsley, stir, and serve hot.
It’s an awesome side dish. This recipe serves three people decent side portions. You can double the recipe for a hefty side portion for four to five people.
Most Common Editing Problems
As I slog through my backlog of editing duties, I see a common thread. In fact, I can easily name two of the most common problems that can be easily addressed.
Commas
Commas are a huge problem for authors, I think. Many times, authors use commas where they shouldn’t, and take them away from areas they should use them. Comma splices have to be one of the easiest errors to catch and fix. Does your sentence have two subjects? Yes? Then you have a comma splice.
Bob went to the market, we thought there was time.
There are two subjects there, two complete sentences. This can be repaired three different ways.
1. Bob went to the market. We thought there was time.
2. Bob went to the market; we thought there was time.
3. We thought there was time, so Bob went to the market.
I know many authors are allergic to the semicolon, but it’s a legitimate way to correct a comma splice.
The other area that I see an unbelievable amount of is the comma missing from introductory adverbial words, phrases, and clauses. I know what you’re saying. ‘What is an introductory adverbial word, phrase, or clause?’
Adverbial words: Suddenly, Eventually, Occasionally, Carefully, Finally, Then, Next, First, etc.
Adverbial phrases: With a flourish, Taking a breath, Running down the hall, etc.
Adverbial clauses: Because I could not stop for death, Even though he was a giant monster, etc.
These are sentence modifiers. They describe the sentence as a whole and add information. And they are always followed by a comma. What confuses people, I think, is the fact that, if you take those and move them farther into the sentence, there aren’t commas.
Example A: Occasionally, I go to the store.
Example B: I occasionally go the store.
So, when you start a sentence with these modifiers, be sure to follow them with a comma. If you don’t want the comma, shift the word or phrase into a different spot in the sentence.
—
Overuse of Participle Phrases
This… is becoming a serious problem. I see it happening more and more, and I’m not sure why. What is a participle phrase?
Example: John walked into the bathroom, taking off his pants, combing his hair, talking to Mary on his cell, kicking a camel in the balls.
Every -ing phrase there is a participle phrase. They have a purpose. That purpose is to indicate simultaneous action. Problem is, writers use them to denote actions that cannot physically performed simultaneously. You cannot walk into a bathroom while taking off your pants AND combing your hair AND speaking on the cellphone WHILE AT THE SAME TIME kicking a camel in the balls. It’s not physically possible. Don’t string them together unless your character is actually performing all the action at the same time.
If you’re trying to say these events happened in a sequence, you need -ed verbs, not -ing ones.
Example: John walked into the bathroom, took off his pants, combed his hair, talked to Mary on his cell, and kicked a camel in the balls.
That works. That’s a sequence of events John performed. An odd sequence, yes, but it was physically possible without John being the bastard child of Kali and Jackie Chan.
Now, even if you’re using the participle phrases correctly, you need to be sure you’re also using them sparingly. Having them every other paragraph is overkill. Vary your writing. It makes for a much easier and nicer read for your audience.
And… I think that’s it. Questions are welcome!
Recipe Monday: Sunshine Juice
This is a bit late, but I’m fighting off one hell of a cold-flu thing while juggling a lot of stuff on the SMP end of things. I’ve spent more time in a cold medicine haze than I have doing much else. XD
The recipe I’m sharing today isn’t really a recipe. See, my parents gave me their juicer a couple months back, and the Armstrong-Piet household has been juicing regularly. We’ve preferred the fresh juice over anything store bought, and it’s become out ‘first meal of the day’ sort of thing. And, so, I wanted to share one of our favorite juices so far.
Ingredients
1 whole peeled pineapple, core included
5 ripe mangos, peeled
9 navel oranges, peeled
1 bag baby carrots
Our juicer requires us to roughly chop up all our fruit into large chunks. Do what your juicer requires. Pass all the fruit through the juicer, mix it up, and serve over ice. For us, it makes 4 large (20oz) servings (about 8 cups). This is packed full of vitamins A and C, which are two vitamins I’m often lacking in due to a very poor immune system. It’s absolutely delicious. Sweet and bright and refreshing.
We tend to juice with the season. Right now, mangos and oranges are very inexpensive in our markets. Earlier in the year, it was berries and apples.
Today, we’re going to try to make our own ‘fruit punch’ juice, and I’ll report back with how that goes.
I’m A Bad Blogger At The Moment
So, it’s been almost two months since my last blog entry. I’ve just been really, really busy, and I can’t say it’s been writing. This depresses me. Storm Moon Press sort of… exploded at the beginning of 2013. We had a lot of submissions, lots of interest in us, plus we needed to fire and hire some new editors.
My life has been a busy hell for the last five or six months, but I’ve taken steps to reduce my burdens. We have hired on new staff with SMP, and I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel.
But, today I bring you a bit of a rant. Something I’ve seen before, and saw again recently, was the… derision for books with sex in them. This is usually from people outside the erotic genres or those who write in the genres but prefer less sex. The latter tends to have those authors looking down at authors who do write with a bit more of a heavy hand.
I think my biggest gripe with this mentality is the idea that if sex is a large part of the book, the book is somehow less. Less plotty. Less character driven. Less enjoyable. It’s ALL about the sex! Umm… no. A good book can be both plotty AND sexy. Uh-huh. It can be, honest! Besides, who can say what is too much sex? Too little sex? And why must we create even MORE boxes to generalize people with? It’s infuriating. This idea that a book is less literary because it might turn someone on… that it might have the characters getting off… that it might make someone blush. The thing about art–and fiction is art–is that there is no right or wrong. No too much sex. No too little sex. No too plotty or not character driven enough. There is something for everyone.
Separating out your genre into those who are literary (based on an arbitrary line in the sand on sexual content) and those who just write commercial smut for the masses doesn’t make those doing the finger pointing any more literary. Just… live and let live. Stop trying to put others down because they don’t write what you write. It’s art, and it’s very personal, and belittling other artists is a good way to be dismissed as a snob.