by Angela Smith | Mar 5, 2015 | Introspective
It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged! So much going on in my life. 2015 hit with a bang and is continuing to pass way too fast. Not that I’m complaining. All is well.
So what have I been up to? I’ve been writing, lots. (Got stuck right now, which is probably why I’m blogging). And of course, writing comes between my real job (the one that pays the bills) and my real job has been busy busy. I’ve also been working on and planning a minor house remodel. And I’ve been saving kittens! (More on that at a later date).
Right now, I’m at a research point in my writing. I’m so used to Texas law that during the flow of my writing, I sometimes forget that California law is different. First off, once you turn seventeen in Texas, you are considered an adult if you commit a crime. Any crime. Not so in California. Unless it’s a heinous crime, seventeen is still a minor. However, in Texas, you cannot visit a prisoner alone if you are not at least eighteen. This research came because a seventeen-year old male was heading to prison to visit his father, and I realized his mother must join him. But they are in California, so I had to make sure California law was the same (it is when it comes to prison visits and age).
The weather has been frightful! I’m missing the sunshine, but the rain has been vital to us in the Texas drought. And I know our weather has been minor in comparison to other states. I was thinking about sunshine the other day and looking up the annual amount of sunshine and found out my area has about 220 days of sunshine. That means 145 days of cloudy skies! Whew, that’s a lot, especially to someone who loves the sun. That averages out to over two weeks a month. And really, since some months aren’t really cloudy, it’s usually way more than two weeks. When it’s two weeks straight, that’s when I start to go a little bonkers.
So when I started looking up annual sunshine, I found that Colorado Springs, Colorado averages 247 days of sunshine. That’s only 27 more days than Texas, but when you really think of it, it’s almost an entire month! California’s annual sunshine, depending on where you are in California (Los Angeles Downtown vs. Los Angeles Airport was a difference of 30 days according to this website: http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/California/annual-days-of-sunshine.php) Anyway, Downtown Los Angeles was 292 days! That’s almost 2 extra months of sunshine than Texas.
If you look at this chart, http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-state-sunshine.php, Nevada has the highest amount of sunshine, followed closely by Grand Junction, Colorado (where my sister moved, who keeps telling me it almost always shines there). The lowest is of course Alaska, followed closely by Syracuse, New York! The sunshine state of Florida averages 66%. That doesn’t seem accurate, LOL!
So that’s my sunshine research, probably because I’m missing it terribly right now. Hope everyone is staying warm and well, maybe I’ll blog again in the near future. Until then, I’ve got more writing to do!
by Angela Smith | Feb 28, 2015 | Introspective
This is Greta before treatment.
Greta after surgery. Yes, she’s a little upset.
Greta-one year later
One year ago, I had a few feral cats hanging around my property. I “inherited” feral cats when I moved into my home, but I made the mistake of not having enough knowledge or foresight to do a trap, neuter, release program with them. I have my own indoor pets and I fed the outdoor cats to help them, but that was the extent of my knowledge and care.
Boy have I learned a lot since then.
First, if you don’t know what a feral cat is, let me explain. To many, “feral” denotes savage and uncontrolled creatures, but that is not true. A feral cat is an untamed, undomesticated cat that prefers to be outside away from humans. Doesn’t mean it won’t eventually learn to trust humans and it doesn’t mean it is aggressive or full of disease. What it does mean is that it doesn’t trust you and likely will always have fear. Which is probably best, because there’s a lot out there for them to fear. Feral cats are often scared, but can still make good pets. I have made feral cats into pets.
Many people believe that killing feral cats is the best way to deal with them but what they don’t realize is if you kill one, more will take its place. Cats are territorial and will rarely let other cats in, unless they are gone. So if you kill one, more will take its place. What’s the point in that?
Last year, this particular cat I speak of had babies. She was incredibly wild but we were working on getting her to trust us. Before we got her close enough to us, she ended up dying, I’m pretty sure because my neighbors shot it with a BB gun. Unfortunately, that BB eventually killed her (yes, BBs can kill, although not always right away!) This cat had kittens, and I was able to rescue them. Soon, I had them tame and on an eating schedule. They were a little messed up, their hair matted, ringworms all over their body.
That word is enough to scare anyone, but it didn’t scare me. I did my research and know that most healthy cats can get rid of the fungus and yes, you can get rid of it around your property, too. So I bought lime sulfur dip, and the results were almost immediate. Soon, the kittens were growing back their hair and were the cutest, softest, cuddliest babies I’ve ever known.
I did get ringworms, I will admit. That’s because it was the springtime and I thought I had mosquitoes. I put cortisone on it, the worst thing you can do for fungal infections! It looked worse than it was, but I lived through it none the worse for wear.
It isn’t okay to kill nuisances. I know most people would have done that, but I am not most people.
Because I intended to spay/neuter the cats and release them back into the property and care for them, I took them to my local humane society to be fixed. I was nervous and scared of what would happen to these animals since I’ve never done this before. I had bonded with, but I’ve never been so impressed with a facility as I was with The Austin Humane Society. Walking in, I saw many animals for the TNR program, some from a company who helps people and some from people like me who were trying to help the world.
The humane society had other cats they allowed you to visit while you waited, and I felt so sad for these animals. Yet, these animals weren’t exactly abandoned. They had a home in a no-kill shelter, given free time to play and be petted. I blinked back tears as I checked in so no one would think I was crazy, but I cried. Some of the cats lost their parents and were relinquished. Some might never be adopted out. And the effort of the humane society, the love these people felt, the good they were doing with their jobs, made me realize there is still good left in this world.
Molly before
Molly now. The ear tip indicates she is spayed. Leave her be.
Next time you see a cat with an ear-tip, leave it. It was part of the trap, neuter, release program and is fixed, released back into the wild, where it will make its home. Don’t consider it a nuisance because killing it will only bring in more animals. And if it isn’t fixed, consider trapping it or calling someone to find out if there’s a local trap, neuter, release program nearby. For more information about ear tipping, go here http://www.feralcatproject.org/faq.aspx
My dad, being the cautious dad he is, lectures me on rabies. TNR programs also do rabies shots, and now the cats are tame enough I can give them their updated shots. I’m still working on helping the other neighborhood cats get fixed, and am still feeding the wild ones that won’t get close enough for me to tame. Call me a crazy cat lady, but I love what I do and love helping these animals!
Romeo before
Romeo now. He comes by his name naturally. It’s a close-up, but those are his real eyes!
Emirys lounging in the sun!
Esme. How can you say no to that face?
So that’s my experience. If you want to know more about trapping and releasing animals, feel free to ask. Curious about ringworms and how to safely help them? Lemme know and I’ll be glad to give you info. I promise it isn’t as bad as it sounds.
by Angela Smith | Nov 21, 2014 | Introspective
In Final Mend, Jake is a recovering alcoholic who has also abused drugs in the past. Within the pages, we read about his ongoing struggle, the struggle with alcohol, his fight to keep from drinking and his fear that, with just one drink, he’ll go back to the way things used to be. I wrote about this very sensitive subject because of my own experience with this terrible disease. Not me, but within my family.
Monday, I lost my uncle to a senseless death at only fifty-three years old. He drank and drank and drank, knew he was doing it and just stopped caring. He gained a lot of weight over the last few years. He stopped being the person he used to be and started being a drunk. Still, pieces of his personality came out. Some would even say he was so much fun to be with as they were partying with him. But I wonder if they knew who he was, the potential he had before alcohol consumed him.
Finally his liver and kidneys shut down. The poison ended up effecting every part of his body and he ended up with encephalopathy as well as other problems. The only thing they could do was put him in comfort care and watch him die. Thankfully, it didn’t take long, and the family didn’t have to see him suffer. He already lost his dad, a brother, his sister, and other cousins and family members (not all to alcohol, though!), so his mother, still living, faced the loss of her 3rd child.
The range of emotions loved ones feel is too chaotic to put into words. They face the same emotions anyone who has experienced death faces, but on a difference scale. I think for some, denial usually comes before death. Denial that it’s as bad as it really is. Denial that this disease is going to kill them. Denial that they really have that much of a problem. And we all know alcoholics have that denial. Then there’s anger. I was so angry at him. Even stopped going to see him when he was alive and well because it was pointless. He was always drunk or drinking. And when he was in the hospital and finally put in comfort care, I still felt anger until I went and saw him. I thank God I had the chance to say good-bye and tell him I love him.
Then there’s the bargaining. Oh, if he could only get through this, I’d help him this time. I’d try harder. Maybe I could have done more to help.
And then of course comes the depression. A person dies, is gone forever, and leaves those behind with such terrible sadness. Some things can’t be controlled, and alcohol, unfortunately, can be one of them. Many people destroy themselves. Drinking isn’t bad, but the excessive drinking is. Your body has to repair itself, and cannot when you have that poison running through your veins every second of every day. For those with a problem, it’s a terrible terrible thing. And although my uncle has succumbed to this terrible disease, I still see people in my family with this struggle. It scares me to death as I wonder how I can make them see, how I can help.
Those with an alcohol problem usually get angry when you confront them. That’s the denial talking. They don’t have a problem. They can quit anytime.
Alcohol fixes nothing. It gets ahold of you and will never let up. It takes a lot of strength to get it under control. And for those too depressed to just not care, it’s even harder. If you know someone like that, it’s hard to help them. The experts say they have to want to get help in order to help. But I’m not sure I believe that. Sometimes it takes a force, a huge stand, but you can help. Learn everything you can about this, but don’t empower them to keep drinking by being acquiescent or supplying liquor or even drinking with them.
I know how hard it is to stop. Alcohol is fun, it makes you feel good. You’ll stop tomorrow and drink less today. You bargain with yourself or others, but it becomes a pattern. Maybe you don’t drink on Tuesday but you drink more on Wednesday.
Hey, if you can have one or two and be done with it, that’s great, you probably don’t have a problem. But it can turn into a problem, and if you’re drinking more than 2 or 3 every night or waking up waiting for your next drink, please get help. Even if you go to work every day but guzzle half a bottle of vodka when you get home, it’s a problem or the start to a problem.
Most likely, you won’t be able to do this alone unless you have a huge amount of will power. Find new hobbies, new friends. It doesn’t have to be AA. A true alcoholic needs a healthy way of quitting because quitting can be just as dangerous as drinking.
I’m not trying to lecture here. I just needed to talk over my thoughts. Eventually, I’ll experience the 5th stage of death, which is acceptance. I accept that he’s gone, but I never want to forget or accept that alcohol took him, and if I can help someone else from succumbing to this terrible poison, I’m at least going to try.
by Angela Smith | Oct 7, 2014 | Introspective
Hello, Supernatural! Home to the brothers who inspired what I’ve dubbed my Slopeside series. Tonight is the season premier for season 10. Ten seasons! That’s an amazing feat, and it doesn’t look like they’ll stop anytime soon. Thank God!
I haven’t always been a fan, I’ll admit. My husband watched it from the beginning, but I wasn’t into all the demons, monsters, gore and just plain weirdness. I usually spent that time in my office writing, but oftentimes the music, or the voices, or the story (or yes, the brothers) would pull me in and I’d end up watching, if not all of it, most of it.
Now, I take my writing into the living room and watch bits and pieces. I’m still not what you call a hardcore fan, because I have missed episodes (unlike my husband) but I always know what’s going on.
It was during that time that I was inspired to write about brothers, and I found myself writing similar traits. Half-brothers, Garret and Chayton, are nothing alike yet have so much in common with each other. Same as Sam and Dean. FBI Agent Garret Chambers (in Burn on the Western Slope) is like Jensen Ackles and Chayton (in Fatal Snag), part Indian, could be played by Jared Padalecki. I swear I had no intention of making it so when I wrote the novels, but I loved the relationship these two brothers had with each other. Relationships, especially brothers, are so much fun to write (and read) about! It was hard to see them go when the story ended, and there were many scenes I had to rewrite so their relationship didn’t take the place of the actual story.
So I’m gearing down for the night and ready to get started on some edits, but I’m gearing up for the season premier of Supernatural. And Sunday, The Walking Dead will have my full attention.
What shows are you looking forward to this season?
by Angela Smith | Oct 1, 2014 | Introspective
Rejections never get any easier.
I’m usually a private person. I’d rather listen to others talk than talk about myself. But my husband told me I had a lot of experience in the writing world and I should talk about it, share my experiences with others. And maybe it will help people.
Writing is hard, hard, hard. Anyone who thinks they can pick it up and write without a few heartaches and everything is going to go oh so great, please, I invite you to do so. And tell me how it goes for you. Even the successful authors had many failures and heartache before they got to where they are now.
I started seriously when I was 18 years old. That was a long time ago, a time I’d really rather not mention. I was newly married, had a job, but always wanted to write. So I wrote. And submitted, like one time. That one rejection was enough to kill the dream for many years to come.
Keep in mind back then, internet did not exist. Everything was via mail, and very slow. You were very limited on where you could submit to. Writers’ groups were almost non-existent, especially in my small town. To admit that you wanted to be a writer was like sticking a very sharp needle in your eye and slashing a huge “A” across your chest. Shame on you for following your dream when there were more important things to do! Like make a living!
Fast forward over 10 years later, and I’m trying again, this time more seriously. I submit, receive over 100 rejections, but ebooks are barely breaking out at the time and I’m feeling like they were meant for me. Blogs are almost non-existent, and so I didn’t get into the blogging (which is supposed to be your market, start a following). So after a lot of rejections, I submit to a smaller press and get a contract. Even get some wonderful reviews and I’m feeling pretty good, but sales are low. I don’t have a following, a market, and I don’t have a huge support base. And … I have a job that keeps me from coming out of the closet. I take my “real” job very seriously and I live in a small community, so I keep to a pen name and stay silent. During that time also, my husband and I started and shut down a business.
I should also add that my job is important to me, but I often felt I would be taken less seriously if I came out as a writer. I found that is actually the case and I had every reason to feel that way. But that’s a topic for another day, and a reason many well-known authors (like Eloisa James) take on pen names.
I should also add again that rejection doesn’t mean failure. Writing is very subjective, and to actually get with a traditional publisher or an agent doesn’t mean instant success, but it also doesn’t mean you’re a failure. What one person likes, others don’t. No, what sells with the traditional pubs is what they feel is hot at the moment, but it’s not always what readers want, which is why it’s so hard to find good books on the shelves when you read a few books a week.
So I quit. Again. That’s right. For another 6 or so years I quit. I write some but don’t submit, and I don’t write near as much as I would have liked, should have done. Until I get serious. I join the RWA and find a “local” group that is over 100 miles away (that doesn’t matter anymore!) I submit, receive hundreds of more rejections, and finally have my three books submitted and contracted. I have so much more knowledge of how things are going to work, but some of that knowledge is not to get too hopeful because I know I have a long and trying road ahead of me. The only difference is, now I’m ready for that fight. I’m ready for that road.
And still, I get rejected.
It’s never easy. Writing is subjective. People will love you, hate you, or think nothing of you. They’ll judge you. Most will not understand you (especially in my day job!) But you keep going, because you know if you don’t, life will never be quite like it’s supposed to me. My ex–boss (who retired and later found out about my writing) gave me the best advice, and it sticks with me to this day: walking along the path you are supposed to be walking on is a tremendous experience.
I often question whether I am on the path I’m supposed to be. Isn’t that path supposed to get obvious with time? Shouldn’t things be easier? Doors should open a little easier, and all that. But I think the right path brings out a lot of emotions, good and bad, and nothing is ever easy. And that’s what I go through, good and bad. Right now, I’m walking through some pretty rough branches, but I’ll be out of it and the grass will be green—and I’ll be writing—once more.
by Angela Smith | Jul 22, 2014 | Introspective
The Romance Writers of America National Conference has been a seven-year dream for me.
At least seven years. Maybe more, but I lost count.
Seven years ago, after I had published and was trying to get more involved, I joined Romance Writers of America but missed out on the huge national conference they have every year. This one in 2007 was in Dallas, TX, and the only one I felt was attainable to me, since it was in Texas and was within driving distance for me. But I wasn’t able to go, and I’ve been dreaming of it ever since.
RWA is a huge organization of Romance Writers that has local chapters throughout the nation to help writers of the romance genre further their dream and connect with other writers. A huge opportunity for networking and learning. They have chapters relating to the suspense, fantasy, or even inspirational romance genres (and so much more!), and their national conference brings out the big guns.
This conference offers so many opportunities for networking and growing in your career that it is hard when you have to miss it. But, because it is a national organization, the area is different every year.
In 2009, I entered a scholarship that would pay your fees to the conference but you had to write an essay of why you feel you should win.
I won. I never expected that to happen, but was thrilled when I got the call that I won this scholarship sponsored by Teresa Mederios! I had no idea what to expect but boy did I do my research! It was good timing, because my husband and I were able to take off and tour our national city of Washington, D.C. I knew it might be the only time I would ever see the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and everything else D.C. It was amazing! I crammed everything I could by touring our historic city in between the awesome workshops I didn’t want to miss. I even saw the Hope Diamond, which was a huge inspiration to Burn on the Western Slope, the book I was writing at the time.
We had a blast, and I fell in love with the city and the RWA organization. I can’t travel to all RWA National Conferences, but every year since I have waited and waited for this conference, set in San Antonio. I’m a Texan, and it isn’t anything to travel across the state to a different city. So off I go, and I am absolutely psyched!
This conference does bring about it’s anxieties, though. I have to have the right clothes, so it’s a good excuse to shop, right? And there’s a formal awards ceremony on Saturday night. (I will win one of those one day, LOL!)
I’m so excited! It’s a huge ordeal, something like the Grammy’s for famous celebrities. And for me, maybe more exciting because I know it isn’t something I will always be able to do (when it’s set in locations I can’t go to)! But it’s on my home turf, and I won’t have to worry about what I might be missing (it was hard to go to workshops when there was so much to do and see in D.C!)
Tbe 2009 RWA National Conference set in Washington D.C. changed my life, and I expect 2014 to be the same. I’ve been planning this forever, and I can’t wait to see what might happen. A lot has changed in the industry, and I still have a lot to learn! I’m excited to be involved in something so big and something that is so important to me. I’m glad to have a little bit of an idea what to expect this year. It’s very intimidating, but also very empowering!
