Links! And News!

First: NEWS! The site will be going down, likely Friday and Saturday of this week, so that final preparations can be made to launch the new design. There’s a lot of databases that need to be mounted, yo. Lots of ‘em.


Here’s a bit of inspiration for you: via Maureen Johnson’s twitter feed, A reminder about what really matters by Kirstan Hoffman:

The books and authors who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones thatyou connected with, the ones that moved you on the merit of their prose, characters and stories. Not the ones that someone told you were good or worthy. Because the success given by others is never as enduring as the success bestowed by our own hearts.

Her advice is for writers, but I think it also applies to readers – you like the authors you like, not the ones you are told to like or you “should” like. And that’s ok.

 

I linked to this on Twitter but I wanted to share it here, too: suffering from sore wrists or carpal tunnel? The stretches in this video have really worked to help me out, as has rearranging how and where I sit. The stretches in the video have done a good bit to help the pain I was feeling, and to seek out other stretches that can help me out.

Plus, the guy doing the demo is adorable and especially the part about the physicist.

Disclaimer: that dude is no more a doctor than I am. This isn’t medical advice. It’s Boing Boing, for heaven’s sake. If you’re in serious pain, see your doctor or a physical therapist, and take good care of yourself, please!


Liz French at RT Book Reviews reviewed EIKAL, even though it’s not a romance, and even though they don’t review nonfiction.  And, if pressed, she would give EIKAL four stars. WOW! Thank you!


Here are some heroes, via my friend, IL#2: truckers who transport rescue animals for Operation Roger, a non profit rescue organization.

There’s also Pilots and Paws, which links pilots and plane owners with shelters who need to transport animals to new homes.

My own dogs, Buzz & Zeb, rode to Jersey from Arkansas in a retrofitted Winnebago that takes animals from kill shelters in Arkansas and brings them to the northeast to adoptive homes. The gentleman driving the Wiinnebago was a lot like the men described in the article – terse to the humans, but incredibly kind and patient to the dogs.

There are some amazing men doing animal rescue out there. On behalf of my furry southern gentlemen, thanks, guys.


Finally, if you missed it again, the site will be down for a day or two while we redesign and relaunch. So get ready for Bitchery 3.0!

 

Categorized:

General Bitching...

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  1. Sasha says:

    Mounting databases sounds naughty…just sayin’

  2. SB Sarah says:

    It’s dirty work, but someone has to do it! Especially for all of the eleventy billion comments!

  3. Elle says:

    That quote is interesting to me – I used to write fanfiction (various movies/books) as practice for ‘real writing’, and although I put everything I had into it and hated people’s dismissal of it, I’ve still always felt that my fics ‘didn’t count’ as ‘proper’ writing, even though I got heartfelt responses from people that I could never have expected. I know the quote is true, but it’s hard to put its logic into practice mentally.

    Also, I hope it’s ok to pimp something in the comments, but the mention of animal rescue made me remember – the DSPCA (Dublin animal shelter) have been in the news lately because they are 95% dependent on donations and those have dropped severely since the recession started, putting them in danger of closure or downsizing. If anyone has a spare few pounds, dollars or yen to donate at their website (just google Dublin SPCA), I’m sure it would be a huge help. As an animal lover, I have the take the opportunity to mention it – sorry!

  4. Elle says:

    *dismissal of it as a genre*

  5. Rose says:

    Speaking of organizations doing wonderful animal rescue work, check this out http://www.spcai.org/baghdad-pups.html.

    Looking forward to the redesigned SBTB – I’m sure it’ll be fabulous!

  6. I think more romance authors will connect with more readers if they (a) forget show don’t tell and instead show AND tell; and (b) throw out the PC Police and rip a few bodices. 

    Insane? Tell me about it at http://alldayallnightwritingdivas.blogspot.com/2011/11/so-what-if-bodice-rips_17.htm

  7. SB Sarah says:

    @Mary Anne, I like that you come here to comment and join our discussion.

    But your post is spam, it’s baiting, and it’s not even germane to the conversation here. Please don’t do it.

  8. Donna says:

    Here’s one more comment to move. Looking forward to the redesign. Looks like we’ll have plenty to think about and look at while you’re gone. Never got a dog through formal pet rescue. We kept ending up with the ones that became inconvenient to “friends”. Kept their dogs, cut the “friends” loose. Who puts a perfectly healthy dog down because it’s over the weight limit at your new apartment? Or because it cut into the fun with friends when they had to go home to feed and walk instead of heading straight to the bar?
    Good lord, I’m already ranting… better get more coffee.
    Thanks for the links, Sarah. If the mounting causes chaffing, I hear Bag Balm is the way to go.

  9. Belle says:

    Can’t wait to see the new lay-out! Funny that your dogs came via Winnebago. I live in southern Ontario and when my parents decided to adopt a very specific breed of dog (Xoloitzquintle) that’s native to Mexico, she flew from a shelter in Texas to Buffalo. Expensive, but worth it. Cutest dog ever. Plus she runs about 3 degrees hotter than other dogs so she makes a fabulous foot warmer =D

  10. SB Sarah says:

    Belle, I’ve heard about those dogs! They are adorable!

    And @Donna, I know what you mean. I don’t get the idea that someone could adopt an animal then decide it’s too much work or too inconvenient so they’ll euthanize it. My old vet’s office had about four cats he refused to euthanize. They slept on all the CRT monitors because they were nice and warm. When they got flat screens, those cats were PISSED.

  11. Donna says:

    What is it about vets offices & cats? Mine always had 3 or 4 wandering about, and boy were they well fed. I had a 145 lb malamute & they looked like they could take her. Thank goodness she was also about the most complacent dog we ever had. Or maybe she just knew cat fights were beneath her….

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