So A Lot Has Happened...

I worked for a company the shortest I ever have outside of a contract and as such am now unemployed. That's a complicated viper pit at the moment and am not at liberty to discuss it at the moment, but trust me its a doozy.

It isn't all bad though! A brand new day has dawned for our household with addition of another family member. Astra, our super puppy, has been home for 4 days now and is a handful. My experiences with her so far have reinforced my desire to never procreate of my own will and volition. But she is wonderful and we love her dearly. Pictures forthcoming.

My painting has taken an amazing leap forward and managed to land me a bronze at Reapercon a couple weeks back, so that was fun. First medal ever. Feels gooooood.

Anywho, more writing on this thing since I don't have much else to do. Look forward to doing some shouting into the void since it is always so cathartic.

The Fear of Rejection

Over the course of writing my first novel, I learned one major thing about myself and other writers.

When the final chapter closes and it is time to sell the damned thing, we balk out of fear.

The question is asked "what if they don't like it?" I know I asked it over and over again as I wrote and rewrote the letter.

Sending out a query letter was a trying and psychologically daunting task, but in the end the letter went out and the world didn't end.

This weekend, I received my first official rejection letter for agent representation, and believe it or not it didn't hurt. I was left feeling a little ambivalent and honestly a little excited. (which truth be told led to me feeling really confused.)

I had taken my first steps towards publication, and met my first hurdle. Like the deer that stumbles into a clearing where you are having a picnic, I stared at the letter in astonishment. I read the little half page over and over, making sure it was real and didn't move around on me when I looked away.

I encourage all writers to send out a query, especially if it is your first work. Like all experience, it is best acquired while young in the field.

The rejection is not something to fear, but to embrace. Each time your work is dismissed by someone, let it build and excitement that will burst when someone finally says 'yes'. Don't fret over one person's opinion. Agents and publishers have tastes as fickle and different as the people who will be reading your book should it see shelves, so let a rejection serve a double purpose to prepare you for when someday someone comes to you and says "I don't like your work."

"Thats OK," I would say, "not everyone does."

Recent Reading

I have been reading the works of Thomas Jefferson recently, and I must say that he was right in hind sight.

His thoughts on government and of the people (specifically in regards to education) were so spot on, it is rather embarrassing to look around at my fellow Americans.

We live in an age where ignorance is seen as a virtue, obedience a civic duty, and government seen as a monolith given to impart what is best for us.

Where the fuck did we go THAT wrong? Seriously, how could we screw the pooch that hard?

"Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence." -Jefferson

Here we have, IN HIS LIFETIME, Jefferson telling us the path we find ourselves running along today. We see it everywhere, especially in the last eight years as Bush laid out his decrees from on high, and the fools who bowed at his feet called us Anti-American, terrorists, liberal whiners, or worse when we would use our right to question this insanity.

For the last century we have been told that a sword sits poised above our necks while we lay on the chopping block, and that only by being good and listening to our leaders can we be safe. We cannot see this sword because of the veil the nanny government has put over our heads for our protection.

Thus I posit to you that this constant FEAR is the only sword ready to severe us from our life and our liberty, and WE elect those who hold this blade over us. We elect the executioners of our liberty each time we allow a Congressman to lie, a President to run unchecked, or allow a candidate to go unchallenged in their assertions.

I believe we should take back that which is ours, lest we elect a firing squad instead of our own voice. A cry must go out to call our leaders onto the floor and answer to us as it was intended. They are the ones meant to lay down to us, not the other way around.

The actions we must take are many, daunting, and will at times seem overwhelming but it is up to us to defend our freedom. A place to start is by getting rid of lobbyists, who buy the vote of our representatives and place the tape over the voice of the people. The recent bailouts are a perfect example of this.

We must also never forget what truth is. There are no personal facts, no personal truths. A denial of fact is a lie, and a lie is a sign of dishonesty. Truth is derived from questioning, rigor, and letting no stone rest unturned lest the snake hide there.

We are to blame when things go wrong, and thus it is up to us to fix our problems. Let reason fight back against fear and superstition. Let your voice be heard lest you fall into a cynical void from whence no one may escape.

The only way an action is wasted is when it is never taken.