C is for Cashing In My Chips

 

Image by Tobias Dahlberg from Pixabay

It's a computer chip, geddit?

I considered cashing in my chips with this post, but then I thought, I’ve already written a couple thousand words today. Surely a hundred more won’t be that big of a deal.

I’m not entirely sure I’m going to see this project through. Quitting won’t be some sort of admission of defeat. It will simply be an acknowledgment that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I’m already writing a 30,000–50,000 word novella for potential publication by Totally Bound. I’m writing a poem a day. Not that writing these dumb drabbles is difficult, but full participation in the challenge may not be something I can manage right now.

I swear, if I write WRITE NOW one more time, Imma smack my own hand with a ruler!

Here's Beethoven's Emperor Concerto for your enjoyment.

https://odysee.com/@classical:4/Beethoven_Emperor.Concerto_Curzon.VPO:4?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

B is for Bully

 

Photo manipulation and text art by Ornery Owl

Created with a free-use image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

You are welcome to use my image, but please credit me.

The more Ornery Owl thinks about it, the more she believes the term bullying downplays the truth.

Some people think bullying is a rite of passage.

“If a kid gets bullied, it will toughen him up,” they proclaim.

“Kids need to learn to stand up for themselves.”

“Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt you.”

This old truism is patently false.

Words can leave permanent scars on a person’s psyche.

Words can kill.

Let’s stop soft-pedaling. Bullying is abuse.

Dealing with abusers may make a person tough.

They will still have scars on the inside.

Ornery Owl has spoken.

Image by Erik Karits from Pixabay

Obstinate

Rough-cut

Nervy

Empathetic

Real

Yearning

Oddball

Weird

Loner

A is for Answering Service

 

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Why do answering services still exist?

It’s one thing if the answering service operator is there to contact a doctor on call in case of emergency.

It’s another thing if all the answering service operator does is tell people calling that they need to call back in a couple of hours so they can speak to someone who can actually help them.

I once applied for a job as an answering service operator.

That was back in 1984.

It would have involved sitting in a call center overnight.

I probably would have been bored out of my mind.

Ornery Owl has spoken.

Image by Jean van der Meulen from Pixabay

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

A to Z Blogging Challenge 2023 Intro and Theme Reveal

Image by Irene K-s from Pixabay

How do you do? My name is Ornery Owl, and that is what you may call me. For some reason, I decided to participate in the A to Z challenge this year even though I am also trying to complete a poetry manuscript and a novella for Dragon Soul Press, plus another novella for Totally Bound Press while submitting a novelette I wrote in February to Passionate Ink and tying everything I write together into one horrible, sanity-scarring document for Camp NaNoWriMo. This document has been given the title Spring has Splatted.

Image by Prawny from Pixabay

Why would I do something so crazy?

Well, some would call me the space cowgirl, and some would call me the gangster of love.

Okay, nobody has ever called me either of those things. Space cadet and the gangster of geek, maybe.

Perhaps I’m doing it just because.

Here are the disclosures and rules of engagement.

I am writing a series of drabbles about things that bemuse me.

I wrote a few of these posts in advance. That might be a good idea, except then I can't use them in my Camp NaNoWriMo word count. So, I won't do that next year if I do this thing again.

I have a potty mouth, and that spills onto the keyboard. If you are sensitive about swearing, the profane outbursts of Ornery Owl are not for you.

If you have a problem with people or owls writing naughty stories, this is not the blog for you.

If you have a problem with people or owls discussing sensitive topics, the thoughts of Ornery Owl are not for you.

If you don't appreciate a sense of humor that is at once absurd, cheeky, dry, and often pun-intensive, the words of Ornery Owl will not appeal to you.

You don’t have to agree with me about everything, or even about anything. Just remember that it is possible to disagree in a civil fashion or to simply move on to another blog if you don’t like what this one has to say.

If you would like to participate in the A to Z Challenge, you can learn more about it here.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

If you would like to learn more about forthcoming anthology opportunities from Dragon Soul Press, follow this link.

https://dragonsoulpress.com/anthologies/

If you write steamy and/or erotic romance like Ornery Owl does in her guise as Lil DeVille, you may be interested in learning more about Passionate Ink and Totally Bound Press.

https://passionateink.org/

https://totallyentwinedgroup.com/submissions/submission-calls-totally-bound-publishing/

No need to thank me. I enjoy sharing the love with fellow authors. Even if something turns out to not be the right opportunity for me, it may be the right opportunity for you. Or it may be the right opportunity for both of us!

This will be my longest post in this year’s A to Z challenge.

Thank fuck for that!

Ornery Owl has spoken.

There is a possibility that I will not be considered an official participant in this challenge. I will continue to moderate comments, and I refuse to allow anonymous comments. When I have done so in the past, it has opened my blog up to spam and trolls. Ain't nobody got time for that. Especially me.

Whether I'm an official or unofficial participant, you can expect some Ornery wisdom every day in April.

Here's some mellow and relaxing music, because this Odysee channel deserves some views and because Ornery Owl needs to calm the fuck down.

Here's the link in case you can't see the player.

https://odysee.com/@ambiencealchemy:2/spring-garden-ambience-with-nature:8?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

I can't believe that Odysee added an autoplay option for videos. Is there anyone who likes navigating to a page and having videos start playing automatically? I hate that crap. I don't even like it on band pages! Let me choose when the video starts playing.

Charity Sunday: Team Beans Infant Brain Tumor Fund

 

First, I am going to share the letter from Francesca's parents.

Help us fight childhood brain cancer for Beans

Today should be Francesca’s third birthday.

March 11, 2020 was the happiest day of our lives, getting to start a new exciting adventure with our first baby girl. Sadly, Beans got just nine short months on this Earth. 

We would love your support in honoring Francesca’s third birthday with a donation of $11 or more to the Team Beans Infant Brain Tumor Fund’s team in the Pan Mass Challenge. 

We try to honor her and remember her everyday. She should be running around and talking and getting ready to start school. Sadly, infant brain cancer stole that life from her that she should have gotten to live. 

We’ve set a goal of $150,000 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - and would love your support to hit it and help us pass $3 million raised for infant brain tumor research!

Donate here:

https://profile.pmc.org/AK0302

Regardless of the number of comments, I intend to donate $11 to the Team Beans fund.

I am sharing a snippet from the memoir/workbook that I have been trying to create for years. Writing fiction is challenging. Revealing my own vulnerabilities is difficult in a different way. I discover time and again that most people don't understand what it is to live with a brain that works differently, and most of them don't want to. 

So, why in the world would I continue putting my truth out there?

Because I believe there are still young people whose neurological and cognitive differences and reactions to trauma are being misinterpreted and/or ignored. I want them to know it isn't their fault. So, here we go with a little snippet from my maybe memoir/workbook.

I used to hate the child I was. “What a little fuckup!” I thought. “If she could have just paid attention and done things ‘right,’ I’d be much further along in life!”

I now wish I could go back in time and reveal what I know now to my younger self. I wish I could hug her and let her howl out all her rage and pain. I’ve lived close to six decades and typing these words bring tears to my eyes. The world let that child down, my adult self included. It’s later than it should be, but now I’m trying to give her the understanding she missed out on.

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com

Insecure Writers Support Group March 1, 2023

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

That blasted Stephen King does this to me all the time. I'll be driving a million miles to some kind of medical appointment, listening to one of his Dark Tower novels, and wondering why I couldn't have been blessed with a fraction of his abilities in creating that amazing Universe.

Sorry, I know this isn't much of a post and it's late besides. I am extremely busy. I wish I didn't have to bother with annoying things like eating, sleeping, bathing, and going to the bathroom.

"So, what the hell are you up to, Ornery?"

Glad you asked. Wait, no I'm not. Now I have to answer. Oh, wait, I am! It gives me a chance at a little shameless self-promotion. 

I finished formatting and uploading the e-book, paperback, and hardcover versions of The Quest for the Wizard's Key, which is due to be released on April 1. The e-book is now available for pre-order. It's priced reasonably at $5.99, but if you want to wait a bit, I will do a free book promo soon after it releases. It's up to you!

https://amzn.to/3ZtZ09w

Now I need to finish a 30,000-word (or thereabouts) paranormal erotic romance novella by the end of the month for submission to Totally Bound Publishing. Here's the link to Totally Bound in case this sounds like it really might be your bag, Baby.

https://totallyentwinedgroup.com/submissions/submission-calls-totally-bound-publishing/

Wants stories between 30,000 and 50,000 words.

All Hallows Harem (submission due April 1) is looking for supernatural characters, menage or harem.  

https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Here's some music for you to listen to. A link follows in case you can't see the player.

https://odysee.com/@LofiNow:8/back-to-2010%27s-i-bet-you-know-all-2:5?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

Shit Just Got Real

Image by Square Frog from Pixabay

This post is going to be as real as it gets, which is something I haven't done for a long time. If the only words you can think of are critical and hateful, then don't say anything. In life, you are presented with times when you should speak up and other times when you should...

Now you know my situation may be sorry, but it isn't hopeless. If it were hopeless, I'd lose the ability to find the humor in something inappropriate and profane like the above image.

A couple more unhelpful suggestions (because believe me, I've heard and/or tried them numerous times)

"you should seek counseling."

Never helped. Don't trust them damn crooked vultures. I live in the middle of nowhere. I'm not making a 100-mile round trip once a week for nothing, which is exactly how much counseling has helped me in my life.

"You should get on medication."

I have paradoxical reactions to psych meds. I can deal with the black dog. I have a fragile peace with that bitch most of the time. Today she has the upper hand. We're lifelong companions, the black dog and me. What I can't deal with is being manic and psychotic, which is what psych meds make me.

Right, here it is.

I created Crazy Creatives Cheerleading Camp with the intent of talking about the mental health aspects of my life, but it’s never gotten the audience I hoped for. Sometimes I think I should just close it down. 

I feel like an outcast in the world of writers, particularly romance writers. I’ve never adapted very well to the promotion aspects of writing, which I feel take away from the, you know, WRITING aspects of writing. I'd leave the promotion stuff to my assistant if I could afford one. I suck at it.

I feel like I’m drowning or being crushed under a mountain of credit card debt. My credit score is below 500. I’m in the shit. I need to pay off and get rid of the cards that have annual fees. 

I always thought I’d be somewhat successful by now, but here I am approaching if not the ass end at least the lower back of my life and I am anything but successful.

I’m hungry, and I hate being hungry.

I wish I didn’t have to eat. In fact, right now, I kind of wish I was dead.

I’m so deeply ashamed of what I am. I can fool myself for a while, but the shame really never ends.

I’m a fuckup, a failure, a nothing nobody.

I can’t even tell anybody about it, because the fact of the matter is, nobody gives a fuck.

There’s nobody to hear my cries. It’s pull myself up by the bootstraps or die in the gutter.

There will never be a prince to ride along the sea and the mountain.

There will never be the roar of crowds.

There will only be a slow, plodding march to the grave. Or, in my case, a limp to the grave.

I still hate myself.

That's as real as it gets.

Free use image by Gordon Johnson on Pixabay

Give me silver, blue, and gold

The colors of the sky I'm told

My rainbow is overdue

--Bad Company