it's like a train wreck, only fluffier

I was going to write about mining dreams but a) I'm having one of my exhausted days b) rewatched the Emma Fielding on Hallmark Mysteries and it suggested another theme: not making your characters look like morons. What prompted my interest in this well in rewatching episode one of this series, where Emma is an archaeologist and the potential love interest is in the FBI, art fraud division.

So someone turns up at Emma's dig buried under a few inches of dirt with wounds to the head and both Emma and FBI dude are like 'do you think this is murder?' on more than one occasion. Nah, I think he bashed in his own head and then burrowed six inches under the ground to die. How am I supposed to root for these people when they're saying nonsense like this?

I think one way to avoid this is to read it out loud. It's not just a good way to catch awkward sentences, it's also good to listen and ask, would anyone actually talk like this? If you have beta readers, hopefully they'll catch you saying something weird before it gets out there (and you'd hope some editor would catch it) but since I know that tv shows often are doing last minute rewrites, idiotic stuff slips in. How many times have you sat there and thought 'why didn't the actor just refuse to say this.'

Have you seen this in stories before? Did you continue on? (if I hadn't been listening to the tv as background noise, I might have simply moved on) How do you avoid having characters say stupid things?


OPEN CALLS


RDG Books Is Open To Fantasy Novels

Helen of Troy!



Ghoulish Tales #5 Fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky.

Inner Worlds Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus.

Drek Death and Doom – Thanksgiving Folk Horror Thanksgiving Folk Horror

Eye to the Telescope #59 Speculative Poetry dealing with: Immortality

Gilgamesh

Flash Frog: Now Seeking Submissions


84 Manuscript Publishers with Geographic Limitations


From Around the Web (and see YT suggestions at the end)

So, Your Fantasy World Is Based on D&D

Audio Interview: Unlocking TikTok—the Slideshow Strategy for Authors with Dale L. Roberts and Marvin Wey



From Betty

Five Methods for Building Tension That Don’t Work

Removing the Creeps From Romance yes please


A Complete Guide to Beta Reading

Why English Needs Singular They

Five Authentic Depictions of Chronic Illness in Popular Stories

Could Your Writing Friend Become a Coauthor?

How to Use Weather to Create Mood, Not Clichés

Writing 101: How to Find & Write Your Character’s Voice

3 Tricks For Easily Jumping Between Projects

How Your Personality Type Affects the Way You Edit and Improve Your Manuscript

Writing Sprints Explained: How Writers Can Write More Words in Less Time

Big vs. Small Character Arcs: Understanding the Degrees of Change in Storytelling

How First Drafts Are Like Cauliflower

I Subverted Heroism. Here’s Why.



This editor popped up on YT and I liked his presentation and his topics so here have a few

It was a rough start to a good day. Once again the first DexCom I put on failed (this is the second time in 2 weeks) Lost my cute patch, pulled it off, once again a sensor wire lost in my arm (I sure hope these are NOT magnet reactive when I have my next MRI) SO much blood too when I pulled this off. The second one is fine but dammit that's 2 duds and that's like 600$ lost.


So last year the guy who started a small pop culture con at my university also started a tiny renn faire. Last year it rained but TH and I went. This year it was hot and sunny and I dressed, picked TH up at the university and we went up there. MUDDY because it rained for the last 5 days but it was fun.

They have a juggling show...and that's about the only entertainment other than a Punch and Judy puppet show run by my former work friend L. (but since she's been annoying me and TH we pretended we didn't see her and that'll fly since she was up with all the kid games and we didn't go there)

Other than that it's food trucks and vendors. The GyrOH place (which has a brick and mortar in Gallipolis and gives Rio staff/student 25% off) was my choice, that and the specialty lemonade stand (32 oz of Shark Attack lemonade (strawberry, raspberry and gummy sharks)).

There was A LOT of 3-D printed stuff (that were obviously printed off the same pattern because like 4 shops had the exact thing but the one with the gryphon...I should have bought it). There were jewelers, a couple of witch shops, there was the wheat wench (bread), fudge vendors (didn't do it) but I DID go for the local couple who do interesting jellies and do the Rio farmer's market (never when I've been there) including dandelion, red clover, goldenrod and a whole range of boozy jellies. I picked up the golden rod (out of curiosity) and garlic (which I know I can make glazes from)

Several of the same vendors from MothMan were there, including my former student who we want to teach Yoga for us.

I did find one I have NOT seen before P. House Games I do love games. I almost bought the dream game but I did get the cryptid hunter card game but more important, they were open to me talking to them down the road. I REALLY would love to try to come up with a physiology game for labs (there needs to be ones other than ones geared to the immune system) since gamification is big in teaching now. If nothing else they have artist contacts and know how to put out a board game. That seems useful.

I did pick up dandelion tea from my local tea dealer (she also works at the university) I am a dandelion fan (probably need to worry about the vitamin K) the tea will probably be gross tasting, or at least a li ttle bitter but I'm interested in the other health benefits of dandelion.

Picked up some Christmas gifts too and hey I finished a fandomgiftbasket story that I really like. tried to do some art requests. watched canva tutorials on blending and layering. no help. Hell the things they told me to click on didn't even exist. So sorry art requests. Ain't happening.

Watched the first episode of Law & Order Toronto. It wasn't bad. Will watch more. Mom and I are stumbling our way thru the first season of Hudson & Rex. Well at least the dog is cut (otherwise this is not great)


It's science saturday

Groundbreaking' gene therapy is first treatment for Huntington's disease to slow the condition this is major. Huntington is a horrible disease. I had Huntington patients and honestly they still haunt me.


Recycled glass could help fend off coastal erosion

Tug or fetch? Some dogs sort toys by how they are used

What happens if pregnant women stop taking Tylenol? In other words do not listen to Trump and RFK but we knew that

Swapping old immune cells in the brain with fresh ones could treat disease fascinating

Now I've known this about student loans. When I first moved here I would go into panic attacks just seeing something from them in the mail. and you knew there was going to be zero help from customer service so upon seeing NEITHER of my loans had the income based repayment plan put on them automatically as I was assured would happen I called today after pulling up the email from August 14 at 2:03 in the afternoon.

( If I wrote this up as fiction no one would believe it )

have some community recs how about some love for older fandoms

highlander_chat Connect with Highlander friends to chat, discuss, squee, brainstorm, seek beta-reading, and more.

fkficfest Forever Knight_ Fanfiction Games

As many of you know, there is another woman in Texas with my exact birthdate and name (what ARE the chances) with my same illnesses and for years United Health care had her on MY insurance and did jack shit. And in 2021 when I fell I found out there was a medicare supplement attached to my name (so I knew Other Dana was on SSI) I have fought this for the last 4 years.

So today, I had to call Riverside Hospital because they billed my Blue Cross insurance from 2 years ago. I get them and she says 'oh yes we saw we made a mistake. We've resubmitted it to your EverCare insurance.'

I'm like that is a medicare supplement. I DO NOT HAVE this insurance.

Riverside - oh...really?

Me - really.

I give them my real insurance and ask for the Evercare number. She gives me United Health Care (who owns EverCare) phone number and I'm like thanks but I meant the member number because half the time you call you can't get through the automated system without it.

So I call United Health care and explain why I'm calling. She says 'I have never heard of this. Let me get you to someone better.' She does and I explain it again and say this is messing up MY insurance and Other Dana's too since they keep calling ME.'

She is appropriately horrified and instead of saying I'll look into it and hanging up she says, stay on this line. I'm calling my supervisor. I agree (I have tuesday mornings off) They come back and say 'we can't take your phone number off this account because you're not the actual member BUT will you wait while we call Other Dana?' Fuck yeah I will.

At the end of this not only is my phone number off (and this is what we get for only using phone numbers/birthdays these days) the damn insurance I have the phone number and the name of Other Dana's caregiver at his request so if it gets fucked up again (which it could because again we have the exact same name and birthdate) I can call him and tell him because Other Dana keeps getting denied stuff because they call ME and I tell them I'm not in Texas.

But at the end of this I have a lot of sympathy for Other Dana in spite of all the years of drama because in spite of being the same age with the same illnesses, I'm not in need of a caretaker (my smart ass friends asked 'are you sure?') I don't need home health. She is very obviously incredibly ill and I feel bad about that.

Fannish 50 time.

I wish I had friends in Japan still. Because OMG, Hazbin Hotel is getting its own Maid Cafe in Osaka for a few weeks and there is SO MUCH merch for this both maid cafe merch and kimono merch. And it doesn't look like it'll be available anywhere else. Argh. I would kill for any of it (but especially Husk/Angel in the kimonos)

I admit it, I am into collecting bullshit I don't need but desperately want (in fact today, looking for a lost lab experiment I found a bag of The Crow cards from the 90s movie. I didn't remember I had them and I have NO idea what the hell they're doing at work). If I had room I'd have a room that was nothing but collectibles on display (I have enough of them) Heck my parents have a room like that so I come by it honestly.

If you want to see the merch here are some links

the announcement

her and her twin are high energy but I like this look at the merch

Come On, Angel dressed as an Oidon That is too perfect (no Dana, you aren't writing an AU for this)

It's Mabon here in the north. It's my favorite time of year. It was not off to a good start today but you know what? It's all just minor work stuff and it'll work itself out.

I don't understand what Rybelsus did to me but ever since I took it just for those 3 days (and it took another 3 to recover) it seemed to reset me. My diabetes is doing good, blood sugar down to normal levels. I know it won't last and it makes me sad I couldn't deal with the side effects. It would be nice not to have to worry about all the damage done from the high sugars.

Had the authors' zoom tonight. It was a short one but that's okay because storms were raging around and I got a lot of words and I finished my second wipbigbang which is great. Now to get moving on other things. Too much to do.

And I got a request for my bio and buy links from the cryptid anthology I'm in. Finally. Still no release date.

So Mothman festival (pictures like all my pictures coming eventually). Last year I went on Saturday but my friend TH wanted to come with me this year and he couldn't go until Sunday. You know what, SO much better. On Saturday even getting there are 830 (it starts at 10) there was NO parking. Had to park blocks away (for some reason I wish I knew why, pre covid we had to park 2.5 miles in Krodel park but there were buses to the fest, now you still have to park there and WALK to town. No way)

But since Sunday had no 5K mothrun we got to park in the handicapped lot (which I doubt anyone knew existed because very few others asked the boys to move the blockage and let them in. I'm not shy about that). Last year everything was open before 10 (thank you racers) but yesterday no one was expect Silver Bridge coffee (my local favorite brand) I got caught and me and TH sat at a sidewalk table talking until things opened.

It was cool then (ended up around 90 by noon though) We left before 1 and the talks started but let's face it, I'm getting old and TH is several years older than me and it was getting hot. How many Bigfoot talks can we go to?!? We dipped out on that.

So it was a nice few hours of shopping around (and me showing him the new stores because he's a homebody and didn't even know about these stores) It's good. The town is recovering a little and it's great to see and for perspective, Point Pleasant has about 4,000 people. The festival had nearly 40K. Yeah.

Did I get much? No, oddly enough not as much as I usually do but again how much more crap do I need? I got some pins from the guy with popculture stuff, a couple fridge magnets, one book on creepy florida (ha, didn't expect that!) and two more cds from Nox Arcana whom I love. And some more infused maple syrup from the sellers I buy from every year.

I ran into a former student and we'll hopefully by hiring her on as part of the wellness committee to teach yoga.

Lunch was special...bad special, delicious but bad from coal miner diner, a hot dog with cheese, bacon, fried pickles and slaw. I felt SO much better after that and that caused me concern. I think my BP has been low (another sign I might have a slow bleed ulcer) I mean think of all the salt in that. It made me feel good so it raised my pressure up.

I saw storm troopers, ghost busters, men in black, mothmen, the hodag (another cryptid I lived in his town) and the hot new cryptid this year was the Squonk! That's right, the one I was going to his festival in July but had to house sit. He's also in the other cryptid story I wrote that I'm still waiting to hear (I hope they're not one of those we're never telling you you didn't get in) I didn't buy any squonk stuff. Maybe next year if my story gets taken in.

TH is looking at me like I'm crazy because I'm like hey Vendor, saw you at the Kecksburg fest, yo how was the bigfoot fest. No, not crazy but I am deeply weird.


It's just a free for all Music Monday share whatever makes your weird little heart happy. I'll go first.

For Mabon -


and here's the album I bought