Holy snapping swans...

So, I've been fighting a long, drawn out, tense battle all to do with honouring another's actions and words. It's never occurred to me to give up. You don't give up on honour let alone the rights and beliefs of another. Because someone dies it doesn't mean their words and wishes die. Those words are as real and as important as on the day they were spoken and written down. That person depended on you to follow through and make sure their wishes were heard. They needed them to be understood. Simple as that. Giving up a fight because it's hard? No fucking way will I let someone down. Ever. 

Someone said to me "Don't you wish it was happening to someone else?" My answer was no and I explained that no one else could handle this as well as I am. Yeah, I'm full of myself but my mother always told everyone her duck (me) was a swan - calm on the outside but bite your damn hand off if  you pushed her. I know there are no limits to what I will do when it comes to loyalty. I don't understand disloyal people or those who think a man's words can be overturned through selfishness and bullying. 

Disloyalty? You reap what you sow.

You go girl!

I was shopping this arvo and I went into this store and a young woman served me. She was 20 years old and oh-my-god she had such attitude. She knew exactly who she was, what she wanted and she explained to me that there was no way in hell she would take crap from anyone and she was ‘very aware’ of her rights. All this over the purchase of a marked down shirt. I listened to her and thought ‘that is me 25 years ago and I haven't changed a whit.' As the sale concluded I said to her ‘Listening to you is like listening to myself. You go girl.’

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference  ~Winston Churchill 

   

Sisters shot dead for dancing...

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” ~Martin Luther King Jr

http://www.news.com.au/world-news/asia/pakistani-sisters-shot-dead-after-being-filmed-dancing-outside-their-home/story-fnh81fz8-1226672330529

Fight like a girl...

Crimes against women...

“I’m at the point that if I have to go to jail for my rights, I will do it.”

Brave woman with a lot of guts. Stupid Judge protecting rapists. That's a crime. My total support goes to this 17 year old.

http://www.inquisitr.com/282168/kentucky-girl-may-face-jail-time-after-tweeting-names-of-guilty-rapists/

Book cover nongheads...

Now, I do the self publishing thing. I make my own book covers. Some people love them. Some hate them. Some couldn’t give a crap either way and my world turns regardless of opinion. I’ve had some shitty covers made by supposed professional cover artists – you know the patch and paste jobs that they charge the publisher a solid $100 for - and others I have made myself and I like a lot.  The thing with cover art is you can spend as much or as little on it as you like. If you go to somewhere like Fotalia.com – my personal preference - you can buy a heap of credits and the covers cost usually no more than $1.00 and they can be claimed on tax. It’s not rocket science. You then stuff around with it on Gimp or paintbox or whatever program you’re working with until you bang out a cover. 

Recent controversy about various authors using watermarked images they have not legally paid the rights to makes me wonder how smart these authors are. First up a watermark on the hero’s body isn’t sexy.  It’s tacky and it smacks of being an unprofessional nonghead. Added to that it’s not smart or fair or right to use another person’s artwork without legally obtaining the right to it. Authors who do that should, to my mind, accept people who pirate their ebooks for their own gain because it’s essentially the same thing. Taking without permission? Tacky. Classless. Wrong. Thinking you won't get caught? Dumber than dumb.  

So, thinking about doing your own covers? Have a crack at it. Some will fly, some won’t but for god sake have enough brains to buy the rights to use the artwork because ebook land will retaliate and rightly so and crying about people being mean to you isn’t going to save your arse or give you any credibility.  Wise up. No one likes a nonghead.        

Out of Jail…

For a while, I have been dealing with a company who I had no faith or trust in whatsoever. Doubt and mistrust makes for pox-ridden bedfellows when it comes to money. Call me crazy but I refuse to accept the word of people who treat others like subservient minions. Today, I made another huge break away from them and it feels damn good.

So, while I’m not completely out of jail – and it certainly hasn’t been free – it's taken huge amounts of persistence - it’s a bloody good feeling to be in control and not dependant on others whose intentions and actions you question or doubt. Really, when it comes down to it, you can only ever trust yourself. Am I a difficult woman? No. I just know what I want and can do better at on my own terms.

Difficult women...

Are you a difficult woman? Do you know your rights and choose not to be treated like crap? Do you know your own self worth? You do? Me too. So I have to wonder what's wrong with that and why people get their knickers in a knot when you politely yet firmly assert yourself. Are we supposed to remain in our place? If so - where is that? I've never been able to work that out.

Amarinda Jones
Penn Halligan
www.amarindajones.com
www.amarindajones.blogspot.com
Be daring...read an Amarinda book