Forever Young

I'm a child of the 80's (born '73), and this song... Well, it was more than an hymn. There's no other song that so completely embodies the melancholy of my youth, the nostalgia of the future. With the first chords I rush back, a sort of rewinding, to my 15-year-old self, to how it was--how it felt, what I thought.

And, back then, I didn't appreciate it. Being young, I mean. Is it true that youth can only be appreciated in maturity?

Kreativ Blogger Award--Reloaded

Ermie over at Just Ermie was kind enough to award me the Kreativ Blogger. I did this a few months ago, so I'll play a bit with the rules. The first part is, of course, thanking my awarder, so

THANK YOU, ERMIE!

Then I need to answer seven questions, which I already answered here. I also need to provide ten random facts about myself, so even though I did name a few before, I'm including ten new ones:

1   I smoke a pack a day. Yeah. Ooops.

2   No, I'm not planning to quit.

3   For a long long time, my favorite book ever was Sidney Sheldon's If Tomorrow Comes. Eventually I grew to realize the error of my ways. Sort of.

4   Major drawback of living in a Caribbean island: the lack of intelligent conversation. Guess angst doesn't thrive in 35C weather and sunny beaches.

On selecting your editor

A while back, I posted something on editors, about how important it is for us writers to get one. The truly wondrous EJ Wesley asked a key question in the comments that day that I've delayed enough in answering.

Yes, we agree editors are the cat's pajamas. The bee's knees. The last Coke in the Sahara. The first daffodil of spring. The last cigarette in the party (at 3 AM). And we all want one. Desperately.

But, EJ asks, how do we choose one?

Now, I'm no expert. I never worked with an editor until three months ago. What I am is extremely lucky.

If you're looking for an editor, even just beginning to think about finding one, or maybe have given up on the whole thing because you got scammed (or heard of someone who knows someone who did), let me try and help.

What are you looking for? A panacea to turn your "great idea" into a marketable novel? A grammar fiend to help you fix the "small" details of verb tense consistency or dangling modifiers? Someone who can cut away those extra words in your 312K manuscript?

Drunk Texts from Famous Authors

A quick Tuesday morning laugh, via The Paris Review.

Drunk Texts from Famous Authors

The Mexican Tragedy: A Nightmare Come True

Mexico is a country without memory. Twelve years ago, after much bloodshed, the PRI was ousted from power, and we swore it would not return, not ever, certainly not for a hundred years--fifty, at least. Just over a decade later, the PRI is back in its presidential throne.

What happened, Mexico?

Explanation #1: Fear.