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Writing Process Blog Hop

2/16/2014

1 Comment

 
Yes, it's time for another viral author showcase. My thanks this time to Bryan Murphy for inviting me to participate in this most recent round. Here's how it works: one author, after receiving an invitation by another, answers a set of questions before inviting a few other authors on board to answer those same questions the following week. Those authors then continue the cycle.  The questions:


1)  What am I working on?

I’m currently redrafting my most recent novel, a sequel to my dystopia World-Mart, and the process has been painstaking. I’m also working on a dramatic horror novella series, for which I’ve completed two installments.


2)  How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My work differs from most other horror stories in its literary slant. While literary horror is not entirely rare, I think what I write is particularly loyal to the style. I want my work to be artful without being pretentious, to send chills down my readers’ spines while also leaving them with important questions in mind—haunt them with provocative language portraying frightening concepts and imagery, but also haunt them with disturbing put pertinent issues seeded between the lines.


3)  Why do I write what I do?

I write what I do because I have so much I want to say, so much I need to share, and writing is the only way I really know how to express it all. I’m the stereotypical introvert: I’m at my most comfortable sitting behind a keyboard; I feel awkward conveying my thoughts in person; and I am often at my happiest during times of silent reflection. Said reflection often results in observations I feel the need to share, and so I do it in the best way I know how. How clichéd is that? ;-)


4)   How does my writing process work?

It usually begins with that big what if?—a thought or question that refuses to leave me. From there, I start seeing scenes in my mind’s eye, and with that, characters begin to emerge. Language begins to swirl through my thoughts until I’m left with a whirlwind that will only continue to grow in momentum until I face it, which of course requires that I address the intrusion and appease the muse imposing it. I move on to the next big questions: How does this issue affect these characters? What horrors might result from them? Are there any monsters of greater evils that might represent this horror? What can they do to fight it? Is said fight fruitful or futile? Why it all of that so important, and how does it relate to the world as we know it? From all of that, a story begins to emerge.

I begin writing character sketches—a page on each of my main players specifying name, age, profession, likes, dislikes, personal quirks, interpersonal relationships, and a brief history. I also write a basic outline, which is really a skeleton for the story that merely places an order to the main plot points, hidden bits of personal agenda, and literary devices I will cover. When I begin the actual writing, I tend to jump head first into the deep end. I let the muses decide upon the tone and how the story first unfolds.

From there, I write mini-outlines for chapters I know will be especially complicated while opting to let the story tell itself in others. Often, the muses will take the storyline in an unexpected direction, which requires I revise my outline accordingly and do my best to continue moving forward. I think it’s a good system. It works for me. For more about my personal process, see my previous blog posts “Building a Novel” and “We Write What We Will.”



Thanks so much for stopping by! Look forward to the next authors to participate in this blog hop on February 23:



Dan O'Brien
Allison M. Dickson
Jaime Johnesee
1 Comment

Love the Atmosphere!

10/23/2013

11 Comments

 
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One of the aspects I love so much about Halloween is the ambiance that comes with it.  I adore the cotton spider webs, the glow of Jack-o-lanterns, the witches, the goblins, and everything else that makes my favorite holiday so dark and spooky.  It goes without saying that this is the time of year when horror authors shine their brightest.

I remember going all out one year in my outdoor decorations, making gravestones out of floral foam, buying dry ice to put in a cauldron on the porch, covering the entire front of the house with spider webs and plastic spiders, carving terrifying faces on the pumpkins, and compiling a track of midi horror songs.  The display was so scary I answered the door to more than one parent who had to come to the porch in place of his or her child, who watched from a safer distance with friends or other family members.

When it comes to my choice in Halloween movies, I want just as much atmosphere.  Give me Gothic castles, full moons, rolling fog obscuring dark nights, creepy music, and supernatural monsters.  There’s something about watching Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein, or a good, old-fashioned Hammer film that really sets the mood.  I also enjoy the themed episodes of my favorite television shows and the spirit of the horror authors’ community coming together to supply the unsuspecting reader with thrilling new stories to read.


This year, I’m happy to help Coffin Hop Press promote its Halloween benefit anthology, Death by Drive-In, the proceeds of which will be donated to the literacy program Lit World.

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While I’m not a contributing author, I support the cause and am happy to be a part of this year’s Coffin Hop.  Nearly a hundred horror authors are banning together to support Death by Drive-In and make your Halloween especially creepy, giving away books and other goodies—and giving you all sorts of chances to win.  Go to www.coffinhop.com for a list of other participating authors.

For my part, I’m offering one reader a signed copy of my Gothic horror novel, Finding Poe, and another an electronic copy of Death by Drive-In, so make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win.  I chose Finding Poe because I feel it's the embodiment of all I love about Halloween: it’s atmospheric, dark, creepy, and twisted.  Inspired by the best works of Edgar Allan Poe, the story speculates how his own writing—most notably, his unfinished, untitled short story most of us know as "The Lighthouse"—may have contributed to his untimely death.
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More about Finding Poe:

When reality and fiction collide, there's no telling what horrors might ensue. 

In the wake of her husband's haunted death, Karina must sift through the cryptic clues left behind in order to solve the mystery behind his suicide—all of which point back to the elusive author, Edgar Allan Poe.  

Karina soon finds that reality, dream, and nightmare have become fused into one as she journeys from a haunted lighthouse in New England to Baltimore, where the only man who might know the answers to her many questions resides.

But will she find her answers before insanity rips her grip on reality for good?  Might a man she's never met hold the only key to a truth more shocking than even she could have imagined?

Finding Poe was a 2013 EPIC Awards finalist in Horror.

What do you enjoy most about Halloween?  What are your favorite movies to watch and books to read during the spookiest month of the year?


11 Comments

Leigh A to Z

8/15/2013

1 Comment

 
So, the Aussie Zombie got this from Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner, who came up with an awesome idea—the A to Z Book Survey.  I loved the idea and thought it would be a fun way to let you all know a little more about me beyond what I write/analyze/critique.

Author you’ve read the most books from:
Stephen King.

Best Sequel Ever
Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon (a very loose sequel to Last and First Men, only connected by an expansion of theme, not by plot or protagonists).

Currently Reading
Deathwatch by Lisa Mannetti.

Drink of Choice While Reading
Café mocha.

E-reader or Physical Book?
I love collecting physical books, although I prefer more and more to read on my Kindle because I can adjust the font size.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School
Holden Caulfield; I was a pretty messed up teenager.

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance:
Indiahoma by A. Ray Norsworthy.

Hidden Gem Book
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich.  The most amazing book I’ve ever read.

Important Moment in your Reading Life
Reading Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut—it inspired my love for dystopian literature.

Just Finished
I’d rather not say.

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read
Romance.

Longest Book You’ve Read
I’m not sure.

Major book hangover because of
Writing Finding Poe; it was a wild ride, one that left me brain dead for some time after finishing it.

Number of Bookcases You Own
Four.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times
Butterfly Potion by Trent Zelazny.

Preferred Place to Read
Curled up in bed.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read
“When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes on a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlightenment and comfort at top speed.” – Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle

Reading Regret
Reading far too many novice Indie authors’ books (i.e. self-published first novels and the like).  There are some great diamonds in the rough, but too many of them have been so awful I’ve actually gotten angry that I’d committed to reading them.

Series You Started and Need to Finish (all books are out in series)
The Joe Grey series by Shirley Russeau Murphy; it’s a charming series.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Unapologetic Fangirl for
Marvel comic books.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All the Others
My current work in progress, The Private Sector.

Worst Bookish Habit
Editing grammatical errors in the books I read.  People’s use of grammar these days is atrocious, and I cannot help but take notes when I start to see the errors piling up.  I then offer the author my list, as well as an educated critique, which is not always well received.  I’ve actually made a few enemies over it.  Still, I cannot stop.  I’m far too honest (and critical) for my own good.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book
Foe by J. M. Coetzee.

Your latest book purchase
Plague Nation by Dana Fredsti.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late)
Poe’s Mother by Michael Meeske.
1 Comment

5 Things I’ve Learned in the Past 5 Years

8/1/2013

0 Comments

 
When I received my first publishing contract in 2008, I felt as though I’d found a golden ticket.  I wasn’t just a writer anymore; I’d graduated to the elite club of authors.  Back then, I would have signed just about anything to see my name in print, an all-too-common story among newbies.  I didn’t know any better, and I thought I knew what I was getting myself into.  I assembled a blog, made connections, and felt a sense of loyalty to the publisher, which prompted me to publish my next several more works exclusively through that company. 

Since that first contract, I’ve learned quite few useful tidbits about wading through the ever-growing sea of publishing.  Who’d have thought there was a learning curve to being an author?  Most everyone learns a little more about the craft of writing with each successive work; what I hadn’t anticipated was what I’d learn about the craft of being an author.  Much of the following will seem like no-brainers to those who've been at this for a while, but for the rest of you, here are some of the gems I had to learn the hard way:


PictureDo you know what rights you're
signing away? Make sure you do.
1. Understand every clause in your contract before you sign it.  If you don’t understand something, hire a lawyer or someone equally qualified to explain it to you.  Know what rights you’re signing away and make sure you have a closed-ended timeframe to the publisher’s stake.  Similarly, make sure there is a clause that explains in no uncertain terms how you can reclaim the rights to your work(s)—and “out of circulation” clauses don’t count; a publisher can claim your book is in circulation because a single, used copy is floating around on Amazon.  If you don’t cover these two bases, the publisher can hold your work indefinitely.

2. Don’t agree to major changes you feel uncomfortable making.  9 times out of 10, the editor is going to be right.  S/he likely has much more experience in the business than you and, therefore, has a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.  With that said, editors are sometimes wrong.  I once agreed to a change I didn’t want to make, fearful that the publisher might drop me if I didn’t acquiesce to its every whim (stupid, stupid), and the negative reviews for that story ended up highlighting that one aspect I hadn’t wanted to add.  The moral of the story: if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it—even if it means losing a contract.  You’ll regret it later if you go ahead against your gut.

3. Don’t spread yourself too thin.  While promo is a necessary evil, don’t join every social networking site you can find or you’ll end up accomplishing nothing.  A big part of social networking is making meaningful connections.  If you try to be everywhere at once, you’ll find yourself nowhere.  Few of us find that perfect balance between connecting with readers and pimping our books.  I’m still working on that one myself, but I’ve met some really neat people in the process.

4. The tighter and more grammatically correct your story is, the less opportunity you give editors to change your hard-crafted prose.  This is one I grew to learn after that fateful change I relayed in #2.  I knew my writing back then wasn’t a contender for the Great American Novel award.  I also knew my grammar was good but not stellar.  I went back to school and significantly improved both.  I (and the editors I’ve worked with) have been much happier ever since.

PictureJust in five years, the difference in my
writing is like night and day. This is the
first novel in my erotic horror series.

My publisher wanted to turn it into a
romance, which might not have been
the best idea. It has a good story line,
but it also has its flaws.
5. Write what you feel passionate about, not what you think will sell.  I got my first break in erotic romance.  I’d been following the blog of a literary agent I thought might someday be interested in me, and when she advertised a call for erotic short stories, I jumped at the chance to show her what I could do.  I had no experience in romance, but I’d heard there was money in it.  Seemed like a win-win situation to me.  Unfortunately, I’m more of a literary/speculative/horror girl, and I found myself writing in a genre I wouldn’t normally read.  I ended up with a nice list of publishing credits under my belt, even a book sold on the Home Shopping Network, but nothing I could use to sell myself in the genres I actually wanted to write.

Bottom line: don’t worry about the bottom line, at least not yet.  Be true to yourself.  Network with people you’d want to hang out with, if given the chance, outside the Internet.  Steer clear of editors and potential peers who would see you as nothing more than a means to their own end.  Write what you’d want to read.  If you don’t, you’ll only end up wasting your time and energy forever chasing that golden ticket.

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The Next Big Thing

12/11/2012

4 Comments

 
My thanks to Richard Schiver for inviting me to be a part of this week’s Next Big Thing blog posting group.  The Next Big Thing is a meme trickling through author blogs of numerous genres, with each participant answering the same questions about either a work in progress or a work currently being marketed.  Each author then chooses five other authors to keep the chain going.  The following is my contribution:

What is the title of your book?
“Mused” is a 10,000-word novelette.

How did you come by the idea?
I wanted to expand upon the concept I had explored in my novel, Finding Poe, only switching to the author’s point of view.

What genre does your book fall under?
Horror.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters if it were a movie?
I would prefer a cast of talented no-names, which I think would be fitting for a story written by a relatively unknown author.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A writer gets more than she bargains for when she borrows the muses of well-known authors.

Will your book be self-published or traditional?
I currently have the story under consideration by a traditional publisher.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It took me roughly a month and a half to finish the first draft, slow by my standards, but forgivable given recent health issues.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I can’t think of any books that have tapped into this particular theme.  The story is, as far as I know, unique.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The muses inspired me; I wrote this story for and about them.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Readers who enjoyed Finding Poe will not only derive similar pleasure in reading this story, but they might find that it also sheds more light on the mystery behind the main character’s enigmatic identity.

The five authors I’ve chosen to continue the chain on December 18 are:

Jaime Johnesee
Dan O’Brien
Erik Gustafson
Clayton Bye
Blaze McRob (will be posting on December 19)

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On BREAKING BAD

9/10/2012

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For the Breaking Bad fans out there, I had the pleasure of writing for the Breaking Bad Fan Page, offering brief recaps with short analyses on the characters, plot, and structural devices included in the first half of this final season.  In case you missed them, here they are (be warned that some of these contain spoilers):

Breaking Bad: Defining the Bad Guy
Breaking Down: Skyler's Plight 
Breaking Bad: The Value of One Life 
A Bad Future
Breaking Bad: Out of Line
Breaking Bad: Gliding over All


For more Breaking Bad fun, be sure to like the Breaking Bad Fans page on Facebook.
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Valentine's Day: A Bittersweet Confession

2/13/2012

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Back when I was young and naïve, I believed in love at first sight.  I was convinced I had experienced the phenomenon when, at the tender age of eighteen, I met the man whom I truly believed was to be the love of my life.  Our connection was immediate, although I can’t really say “love” was an actual part of it.  We lost touch before we had the chance to date and it would be a number of years before we reconnected, but when we did, we decided very quickly that we were in love.  I moved in with him.  Within a few months, starting on my birthday of all days, he began to abuse me—physically and emotionally—on a regular basis.

After nearly five years of abuse, I finally left him.  With a cracked skull, split lips, and bruises on literally every inch of my body, I was left jaded, broken, and untrusting of all men.  Each year when Valentine’s Day would come around, I would have nothing nice to say to all those lovebirds out there who felt the need to celebrate it.  I thought romantic love was a delusion … and that Valentine’s Day was nothing but commercial exploit of that delusion.

When I met my husband, it wasn’t love at first sight.  Yes, we were attracted to one another, but I had no intention of dating him.  I didn’t want another relationship—ever.  I was too afraid that he too might turn into a monster once I opened my heart to him.  Still, I thought it would be okay for us to be friends, as we genuinely enjoyed one another’s company.  I didn’t mean to fall in love with him.  It just happened.  By the time I finally expressed my feelings for him, he just smiled and replied very matter-of-factly, “I’m glad one of us finally said it.”

When the next Valentine’s Day came around, as taken as I was by having someone to love this time, I found that the holiday still held no meaning for me.  Why?  Because when one has found love—real love—every day is Valentine’s Day.  I found that I didn’t want jewelry or chocolates or flowers to mark the occasion.  What I had every day was so much more meaningful.

I still feel that way.  Not a day goes by in which I don’t thank whatever fates brought my husband and me together.  What I have—companionship, partnership, someone who understands me like no one else and treats me like gold—is the best gift I could ever have asked for.  We don’t need a holiday to celebrate that.  We celebrate it every day.

Just the same, for all you lovebirds out there out buying jewelry, chocolates, and flowers: Happy Valentine’s Day.  May your love be true and your happiness year-round.


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Please Welcome Guest Author Linnea Sinclair!

8/15/2010

7 Comments

 
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It is with great pleasure that I hand over The Cerebral Writer over to author Linnea Sinclair today.  As day two of the Out of This World Blog Tour, Linnea will be sharing with us her insightful thoughts on short stories: 
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COOKIE TIDBITS IN THE LITERARY AISLE OF LIFE, Or Why Reading Anthologies Can Tickle Your Tastebuds

By Linnea Sinclair


I watched an interesting discussion about short stories and anthologies on a reader list the other week, and was surprised by the number of readers—avid, frothing-at-the-mouth-over-characters-and-plots kind of readers—who had either never tried or really disliked reading short stories and anthologies. 

I’m an avid reader. Always have been. I’m old enough to remember when kids’ cereal boxes came complete with a miniature picture book glued to the back. (Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!) I’ve been known to read dictionaries, encyclopedias, and, when desperate, the backs of toothpaste tubes. If it’s got words, I want it.

So it struck me as a tad odd to encounter people who inhale novels yet balk at short stories or novellas.

While I understand the basic tenets of the objections—“I want to spend more time with the characters than a short story allows… There’s not enough for me to get involved in the story…”—I will admit they baffle me a bit.

I mean, if you’re a chocoholic and you’re strolling the cookie aisle in your local grocery store, and there’s that nice little old lady in an apron with tiny paper cups full of chocolate cookie crumbles for you to sample… you’re going to walk on by without grabbing one?

My pantry has more than a few boxes of tasty things (as does my freezer) that I’ve tried—taken a chance on—from the apron-wearing saleslady at the grocery store. Delicious little delicacies I might not have ever known about. 

So I invite those of you a bit skittish about anthologies to think of them as tiny paper cups full of possible delights. A sampling. A temptation. A mini-experience that might lead to something even more grand.

Anthologies and short stories are a terrific way to discover a new author, or a new series by an author you already know. Approach them the same way you do that paper cup full of cookie pieces: this isn’t the whole deal but a sampling. Something to whet the appetite.  Not a full seven-day vacation in the author’s fantasy realm, but a quick and fun overnight getaway that might make you want to come back for more.

(Or not. The reverse is also true. If you find the author’s style not to your liking, at least you didn’t waste $7.99 on an entire novel you’re not going to want to read.)

With anthologies, you get a store-full of cookie samples in one fat volume. You can try one tasty treat a day. You can sample a story on your lunch hour and have a total experience right there in the middle of your usual pandemonium at work: opening scene, hot conflict, happy resolution. No dragging yourself back to your desk wondering if the character will solve the mystery or save the galaxy. But a complete mini-adventure, all yours.

Of course, there’s another reason behind my gentle pleadings on this subject. I have a short story (really, more of a novella) coming out November 2010 in Songs of Love & Death: Tales of Star-Crossed Love. This is a fabulous anthology edited by two of the biggest names in the business: George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. It also contains stories by some other big names in the business: Jim Butcher, Jo Beverly, Carrie Vaughn, M. L. N. Hanover, Cecelia Holland, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, Marjorie M. Liu, Jacqueline Carey, Lisa Tuttle, Mary Jo Putney, Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Yasmine Galenorn, and Diana Gabaldon. And, oh yeah, me. 


A former news reporter and retired private detective, Linnea Sinclair writes fast-paced science fiction romance for Bantam Dell, including the RITA® award-winning Gabriel’s Ghost and her latest bestseller, Rebels and Lovers. When not on duty with some intergalactic fleet—or playing human slave to her spoiled felines—she’s usually on the third barstool from the left at www.linneasinclair.com.

 
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Likely some of you have noticed the mixture of bestselling romance authors and bestselling science fiction and fantasy authors in that list. Yep, Songs of Love & Death is a crossover anthology of SFF and romance—something those of us who write SFR have long been hankering for. I don’t know if this is the first time the two genres have (amicably) gotten together, but it’s a rare enough circumstance that it makes makes this anthology noteworthy. 

For romance readers, it’s a chance to sample the exotic flavor of SFF. For SFF readers, it’s a chance to find out that romance isn’t all about bodice-ripping. 

= = = = =


From “Courting Trouble,” by Linnea Sinclair:

What in hell was Serenity Beck doing here? The answer was in her green uniform with its silver star emblem on the sleeve. She was ship’s crew, very likely ship’s pilot.

Death threats he could handle. But Serri Beck was trouble; a seriously unexpected complication. And one that made his chest go tight and his breath hitch. 

If Nic thought Serri disliked him six years ago, there was no doubt in his mind that she was really going to hate him now. Damned shame he couldn’t return the favor. But six seconds of watching her sprint past him just destroyed six years of his hard-sought sanity. And might well destroy his career.

He almost flexed his wrist to contact Leonoso. But he couldn’t—not for thirty-eight hours. Mission rules. Cursing himself silently, he waited for a boxy anti-grav cargo auto-pallet to whirr by before slipping out of the shadows to follow her. Some rules were about to be broken.

= = = = =

I hope you’ll give Songs of Love & Death a nibble (it will be available in hardcover and ebook). It has zero calories, and is definitely good for your heart and your brain.

~Linnea 


 LINKS:

http://www.linneasinclair.com/books.html

http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=1439150141

7 Comments

Coming Soon....

8/2/2010

4 Comments

 
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Mark your calendars--The New Sensuality has a great lineup of SFR and erotic SFR authors coming up this month:

Linnea Sinclair
Pauline Jones
D. L. Jackson
J. C Hay
Kaye Manro
Marva Dasef
Sandra Stixrude
Lisa Lane

More details to come!
4 Comments

Do You Judge Others? Do You Really Have the Right?

6/5/2010

5 Comments

 
My twin sister is a very humble woman.  As readers here already know, Erin and her family live on a private mountain.  They use solar power and heat their home with a wooden stove, and they don't quite have indoor plumbing.  They run a small store at the bottom of their mountain, where they have more facilities, and they also sell some of the wares of their small farm.  Erin dresses like someone who lives on a mountain, her daily life consisiting of much more manual labor than that of a typical American.  She is an amazing musician, a kind soul, and a generous spirit.  When I read the following, my heart sank:

"I went to the KOA on my way out of town like I usually do to fill up gas and propane. There was a line for both, so I opted to wait for the propane first. I parked and unloaded my tanks.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I have to make potty breaks everywhere I go. This is especially true of my last stop before a long drive. I usually go at KOA while they fill my propane. They keep the doors locked, so I always have to ask.  I asked the lady filling the propane if I could use their bathroom. She replied that they only let campers use the bathrooms. I told her that I really needed to go and I always use the bathroom, and that I am a regular paying customer. She was very short with me, so I proceeded into the office to find someone I knew. She yelled at me as I walked, "She'll tell you the same thing inside!" I ignored her.

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"Inside I said to the cashier, "Are you really not letting customers use the bathroom?" She gave me the same line about the bathroom only being for campers. I asked her to make an exception for a regular customer who really had to go. She agreed to take me to the bathroom and let me in.

"When I went back to my propane tanks, the lady told me to take my tanks elsewhere, that she wouldn't fill them for me. I asked her, "You won't fill my tanks because I needed to use your toilet?" She said it was the way I went about it. She just didn't like that she told me no, but I got to use the bathroom anyway, and she is the owner. She said that it was like "when Mom says no and you go ask Dad." No, not exactly.

"I said, 'You really aren't going to fill my propane tanks?' She told me that if I could come up with a million dollars to buy the place I could have whatever I wanted, but now I needed to leave.

"Then I saw the irony in it all. She turned me away because I drove an old beat up ugly van and was wearing my laundry-day clothes. Yes, I may have looked like someone who would steal a shower or write on the wall, but that is profiling and discriminating which is against the law.

"I will be making my weekly propane and gas stop somewhere else from now on. The lady that owns the KOA is really rude and I would encourage everyone to tell their friends.

"And if you need to use their potty, make sure to drive a BMW in and wear your Sunday best. I would bet a million dollars you would be allowed."

It's such a shame that some people can be so mean to others.  When I think about stories such as the one above, all I can ask is why?  Does a person wearing dirty jeans merit denying a person use of a public bathroom?  Does that imply that she is homeless--or that she might scare away other paying customers in some other terrible way?  I've seen my twin sister on a bad day, and she's not that scary....

5 Comments
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