I spent Labor Day Weekend–laboring over my manuscript.

Lovely Agent will be taking my current WIP, synopsis, and pitch to NY this week. Gulp! I guess that means this is real, huh? Well, she asked me to write up a short bio and include any contest wins, my role as RWA Online Pres. and any other pertinent info.

This is what I came up with:
Born and bred in Arkansas, Melissa McKenzie Francis is a small town southern girl with big city dreams. (Okay, she dreams of big city shoes, but there’s nowhere to wear them ’round these parts). She graduated from the University of Arkansas with more than an English degree–she also gained the full understanding of the phrase “Woo Pig Sooie!” She now lives just two miles away from William Faulkner’s home in Oxford, MS. Her sassy southern romances have finaled in the NJRW’s Put Your Heart in a Book contest and CRW’s Heart of the Rockies contest. She is currently serving as President of RWA Online Chapter #136.

Who knows, maybe the words Woo Pig Sooie will hypnotize Big City Editor on the spot. LOL

Now, on a personal note: My kids’ soccer season starts tonight. I’m coaching young monkey’s team while hubbykins takes care of coaching eldest monkey. I’m not ready to be running and gunning in full soccer
season mode. Dammit! Somebody get me a nanny!

I spent Labor Day Weekend–laboring over my manuscript.

Lovely Agent will be taking my current WIP, synopsis, and pitch to NY this week. Gulp! I guess that means this is real, huh? Well, she asked me to write up a short bio and include any contest wins, my role as RWA Online Pres. and any other pertinent info.

This is what I came up with:
Born and bred in Arkansas, Melissa McKenzie Francis is a small town southern girl with big city dreams. (Okay, she dreams of big city shoes, but there’s nowhere to wear them ’round these parts). She graduated from the University of Arkansas with more than an English degree–she also gained the full understanding of the phrase “Woo Pig Sooie!” She now lives just two miles away from William Faulkner’s home in Oxford, MS. Her sassy southern romances have finaled in the NJRW’s Put Your Heart in a Book contest and CRW’s Heart of the Rockies contest. She is currently serving as President of RWA Online Chapter #136.

Who knows, maybe the words Woo Pig Sooie will hypnotize Big City Editor on the spot. LOL

Now, on a personal note: My kids’ soccer season starts tonight. I’m coaching young monkey’s team while hubbykins takes care of coaching eldest monkey. I’m not ready to be running and gunning in full soccer
season mode. Dammit! Somebody get me a nanny!

War-Mart is a part of the reality known as my life. I hate that damn store.

I shouldn’t. I’m a born and bred Arkansan and I should feel a sense of loyalty to the little store that Arkansas built.

But there is no loyalty there. Only disdain.

If my local War-Mart burned to the ground, it would probably rebuild itself–only bigger and stronger. Like it did on South Park. Have you seen that episode? OMG. It’s a riot. War-Mart is alive and nothing you can do will destroy it. Actually, I just looked it up, and that very episode is showing this Wednesday on Comedy Central, 10pm/9pm central. SOMETHING WALL-MART THIS WAY COMES

That’s so close to the truth, it’s scary. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are brilliant. They are right up there with Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane.

But I digress.

I hate War-Mart.

I try very hard NOT to go to War-Mart. But my hands were tied today, because my son is working on a project and Kroger doesn’t have the supplies we needed.

Today, I spent 45 minutes loading up my cart. I was proud. 45 minutes is a record. I got in, whoooshed around the aisles, avoided the books, CDs, and Movies and rush to check out.

WHERE I SPEND ANOTHER 45 MINUTES.

JUST.SHOOT.ME.

Then, my checker, apparently not seeing the 6 miles of people waiting in every line proceeds to chat me up. Which is normally fine, except, she apparently also can’t multi-task.

Scan an item. Look at me. “Wow. You must’ve been hungry, you have a lot here. You know you shouldn’t buy groceries when you’re hungry.”

Grab one more item. Scan it. Look at me. “So were you hungry? I made that mistake one time and doubled my grocery bill.”

Grab an item. Scan it. Look at me. “blah blah blah? blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. blah blah blah blah blah.”

FARK!

But, wait, she’s not finished…she scans my beef brisket and then asks me? “Exactly what part of the cow is “brisket” from? I can’t believe you eat meat but you don’t know which body part it is. That’s just disgusting.”

War-Mart is a part of the reality known as my life. I hate that damn store.

I shouldn’t. I’m a born and bred Arkansan and I should feel a sense of loyalty to the little store that Arkansas built.

But there is no loyalty there. Only disdain.

If my local War-Mart burned to the ground, it would probably rebuild itself–only bigger and stronger. Like it did on South Park. Have you seen that episode? OMG. It’s a riot. War-Mart is alive and nothing you can do will destroy it. Actually, I just looked it up, and that very episode is showing this Wednesday on Comedy Central, 10pm/9pm central. SOMETHING WALL-MART THIS WAY COMES

That’s so close to the truth, it’s scary. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are brilliant. They are right up there with Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane.

But I digress.

I hate War-Mart.

I try very hard NOT to go to War-Mart. But my hands were tied today, because my son is working on a project and Kroger doesn’t have the supplies we needed.

Today, I spent 45 minutes loading up my cart. I was proud. 45 minutes is a record. I got in, whoooshed around the aisles, avoided the books, CDs, and Movies and rush to check out.

WHERE I SPEND ANOTHER 45 MINUTES.

JUST.SHOOT.ME.

Then, my checker, apparently not seeing the 6 miles of people waiting in every line proceeds to chat me up. Which is normally fine, except, she apparently also can’t multi-task.

Scan an item. Look at me. “Wow. You must’ve been hungry, you have a lot here. You know you shouldn’t buy groceries when you’re hungry.”

Grab one more item. Scan it. Look at me. “So were you hungry? I made that mistake one time and doubled my grocery bill.”

Grab an item. Scan it. Look at me. “blah blah blah? blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. blah blah blah blah blah.”

FARK!

But, wait, she’s not finished…she scans my beef brisket and then asks me? “Exactly what part of the cow is “brisket” from? I can’t believe you eat meat but you don’t know which body part it is. That’s just disgusting.”

I received an interesting email today.

It was an invitation to join a newsletter for a Christian Writer. Not that there is anything wrong with Christian writers…there’s not. But I didn’t subscribe myself to this newsletter. And the site is very nice, but it’s a big dose of Jesus and that just ain’t my style. I’m very private about my spirituality.

What I found even more interesting was that the email address used for the subscription was my rwaonlinechapter email.

That made me laugh because I never sign up for anything with that address. So, I was immediately suspicious.

Now, at first, I thought maybe it was a spammer…but then, I figured that if it was spammer from the website, all of the officers would’ve been emailed. But, I re-read the email to verify and it said that somebody had already signed me up for the newsletter, from XXX IP address and it was asking me to verify that I wanted the newsletter.

(wonder if this person realizes I can (and have) tracked down the location of the IP address. Not the account owner…but yes, the location.)

No spammer would sign me up then send me a verification email.

So, somebody took it upon themselves to register me for this newsletter.

And I don’t think it was the author who signed me up; why would she subscribe me then send me a verification email with the IP address included in it? That would just be stupid.

I wouldn’t care if the newsletter had been for Cute Puppies in Capes. Nobody has the right to sign me up without my permission.

This bothersme on a couple of levels…first, not only did they think it was okay to spam me, they thought it was okay to use my RWA Online email…second, I am bothered by the “message” this person tried to send me–like maybe I need a big dose of Christianity to get my life right. IF this was indeed the motive behind this prank, then what bothers me the most is that A. apparently they think you have to be a Christian to have morals and B. They think they know how they can make me a better person.

A lot of this is supposition on my part…but still, it’s very, very suspicious.

I’m now going to take myself to the hurricane relief meeting that I formed with four other members of my company to see how we as a company can help with disaster relief. Maybe I should take my Bible with me, so they’ll be sure to know I really do have morals.

I received an interesting email today.

It was an invitation to join a newsletter for a Christian Writer. Not that there is anything wrong with Christian writers…there’s not. But I didn’t subscribe myself to this newsletter. And the site is very nice, but it’s a big dose of Jesus and that just ain’t my style. I’m very private about my spirituality.

What I found even more interesting was that the email address used for the subscription was my rwaonlinechapter email.

That made me laugh because I never sign up for anything with that address. So, I was immediately suspicious.

Now, at first, I thought maybe it was a spammer…but then, I figured that if it was spammer from the website, all of the officers would’ve been emailed. But, I re-read the email to verify and it said that somebody had already signed me up for the newsletter, from XXX IP address and it was asking me to verify that I wanted the newsletter.

(wonder if this person realizes I can (and have) tracked down the location of the IP address. Not the account owner…but yes, the location.)

No spammer would sign me up then send me a verification email.

So, somebody took it upon themselves to register me for this newsletter.

And I don’t think it was the author who signed me up; why would she subscribe me then send me a verification email with the IP address included in it? That would just be stupid.

I wouldn’t care if the newsletter had been for Cute Puppies in Capes. Nobody has the right to sign me up without my permission.

This bothersme on a couple of levels…first, not only did they think it was okay to spam me, they thought it was okay to use my RWA Online email…second, I am bothered by the “message” this person tried to send me–like maybe I need a big dose of Christianity to get my life right. IF this was indeed the motive behind this prank, then what bothers me the most is that A. apparently they think you have to be a Christian to have morals and B. They think they know how they can make me a better person.

A lot of this is supposition on my part…but still, it’s very, very suspicious.

I’m now going to take myself to the hurricane relief meeting that I formed with four other members of my company to see how we as a company can help with disaster relief. Maybe I should take my Bible with me, so they’ll be sure to know I really do have morals.