Yvonne Navarro's Blog

Last Chance !!!

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:50:00 +0000

Yes, I am repeating myself: In only a few hours, I will get my sorry buns up in the middle of the night (2:30 ayam, to be exact) and go walk around Veterans' Memorial Park for two hours as part of the American Cancer Society Relay. If you can spare even a dollar or two, please sponsor me on my ACS Relay Page. Every dollar helps to fund research to conquer the cancer demon that wants to be in all of us. Thanks!

A Very important Thing: Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:24:00 +0000

In a bit under a week, on May 9th (technically May 10th, but let's not get lost in the details), I'm going to get up at 2:30 in the morning, go to the center of my little town, and walk with a bunch of other people as part of the American Cancer Society Relay. I can't think of anyone who hasn't been touched by cancer, either by personal experience with the disease or by losing someone who has. Over the course of my life, cancer has taken my Uncle Garlon, my LJ friend Richard, acquaintances Al and Cookie VanderSluis (husband and wife, who died from different types of cancer only a few years apart), and my very good friend from Rudnick & Wolfe, Dorothy Harrington. My grandmother fought off cervical cancer before chemo was ever invented, and here and there in my family tree the disease pops its despicable head up before being, thankfully, beat down. My beloved Chanci, a Great Dane/Lab mix I had for 10 years, succumbed in 1991, after being whittled down in a single month to little more than a bag of bones that I had to carry up and down the stairs.

That's the bad news. The good news is that we are constantly searching for and finding ways to combat all the forms of this horrible disease, and we will not stop. Not now. Not tomorrow. Not ever. So if you can spare a few dollars-- literally, ANY amount-- please sponsor me on my ACS Relay Page here:

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/yvonnenavarro

Thank you... and thank you, again, to the people who have already been so generous!

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:45:00 +0000

"The Fifth Season"

Walk with me a little while.

We will walk together in Spring, with new life bursting around us.

Summertime, side by side we will lie in the sun together, our hearts warm with the good company of best friends.

We will traverse fields in Autumn, with golden leaves soft under our feet, brisk wind at our backs.

Winter brings us to the cozy hearth, dozing by the fire, flickers of embers reflected in our eyes.

There is a fifth season, unnamed, unfathomable, when the leash must be hung on the wall, no longer making the visible connection we have to one another.

Yet the invisible one remains.

Always I will be a part of you as you are of me.

My friend, my heart, my Great Dane.

Author Unknown*

*If you know, tell me
so I can credit.

Lily
January 14, 2003 - May 1, 2006

Sleep well, my sweet Lily.
We still miss you so.

Fair is Good, but only for SOME People...

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 07:41:00 +0000

Equal Pay for Equal Work. It's Only Fair...?

On Wednesday, April 23rd, the Senate failed to pass the Fair Pay Act. What was almost worse than that defeat were the out-of-touch, old-fashioned-- and downright insulting-- statements about women. Senator John McCain (come ON, Arizona!), who didn’t even come to vote, said that instead of legislation allowing women to fight for equal pay, they simply need "education and training."

Lilly Ledbetter, whose Supreme Court case led to the creation of the Fair Pay Act, didn't need "training". She needed Fair Pay. Women today make up 56% of college graduates and nearly half of the labor force in this country. Yet women make only 73 cents to a man's dollar, and mothers only make 60 cents, for the exact same job.

Sign the petition below in support of the Fair Pay Act. And for good measure, send Senator McCain your resume. Our goal is to send him 100,000. Think he'll get the point?

We Need Equal Pay for Equal Work--it is good law, make it enforceable.

http://www.momsrising.org/fairpaymccain

The above is taken almost word for word from a Fair Pay Act website. What you'll read below, what I HOPE you read below, are my words, my story. An absolute, God's truth slice of my past:

When I was 18, I worked for a real estate firm in Chicago called Frank M. Whiston & Co. I was an accounting clerk, and I made $380.00 per month, BEFORE taxes. For this $380.00 per month, I opened, counted, and reconciled rent checks from various Chicago properties. Eight feet away from me sat a young man about the same age, and his name was Ray. He did the exact same job that I did. And for this job, Ray made $500.00 per month. He was single, so having a "family" wasn't even a flimsy excuse. He made more than me because he was a man. Period. And while I always found myself borrowing a few bucks from my coworkers every week so I could buy cigarettes (I was a smoker back then), the amount that Ray made more than me each and every month would have literally paid my entire rent.

That was in 1975. Come on, people of America. I really thought we were past that sh*t by now.

But thank you John McCain, who has informed me in no uncertain terms that I do not need equal pay for equal work. I need education and training. May I take this to mean I need more education and training than my male counterparts to do the same job so that I can earn the same amount of money? Perhaps, then, my male counterparts would like to PAY for that education? If being a woman means I am not entitled to equal pay, then being a man should mean men pay more taxes. Pardon me, but both make the same damned amount of sense.

If you are a woman, please go to the link above and sign the petition. If you are a man, before you blow this off and forget it, think about the women in your life. Your mother, your wife, sister, your daughter-- all of these women whom you claim to care so much about will be faced with this. It affects the woman in the next cubicle who struggles to make daycare payments and can't afford family medical insurance. It affects the friend from work you have lunch with in the plaza-- you know, the gal who brings her lunch most of the time and who can't afford to go out to lunch while coworkers of a certain gender eat out 4 or 5 times a week. The world would be a better place and politicians like McCain might actually wake the frack up if their male counterparts added their voices to the "THIS IS NOT FAIR!" scream.

Read it for yourselves:

What is the Fair Pay Act?

Republicans Defeat Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

McCain dismisses equal pay legislation, says women need more ‘training and education.’

McCONNELL AND SENATE REPUBLICAN EXTREMISTS KILL EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK BILL

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Vote Fails In Senate: The Case For More And Better Democrats

McCain opposes equal pay bill in Senate

Harlan Shows His Teeth...

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:49:00 +0000

Whether you love or hate Harlan Ellison, he is the defender of all writers:

One of the FAQs on my website addresses folks who write me and ask me to contribute stories for free or for a contributor's copy. Sometimes, when I say "No. No. And no." I'm called snobbish, or unappreciative of the "plight of new writers." That "plight" will never change if you write for free (and come on-- a freakin' penny [or less!] per word might as well be free), and those folks who call me those things tend to run out of responses when I ask them if the grocery store will take that contributor's copy and give me a loaf of bread, or if I can mail that contributor's copy to the electric company to cover my monthly bill.

Yeah. Go Harlan.

(Thanks to my friend, Shira, on whose Blog I found the video.)

::Blub::

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:43:00 +0000

Yes, that's me, coming up for air... or at least catch-up. During my last news report (::ahem::), I was caught up in a myriad of WHC rescheduling. Our trip out there was loads of fun and activity-- more panels than I've been on in quite some time, plus the mass autograph signing and a reading. Busy busy busy. I unveiled a 1/2 hour chunk of HIGHBORN to about fifteen people during my reading slot (and I was really flattered that Melanie Tem, who is an absolutely fantastic writer, attended). There were parties and for a change I tried to socialize instead of being the early-to-bed petite desert flower that I am. Okay, I still couldn't keep up with The Husband ( ) but I managed to be a bit more social than at previous cons. While we've resisted for awhile, both The Husband and I seemed to cave this time and we really bought a lot of books. And when I got home, I'd finally had enough of the tired eyes, etc., and I went to the eye doctor, so now I'm eagerly awaiting a regular pair of everyday glasses, and an extra reading-only pair. I'm longing for the days of my teenagehood, where I'd sit down with a book on Friday evening and by Sunday night, I'd finished it... plus two more. At present I'm good for fifteen minutes at most.

Goblin and The Ghost are okay, Poe is fine. Weather is cold at night and chilly yesterday, but finally breaking. Festival of the Southwest tomorrow at the park, we'll be there with bells on. No movement on the job front, but hopes springs infernal and all that stuff. Writing goes slow but I feel inspired, this despite a little disappointment from a package I sent out. Such is life.

Rather than ramble on, I'll keep this reasonably short and end it by saying that The Husband has come up with the absolute bomb of a book trailer for Scarecrow Gods. Turn up the volume and check it out!

Of Course!

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:07:00 +0000

I put all the WHC2008 panel stuff on LJ, FB, MS and my Blog.

Then they changed the time for one of the panels.

3/29 (Saturday) - NOW 9:00 - 9::50 a.m.: Pacing is everything. Do you have ups and downs? One long, slow climb? How do you pace your story for maximum impact? (panel participant) (And no, I have no idea why the world is so cruel as to make me be on a panel at 9 on a Saturday morning. Gah.)

And I forgot to list my reading slot.

3/28 (Friday) - 1:30 p.m.: 1/2 hour Reading. I think I'll finally give the world a sneak peak at HIGHBORN. By the way, The Husband () is reading immediately afterward, at 2:00 p.m.

And I forgot to tell everyone about the fun Interview I had with a Transylvania journalist, which is now posted online. The newspaper is the Transilvania Expres, and Yours Truly is grinning at the Romanian world via a shot from, yes, last year's World Horror Con. No, I have no clue what it says. I can recognize a few words, like vampire, creature, and Buffy. Beyond that...

(please please don't let me remember something else the instant I hit "post")

What's up at World Horror - Salt Lake City - 3/27 - 30/08

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:02:00 +0000

WHC2008 fast approaches. Here’s where I’ll be -- catch me if you can!

3/27 (Thursday) - 9:00 to 9:50 p.m.: What is it about folklore that touches our psyche? (panel participant)

3/28 (Friday) - 11:00 - 11:50 a.m.: How (and why) to write romance into your horror. (panel participant)

3/28 (Friday) - 8:00 - 9:50 p.m.: Mass Autograph Signing

3/29 (Saturday) - 10:00 - 10:50 a.m.: Pacing is everything. Do you have ups and downs? One long, slow climb? How do you pace your story for maximum impact? (panel participant)

3/29 (Saturday) - 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.: HWA Stoker Banquet and Awards Presentation (presenter - Superior Achievement in an Anthology)

3/30 (Sunday) - 11:00 - 11:50 a.m.: Supporting a Writer. Spouses of writers have a very unique challenge. How do you support a writer financially and emotionally? (panel participant)

Despite what appears to be a rapid-fire schedule, I’m very much looking forward to this trip and leaving the mounting stress of daily life behind. See you all there!

Yikes -- Who Stole My Month?!

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:13:00 +0000

What the heck -- where did the end of February and most of March go? Man, have we been horrifically busy. Work, projects, visiting relatives, you name it. Some fun times, some not so fun-- that's life. Among the highlights of this blur of a month was buying the very first brand new car I've ever owned, then, at mile 17 that I put on it (with a total of 43 miles on the odometer -- I hadn't even signed the freakin' papers yet) getting a written warning from a Highway Patrolman. Unfortunately I was paying more attention to the whiz bangs in the new car -- mirror, radio, what's this button do?-- than my speed. A week and a half later I was gifted with an extremely pricey (and annoying) speeding ticket, a real one, by a different Highway Patrolman. Alas, I will be spending Easter Sunday morning in Defensive Driving School. ::sigh::

Find of the Month: A German-made bookshelf unit in the Post Thrift Store, made of three sections of beautiful varnished knotty pine. One of those sections is a curved corner unit. I rearranged the other two sections a bit to fit my office and it's just fabulous.

My ancient cousin fell and broke her hip 2 days before I had her scheduled to go into assisted living. She had surgery and went from the hospital straight into a nursing home and we had to empty out her apartment. She was quite the pill for the first two weeks but is finally calming down, so we might be able to get her into assisted living after all. For awhile she was so difficult that they wouldn't have accepted her.

Goblin came through his surgery with all the grace of a drunken sailor. My poor boy was on the table for quite a bit longer than anticipated, with the accompanying increase in anesthesia. It seems the cyst was attached to some kind of larger mass underneath. The vet speculated it might have been caused by an old injury. (What old injury? ::grrrr:: to his original owners...) Anyway, they got it all, the biopsy came back negative, and my staggering little boy is now his old self but with a nice long scar from 14 (ow ow ow) stitches.

Ghost is fine, cute as a button and my CuddleBug. Poe is also fine. She likes Daddy's nose.

The Husband () and I will both be presenters at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, coming up in about two weeks. We're also on a bunch of panels -- I have to get one of my rare Google Groups newsletters together. If you aren't signed up and want to be, let me know. I mean it when I say I send updates only rarely-- I've only sent one out so far.

And finally, best for last: I pulled out a long-ago novel proposal and reworked it from start to finish, then, because the old stuff just wasn't on the mark, hammered out 50 new pages of writing-- yes, NEW PAGES-- to start off the novel. I did all this in 4 days. For awhile, it felt like the old me, circa mid- to late-1990s, was back. Said packet has been sent off to an agent and I am now typing with fingers and toes crossed. Feel free to cross a few of yours on my behalf.

It snowed here today. Yes, we live in Arizona. WTF???

Fly By...

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:43:00 +0000

That's what I think I'll call months from now on-- "Fly Bys." With everything that's going on, they all seem to do just that. We've had lots of stressful challenges lately, with car issues, school things, family matters, home repairs, job stuff. The cousin I moved up here in August is scheduled to go into assisted living on the first, which gives us 9 days to close up financial stuff and move her. She is not amenable to, well, anything, but it's really not safe for her to live by herself anymore. Nothing has changed about the job-- despite my best efforts to that end, and it's just more aggravating as days go by-- and precious little time has been devoted to writing, although I keep hoping. The universe has not particularly smiled upon us so far this year, but again, I remain ever hopeful. The wall is still not fixed, although someone finally came out today and looked at it. Faced with this 9 day thing, I can't help but see (again) that every time I seem to catch up on stuff to do and get free time within my grasp that I might devote to Highborn, something thunders in to snatch it away. My sweet Goblin also faces surgery a week from today to remove some skin tags and have a cyst on his side removed. Keep your fingers crossed about that one. He's been very apt to suddenly become scared of nothing lately, and I don't imagine being cut & sewn will help his trust issues.

Weather seems to be trying to warm up and we're seeing some green in the yard. Okay, so they're weeds, but they are green.

In With the New...

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:08:00 +0000

My sweet Goblin boy came in second place in the Danes Online contest (no sense posting the URL, since they don't keep the winning pictures up there -- so sad). He was ousted by a snowball-attacking Dane named Quake. Fine -- we moved to Arizona to get away from snow. So there. ::grin:: I will say, however, that for some reason January was a short month-- I check this site every day and posted news of the contest on LJ as soon as it came up, which wasn't until January 17th. Normally they change the photos on or very close to the first. So we wuz robbed. Robbed, I say!

In other news, I have finally redesigned yvonnenavarro.com. It's way past due, with the old one being full of JavaScript rollovers and eye-popping bright colors and banners and on and on. This time around I've gone for a clean, mostly black & white look. It's easy on the eyes, easy to navigate, and looks, I think, pretty sharp and professional. Most of the book pages and whatnot still have old design stuff on them-- I just wasn't willing to hold off the upload until I finished with every danged one of them. So if you run across pages with pupil-blistering purple or red backgrounds... oops. I'll get to them eventually. I also whacked out the photo pages in favor of a Flickr account, so many of the old photos are kaput. I'll upload some more of 'em to the Flickr page as I go along. I'm hoping to get some visitors here and there so that more than just my own lonely little location shows up on the ClustrMap, a thingy I stole from The Husband's website because, well, I thought it was cool.

So... comments about the new website?

Vote for Goblin!

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:23:00 +0000

Yes, it's true -- my sweet-grumpy ol' boy has got himself up on the voting page at Danes Online. Since it is the season of politics and such, and everyone is in such a voting mood (you are, aren't you?), won't you please please please vote for him HERE? I don't think there's any prize or such to be gained, but wouldn't it just be the greatest boost to Mr. Laid-Back to be voted the cutest?

Sadly, only one vote per ISP address. We needs all the helps you can give -- it seems Dane Quake has lots of friends! And besides, you gotta love that Goblin upside down smile!

Output!

noreply@blogger.com (yvonnenavarro) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:35:00 +0000

Yes! The first post on Blogger! Actually, I've had this for a loooong time but never posted to it. As part of the New And Improved Me, I'm desperately going to try to remember to post in all the places I'm supposed to, all of the time. Hey, I'm trying.

So:

Okay, so I haven't managed that one hour a day thing, but I did manage an almost all day writing stint today. That pile-o-hours got me 6 pages, and it's been since October that I wrote more than 2 or 3 pages at a time, so I'm pretty pleased. The story is finally starting to move on its on, the characters are starting to think outside my box, and I think I mentioned before that I've finally decided on HIGHBORN as the title. Sweet.

Here, at last, is a current word count, which is pretty good improvement over the last posting of 22,457:

Lots going on. Tomorrow we're (finally) going to take down the Christmas decorations. Theoretically we'll actually put them where they belong in the garage as opposed to leaving stacks of boxes on the garage floor and wads of wrapping paper and empty tubes in the drawing room. Time will tell. The wall (see my LiveJournal post of December 30th) is still not fixed; already there are issues with the driver's insurance company, which after promising the adjuster would make an appointment when we could be here, had an adjuster come out for an appraisal when no one was home. I have yet to speak to said adjuster. I can see this has the potential to be an unpleasant thing.

I got a bunch of great books for Christmas, the last of which just came in because of a lost shipment. Good stuff, and I'm looking forward to reading... after I get some new reading glasses. I think the glasses being out of date (and that stupid dry eye thing) really contribute to me not reading as much for pleasure anymore. I miss it, and I have way too many great books waiting.

Dawgs are fine, The Husband (Weston Ochse) is okay. Occasionally I have to pound on him to keep him straight. Family is as okay as they're going to be. Still working on the job thing. Some potentially interesting stuff there, but we'll see. In the meantime, plesae keep invisible fingers crossed on my behalf.

I'm working, very slowly, on a long overdue complete new web page for myself. Only have a few pages done so far, but it's coming along.

Alex got her report card, which was pretty doggone good. We're all happy, and so sometime soon we're going out for steak to celebrate.

We have six dead or nearly dead plants to dig up and return to Home Depot and Lowe's for refunds. One would think these stores would learn not to sell (and guarantee) outdoor plants here that cannot survive the high desert (i.e., COLD) winter climate.

Guess that's about it. Happy New Year, all!