It's been awhile...since I said I'm sorry

Yes. I've been very neglectful. The past few days I have been losing my mind. The wind down of NanoWriMo has been fun. Although, I'm not writing as much as I ought to be. I'm going through an icky health scare, with a count down of one week to visit the doc for a second opinion. I'm shaken, and a little pissed at the 'health care' I received at this first place. And they want $90 for being careless, incompassionate and flippant. BASTARDS!!

In other news, I've been following the work of that fashion model, ex-classmate of mine. She's doing very well. I've read that she's got a recurring role in an upcoming soap opera/sitcom thingie. She's using her money to start a program in her country for less fortunate girls to acheive their modeling dreams. All of which is very cool. But. . . I've also read that she's getting into writing. At this point, I cringe and sigh.

Think of it: You are a talented, little known musician with a powerful voice and your own cute little dance routines. You book your own shows, make contacts to go on tour, work with a moonlighting producer in his basement studio to put out your first CD, you work your butt off to promote your songs, get air play on the radio and eventually get signed. Blood, sweat and tears go into your craft. And it's special to you because of that. Now, let's check out Hilary Duff or Lindsay Lohan, who were gold-plated because they had a career in Hollywood. No disrespect, but if you compare yourself to Lindsay, you want to know "What's she got that I haven't?" the answer: Contacts. Someone who knows someone who is the CEO of Big Boy Records or whatever label will take on the work.

If you apply this scenario to writing, it's a similiar experience. Contacts and name recognition is a part of the game. Think about it. If a lesser known porno star had written that "porn queen confessional" instead of Jenna Jameson, who would've bought it? Would it have hit the NY Times bestseller's list? (I seem to remember it being there, though I could be wrong)

Do you see where I'm going with this? There's this self-published book that I had the chance to sample, and the author is good. His name is Alfonso Mangione (you can google it). Right now, my money is being siphoned right out of my wallet with a golden straw (D-E-B-T) but I will seriously buy this young man's book. Why? Because he's talented. It's an engaging and well-written piece of fiction. But he may never "make it" to the status his writing deserves. Why? The big break is elusive. It's good to have the contacts. All the elements that go into a success that are completely out of the author/musician/dancer/artist/actor's hands, are quite possibly the most annoying and unpredictable.... at least for us regular folk.

It seems to me we'll be seeing a novel written for this young lady very shortly. Still, I remain steadfast in my belief that it doesn't make sense to be jealous of another person. I refuse to ignore the nagging annoyance that goes along with the knowledge that she will pursue writing. So, instead of pouting, and concentrating an evil eye at her pictures via Google, I will finish my novel... I will publish my novel... and I will follow through with something in my life. It makes no sense to cry about what you don't have. If it's truly missing, go and get it!

Aren't I just f*#%ing ray of sunshine today? ;)