Quote I love: The fight is in each one of us

Posted on November 11, 2009 by SloanParker

Once a week, I post a quote that I’ve read/heard recently. So here’s this week’s Quote I love …

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about marriage. My anniversary was last week. My partner and I celebrate from our first date in high school. We both dated other people after that (when you’re bisexual, it sometimes takes time to figure things out in your own head), but we were in love, even then. One of the things Rosie would love in life is to be married to me. Too bad the US government and far too many citizens of the great state of Ohio don’t want that outcome.

I also wrote a short story for I DO TWO, a charity anthology in support of marriage equality. (Side note: if it isn’t selected for the book, I may post it as free fiction on my site in January). So, it’s been on my mind lately.

I’ve never been a huge supporter of marriage licenses. I don’t think couples need a legal document to be committed and spend a life together. But I have to say, it irks me to no end that I can’t give the love of my life one of the things she desires most, that I’m not legally allowed to marry the person I share a home with, a dining room table with, a bed with, a life with. We’ve lived together for 18 years.

Here’s one of the statements I read after Maine voters repealed a state law that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed. It reminded me there are many straight people who care, who have made the cause their cause too.

“I sat in my hotel room and watched the sun rise from my eighth-story window and cried. I wished I had done more.

But a new day was dawning. A different day and a new fight for marriage equality. It will soon be time again for us as Mainers and as a nation to come together. Gay or straight, the fight is in each one of us, and we must take it. We must.”

Dana Hernandez
A straight white married mother of two young children
Reporting Election Night outcomes for Advocate.com

Thank you to Dana and everyone who cares enough to realize this isn’t about your marriage or taking something from you, it’s about giving a basic right to others. A basic right that grants so many other rights to the couple the minute they are married. Rights my partner and I can’t duplicate, no matter how much money we give to our attorney to draft legal documents. Marriage in the US offers over 1,000 Federal rights and benefits. And this does not include the hundreds more offered by every state.

Thanks for stopping by today,
Sloan Parker
twitter.com/SloanParker

Quote I love: Seriously? I’m a writer

Posted on November 4, 2009 by SloanParker

Once a week, I post a quote that I’ve read/heard recently. So here’s this week’s Quote I love …

Another quote from my own life.

The other day I was editing my latest manuscript, and I asked my partner how to spell something. I was trying to determine if I needed a hyphen in the context of the sentence. Without even looking away from her iPhone she said,

“What’s the big deal if it’s hyphenated or not.”

Seriously? I’m a writer. It’s a big deal.

Now, don’t get me wrong … my partner is always, always supportive of my writing. She wasn’t trying to be mean. She was trying to be funny … I think. But a part of her really wanted to know if I gave that much thought to every single word.

And it got me thinking. When I submit a manuscript, I want it to be as polished as I can make it. I write an extremely rough first draft. When I go back over it again and again, I’m looking to not only improve the plot, the characterizations, and voice, but I’m also looking to correct the grammar and catch any errors. I want to be able to read through it one last time without catching any typos or misspellings. I want to print it out and not have made one red mark by the time I get to the end. Then I know it’s ready. Now, I’m NOT saying it’s perfect. I certainly miss stuff. A LOT of stuff. And I don’t know all the rules I should be following. I’m still learning about grammar and the craft of writing. But I want it to be as good as it can be — for me, at that moment.

So are there other authors who feel the same? What’s your process for editing? How do you know when you should stop editing? Comment or send me an email. I’d love to hear what you think.

Sloan Parker

Just when I needed a laugh

Posted on October 17, 2009 by SloanParker

Once a week I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else) that I’ve seen or read about recently. So here’s this week’s For the love of …

Today was one of those blah days for me. I had a ton of work to catch up and everything took longer than I planned (sort of why my Friday post is coming out early Saturday). Just when I needed it, my cats started chasing each other around the house, acting all crazy like they tend to do. It gave me a good laugh. Xander is a klutz, Cordy has ADD, and Hunter thinks he’s a dog. They can be quite humorous when they all try to play together. So today, I’m posting a couple of my favorite pics of my little guys.

Here’s Cordy, Xan, and Hunter.

Aren’t they cute? Come on, you can admit it. Even non-cat people tend to like my cats. Hunter does this fetch thing that people remember years later.

Thanks for stopping,
Sloan Parker

In Memoriam: Patrick Swayze

Posted on September 15, 2009 by SloanParker

Patrick Swayze was a big part of my teenage years, and his passing has hit me in a way the passing of other celebrities hasn’t (with the exception of Heath Ledger) . I was a huge fan of the television miniseries North and South (if you haven’t seen it, it has a serious bromance between main characters George and Orry). And of course, there was Dirty Dancing. I cannot tell you how many times my friends and I watched that movie. Nobody puts Baby in a corner. At the time, I could probably quote the entire thing.

And then there was To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. That movie impacted me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I was impressed with all three men who took a chance not many actors would. Here’s a quote from Swayze on his experience.

From: greginhollywood.com

On playing drag queen Vida Boheme in “To Wong Foo” : “It was an opportunity to create a character who was truly an angel. But I thought playing a drag queen was a big ol’ lark, and I’d play a big old queen. But in rehearsal when I play-acted it, it didn’t work. I realized her job was to be the heart of this movie. {Miss Vilda} stands for every drag queen on the planet or for anyone who has been misunderstood. It turned out to be the most emotional thing in my entire career and I’m pretty proud of it.”

I think the best way to honor a celebrity is to continue to enjoy his work. I think I’ll go put in my DVD of North and South now.

Rest in peace, Patrick Swayze (you’ll always be Orry Main to me).

Sloan Parker

Announcement: Twitter and Facebook sucked me in

Posted on September 13, 2009 by SloanParker

I tried to put it off (since I like to spend a lot of my time writing and reading) but today I took the plunge. I’m now on Twitter and Facebook as well as MySpace. Below are the links to locate me at each site. I hope you’ll stop by and say hello.

Twitter
Facebook
MySpace

I’m limited on how much time I can spend on-line (in favor of my writing), but I am enjoying getting familiar with the sites and making new friends. I like the simplicity of Twitter and the formatting for commenting on Facebook.

How about you? Which social networking sites do you like to use? Which is your favorite? Comment or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

Sloan Parker