Posted on by Miss Brook$

is Las Vegas degrading to women?

Caution: I actually use a little naughty language in here.

When I went to Vegas for the first time in 2000, by myself, it took me all of 24 hours to figure out the city is made for money and women. If you have one or are the other, Vegas is your playground. To me, the secret of the city is that it’s a living monument to avarice and lust. I’ll go even further and say that pussy built Vegas and is its raison d’être. Aristotle Onassis understood that without women, money means nothing.

I spent two weeks there dancing. I never felt degraded in Vegas. I was constantly harassed by panhandlers, but that was it (I think I was a target because I looked harmless and was a single woman). I planned to go back the next fall, 2001, but those plans were curtailed. I’ve been back several times for vacations and I still feel the same vibe, although Vegas got whupped a little bit after 9/11 and lost some exuberance. I’m fully against it being a “family place.” That’s not why it lives and breathes.

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Posted on by Miss Brook$

woo-hoo!

I finished the rough draft for book #2 today!

I’ve been trying to get it done since last December (original finish date: end of January). Obviously haven’t done well in sticking to a schedule. But it’s a much better book than it would’ve been then. Even a few months adds so much more to my knowledge and understanding of important topics to cover.

There’s still a ton of work to do surrounding it. But right now, I have a new and complete book.

Due to my lack of sticking to a deadline and last minute planning, I can’t get it edited until January, so…it will be out Spring 2008 at the earliest. I know that’s disappointing to people and is an embarrassing public lesson in procrastination, that’s for sure.

Still, it’s done. There’s no doubt it will be out and what it will cover, it’s only a question of when. Now I can wake up without it looming over my head. I can find new ways of filling my days! There’s already a long list…

Posted on by Miss Brook$

in UTNE Reader

It all started from a little financial article my lover showed me. A month later I blogged about it (as you can tell, I’m never up-to-date on my blogging). Then $pread Magazine picked it up. And now it’s reprinted in the UTNE Reader.

Pretty cool for something I thought no one would pay attention to on a blog I didn’t think anyone actually read (aside from a handful of people I pen-pal with).

Now how can I do this for my book?

Posted on by Miss Brook$

the conference: day 3

Today was the official first day of the Desiree Alliance conference.

I woke up at my usual time and got online, hoping not to disturb Jill. She woke up anyway and we started chatting, which means my e-mail got short shrift. I convinced her to go to breakfast with me (if I’d known how sick she was feeling, I probably would’ve forced her to stay in bed). I made sure to gather everything I’d need for my presentation today and plenty of books. I was just resigned to pain on the walk to the conference building.

We arrived a little later than I wanted, but everyone was running a few minutes behind. Lots of people were there and plenty of mingling. I realized the folly of not having anyone to sit behind the table where my book was displayed in order to sell it. I had to try and track people down. No one recognized me from my author photo (different hair – I guess it’s a Clark Kent thing). Lesson learned.

Jessica kept asking me if I was nervous about my presentation that afternoon. No, strangely, I wasn’t. It didn’t hit me until the moment I stood up in front of the room with my speech notes in my hand.

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