Seems innocent enough, right? I've seen this little image floating around for a few weeks now, shared by authors and readers alike. Turns out, some people are a little miffed about it. Me, I'm kind of ambivalent. When I see a reader share it, I think it's a sweet show of support. When I see authors share it, I sympathize.

Well, there are people out there who feel compelled to comment on it. Blog about it. Share their disapproval over it. From what I've seen, it's mostly traditionally published authors with large followings leading the charge to shun anyone who dares post this image.

My official take: Good grief, people get butthurt over the most innocuous things, don't they?

I haven't shared this image. At least I don't think I have. I don't analyze my sharing habits. Mostly, if something earns a smile, I'll click that 'share' button. I've seen a reader or two share it, and some lovely ladies did so to spontaneously promote my work. I have only deep appreciation that they'd think to tag me in a post like that.

As a general rule, I try to keep the self-promotion down to a dull roar. I have a fanpage for link-sharing, but I admit I have begun to neglect that page due to Facebook's bizarre need to ensure no posts are ever seen by anybody who likes your page. On my personal (yet not very personal) page, I settle for sharing snark, whining-for-the-sake-of-a-laugh, and ranting about random annoyances. That tends to keep people engaged, so stick with what works, right? I see nothing wrong with occasionally asking for a like or posting a reminder that I sure would like to sell a book or two.

Here's the thing: It seems the majority of complaints seem to center on the 'audacity' of authors who might want to encourage a little word-of-mouth. Believe me, I know all too well what it's like to have a self-promotion addict on your feed. And I'm a big fan of being respectful and not overstepping boundaries. A lot of people aren't. But most people are bright enough to know where to draw the line and don't tiptoe past it.

But this image? It's not forcing you into action. It's just there. In one click, you can make it disappear. Nobody is holding a gun to your head, dragging you to Amazon to post a review. Chillax, guys. It'll be okay. Don't cry, chickabees.

What bugs me, when a writer posts disparaging comments about this kind of image, is that people jump on the bandwagon and start throwing around slams at anybody who has ever shared a link to their book. Somehow, it gets twisted around into this assumption that authors expect readers to promote for them and they need to do it themselves, damn it!

It's a harsh reminder that people don't get the writing thing. They don't grasp that royalty checks don't go very far. They don't grasp how hard it is to get a book to stand out from the gazillion other books available for purchase. They don't get that we're all just working schlubs, trying to make it from one tax season to the next.

I probably wouldn't share this image, because I don't like to be pushy. But here's a reason or two why I might feel the urge to share an image like it:

That probably sounds whiny. I don't mean it to sound that way. It's just that promotion is hard work, yo. Successful promotion is even harder. And I think it's safe to say that most authors wouldn't dream of dumping promotional work into the laps of their readers.

See, we just get a little excited about our stories. We want you to get excited about them, too. It makes our creative little hearts skip a beat when we imagine you calling your best friend up to discuss our books. It makes us giddy when we get a message from a reader who understands exactly what we were trying to convey with a story. We like connecting with readers. We like watching them get excited about our book, a book, any book at all.

Maybe that's part of why the controversy about this silly little image bothers me. There are a lot of readers out there who are voracious in the search for something more to read. The advent of the ebook has really enhanced that desire to share a newly discovered author, or hunt out the work of somebody who sounds like they might be right up your alley. I think poo-pooing this concept holds a level of disregard for those avid readers. I'm a reader, as well as a writer. I have stumbled upon many awesome authors online. When I find a story that I adore, I want to share it. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I want a signed copy. I want others to discover the awesomeness, as well, because I want that author to have reason to keep on writing awesome stories. Damn it, I'm going to click that like button.

Reader opinion matters. Reader reviews matter. No matter how much banner space on websites we as authors buy, we will never have a better advertiser than someone armed with a sagging bookshelf and a smoking Kindle. Readers are our walking billboards. We need them and their social network pages. Without them, we're just neurotics without a creative outlet. And that would just be bad for society, don't you think?

On that note, like my page. Buy my books. And for the love of all that is holy, SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!

It feels different, this time. When Drew in Blue was released in 2010, I was lost in a haze of newbie confusion, excitement, and disbelief. He was an experiment. I wanted to share a story that wasn't quite like anything people had read before. I've listened to industry professionals tell me that my story will never sell, and then looked at the wonderful reviews from readers who begged to differ.

To those who read Drew, and to those who shared their feelings about the story: I love each and every one of you for giving my boy a chance.

Drew was also a learning experience. I was a rookie, when I wrote that story. I still am, but I'm learning. I hope I never stop learning, because when I do, I will know it's time to walk away from the written word.

I didn't come to writing to make a million dollars. I didn't come to change lives or educate with my words. My goal has always been to simply write a story that gives you a warm feeling inside when you've reached The End. The goal has always been a smile, a tear, a laugh, a bit of entertainment...hopefully I've accomplished that, and will do so again.

Writing Daddy's Girl was a different experience, emotionally. Even though Janie, and David, and every other character in that fictional bubble of Meyersville, Pennsylvania, came to mean so much to me, my heart belongs to Joe McGee. He is the literary ghost of my father...a love letter to my old man. Somebody once compared writing to opening a vein and bleeding. Boy, they had that right.

This story haunted me for years, as I mulled over it's beginnings, crawled bloodied and battered to the final chapter, edited, edited, edited, walked away in frustration, cried my eyes out over the hard decisions, found a home for it, and then edited some more. Somehow, I made it to this day. Daddy's Girl is published. Purchase links are going up. It's finally happened.

The newbie haze is gone. I'm truly excited to have reached the finish line, though really, this is only the beginning. There is a mellowness in the air as I prepare myself for the coming months of promotion and flat out begging for readers to click that buy button. This time around, I can savor the accomplishment...revel in the feeling of success. I don't need to be on the New York Times bestseller list to feel successful. It's the little things: I started. I finished. I made it. I accomplished what I set out to do.

Daddy's Girl is the love of my life. I hope it shows in the pages. And I hope my own Daddy would be proud of it, if he were here to see what I've done.

Let me take a moment to officially thank Kim at Turquoise Morning Press for taking on this story. I appreciate you so much, and knew from the start that TMP would be a wonderful home for Janie. Thank you for the beautiful cover. Truly, I have no words to express my love for the artwork. Also, tremendous gratitude to my editor, Lola, for her hard work and patience. She guided me well, and I'm thankful for her keen eye.

So, on that note, I will cease with this yammering, and point you toward the purchase links on the main page of this website. Buy a copy, and you'll earn the eternal adoration of this silly little writer. Thank you, my lovelies.

1. What is the working title of your next book?

"Disability Girls"

2. Where did the idea come from for your book?

Living with two chronic illnesses and the hilarious and mostly embarrassing moments that come along with living with illness. I have a blog called "Confessions of an Imodium Addict." I also have two good high-school friends who are dealing with the same thing, so it's a journey of three friends and our journey toward healing.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Creative nonfiction sprinkled with humor. It could also be considered medical self-help

4. What is your synopsis or blurb for this book?

What do you get when you take three thirty-something women with three different disabilities and three different journeys toward healing? A hilarious look at illness, healing and friendship.

5. What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Sandra Bullock.

6. Will your book be self-published, or represented by an agency?

Hopefully represented by an agency. I have pitched part of my blog with good results!

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It's still in production...moving a long. I've been working solo for about two years, so now I am having my friends join in.

8. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Knowing I wasn't alone in my illness journey and I have friends who have to deal with those same issues, so why mot share our individual journeys and connecting friendship along the way.

9. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

"Driving Miss Daisy," or "Bathroom Trivia" books. Not many humor books about illness more are blogs.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

It's funny and a book that doesn't have to read at one sitting. It's a little bit of funny with a slice of pain meds.

11. Who are the three people you'll host on your blog in this WIP blog hop?

JM Kelley, Maria Grego and Carly Collins.

His commentary was brought on by the shocking murder-suicide committed by Kansas City Chiefs player, Jovan Belcher, who shot the mother of his child, then ultimately took his own life, also with a gun.

This event prompted Mr. Costas to share his thoughts on gun-control, and he quoted/paraphrased Fox News sports writer, Jason Whitlock. In doing this, he uttered a line to which I take a bit of umbrage:

“But here, wrote Jason Whitlock, is what I believe. If Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.”

Come again, Bob?

Isn’t that a little….overly simplistic?

Listen, many of us have strong opinions regarding the gun-control issue, but I am not writing this to continue the debate. What I believe is what I believe, and what you believe is what you believe. I find myself struggling with more…base issues whenever this topic comes back into the headlines.

Whenever a story breaks, whenever a high-profile murder happens, and there is a gun involved, the factions start…factioning. And the debate wages on. And nobody really gets to the heart of the matter.

We start arguing about taking guns away from the general citizenship. We start dissecting the 2nd amendment. We start calling everyone with a gun a whack-job, and everyone opposed to gun ownership a commie.

And the true issue is never addressed.

Legislation is always the buzzword. Legislate. Legislate. Legislate. Tougher rules. Tighter regulations. Stiffer penalties. Laws must be written so this terrible tragedy can never happen again.

But what do laws do? What could they possibly accomplish? How are they going to make the bad guys walk the straight and narrow? Do we really believe that if we somehow managed to take every gun out of every hand of every citizen, that the problem of our violent society will be magically solved?

 In my mind, it always boils down to one thing:

You cannot regulate good and evil.

Laws may be passed that declare that a particular act is not allowed to be performed in society, and if it is, certain punishments shall be meted out in varying degrees of severity, depending on the heinousness of the act itself.

But, you cannot regulate good and evil.

Social and religious morality can create an environment in which certain acts are considered unacceptable. The pressure of that morality, conscious or unconscious, can serve as a deterrent to participating in the act that is held as inappropriate.

But, you cannot regulate good and evil.

No one person is fully good or fully evil. And the definition of good and evil is a complicated, layered mess that could be debated endlessly. I don’t have the time or energy to really dissect the human psyche, frankly. But ultimately, a person is either a generally decent person, or he isn’t.

What is murder? Textbooks and dictionaries offer some variation of a definition that it is the unlawful or unjustifiable taking of another life. But what is considered murder now is not what murder was in other times and other cultures. There was a time when a horse-thief was dealt with by hanging or a bullet between the eyes, with or without a representative of the law doling out said punishment. Seems rather harsh in our day and age, but at the time, it was held as a fair response to what was considered a severe crime.

Something that seems so stark and obvious as the charge of murder can be left open to interpretation, when considering a host of historical and societal factors. But let’s just stick to our generally accepted 21st century definition, okay?  However, no matter the time, the culture, the social factors, etc., you can lay pen to paper and outline what is considered right and what is considered wrong.

But, you cannot regulate good and evil.

A weapon in hand does not make one a madman. It does not increase your odds of doing harm. To imply that it does is ridiculous. By that logic, anybody found with a steak knife is suspect. A person with a baseball bat is a loose cannon. Holding a pair of scissors degrades your ability to maintain your composure in the heat of the moment. A brick in your grasp could make you snap.

A gun did not make Jovan Belcher commit murder. It was something within him that allowed him to cross that line. Something that I don’t believe is in the average person.

Were I ever to make the conscious choice to end another person’s life, it would be for one reason: I am in a situation in which I feel my life is in extreme peril, and I have no other way to save myself. This isn’t the only way I could end a life, since we all know accidents can happen, but in terms of choosing to take aggressive action, that would be the only circumstance in which I could ever do it. Even then, I wonder if I could make the choice.

Why? Because I am not a killer. Not even at my most volatile, angry, enraged, and emotionally affected could I actually choose to end a life because of my feelings regarding a situation. I would not kill out of anger. I would not kill for retribution. I would not kill with malice.

I am not a murderer.

I am not evil.

Pass any law you’d like regarding what object I can end a life with. It will not change who I am. Neither will what I happen to hold in my hand at any given time change who I am at my very core.

I am not a murderer.

There is a fundamental difference between me and your average killer. He has something in him. Something that allowed him to choose to kill with malice. There is something wrong in there that made him capable of choosing to end the life of someone who displeased him, angered him, raised his self-righteous indignation to such a heinous level. Evil? Insanity? A lack of a soul? I don’t know. But it’s in there. And it is not in me.

I don’t understand the ability to kill. I don’t want to. I am very content in knowing that I simply cannot fathom the act, and never will. It’s not in my nature.

There is good in every person, and there is bad. Which one dominates that person’s being is what colors the choices they make in life. It is what makes a person an abuser. It is what makes a person a rapist. It is what makes a person a killer.

Or it is what makes a person peaceful. Or loving. Or kind.

At our core, we are essentially one or the other. We are human. We have our bad days. We have our good days. We have times in which we may be insufferable, or bitchy, or kind of a dick, but deep down, we are either good or bad.

You cannot regulate that. You cannot pass any law that will change that base alignment. You can regulate instruments of death all you want, but you will never, ever change the nature of good or evil.

And let’s face it. I could kill you with a toothpick, if I wanted to.

I don’t.

I’m not a murderer, and never will be.

So, here is my effort to renew my blogging ritual. I shall really, really try to update at least once a week. I swear it. Really. No, seriously.

The South Carolina Writers Workshop Conference has become a yearly ritual for me. I stumbled upon the website three years ago and saw three very enticing elements: Great faculty, a respectable price, and oh yeah-an oceanfront resort to host the event.

Beach. Waves. Sand. I was sold.

My first year was wonderful. I learned much. My second year was even better. Not only did I attend classes, but I was invited to volunteer. I found myself with a front row seat to the agent and editor critique sessions, able to listen and watch how it all works. I found that quite a beneficial fringe benefit.

On top of that, in my own critique, my manuscript was received very well by the agent I signed up with. While I made a personal decision to maintain the small-press path, the validation and invaluable advice really helped my novel, which will be published this coming January. (I have the agent's business card framed and sitting on a shelf in my living room. True story.)

This year, it got even better: I was invited to attend as a faculty member.

Me. Faculty.

I accepted. The introvert screamed, "NO!", but the writer whispered, "Shut up, you pansy. You really need to say yes. This is a good thing to add to your writing resume."

I don't want to turn this into a dry synopsis of what I learned and who I rubbed elbows with...though I do want to point out that, year after year, the SCWW gathers an incredible group of publishing professionals to share their insights and passions.

That is the key thing I've noticed that sets this conference apart: Passion. You don't find yourself sitting through a boring lecture about the current publishing climate. You find agents and editors who always offer an interesting discussion regarding a particular aspect of the writing business. The process, the marketing. How to make your first chapter shine. How to catch their eye. What you need to bring to your manuscript, not just to make a sale, but to create the best story you can possibly craft.

At the SCWW, you can actually forget you are surrounded by people who could theoretically make or break your career. You're surrounded by fellow book lovers.

What an awesome feeling. I'm already crossing my fingers and toes that I can attend the 2013 conference.

Thank you to everyone who works so hard to bring such a fabulous conference together. Ginny, Kia, and all the board members, volunteers, and faculty outdo themselves every year without fail. And, specially, thanks to Mike Long and Fred Fields for bringing so much great information and experience to our Friday Morning Intensive panel discussion. I was very fortunate to be teamed with them.

Also, thank you to those who bought Drew and asked for autographs. I felt like Madonna after that. You know, minus the pointy bra and inexplicable British accent....

“What’s that look for?”

“I’m waiting to see if you use your napkin as a bib or not.”

After he’d carefully laid the napkin across his lap, David spoke. “I’m appalled you think I would do such a thing. Besides, there’s no picture of a crab on it. Clearly, it’s not a bib.”

“Well, of course.” Janie reached out and fished a roll from the basket in the center of the table. “I didn’t want you to mess up your super cool Mr. Rogers sweater, Fred. How on earth will King Friday and Daniel Striped Tiger ever recognize you without it?”

Just a small sampling of the Janie/David war that simmers until it all erupts into smut and lurve, lol.

Guess I should tag someone. I'll go with Toni Rakestraw again :)