Linkee-poo is thinking Orthodox Xmas should be a holiday, too

Holly Black on why unicorns are better than zombies. Can't we all just get along? (Grokked from Camille Alexa)

A few tips on electronic submissions. A little basic, but it never hurts to review some of the basics. We all have our Homer Simpson moments from time to time. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)

Donald Maass speculates on the contradictory nature of great fiction. I disagree a little what where he starts, that readers both want pablum and to be moved by what they read. I would classify it as two different classes of readers, not so much the same person. Or not so much two different people, but people in different stages. Sometimes you want to try the thing on the menu you can't pronounce, but sometimes you want those comfort foods. However, what he gets to at the end is something vital. It can be summed up with what my sister-in-law tells the kids, "Drive fast, take chances." You can't always go the easy road, and the first step of that journey is to realize you can't be easy with yourself.

Maybe that's my problem. With all the turmoil of the past year, I've been in search of comfort food and that's why I haven't pushed myself as hard as I should have been doing. Don't mind me, just a little internal psychoanalyzing going on here. Nothing to see. Move along now.

Dendrophilous links to Kaplan free books. If I'm anything, I'm wild about free books. Especially when Kaplan has a lot of medical text that are free. (Note, when browsing with my ipod, some of the titles they list as free, aren't listen in the iBook Store as free).

Jim Hines discusses his writing income. Understand, Jim is approaching "wildly successful" land (and has been at this from the other side of the "Published Author" line since early this century). He has not one, but two popular series out in the wilderness. So, yeah, don't quit your day thing. What he's making is nothing to sneeze at, mind you. Just with thinking about self employment taxes around 50%(a good round number to do your forecasting to), he's also not rolling in the dough. If you're a starting genre writer thinking you'll make it to the be profiled on "Cribs of the Famous" from your mad writing skilz, look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! (no slight on Jim, who is a genuinely nice guy, even through he writes jokes about nose picking)

Look, a linkee-poo where I didn't even mention politics. Oh, damn.