No, for once I’m actually not going to vent on my blog, I’m just going to talk about venting. See, I believe in the power of letting off a little steam. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t suffer in silence. When my husband and I were dating, I told him he’d never have to wonder how I felt, every single feeling I have is quite clear. When a friend of mine asked me if I was mad at her, I assured her, she’d know. If I’m mad at you, there will be ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT about it.

But that’s with my friends. It’s private and doesn’t embarrass or hurt anyone but me. I may vent on my blog about getting stuck in traffic, dealing with idiots, my own stupidity, or life in general, but I won’t vent about a particular person.

Why?

A number of reasons. First is, it’s just not very nice to spout off about someone in a public forum. If you don’t have anything nice to say, shut the hell up.

Also, I don’t think it’s very smart to open myself up to that sort of backlash. Anything bad I might have to say about someone could be said about me, and then some. Why set myself up for that type of battle?

Third, it’s even more stupid to vent about a publishing house, review site, or some other public personae or institution on a blog. I may bitch and moan to my friends because I got a rejection, a bad review, a late check, etc. but there is no way I’m putting that out to the world. Besides making me look like a whiny baby, it’s supremely unprofessional, and even though my blog isn’t exactly a hot bed of activitiy (does ANYONE read this?) all it would take is one “foot in mouth” moment and every editor in New York would know what an idiot I was. No thank you. I’d rather hide that fact for as long as possible.

Now, maybe you’re asking yourself, “Self, why is Ari babbling about this?” Well, I’ll tell you. I’ve been blog hopping instead of working lately and it amazes me how many people name names in their blogs. And not about nice things. It’s one thing to mention a book you read and how much you loved it. (NO ONE TO TRUST, Iris Johansen, it rocked!) but it’s another to totally dis a publishing house.

I always wonder how rumors get started, well, I think someone makes an off the cuff comment and it gets copied and pasted all over the internet and blown out of proportion.

I guess I look at blogging like I look at passing notes in school. I wouldn’t want to write down something I’d regret if it got into the wrong hands. Or computer screens, in this case.

So, since I’m not going to say something nasty, even though I’d be assured of getting some hits on my blog that way, I’m going to say thank you to some awesome critique partners instead.

Huge thanks to: 

My friends Christyne B and Archer Girl  who were my very first cps and taught me things about point of view and setting the scene and how to take and give critisism constructively.

ChaosCat who pushed me out of my comfort zone

Gloria and Christi who read things on the fly for me in the early days and taught me about not rambling on and on.

Titania, who was such a huge help with some of my early EC books

Kate, who makes sure what I’m saying makes sense

Lori who cleans up my stuff amazingly

and Jenn, who makes sure my hero knows what he’s talking about.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone, and if so I apologize profusely. I need other eyes on my writing, and these are some of the best.

THANKS!