This month I decided to concentrate on sending out literary poems. I have scads of them and haven't sent out much for a while. So I did a search through www.duotrope.com and first found the sites that I could submit to electronically. I looked for the highest paying ones of course. This is still a several night project because you have to read each set of guidelines and check the deadlines for submission, any special formatting rules, who the editor is and where exactly to send it.
Then I go through my poems (and if the magazine has samples on the site I read a few) and match the best ones. Plus I read through the poems and do any rewrites that are needed. I reformat them if it's needed, save them into separate documents and send them through email with a cover letter. I then checked the lists for the postal submission magazines. Literary magazines tend to not accept submissions by email. It's the minority that does, but there are more of them than there used to be. I still managed to send out quite a few through email. I'm now sending off another eight by mail. Mail of course means printing out the poems, and a personalized cover letter. Making up SASEs and adding addresses and postage and mailing. In all, this month I've sent out about 23 submissions of poetry with a total of 93 poems going out. Yep, 93! Guinness Book, look out.
I still have some poems sitting around. There are the sex poems that are too descriptive for some markets, a few SF poems, some witch/tarot series poems as well as those I did on Mexico and India. Of the ones still on my desk/computer, some are good to go and some have sat for a long time because they are just...not...right.
It's an elusive thing, and this round I did send out poems that have sat for ten years. In all, I probably have at least another 60 poems at home, including some unfinished ones, and another ten out. I did finish a poem I started last year called Perfect Lover, and another literary one I started two years ago called A Gathering. The second is a 3-4 page poem which I'm quite happy with. And I wrote a new one this week called Medusa that could sell as speculative or literary.
I try to send any poem I can off to literary markets first as they pay much better for poetry on average than a speculative market. I have managed to get $50 for one spec poem and now $100 for a literary poem. On average though, spec poems are around $10 and liiterary $20 and up. I also sent out about ten stories this month. And I continue writing on the erotic novel, but I'm going to have to pull the other novel out this coming week and read over it and the outline and synopsis if I'm going to do the Kansas workshop.
Next month I might delve into the very hard market of children's lit. I have a few stories so it won't take as long. I had this great dream two nights ago and woke up going, this would be a great young adult novel. It had the full plot, conflict and resolution. And can I remember it? No. Wah! But overall, I'm feeling rather accomplished, along with three sales for the month. Wheee!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Center for the Study of Science Fiction, Kansas
Well, on Saturday as Rhea and I discussed the worldbuilding workshop, then went for drinks and something to eat and to hammer out our second story some more (she threw a left curve into it so we had to sort out where it was NOW going), I talked about organizing the World Fantasy con SF Canada party. SF Canada is a very small country cousin to SFWA, the professional speculative writers organization.
I'm a member at large on our not too active board. We had talked about hosting a room party but our funds are limted as well and I knew no one would do anything unless I jumped on that bandwagon. I told Rhea that I'm doing this, one: because World Fantasy is in Canada this year (Calgary) and we should be highlighting our Canadian writers. It's part of SF Canada's mandates but rarely is much that's spectular done. Limited budget and all.
And I've been to enough WFCs to know what the parties are like. WFC is a professional con--mostly writers, publishers and editors. The schmooze quota can be high. My ulterior motive is that by being the organizer and being there I get to chat more with the editor/publishers. Not that it's been a huge problem in the past. Rhea kind of gave me a verbal bitch slap though, and said, why are you wasting this opportunity and you don't have a manuscript to pedal?
I said, because I'm just trying to keep myself in the saddle and write whatever I can and get something under my belt. Therefore I've been writing erotica because it's easy without getting bogged down in too much research or worldbuidling. I need to reinvigorate my writing, which has been working some. She wanted to know if there was any horror or fantasy in my novel but nooo, it's straight-out erotica. But damn her, she planted a seed in my wee brain.
And then I'm reading through LJ and read Kij's story. Some people have a way of evoking a world that's different than our reality but you swear after reading their tales that it's out there and you just hadn't noticed. Ursula LeGuin did it with Always Coming Home. Kij has done it several times. And then I recalled I'd been curious about the novel writing workshop she teaches in Kansas every summer. It's one of the few universities anywhwere that actually has a Center for the Study of Science Fiction. (Hmm, I hope fantasy is okay though I could argue my novel is SF just as Anne McCaffrey did.)
I gave her a call to just say hi but also to ask if this would be a good thing for me. Well, upshot is that if I can find the $$$ I think I'll take it as it will jumpstart the stalled novel. http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/novel-workshop.htm If nothing else, then by WFC I'll at least have a partially reworked novel for consideration.
I'm a member at large on our not too active board. We had talked about hosting a room party but our funds are limted as well and I knew no one would do anything unless I jumped on that bandwagon. I told Rhea that I'm doing this, one: because World Fantasy is in Canada this year (Calgary) and we should be highlighting our Canadian writers. It's part of SF Canada's mandates but rarely is much that's spectular done. Limited budget and all.
And I've been to enough WFCs to know what the parties are like. WFC is a professional con--mostly writers, publishers and editors. The schmooze quota can be high. My ulterior motive is that by being the organizer and being there I get to chat more with the editor/publishers. Not that it's been a huge problem in the past. Rhea kind of gave me a verbal bitch slap though, and said, why are you wasting this opportunity and you don't have a manuscript to pedal?
I said, because I'm just trying to keep myself in the saddle and write whatever I can and get something under my belt. Therefore I've been writing erotica because it's easy without getting bogged down in too much research or worldbuidling. I need to reinvigorate my writing, which has been working some. She wanted to know if there was any horror or fantasy in my novel but nooo, it's straight-out erotica. But damn her, she planted a seed in my wee brain.
And then I'm reading through LJ and read Kij's story. Some people have a way of evoking a world that's different than our reality but you swear after reading their tales that it's out there and you just hadn't noticed. Ursula LeGuin did it with Always Coming Home. Kij has done it several times. And then I recalled I'd been curious about the novel writing workshop she teaches in Kansas every summer. It's one of the few universities anywhwere that actually has a Center for the Study of Science Fiction. (Hmm, I hope fantasy is okay though I could argue my novel is SF just as Anne McCaffrey did.)
I gave her a call to just say hi but also to ask if this would be a good thing for me. Well, upshot is that if I can find the $$$ I think I'll take it as it will jumpstart the stalled novel. http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/novel-workshop.htm If nothing else, then by WFC I'll at least have a partially reworked novel for consideration.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Worldbuilding and Writing
Rhea and I went to Dennis Foon's worldbuilding workshop yesterday at the public library. It was a two-hour free session sponsored by the Writers' Trust http://www.writerstrust.com/ . Dennis Foon has written a fair number of young adult books and done a lot of TV/movie scriptwriting. I've never read anything of his but he makes a living at writing.
The workshop may have been good for people newer to writing but it really was nothing new to me or Rhea. I was hoping there might be something on structuring or other aspects that he considers in creating a world. We all wrote a couple of short pieces where he would set the scene by saying, "It's the morning after a major catastrophe. What are the feelings of the person, what were they doing before the catastrophe struck?"
So, it wasn't a waste of time and maybe I'll have a story out of it but I'm not sure it gave me anymore depth. I still want to find a workshop that will help me develop more, either depth in my stories or plots that flow better. Or both of course. I keep analyzing my stuff hoping to get the key to the kingdom. If I find a good workshop that might be my vacation time this year.
The workshop may have been good for people newer to writing but it really was nothing new to me or Rhea. I was hoping there might be something on structuring or other aspects that he considers in creating a world. We all wrote a couple of short pieces where he would set the scene by saying, "It's the morning after a major catastrophe. What are the feelings of the person, what were they doing before the catastrophe struck?"
So, it wasn't a waste of time and maybe I'll have a story out of it but I'm not sure it gave me anymore depth. I still want to find a workshop that will help me develop more, either depth in my stories or plots that flow better. Or both of course. I keep analyzing my stuff hoping to get the key to the kingdom. If I find a good workshop that might be my vacation time this year.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The Life of a Writer
On Mondays I teach dance. Afterward, I take my laptop and go off to a local cafe/restaurant, have a couple of drinks and work on a novel. If I don't do this I'll get distracted with many other writing projects.
At the moment, I'm continuing the collaborative writing with Rhea Rose on our joint story, though she just threw me a curve ball from our discussed plot so I have to chat with her before I proceed. I'm also working on two stories started nearly a lifetime ago. One is nearly done and I'm hoping to finish it in the next week. It's the retelling of a tale about an old Germanic hearth goddess.
I'm not writing any poetry at the moment but rewriting a bit. And I've been concentrating on going through my bookmarked literary markets the past couple of nights, tossing the broken links and moving the ones that take online subs into a separate folder. And when I find one, I send them off a few poems.
For example, tonight I sat down at 8:00 pm and started going through the markets, continuing from where I left off the other night. It's 11:30 now and I've weeded through them all and sent out poems to about four magazines. That's about four poems per magazine and they're already written. I also submitted two stories to two other magazines. But just doing that, searching through, finding the right poems, reading through them, making a few changes, reading other guidelines took three and a half hours.
When I submit stories/poetry in paper format it takes even longer because I must take the template letter, fill in the titles on each one, print the poems and letters off, match them out, fill out envelopes, make up SASEs, put stamps on, put the material inside, seal them up and take them to the post office. Usually I'll do a batch of about ten magazines and it will take me three solid nights to get everything sorted.
Writing is about 40% and 60% perseverance. And now I'm going to bed, reading a bit before to keep the brain percolating.
At the moment, I'm continuing the collaborative writing with Rhea Rose on our joint story, though she just threw me a curve ball from our discussed plot so I have to chat with her before I proceed. I'm also working on two stories started nearly a lifetime ago. One is nearly done and I'm hoping to finish it in the next week. It's the retelling of a tale about an old Germanic hearth goddess.
I'm not writing any poetry at the moment but rewriting a bit. And I've been concentrating on going through my bookmarked literary markets the past couple of nights, tossing the broken links and moving the ones that take online subs into a separate folder. And when I find one, I send them off a few poems.
For example, tonight I sat down at 8:00 pm and started going through the markets, continuing from where I left off the other night. It's 11:30 now and I've weeded through them all and sent out poems to about four magazines. That's about four poems per magazine and they're already written. I also submitted two stories to two other magazines. But just doing that, searching through, finding the right poems, reading through them, making a few changes, reading other guidelines took three and a half hours.
When I submit stories/poetry in paper format it takes even longer because I must take the template letter, fill in the titles on each one, print the poems and letters off, match them out, fill out envelopes, make up SASEs, put stamps on, put the material inside, seal them up and take them to the post office. Usually I'll do a batch of about ten magazines and it will take me three solid nights to get everything sorted.
Writing is about 40% and 60% perseverance. And now I'm going to bed, reading a bit before to keep the brain percolating.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
New Writing Sales
I just received word today that my SF story "Ice Queen" will be in the Warrior Wise Woman anthology by Norilana books. It's due in June. http://www.norilana.com/norilana-ww-guidelines.htm shows the cover for the book.
Sometimes my emails don't seem to make it across the water so I checked with the editor of the Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra and my story "Janukurpara" (the knee elbow position) will be published in that anthology. It's about to go to the publisher and has been edited so I presume it will be out in a couple of months.
A good weekend over all for publishing. Just when I was doubting once again, a somewhat roller coaster state for many writers.
Sometimes my emails don't seem to make it across the water so I checked with the editor of the Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra and my story "Janukurpara" (the knee elbow position) will be published in that anthology. It's about to go to the publisher and has been edited so I presume it will be out in a couple of months.
A good weekend over all for publishing. Just when I was doubting once again, a somewhat roller coaster state for many writers.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Words and Meaning
Fellow SF Canada member Jo Beverly has a site that highlights romance authors, as she wears several authorial hats. It's well laid out and intriguing. Last week, Jo interviewed a guest, John Dierdorf. The interview is on Word Wenches and is very amusing. I knew the meanings of words in English had changed over time but not that much. Just wait until you see that vagina was a common term for... well, go to Word Wenches and read the interview. http://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2008/02/im-delighted-to.html
John's site is called You Can't Say That. Not only is it highly entertaining and informative, but if you're a writer creating any story in the past, it would be a helpful tool for finding out how people of the time viewed the meanings, and then figuring out how much you should put in without losing your modern reader.
http://www.io.com/~dierdorf/nono.html
John's site is called You Can't Say That. Not only is it highly entertaining and informative, but if you're a writer creating any story in the past, it would be a helpful tool for finding out how people of the time viewed the meanings, and then figuring out how much you should put in without losing your modern reader.
http://www.io.com/~dierdorf/nono.html
Friday, February 8, 2008
Writing Collaborations
Rhea Rose and I are friends and writing buddies. Over the years we co-wrote, produced and acted in a Fringe Festival Play (Snow White and Rose Red are in the Bar Having a Drink), spurred each other on to writing poems and stories and generally kept the writing spark alive.
We've never co-wrote a poem but we would each pick a word (or sometimes an image) and then write a poem with those two words in it. So at one point I said, "bad lemons" and Rhea said, "dragonfly" and two poems were born. Sometimes the poems come quickly and sometimes we drag them out but it inspired us to write new poetry with images we might not have thought to put together by ourselves.
We decided to co-write a story. Mostly we have writing styles that mesh. This is good for flow and style, but perhaps it makes us too interchangeable. Still, a story that's not completely plotted out gains new elements, ideas and directions from each person.
The first story is still out on its maiden flight. We decided to write science fiction because the market these days is glutted with fantasy. However, neither of us are hard science, major tech writers. The characters are still the most important aspect of the story. The first genesis took some work and a lot of discussion.
We set deadlines: You must get the story back to me by this date and you have to have written a page. Rhea started with a paragraph. Then I wrote about a page and we sent it back and forth until it was done. One of us would call the other going, "Uh, what did you intend by adding this thing?" Or, "I haven't a clue what you're talking about here. Explain it to me."
Once the story was done, we each took a turn reading over it from the beginning, fleshing it out, tightening it up, clarifying ideas and descriptions. Then I proofread it and sent it out.
We're now working on our second story and like the poems, we each chose an image. We then sat around for a couple of nights discussing the ideas, characters, conflicts and plot, getting an idea of what the story would be, thinking of the implications of the science. Will this work? But why are they doing that? And always reminding ourselves to keep it fairly simple. Don't overcomplicate the plot.
We're still in progress. I started the story from the notes we kept, and then sent it to Rhea. She wrote more and sent it back to me. I worked over it some more, with a bit of a Eureka moment about the plot. It's now back with her. I think this story will even be stronger than the last and I like where we're headed with it. Usually whenI start a story I know about how long it will be. It's not so easy to tell when two brains are thinking on it. If nothing else, it has us fired up and our creative juices are flowing.
We've never co-wrote a poem but we would each pick a word (or sometimes an image) and then write a poem with those two words in it. So at one point I said, "bad lemons" and Rhea said, "dragonfly" and two poems were born. Sometimes the poems come quickly and sometimes we drag them out but it inspired us to write new poetry with images we might not have thought to put together by ourselves.
We decided to co-write a story. Mostly we have writing styles that mesh. This is good for flow and style, but perhaps it makes us too interchangeable. Still, a story that's not completely plotted out gains new elements, ideas and directions from each person.
The first story is still out on its maiden flight. We decided to write science fiction because the market these days is glutted with fantasy. However, neither of us are hard science, major tech writers. The characters are still the most important aspect of the story. The first genesis took some work and a lot of discussion.
We set deadlines: You must get the story back to me by this date and you have to have written a page. Rhea started with a paragraph. Then I wrote about a page and we sent it back and forth until it was done. One of us would call the other going, "Uh, what did you intend by adding this thing?" Or, "I haven't a clue what you're talking about here. Explain it to me."
Once the story was done, we each took a turn reading over it from the beginning, fleshing it out, tightening it up, clarifying ideas and descriptions. Then I proofread it and sent it out.
We're now working on our second story and like the poems, we each chose an image. We then sat around for a couple of nights discussing the ideas, characters, conflicts and plot, getting an idea of what the story would be, thinking of the implications of the science. Will this work? But why are they doing that? And always reminding ourselves to keep it fairly simple. Don't overcomplicate the plot.
We're still in progress. I started the story from the notes we kept, and then sent it to Rhea. She wrote more and sent it back to me. I worked over it some more, with a bit of a Eureka moment about the plot. It's now back with her. I think this story will even be stronger than the last and I like where we're headed with it. Usually whenI start a story I know about how long it will be. It's not so easy to tell when two brains are thinking on it. If nothing else, it has us fired up and our creative juices are flowing.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Bear, April 28,1948-December 18, 2007
JOHN BEAR CURTIS
Some of us knew him as John Curtis, Little John, Bear, or Manbear. A man larger than life at 6’7” would of course have to have more than one name. This man we knew by different names touched us all; it’s why we are here today (Bear's celebration took place in Vancouver on January 6th), though there are many more people that he touched as actor, musician, artist, mentor, storyteller and companion on so many levels it would be hard to discern them all.
Bear was a man of possessions, and laid claim to us, as we all have to him by being here, by calling him friend and brother, mentor and companion. Friends mattered a great deal to him and he was comfortable in any size group. Self-possessed with a taste for things larger than life, Manbear enjoyed hearing or playing a joke, jamming with friends, or being in his wonderful enchanted garden. Anyone who has ever been to Bear and Louise’s knows of the great museum it is; every surface is covered with ornaments, every wall with pictures, drums or collages of his making. Nothing is placed slapdash but laid out in a great labyrinth of colour, design and significance.
Never a lover of the capricious Mickey Mouse, Bear instead backed the temperamental Donald Duck. Some would say the duck was similar to the great John Curtis himself with both full of comic moments and an incredible temper. But his interests didn’t just stop at the cartoon characters. You might have been lucky enough to see the mountie on a horse with Prince Charles’ face, designed by Bear.
His collections went deeper to dragons, Beatlemania, numerous albums, exquisite creations in glass and his large repository of bones and skeletons; an homage to the animals with which we share the world. True to his Cherokee heritage, his role as pipe carrier and firekeeper, and as one who completed the four-year sundance, Bear honoured his ancestral roots, taking great pride and solemnity in walking the walk in the best way he could.
When I kept having visions of Native images, I asked Bear if it was possible to explore this and me just a white girl. He never once scoffed or condescended but took me to healing circles, dances and sweats. He very often knew what gift to give people. Whether his great visionary talent manifested in buckskin, feather, bone, wood or stone, Manbear honoured all these ways and brought visions and worlds to show the rest of us.
He had a gruff and stoic exterior at times, one where he rarely complained of his aches or pains, that caused him to snap grumpishly. Yet he could at the same time show compassion and had a great legacy of giving. Not a wealthy man in the ways of the material world, Bear was richer in so many ways by caring, his interest in life, his love of beauty and the depth of the enduring friendships he held. He loved to play music and chat with people, which sometimes was more them chatting and him listening.
Like his namesake, he loved his den, and like most Bears he didn’t seem cuddly on the outside. But many here remember a big bearhug or smooch from him. His great love was for his son Jesse and wife Louise. He hated to show that soft side in front of other people. Bear would get mad at Louise when she sometimes became too cutesy or revealed some little tradition that just the two of them share. Why’d he get mad? Because he wanted to maintain that grumpy bear image and yet, we knew there was a loving man in there.
All that Bear did, the many interests and events in which he interacted were larger than life, just as he was. All that he did was bear sized, and he remains in our hearts this way. By sharing our stories of Bear we keep him alive, with memories and love, for in the end, that’s all that any of us are.
Journey well, Bear.
Some of us knew him as John Curtis, Little John, Bear, or Manbear. A man larger than life at 6’7” would of course have to have more than one name. This man we knew by different names touched us all; it’s why we are here today (Bear's celebration took place in Vancouver on January 6th), though there are many more people that he touched as actor, musician, artist, mentor, storyteller and companion on so many levels it would be hard to discern them all.
Bear was a man of possessions, and laid claim to us, as we all have to him by being here, by calling him friend and brother, mentor and companion. Friends mattered a great deal to him and he was comfortable in any size group. Self-possessed with a taste for things larger than life, Manbear enjoyed hearing or playing a joke, jamming with friends, or being in his wonderful enchanted garden. Anyone who has ever been to Bear and Louise’s knows of the great museum it is; every surface is covered with ornaments, every wall with pictures, drums or collages of his making. Nothing is placed slapdash but laid out in a great labyrinth of colour, design and significance.
Never a lover of the capricious Mickey Mouse, Bear instead backed the temperamental Donald Duck. Some would say the duck was similar to the great John Curtis himself with both full of comic moments and an incredible temper. But his interests didn’t just stop at the cartoon characters. You might have been lucky enough to see the mountie on a horse with Prince Charles’ face, designed by Bear.
His collections went deeper to dragons, Beatlemania, numerous albums, exquisite creations in glass and his large repository of bones and skeletons; an homage to the animals with which we share the world. True to his Cherokee heritage, his role as pipe carrier and firekeeper, and as one who completed the four-year sundance, Bear honoured his ancestral roots, taking great pride and solemnity in walking the walk in the best way he could.
When I kept having visions of Native images, I asked Bear if it was possible to explore this and me just a white girl. He never once scoffed or condescended but took me to healing circles, dances and sweats. He very often knew what gift to give people. Whether his great visionary talent manifested in buckskin, feather, bone, wood or stone, Manbear honoured all these ways and brought visions and worlds to show the rest of us.
He had a gruff and stoic exterior at times, one where he rarely complained of his aches or pains, that caused him to snap grumpishly. Yet he could at the same time show compassion and had a great legacy of giving. Not a wealthy man in the ways of the material world, Bear was richer in so many ways by caring, his interest in life, his love of beauty and the depth of the enduring friendships he held. He loved to play music and chat with people, which sometimes was more them chatting and him listening.
Like his namesake, he loved his den, and like most Bears he didn’t seem cuddly on the outside. But many here remember a big bearhug or smooch from him. His great love was for his son Jesse and wife Louise. He hated to show that soft side in front of other people. Bear would get mad at Louise when she sometimes became too cutesy or revealed some little tradition that just the two of them share. Why’d he get mad? Because he wanted to maintain that grumpy bear image and yet, we knew there was a loving man in there.
All that Bear did, the many interests and events in which he interacted were larger than life, just as he was. All that he did was bear sized, and he remains in our hearts this way. By sharing our stories of Bear we keep him alive, with memories and love, for in the end, that’s all that any of us are.
Journey well, Bear.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Why I Won't Buy Saturn Again
I have a 2003 Saturn Ion 3. When I bought it in 2004 it was a demo model with about 4,000 km on it. That the salesperson changed three times before I bought it should have been an indicator to me where Saturn was headed, and it seems to be...out of the world.
The dealership then closed. I had a VIP membership for lifetime free oil changes but had to go to the Morrey dealerships for that, Morrey Nissan. But the car was on warranty and I had to go to a Saturn dealership for any warranty work. Neither of these places were in the same city of course.
Under warranty I took the car in four times because the back passenger door didn't seal correctly and was most noticeable at high speeds. Four times and they never did fix it correctly. Now, if I open the door I have to push the loose molding back into place before shutting the door and it will minimize the air blowing through.
Under warranty I took the car in at least four times because it would idle high when cold out. It would not start high but after I'd driven it even a few minutes it would idle high when stopped at lights. If I shut off the car, it would reset. It only happened when cold, which told me that there was something wrong with the idle or throttle and cold weather caused it to freeze or stick. I took a small automotive course in high school and have enough of a logical mind that I can figure out basic mechanical. Somehow though, these days mechanics can't seem to use a brain to figure out a problem unless they plug it into a computer.
So I drove the car in one day and didn't shut it off and lo and behold they could find the problem. It was fixed but then the weather turned warm and I couldn't test it until the fall when it was cold again. And guess what, problem not fixed. Oh and the car, no longer under warranty and the part isn't working right and it has no warranty. So why would I bother to fix the part again, knowing that if it blows it's still not under any warranty and that I can keep paying and paying for the same part. That's what the service people told me.
Now my car was at about 70,000 km when the fan in the car stopped working. I could get heat but no fan to blow it around. But of course it wasn't the fan itself that wasn't working. It was the computer component and would cost over $600 to fix. On top of that I made an appointment and had to wait over four hours for them to check the car. Then they charged me $60 for telling me it would cost $600. The car's warranty ends at 60,000 km I believe.
I contacted Saturn/GM Canada and their generous offer was to go 50/50 on the fan part. That's it. Nothing on the other things they never managed to fix. And basically they're saying, well we won't make money on this part but we won't go out of the way to satisfy you.
Although the guys were nice and friendly at Lansdowne Saturn in Richmond, the service wasn't that great and one day, while waiting in Richmond to get picked up and taken back to my car, it took them over an hour. I was no more than ten minutes a way. One service guy condescended to me in explaining that the car might just be idling high because it was cold. As if I'm not aware of the difference between a cold idle and a stuck throttle.
So, this is why I won't buy Saturn again. Poor service, poor repair record, a very short warranty and no customer satisfaction from Saturn Canada.
Of the car itself, it's mileage was okay, it has a huge blind spot for turning corners, the visors only work if you're six feet tall. I loved the adjustable heat vents that could blow right on my hands. The door locks are stupidly designed and the pockets on the side doors are smaller than any map should you want to store them there. But a car under warranty comes part and parcel with the dealership and I wasn't convinced that with Saturn's lagging sales that I'll ever buy another Saturn again.
The dealership then closed. I had a VIP membership for lifetime free oil changes but had to go to the Morrey dealerships for that, Morrey Nissan. But the car was on warranty and I had to go to a Saturn dealership for any warranty work. Neither of these places were in the same city of course.
Under warranty I took the car in four times because the back passenger door didn't seal correctly and was most noticeable at high speeds. Four times and they never did fix it correctly. Now, if I open the door I have to push the loose molding back into place before shutting the door and it will minimize the air blowing through.
Under warranty I took the car in at least four times because it would idle high when cold out. It would not start high but after I'd driven it even a few minutes it would idle high when stopped at lights. If I shut off the car, it would reset. It only happened when cold, which told me that there was something wrong with the idle or throttle and cold weather caused it to freeze or stick. I took a small automotive course in high school and have enough of a logical mind that I can figure out basic mechanical. Somehow though, these days mechanics can't seem to use a brain to figure out a problem unless they plug it into a computer.
So I drove the car in one day and didn't shut it off and lo and behold they could find the problem. It was fixed but then the weather turned warm and I couldn't test it until the fall when it was cold again. And guess what, problem not fixed. Oh and the car, no longer under warranty and the part isn't working right and it has no warranty. So why would I bother to fix the part again, knowing that if it blows it's still not under any warranty and that I can keep paying and paying for the same part. That's what the service people told me.
Now my car was at about 70,000 km when the fan in the car stopped working. I could get heat but no fan to blow it around. But of course it wasn't the fan itself that wasn't working. It was the computer component and would cost over $600 to fix. On top of that I made an appointment and had to wait over four hours for them to check the car. Then they charged me $60 for telling me it would cost $600. The car's warranty ends at 60,000 km I believe.
I contacted Saturn/GM Canada and their generous offer was to go 50/50 on the fan part. That's it. Nothing on the other things they never managed to fix. And basically they're saying, well we won't make money on this part but we won't go out of the way to satisfy you.
Although the guys were nice and friendly at Lansdowne Saturn in Richmond, the service wasn't that great and one day, while waiting in Richmond to get picked up and taken back to my car, it took them over an hour. I was no more than ten minutes a way. One service guy condescended to me in explaining that the car might just be idling high because it was cold. As if I'm not aware of the difference between a cold idle and a stuck throttle.
So, this is why I won't buy Saturn again. Poor service, poor repair record, a very short warranty and no customer satisfaction from Saturn Canada.
Of the car itself, it's mileage was okay, it has a huge blind spot for turning corners, the visors only work if you're six feet tall. I loved the adjustable heat vents that could blow right on my hands. The door locks are stupidly designed and the pockets on the side doors are smaller than any map should you want to store them there. But a car under warranty comes part and parcel with the dealership and I wasn't convinced that with Saturn's lagging sales that I'll ever buy another Saturn again.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
New Sales
I have sold my flash fiction piece "Amuse-Bouche" to Shroud Magazine. http://www.shroudmagazine.com/home It should be out in issue #2.
I have also received confirmation that my story "Strict Management" will come out in the Cleis Press anthology Open for Business.
I'm still awaiting contracts for both of these so I have no more details as of yet.
December slowed down my posting to this site for several reasons. It took far longer to get my Ireland pictures up than I intended. I was behind on reading through the slush pile for Aberrant Dreams. As well it was the usual end of year season with parties and get togethers and shopping. On top of that my place was broken into before Christmas and my new camera with which I took the Ireland photos was stolen, along with two necklaces. I cannot afford at this time to replace my camera and I was hoping to become more proficient in digital and put my old Photography degree to work and start getting some of my pictures into the stock photo market.
That's on hold for now. And then my dear friend Bear, who had been in the hospital for fourteen months, died on Dec. 18th. It was a hard time and I'm still grieving. I broke a molar over the holidays, which I still must get the money for first before I can get it crowned. So December was a hard month in an otherwise good year. For me it was a productive year with more fiction/poetry sales than ever before and therefore the most money I've made in a year on publishing. As well it was the most money I made in nonfiction writing as well and let me buy the camera, a carpet, get some dental work done and go to Ireland.
I hope I can beat some my last year's records. Two confirmed sales for January is a good start.
I have also received confirmation that my story "Strict Management" will come out in the Cleis Press anthology Open for Business.
I'm still awaiting contracts for both of these so I have no more details as of yet.
December slowed down my posting to this site for several reasons. It took far longer to get my Ireland pictures up than I intended. I was behind on reading through the slush pile for Aberrant Dreams. As well it was the usual end of year season with parties and get togethers and shopping. On top of that my place was broken into before Christmas and my new camera with which I took the Ireland photos was stolen, along with two necklaces. I cannot afford at this time to replace my camera and I was hoping to become more proficient in digital and put my old Photography degree to work and start getting some of my pictures into the stock photo market.
That's on hold for now. And then my dear friend Bear, who had been in the hospital for fourteen months, died on Dec. 18th. It was a hard time and I'm still grieving. I broke a molar over the holidays, which I still must get the money for first before I can get it crowned. So December was a hard month in an otherwise good year. For me it was a productive year with more fiction/poetry sales than ever before and therefore the most money I've made in a year on publishing. As well it was the most money I made in nonfiction writing as well and let me buy the camera, a carpet, get some dental work done and go to Ireland.
I hope I can beat some my last year's records. Two confirmed sales for January is a good start.
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