What If They Always Called You A Creep?
Today I read a guest post on Dear Author by a woman named Kris who took it personally when people described the terrible behavior of Kathleen Hale as “crazy, mental, batshit, insane”, etc. She writes about how abelist it is to use words that describe mental illness to talk about someone being an asshole. As someone with mental illnesses, Kris took those words personally. If she can find people using derogatory words associated with her disability to describe a stranger offensive, I wonder if she can imagine what it’s like when words are directly used for what you are? In other words, what it’s like to be a dev and to have every person talking about it in media ALWAYS use the word “creep” along with it. In this case these words...
Read More“A” for Effort
I’m getting kind of tired of seeing these pictures and videos of designs people have come up with to integrate ramps and stairs better. Yeah, it’s super important to find ways to make all buildings accessible to people who use wheelchairs, but I have yet to see one of these designs that isn’t enormously flawed. Like this one that turns some stairs into a ramp….when you step on a lever. Hello? Is anyone paying attention here? You designed this so people who use wheelchairs could access a building more easily and then you made it so they wouldn’t be able to access the ramp at all? (Not to mention the angle of stairs is way too steep for a ramp) And you’ve probably seen this video where a hidden lift comes out when needed. But all...
Read MoreWhen a Character Comes Alive
My goal in all my stories is to create really vivid characters. Characters who will be memorable, who will make the story. I was struggling at first with the main character for The Billionaire’s Secretary. The basic plot is not exactly new! I wanted to bring my own style to it, but Chloe was feeling very bland in the first few drafts. I’m not sure how I thought of it, but the strangest thing brought her to life. I didn’t expect something so superficial to make such a difference, but when I got a sense of Chloe’s fashion style, everything changed! I tweaked her hair and described her whimsical clothes and in moments she felt so much more alive to me. I understood her in a whole new way. In honor of Chloe’s fashion sense, I created a...
Read MoreChanging Titles
So now that I’ve passed in The Billionaire’s Secretary for final proofreading, I’m looking at what story to work on next. A while ago I was working on a story of two brothers and a singing career. I’ve run into a lot of trouble developing the plot. I’ve got characters, but the plot is not solid. For Nano I may rework the whole outline and start fresh on it. I was initially calling the story Be(Longing) but I realized that that style of title is really more appropriate for the Elizabeth line of books. I.e., (W)hole and Breath(e). I do plan to do a third Elizabeth book. I’d like to keep following her throughout her life and watch how her devness develops over the years. So I will save that title for her third book and do a...
Read MoreBook Available for PreOrder!
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be able to tell you that I’ve got a new book coming out! It’s been a long time! I worked hard to make this book as sexy as I possibly could. For my idea of what’s sexy, you can check out an excerpt at my publisher’s website: http://devlovepress.com/excerpt-from-the-billionaires-secretary-by-ruth-madison/ Super hot, right? The Billionaire’s Secretary will be digital only, so it will come out in an ebook format but not a print format. It’s going to be priced at $2.99 in the U.S. (and should be very equivalent in ebook retailers outside the U.S.) The release date is December 4th, 2014 but you can actually pre-order it! All the links are at the website posted above. You can pre-order...
Read MoreProgress Trackers
At proofreaders; available for pre-order
What Is Meant To Be
Second draft
Homework & Homicide (working title)
Second Draft
Book Montage
RFW winner October 7, 2011
