Kavanaugh vs. #WeTheWomen — A bitter pill

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In the near certainty of today’s vote, I refuse to surrender to bitterness.

Bitterness is a vile pill, a pointless and destructive one as well.

Bitterness: It will make you ill, it will eat you from the inside out, it will render you as hateful and as vile as your oppressors.

I’ve tasted that pill many times in my life, as I experienced the horrors of my childhood, the loss of my sister, the violence of an abusive first marriage and the depression of losing another, more dear husband, to alcoholism.

I’ve tasted that pill when, in the mornings, I wake to chronic and intense pain, to stomach ailments that seem so unfair. I’ve tasted it when I’ve seen others in pain. At least, so far, I’ve been able to shake it off and enjoy productive days despite the pain. Many others have not been so fortunate.

I’ve tasted that pill when, and I’m being brutally honest here, I’ve seen other talents rise mightily while my personal success has not always flourished, even though I know with certainty that not all of those rising stars rose based on merit. My own past has hurt my confidence. Confidence, along with hard work and talent is necessary to achieve full success. I own that, and I take responsibility for it.

And now I’m tasting that vile pill again, as #WeTheWomen are being told our word is worthless in the face of the powerful and the mighty, the arrogant and the strong.

I will taste that pill for a moment. I’ll allow its putrid flavor to steel my will, to remind me this fight is not only for a day, but for a year, a century, a millennium.

So, while we’ve clearly lost this battle, there will be other battles in the war for justice, for gender and racial equality, for safety for the vulnerable.

I hereby SPIT this pill onto the ground, I release myself from bitterness, and I move on to the next battle, clear eyed and certain that one day, and it may not be long from now, there will be a reckoning. It will not fall like pie from the sky. We will have to fight long and hard for it.

But #WeTheWomen know how to fight!

Rest in Peace, Anthony Bourdain. In memory of my sister.

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Please feel free to share my story and the link that follows:

One of my dear sisters, the one closest in age to me, took her own life 41 years ago at the age of 19. One learns to live with the loss, but the fires of grief never die and can be easily stoked by current news.

troubled teenI suffered for many years, both before and especially after her death, from deep chronic depression. Many times I flirted with the notion of suicide, even went so far as to make a couple of half-hearted attempts when very young. One day I’ll write about Debbie and those days, even if no one reads it. Her memory deserves the chronical.

Mental illness has no respect for age or financial position. It cares nothing about fame or obscurity. We are reminded of our own less public pain when confronted with the suffering of the rich and famous. But just because our pain doesn’t make the daily news, it doesn’t make it “less than”.

I am crying. Not because I was Anthony’s biggest fan. I recognized his talent, certainly, and his undenyable star power, but I’ve never been a foodie and his show was on too late for me.

I’m crying for all the anguished souls, all those who suffer and who we are reminded of by his passing.

Rest in Peace, Anthony. May you finally know a rest.

If any of my friends are suffering, please know there is help to be found. Please do not suffer in silence. Please do not punish your loved ones with your irreversible loss.

Reach out today:
https://suicideprevention.ca/need-help/

Dead to Writes – S1, E3: The Case of the Carriageless Horse

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In this Episode:

* Donna interviews #DeadlyFriend author Steven M. Moore (The Chaos Chronicles Trilogy, Carrick Publishing 2018)
* Tips for authors courtesy of Steve and Donna
* #ReadersOnTheRun short story feature: “The Case of the Carriageless Horse”, by Steven M. Moore, World Enough and Crime (Carrick Publishing, 2016)


Are you a published author? Would you like to be featured on our podcast? Email Donna at carrickpublishing@rogers.com – subject line: Schedule an Interview on Dead to Writes.

All music featured on Dead to Writes is brought to you courtesy of songwriter, composer and performer Ted Carrick. Keep up with all of his new music at his YouTube Channel

Find us on Facebook: Dead to Writes, or on Twitter: @DeadToWritesPod . You can also visit our site: www.deadtowrites.ca or look for donnacarrick.com or carrickpublishing.com .

Dead to Writes – S1, E2: Snake Oil

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In this Episode:

* Donna interviews Deadly Friend author M.H. Callway (Windigo Fire, Seraphim Editions, 2014)
* Tips for authors courtesy of Madeleine Harris-Callway
* #ReadersOnTheRun short story feature: “Snake Oil”, by M.H. Callway, 13 Claws (Carrick Publishing, 2017)


Are you a published author? Would you like to be featured on our podcast? Email Donna at carrickpublishing@rogers.com – subject line: Schedule an Interview on Dead to Writes.

All music featured on Dead to Writes is brought to you courtesy of songwriter, composer and performer Ted Carrick. Keep up with all of his new music at his YouTube Channel

Find us on Facebook: Dead to Writes, or on Twitter: @DeadToWritesPod . You can also visit our site: www.deadtowrites.ca or look for donnacarrick.com or carrickpublishing.com .

Dead to Writes, S1, E1, Sugar ‘N’ Spice

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We’re thrilled to bring you Dead to Writes, the Podcast, Season 1, Episode 1, featuring Toronto author Joan O’Callaghan!

Subscribe today and don’t miss an episode. We’re at iTunes, Google Play and now YouTube!

In this Episode:

* Donna interviews #DeadlyFriend Toronto author Joan O’Callaghan
* #ReadersOnTheRun story “Sugar ‘N’ Spice” by Joan O’Callaghan, featured in Thirteen, an anthology of crime stories by the Mesdames of Mayhem (Carrick Publishing 2013)

Are you a published author? Would you like to be featured on our podcast? Email Donna at carrickpublishing@rogers.com – subject line: Schedule an Interview on Dead to Writes.

All music featured on Dead to Writes is brought to you courtesy of songwriter, composer and performer Ted Carrick. Keep up with all of his new music at his YouTube Channel

Find us on Facebook: Dead to Writes, or on Twitter: @DeadToWritesPod . You can also visit our site: www.deadtowrites.ca or look for donnacarrick.com or carrickpublishing.com .

Dead to Writes – Podcast S1, E0.1, the Prologue ~ Dec. 9, 2017

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Our inaugural Dead to Writes Podcast Episode is up at iTunes!

Join us for the fun of it.

In this episode:

•An interview with musician/composer/songwriter Ted Carrick
•#ReadersOnTheRun feature, title story “North on the Yellowhead”
•Today’s Tip for Authors
•Fantastic theme music: Eyes of Gold by Ted Carrick

Are you a published author? Would you like to be featured on our podcast? Email Donna at carrickpublishing@rogers.com – subject line: Schedule an Interview on Dead to Writes.

All music featured on Dead to Writes is brought to you courtesy of songwriter, composer and performer Ted Carrick. Keep up with all of his new music at his YouTube Channel

Find us on Facebook: Dead to Writes, or on Twitter: @DeadToWritesPod . You can also visit our site: www.deadtowrites.ca or look for donnacarrick.com or carrickpublishing.com .

Dead to Writes – the Podcast

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0-Donna Carrick - Dead to Writes PHOTO 10 ICON CORRECTEDAnnouncing Dead to Writes – the Podcast!

Just popping in to the Mesdames’ Website to invite you to subscribe to our brand new Podcast: Dead to Writes!

You can download our audio for free on iTunes podcasts or at Google Play. At a later date, we’ll also be loading back-episodes into YouTube, at our Carrick Publishing channel. (I’ll be sure to share the link when the YouTube stream goes live.)

Tonight, January 1, our brand new Season 1, Episode 2 titled “Snake Oil” will go live, with a fantastic interview featuring Deadly Friend and Mesdames’ founder M.H. Callway!

Our January 1 Episode 1, “Sugar ‘N’ Spice”, featured Deadly Friend Joan O’Callaghan.

Each episode throughout 2018 will include:
•An interview with one of my favourite authors, who shall heretofore be known as Deadly Friends
•A short story for our #ReadersOnTheRun segment, read aloud by yours truly
•Tips for writers as offered by our featured author and/or myself
•Terrific contest prizes! Qualify by listening to the podcast and answering questions correctly at our Dead to Writes Facebook page!
•Fabulous original story scoring “Killer in Utopia” and theme music “Eyes of Gold” by Ted Carrick

So please, come on down and join the fun!

Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes.

Or, listen on Google Play Music!

Follow us on Twitter for all the latest PodNews:

@DeadToWritesPod

Attention Authors!

We’re now firming up our 2018 1st Quarter schedule! If you’d like to call yourself one of our Deadly Friends, email me at CarrickPublishing @ rogers . com .

In the email Subject line, say Schedule Me for an interview.

I’d LOVE the chance to chat with you live on Dead to Writes, the Podcast!