Intelligence Failure

Two words now joined at the hip. Remember when our alphabet agencies -CIA, DIA, NSA, FBI – were actually competent? Are you sure? Maybe they were just better at burying their mistakes. . . .

Our spooks have been playing games with other governments for half a century. Allies and enemies alike have gotten tired of our grubby fingerprints all over their national interests. Gearheardt’s answer? Be sure to wear gloves!

Gearheardt – apparently back from the dead, or maybe Laos – wants to play for all the Mexican marbles, and he insists he needs Jack’s help to do it. Just like the last time in Vietnam, he claims to be working for “the Company.”

Jack really is in the CIA now, temporarily running the Mexico City station at the embassy, and ought to know better, but Gearheardt’s sexy assistant with the disdain for clothes is so darn cute and Gearheardt’s insane resolve is just so darn convincing. (Even though it’s true that the last time around they failed spectacularly in their attempt to get Ho Chi Minh to retire to Hawaii, and then they didn’t even shoot him either.) But does the Agency really want the Cubans to take over Mexico?

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Jayne Sterne, author of Destroyed, talks about her book and domestic abuse during a very sensitive interview with Jenue’s Journal.

Destroyed is an emotional true story of your life.  It must have been difficult for you to relive the abusive memories.  How did you get through that?

It was very difficult to relive the abuse. However, I lost two very special people in my life through horrific and very brutal circumstances. Media also became a part of my life for a while, not by choice but by the nature of my loss, which is enclosed in my book Destroyed.  I didn’t know how to deal with grief and could not understand the pain that ripped through every part of my body mentally and physically.  It was like no other pain I had felt in my life. I learned very quickly that grief brings memories, some of which I had closed doors on a long time ago.  The memories of the abuse came to the surface as though it was happening all over again.  Feeling powerless and afraid of my feelings and memories, I decided to write my thoughts down as it happened. Writing a book was the last thing on my mind. If I’m honest, it was simply a way to keep me sane from the terrible thoughts that entered my mind.

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A year ago, on a whim, I started Jenue’s Journal.

I wanted to take a few minutes to give myself a big pat on the back for a job well done.  The site looks great, don’t you think?

My favorite four online writing sites, in the order of preference, are: Urbis, GoodReads, Facebook and My Writers Circle.

Urbis lets a writer post their work, have it critiqued by strangers with the qualifications of the writer’s choice, and gives said work exposure to publishers.  The site works with credit and debit points.  You earn credits by reviewing the work of others.  These credits can then be used to unlock the critiques that other users have given you.  This is a perfect system that allows everyone to get an equal amount of attention to his or her submission.

The one complaint that I have about Urbis is that people are allowed to critique the critique that you gave to someone’s work.  I find this infraction all kinds of anal but it’s worth overlooking due to the site’s degree of excellence.  Steve Urbis, founder of Urbis.com, is half genius.  I’ll promote him to full genius once the little bugs and annoyances have been smoothed out.

GoodReads is more for readers than writers but the site offers a small place where anyone can post their own written work.  These works can then be voted upon by other users.  This website also gives already published authors a way to promote their book.  I, however, can not evaluate this feature of GoodReads because I was only able to use the site as an unpublished writer.

Facebook has many groups dedicated to writing, publishing, and the literary arts.  This site is a great source of information.  It’s also a great place to connect and network with other writers.

My Writers Circle is a big discussion board.  You’re allowed to post your work for review, ask questions, or just hang out and enjoy being in the company of other writers. There are several drawbacks.  This site does not have a system that encourages reviewing the work of others thus longer works don’t get the same attention as shorter submissions.  The site is not aesthetically pleasing and navigation is a bit clumsy.

These are my favorite four but I’d love to know where other writers go for support.  Tell the readers of Jenue’s Journal where your favorite writing hot spot is by leaving a comment.

In life, as well as the writing/publishing industry, there’s one rule that must be remembered to succeed.

There’s no such word as friend.

Memorize it, write in on your wall, tattoo it on your arm.