Job Discrimination

I thought companies knew better than to blatantly discriminate, but I guess that doesn't pertain to someone who calls to see if a company is hiring. Someone I know was referred to a company. He was told this business might be hiring now or sometime in the future. He called to see if they were hiring yet.

The manager who answered said they weren't hiring right now, but would probably be doing so in the future. He asked if he could ask some questions of the applicant. Naturally, the person said yes.

Here's what he was asked: 1. Are you black or white? 2. Are you fifty or older? The guy was able to answer no to all of the questions, but he was surprised at them. It was plain discriminatory, but this was over the phone so it would be one person's word against the other.

In an application form, this business would never be able to get away with this type of questioning because it would be too obvious what they were doing. Even this was unbelievable to me.

There is so much discrimination these days that it makes me sick. Where does it stop? I worked for a major airline, and after I was promoted to a job at the overhaul base my yearly evaluation and raise came due. I had an excellent review, but didn't get the same amount of money as the men I worked with. I was a single woman supporting myself, but I was told by the supervisor he had to give the men a larger raise because they were supporting families.

My question for all of you: Have you ever been discriminated against when seeking a job or while working for a company?

Have a great week. See you next Sunday.

Sandy
Buy link for Addiction: http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm
http://www.skaymarshall.com

Where is Spring?

Hi Everyone,

I’m irritated today. Friday was officially the beginning of spring. When it’s spring, we are supposed to see Tulips and Jonquils growing in our part of the world. What happened? Mother Nature is playing a nasty joke on us.

Friday night snow started falling, and we got several inches of snow. I can’t tell you how much because every radio and television station has a different amount. They did say we were going to get five to eight inches. Saturday it snowed again, and the wind blew so we have drifts. The meteorologists said we would get another ten inches. I want spring to come.

Today, Sunday, we have a total of a foot of snow. I'm so glad it stopped. The weather people are saying we are going to have fifty degree weather by Tuesday. Isn't that just crazy? It was below freezing this morning when I got up. Can it really reach fifty in a couple of days? I have seen stranger things happen, but I personally think it won't make that temperature. We will seen who is right, me or the weather people. Wink!

What happened to spring? There is an old saying that if March comes in like a lamb it will go out like a lion. We were warming up the first of the month, and now we are getting winter again. I am ready for spring? I’m sick and tired of winter. Yuck!

What’s the weather like in your part of the world? Are you having spring, winter, summer or fall? If you are having tropical like weather send some our way. Please!

This is one of my shorter postings, but I have work to do, and I can’t spend a lot of time on my blog this week.

Have a great week, until next Sunday.

Hugs,
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm

Do Authors Write from Experience?

Good Afternoon,

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying their day even though it’s cloudy and gray in my part of the world. Relax, I’m not complaining as I’m happy to be alive. Smile.

Today, I’m going to give you a smidgen of a look at how an author writes their story. I was at a retiree luncheon for TWA employees last week, and one of the guys I worked with had read my very first book, The Catalyst. This book isn’t in print now, but I hope it will be again some day. Sorry for my digression. Lol Those who know me well know I do that a lot.

This mechanic told me he enjoyed my story, and he liked the progression of showing the emotion of the rape victims and how I advanced to the sex scene. Thanks, Ralph B., you put me on cloud nine that day.

I have had people ask me if I write from my experiences. All authors use some small measure of their experience, but usually not exclusively. In The Catalyst, the only thing I had knowledge of had to do with the youngest daughter in the story but even that was not the same situation. What I used for her was a combination of traits from several people in my life.

For writing the emotion of rape victims, I asked questions of a friend of mine, Cheryl, a retired Kansas City Police Department detective. Her answers really surprised me. One thing I learned from her is how even prostitutes have a hard time getting over becoming a victim of rape. Also, she told me that many homosexuals are raped and are afraid to come forward because there is not much sympathy for them.

So many rapes go unreported no matter the gender, and it’s sad that they feel nobody will help them. Victims feel tainted and will remain afraid if they don’t seek help. Most police departments will recommend counseling and even give you a name of a doctor to make an appointment with. No one can get past a heinous crime by themselves. One of the things recommended for a victim is to take defensive courses so they feel in control . Once again, I have digressed but this is an important message.

To get back to the question of do authors write from experience, the answer is yes and no. lol My very first book was about me, my mom and her friend in Hong Kong. That book didn't sell. A few years ago, I threw that manuscript away. To write about my life would bore everyone to death as I spend most of my day at the computer writing, promoting my books or checking email

As an author it’s my job to learn how my characters will react in real life situations. I hope I have done that in all of my books.

Thank you for your time.

Sandy AKA Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm

Piracy

Hi Everyone,

Today, I’m going to talk to you a bit about piracy. For those of you who think piracy only affect e-books you are mistaken. There are people out there who get hold of print books, scan them and turn them into e-books without the permission of the author. This is theft plain and simple.

Have you ever gone to a garage sale and bought a paperback book without its book cover. I did before I became a writer. After starting my career as a writer, I learned those books were being shipped back to the publisher or their warehouse to be disposed of because they hadn’t sold at the bookstore.

Now, I’m hearing you say what’s wrong with taking a few of those books and reading them or selling them. Okay, let’s say you read the book and you like what you read so you buy the next book by that author. There’s nothing wrong with that is there? Most authors have contests when they have a new release and they give away a book as a prize so why not pick up a few throwaways.

There’s a huge difference in those two scenarios. The first one, they’re not only reading the book but making money from the book they stole, which means the author makes nothing. Now, you’re saying to yourself: What is the difference of taking a book to the used bookstore and selling it after I bought it and read it. The difference is you paid for it and can do anything you want with it as long as you don’t make copies and sell them. The second one, the author herself/himself is giving the book away to promote her story.

To take a book without permission from the author violates copyright law and if caught there are consequences.

Some of the worse piracy sites are Astatalk, Demonoid, Plunder, Underground and tehparadise. Some sites are overseas and that makes it even more difficult to stop the underground traffic. The sad thing is that many of the people who buy their books at these sites believe that all authors are rich, and this just isn’t so. Most authors work for years to get published and when they do they still have to work full-time or part-time to support themselves before they start making decent money.

Being an author is a full-time job and we work hard. Writing is not a hobby for those who are serious about getting published, and it’s not an eight hour job. It’s more like a ten to fourteen hour job when you consider the writing of the book, all the promotion, website design, and blogging.

There are ways for authors to protect themselves, but it can turn into a full-time job. Here is a site to visit to learn ways to protect your work. http://www.wikihow.com/Combat-Book-Piracy

Thank you for listening to my rant. Have a great week everyone.

Sandy AKA Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com
http://www.skaymarshall.com