Reader Interview with Mike Wells

I recently had the honor of doing a reader interview for Mike Wells.  Mike has written several amazing books including Wild Child and Lust, Money and Murder. Wild Child's story from Mike's head to paper book is quite incredible.  I encourage you to look him up on Amazon.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my interview which can be found here.

Wretched - a 5x5 short story

Wretched by KK Sierra

Creepy crawlies in the dark.
Bravery quickly replaced with dread.
Horror-filled the streets run red.
Humanity's value outweighs individual nationality.
Heroes conquer the world's undead.

The Interview - a short

The Interview

by KK Sierra

"We're closing up, hon; you want anything else?"

Last call? I thought. Last call, my ass! "Yeah. Definitely, give me another wonna those Windy Lou's." I was on my…I stopped and counted the empty glasses, fourth, yep, my fourth drink…in two hours. I was such a lightweight. What led me to drown my misery at a bar? Well, let me tell ya:

I took a deep breath in through my nose and blew it out with a huff. I could do this, I would do this. I would smile and give all the right answers and sell myself to this HR person if it was the last thing I did. Just because this was my fifth job interview of the day and the rest had failed miserably didn't mean this one would. Hey, I didn't come to the Kentucky Derby just to say I was in the race. I needed to win this!

I flipped down my visor to look in the mirror and double-checked to be sure I didn't have anything gross stuck in my teeth. Satisfied my teeth were good I reapplied my Pink Pout lipstick. I would have preferred something flashy and red but I didn't want to come off too strong. Sometimes men are intimidated by a strong woman. I spritzed on my favorite scent, Ralph Lauren, for a boost of confidence.

Stepping out of my Honda I brushed the wrinkles out of my black slacks and smoothed my white blouse. Conservative was the name of the game. I had to be prepared to play with the boys. A woman was rarely expected in this field. Women in this field were generally assumed to be frigid, homely and/or have a penchant for talking nonstop about their WOW avatar. I'd like to think I fell into none of the above. I hadn't had any complaints in the sack, I modeled when I was younger and I hated WOW. I reached in the backseat and pulled out my small briefcase and tossed my purse over my shoulder.

Beeping my car locked, I jay walked across the street to the nondescript brick building. A small plaque by the door its only identifying mark. Watchmen it said in silver letters against a black background. A small button was below it. I pushed the button. A sexy voice filled with arrogance came across the speaker, "Watchmen."

"Hi. I'm Carisa Lane. I'm here for a 2:15 job interview."

"Just one moment ma'am. Someone will be right out."

Uh, okay. Why not just open the dang door? That is interesting and a bummer. I needed the last few moments to finish my mental pre-interview preparations. Steeling my spine and straightening my posture, I stood aloof in my four-inch red pumps, my only concession to the whole "conservative" thing. I left my Gucci sunglasses on. I didn't want to give too much away yet.

Before I had another moment to process I about choked on my own spit as the most beautiful, yes beautiful, man I had ever seen stepped in front of me, thrusting his hand out, "Ms. Lane, I'm Andre Villanueva."

Regaining my composure, I grasped his hand, "Carisa Lane. It's a pleasure to meet you." Electricity sparked as our hands met and I briefly wondered if he felt it too. He must have because his eyes lingered on my face and he didn't release my hand. Something Sarah said once crossed my mind, "Men who are good looking are never good in bed because they never had to be." I began to consider if that applied to Mr. Villanueva because "Wow!" was about the only coherent thought I could make. Before I knew it, he was pulling the door open and he drawing me inside the building.

Now, I don't go on job interviews without researching the company first and I knew the man before me was the CEO. Before I could stop myself I asked, "Why are you meeting me? I mean, I'm just an interviewee, you're the CEO!" I gave myself a mental slap. Damn it all to hell. This was exactly why the previous four interviews were failures. I couldn't keep my damn mouth shut.

He chuckled, "I don't like employees that feel they need to keep their mouths shut. I hire people with brains, not yes men. And to answer your question, you intrigued me."

Again, the brain disconnected from the mouth, "Why?"

Flashing me a brilliant smile he answered, "Because there are few programmers with your skill, male or female. Because few take the path to their career that you have. Because I wanted to meet the woman who handed  Jake DeLuca his ass. Because I wanted to know the person behind eyedentify dot com. Because I wanted to see if the girl who won Little Miss Suzie became Wonder Woman."

I flushed, "I'm not sure if I should be incredibly impressed that you did such a thorough background check on me, or incredibly disturbed. Since some of that info is ONLY accessible through a highly classified project, I guess I should be impressed."

We had barely moved inside the lobby when he turned me around and pointed me back towards the door. "Well, Ms. Lane, thanks for coming in. We'll be making a decision later and will let you know."

Before I registered what happened, I was standing back on the sidewalk. WHAT THE HELL? My interview lasted less than five minutes. Ugh, I was such an idiot.

And so, here I am at The Loft drinking myself into oblivion. Feeling sorry for myself because I failed not one, not two but FIVE job interviews in one day.  To top it off Andre Villanueva, the hottest man on the planet, pushed me out of his building in less than five minutes. I guess I disappointed him. I don't know why it bothered me so much. I didn't even know the man. The waitress dropped my fifth and final drink on my table. As she stepped away I noticed the man behind her.

I slurred, "Well, if it isn't Andrrrre Vill-la-new-evvaa. Come to see if I can fit my other foot in my mouth?" Again, with not being able to keep my mouth shut. Ugh.

The corners of his mouth tipped up. "No," he gestured towards the bar, "just came to pick up a friend and noticed you here. What's up?"

Pride be damned, "Five fucking failed interviews. That's what."

"Five? Did you get my message earlier?"

"No."

"Well, allow me to welcome you to Watchmen."

Oh snap!

###

To be Worthy - a short

To be Worthy

by KK Sierra


Many men had sought her.

In that wild western time.

Drawn to beauty and survival.

Seeking naught but selfish gain.

Lazy, deceitful, unkind, perhaps cruel.

A means to their wishes.

Skilled hands for hard labor.

Cooking, cleaning, laundry, and dishes.

Or for personal pleasure alone.

For none she spared thought.

To none she gave consent.

She desired only a hero.

A man of self-sacrificing worth.

To be important to him.

Responsible Parenting

The subject of the post found here today sparks my annoyance due to the implied black and whiteness of it all.


The ads and comments upset me because they're designed, in my opinion, to make a parent feel like they're bad, wrong, or evil for choosing to co-sleep with their children.

It's called responsible parenting. Know the facts, the advantages and the potential dangers, and make decisions based on what is right for you and your children. Smart, informed decisions that will help your children to reach their full potential in life.

I ended up co-sleeping, at some point, with all my kids (now ages 15, 10 and 7), but not by explicit choice. Except for brief periods of time at the beginning of each child's life (a few months) I have worked full time throughout their childhood.  Whatever amount of sleep I could get was important. It kept me sane and capable of being a good parent. If that meant bringing a crying child in need of parental comfort to bed with me, that was what I did. If my child had a cold or fever, guess where they felt comfort? That's right, in mom's arms.

Co-sleeping is not for everyone. If someone asked, I wouldn't tout it as the end all, be all sleeping solution. As often as possible, I wanted my children in their own beds, however I wasn't going to listen to them cry and attempt to "self comfort" while I tried to sleep peacefully in my own bed, when it was clear they needed me.

I think these facts about children dying due to co-sleeping are misleading because no one has the facts on the number of children who have co-slept without incident to compare them to. Only the tragedies make the news, not the successes. (For positive information on co-sleeping, you might read here.)

The death of any child is tragic. A preventable death, even more so, but let's not vilify parents that co-sleep.

The Hunger Games

I am rarely excited for books turned movies, but the Hunger Games series was AMAZING, and the movie looks like it may actually be its equal. Can't wait. If you haven't had the opportunity to read the series, I encourage you to pick them up ASAP.

Until the End - a short

Until the End by KK Sierra

Crimson red, it runs down.
Staining the earth beneath him.
Life ebbs with each heartbeat.
Weary, the fight leaves him.

A whisper, a gasp, "Ana."

The wound will take him.
No heroics can stop it.
Offer comfort, peace, and love.
Vengeance is yours; you'll repay.
It shan't be in vain.

11-11-11

This may be a mistaken impression, but I think that often the term Veteran is only associated with those that have retired.

A Veteran, as I understand it however, is anyone who has served in the armed forces, especially those who have served in combat or completed a tour of duty. As such, many men and women are still serving today who are Veterans. Sadly, those who have served in unpopular wars are frequently berated and discriminated against. I recently blogged about the outrageous comments some post online. This is absolutely wrong.

No matter your personal beliefs, religious or political agenda, all of them deserve respect.

So today, to all who have served and are presently serving, thank you.

With the Old Breed

Since today is the Marine Corps birthday and yesterday we were talking about must read books, I must recommend With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge.

In it Eugene Sledge, an officer candidate turned mortarman, tells of the battles waged at Peleliu and Okinawa. The thing I most enjoyed about reading his story is that it was told without judgement. He doesn't throw any political twist on it and glorify in his own self-importance. Nor does he vilify the war. Rather, he gives a matter of fact narration of his boots on the ground experience. There is no acrimony in his description of mud, blood and decaying bodies.

I am not a war buff in any manner. This was in fact the first, outside of high school, I'd read on the subject of WWII. It's extreme honesty really impressed me. As this is a memoir, E.B. Sledge could have injected his story with facts and stories he learned after the fact, yet he did not. Other than a few clarifying details, he refrained and instead told the story with the sparse information he had at the time he experienced it.

Reading it touched me deeply and I've considered what I read in it many times since. The atrocities that humans will inflict on other humans is very sad. At times I was horrified by what I read. At others, tears ran down my face. Mostly I was struck by the tragic loss of life, not only then, but in the battles that have ensued since then, and those that continue to rage today.

E.B. Sledge's story was used in part for the HBO mini-series, The Pacific. I encourage you to pick up the book and the follow up memoir, China Marine, which tells of E.B. Sledge's experience immediately following Okinawa.

To my friends (& their friends) who are presently deployed and will be deploying soon, stay safe, you're in our thoughts and prayers.

"Must Read" Books

I read a post today about 25 classic books everyone should read. I consider myself quite a reader, but here is my results for said list:

25. Great Expectations Charles Dickens -- NO
24. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- NO
23. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- NO
22. Call of the Wild by Jack London -- YES
21. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison -- NO
20. Art of War by Sun Tzu -- NO
19. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- NO
18. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain -- YES
17. Something, anything by Edgar Allan Poe -- YES
16. Fences by August Wilson -- NO
15. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -- NO
14. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston -- NO
13. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway -- NO
12. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- NO (Started, never finished)
11. The Bible -- Sort of (Never in its entirety from beginning to end.)
10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare -- YES
9. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller -- NO
8. Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- NO
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- NO
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding -- NO
5. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson -- NO
4. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger -- NO
3. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe -- NO
2. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare -- YES
1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck -- YES


So, I've read six of twenty-five "classic" everyone-should-read books.  Honestly, I'm not sure I care. What do you think? Do you agree that everyone should read these twenty-five books before college? Or at least at some point in their life? Have you? Is there one of these books from your own experience you think I should add to my must read list? I'm curious to know.

Music without Lyrics

Listening to any music with lyrics has been nearly impossible the lately. Either the lyrics are sad and I don't want to hear it, or the lyrics are happy and I want to throw things.

So, I've been listening to what I believe is called Electronica.  One of my favorite artists is Deadmau5 (pronounced Dead Mouse). I've also been enjoying Tiesto, Fukkk Offf, and Boys Noize.

This is one of my favorites. It's not for everyone, but I hope you'll give it a listen. It's great distraction music. I like to have it play while I'm working, writing and driving. It's been rumored to be good background music for homework.

Kisses - A 5x5 Short Story

Kisses by KK Sierra


How sweet, that first kiss.
Full of promise and hope.
I'll regret it not ever.
Those lips, soft and warm.
I'll meet whenever they're offered.

Viewpoint - A 5x5 Short Story

Viewpoint by KK Sierra


"It's not right," she said.
"It's not right," he agreed.
The picture did not fit.
Change the frame it's in.
Now the context is perfect.

Trumped - A 5x5 Short Story

Trumped by KK Sierra


Glitter, glamour, stench of wealth.
Fake boobs, tans and hair.
You're so beautiful. Muah, muah.
Drunk partiers, full of themselves.
Shallow trumps substance yet again.

Eden - A 5x5 Short Story

Eden by KK Sierra


"Come clo-ssser, my sss-sweet one."
Charmed and oblivious, he did.
Entranced, her screams went unnoticed.
He followed the bewitching she-devil.
Hoarse and alone, tears fell.

Betrayal - A 5x5 Short Story

Betrayal by KK Sierra


We're friends. Don't you worry!
I am here for you.
I've got your back always.
Her smile remained in place.
The knife buried hilt deep.

The Important Thing - A 5x5 Short Story

The Important Thing by KK Sierra


Life altering choices endlessly pondered.
Agonizing over the right thing.
Tough decisions and accompanying consequences.
The important question to ask:
Is your underwear clean today?