Would You Recognize If You Got Too Big For Your Britches?
At What Point Does Confidence Become Arrogance?
An antagonist, a titan, and a debut author gather for a live group podcast interview…. If you’re expecting a ‘walked into the bar joke,’ turn around, because this is a conversation of mismatched personalities mixing water and oil on a simple topic: what makes a story work.
But let’s backtrack for a minute. The plot is three authors at different career stages clashing over their literary and writing beliefs. The theme is how ego, success, and clout interfere with humility, respect, and our openness to accept other points of view. Character is the key to every book’s success, and boy do we get that from these three.
The antagonist has done their research before entering the arena, and kicks off the discussion with a question that will get under the titan’s skin. It works. The titan gets red-faced. Not only do they dislike the premise of the question, but they don’t find it relevant within their craft. Next, the antagonist targets the debut, asking if they agree or disagree with the literary titan. The debut author replies by detailing their writing process and marketing their book. Here’s where the antagonist and the titan find common ground, agreeing the debut is off-topic. They say so. Their delivery abrupt.
Like an annoyingly repetitive book that never delivers the plot it promised, the conversation cycles chapter after chapter. Audience members roll their eyes, jaws go slack, until the Q&A when one person passionately seconds Titan’s opinions. A side conversation starts between the duo, leaving no room for the antagonist and debut to chime in. An aspiring author in the audience tries to make their opinion on the subject heard. When it’s clear the audience member doesn’t agree with Titan and new pal, they diminish the person, talk over and brushing them aside. They won’t let the aspiring writer have a voice. The frustration on the person’s face speaks everything most others in the room must be feeling. The compassionless audacity! Are they oblivious or too arrogant to care? It’s impossible to get into their POV, but certainly they aren’t gracious.
Most authors in the suspense-thriller-mystery world will preach how generous and compassionate everyone is. Okay, sure, there are cliques. We all know that one small group that seems unapproachable, but outside of their exclusive circle, most of them are actually lovely people. Which makes this situation even more gasp-worthy.
In this essay, the plot is what happens when three authors clash in a discussion. The theme turned out to be a lesson in how people treat one another.
So the lingering question is this: How successful does one have to be to earn the right to make a debut and an aspiring author feel lesser than and diminish them?
Answer: None. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. There is no convincing amount of “I’ve made it” to make it okay.
Maybe you disagree. If so, that’s cool. Leave a kind comment below.
Remember where you came from. How you started. And then share your knowledge and encourage others. Build people, don’t break them. Let the definition of success be integrity.
I Read It
When I get stuck in the mud trying to propel my newest manuscript forward, I read other people’s books. I’ve already surpassed the number of books I read last year. Shows you how deeply stuck I’ve been! On the upside, I’m now only three years behind on my TBR pile 🙌
The rating scale: Take the number of days to read, subtract all of life’s responsibilities, obligations, fun, and a few hours of sleep each night, and voilà—you’ve got the true reading score!
Finally caught up with and devoured Ruth Ware’s thriller, The IT Girl. A masterclass in how hidden pasts you thought you’d buried will always come back to haunt you. The novel packs in dark secrets, misplaced trust, psychological manipulation, and unexpected twists. You may not love all the characters in this story, but you won’t be able to look away from their gripping journey.
THE IT GIRL FINAL SCORE:
5 READING DAYS - 🥴🥴 LIFE INTERRUPTUS = 3 ACTUAL READING DAYS
And Now For Something Completely Serious…
A 26-year-old went to urgent care with a headache and was sent home…
Intrigued? Curious what the plot and theme are going to be? Sorry friends, it’s not a story for a book, it’s a real-life headline, and the outcome, way too frequent. Here’s the full headline from The Oregonian’s Aug. 31, 2026 issue of oregonlive.com.
A 26-year-old went to urgent care with a headache and was sent home — 3 days later, he was dead.
It’s a tragic scenario I’ve read countless times. It’s the health story of too many people I’ve met. They thankfully survived, but their stories of the hell they endured until they found the right care are harrowing.
Before reading the article, I knew what was coming: an individual has a ferocious headache and seeks medical care. It could be an urgent care, an ER, or even ambulance, police, and fire first responders. They go through their list of medical rule-outs, none of which press for an emergency MRI to check their brain. Instead, the patient who is in pain and scared is told not to worry. What they are feeling is from stress, anxiety, or “just” a migraine. Go home. Meanwhile, there is a silent killer inside their brain, invisible to the naked eye. While medical staff appear unconcerned, the precious few minutes the patient has left before treatment could make a difference are dwindling. A ruptured brain aneurysm is a fast-acting crisis.
Such was the case of 26-year-old Brandon Harris. When I finally read the article, it was clear my speculation wasn’t far off. I wish I’d been wrong. The article says Brandon Harris sought help from a medical clinic, and his family claims the staff discounted “Harris’ symptoms — including memory loss, dizziness, neck pain and vomiting — and didn’t order diagnostic scans or tests that could have accurately detected that Harris had a life-threatening brain aneurysm.” The diagnosis? A “‘minor tension headache’ triggered by anxiety and panic attacks.” That was three days before his aneurysm burst and he died. What if the person who treated him had erred on the side of caution and sent him for a scan?
If medical and first responders were more educated about this hidden bomb, if it was on their list of oh-shits this could be…if they knew what to look for, it could save lives. I’m not saying all medical personnel or responders lack education or awareness on this topic. There are plenty, just not enough.
Why do I care so much about this, you ask? It’s because a radiologist reading an MRI scan saw a teeny-tiny something on the other side of my brain from where he should have been looking. He recognized that minute dot as an aneurysm. If it hadn’t been for his knowledge and alertness, I would have been that patient who got turned away because I was migraining or stressed. Eventually, what turned out to be a double and very unstable aneurysm would have killed me too. I’m alive because he knew, he looked, he saw.
Eight years later, I am still passionately advocating for brain aneurysm awareness and supporting the Brain Aneurysm Foundation (BAF) in its work to improve research and legislation. I worry with my survivor friends every time we face our next scans. Have they stayed aneurysm-free, or in my case, has the new aneurysm I’m living with grown or stayed status quo and danger-free? We live with a new form of unknown anxiety. We look fine; we feel fine; but we don’t know if we are until the scan says we’re not. I mourn for family lost to this nightmare, and for friends who survived but will never function as they once did. My efforts will continue to honor them, and I’ll continue sermonizing as long as you’ll let me, in hopes at least one person can get help from my words.
Friends, September is Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month. I hope you’ll support the journey, join a BAF marathon or 5K, or simply go online and educate yourself about brain aneurysms. You never know whose life you’ll save.
End Sermon.
Last Licks
A Chunk of My Heart Went With Her
So very sorry. Big hugs to you.
I'm SO sorry about your four-legged friend 💔