Little Miss Independent

July 07, 2017 / Peggy Christie

I wish I could be a bit more consistent with posting blogs but mostly time gets away from me or I simply just forget that this is an outlet I could/should use. Well, maybe someday...

I'm not exactly sure where this post will go or how long it will be but I just wanted to blog quickly about a new aspect of my life. Most of you know I've been working conventions with my writers' group, Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers, for years now. We started at Motor City Comic Con 9 years ago and, starting last year, have really branched out into out of state shows - or at least ones that are within the 5-6 hour driving range.

Being able to do those with the group has been awesome. It's helped me get out there and learn a little about what it takes to sell the goods, if you know what I mean.

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PERVS, ALL OF YOU.

Then back in 2016, I decided to do something very unlike me - I signed up for an author event but as a solo mission. Alone. ALL BY MYSELF. As terrifying as it was, it was also exciting. I rarely do things on my own (including other aspects of my life) so this was a giant step. It was scheduled for June of 2017 so I figured I'd have over a year to prepare for it and get all that nervous energy out of my system.

It tickles me that by the time that event rolled around, it ended up being my fifth solo convention! Thanks to a couple of small cons (Flint April Ghoul's Day, Free Comic Book Day at Dire Comics in Howell, and the Downriver Comic Con in Lincoln Park) and one big one (Steel City Horror Con in Pittsburgh), this past June's convention was a cake walk!

Who am I and what have I done with myself?

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Being able to do these conventions on my own has really helped me realize my terrible procrastination habit and inherent laziness need to FUCK THE FUCK OFF if I want my writing to be more successful. I need a lot more discipline in my life (this is not news to me) and now is the time to get hella serious about it.

I have a fantastic support system in my corner and I know I'd be useless without them. So thank you to all my friends and family that have purchased my goods (stop it...) or come to conventions or tutored me in the ways of the force or just waved sparkly fluffy pom poms in the distance to cheer me on. It means more to me than you'll ever know or that I could possibly convey. So I'll let Wade do it for me.

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All right. Time to stop playing on my webpage and get to work!

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categories / Random Rant, Writing
tags / writing, author, horror, procrastination, discipline, thank you, support, work

It's Time to Walk the Talk

March 16, 2016 / Peggy Christie

I started typing this into my Morgue Drawer post but it ended up a lot longer than I anticipated. Hence it has found its way to this blog so I can ramble for several pages.

This is a good place to let you guys in on a recent thought process/put into practice action that's been on my mind lately. Since I've become obsessed with makeup and skin care and all that jazz, I haven't been keen on knowing much about the companies behind the products I use. And as I'm always bitching about people who abuse animals, I thought if the stuff I'm buying is tested on animals then that makes me a wee bit of a hypocrite. What The Fuck, right? So I decided to start incorporating products into my daily routine that are cruelty free.

Now, I'm not going to go through all my crap and just throw out a bunch of stuff. That's wasteful (another problem I have from time to time). So as I use stuff up, or it dries out or whatever, if it's from a company that tests on animals I will NOT purchase it or any other product from said company again.

This will not be an overnight process. First because I need to use up the crap I already own. But second, I can't be certain that there will be cruelty-free options for EVERYTHING I use. They may actually exist but there's no guarantee they will work on me. I'm a delicate fucking flower and my skin can swirl down a shit spiral pretty fast sometimes. And I'm fairly certain any deodorant that's cruelty free are those 'natural' ones and those don't do fuck all (again, for ME).

Then there are the 'grey' areas. Lots of brands don't test on animals but their PARENT companies do. For example, Urban Decay and NYX don't test but L'Oreal, who owns them, does. Some folks are of the mind set that ANY company owned by L'Oreal should not be patronized. But the other school of thought, which I like, is that by purchasing products from NYX but not Maybelline, we're sending a message to L'Oreal that says, "Hey, look, we'll buy from the cruelty free brand you own but not that other one because animal testing is TOTAL BULLSHIT."

Another one I'm struggling with are my beauty subscription boxes. Not all of the products in those are cruelty free. But at the same time, I've discovered a lot of brands that are simply because they were in those services. Before I subscribed, I never would have thought to look for them. So for the time being, I'm keeping them but I know there are cruelty free subscription services out there (mostly vegan but that, by default, is cruelty free) and I may end up switching everything over to those.

The other grey area involves China. They recently stated that they no longer test on animals. Buuuutttt....that's not entirely true. It's no longer required for domestic products but most companies in country do it anyway. What does that have to do with the US? Well, any product imported by China IS REQUIRED BY LAW to be tested on animals. So when any country sells their stuff to China, they are basically endorsing animal cruelty. Many companies say "we don't test on animals unless stipulated by law". Well guess what? It IS STIPULATED in China. That's why it broke my heart to hear that Bath and Body Works sells their products there. They don't test their stuff in the US but they're obviously okay with China doing it.

*le sigh*

This will be an on-going research project, probably in perpetuity. I've found several websites that list A SHIT TON of companies that do and don't test on animals, along with vegan and organic stuff, too. I will post those links below in case you want to check them out (they do include companies that make household goods as well - another aspect I'm trying to incorporate into the cruelty free, good for the environment way of life). A lot of indy brands aren't listed on these sites because they're not as well known (i.e. Makeup Geek and Colourpop). Or in some cases the information provided, from mostly larger companies, is misleading or filled with double speak. Sometimes they even lie (the HELL you say!). It's a tricky tight rope to walk but I'm gonna give it the old college try.

This is not me preaching. I'm not saying that you must follow suit! To each his own. This is just something I need to do for me. It's been quite an eye opener to discover how many brands I already own that are cruelty free! Keep your eyeballs peeled for some single product reviews on these.

Anyway...I'll probably start marking the brands that do still test on animals in my reviews and beauty posts. Or maybe the ones that don't. Just for information purposes, not to get all preachy and judgmental.