Heroes & Villains Information

Hello friends! I have a lot of information to get through in this post so just bear with me.

This Saturday is the "premiere" of my short story series Heroes & Villains. I currently have these stories in six different rollouts, and we're only on the first. It'll take a long time to complete them all. This will be something that will continue on my blog for a few years, which I'm really excited about. In my head I consider each story like an episode and each "episode" will be labeled with a number code so you'll always know which story to read next...  Hopefully my number code makes sense...

Each episode will be posted on Saturdays at noon, MDT. There are some Saturdays that will be skipped, but if you follow our Twitter account, @superssaturday, then I will always let you know when stories are posted. Wednesdays on here I will also give information about the week's episode. For example:

This Saturday our first story will be posted! This week's episode, entitled "The Bakersfield Incident", takes place 87 years before our usual timeline and goes over how the city of Apple Creek became filled with super-powered people known as heroes and villains. 

Heads up, the first few episodes are mostly exposition. It was necessary as we have to introduce characters and the city of Apple Creek, but if you stick with it I promise it gets good (episode 4 is my personal favorite).

A few of the episodes have songs that go along with them. Sometimes it's the whole song, the title, or just a line in the song that connect it to the story. If you have a Spotify account you can follow the playlist, but you can also find it on many pages throughout the Heroes & Villains universe on the blog. I'll try to keep the newest songs at the top so they're easier to spot. We currently only have a few songs, that are only on there because of the titles. But I enjoy the songs so I hope you do too.

Hey! Remember how some of you helped with the details of this story? You can still help! Fill out the survey on THIS PAGE and your ideas may be featured in future episodes!

On the Heroes & Villains Twitter account as well as my Snapchat (cowgirlkaylee22) I will share bonus information after an episode is posted. These can be fun facts, a look into my writing process, or deleted information that didn't make it into the story. This week, however, my schedule is way too busy to do much but I'll try.

If there's ever a point where I get a lot of questions or feedback, I would love to do a live Q&A session on Periscope or Facebook live. So if that's ever something you would want, leave me a comment, send me a Tweet, Facebook message, whatever, and I will do my best to make it happen.

Don't forget to follow all my social media accounts as each one will have different pieces of information. But the specific Twitter account for this story is the most important one to follow.

• Heroes & Villians Twitter account: @superssaturday
• Personal Twitter account: @cowgirl_kaylee
• The Dancing Cow Facebook: @thedancingcow 
• Instagram account: @_cowgirlkaylee_
• Pinterest account: kayleero
• Tumblr account: The Dancing Cow Blogger
• YouTube account: Cowgirl Kaylee
• Bloglovin' account: The Dancing Cow
• Snapchat account: cowgirlkaylee22 (no link available)
• You can also follow this blog through email by typing your email into the bar on the top right-hand column of this page. 

I know it's a lot, but it's free and doesn't hurt, right? 

Speaking of free, Heroes & Villains will always be free to read. Every story will be posted on this blog and can be accessed at any time for no cost. But if you would like to help sponsor Heroes & Villains and this blog you can click on our Sponsor Page. My previous ad site (which allowed you to post an ad directly on my blog page) is closing, so I am currently shifting things around, but send me an email if you want your ad posted on my blog and we can work something out.

If you ever miss an episode or want to go back to re-read one, a full archived list of episodes will be kept on the Heroes & Villains tab at the top of this page. Each episode itself will have links to the previous and future episode as well so you can continually switch between them with no issues. 

If you have any questions regarding Heroes & Villain never hesitate to ask. I will answer as quickly as possible. You can also use the hashtags #SupersSaturday or #HVSeries or #HVShortStory to share your thoughts with others on social media. I will be checking those hashtags often so if you use them you're likely to receive a message back from me.

I would love your help in spreading the word about this series! Please tell all your friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, nemesis, etc. Basically the entire six rollouts (which add up to about 60 episodes) are completely planned out and I'm warning you right now, there's a lot of twists and turns and it will be one crazy, exciting, super-powered ride. 

I'm super excited for all of this and I hope you are too! 

Eleanor Washington - Heroes & Villains [B.0.1]

One year ago... 

“Hello Ms. Washington, my name is Albert. I’m an HR rep and I’ll be interviewing you today. So, Ms. Washington, why Bakersfield?”

“Well first, you can just call me Ellie. Second, Bakersfield is a great company. I grew up in this town and I’m proud to have Bakersfield be the center of this city’s economy, as well as the greatest technological production company in the country.”

“You attended Apple Creek University and were at the top of your class in both mechanical and electrical engineering.”

“That’s correct.”

“In your freshmen year you invented a chip insert for keys which linked up to an app to help people find their lost keys. It was a brilliant feat for someone with little experience in the technology field.”

“Thank you.”

“So tell me, Ellie, why would you ever apply for a low level data entry position at our company when you are qualified to enter straight into the technology department?”

“I believe I still have more to learn.”

“How? You have more experience building technology than a few of our top engineers!”

“Maybe I don’t think technological engineering is something that I want to do with my life.”

“Your grades say otherwise.”

“Can I be frank? I have wanted to work at Bakersfield my entire life. I worked hard in college to achieve that. But I’m at a point in my life where I don’t know what I want to do. I want to help people, I want to change the world, but I don’t believe that being in the spotlight as one of Bakersfield’s engineers is something that I want with my life or will help me achieve my life goals. I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve done and it wouldn’t feel right to jump ahead without starting at the bottom. I’m only looking for a job.”

“Ms. Washington, you have incredible references, experience beyond your years, and everything that we look for in our top engineers. Building tech for Bakersfield can help you to change the world.”

“I’m not someone who likes to be in the spotlight.”

“If I’m being frank, I think Brandon Baker would have my head if I sent someone with your background to work in data analysis.”

“Data entry. I applied for data entry.”

“That’s lower than data analysis!”

“Correct.”

“...?”

“Sir, I know it seems a bit unusual, but I’m only looking for a job. Something simple.”

“I can’t in good conscience let you take this job.”

“Albert, it was Albert, right? Look I’ve always been the kind of person to speak my mind. In fact, I came in here prepared to behave, to not ramble the way I normally do. It takes all my willpower to not blurt out the random insane ideas that pop into my head. And yes, sometimes those ideas are productive and create interesting technological things that can help society, but for the most part I’m a mess. I’m unpredictable. Like a bomb with no idea of when it’ll go off. Trust me when I say you don’t want someone like me working high up in this company.”

“But Brandon Baker…”

“Brandon Baker is the CEO of a multi-million dollar company. I don’t think he’ll be concerned with a single employee staying at an entry-level position.”

“Ms. Washington…”

“Ellie.”

“Ellie. Is there anything I can do to convince you to take a higher position.”

“No.”

“Entry-level then. Data entry. All it is is typing in numbers. We give this job to some of our own children when they are too lazy to go to college.”

“I’m okay with that.”

“What’s going to happen in a year when you get bored of this job?”

“Well maybe by then I’ll have figured out how I want to help people.”

“I wish you the best of luck Ellie. You deserve more than this.”

“Thank you.”

“One last question. You are aware that Bakersfield has a strict anti-supers policy? Despite being the cause of superpowered human beings in this city, we do not allow anyone with powers to be employed here, as one of our priorities is finding a way to rid the city of these superpowered beings. So, before I can hire you I need you to be completely honest with me. Do you have any superpowers?”

“No.”

“And you’re not lying?”

“Never.”

“Ms. Washington…”

“Ellie.”

“Ellie. Welcome to Bakersfield.”

____________________________________________________________

What? What is this? If you're confused, let me explain. This September I will be releasing a series of short stories on my blog called Heroes & Villains. The above segment is an introduction to one of our main characters, Eleanor Washington.

If this story interests you be sure to follow me on all my social media sites so you can find out when new segments are added to the story. But keep in mind, the above segment is not an accurate portrayal of what will be coming. This one has only dialogue. That won't be happening in the future.

Don't forget to let me know what you thought of this story in the comment section below and share it with your friends using #SupersSaturday, yes, it's supers not super. Or #HVSeries. Either one. I'll be checking those two hashtags often so if you post anything with them I will probably like it or retweet it or comment on it and tell you how awesome you are.

100 Days

Hello my friends! Today I am sharing some exciting news with ya'll! As you probably know by now, I have always wanted to be an author. Since I was like 10 I started writing stories and it's always been my one true passion. But despite writing for so many, many years, I have basically never shared my stories with anyone. Ever. I get so incredibly nervous to share them because they are like a piece of my heart that I've put so much effort into and if I put it out there for the world to see and it gets bashed on and torn apart... well that's just a terrifying thought, which is why I've never done it.

But all of that is changing in 100 days.

I have been hinting at this a lot. (Especially if you follow me on Twitter.) Since the beginning of this year I have been working on a series of short stories for you! The difference between these and my books I write is that these were made specifically for my blog and with my blog readers in mind, which in my head makes them easier to share... though it's still a little terrifying.

Starting September 17th this series of stories will begin going up on my blog. For this first roll-out they will be posted every other Saturday, with a few exceptions. I will be going crazy on social media near release dates so you can know exactly when a new story will be posted, so don't forget to follow me on those to stay up to date with each new story.

These stories are all linked and will follow the same characters throughout. This first roll-out has a total of ten "episodes" but I have plans for future roll-outs that will be posted at an unknown time.

This summer to help hype up this "premier" I will be posting some sneak peeks and prequel type stories to help you get the general idea of what is to come.

If you are an artist and don't mind working for free, I am looking for illustrations to go along with each story. So if you're interested, and want a first look at what I've been working on, then email me at thedancingcowblogger@gmail.com.

I am insanely excited to share this with you guys!! I'm also quite scared considering six of the ten episodes are not completed yet. I have 100 days though, we should hope they are all finished and edited by then.

I hope these leads to great things in my writing career and that you all love these stories as much as I do! 100 days you guys!!! 

Follow me on social media:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Pinterest Sundays: Smart, Baby Cows, Living Room, Bookcase, Books to Movies, Blue Umbrella, School, and Clothes

I apologize in advance, this one has a lot. :) 

I loved reading through this. It's so true that in our Mormon culture we feel completely worthless if something happens. I love Elizabeth Smart and feel she is a real inspiration to not on LDS members, but to the world. You can find the story HERE. 

Last October-ish, before I was even engaged, my mom and I saw an adorable cow costume for babies. My mom got all excited and told me I needed to get it for my children. I informed her (though it was completely obvious) that I had no children and I wasn't going to buy baby costumes when I wasn't even engaged. I'm now married, but I'm still not getting one till I'm pregnant.... but yes, all my kids will be wear a cow costume at some point in their lives. 

I absolutely love this!!! I really want to make curtains for our living room (when I have money again) and I want them similar to this. And actually, that desk thing would look really good as well. When we are financially stable, I'm modeling our living room after this picture. 

I would love one of these in our little bathroom. Because it's open on two sides, it wouldn't feel crowded in there. I also need something by my bed, and this would be good for that too. 

14 Books to Read Before They Hit The Big Screen. I have been wanting to read Divergent, but this list has other interesting books I'll have to check out as well. 

One of my favorite things in the world are Pixar Shorts. If you haven't seen Monsters University yet, you probably haven't seen The Blue Umbrella. I loved it. It was super cute! 

27 Ways to Have the Healthiest School Year Ever. I am super excited for school to start this month!!!! I'm going crazy just waiting for the USU semester to start! I really like this article and the tips that it has. Hopefully I can keep on track this semester and everything will go smoothly. 

I absolutely love everything about this outfit!!! I love the shoes so much! I'm really sick of the clothes in my closet and want to replace the majority of them, but, again, I have no money. So that will have to wait. But I have a large board of clothes to buy on Pinterest when I finally get the money. :) 

Pinterest Sundays: Money, Dance, Lizzie McGuire, Walt Disney and Pixar.

Sundays are the day that I spend a very lengthy amount of time on Pinterest. Sundays will now also be when I post some of my favorite "Pins" onto this blog to spread them around. So here we go. Here are my favorite Pins of the day. :)

To go directly to the Pin's link, click HERE. I really liked seeing this today, because we really are living paycheck to paycheck, and this had some really good tips. :)

I saw this picture and it just made me so happy! I've decided I want to start doing ballet again. I'm registered for a ballet class fall semester and I'm really excited for it.

The caption for this one is 25 Important Fashion Lessons From Lizzie McGuire. I used to watch this show a lot and this list is really funny. I think you should check it out and laugh.

I'm currently obsessed with this quote. It's the best one I've seen in a long time and it's been making me feel a bit better about not having a job yet.

I really like this image and the tips on it because I love writing stories, and these are fantastic tips for writers.

Fight the New Drug

Facebook is mean. It makes pictures show up on my Home Page just because my friends want them. Sadly, this ends up being pictures I don't want to see. So when a picture of a naked woman showed up on my Home Page, I reported it to Facebook. I don't think nudity and pornographic pictures of women should be allowed on Facebook where anyone can see them. It would break my heart if my little brother found that Facebook profile page and saw the many naked women and semi naked women shown on that profile page. 

A few hours later I got a notification from Facebook: 

They wouldn't remove the photo. I don't understand how a picture of a naked woman doesn't "violate our community standard on nudity and pornography". 

So I did a little research: 

"Expose limitations on the display of nudity." Limitations? Why not just ban nudity on Facebook? There's already way too much of it on the internet, why can't Facebook step up, be a man, and declare that they won't allow it? I'm very in shock that this photo wasn't removed. 

I am a "Facebook Fan" of a photographer on Facebook and she once had a Boudoir album of photos she took. She was very careful to put up only the ones that were safer and not revealing. While the images were of women in their underwear, I have to admit, they were beautiful images. I didn't feel offended by those pictures, I didn't feel she was portraying these women in a negative way, she showed the beauty of the women and it was not pornographic. However, too many people reported her images to Facebook and she removed the album from Facebook. 

So when I found this profile page containing hundreds of pictures of nude and semi-nude women, posing provocatively (that's the difference) in their underwear I was sure I could get it removed from Facebook. Those pictures made me uncomfortable. They offended me as a woman. They showed off big boobs and nudity and I truly believe that images like that should not be allowed on Facebook. But it didn't happen. 

I have seen, personally, how pornography can ruin lives and marriages. A very close friend of mine is currently dealing with her parent's divorce, stemming from an addiction to pornography. I have seen a relationship, where the girl suddenly felt very inferior when her boyfriends started looking at pornography, and it nearly killed their relationship. 

Pornography is a very real problem. And I'll be honest, it scares me. I'm very protective over my little brother (regardless of the fact he's 17) and I learned he was looking at pornography, my heart would break. I would be devastated! If my fiance looked at pornography, it would make me feel inferior, like I'm not good enough, and it would have the potential to ruin our relationship. 

Fight the New Drug is a non-profit organization that works to educate people on the harmful effects of pornography. Pornography is just as addictive as a drug. It's just as harmful. And it's a problem that needs to stop. I highly recommend checking out Fight the New Drug, they are very informative and resourceful. They really know their stuff. 

I know that it would be really difficult to rid the internet of pornography. But I wish that it wouldn't appear on Facebook, where it could suddenly appear on the Home Pages of adolescents, like it did on mine. I encourage my readers to look at Fight the New Drug and educate yourselves on the problem and become a fighter. 

Fight against this! Fight for what is wholesome and right! Fight for a better world! Fight the new drug! 

Once Upon A Time... (Part 3)

With the date seeming cancelled, the girl went off with some friends for hot chocolates and visiting a haunted house (not one of those haunted houses with the people in costumes (because she hates those) it was a real house that was abandoned and just creepy).

But when she arrived back at her apartment, the boy was there. She saw the way his face lit up when she walked in. He grew excited to talk to her. So she sat down with him on the couch and they watched School of Rock together (because Jack Black is fantastic sometimes).

Without any doubts or second thoughts, they held hands and cuddled. And it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

TO BE CONTINUED

Once Upon A Time.... (Part 2)

So the boy then knew he wanted to date the girl. So he got her number and began texting her. He asked her out (through text, to which she refused to reply until he called and more properly asked her on a date).

But the girl was scared. She couldn't help but remember all the previous dates she had been on with boys that were rude and selfish and used her. She didn't want to face that again. She didn't want to date again. So she begged her roommate to go with her and make it a double date. Arrangements were made and the boy's friend was planned to drive up to Logan to meet them for the date.

The girl stressed the whole day. She had bought a new outfit, wanting to look extra cute. She vented to a good friend while drinking a bunch of energy drinks to hype up her attitude and calm her nerves. She realized how terrified she really was of dating again.

But then the phone rang.

The boy called her to tell her that his friend was stranded in the canyon, his car having caught on fire. He had to drive to help his friend.

Their date was cancelled.

TO BE CONTINUED

A Christmas Fairy-Tale (as told by a 3 year old)

So at work the other day this adorable little girl comes up to me.

"It's story time!" She exclaims (she's the most enthusiastic little girl I've ever met).

"Okay," I reply. "Should we read a book or make it up?"

"Make our own story! About a princess and a dragon!"

"Okay. So once upon a time there was a beautiful young princess. Now what was her name Charlee?" The little girl thinks for a little while.

"Her name was Charlee! And there was another princess named Brooklyn (her younger sister's name)! And a king and queen..." (and she named her parents, but I actually don't remember their names).

"Okay, so Princess Charlee decided to go on an adventure outside of the castle and ran into a dragon..."

"But the dragon was her friend! His name was Rudolph and she rode on him to go to the North Pole to go see Santa Claus!" ... and she went on about Rudolph speaking really really fast in her enthusiastic voice. I don't remember all she was saying. She mentioned it being like "The Polar Express!" And then I think she just started telling the story of the Polar Express... and then she walked away.

I never knew the end of what happened to Princess Charlee and her dragon friend named Rudolph. All I know is that little kids are adorable and Christmas really is a magical time of year. :)

It reminds me of this video though:

Once Upon a Time.... (Part 1)

Once upon a time in Logan, Utah, there was a sad, lonely little girl who wasn't interested in dating anymore after the recent hardships and heartbreaks of the last year. She didn't want to deal with boys anymore. She didn't want to do anything anymore. She had lost her drive. She had lost her will to care about anything.

One day, close to Halloween, after a long day of work she arrived back at her apartment to find her favorite roommate with a boy at the kitchen table. They quickly invited her to spend the evening together, Boo-ing people (you give out treats to random strangers by doorbell ditching them and leaving a ghost that gives instructions to do the same to other people. It's lots of fun, maybe I'll make a sample for the blog and share it with you all... next Halloween time).

It was a fun night making cookies and masks to go Boo-ing in.

It was also the night that the girl decided she could be happy again. And while they didn't know it at the time, it was the night the girl would share a photograph with the man she would someday marry. 

TO BE CONTINUED...