A long time ago, I read something interesting. Off the top of my head I couldn’t tell you where, or who said it, or even the exact quote, but the gist of it was: Give a man a mask to hide behind and he will show you his true face.

It’s not something people spend time contemplating but to me it was a revelation. Sheer brilliance in its simplicity. Think about it – we go through our entire lives wearing masks, pretending, and mouthing those little white lies so that people will accept us, like us. We behave according to society’s laws and mores because that is what’s expected of us.

How many times have you listened to someone spin a story about why they didn’t show up when they said they would, or do something they said they would do? How many times have we heard, “It’s not you, it’s me…” or, “Nothing personal, but…”? We are lied to and lie to spare feelings, but sometimes those lies hurt far more than the truth ever could.

But what happens when those restraints fall away? Donning a disguise frees us to be our true selves, say what we really want to, do what we’ve always wanted to do without immediate repercussions, because it’s not really us. Sometimes we need that, to just be free of restrictions for a little while and breathe.

But other times, dressing up is just plain fun! If you could put on any costume you wanted, what would it be? Would you be a superhero? A character from a book or a movie? An animal, or fairy? Or something no one has ever seen before?

And a little imagery to get us going. I wonder how many blogs out there featured this mighty god of thunder since the movie’s release day. I am more than happy to add to the count. Have you seen Thor yet? You should. If for nothing else than to see this man without his shirt. Show stopper doesn’t begin to say it.

Speaking of show stoppers, I was one hundred percent determined to get working on Gabriel, my hero of Blood Debts last night. I sat down at my computer, turned it on, and nothing. Well, the wheels were turning in the hard drive, so much so that I couldn’t do anything else for a half hour, at which point I called it quits and went to bed.

This worries me because it has become my computer’s daily routine. My laptop, a 6-year-old HP, which has already crashed on me once, and has loose wiring in the monitor so the smallest twitch causes it to go black, is the one tool I cannot do without. Sure, I can write on a notepad with a pen, but I can do it so much faster with a keyboard. I have learned from my past mistakes and now diligently back up everything I do at least once a month (or sooner if I get a scare) but I’ve come to the difficult decision that it may be time to invest in a new one. As soon as I figure out what I need and how to afford it. (Though the venue has changed a little, this is still the Starving Writer’s Blog.)

*a moment of silence for trusty old computer*

And now on to other things. I’ve been on a reading binge lately. In need of fresh words and inspiration, I asked my friends for recommendations and the one which caught my interest was Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling series. Talk about books with bite! I’ve read through book 4 and today got an inexplicable urge to return to book 1, which I am now re-reading. Is it bad that I want to live in a Psy/Changeling world, even if there are psychopaths in it snatching people left and right, and a major war is brewing between the species? I swear, every time I read a scene in DarkRiver, all I want to do is go up to a leopard and pet it.

What are you currently reading?