Monica & Her Muse

Writing Scenarios for the TSA

2011-12-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

As an author, I believe freedom is an important word. For example, book banning is censorship, which is a restriction of our freedom. I also believe there are other restrictions on our freedoms that government continues to intrude upon. All of this is naturally under the guise of "keeping us safe."

In the news this week, two elderly women were allegedly stripped searched as a result of prosthetics or other necessary health items that showed up in scans or because the passenger indicated ahead of time that they had these items. So how does this relate to books you ask. It relates because authors have to fly quite a bit to visit with readers. There are some places I can't get to without flying. So I have one of three choices. Don't go, find an alternative travel method, or suffer security at the airport.Then again, I can always write up ways of how one can attempt to thwart the system and do something really bad. It's one of the things we authors do. We write to entertain and then make the good guys win so we have this sense that we might somehow control things when bad things happen. Think of all the books that are out there where terrible things come close to happening, but don't because the hero/heroine saves the day. Wesley Snipes, Bruce Willis, all the dude who've played Bond? The list is numerous.

The Friendly Skies

I used to love flying. Even after 9/11 I didn't mind flying because although security was tightened and some of the new rules seemed a bit excessive, I was okay with them. Probably because I didn't realize at the time how these security measures would continue to be tweaked and tightened. I also didn't recognize how intrusive these measures were because I personally didn't have anything on me or in me that would set off an alarm in security.

That all changed in 2007 when I received a defibrillator. From that point forward, I had to ask about the scanner and ensure it wasn't magnetic so I didn't nuke the device in my chest. It wasn't an issue over the last four years. At least not until this past November when new scanners were put into operation at some airports, while magnetic ones continue to be used.

Top Wanted List (NOT a best-selling list)

In November, I traveled to Dallas for the Readers and 'ritas. I was excited about trip, and looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones. When I arrived at Richmond, VA airport I had to go through the new scanners that locates any odd looking objects on your person. If you move, the machine automatically targets whatever part of the body moved. My defibrillator was seen on the new scanner, and when I moved slightly a trigger went off at the apex of my legs.

At no time was I instructed to stay perfectly still that the machine would trigger a body part if I moved. At no time was I asked if I had any medical devices. Truthfully, I didn't think a whole lot about the scanner until AFTER I accidentally moved in the scanner and they made me go through it again. I still didn't think there was anything to be worried about until a male TSA agent eyed me like I was a miscreant and sternly told me to stay where I was, and that the female TSA had to check me because the scanner had cited an anomaly. He didn't say I'd be patted down, he just said the other TSA agent had to verify there wasn't anything abnormal. I thought he meant they had to check the scan. He didn't.

The female TSA officer approached me, and I don't remember specifically what she said. I only remember something along the lines of she had to run her hand over me. I seriously don't think I really understood what was about to happen, so I just sort of looked at her like a deer in the headlights and nodded. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE in the scanning area,the female TSA officer ran her hand across the top part of my chest, down across my breast then down to the apex of my thighs. With a polite, detached, nod, she cleared me. I cannot describe how shocked I was. Humiliated, I walked away feeling like I'd done something terribly wrong, even though intellectually I knew that wasn't the case.

What I found totally unbelievable was that nothing in my carry-on luggage triggered any alarms. I was transporting about 30 small bendable fans that curl up into round objects. These fans are unusual in shape, have flexible wire, and I figured if there was anything on me that would trigger alarms, it would be those damn promo items. I'd deliberately put them in my carry-on because I was worried some zealous TSA inspector would break them trying to close up the box in my luggage if they opened it. At least I had some control of how my carry-on was opened, and I knew *I* would be careful not to break any while opening them up for inspection.

Post Conference

I arrived in Dallas, and had a wonderful time at the reader conference. It was a warm, friendly, and fun environment. When it came time to leave, my new friend Linda Dershem drove me to the airport where I went to the security area. The scanner looked odd, so I said I had a defibrillator and the male TSA agent told me it was a magnetic scanner. Okay, can't do that because magnets blow up my defibrillator (not really, it just kills them and I then have to get a new one via surgery).

At this point I was resigned to the fact that I would most likely have to have another pat down, but since I'd survived the one in Richmond, I thought I'd be okay in Dallas. I approached the female TSA agent on duty, and said I had a defibrillator, and that I had a card with the device's serial number on it. She indicated that I would have to undergo a search, and I responded it would have to be private inspection as I was a survivor of rape. She took me to a stairwell with another TSA agent to perform the search.

The pat down in private was FAR WORSE than my experience in Richmond. The inspection was conducted in an out of the way stairwell, and it was as detailed as one might expect by police making an arrest. I stood there trembling and trying not to cry as the officer ran her hands over me. She made me put one foot forward so she could inspect the INSIDE of my leg from thigh to ankle on both legs. Although her touch was not inappropriate for a security search (that is she didn't fondle me), it still devastated me. Not only did I have flashbacks due to my inability to say no (I had to get home), the entire process made me feel as though I was a criminal. My only crime was to have a defibrillator installed in my chest and be the survivor of sexual assault. NOT ONCE did the officer apologize for having to follow protocol or reassure me that it would be okay, even though I had reiterated to her that I was a sexual assault survivor.

The TSA should make agents go through SENSITIVITY TRAINING. Conducting pat downs on airline passengers in the way one searches criminals is wrong. In this country, we are deemed innocent until proven guilty. Passengers are ordinary people who in almost every single instance are law-abiding citizens. If a pat down is deemed necessary, it should be conducted in a manner that assures the dignity and comfort of the passenger.

Reality Checks

There are those who state that they want these security measures in place because they want to feel safe when they fly. My own husband, while sympathetic, is still convinced we need these type of security measures. He is one of many who say they're willing to endure these TSA checks to feel safe. I challenge that thought on two fronts.

First, we will NEVER be safe again on any public transport. Eventually, someone smart enough will beat the system, and then whomever's time is up will be on that plane, train or subway when that terrorist ends it all. There is no avoiding fate. We are attempting to rationalize a fear with security that continues to intrude in an irrational fashion. If the TSA is so worried about security, why do airlines still offer first-class passengers silverware with their meals? A reader in Dallas indicated that they'd been able to get onto the airplane with knitting needles in their bag. SERIOUSLY. Am I the only one who doesn't see the potential for a terrorist to hold someone hostage, get one of the plane doors open to depressurize the cabin, push people out of the cabin and many lives are still lost?? But then I'm an author and my imagination is such that I dream up these kind of bad things for a living (or the semblance of one). All I can say is that everyone should be glad I'm an author and not a psychopath!

Second, the majority of people who support the current security measures in place have never had to endure what I and others have (I imagine the first time another man brushes their hand across my husband's testicles will be the day he rethinks his position). It's easy to support security that isn't going to affect you emotionally. Inconvenience you perhaps, but that's not the same thing as trauma. A pat down for someone with a past such as mine is more than humiliating. It brings up the past in a traumatic way with flashbacks. This is not to say that I should be exempt from pat downs. This is an emphatic statement that if the TSA and the public continue to demand security measures of this kind, the security measures should be done with greater sensitivity and with the comfort of the passenger in mind.

As a writer, my mind goes into story mode on this whole mess. If I really wanted to be a terrorist. I'd be a martial arts expert, take out the two TSA agents who were present at my pat down, pull out a second airline ticket I had hidden in my bra, quietly disappear into the terminal and board the other plane I was intent on destroying. See how my writer's imagination works? It's only a matter of time. The minute I write the story, it will happen. There's a reason why they say that truth is stranger than fiction.

Something Needs to Change

Finally, as an Army veteran, I served honorably to preserve our freedoms. Keeping the US secure is clearly an important issue for me. I support rules in place of chaos, but I also know we should temper our need for feeling safe with logic and sensitivity. The TSA displays a distinct leaning for being over zealous in its desire to make the public feel safe by flying. Note I say "make the public feel safe." The reality is, there is no safety anywhere. That said, if the TSA insists on continuing with pat downs when they won't accept verifiable medical device info (i.e., accessing a database with my defibrillator info or provide card-carrying, holographic IDs for those with medical devices) then they need to put their agents through sensitivity training. The female agent in Dallas could have made my experience far less traumatic if she'd taken into account my explanation of being a sexual assault survivor. As it was, she acted as though she could have cared less that I was distraught.

Eye on the Future

In the future, I'll be staying at home, traveling by train and car unless circumstances FORCE me to fly. It looks like going to London and Rome are no longer on my bucket list unless I win the lottery and can afford to rent my own jet. Oh! There's a new scenario. A terrorist rents a mid-size jet and crashes it into another building. We are not safe, no matter what we'd like to think.

Feel free to express your opinion either way on this rant. It's opinion after all, and I don't expect agreement from everyone. But a little logic would be most welcome from the TSA.

RAW 2011 Giveaway Winner

2011-11-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

The dice were thrown and Kiwi, you're the lucky winner of the bag of goodies I brought back home from RAW. And I'm throwing in a copy of Inferno's Kiss to round out the contents of the bag. Congrats!

I Missed RAW 2011 Giveaway

2011-10-30T21:23:00.001-04:00

For those you who missed Lora Leigh's fabulous RAW (Readers Appreciation Weekend), I've a special treat for you. I've got a special book with all the attending authors bios, photos and excerpts in it, and WAIT for it! It's AUTOGRAPHED! Yep, I managed to get all the authors to sign the book on their specific pages. I also have an autographed bag, along with a couple of books and some SWAG that was given out to all the attendees.

Leave the usual required info (name, location and email) in the comments below.

Release Day - Inferno's Kiss

2011-10-04T08:23:00.000-04:00

It's release day, and Inferno's Kiss is finally here! Check it out at your favorite bookseller online or in stores. If the book isn't in your store, ask your library to order it for you or order it online.

Amazon Paperback | Amazon Kindle | B&N | Books-A-Million

Read the First Three Chapters

“Inferno's Kiss made me a believer in the virgin hero. The book is full of emotional angst and seductive sexual discovery.”

— Romance Novel News

Something's Coming This Tuesday!

2011-09-30T12:27:00.002-04:00

The first review for Inferno's Kiss has hit the Internet and it's a RECOMMENDED READ from Romance Novel News. Jennifer LOVED my virgin hero, Dante. Pop over and read what she has to say about the book.

Read the Review here!

Monday With An Author - Katharine Ashe

2011-09-12T06:00:00.142-04:00

Over the last several months, I've widened my networking circle in the romance author world, and I've been delighted to meet so many new and lovely writers. One of those is Katharine Ashe. The two of us work in similar environments on our day jobs, so we've commiserated with one another on occasion. Now that I've read her bio, she doesn't know it yet, but I'll be asking research questions!! LOL

Katharine's a kind, sympathetic soul, and I'm delighted that she's here today to talk about her books. I'd also like to point out that Katharine's current release is part of Avon's K.I.S.S. and Teal releases this month in support of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month.

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Forbidden Love

I adore forbidden love stories. Adore. Despite its horridly tragic ending, Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite love stories of all time.

This does not make me a glutton for emotional punishment. I am — as I think you may be — quite comfortably addicted to Happily Ever Afters.

But I’m also addicted to first love. New love. Love so intense, so powerful, pure and hot that it will not be quenched. Not even by others that seek to tear the lovers apart. This is why I cannot get enough of young Romeo and his Juliet. Their love defies hatreds and fears. They meet, they woo, they fall, and they love so swiftly, so intensely that every single time I watch it, it’s impossible for me to remain aloof. It doesn’t matter that I know (have known since ninth grade!) that their story ends terribly. I am swept up each and every time they tumble into love. Not tumble. Throw themselves into love.

And I think I know why I adore their story so much. It is because their love is honest. Full of all the confidence yet giddy uncertainty of adolescence, they practically hurl themselves at one another emotionally. In their hearts whisper every fear that we all have of being rejected. But need and desire and hunger clamor louder, drowning out everything else, and they allow themselves to fall into perfect, delectably dangerous bliss.

It’s heady stuff.

Cover Blurb

She had never forgotten him…

Miss Octavia Pierce is witty, well off, and shockingly unwed. Still, she is far too successful in society to remain on the shelf forever, and her family has hopes that Octavia will finally make the perfect match. What they do not know is that years earlier Octavia was scandalously tempted by the one man capable of sweeping her off her feet—the man now known as the Marquess of Doreé.

A third son, never meant to inherit, Lord Ben Doreé has abandoned his past and grown accustomed to his illustrious new position of wealth and power. But he has never forgotten Octavia, and now she desperately needs his help in a most dangerous, clandestine matter. Although she claims she has put the memories of the passion they shared behind her, Ben is determined to once again have her in his arms—and in his bed.

Still think I’m a glutton for emotional punishment?

All right then, what if a young love of that sort of intensity didn’t have to end tragically? What if a girl just upon the verge of womanhood and a youth just become a man meet, despite the barriers that society erects to keep them apart? Then what if they fall? What if they tumble headlong into first love… passionate love… forbidden love… only to be rent asunder?

(You’d say, “I’ve heard this story before.” And I’d reply, “But the story doesn’t end there.” Because I am, after all, addicted to Happily Ever Afters.)

What if, when they meet again seven eternal years later, they are still in love? And what if this time, no matter the dangers and forces pulling them apart, they will not be denied their greatest desire?

That’s the sort of forbidden love story I adore most. The sort that triumphs because the love is so powerful nothing can stop it. So that is the story in my latest Regency historical romance, IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS.

If you could rewrite the ending of any tragic love story of yore, how would you do it? Would Romeo not drink that poison? Would Rhett not walk out that door?

Join me as I purchase Katharine's book and

Shout Against the Whisper

IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS is part of Avon Books’s K.I.S.S. and Teal campaign to spread awareness about the whispering symptoms of Ovarian Cancer. For each copy sold, Avon will donate 25 cents up to $50,000 to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance toward research and support programs for victims of this stealthy disease. Know the Important Signs and Symptoms and help spread the word! http://www.kissandteal.com.

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About the Author

he American Library Association’s Booklist named Katharine Ashe among its “New Stars of Historical Romance”. A professor of European history, Katharine lives in the wonderfully warm Southeast with her husband, son, two dogs, and a garden she likes to call romantic rather than unkempt.