S.J. Reisner's Blog, page 70

The State of the Publishing Industry

When I saw this topic at the beginning of the year I was sure I’d know exactly what to write. However, now that it’s time to write it I find myself overwhelmed.The state of the industry is in such flux that it would be impossible to cover everything in one blog entry.

We’ve gone from the big six to the big five, and now there are talks of two more of the big publishers merging, which means we could be down to the big four soon. ::sigh::

Big publishers are on the decline, sadly.

But how about som...

2012 Winter Garden

So I think it’s time for a winter garden update. First let’s talk about Dwight the Mandrake. I mentioned in another post earlier this month how my nephew was taking care of Dwight and how Dwight was looking awesome when we got home from vacation. Then within a week, Dwight wasn’t looking nearly as good. I discovered it was because my nephew was watering him with purified water. I began doing the same and have not had a brown leaf since. Of course about the same time I was realizing this, Dwig...

I’m Thankful For…

Today is Thanksgiving and so it’s the perfect time to write a post about the things I’m thankful for. And there’s just SO MUCH to be thankful for. Here is a list of things I’m thankful for in no particular order. They’re all equally important.

I am thankful for my husband. He’s my best friend. He’s always supportive and even puts up with the cats. He is the best husband a woman could wish for. Not to mentionmine likes to cook, helpsmeclean, and even does laundry.

I am thankful for my family. Ho...

Flash Fiction: Bones

Please note that this may not necessarily fit this month’s flash fiction writing prompt, but it’s what I came up with. Enjoy.

When Salia’s phone rang and she saw it was his number, she gulped. There was no way he could have this number. There was no way he could be calling her. It was impossible.

She turned the phoneoff and set it on the counter with trembling hands. The memories of the beatings she’d endured flooded back to her. Micah was a violent drunk. How naïveshe was to think she’d be r...

This is a Test, This is Only a Test…

Have you ever just had one of those days where you were pretty sure you were being tested?

It’s one of those days that always starts where you wake up late, you forget your lunch then remember it when you’re halfway to work. You’re using the copier machine first thing in the morning and it breaks half way through your print job of the quarterly reports for the staff meeting that starts in thirty minutes. It usually spirals from there.

You have to wonder if it’s some sort of test. A test of pati...

I Dream of Ireland

Back in 1998 I took a trip to the Mt. Shannon region on Ireland’s west coast. The trip was one of those guided tours where we rode from place to place on horseback. That’s right, I toured some of the ‘wilds’ of Ireland on horseback. I was quite the equestrian back in my teens and twenties.

We rode anywhere from six to eight hours per day, going from town to town, and staying in B&B’s as we went. I was the only American in our tour group. Everyone else was from Western Europe. We rode so long a...

Windows 8: A Review

I’ve been reviewing a lot of tech lately, including my Windows Phone, my MS Surface running Windows RT, and even my Mac. It’s only fair that I review Windows 8.

I upgraded to Windows 8 last weekend after I got a wild hair up my @$$. After all, I kind of liked the idea of integrating all of my tech and social networking like that.

The awesome thing about Windows 8 is the whole live tile thing. I am loving the live tiles. And I suppose if I ever update to a laptop with a touchscreen Windows 8 wou...

Herbalists, Alchemists, and Gardening

I am in a very “planty” mood this week.

I have talked before (in this blog) about my thoughts on what it takes to bemaster herbalistor alchemist. For those of you who have missed my thoughts they go something like this:

I’ve always admired REALherbalists and alchemists. By”real” I mean thosewho actually go so far as tocultivate their own magical plants. Basically – I havea great deal of respectfor herbalists and alchemists who actually grow a lot of what they use (or who can find it growing wil...

Mandrake Musings

So when I arrived home from vacation I noticed my Mandrake looked super healthy. My nephew had obviously done a fantastic job of caring for all of my houseplants. Of course within a week, the Mandrake’s leaves were beginning to brown again.

For a few weeks now I’ve been wondering where I went wrong withDwight the Mandrake. Then this morning it hit me. I did notice that the jug of drinking water (purified by reverse osmosis) that Ikeep for my carnivorous plantswas a lot lower than it should hav...

Professional Jealousy

Look – two posts in a single day! Lucky, lucky!

Since I’ve talked a great deal about being professional on a monetary level, I thought I’d talk about being a professional on an attitude/personal level. Then I’d like to talk about professional jealousy. It seems that I have been meeting some very unprofessional authors lately.

Sure, no one’s perfect and we’re only human. I’ve made some of these mistakes, too. We all have.I also get that it’s hard being nice to everyone (especially if you feel it...