Dylan Callens's Blog: The Silent Guardian, page 14

Renaming a Book Isn’t Fun

I didn’t know this until recently, but renaming a book is a pain in the ass!  I’m still rubbing my butt-cheeks because it’s so sore.

But here’s the thing.  I wrote a book called Interpretation.  I think it’s a good book.  Reviewers seem to like it.  But not many people want to buy it.  I have tried a few different covers, different blurbs — and I have promoted them all — but with very little success.

So, I started thinking that maybe the title wasn’t in line with the genre.  Plus it sounds a...

The Christmas Bar by Joseph Ferguson

The road is black and unsure as the future. Out beyond the headlights looms dark quantum plasma; a world ruled by flux and uncertainty. Trees, road signs, and other cars burst into being, then as suddenly, pop from existence. Hills become open space, and open space, solid walls. Adam shakes his head and watches the LED on the dash clock change from 9:30 to 9:31.  He smiles. Lately his life seemed malleable as the memories of eyewitnesses. Hell. The story’s always been the thing. Just exactly...

Interpretation (Soon to be renamed: How to Enslave a Human)

We are the subjects of a psychological experiment.

Is this our future?

The depth of this deception is unthinkable. People are on the brink of starvation while still believing that life is perfect. Meanwhile, only a handful of individuals live outside of the government’s grasp. They are the only ones able to see the truth.

Now, Carl Winston is one of them.

Waking up in a mental institution, Carl desperately seeks answers about his new life. He needs to escape, to find the one person that matte...

Inkblots? Are You Crazy?

If you’ve never had an inkblot party with your kids, I highly recommend it.  I had a lot of fun making thirty-one ink blots for the chapter headings with my children.  Not only was the process fun, the kids couldn’t wait to see what their splatters looked like.

I think the best part of this was watching them look through the book when my shipment came in.  Their names appear on the copyright page.  At the top of each chapter is a nifty little inkblot that they made.  I was so happy to be able...

Dementia: A Personal Encounter

The first time I learnt about dementia was when my father was struck with it in his late seventies. It was painful watching such an intelligent man fall into this deep abyss of dementia, from which he could never revive. Dementia made him silent. He forgot to speak, to read, to write and to recognize anyone. That was not all. He often confused his wife, with his mother.

My mother was in her late sixties then. I cannot understand this association in his brain between my mother and his. I know...

Artificial Intelligence, Connections, and a New Novel

What is your new novel, Interpretation, about?

I’d like to think it’s about taking time to embrace the best of humanity — each other.  But I’m not sure if most people will see it that way.  Without any spoilers, the main character, Carl Winston, lives an ordinary and somewhat luxurious life with his son, Liam.  There are a few odd things about their society, like the government’s pre-occupation with psychology.  Little does Carl know, his life is mostly an illusion and the world is run by fi...

Girl: Repurposed

Tranquila Obiit is smart enough to save a stranger’s life. But when Tran’s salty, daytime-television-addicted grandmother tricks her into selling her soul to Hades, dodging near-death experiences becomes a daily ritual.

Now, as an employee of the Underworld, Tranquila seeks out her purpose in life while pet-sitting a three-headed dog that is hell-bent on destroying her.

She’s not alone. None of the Gods are any better off: Hades is battling negative Hollywood stereotypes. Persephone is trying...

Utican Lore Like You've Never Seen Before

At only twenty-three years old, Meaghan Curley has published her first book with Cosmic Teapot Publishing. Her novel, Girl: Repurposed, is poised to set the fiction world on fire. Melding her youthful vision with a deep understanding of classical literature, Curley is sure to become one of America’s great humorists. Her voice, a voice for the millennial generation, will resonate with anyone that has concerns for the state of America – and she does it in the most profound ways.

Where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in Utica, NY. Hopefully I will die there too.

What was it like growing up there?

Due to the economic decline of the 80s and 90s, the city was a very poor, depressed place. A lot of people left. One of my most vivid memories of the city were the burned down and abandoned homes that all over the place. If your family didn't leave the city back then, it meant tha

t you were one of three things: poor, impacted by drugs (we had and still have a major drug problem in Utica) or you were newly arrived immigrants/refugees also trying to make it. My family was the first two. I’m convinced that's why we never moved. Although, to be fair, I love my city and I'm glad I got to grow up in a unique, diverse, crazy, stereotypical NY town.

Read more at: http://www.cosmicteapot.net/press-rel...

Want a free audiobook?

Free Promo Codes for The Pacifist in exchange for a possible review.

Mehreen Ahmed's brilliant historical fiction set in Australia's gold rush era is narrated by the incredible Derek Botten!

In 1866, Peter Baxter's misfortune ends the day he leaves Badgerys Creek orphanage. Unsure of what to do next, Peter finds himself on a farm run by Mr. Brown. An aging man, Brown needs help and is happy to give Peter a place to live in exchange for his labor. Unbeknownst to Peter, Brown's past is riddled with dark secrets tied to the same orphanage, which he has documented in a red folder.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Th...

Contact me if you're interested!

Elon Musk: Government Must Keep Up with AI

CEO of Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and supporter of Open AI, Elon Musk, has many concerns about artificial intelligence. Perhaps it is surprising to find that Musk believes that the government should regulate AI before it is fully developed. He thinks that if the government is reactive, as it usually is, they will be too late to prevent whatever cataclysmic disasters might come our way.

Musk differentiates between narrow AI and deep AI. Narrow AI is the kind of learning machine meant to perform a specific task. For example, he considers a self-driving car narrow. General learning machines, he says, are a bigger threat. These deep AI machines could evolve beyond anything we can comprehend.

Continue reading here: http://www.cosmicteapot.net/dylan-cal...