Richard S. Wheeler's Blog, page 2

Judging Novels

I'm a judge this year, reading contemporary fiction. I'm enjoying the task, and finding that a lot of independent authors are displaying a lot of skills and storytelling ability. There are the usual problems that crop up with independent publishing, in part because few skilled editors look over the books before they are put into print.

One example I'm seeing much of is reader-oriented dialogue. Such dialogue serves to educate readers and is not realistic. A mother in the story might say to her daughter, "as you know, Aunt Minnie was born in 1967 and was blind in her left eye. She died two years ago."

In other words, some inexperienced authors use dialogue to inform readers about backstory rather than to depict the ways the characters react to one another.

The Med Racket

A few weeks ago I hastened to the ER with what proved to be atrial fibrillation. I spent the night in the ICU. Now the bills are flowing in.

I have Medicare parts A and B, Blue Cross supplemental, and Medicare Part D drug coverage.

Today I got a terrifying sheaf of statements from Blue Cross, telling me this and that aren't covered, even though I have all the coverage money can buy. I quake when I think of the hole this will put in my retirement funds.

The whole system seems to be a racket, with various insurers, drug makers, and suppliers gouging what they can from it. I may vote for the Libertarian candidate, just because the Democrats and Republicans are both complicit in creating a monster scam that bleeds citizens out of all they possess.

The best way to resolve the problem is for Congress to enact Medicare Part F-- a suicide pill.

The Ruins

My world is dying. The mountains burn up and are obscured. Thousands of dead whitefish line the Yellowstone River and the river is closed. Methane, a far worse heat trapper than carbon dioxide, leaks from thousands of old petroleum wells and the melting arctic tundra. As the air heats it traps more water vapor, causing drought here and record floods elsewhere. There are too many humans, and we are fighting each other, which is what mammals and other creatures do when nature can no longer support them. We will die in the billions before a rebalance occurs, along with most other species.

Kelp, one of the important sources of oxygen, is dying in the oceans. Abandoned fishing nets ruin the fisheries. The oceans are filling with lethal plastic and garbage. It will be harder and harder to fill our lungs with good air. Say goodbye because nature is saying goodbye to you and me. I saw the older, cool, fresh, green world; you are too young to know what was and how beautiful it was before human recklessness corrupted it.

Apologies

I have deleted intemperate posts about Amazon's handling of a new title. I am a temperate person, and am embarrassed by my intemperate comment. So I apologize to you and to Amazon, and hope to conduct myself better henceforth.

Retreat

I've removed a post in which I was overly critical of Internet companies which turn account changes into an ordeal. All my new internet connections are working. I will say, however, that changing accounts at banks and credit card companies and retirement funds is a lot easier and faster than changing accounts with Internet companies.

Charitable Publishing

I have been blessed all my writing life with charitable publishers. Most of that period I was with traditional publishing houses, such as Doubleday, Walker and Company, M. Evans, Ballantine, Bantam, Gold Medal, Fawcett, William Morrow, and Tom Doherty Associates/Macmillan.

The editors have patiently combed through my work, vastly improving it. I owe my success to their meticulous efforts. The publicity people have sent me on tours, and made sure that my book has been well presented to the reading public. Booksellers have welcomed me and arranged successful signings.

The publishers and agents have been prompt with my checks, and have looked after me carefully. In short, I have enjoyed a world not so much of my own making as one I inherited, a world of collegiality and respect. Some of my editors became close friends. I still correspond with other writers, who have helped me from time to time. It was a world of courtesy and graciousness.

That world may be subdued now, but it still exists, at least among the traditional publishers, sometimes called legacy publishers now. I'm not sure to what extent it exists in the new world of electronic media, but I would like to think that the special qualities of a literary life still remain, and are available to those who seek that life. Thanks to these gracious literary people, I have enjoyed a good life.

Adding It Up

When Center Point publishes Brass in the Desert in September, I will have published eight-two books. That novel, perhaps my last, is a poignant story about some lonely prospectors in the arid Nevada back country, and their struggle to survive. It will appear in various formats. I didn't start writing fiction until midlife, and after that I wrote steadily and hard.

Some of my books were published under pseudonyms or for author franchises. Some are mysteries, most of them written as Axel Brand. One is a novella. One is a memoir. In addition, I have published nine short stories, all of them dealing with the American West. Another, just completed, is a contemporary short story about a medical mystery, and I have submitted it to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. I would be thrilled if that legendary publication would take it, because it is the first writing I have felt good about since I suffered the grand mal seizure in 2014. Publication of that story would be handing my life back to me.

I want to thank all my readers for staying with me during these difficult months when the troubles of age ganged up on me. You have been most kind to me. There are many people who helped me along the way, and to each of you I send my appreciation.

Surprise Publication

I received author copies of an audio edition of Anything Goes, my novel about an early vaudeville troupe in the northwest. It was a complete surprise. The cover of the Recorded Books edition is gorgeous. The cover makes no attempt to turn it into a western. (The Macmillan print edition had a cover in which the New York impresario running the touring show in 1896 is wearing a six-gun and cowboy hat.)
I hope it sells well. Librarians will probably go for it.
These subsidiary rights editions keep coming along, and I am one lucky novelist.

Black Tom: Terror on the Hudson

Black Tom is an exceptionally fine historical novel that unfolds in Jersey City, just prior to the first world war. It ranges from melting-pot social relationships in Jersey to the rise of the powerful Hague machine, along with Woodrow Wilson's neutrality and the efforts of German saboteurs to destroy American munitions shipments to the allies. This is a book rich in humor, characterization, history, and suspense, and I recommend it without reservation. It offered rewarding insights into America on the eve of the worst war.

I Can't Explain It

Once again, I have had an excellent royalty season, with income far above expectations. I can't explain it. I don't know who is buying my books. My sales at Amazon are invisible. My publishers don't hype my novels, and do nothing more than put out review copies. I haven't been on a book tour for decades. The complications of age halted my writing a year or so ago. If you Google me or my titles you will not find much.

I'd guess that my novels are quietly bought by older people. Young readers prefer other themes and stories. But I have no proof of it. All I know is that some sales phenomenon is quietly generating income for my publishers, and for me. And I am grateful. Each day of my old age is a miracle, not only because of financial comfort, but because of friendship and love.