Leon Stevens's Blog, page 23
February 14, 2025
Free Book Friday Feb. 14: Valentine’s Day Edition
I know what you’re thinking: Will this be a heart-felt post about love and relationships, an anti-love rant, or a regurgitation of something I have already written?
Well, on this day, I’ll just say…”Bleeeuuurrrggghh!”
The Origin of Valentine’s Day
One day in ancient Rome—which at the time was an Italic settlement (named for the inhabitants who always had a forward lean from plowing the fields) a humble actor, Rudolfus Valentino, still in his costume from his role of Friar Tuck in “Robin Hood, The Musical”, came across two lovers kissing on a park bench—known then as ‘a rock’ since park benches hadn’t been invented yet (DaVinci actually drew several sketches but were accidently burned when he left the hot plate on after making ramen. True story.)
After grabbing a stick and hitting them with it while yelling, “Get a room!” he accidentally stabbed one of the lovers hard enough to draw blood.
“What the hell did you do that for, you old geezer,” the man (we’ll call him Walter) said.
Shocked at the unplanned result, Rudolfus used his rosery as a bowstring to send the incriminating evidence into the river Tiber and fled.
The female (we’ll call her Mabel) was so impressed with Walter’s chivalry that she immediately fell in love. At the wedding reception, one of the groomsmen man incorrectly retold the story—due to being slightly inebriated—saying something along the lines of a monk turning into a flying baby archer.
Mabel, quite embarrassed, turned to Walter and said, “I told you we shouldn’t have invited him.”
True story.
-Leon
Buy Euphrates Vanished (Kindle/KU)Buy A Matter of Sabotage (Kindle)Don’t feel like buying the book?
Sign up to review Euphrates VanishedSign up for an Advance Review Copy of A Matter of SabotageSci-fi not your thing?
Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
The story behind Free Book Friday:I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Reads From StoryOrigin
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
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February 12, 2025
Weird Wednesday: The Great (and not so great) Debates Redux
[Note: I wrote this post in 2021 but have added a few more items to this so maybe I should call it: New and Improved or is it New or Improved? Maybe it’s just regurgitated.]
Everyone is entitled to their opinion (that’s my opinion), but does that mean we are free to give our unsolicited opinion whenever we want? You know, free speech and all…
I’m sure that I just opened a huge can of worms, methinks. So, just for fun, let’s crank the opener of these great dividers: Religion and Politi—Whoa! Hold it! Not those debates!
Yes it would be rousing to talk about those, but in the interest of good natured discourse we will stick with less polarizing topics, so without further delay, let’s step up to the podiums, shall we?
Twitter vs. X
The obvious debate is whether it is better or worse (it’s worse) since he who shall not be named took over, but the secondary one is what you now call it: X formally Twitter, X-twit, Twix…or maybe call it what it is, a s#!t show…
Peanut Butter: Smoothy vs. Crunchy
Can you sit on the fence and say both? Of course you can! Will you? Probably not.
Crunchy hurts to eat, smoothy sticks to the roof of my mouth, crunchy rocks on toast but not on bagels, though. Smoothy: good for making fudge (unless you like crunchy fudge…)
What about natural? Woah, hold it right there, Bucko. This is not a ____vs.____vs.____
Kirk vs. Picard
No contest. You know I’m right…
Dogs vs. Cats
If you don’t care about loyalty or the return of affection and you want to be able to just leave for a few days without worrying…well, you know.
North Pole vs. South Pole
Santa, good. Penguins, cute! But what about the narwhals?
North pole: Pack ice South Pole: Packed ice
Coffee vs. Tea
I look forward to my morning coffee and my afternoon tea, but I have on rare occasions had a morning tea and I do enjoy an afternoon shot o’ espresso…
Ale vs. Lager
Beer lovers are either loyal or experimental. I see people beeline straight to their brand and get out of the store before I have even started to window shop. But that has nothing to do with the Ale vs. Lager debate does it?
PC vs. Mac
Endless updates and glitches, or should I just spend the damn $$$$?
Zoodles vs. Alphagetti
You know that they are pretty much the same thing, but what can you spell with Zoodles? (Psst. Hieroglyphs.)
Two-ply vs. Three-ply
I didn’t include one-ply because it becomes two-ply since you know you’re going to fold it.
Coke vs. Pepsi
Both sweet. Both kinda caramelly. Both bubbly. Only one of them should be mixed with rum.
Classic Coke vs. New Coke
Remember that fiasco? Who wins? See previous.
The Turkey: Light meat vs. Dark meat
You might as well call this dry and bland vs. moist and tasty. Gravy is good on both.
Star Trek vs. Star Wars
(See Kirk vs Picard)
McDonald’s vs Burger King
Isn’t the title “King” self explanatory, you clown?
Over vs. Under (The Toilet Roll Dilemma)
Usually dependent on if you have a cat or not. If you don’t have a cat, you will not understand.
Honorable Mentions:
Ren vs. Stimpy, Rick vs. Morty, Magellan vs. Cook, AM vs. FM, The Far Side vs. Non Sequitur
Well, I’m absolutely, positively, sure that I missed some real doozies, but like debating politics or religion, there’s no way that I’m touching those topics….that’s as volatile as discussing what pick-up truck is best. (It’s Chevy, BTW…)
-Leon
What are some of your funny dividers?
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
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Processing… Success! You're on the list. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
February 11, 2025
Tuesday Tidbits: What Day is it?
I would be amiss if I neglected to mention it is National Guitar Day today.
I still have and play (not as often as I should) my Matsuoka classical guitar that I bought in 1986 which looks like this one:
Nothing fancy, but it still sounds good.
My first electric was a Hondo, and if that doesn’t sound familiar, I’m not surprised. I ordered it in 1982 from the Radio Shack dealer in town who also sold records and chocolate bars. I was well on my way to be a rock star.
I sold it a few years later, and in a patriotic episode, spurned on by the far future threats of US tariffs, I purchased a Canadian made Lado electric guitar that over the years became a Franken-guitar as I replaced parts in an attempt to do I don’t know what. Eventually, there was more solder in the wiring than actual wire, an annoying buzz in the Seymore-Duncan humbucker double-rail pickup, and the Floyd Rose whammy bar was losing it’s whammy. So it wound up in the curb for free give-away weekend.
I still have my 2001 Takamine acoustic guitar similar to this one, which like the classical guitar, needs to be played more often:
My dream guitar that I never got?
That would be a Paul Reed Smith guitar. I played one once and it was the most beautiful instrument to play, but it was cost prohibitive for me to buy.
What’s the most expensive guitar? Kurt Cobain’s Martin acoustic sold for 6 million. (Side note: My dream acoustic would be a Martin…but not that one.)
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
February 10, 2025
Monday Muse: Not so Super?
I did not watch the Super Bowl yesterday.
Was it in protest to the new American government policies? Was it because we don’t get the funny commercials north of the border? Was it because when I turned it on, the first thing I saw was 3 minutes of Taylor Swift in her private box and hearing the commentators trying to say something interesting? Maybe it was because I cannot name a single Kendrick Lamar song…
I think perhaps it was because there are no good songs about American football. Not surprisingly, the only bad ones I could find are country songs.
I bet you’ll agree.
Here’s another theory: Ever since the 51st Super Bowl, they missed an opportunity to incorporative the trophy into the logo. To me, this looks like the roman numeral 52.
I can’t stop seeing the number 54 in the 55th Super Bowl Logo:
And this was this year’s:
With a little help from photoshop, I would have gone with this:
-Leon
Book two of the Orion Arm Alliance, A Matter of Sabotage, will be out in spring 2025, so time to get reading book one!
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
February 9, 2025
Songs for a Sunday: Dan Mangan
How many albums can you put out and still be an obscure musician?
A lot if you are Canadian, and 8 LPs/4 EPs if you are Canadian Dan Mangan.
Shades of Matthew Good in this one?
-Leon
Book two of the Orion Arm Alliance, A Matter of Sabotage, will be out in spring 2025, so time to get reading book one!
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
February 8, 2025
Weekend Wrap-up Feb. 8: Spot the Difference
One of the advantages of self-publishing is the ability to be able to make small changes to your books even after they have been published. When I decided to turn my first novella, The View from Here, into a trilogy, I had to change the ending slightly for it to flow seamlessly into book two.
Once the trilogy was complete, I realized that the graphic in the paperback spine didn’t look how I envisioned it when all three sat on the bookshelf, so along with correcting that issue, I also added another element to the cover:
When I started my next project, Euphrates Vanished, I knew it would be a series, but wasn’t prepared to design three or four covers before the first book was even finished. I was pleased with the cover, but when I was working on the cover for book two, I realized I needed more continuity between the two books, so a quick tweak of book one made that happen.
Is the original paperback copy a collector’s item? I’d like to think so. And if you happen to have a first run copy of The View from Here, it’s missing page numbers so you might want to hang on to that!
Here’s an apt song for today from one of my favorite bands:
I also changed the cover of my short story collection but I’ll spare you the graphic of my first edition…
In case you missed it: Another self-interview!Weekend Wrap-up Feb. 8: Spot the DifferenceFree Book Friday Feb. 7: Leon Stevens Interviews…Leon Stevens (yet again)Thursday Thoughts: The Damage is Done?Weird Wednesday: You Can’t Make this S#!t Up…Tuesday Tirade (and a Top 10): Not So Tariffic.
Book two of the Orion Arm Alliance series is out in April, so time to read books one! http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Hope you enjoyed the recap! Feel free to share it with others.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
February 7, 2025
Free Book Friday Feb. 7: Leon Stevens Interviews…Leon Stevens (yet again)
Leon Stevens Interviews the Author of the Orion Arm Alliance series, Leon Stevens.
I’m here with author Leon Stevens to talk about his new science fiction book, A Matter of Sabotage. How are you doing?
Very well, thank you.
Let’s dive into the—
Aren’t you forgetting something?
[silence]
Oh! I apologize. Would you care for a beverage?
No. I’m fine.
[silence]
You can be a bit of an—
Sorry. Let’s continue, shall we? Your newest book, A Matter of Sabotage, comes out on March 31st. What can you tell us about it?
Well, it is book two of the Orion Arm Alliance series, and is a prequel to—
Let me guess. Book one?
I was going to say Euphrates Vanished—
But that is book one, right?
Yes. It is book one.
Why did you decide to write a prequel? Why not make book two book one and book one book two.
That sentence is going to wreak havoc on your grammar check.
Ha! I think you’re right! So…?
I don’t plan my series that far ahead of time, but the premise of book one is a young man waking up aboard a starship with no recollection of who he is.
Kind of an overused trope don’t you think?
Why do you think that is?
Because readers like a good mystery?
Bingo. Anyway, I wanted to bring the reader along with this man and discover who he is at the same time. If you read A Matter of Sabotage first, you’ll know all the characters that he meets for the “first time” in book one and the mystery won’t be so—
Mysterious?
Yes. Exactly.
That must be difficult to promote a new book in a series. Don’t you have to stick with promoting book one?
True. I can promote the new one to readers of book one, but new readers have to start at the beginning. And I don’t want to give too much away.
So…what can you tell us about A Matter of Sabotage?
It’s in two parts. Part one introduces how Earth becomes part of the Orion Arm Alliance, seven planets who—
That sounds like Star Trek’s federation, no?
Yes, but it’s difficult to write any science fiction now with out drawing parallels to that show. And yes, there is an academy, but it’s not called Starfleet.
Okay, so you were saying Earth is now part of this feder—
Alliance.
Sorry, alliance.
Are you trying to get me sued?
No. Please continue.
Yes, Part one is how Earth becomes part of the alliance and in part two we find out how all the characters in book one meet at—
Starfleet Academy?
[silence]
Are you done?
[silence]
Yes.
All the characters meet at the Alliance Academy and discover a cover-up which involves the death of one of their mothers.
Let me guess, sabotage?
You are so smart.
Still sounds like Star Tr —
Enough.
What do you like about this new book?
I enjoyed writing the backstories of the characters, weaving in what the readers already know, which often comes off as humorous.
Readers have said you don’t write antagonists into your stories.
They’ve said that?
No. But I know you haven’t yet.
Well, you are in for a treat. In this book I had a lot of fun writing two characters who I think are very unlikable adversaries.
Is that a polite way of saying they’re assholes?
Bingo.
Well, I wish you good luck with the book, and we will chat about…book three?
I’ll save the date.
Leon Stevens Interviews HimselfBuy Euphrates Vanished (Kindle/KU)Buy A Matter of Sabotage (Kindle)
Don’t feel like buying the book?
Sign up to review Euphrates VanishedSign up for an Advance Review Copy of A Matter of SabotageSci-fi not your thing?
Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
The story behind Free Book Friday:I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Reads From StoryOrigin
NewsletterSign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction): Leon’s Newsletter
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
February 6, 2025
Thursday Thoughts: The Damage is Done?
I live in Canada. That is important to this post.
When I was grocery shopping yesterday, I observed a person looking at a product label then placing it back on the shelf. They then picked up another and repeated the process before putting it into their cart.
“Healthier for you?” I asked as I passed.
“No,” they replied pointing to the one they had returned to the shelf. “That one was made in the United States.”
Canadians are not upset with the people who work to make these products, just with the government they elected. I suspect that the ongoing threat of tariffs will change shopping habits from this point on.
Barrier-free trade between Canada/USA/Mexico makes economic sense. No one country can supply itself with everything it needs, but now that mutual cooperation may be permanently damaged.
Now, since it’s always better to laugh:
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
February 5, 2025
Weird Wednesday: You Can’t Make this S#!t Up…
The truth may be stranger than fiction.
A dictator seizes power by convincing the populous he will look out for the downtrodden and middle class. He then stacks his political deck with rich powerful friends, releases criminals from prisons, manipulates the stock market, fires anyone he doesn’t like, nominates a wrestler’s wife to control an education system he prepares to dismantle, declares economic war with long trusted allies, shuts off the humanitarian aid to countries that rely on it for survival, sets out to take control of sovereign nations, and then proposes to relocate refugees from their war torn homes, paving the way to rebuild their land to create a tourist destination.
Sounds like a good dystopian novel.
-Leon
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
