Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 126
June 27, 2016
Monday words of wisdom…
Our nation cannot survive morally or economically when so few have so much while so many have so little.—Bernie Sanders
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Last week! The “Clones and Mutants Trilogy” is on sale. Some authors bundle a series or part of a series. Here’s an alternative: from now until July 1, all three books in the “Clones and Mutants Trilogy” are on sale AT SMASHWORDS, $0.99 for each ebook, reduced from $2.99. The clones make their appearance in Full Medical (coupon code VJ44L) as part of a complex government...
June 24, 2016
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #124…
Google allows piracy. I’m hammering this home. Go to that famous search engine and search for “book piracy through Google.” You’ll get an eye-opener, so much so that you won’t even need your daily infusion of caffeine. I can’t say they encourage it, of course. It’s just that they don’t do anything about it. They want to digitize every book that’s been written. I don’t know how that relates to them allowing piracy, but I’m suspicious. Like my detectives Chen and Castilblanco, I don’t believe i...
June 23, 2016
Modern carneys…
Back in the 19th century, bewhiskered and nomadic men sold all kinds of elixirs and magical potions, cure-alls for many perceived maladies. Carneys still peddle their wares, but now they can stay in one spot by working the cable channels and the internet. Some things sold are designed for particular demographics—anti-aging creams and vitamin supplements to counteract any symptoms associated with old age, or love potions for acne-faced tweenies looking for a date to the prom. All are designed...
June 22, 2016
The snob factor in publishing…
Many writers have faced it. Indie writers are always fighting it because the likes of Stephen King, James Patterson, Lee Child, Douglas Preston, and many others equate indie books to the old vanity press paradigm, notwithstanding successes by Andy Weir (The Martian), Hugh Howey (Wool), and E. L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey). The old stallions from the Big Five stables I just named all write genre fiction, so that snootiness isn’t motivated by an erudite attitude of a critic’s-determined liter...
June 21, 2016
Where are they?
Most sci-fi readers and writers are familiar with the Fermi paradox, summarized by the question in the title, and the associated Drake equation that tried to resolve it. For those who are not, let me review that history first before going on to discuss a different take on the Drake equation that I found interesting.
The Fermi paradox first appears in my sci-fi books in the second book of the “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy.” In Sing a Samba Galactica, Earth colonists on New Haven, an E-type planet...
June 20, 2016
Movie Reviews #29…
[I’ve decided to put these on Mondays for the rest of the summer because kids are off and even grownup moms and dads are looking to get out of the house and heat.]
Now You See Me #2. Jon Chu, Dir. Belies the adage because this sequel is much better! Still confusing (it’s about magicians, after all), and I could have done without the lady mago (Lizzy Caplan) and Woody Harrelson’s evil twin bro, but Morgan Freeman plays a more important role and shines this time, which is always good for a film...
Monday words of wisdom…
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.—Aldous Huxley
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“Clones and Mutants Trilogy” is on sale. Some authors bundle a series or part of a series. Here’s an alternative: from now until July 1, all three books in the “Clones and Mutants Trilogy” are on sale AT SMASHWORDS, $0.99 for each ebook, reduced from $2.99. The clones make their appearance in Full Medical (coupon code VJ44L) as part of a complex government conspiracy, they combine forces with the mutant in Evil Agenda (co...
June 17, 2016
Pen names, AWOL reviews, and book piracy…
One of the biggest mistakes I made as a writer is not to choose a nom de plume. I don’t know if Steven M. Moore is as common as Joe or John Smith, but it’s common enough that I recognize now the error of my ways. Here’s my original reasoning: I had nothing to hide! I knew my writing and name would be public, but I wasn’t writing porn, erotica, or steamy romances…as a guy (that Jack Nicholson character did in As Good as It Gets, but that’s Hollywood—not clear whether he used a pen name, though...
June 16, 2016
The poor and middle class take it on the nose…
No matter the results of the general election, the following is true: the 99% are the losers once again. Bernie Sanders offered the best chance for us I’ve seen in my lifetime, but the anti-democratic Democratic Party establishment has won. Bagpipe dirges should be sounding for the poor and middle class.
In many ways, they are victims of their own ignorance. The Clinton dynasty, the official representative of the establishment this time around, has sold itself as champions for opportunity but...
June 15, 2016
Dialogue v. narrative…
There’s an insurance commercial where the company’s iconic spokeswoman takes on multiple roles at a family picnic. I don’t even remember the company that was advertising—that’s usually lost on me (sorry, Madison Ave wonks)—but I do remember noticing one actor took on multiple roles. Writing dialogue is a lot like that. An author with multiple characters shouldn’t speak in a unique voice that makes them sound the same. Each character must have her or his individual voice.
Newbie authors often...
