Barrett's Blog, page 17
August 1, 2011
Sending Big Love and News
One month ago Affinity EBooks NZ ,Ltd. released my first novel,
"Damaged in Service" as an e-book. It was available through their website.
My thanks to all who got the book and were kind enough to let me know.
More good news, effective today my book is also available through Kindle books on Amazon.com as well as Barnes & Noble. Yes, it's incredibly exciting.
Oh, but that's not all. For the very patient folks who really wanted the paper and ink version, I'm happy to report that the print version is available through CreateSpace/Amazon and can be ordered through my publisher –Affinity.
You'll also find a new review available from Terry ( http://affinityebooks.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=40&chapter=1 ) along with a link to purchase.
Terry's independent reviews will be a regular feature in the monthly Affinity newsletter and will feature independent and self published authors as well as those from other small publishers.
Terry's reviews are familiar to many for her thorough and objective views.
August will also be a time for my first ever book-signing at The Range Cafe in Bernalillo on Sunday Aug 14th from 9-12.
I will be there with Marcia Finical, author of the award-winning "Last Chance at the Lost and Found" so come on by and say Hi.
Fear not, I am hard at work on book 2 of the Damaged series. So much for retirement.
Till next time, I remain yours, "Barrett the Bookseller"








July 29, 2011
Sharing the Brilliance of Nicola Griffith
Thursday, July 28, 2011

Am I writing? Am I burning?
I was struck yesterday by Saeed Jones's post on LambdaLiterary.org, "The
Ferocity: Fierce Manifest."
Fierce is Helene Cixous demanding in The School of The Dead that, as
we write, we ask ourselves honestly "Am I writing? Am I burning? Or am I
pretending?" Fierce is the urgency in Essex Hemphill's voice in "For My Own
Protection" as he declares "All I want to know / for my own protection / is are
we capable / of whatever, whenever?" Fierce is the look I imagine Zora Neale
Hurston had on her face when she said "I love myself when I am laughing and then
again when I am looking mean and impressive." It is Audre Lorde taking her seat
for her panel at the Second Sex Conference in 1979, adjusting the microphone in
front of her and calmly stating "The master's tools will never dismantle the
master's house."
We need fierce. We need risk. We need raw will.
Many of you will have seen my own manifesto:
…a year ago, I wrote a rant, which I'll share with you
now:
—
"When I write, dear reader, I don't want to build a careful tale for you to discuss with a smile in a sunny place, I want to own you. I don't want to be The New TV Series, I want to be pornography: to thrill you so hard you're ashamed but can't help yourself crawling back for more.
I want to write a whole novel that invades you. I want to control what you think and feel, to put you right there, right then, killing and being killed, fucking and being fucked, cooking and starving, drinking and thinking, barely surviving and absolutely thriving. I want to give you a life you've never had, change the one you live.
How? I will take control of your mirror neurons. I will give you tastes and textures, torments and terrain you might never find in your real life. I will take you, sweep you off your feet, own you. For a while. For a while when you're lost in my book you will be somewhere else, somewhen else, someone else.
I control the horizontal, I control the vertical. Sit back, relax, enjoy. When you're done, take a breath, smoke a cigarette, figure out who you are now, and come back for more.
—
It's more than a rant, actually, it's a dedication. A vow: with my next novel, I'm going to run my software on your hardware. You've been warned.
Consider this a reminder."
Thank you, Nicola.








July 25, 2011
Under the heading:
Okay, I'll admit that like many others, I've been whining about the drought. 212 days without appreciable precipitation is hard on a lady's skin. With 90 degree temperatures, we have finally entered, what is known in New Mexico as, "Monsoon Season."
I've always gotten a kick out of any notion of a monsoon in the arid desert climate of the southwest, but hey, I'm not the meteorologist.
Now, for the past couple of weeks, there have been afternoon storms that fly through the state. We are thrilled because that means the fire danger is reduced. ( Downside: the 156,000 acres of scorched land west of Santa Fe will now be an area that causes flooding.)
I live in the high desert east of Albuquerque and we often miss the storms for some odd reason. Last week we got a couple, and it was exciting enough for me to post comments on Facebook and even do a short video on the storm clouds.
( http://youtu.be/FuvdHjVZvas )
This long diatribe leads up to last night. We had a humdinger of a thunderstorm. I'm not sure how much rain we got because after about 20 minutes, the power went out. That was somewhere around 8:30pm. Lawsey! Dramatic thunder and lightning that cycled, roughly, every 10 seconds. No kidding–bright flash, counting….then a sharp clap of thunder that rumbled for 10-15 seconds (I know because I was counting one -one thousand, two one thousand) Hey, it was dark. I couldn't read anymore because my eyes were blurred from reading all afternoon.
It was warm and humid so I stayed in the living room where there was a nice breeze. I dozed in my recliner after reporting the outage to the electric company.
Finally at 11:30 pm, lights and fans went back on.
So, I won't complain about lack of rain anymore but I'm tired today.








July 22, 2011
Bonus Friday Treat
Because I'm still a little giddy about my first review, and because some folks seem to enjoy the scenery in the southwest, I present —a new trailer! (I was saving it for the print rollout, but hey.)
The photos are all mine and close to the scenes from the book, which sadly has no pictures.
For your enjoyment, I present:







