Hank Quense's Blog: Hank Quense's Blog, page 85
February 24, 2011
Strange Worlds now available and it's a freebie
This is a primer filled with background information on Gundarland and Zaftan 31B, the worlds created in Tales From Gundarland and Zaftan Entrepreneurs. Learn about the history, races, governments, and foibles of the inhabitants who live on these worlds[image error]
Do you stay awake at night wondering how you can learn more about Gundarland and learn what the zaftan homeland is like?
Strange Worlds is designed to increase your knowledge of both Gundarland and Zaftan 31B. This, in turn, will increase your enjoyment.
It's the only book that describes these Strange Worlds and the races that inhabit them.
It covers the races, their cultures, their religions, the use of magic (or not). It's filled with essential information that can be used to thrill and amaze your family, friends and co-worker
Get your copy here!
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February 22, 2011
HP's corporate arrogance
HP has done it again. I recently bought an Officejet Pro 8000 printer and thought it worked rather well until I tried to print a letter and was told by the printer I couldn't do that because the yellow print cartridge was out of ink. Never mind the print job only required black ink. Obviously, HP believes that it is more important to sell an ink cartridge than to let me decide what I want the printer to print. If I chose to print with a dried out cartridge that is my decision, not HP's.
This is nothing short of corporate arrogance and an insult to consumers who spent their money on a HP product. Good job, HP. The 8000 is the last HP product I buy.
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February 20, 2011
Mets manager predicts success.
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In an exclusive interview with Faux News Network sports reporter, Jock Stapper, the new manager of the New York Mets, Terry Collins, told Strapper and the fans what to expect this year.
FNN: What will the Mets do this year?
TC: All winter I've studied the players, the city and the traditions of the Mets and I can honestly say this summer we will exceed everyone's expectations. I can say without any hesitation that the Mets will continue to thrill the fans with our mediocre play. Our goal is to finish at least two games above .500, an improvement over last year's finish.
FNN: Why didn't the Mets make a move to bring in a big-name player during the off-season?
TC: Our evaluation of the team is that we can meet our objectives without increasing the payroll. Our team is loaded with mediocre players and we didn't need to bring in more overpriced players with limited talent. We have enough of those on the team already.
FNN: So the team is set even before spring training?
TC: Of course not. There a number of openings where players will be competing for a job. There are at least a dozen openings on our pitching staff. A few more openings are in the infield. We believe that a number of players from our minor league teams are ready to move up to the majors. We think our fans will be impressed with the limited talents of these young players.
FNN: Do you think you can compete with teams like the Phillies?
TC: We won't win all the games against the top teams like the Phillies, but we'll win our share, perhaps one or two over the course of the year.
FNN: Thank you and good luck on meeting your team's objective.
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February 19, 2011
Another Freebie!
During the course of writing many short stories, novellas and novels, I've created two different worlds both of which are in a parallel universe close to ours.
One of them, Gundarland, is populated by humans, dwarfs, elves, trolls and other fantasy races. In[image error] Gundarland, many of the stories take place in whole or in part in the city of Dun Hythe, the country's biggest city and the largest port The second world is a race of aliens named after their home world of Zaftan 31B.
I'm sure folks are losing sleep wondering what Dun Hythe is like and how it functions. Similarly, they must ponder how magic works in Gundarland or doesn't work.
None of the stories, so far, describe the alien home world, Zaftan 31B. My new book does exactly that. It tells how the government sort of works and describes the zaftan culture along with many other pertinent facts.
Don't miss out on this chance to learn about other worlds.
It's available exclusively on Smashwords and it's free.
Get your copy today
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February 15, 2011
Download the blog on your Kindle
How this for new high tech stuff? You can download my blog directly onto your Kindle. The Kindle is updated constantly and whenever a new blog post goes up here, you get it automatically on your Kindle.
Just imagine getting every Faux News Network report as soon as it's published.
Interested? Go here for more details. http://www.amazon.com/This-blog-author-hank-quense/dp/B004MDLS4I
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February 12, 2011
A plan for long-term Federal debt reduction
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Faux News Network political reporter Stacy Conundrum has learned about this plan from a Tea Party operative who demanded anonymity because the plan hasn't been finalized. The plan, according to the source, is the cornerstone of the Tea Party's initiative to lower longtime Federal spending. The operative described the plan this way. "The first step will be to overturn Obama's health plan. This will eliminate health benefits for over thirty million Americans. Without access to health care, many of these people will die early, before they are old enough to qualify for Social Security and Medicare. While this will not solve the Federal deficit by itself it certainly represents a positive step forward to longterm financial stability." She continued, "If even half of that thirty million don't live long enough to collect, the savings will be enormous."
Our source said the plan would be rolled out in the next few months, Stacy reported, and they expect the majority of voters will agree that they have found the key to long-term deficit reduction.
The source concluded by saying, "This type of creative legislation will allow us to continue to give tax breaks to the oil industry and maintain the farm subsidies, both of which are vital elements in our national interest."
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February 11, 2011
The Pericles Commission by Gary Corby
A murder mystery, but with a twist. This one takes place in Athens in Ancient Greece in the early days of Pericles and Greek democracy. In other words, this one combines murder with historical fiction.
The story starts with the murder of Ephialtes, the Greek who gave birth to democracy in Athens. The murder takes place only a few days after democracy was initiated and the main suspects are the ones who were replaced by the democracy. The body falls from a height and almost lands on Nicolaos, a sculpter's son. Soon Pericles is involved and he commissions Nicolaos to find out who committed the murder.
The story has enough turns to satisfy any mystery fan and toward the end, Nicolaos is arrested and put on trial by the elders who Nicolaos has angered.
One of the better murder mysteries I have read. Four stars
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February 8, 2011
Got a Nook?
You can also get a copy from Barnes & Noble: http://www.amazon.com/Tales-From-Gundarland-ebook/dp/B003U2TR0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1278089096&sr=1-1
Get a copy now and get some laughs
[image error]
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February 6, 2011
Broiled Shrimp & Scallops
Description: This can be used as a main course or an appetizer
Serves: 3-4 as main course, 4-6 as an appetizer
Time: 1 and 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
1 lb medium shrimp, cleaned
1 lb sea scallops
½ cup olive oil ⅓ cup parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup dry unflavored bread crumbs
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Lemon wedges
Preparation:
Wash shrimp and scallops under cold running water. Pat dry.
In a large bowl, combine oil, parsley, garlic, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.
Add shrimp and scallops. Mix until well coated.
Let stand 1 hour
Remove shrimp and scallops from mix. Gently press bread crumb mix onto the shrimp and scallops.
Alternate shrimp and scallops on skewers.
Put skewers under a broiler and cook for 2 minutes. Turn skewers over and cook for another 2 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Notes:
Make sure the scallops are 'dry" i.e. not treated with preservatives to lengthen the shelf life.
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February 4, 2011
Readers & Reviewers love the Zaftans!
Both groups lavish praise on Zaftan Entrepreneurs and want to know when Books 2 and 3 will be published.
Lois Henderson of Bookpleasures.com writes in part: "Quense seems to find as much pleasure[image error]reveling in the universe of his own creation as does a small boy in getting plastered with mud in the middle of a rainstorm. And we, as his readers, delight with him too, especially when his multi-layered meanings become transparently clear, reflecting the multiplicity of foibles that affect us as humankind. In their portrayal of an intriguing world of fantasy (that, nevertheless, has a great deal to do with the reality of our own), the remaining two volumes of the Zaftan trilogy are awaited with glee." To read the entire review, follow the link above.
Cheryl from Goodreads wrote: "This tongue-in-cheek novel is a delight for sci-fi fans, wonderfully humorous without descending into silly. Between pms'ing ship captains, napping politicians, conniving aliens, drunken soldiers, budding romance, and unexpected results when magics from two different cultures collide, the story was masterfully woven together to keep me entertained from start to finish": Cheryl gave it 4 stars
Readers Favorite said: "Zaftan Entrepreneurs by Hank Quense is Book 1 of the new series Zaftan Trilogy. Hank is a well known author of science fiction. I have reviewed several other books for him and I think this is by far his best. Zaftan Entrepreneurs is not your usual science fiction read. Hank has taken the genre to a new level. Five stars"
Chris Gerrib from POD People posted this in part: "Since the Zaftans have a high opinion of themselves (for no discernable reason) and the Gundarland tech-level is mid-Victorian, the Zaftans decide to take the local yokels for a ride. It's not much of a spoiler to tell you that the locals, including a female dwarf constable named Leslie Higginbottom and a miner named MacDrakin Gemfinder, have other ideas. The implementation of these ideas leads to a very humorous romp through the book. Quense spares nobody in his satire – taking aim at politicians, bureaucrats and trade union members with equal zest, just to name a few of his targets."
To quote Lynn Coyle: "Hank Quense's creativity is limitless! This story is filled with action, romance, and Quense's trademark unique, satirical wit. Five stars."
You can read a press release here: http://www.prlog.org/11233605-the-zaftans-are-here.html
Publication Schedule:
The books will be published a year apart:
Book 1: Zaftan Entrepreneurs: January 2011
Book 2: Zaftan Miscreants: January 2012
Book 3: Zaftan Lovers: January 2013
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Hank Quense's Blog
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