S.K.S. Perry's Blog, page 7
February 13, 2013
Less is more.
Just a couple of days left to go on this Isagenix diet. I've lost a little over 25 pounds in about a month, but better than that my cholesterol is good now DESPITE going off my Lipitor.* (I had to go off Lipitor because of the side effects—weakness/tiredness/muscle cramps in the legs.) Isagenix is certainly not the easiest diet in the world, but honestly, it's effective. (And remember, this is despite the fact that I have hypothyroidism, which makes it very difficult for me to lose weight.) I credit the diet and the fact that I went off the Lipitor with my achieving Exempt status on my Express test this month. Best of all, all my old clothes fit again (stuff that I haven't been able to wear for years!)
(While on the Liptitor, I could barely walk up the stairs without getting winded. My legs felt tired walking from the parking lot to work. I could only jog at about 5 miles/hr for about ten minutes--and that's only if my calves didn't knot up and leave me limping for the rest of the week. Only 4 days after going off Lipitor, no more muscle knots, no more getting winded. I could run at 6 miles an hour for 50 minutes, no problem.)
(While on the Liptitor, I could barely walk up the stairs without getting winded. My legs felt tired walking from the parking lot to work. I could only jog at about 5 miles/hr for about ten minutes--and that's only if my calves didn't knot up and leave me limping for the rest of the week. Only 4 days after going off Lipitor, no more muscle knots, no more getting winded. I could run at 6 miles an hour for 50 minutes, no problem.)
February 12, 2013
My Itinerary:
Sunday, Feb 9,2013 - on the couch - watching The Walking Dead, of course!
Monday, Feb 17, 2013 - watching the Walking Dead again. (Ha, tricked you. I PVR'd it.)
Fri, Sat, Sun Apr 5-7, 2013 - Toronto - Ad Astra http://www.ad-astra.org/ Literary Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Paranormal convention.
Monday, Feb 17, 2013 - watching the Walking Dead again. (Ha, tricked you. I PVR'd it.)
Fri, Sat, Sun Apr 5-7, 2013 - Toronto - Ad Astra http://www.ad-astra.org/ Literary Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Paranormal convention.
February 2, 2013
If you have suffered rejection...
I received a rejection from an agent that I queried months and months and months ago. They apologized for the delay, but you know what? At least they bothered to reply, which is more than I can say for most nowadays. They called me "an excellent writer" but unfortunately weren't representing fantasy. (Author Query--YOU LIED!) :)
Hey, I'll take the compliments where I can get them.
Hey, I'll take the compliments where I can get them.
If you have suffer rejection...
I received a rejection from an agent that I queried months and months and months ago. They apologized for the delay, but you know what? At least they bothered to reply, which is more than I can say for most nowadays. They called me "an excellent writer" but unfortunately weren't representing fantasy. (Author Query--YOU LIED!) :)
Hey, I'll take the compliments where I can get them.
Hey, I'll take the compliments where I can get them.
February 1, 2013
An exerpt from the Safety Briefing I gave on Dressing For Cold Weather this morning:
"A general rule of thumb: If it's cold enough that you wouldn't consider touching your tongue to a metal pole, then you probably need a coat and gloves. Other than that, feel free to lick all the poles you want."
January 31, 2013
Mystery solved!
Monday was winter. Tuesday and Wednesday it was spring. Now it's winter again.
I drove into work this morning behind one of those spacecraft from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. At least I thought it was at first, what with all the flashing, blinking, whirring many-coloured, blinding lights. Turns out it was just a snowplough. I should have known by the fact that it was only doing 40km/hr all the way into work.
I bet that's what happened at Roswell. Some military guy got sick and tired of crawling behind the snowplough and blew it away, then claimed he though it was a UFO. (Yes, I know Roswell is in the desert. What's your point?) The rest was just his bosses covering for him and it kind of got out of hand.
I drove into work this morning behind one of those spacecraft from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. At least I thought it was at first, what with all the flashing, blinking, whirring many-coloured, blinding lights. Turns out it was just a snowplough. I should have known by the fact that it was only doing 40km/hr all the way into work.
I bet that's what happened at Roswell. Some military guy got sick and tired of crawling behind the snowplough and blew it away, then claimed he though it was a UFO. (Yes, I know Roswell is in the desert. What's your point?) The rest was just his bosses covering for him and it kind of got out of hand.
January 28, 2013
I'm no marketing genius but...
A colleague at work lent me the first of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child. I saw the Tom Cruise movie and liked it, so figured what the heck. I figured I'd look them up on Amazon, and if I liked the first one I'd just buy the rest as Kindle downloads.
I know a lot of people complain that e-books are too expensive, and I've heard the arguments from both sides as to why they should or shouldn't be, but seriously? I can buy most of the Jack Reacher books in paperback for about $10.88. The Kindle editions--$12.86. WTF? No matter how you slice it, there's no way the e-book format should cost more than the paperback, I don't care what cockamamie (always wanted to use that word; just now figured out how to spell it) excuses you come up with.
I know a lot of people complain that e-books are too expensive, and I've heard the arguments from both sides as to why they should or shouldn't be, but seriously? I can buy most of the Jack Reacher books in paperback for about $10.88. The Kindle editions--$12.86. WTF? No matter how you slice it, there's no way the e-book format should cost more than the paperback, I don't care what cockamamie (always wanted to use that word; just now figured out how to spell it) excuses you come up with.
January 21, 2013
Round...um...8; Down but not out.
It seems the world has conspired to ensure that I always make just enough money to get by, but never quite enough to be comfortable.
Just when I finish paying off one debt that should set me free, a new one arises. Finally, I figured I had it beat, but this time instead of saddling me with a new debt the world figured it would lower my income instead. Tricksy world.
As a reward for 30 years of military service, starting 1 April I will henceforth only be employed part-time—12 days a month—at least until the next war breaks out and the gov't figures they need me again. My new income will afford me roughly $300 less than what I need per month to actually cover my expenses. Forget about things like spending money, or entertainment. Oh, and all my benefits are gone, too. No medical, dental, ect.
The dream is, of course, to supplement my income with my writing. Seeing as I only made about $400 in book sales last year though, I'd better get cracking and write more books.
The upside is that I only work 12 days a month, so I should have more time to write—or get a job delivering pizza.
Just when I finish paying off one debt that should set me free, a new one arises. Finally, I figured I had it beat, but this time instead of saddling me with a new debt the world figured it would lower my income instead. Tricksy world.
As a reward for 30 years of military service, starting 1 April I will henceforth only be employed part-time—12 days a month—at least until the next war breaks out and the gov't figures they need me again. My new income will afford me roughly $300 less than what I need per month to actually cover my expenses. Forget about things like spending money, or entertainment. Oh, and all my benefits are gone, too. No medical, dental, ect.
The dream is, of course, to supplement my income with my writing. Seeing as I only made about $400 in book sales last year though, I'd better get cracking and write more books.
The upside is that I only work 12 days a month, so I should have more time to write—or get a job delivering pizza.
January 18, 2013
Author Obsession #451
I submitted my manuscript for THE MOONLIGHT WAR to the HARPER VOYAGER thingy on the first day they were open for submissions. In a classy move on their part, the people at VOYAGER have stated that they would respond to each and every submission so as to not leave us authors hanging.
To the best of my knowledge they started sending responses on 8 January, 2013. (As per their website: (ETA: We’ve started sending responses, both status reports for those manuscripts still under consideration and beginning to respond to those that do not work for our list (sorry).)
No one knows whether or not they're working in order from date of submission, but people who submitted much later than I did have already heard back. (I've only heard of rejections so far.) I still haven't heard anything, and I'm assuming the reason for this is, in descending order of likelihood, with the most likely being #1:
1. They've lost my manuscript or never received it. It fell into an inter-dimensional portal or was carried off by goblins, or maybe was deleted with the spam mail, or fell between the desk and the water cooler.
2. They rejected it, but the response got lost in my spam filter.
3. They're waiting for me to post this on my blog before rejecting me, thereby making me look foolish. (More foolish?)
4. Somewhere there's a Steve Perry in Schenectady wondering why the hell Harper Voyager is emailing them
5. The whole "Harper Collins soliciting unagented manuscripts" thing is just a big elaborate practical joke perpetrated by my friends who obviously have too much time on their hands and don't care if they hurt my grubby little feelings.
6. They haven't read it yet.
7. It's passed the first round and is under consideration for publication.
To the best of my knowledge they started sending responses on 8 January, 2013. (As per their website: (ETA: We’ve started sending responses, both status reports for those manuscripts still under consideration and beginning to respond to those that do not work for our list (sorry).)
No one knows whether or not they're working in order from date of submission, but people who submitted much later than I did have already heard back. (I've only heard of rejections so far.) I still haven't heard anything, and I'm assuming the reason for this is, in descending order of likelihood, with the most likely being #1:
1. They've lost my manuscript or never received it. It fell into an inter-dimensional portal or was carried off by goblins, or maybe was deleted with the spam mail, or fell between the desk and the water cooler.
2. They rejected it, but the response got lost in my spam filter.
3. They're waiting for me to post this on my blog before rejecting me, thereby making me look foolish. (More foolish?)
4. Somewhere there's a Steve Perry in Schenectady wondering why the hell Harper Voyager is emailing them
5. The whole "Harper Collins soliciting unagented manuscripts" thing is just a big elaborate practical joke perpetrated by my friends who obviously have too much time on their hands and don't care if they hurt my grubby little feelings.
6. They haven't read it yet.
7. It's passed the first round and is under consideration for publication.
January 17, 2013
I'm not an Empath, nor do I play one on TV.
This is my take on the Native American plight, trying to see it from their perspective.
One day a bunch of guys with guns come to your home and tell you they're taking over your house. The Fearless Leader has decided he needs it to be closer to the arena so he can visit his kids when they play hockey. But they're not monsters, so they say you can keep the Master Bedroom and ensuite, and the Rec Room. After all, you have to live someplace, and hey, they're armed, so what can you do. Don't worry, it's your bedroom/Rec Room, and they wouldn't dream of telling you what to do in your own place. So you sign a contract to that effect. And hey, here's $20.
The next morning there's a note under your door. "The Fearless Leader likes to go to bed around 8:00 PM, and your walking about is keeping him awake, so if you could all go to bed around 8:00 PM too, no one needs to get shot. Thanks. P.S. From now on no baths, just showers."
A couple of weeks later there's a knock on your bedroom door and they tell you that, you know what? Our fearless leader has taken a shining to your Master Bedroom. After all, you really don't need it. There's a toilet and shower just off the Rec Room, and if you put a pullout couch in there you'll do just fine. Oh, and btw, from now on your kids are Hari Krishnas, and are named Jagadisa and Syamsundar. Don't worry about finding room for them in the Rec Room, because we're sending them away to school where they can learn to be good Krishnas. Contract? What contract? Here, here's a new one with the new terms. Just sign here. No? Don't worry about it; you can sign it later. Have another $20.
A week later someone shows up in your Rec Room to tell you that they just realised that the TV is in the Rec Room. What were they thinking? Not to worry, though, they've set a tent up for you in the back yard, and a porta-potty. Contract? Don't be ridicules. Here, have $10.
BTW, we're running a kerosene pipeline across the back yard so the Fearless Leader can heat his vodka still. I hope it doesn't drip on your tent. Anyway, what are you complaining about? We gave you a place to live, we even educated your kids, all for free! Some people are just so ungrateful. Here, here's $5.
One day a bunch of guys with guns come to your home and tell you they're taking over your house. The Fearless Leader has decided he needs it to be closer to the arena so he can visit his kids when they play hockey. But they're not monsters, so they say you can keep the Master Bedroom and ensuite, and the Rec Room. After all, you have to live someplace, and hey, they're armed, so what can you do. Don't worry, it's your bedroom/Rec Room, and they wouldn't dream of telling you what to do in your own place. So you sign a contract to that effect. And hey, here's $20.
The next morning there's a note under your door. "The Fearless Leader likes to go to bed around 8:00 PM, and your walking about is keeping him awake, so if you could all go to bed around 8:00 PM too, no one needs to get shot. Thanks. P.S. From now on no baths, just showers."
A couple of weeks later there's a knock on your bedroom door and they tell you that, you know what? Our fearless leader has taken a shining to your Master Bedroom. After all, you really don't need it. There's a toilet and shower just off the Rec Room, and if you put a pullout couch in there you'll do just fine. Oh, and btw, from now on your kids are Hari Krishnas, and are named Jagadisa and Syamsundar. Don't worry about finding room for them in the Rec Room, because we're sending them away to school where they can learn to be good Krishnas. Contract? What contract? Here, here's a new one with the new terms. Just sign here. No? Don't worry about it; you can sign it later. Have another $20.
A week later someone shows up in your Rec Room to tell you that they just realised that the TV is in the Rec Room. What were they thinking? Not to worry, though, they've set a tent up for you in the back yard, and a porta-potty. Contract? Don't be ridicules. Here, have $10.
BTW, we're running a kerosene pipeline across the back yard so the Fearless Leader can heat his vodka still. I hope it doesn't drip on your tent. Anyway, what are you complaining about? We gave you a place to live, we even educated your kids, all for free! Some people are just so ungrateful. Here, here's $5.
