Raymond Gaynor's Blog, page 37
May 18, 2021
AUTHENTICITY
THE past few days, I’ve been in conversation with my friend and sometimes co-author, the incomparable William Maltese, over a new phase in my life: Several weeks ago, I auditioned for a part in an upcoming made-for-television movie entitled “Static” (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie), to my surprise, landing the leading role of Will Gardner, a crotchety old man suffering onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s a dramatic piece, originally written by the outstanding Savant screenwriter and author, Richard Rose (https://richardroseauthor.com), presenting an opportunity for me to reprise the role of my own father in what resulted in a tumultuous childhood and his tragic and still emotionally unresolved death. It’s an opportunity I am pleased to be able to take on at this point in my life.
What has come up during rehearsals, is authenticity. In a dramatic work, it’s not enough to read-the-lines well while going through all the required motions in the various scenes. As the director, Kenny Simmons (https://www.facebook.com/ksimmonsprod...) repeatedly cajoles, it has to be authentic. That’s left me with a lot of wondering what exactly it means not just in my character role, but as an actor, and more broadly, in terms of my own life. How “authentic” is anyone?
Psychologists today hold that up to ninety-five percent of everything we do is subconscious. Automatic. Reflexive. The “Little Brain” (the cerebellum that controls fine motor coordination), spinal and autonomic systems taking care of issues that allow us to reserve the Big Brain, the cerebrum, for making big decisions. If so, then how “authentic” is “normal” life? And what about all those popular CGI-action movies today? So much effort goes into making them seem “real.” And what is “authentic” authoring or acting anyway?
As an author, this issue is constantly at the forefront. Authoring, after all, is all about word choice in an attempt in most cases to create “authenticity” whether in pure fiction or novels or non-fiction, novels, the most popular, typically being a mixture of history (his-story) and fiction, often called today, “historical fiction.” It was a major issue in the authoring my newest work, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, one of my several pen names. Talk about authenticity! And right from the start surrounding simply an author’s name! This whole issue helped me rethink what began as a techno-science fiction thriller into an entirely new genre, that of techno-science futuring, in which the technology and science of today were plausibly extrapolated into a new world, where, “Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.” Call it a literary mirror, gazing into which readers can use what they read to make better informed decisions in the REAL AUTHENTIC world, as much as it can be said to be such. The mere fact that the line between real and unreal, authentic and inauthentic is not only blurred, but reality and authenticity themselves are blurred and veiled that makes the experience of reading THE EDGE OF MADNESS so poignant. Or so I believe. But then, I’m an author, now actor, simply working hard to make reality real.
The Edge of Madness
Kindle version on sale for $1.99 through May 2021 — also available in printed format; soon to become an audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
What has come up during rehearsals, is authenticity. In a dramatic work, it’s not enough to read-the-lines well while going through all the required motions in the various scenes. As the director, Kenny Simmons (https://www.facebook.com/ksimmonsprod...) repeatedly cajoles, it has to be authentic. That’s left me with a lot of wondering what exactly it means not just in my character role, but as an actor, and more broadly, in terms of my own life. How “authentic” is anyone?
Psychologists today hold that up to ninety-five percent of everything we do is subconscious. Automatic. Reflexive. The “Little Brain” (the cerebellum that controls fine motor coordination), spinal and autonomic systems taking care of issues that allow us to reserve the Big Brain, the cerebrum, for making big decisions. If so, then how “authentic” is “normal” life? And what about all those popular CGI-action movies today? So much effort goes into making them seem “real.” And what is “authentic” authoring or acting anyway?
As an author, this issue is constantly at the forefront. Authoring, after all, is all about word choice in an attempt in most cases to create “authenticity” whether in pure fiction or novels or non-fiction, novels, the most popular, typically being a mixture of history (his-story) and fiction, often called today, “historical fiction.” It was a major issue in the authoring my newest work, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, one of my several pen names. Talk about authenticity! And right from the start surrounding simply an author’s name! This whole issue helped me rethink what began as a techno-science fiction thriller into an entirely new genre, that of techno-science futuring, in which the technology and science of today were plausibly extrapolated into a new world, where, “Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.” Call it a literary mirror, gazing into which readers can use what they read to make better informed decisions in the REAL AUTHENTIC world, as much as it can be said to be such. The mere fact that the line between real and unreal, authentic and inauthentic is not only blurred, but reality and authenticity themselves are blurred and veiled that makes the experience of reading THE EDGE OF MADNESS so poignant. Or so I believe. But then, I’m an author, now actor, simply working hard to make reality real.
The Edge of Madness
Kindle version on sale for $1.99 through May 2021 — also available in printed format; soon to become an audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 16, 2021
EGAD! THEY’VE FINALLY MADE TASTELESS FRUIT!
BEING a “mostly” vegetarian by choice and not obligation, I’ve always been one to favor fruit, something I’ve never regretted, being also a hedonist, epicurean and succulent fruit lover. However, every year for the past ten or so, the fruit in the grocery stores has continued to improve visually indirectly proportional to smell and taste as well as ripeness and sugar content. Today I bought a package of apricots, one of my personal, seasonal favorites. Grown in the good ol’ USA, under strict USDA guidelines, or so I assume, given that there is no label information on herbicides or pesticides used. Thoroughly washed, I held the visually perfect apricot in hand while I took a large bit, breathing in what should have been the complex, invigorating aroma of a ripe apricot. To my surprise, it had no smell and no taste. Not even sweetness (though admittedly not bitter like fruit picked far before it’s time). It had the apricot texture and look, but absolutely nothing else. Then it struck me that fruit producers and grocery stores had at last succeeded in producing perfectly tasteless fruit. Aside from texture, it might as well have been a small plum, peach or nectarine. One tasteless all.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not another vicenarian who hasn’t ever tasted a “real” apricot, plum, peach or nectarine. And I don’t suffer from post-COVID anosmia. On the contrary, I’ve spent several months in Japan, where farmers molly-coddle their veggies and fruit, enticing them to visual, textural, olfactory and gustatory perfection including just the right sweetness for the specific variety. So I know how a good fruit should and could taste, even given the limitations of commercial agriculture. Sadly, I know how a good apricot should smell and taste, but fear I am one of the last living beings with both the knowledge and experience. And by the way, is there anything as sensual or erotically exciting as a truly juicy, ripe apricot or peach? Could that be why today’s birthrates are dropping? Go figure.
In my newest book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, I deal specifically with this problem. What, at the least, is lacking today is a conscious realization that plants, like animals and humans, are living things. They’re not just a sales product. We absolutely need plants in order to to exist. It’s about respect for that which we, as a top predator, can not exist without. It’s about a sense of stewardship for the planet which sustains us. And ultimately, it’s about balance. Koyaanisqatsi, the Hopi’s would say. Balance in all things so that the organic living whole Gaia doesn’t dis-integrate and life ultimately ceases to exist. Like Mars? Go figure.
Naming the animals and plants after themselves…? The idea was to inspire feelings of environmental stewardship through government established and funded official Naming Ceremonies—N-Cares—whereby human caretakers and the animal or plant names of their now ‘cultivated natural’ darlings would be publicly announced, ceremoniously celebrated, then recorded digitally in ever-expanding governmental N-Cares information vaults called I-Cares.” The honor caught on and the practical result was immediate: I-Cares, in essence governmental genetic diversity repositories, sprang up everywhere, and awardees gladly paid for public recognition, contractually committing themselves to husbanding the animals or plants which they had name-recognized for the duration of the human’s life. As a further honorific, caretakers were permitted to wear a light blue colored armband. At the same time, the government inserted a tiny, inert, bioluminescent DNA tag into the now protected entity, identifying it as under the care and protection of the government by way of that particular human caretaker.
The Edge of Madness
Kindle version on sale for $1.99 through May 2021 — also available in printed format; soon to become an audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not another vicenarian who hasn’t ever tasted a “real” apricot, plum, peach or nectarine. And I don’t suffer from post-COVID anosmia. On the contrary, I’ve spent several months in Japan, where farmers molly-coddle their veggies and fruit, enticing them to visual, textural, olfactory and gustatory perfection including just the right sweetness for the specific variety. So I know how a good fruit should and could taste, even given the limitations of commercial agriculture. Sadly, I know how a good apricot should smell and taste, but fear I am one of the last living beings with both the knowledge and experience. And by the way, is there anything as sensual or erotically exciting as a truly juicy, ripe apricot or peach? Could that be why today’s birthrates are dropping? Go figure.
In my newest book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, I deal specifically with this problem. What, at the least, is lacking today is a conscious realization that plants, like animals and humans, are living things. They’re not just a sales product. We absolutely need plants in order to to exist. It’s about respect for that which we, as a top predator, can not exist without. It’s about a sense of stewardship for the planet which sustains us. And ultimately, it’s about balance. Koyaanisqatsi, the Hopi’s would say. Balance in all things so that the organic living whole Gaia doesn’t dis-integrate and life ultimately ceases to exist. Like Mars? Go figure.
Naming the animals and plants after themselves…? The idea was to inspire feelings of environmental stewardship through government established and funded official Naming Ceremonies—N-Cares—whereby human caretakers and the animal or plant names of their now ‘cultivated natural’ darlings would be publicly announced, ceremoniously celebrated, then recorded digitally in ever-expanding governmental N-Cares information vaults called I-Cares.” The honor caught on and the practical result was immediate: I-Cares, in essence governmental genetic diversity repositories, sprang up everywhere, and awardees gladly paid for public recognition, contractually committing themselves to husbanding the animals or plants which they had name-recognized for the duration of the human’s life. As a further honorific, caretakers were permitted to wear a light blue colored armband. At the same time, the government inserted a tiny, inert, bioluminescent DNA tag into the now protected entity, identifying it as under the care and protection of the government by way of that particular human caretaker.
The Edge of Madness
Kindle version on sale for $1.99 through May 2021 — also available in printed format; soon to become an audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 13, 2021
TO THINK OR TO DO, THAT IS THE QUESTION…
CORRESPONDING today with my dear friend and colleague, the multi-talented, multi-award-winning author, William Maltese, the question arose: Which is better? To think or to do? It all stems from discussing with him my having been asked to audition for a role in an upcoming made-for-television movie, “Static,” written fellow author and screenwriter Richard Rose and purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions (https://kspllc.media).
You know, “To be, or not to be? That is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles…” (from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet;” the emphases are mine). To think or to do, that is and has always been the “big question” in life. Should I revel in being an author, continuing my lifelong perfection of the craft, conceding to daydreams my secret longing to act what I can write, or should I fling myself, a novice, onto the arduous and not-always-flattering stage, embodying, for better or worse, an aspiration I’ve always clandestinely harbored?
It wasn’t really that hard to decide. Of course, there’s always that issue of whether, based on the audition (yes, I chose action and auditioned), I’ll be chosen for a part. No small issue, I admit.
Applying this to any calling, vocation or divertissement, it’s my personal opinion that, if willing to pursue something to the greatest of one’s ability, action is preferable to commiseration. Having tried, irrespective of the outcome, is infinitely preferable to having never tried at all. Life is, after all, about experience, as all three young protagonists in my newest book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor would unabashedly proclaim. “Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.” And, like me at this crossroads, live they do! Check out this video book review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
THE EDGE OF MADNESS by Raymond Gaynor — $1.99 as a Kindle ebook through May 2021 — is also available in printed format; soon to become an audiobook read by Peter Pollock. Purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
The Edge of Madness
You know, “To be, or not to be? That is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles…” (from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet;” the emphases are mine). To think or to do, that is and has always been the “big question” in life. Should I revel in being an author, continuing my lifelong perfection of the craft, conceding to daydreams my secret longing to act what I can write, or should I fling myself, a novice, onto the arduous and not-always-flattering stage, embodying, for better or worse, an aspiration I’ve always clandestinely harbored?
It wasn’t really that hard to decide. Of course, there’s always that issue of whether, based on the audition (yes, I chose action and auditioned), I’ll be chosen for a part. No small issue, I admit.
Applying this to any calling, vocation or divertissement, it’s my personal opinion that, if willing to pursue something to the greatest of one’s ability, action is preferable to commiseration. Having tried, irrespective of the outcome, is infinitely preferable to having never tried at all. Life is, after all, about experience, as all three young protagonists in my newest book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor would unabashedly proclaim. “Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.” And, like me at this crossroads, live they do! Check out this video book review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
THE EDGE OF MADNESS by Raymond Gaynor — $1.99 as a Kindle ebook through May 2021 — is also available in printed format; soon to become an audiobook read by Peter Pollock. Purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
The Edge of Madness
May 11, 2021
WHY AUTHORS AUTHOR AND WRITERS WRITE
REFLECTING on my authoring career in during a recent interview, I was once again impressed with the chasm that exists between writing and authoring, one that took me thirty plus years to successfully bridge. And I wasn’t undecided; I knew I wanted to be an author from the start, having written my first novella at sixteen years of age. I sent my 100+ page (25,000+ word) sci-fi manuscript entitled “The Parabolic Curve” to seventy-five publishing houses. It never went to publication, though unbeknownst to me, at sixteen, I had enrolled in the Hard Knocks College of Authoring.
Plastering my bedroom wall with pink rejection slips (many were half-page in size and pink), I vowed to find a publisher who could value what I had to say. What followed were twenty challenging years of writing: poems and essays for college newspapers, magazines and yearbooks; articles for commercial magazines; opinion letters to newspapers; reports to technical and scientific journals; as well as hundreds of short stories for anthologies. During the course of my authoring “studies,” I slowly came to realize that authoring was much, much more than writing for a target audience. Authoring involves creating an author “personality,” establishing a voice on social media, garnering publications initially through self-publishing (a totally new concept in my time), then vanity publishing and finally finding a home with several traditional publishers. “Maturing” my writing included creating better narrative, and more distinct characters through dialog; effectively but appropriately dealing with major life issues like violence, violation, spirituality, romance, love and sex; learning to work with professional editors, proofreaders, publicity and marketing staff; becoming comfortable appearing publicly in association with my works — in short, acting like a professional author. Authoring these days continues to challenge me to author stories that are more complex, richer, bold and engaging.
So, why author my newest book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor? Because, in the end, irrespective of everything I’ve just said above, I am an author. I have something from my years of professional crafting and jack-of-all-trades “renaissance man” life experience that in my very bones begs to be told. These days I author with a purpose: to provide my readers with a mirror in which to see themselves and thereby help make better life choices. Every generation’s participants “writes a story” and collectively authored, they create a “generation genre.” Good or bad, happy or sad, each generation with the help of its authors sculpts out an iconic “meaning” for that particular generation in the ongoing story of humankind.
In THE EDGE OF MADNESS, author Raymond Gaynor “touches on many sensitive issues in our current world. From this perspective, the book is thought-provoking and invites us to see things in a different light. For example, NewAmericans promote an education system based on cooperation and critical thinking rather than individualism and competitiveness. Fascinated by the unique worldbuilding, I often…re-read…explanations about the technological wonders of the new world (‘ContraSpray,’ ‘Eugitors,’ ‘CandyShades,’ ‘CandyCable,’ ‘Forty-Seven Suits,’ ‘T-rips’). [Character] relationships often display an inherent eroticism. All in all…[a] novel for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction interested in social and political transformation, technological change, sexual awakening and spiritual development.”
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS by Raymond Gaynor -- $1.99 as a Kindle ebook through May 2021 is also available as a printed book; soon to become an audiobook read by Peter Pollock. Purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
Plastering my bedroom wall with pink rejection slips (many were half-page in size and pink), I vowed to find a publisher who could value what I had to say. What followed were twenty challenging years of writing: poems and essays for college newspapers, magazines and yearbooks; articles for commercial magazines; opinion letters to newspapers; reports to technical and scientific journals; as well as hundreds of short stories for anthologies. During the course of my authoring “studies,” I slowly came to realize that authoring was much, much more than writing for a target audience. Authoring involves creating an author “personality,” establishing a voice on social media, garnering publications initially through self-publishing (a totally new concept in my time), then vanity publishing and finally finding a home with several traditional publishers. “Maturing” my writing included creating better narrative, and more distinct characters through dialog; effectively but appropriately dealing with major life issues like violence, violation, spirituality, romance, love and sex; learning to work with professional editors, proofreaders, publicity and marketing staff; becoming comfortable appearing publicly in association with my works — in short, acting like a professional author. Authoring these days continues to challenge me to author stories that are more complex, richer, bold and engaging.
So, why author my newest book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor? Because, in the end, irrespective of everything I’ve just said above, I am an author. I have something from my years of professional crafting and jack-of-all-trades “renaissance man” life experience that in my very bones begs to be told. These days I author with a purpose: to provide my readers with a mirror in which to see themselves and thereby help make better life choices. Every generation’s participants “writes a story” and collectively authored, they create a “generation genre.” Good or bad, happy or sad, each generation with the help of its authors sculpts out an iconic “meaning” for that particular generation in the ongoing story of humankind.
In THE EDGE OF MADNESS, author Raymond Gaynor “touches on many sensitive issues in our current world. From this perspective, the book is thought-provoking and invites us to see things in a different light. For example, NewAmericans promote an education system based on cooperation and critical thinking rather than individualism and competitiveness. Fascinated by the unique worldbuilding, I often…re-read…explanations about the technological wonders of the new world (‘ContraSpray,’ ‘Eugitors,’ ‘CandyShades,’ ‘CandyCable,’ ‘Forty-Seven Suits,’ ‘T-rips’). [Character] relationships often display an inherent eroticism. All in all…[a] novel for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction interested in social and political transformation, technological change, sexual awakening and spiritual development.”
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS by Raymond Gaynor -- $1.99 as a Kindle ebook through May 2021 is also available as a printed book; soon to become an audiobook read by Peter Pollock. Purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 9, 2021
SALE! – THE EDGE OF MADNESS – SALE!
Raymond Gaynor’s science fiction thriller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS is on special Kindle eBook sale: Regularly $7.95, only $1.99 through 31 May 2021 at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B1663ZZ.
Video Book Review at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
Also available as a printed book; soon to become an audiobook read by Peter Pollock. Purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
Video Book Review at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
Also available as a printed book; soon to become an audiobook read by Peter Pollock. Purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 7, 2021
INVASION OF THE MIND-SNATCHERS!
OKAY, so this may sound a but surprising, given the title of today’s post, but “I’m Raymond Gaynor and I’m a plant lover” (if you haven’t already guess that). I live in a high-rise condo and have a small two-foot wide outdoor porch upon which I exercise my secret love, openly, yes, in public. Right now I have three pots of Japanese cucumbers, one of Charentais Cantaloupe, one of Japanese onions, one of hybrid bush tomatoes and one of tiny, mildly spicy Oriental green peppers. One pot of Japanese cucumbers has already “climbed the fence” and is is rapidly spreading, threatening to take over the entire porch. Reminds me of a bit of “Little Shop of Horrors” with it’s tens of bright yellow toothy flowers grinning at me as the plant begins to overgrow porch and its colleagues. I keep telling myself, one can’t ever have enough cucs, but really…
Reminds me a bit of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” with “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” and “The Woman Eater” all combined. I’m poised to start dreaming of my Japanese cucumber plants working their way through the floor-to-ceiling sliding door and into my bedroom…
But I digress. The purpose of the title of this post wasn’t to eulogize or vilify my one, overly ambitious Japanese Cucumber plant. I was thinking more about book publicity and marketing, the ultimate purpose of which is to invade every potential readers’ home and snatch their awake or dreaming mind sufficiently to compel the purchase of a copy of the printed book, or, given the times, ebook, audiobook, manga, animation or movie. Just so with THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor. Think of my restless cucumber plant, and, well, buy a copy of my latest novel, in one reviewer’s words, “exciting…intriguing…mysterious…unpredictable…entertaining…I would recommend this book to adults and younger adults who like science fiction and mystery books about the future.”
Just like my porch cucs. See how they connect? Well, yes or no, here’s the Amazon URL to get your copy:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
Reminds me a bit of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” with “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” and “The Woman Eater” all combined. I’m poised to start dreaming of my Japanese cucumber plants working their way through the floor-to-ceiling sliding door and into my bedroom…
But I digress. The purpose of the title of this post wasn’t to eulogize or vilify my one, overly ambitious Japanese Cucumber plant. I was thinking more about book publicity and marketing, the ultimate purpose of which is to invade every potential readers’ home and snatch their awake or dreaming mind sufficiently to compel the purchase of a copy of the printed book, or, given the times, ebook, audiobook, manga, animation or movie. Just so with THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor. Think of my restless cucumber plant, and, well, buy a copy of my latest novel, in one reviewer’s words, “exciting…intriguing…mysterious…unpredictable…entertaining…I would recommend this book to adults and younger adults who like science fiction and mystery books about the future.”
Just like my porch cucs. See how they connect? Well, yes or no, here’s the Amazon URL to get your copy:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 6, 2021
ROLL OVER INDIANA JONES…
JUST read “The unsolved mystery of Sri Lanka’s ‘Stargate’ by Demi Perera on CNN (http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210...), and have to admit it got my science fiction juices flowing. Not just flowing, but hot to boiling! As those of you who’ve read my latest book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor know, I’m particularly fascinated by the new M-Superstring Theory and the Multiverse. Reads like a great sci-fi book or movie title, doesn’t it? But the idea that our universe is only one of many, some almost perfect copies of our own (the key word being “almost”), and that people will someday be able to move from one universe to another without dying is particularly intriguing.
Some years ago, at an author lecture, I was asked for an example of how the Multiverse, if true, would affect life as we experience it day-to-day. It was meant as a challenge to the idea of a Multiverse; however, I took it literally, as I do many progressive issues breached in THE EDGE OF MADNESS. What suddenly occurred to me was that psychology and psychiatry, with it’s often 50-50 effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs, was actually just a way of suppressing the anxiety of having one foot in one universe, and the other in another. Perhaps, I mused aloud, the delusions and hallucinations weren’t illusory. What if they were brief glimpses into another universe? If so, then the best treatment would be to help the patient get grounded in one universe or the other. That was apparently enough for to silence the challenger and crowd.
Making the Multiverse have “meaning” to us in our time and place is the greater challenge of THE EDGE OF MADNESS, and in striving for such, I think the work is aptly named, for I look to the effect of a Multiverse on such diverse topics as birth, trust, affection, love, gender, romance, procreation, governance, politics, ethics, education and the myriad other areas of concern in contemporary life in this universe. Are you ready for a thought challenge, after all there are no thought-crimes…or are there? Goodbye ‘Indiana Jones’ — Enter a ‘Stargate’ like you’ve never imagined before.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
Some years ago, at an author lecture, I was asked for an example of how the Multiverse, if true, would affect life as we experience it day-to-day. It was meant as a challenge to the idea of a Multiverse; however, I took it literally, as I do many progressive issues breached in THE EDGE OF MADNESS. What suddenly occurred to me was that psychology and psychiatry, with it’s often 50-50 effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs, was actually just a way of suppressing the anxiety of having one foot in one universe, and the other in another. Perhaps, I mused aloud, the delusions and hallucinations weren’t illusory. What if they were brief glimpses into another universe? If so, then the best treatment would be to help the patient get grounded in one universe or the other. That was apparently enough for to silence the challenger and crowd.
Making the Multiverse have “meaning” to us in our time and place is the greater challenge of THE EDGE OF MADNESS, and in striving for such, I think the work is aptly named, for I look to the effect of a Multiverse on such diverse topics as birth, trust, affection, love, gender, romance, procreation, governance, politics, ethics, education and the myriad other areas of concern in contemporary life in this universe. Are you ready for a thought challenge, after all there are no thought-crimes…or are there? Goodbye ‘Indiana Jones’ — Enter a ‘Stargate’ like you’ve never imagined before.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 5, 2021
SO HERE’S THE THING ABOUT AUTHORING
IN the publishing world, a writer writes for him or herself, while an author writes for a target audience, commonly designated by a “genre.” A writer doesn’t need a publisher; an author may or may not, depending on whether one wishes to “self-publish,” or contract with a vanity or “regular” press. Usually, contracting for the first time with an established press is considered one’s author debut.
I read that in today’s market, there is no need for a regular publisher. In fact, while an established publisher typically provides, but doesn’t charge for editing, polishing, proofing, publicity and marketing, it’s not uncommon to start off one’s authoring career being paid less than 5% of net sales. I know, I did. And it’s not easy to “hook up” with a traditional publisher, as the larger ones typically want only established bestselling authors. After all, it is a business. And there’s the front/back listing of which to be aware. Large publishers typically give a new release 3 weeks to several months to “hit” it big in sales, or the work, and unfortunately the author’s reputation is backlisted, never an enviable position for an otherwise “up and coming” author.
The other big consideration is publicity and marketing. After all, if one’s financial reward is tied to sales, and no one know’s the author’s name or book title, it won’t likely be found easily on the big retail market platforms of today like Amazon, GooglePlay or iTunes Books. DIY publishing or self-publishing can present a much greater return on sales, but the necessary publicity and marketing channels are much harder to gain entrance to; many authors, including authors with vanity presses end up paying for publicity and marketing. Having a small-to-medium sized, established, independent publisher with both a publicist and a marketing specialist is one of the most compelling arguments for working hard to become a published member of a traditional publishing house “stable” of authors. The ability to meet, correspond, work with and learn from other published author colleagues is another reason.
The publishing industry is challenging and changing, but the benefits of working with a publisher, for me, vastly outnumber the liabilities, as well as the time and effort involved in affiliating with one. There’s a certain place in authoring where it’s nice to have an organization behind you, whose sole income comes from sales, assuring me that the publisher is doing everything possible to help me with publicity, marketing and sales, giving me the time I need to author my next book.
Finally, I feel compelled to mention that, for me at least, author is a passion. It’s only secondarily a business, and it had to be more so at the beginning than after becoming a member of several publisher stables. Authoring is a hard occupation, much like painting, dancing or sculpture. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” For every author whose name is a household word, there are hundreds, even thousands struggling to survive long enough to have the opportunity of “making it.”
My opinion.
For individuals interested in my latest publication, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) the press release can be found at https://www.prlog.org/12825474.
Sincerely,
Raymond Gaynor
Author of THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020)
Co-author with A. G. Hayes of QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) and with William Maltese of TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009)
Author website at https://garymartine.yolasite.com/raym...
Author Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/raymond.gayn...
Author Twitter site at https://www.savantbooksandpublication...
Amazon author page at https://www.amazon.com/Raymond-Gaynor...
Amazon Goodreads author page at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Savant Books and Publications | Aignos Publishing author page at https://www.savantbooksandpublication...
Distributed by Savant Distribution at https://www.savantdistribution.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
$7.95 Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
I read that in today’s market, there is no need for a regular publisher. In fact, while an established publisher typically provides, but doesn’t charge for editing, polishing, proofing, publicity and marketing, it’s not uncommon to start off one’s authoring career being paid less than 5% of net sales. I know, I did. And it’s not easy to “hook up” with a traditional publisher, as the larger ones typically want only established bestselling authors. After all, it is a business. And there’s the front/back listing of which to be aware. Large publishers typically give a new release 3 weeks to several months to “hit” it big in sales, or the work, and unfortunately the author’s reputation is backlisted, never an enviable position for an otherwise “up and coming” author.
The other big consideration is publicity and marketing. After all, if one’s financial reward is tied to sales, and no one know’s the author’s name or book title, it won’t likely be found easily on the big retail market platforms of today like Amazon, GooglePlay or iTunes Books. DIY publishing or self-publishing can present a much greater return on sales, but the necessary publicity and marketing channels are much harder to gain entrance to; many authors, including authors with vanity presses end up paying for publicity and marketing. Having a small-to-medium sized, established, independent publisher with both a publicist and a marketing specialist is one of the most compelling arguments for working hard to become a published member of a traditional publishing house “stable” of authors. The ability to meet, correspond, work with and learn from other published author colleagues is another reason.
The publishing industry is challenging and changing, but the benefits of working with a publisher, for me, vastly outnumber the liabilities, as well as the time and effort involved in affiliating with one. There’s a certain place in authoring where it’s nice to have an organization behind you, whose sole income comes from sales, assuring me that the publisher is doing everything possible to help me with publicity, marketing and sales, giving me the time I need to author my next book.
Finally, I feel compelled to mention that, for me at least, author is a passion. It’s only secondarily a business, and it had to be more so at the beginning than after becoming a member of several publisher stables. Authoring is a hard occupation, much like painting, dancing or sculpture. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” For every author whose name is a household word, there are hundreds, even thousands struggling to survive long enough to have the opportunity of “making it.”
My opinion.
For individuals interested in my latest publication, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) the press release can be found at https://www.prlog.org/12825474.
Sincerely,
Raymond Gaynor
Author of THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020)
Co-author with A. G. Hayes of QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) and with William Maltese of TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009)
Author website at https://garymartine.yolasite.com/raym...
Author Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/raymond.gayn...
Author Twitter site at https://www.savantbooksandpublication...
Amazon author page at https://www.amazon.com/Raymond-Gaynor...
Amazon Goodreads author page at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Savant Books and Publications | Aignos Publishing author page at https://www.savantbooksandpublication...
Distributed by Savant Distribution at https://www.savantdistribution.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
$7.95 Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 4, 2021
A QUIXOTIC THING, ROMANCE
LATELY, I have been delving into the dark sea of neurobiological “romance” that ebbs and tides so strongly about human relations, especially sex. In essence, romance is about assuring each other of conjugal safety, trust, fidelity and devotion while releasing the sexual tigers within. A quixotic, even paradoxical thing, romance. And it has to happen in the above sequence to be most effective and ultimately, satisfying, both in the short and long term.
The neurobiology of romance suggests that what is necessary is to first favor the parasympathetic (rest and relax) autonomic nervous system, in the process releasing the sympathetic (fight or flight) autonomic nervous system. Again, in that sequence. And that applies equally, though somewhat physically differently, to both partners.
The general biology now clear, we can focus on the emotional aspects of romance. First, however, it is important to distinguish between emotions and feelings. Emotions are purely hormonal. These hormones are released by one or a variety of “triggers,” typically sensual, but equally imaginative. At any rate, the most important hormones surrounding romance are released (“flooded”) into the bloodstream, where they elicit certain pre-programmed behaviors. Feelings, on the other hand, are sensed muscular contractions of both voluntary (striated) and involuntary (smooth) muscles. Emotions trigger a cascade of general behaviors; feelings are what each person “feels” as the result. So romance is the combination of emotions and feelings necessary, in the end, for short and long term conjugal satisfaction.
If all this sounds very unfeeling, unemotional and scientifically unexciting, then I apologize. While romance may be the result of of a cascade of pre-programmed neurobiological responses, these responses occur in real people who, in a complex dance together, decide, sometimes consciously, often unconsciously, whether to initiate and/or release these responses. There’s always choice, though it becomes less controlling as the emotions take over and feelings intensify. Choice, to be accurate, involves not only personal choices, but sociocultural and experiential choices as well.
In THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor what changes after the TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, are the post-cataclysmic sociocultural context and mores. What results is an opportunity to explore, experience and advance romance especially in terms of diversity and choice. At the edge of madness, the love and acceptance of emotion and feelings — hedonism — becomes a norm and the opportunities for romance in all its diverse forms are vastly increased, ultimately redefining the concepts of romance, love, affection, safety, trust, fidelity and devotion, as well as the nuclear family and society itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
$7.95 Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
The neurobiology of romance suggests that what is necessary is to first favor the parasympathetic (rest and relax) autonomic nervous system, in the process releasing the sympathetic (fight or flight) autonomic nervous system. Again, in that sequence. And that applies equally, though somewhat physically differently, to both partners.
The general biology now clear, we can focus on the emotional aspects of romance. First, however, it is important to distinguish between emotions and feelings. Emotions are purely hormonal. These hormones are released by one or a variety of “triggers,” typically sensual, but equally imaginative. At any rate, the most important hormones surrounding romance are released (“flooded”) into the bloodstream, where they elicit certain pre-programmed behaviors. Feelings, on the other hand, are sensed muscular contractions of both voluntary (striated) and involuntary (smooth) muscles. Emotions trigger a cascade of general behaviors; feelings are what each person “feels” as the result. So romance is the combination of emotions and feelings necessary, in the end, for short and long term conjugal satisfaction.
If all this sounds very unfeeling, unemotional and scientifically unexciting, then I apologize. While romance may be the result of of a cascade of pre-programmed neurobiological responses, these responses occur in real people who, in a complex dance together, decide, sometimes consciously, often unconsciously, whether to initiate and/or release these responses. There’s always choice, though it becomes less controlling as the emotions take over and feelings intensify. Choice, to be accurate, involves not only personal choices, but sociocultural and experiential choices as well.
In THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor what changes after the TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, are the post-cataclysmic sociocultural context and mores. What results is an opportunity to explore, experience and advance romance especially in terms of diversity and choice. At the edge of madness, the love and acceptance of emotion and feelings — hedonism — becomes a norm and the opportunities for romance in all its diverse forms are vastly increased, ultimately redefining the concepts of romance, love, affection, safety, trust, fidelity and devotion, as well as the nuclear family and society itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
$7.95 Kindle e-book version now $1.99 throughout May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
May 3, 2021
I’M LATE, I’M LATE, FOR A VERY IMPORTANT…
RECOGNIZE the refrain from Disney’s version of Lewis Carroll’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND? Actually, in the novel, the White Rabbit said, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” which, I believe, should be the cry of contemporary America and the world.
My newly released Science Future novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, is actually the sequel to the decidedly naughty gay novel, TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, in which the USA is too late to be saved from downsizing to NewAmerica with it’s new Chicago capital. Interestingly, this first work was written in 2008, when the USA was experiencing a new style of business that eventually led to the rise of Donald Trump and global dis-integration. In TOTAL MELTDOWN, two astute gay political aids travel around the world like two Benjamin Franklins before America’s War of Independence, preparing America and the world for what is come: A downsizing not unlike the dissolution of the former USSR.
Today, I believe, we face a somewhat different world architecture no less daunting than the combined moral, ethical and financial breakdown that occurs in TOTAL MELTDOWN: a world architecture being determined by the Great COVID Pandemic and the dis-integration of public health. The fourth horseman of the apocalypse, plague, follows sword, famine and wild beasts. If COVID was the wakeup shot across our bow; COVID in India today is a bleak demonstration of what can happen if humanity doesn’t “get” and strictly address the public health needs of an increasingly crowded world. Or business abandons “crowd sales” for “individual service.”
Either way, THE EDGE OF MADNESS presents a plausible result, where, based on scientific, social and technological change already underway, a new world and new “normal” results. As one reviewer stated, “Radically original while chilling and shocking. A dark vision of the future reminiscent of BRAVE NEW WORLD but on steroids. The title page should be plastered with a warning: ‘Not for the sentimental or faint of heart. This is not a game. Enter…at your own peril and keep a defibrillator handy. Medical power of attorney should be assigned to someone you know very, very well’.”
Whether future politics, society, romance, love, family or sex is your interest, THE EDGE OF MADNESS addresses each in a believably feasible, and to some, wholly prophetic way. Don’t just sit there, stride daringly up to the edge of madness and look boldly where no one has yet gone. The operative word here is “yet.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
$7.95 Kindle e-book version now $1.99 through May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
My newly released Science Future novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, is actually the sequel to the decidedly naughty gay novel, TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, in which the USA is too late to be saved from downsizing to NewAmerica with it’s new Chicago capital. Interestingly, this first work was written in 2008, when the USA was experiencing a new style of business that eventually led to the rise of Donald Trump and global dis-integration. In TOTAL MELTDOWN, two astute gay political aids travel around the world like two Benjamin Franklins before America’s War of Independence, preparing America and the world for what is come: A downsizing not unlike the dissolution of the former USSR.
Today, I believe, we face a somewhat different world architecture no less daunting than the combined moral, ethical and financial breakdown that occurs in TOTAL MELTDOWN: a world architecture being determined by the Great COVID Pandemic and the dis-integration of public health. The fourth horseman of the apocalypse, plague, follows sword, famine and wild beasts. If COVID was the wakeup shot across our bow; COVID in India today is a bleak demonstration of what can happen if humanity doesn’t “get” and strictly address the public health needs of an increasingly crowded world. Or business abandons “crowd sales” for “individual service.”
Either way, THE EDGE OF MADNESS presents a plausible result, where, based on scientific, social and technological change already underway, a new world and new “normal” results. As one reviewer stated, “Radically original while chilling and shocking. A dark vision of the future reminiscent of BRAVE NEW WORLD but on steroids. The title page should be plastered with a warning: ‘Not for the sentimental or faint of heart. This is not a game. Enter…at your own peril and keep a defibrillator handy. Medical power of attorney should be assigned to someone you know very, very well’.”
Whether future politics, society, romance, love, family or sex is your interest, THE EDGE OF MADNESS addresses each in a believably feasible, and to some, wholly prophetic way. Don’t just sit there, stride daringly up to the edge of madness and look boldly where no one has yet gone. The operative word here is “yet.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
$7.95 Kindle e-book version now $1.99 through May 2021
Soon to be an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock. Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
