Joshua Graham's Blog, page 10

Life and Death

For the first three decades of my life, I was well aware of the fact that I'd lived a very charmed life--I hadn't suffered at all, though I didn't come from a family of any wealth, I was very blessed and happy with the simplicity of life. Beautiful music would always become the proverbial soundtrack to my life, at least in my fantasies of the life that I had yet to experience...

OBAMA’S SELFIES: HOW TRUTHFUL IS THE CAMERA?

Yesterday, a set of photos taken of President Obama at the Mandela memorial service showed him taking "selfies" with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and First Lady Michelle Obama looking somewhat perturbed at their antics. While many are quick to draw instant conclusions based on the appearance of those photos (because come one, it's too hard to resist, right?) we sometimes forget that photos, like words (sound bytes) and even written phrases, taken out of context can be misleading.

Does a photo always tell the truth? Can the camera lie?

A Greater Nuclear Threat than Iran?

I once had a coworker who grew up during the Cold War and served aboard the USS Kittyhawk and USS Constellation. He told me that as a young man, with all the threat of a nuclear holocaust, he would lie awake at night wondering if at any moment, the world would come to a fiery, radioactive end.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, we seem to have a less sensationalized view of the end of the world by nuclear weapons. Instead, we've shifted our focus to

The Holiday Spirit – Meh?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! I have to confess, there are times I don't think I've caught the "feeling" of joy and happiness as much as others around me and I wonder why that is the case. While others are excited about decorations, trees, gifts, and food, I'm feeling a bit burnt out.

Thinking it through, I may have gotten so focused on work and results that I've forgotten to stop, and

HOLIDAY SALE! TERMINUS, BEYOND JUSTICE, AND ONCE WE WERE KINGS

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Three of my novels have been specially priced for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday!

Be sure to get your copies while they're just $0.99!

THANKFUL

Before I get swept away with all the food, family, and feasting this Thanksgiving, I just wanted to stop by to express my gratitude on this day. Anyone who knows me understands that I’ve been through some difficult times (though nothing compared to what some have gone through) what with the loss of loved ones and friends, loss of jobs, and other setbacks in life. Yet through it all, I’ve been blessed with wonderful friends and family who have kept me in their thoughts and prayers, and have encouraged me to stay the course.  If I were to write the names everyone to whom I’m grateful for being in my life, the list would stretch for miles. I’m mostly grateful for my beautiful wife and kids, my parents, siblings, pastors, great friends in my church and in cyberspace, and my readers/fans.  You’ve all played a major role in making my life complete, and without you, I wouldn’t be where I am, or what I am today.  Love you all so much. It seems that the good Lord has been pleased to place certain influential people in my life, and I would like to list just a few of them (with my apologies to anyone I might not get a chance to mention here.) Here are some, in no particular order. Scott “Schecky” Ballantyne – the first cello teacher me to a truly bring me to professional level of technique and musicianship.  Also a trusted and generous friend and adviser. Dean Wesley Smith – the first editor to buy a work of fiction from me and set me on the path to becoming a professional writer through his generosity in his time and teaching Pastor Jerry McKinney – whose preaching and teaching transformed my life just around the time I needed it most Joel Osteen – though we’ve never met, his sermons (podcasts) helped sustain my hope when times were tough Michael Hiebert - a brilliant author who spent many hours with me chatting about writing. Through our sharing, I’ve learned so much Pastor Luke Chen – whose sermons inspired my first novel BEYOND JUSTICE Steve Berry – who brought me into the International Thriller Writer’s Organization and introduced me to many great writers Douglas Preston – who gave my book DARKROOM one of its first major endorsements Susan Wingate – whose friendship has meant the world to me, and who helped show me the ropes as a new independent author. AND got me into hosting an internet radio show. There are so many more people I want to thank, but I have a house to prepare for wonderful guests/friends this Thanksgiving.  Please know, that whoever you are (even if you’re reading my blog for the first time), I’m grateful for you. Your presence in my life enriches it, and you give me a reason to write. I thank God for you. Love, Josh  

YESTERYEAR with Joshua Graham

This photo makes me sad… It’s hard to believe that this picture was taken twelve years ago, when I was still giving concerts as a cellist. The fact is, I used to play professionally as a soloist, recitalist, chamber, and orchestral musician. I’ve been blessed to have performed in Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer and Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, in the Cairo Royal Opera House, and in concert halls in South Africa, Israel, and Amaan Jordan (the latter a televised command performance by the Queen of Jordan.) But in all those years as a musician, I never knew or dreamed that my life would take me through a long and winding path to where I am today (a professional writer, and author of thriller novels.) I actually spent about 13 years in the IT industry after graduating with a doctorate in music from Johns Hopkins University. This was mainly to support my family, while I performed and taught cello on the side. But soon after I became a father, I realized that it was not going to be feasible to continue both concertizing and working at a full time corporate job, and spend enough time with my children. The choice wasn’t too difficult to make, because I felt such a strong love for my kids. That’s why I let the concertizing go and focused on supporting and being there for my family. But it seemed my creative side would not be so easily put to pasture.  Soon, I became interested in writing and made my first professional sale to an anthology published by Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books. This is where one would usually say, the rest was history, except my own character arc and development had only just begun. Soon after I decided I wanted to become a professional writer as my ultimate career, my company for which I’d worked for almost a decade, decided to outsource my entire department to Bangalore and I found myself without any work or means of supporting my family. Suffice it to say, there were many days of prayer and digging deep into my faith. If God is the good and all powerful God I believe Him to be, then did it make sense to despair? I’ll tell you this: my head and my heart had some work getting into alignment. But that’s what faith is, isn’t it? The hope for things unseen. Within a couple of years of unemployment (with a short stint at a better job than the one I’d lost), I became a published author with my debut novel BEYOND JUSTICE. I had no idea how it would do in the market, and I can only say that it was divine providence that it received accolades from Publishers Weekly, Suspense Magazine, and hit #1 on several Barnes & Noble and Amazon bestseller lists.  A little while later, Simon & Schuster/Howard books offered me a contract for my second thriller DARKROOM (just last year). Sometimes, if when I feel uncertain, I […]

Best Cloud Services for Writers

You’re typing up an important chapter in your manuscript. The lights go out. A powersurge ends up frying your computer’s hard drive–AND your backup USB drive. What do you do? After losing some important documents in similar situations I’ve learned that the best way to keep your files safe and synchronized over multiple computers/smartphones/tablets is to use a cloud service. Basically, it creates a folder on your main computer which automatically backs up the contents of that folder onto the server of that service.  If you install the app for that service on any of your other devices, you can read, modify, or add new documents to that same folder and it will be so across all of your installations. And it automatically backs up your content so it will be safe no matter what happens to any of your devices. Here are my favorites in list of preference.   COPY this service gives you 15 GB (15!) free! As with other services, if you refer people it gives you bonus storage.  If you decide you like this, please sign up with this link: https://copy.com?r=OGSDJk and I’ll receive some more storage.       DROPBOX - Great, easy to use interface. Gives you 2GB free, and you can get more by referring friends like I’m doing here.  If you decide to add this to your list of cloud services, please use this link: https://db.tt/1PUd1hE   The other services I use are Amazon Cloud Drive, Microsoft Sky Drive, and Box.com It can get a bit confusing, but it’s always good to have cloud storage space. With it, you can also share files and folders with trusted friends and family.  

DETERMINATION AND THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

"I DON'T BELIEVE IN A NO WIN SCENARIO."


Remember who said that? That's right, one of my childhood heroes Captain James T. Kirk, of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek. I bring this up today because I'm reminded of one of the most important qualities a successful writer (or any other kind of person) must have...

A Chat and Interview with Hugh Howey, NY Times Bestselling Author of WOOL

I had a great time chatting with Hugh Howey this week before our Thriller Radio Interview (below).

Here are some things we talked about before the live interview:

Thanks for taking the time to chat, Hugh. I'd like to ask you a few questions before the live interview, so here goes: