Stuart Aken's Blog, page 341

Website now back up and running.

Just to let you know, before I leave the computer for a spell, the website is now fully functioning again. Sorry for the interruption.

Website crash

Had an email from my web host - seems they have a problem with the server. Hope to have it back up and running soon.

Website problem

If anyone is trying to access my website at present, there appears to be a problem. I will contact my web host and see if the problem can be rectified as soon as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience.

What is Smashwords? Ebook Publishing.

Image via CrunchBase
A week or so ago, I completed the process of converting my Word file of Breaking Faith into a format suitable for ebook publishing (this is a tedious and time-consuming process, so don't do it unless you're willing to spend the necessary time). My chosen ebook publisher was Smashwords, as I know authors who have used their service and found it to be excellent.With the permission of the website owners, I here reproduce their welcome email (modified a little) so that both readers and writers can understand a little more about this process.Links to my own novel, Breaking Faith, appear at the foot of this piece for those wanting to explore that option further.
For book lovers, Smashwords is a great place to sample, discover and purchase nearly 10,000 affordably-priced ebooks, direct from independent authors and small publishers. When you purchase a book, 85% of the net proceeds go straight to the author/publisher, which means you are directly supporting the author who worked so hard to bring you their book. Smashwords books are DRM-free, which means you can enjoy your books on multiple devices without copy protection. It also means our authors are  trusting you  to not illegally copy or share or re-distribute the book. The books you purchase are for your personal enjoyment only.
For authors and publishers, Smashwords is an ebook publishing and distribution platform. Smashwords makes it free and easy for any author, anywhere in the world, to quickly publish and distribute an ebook. Smashwords books, in addition to being sold at Smashwords.com, are also distributed to major ebook retailers such as the Apple iPad iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Stanza and Aldiko.
How to Sample or Purchase Ebooks on SmashwordsOnce you find a book you want to sample, you can read a portion of it online for free using one of our two online readers, or you can download a sample in one of several formats.When you're ready to purchase a book, click to add it to your cart. You can then continue shopping to add more books to your cart, or you can complete the purchase by providing payment information. We accept most major credit cards and PayPal.
How to Read Your EbookAfter you complete a purchase, we'll email you a purchase confirmation. Return to your Smashwords Library, where you'll find links to your purchased book. Once a book is purchased, you can download the book in any of the available formats.For more help on how to read our books, or download to your Kindle, visit https://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq#ReadingPlease remember, Smashwords ebooks are licensed for your personal enjoyment only. These books are not encumbered by copy protection, which means our authors are trusting you to respect their hard work and not share their books with others.
How to Publish and Distribute with Smashwords:Smashwords is the leading ebook publishing and distribution platform for indie authors and publishers.  We wrote the book on indie ebook publishing and distribution, and we're constantly working to open up new distribution opportunities for our authors.  Come learn why over 5,000 indie authors around the world publish and distribute over 12,000 original ebooks with Smashwords.  It's fast, free and easy (especially if you follow our detailed online instructions).The best first page to visit is the How to Publish at Smashwords Page at http://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwordsTo maximize the sales and distribution opportunities for your book, learn about the Smashwords Premium catalog at http://www.smashwords.com/distribution . Once your book is accepted into the Premium Catalog, it will be distributed to major online retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony, Kobo and soon, Amazon and others yet to be announced.  We also distribute to the most important mobile ebook platforms, including Stanza on the iPhone and Aldiko for Android phones and tablets.To publish on Smashwords, you must be the original author, or the exclusive digital publisher. Smashwords does not accept public domain books (unless you are the original author), or books that appear elsewhere on the Internet under other authors' names. We also don't want scammy "get rich quick on the Internet" books. Read the Smashwords Terms of Service for our publishing requirements. Authors who flaunt the Terms of Service, or who fail to follow the Smashwords Style Guide, may find their books and accounts deleted without warning.
How to Get the Most out of Your Smashwords Membership:

1. Please update your email's spam filter by placing smashwords.com on your "safe list." We have a strict no-spam policy.

2. Smashwords authors spend a tremendous amount of time writing their books for your enjoyment. Most Smashwords authors provide generous samples so you can try before you buy. If you like the sample, please show your appreciation to the author by purchasing their book, reviewing their book, and recommending it to your friends.

3. No DRM! - Smashwords books are not encumbered by DRM (digital rights management) schemes or copy protection that can interfere with the reader's enjoyment of a book. This means you can read your Smashwords book on any device you choose or print the book on your home computer. It also means our authors and publishers are trusting you to honor their hard work by not illegally copying or sharing the book. Please remember that when you purchase a book, it is licensed for your personal enjoyment only, and cannot be sold to, or shared with, anyone else. If you want to give the book to others, please purchase an extra copy for each person so the author and publisher can receive their fair compensation.

4. How to read Smashwords books: Our books are available in multiple reading formats. You can read the books online using our online readers, or you can download ebook files formatted for different ebook readers or for at-home printing. For iPhone and iPod Touch users, all Smashwords books are listed in the Stanza catalog. To learn how to download a book to your Kindle, click here: http://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq#Kindle

5. Smashwords is in perpetual beta because we're always adding new features to serve you, so we welcome your honest, critical feedback related to usability, interface flow, features and function. Your feedback helps us improve Smashwords for readers and authors alike. At the top of every page of the site, there's a message link where you can log your thoughts and experiences. If you like how something works, log it. If you have suggestions for how we can make a certain page, function or process more intuitive, log it. Ideas for cool features? Log them. This information goes directly to our founder Mark Coker and our CTO, Bill Kendrick.

6. Smashwords is an online service. There is no software to install on your computer (unless you want to read PDF files and don't already have Adobe Acrobat installed).

7. How to publish on Smashwords: Smashwords allows an author to upload a single Microsoft Word or .RTF file that we then automatically convert into multiple DRM-free ebook formats. Prior to publishing your own book, you should read The Smashwords Style Guide at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52 which provides tips to help you get the best conversion results.

8. Privacy: You're in complete control over how your information is presented on the site. We'll never sell or rent your contact information to third parties. Want to publish under a pen name? No problem.
9. We want to hear from you! Write our founder and CEO, Mark Coker, at mc@smashwords.com. Tell us how we can make Smashwords the best digital publishing platform for indie authors, publishers, and their readers! Smashwords was created for you, and our success in the months and years ahead lies in your hands, so please share how we can help you.
10. Won't you take a moment to invite your friends to join the Smashwords community? Every new author brings new readers that enrich the entire Smashwords community. At the right hand top of the home page is a link where you can invite up to 10 people at a time.

-------------------More Background on Smashwords --------------------------------

We're excited about the opportunity digital books present to the world's readers, authors and publishers. For centuries, books have remained the gold standard for information dissemination, knowledge sharing and story telling. Books have shaped the course of mankind.

But traditional paper-based book publishing has its limitations - book printing and publishing is expensive, so book publishers are unable to publish all written works, and even if they could publish all written works, the vast majority of literate people in the world cannot afford them. Print books are simply too expensive when you consider that 86% of the world's population earns an annual income of less than $10,000 ( http://www.whartonsp.com/articles/article.asp?p=404802 ) versus the $30,000-$50,000 typical in the US, Asia and most European countries. Over one billion of the world's roughly 6.5 billion inhabitants subsist on less than $1 a day. Paper books are simply too expensive for most of the world.

By moving books into the digital realm, we can dramatically change the economics of book publishing, while at the same time making great books available to people of all economic backgrounds from around the world.

Smashwords returns up 85% of net proceeds from the sale of each book back to the author or publisher. This means that an author who might otherwise earn a per copy royalty of 40 cents by publishing a $7.95 mass market paperback can make three times as much per copy by selling the ebook on Smashwords for $2.00 (a 75% lower cost). Smashwords economics creates a virtuous cycle: By pricing books low, Smashwords authors will expand the potential audience for their books while at the same time increasing their per-copy income.

Of course, some Smashwords authors price their books at ZERO, and we allow this.

Thank you again for joining the Smashwords community. If you appreciate our service, won't you please tell a friend?

WHY ENTER A CONTEST?

A short feature taken from C Hope Clarke's weekly newsletter, with her kind permission. Reproduced here, as it echoes my own opinion on writing competitions.  Some writers abstain from contests. They fear
someone will rob them of their material, or the sponsor seeks
only to make a buck. Contests are no different than markets,
publishers, and agents. Some are bad, some are good, and
some are exceptional and jumpstart your writing career.Study a contest like you would an agent, publisher or market.
Research all you can about it then trust your gut. Don't be
shortsighted and don't assume anything. Any aspect of the
profession entails doing homework and making informed
decisions.What can a contest do for you?1. Make you write.
2. Make you submit.
3. Make you meet a deadline.
4. Make you follow guidelines.
5. Make you test yourself.Then, of course, contests can:6. Provide a publishing clip.
7. Provide money.
8. Provide an opportunity with an agent.
9. Provide an opportunity with a publisher.
10. Provide feedback on the quality of your work.Ninety percent of the time, if you've been scammed by
a contest, you did not do your homework. If people had
simply Googled "POETRY.COM" years ago when it was at the
height of its scamming profession, the company would have
gone under much sooner than it did.At writing conferences, I coax writers to consider all
types of funding streams in furthering their profession,
to include contests. When I worked in agriculture, I
advised farmers to diversify. In other words, don't put
all your eggs in one basket. In addition to writing
articles for online and features for magazines, consider
freelance jobs, grants, and yes, contests.The point is to be judged and deemed worthy, and a
contest can do just that.C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters, www.fundsforwriters.com
Writer's Digest 101 Best Web Sites for Writers - 2001-2010
A decade of recognized excellence
Blog - www.hopeclark.blogspot.com
Twitter - www.twitter.com/hopeclark
Facebook - www.facebook.com/chopeclark

38 Author Interviews – Any Lessons Learned?

Since July, I've interviewed 38 authors on this blog. Their books have been varied, encompassing personal memoirs, crime, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance among others. For many, a standard format has been used, but with others their creativity and marketing savvy have encouraged a different approach. One thing has struck me, as the host, more than any other: there is a great range of technical and marketing awareness out there amongst writers. Some have come to me armed with links, pictures, sales points and fully formed websites and/or blogs. Others have given me basic answers to questions and left the rest to me.
So, the value of these interviews to the authors has varied according to their own input, as I have a limited amount of time I can devote to any individual writer (I do, after all, have my own writing to get on with).However, I'm hoping that these different views, opinions and approaches have been of real value to my readers; this was the main purpose. Any rewards for the authors taking part (exposure, new readers, sales) were secondary to the main purpose of this exercise, which was to let readers and new writers see how publication comes about.
The variety of opinions, inspirations, methods and routes to publication is very wide. I hope that new writers will find this useful in more than one way: there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to go about writing. But it is clear that all the authors here are dedicated to their craft. They all write, rather than merely talk about doing so.
All published writers come across wannabees all the time. The qualities that apply to many of these would-be writers are lack of focus, ignorance of the dedication required to produce a work of merit and length, utter fantasy about the probable rewards, a conviction that there is a publisher out there so desperate for their words that he or she will welcome their beginner's efforts with champagne and a six figure contract, and prevarication.
On the other hand, sometimes, a published author meets a would-be writer who actually wants to know what it is all about, wants to learn from the experience and mistakes of those who have actually done it. It is for you, with your enthusiasm, talent and potential riches for the reader, that I do this. It is also for the interested reader; those who understand the work, talent and creativity that goes into a well-written book.
I currently have enough interviews to continue this project until early December. Those to come are as varied as those that have been. I hope you continue to gain pleasure, knowledge and wisdom from these words of the experienced, whether you are reader, writer or simply interested visitor to this site.
Invite your friends, make comments, follow the blog, and, please, let me know what you think. Feedback is the thing most of us writers crave more than anything else. 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH EDWARD WRIGHT

Edward Wright grew up in Arkansas and went to school in Tennessee and Illinois. He has been an officer in the U.S. Navy and an editor at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. His noir-flavored mysteries featuring John Ray Horn, set in Los Angeles during the 1940s, have won the Shamus Award in the U.S. and the Debut Dagger and Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award in the U.K. His first non-series book, "Damnation Falls," a contemporary mystery-thriller set in small-town Tennessee, won the Barry Award. His latest is "From Blood," due soon from Orion Books. He and his wife, Cathy, live in the Los Angeles area.

Tell us about your latest book, "From Blood."
Due out from Orion Books in November, it's about a troubled young woman whose parents are murdered and who then learns that she was not their daughter. Her birth parents, she discovers, are two of America's most wanted fugitives, former anti-war radicals from the 1960s who went deep underground after a fatal bombing and never resurfaced. She must find them and warn them that they are being pursued by the killer of her foster parents, someone much more dangerous than the FBI.Also, my first two novels, "Clea's Moon" and "While I Disappear," have been published in ebook format from Untreed Reads. Both are part of the John Ray Horn series, set in Los Angeles during the 1940s.
Why do you write?
It's a little complicated, but the quick answer is "because now I can." I was a newspaperman for quite a while, starting as a reporter and working through a string of editing jobs, and I thought of myself as a journalist dealing with facts in the real world. Then one day I saw a chance to quit daily newspapering and try something else. I latched onto fiction writing because it was so different from what I had been doing. Instead of facts and the real world, I now was able to shift from left brain to right brain, dig into my imagination and see what was there. Sometimes I'm surprised by what I find, but it's been a pretty satisfying second career.
What qualities do you need to be a successful writer?
The writers I admire the most are those who simply keep at it, who show up every day to do the work, who remind themselves that it doesn't always start with brilliant writing but that it must start with getting words down. (And since I don't always follow my own rules to the letter, I'm tempted to add, "Do as I say, not as I do.")
What is your working method?
To begin with, one cup of strong coffee, which will last me all morning. I go over the work I did the previous day and try to improve on it. I always find something, because the first draft for me is just a starting point. Then, once yesterday's work begins looking better, I'll move into new material. If I can turn out 1,000 reasonably readable words a day, I'm happy.
What is the single biggest mistake made by beginners to writing?
The belief that every word needs to be perfect every day. When I started out, I was horrified to see that my sentences didn't sing the way I imagined them (and the way they do in all the best fiction). I didn't realize that in order to do good work, a writer is first going to produce some very mediocre material. Writing's a process. I once heard a writer say that he has a sign over his computer with the words  "I Give Myself Permission to Write Crap Today." Now I do too.
How did you come to write your first novel?
My very first novel was written while I was a member of a Los Angeles writing group, a gathering of friends who wrote and critiqued and helped each other. It's a fine way for a beginner to explore the world of fiction writing in company with kindred souls. The book, a valiant effort, was never published, but it was  good practice. The idea for my first published novel came one morning when I said to my wife, "What would you think of the idea of a former B-movie cowboy actor who lives in L.A. in the late 1940s and keeps getting into trouble?" She said, "Great," and that was the beginning of "Clea's Moon" and the John Ray Horn books.
If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?
I like a lot of my characters -- otherwise, why dream them up? But I think the one I like the most is Joseph Mad Crow, a Lakota Indian who played John Ray's sidekick in countless B-movie westerns in the 1930s and '40s. Now a successful gambler, he has hired John Ray to collect debts for him. The sidekick is now the boss, an irony I enjoy. Joseph is big, loud, colorful, and profane, with a strong sense of honor, the kind of person one would want as a friend and ally. Most of my characters take shape only after a lot of reflection on my part, but Joseph just walked onto the page full-blown.
How can people buy your books?
At their neighborhood mystery bookstore or through any number of online sources. My ebooks are available in the U.S. through Untreed Reads and in the U.K. through Orion Books.
To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?
I'm biased. As a onetime "rim rat" -- copy editor -- I'd say they're vital. Rely all you want on computer software for correcting your spelling and on editors for cleaning up your grammar. But if you love the language -- and every writer should start from that premise -- I'd think you'd want to go to the trouble to learn how to use it.
How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?
A lot. So much, in fact, that I sometimes find it hard to turn loose of it. No manuscript is perfect, so the more time one spends with it, the better it will be. Finally, though, I usually reach a point where I feel I've done all I reasonably can, and that's when I know it's time to hit "Send."
Where and when are your novels set and why did you make these specific choices?
My first three books, the John Ray Horn series, are set in postwar Los Angeles. I've long been fascinated with that time and place -- because of the fiction from that period and also because I enjoy film  noir -- and I wanted to take a crack at bringing it back to life. My fourth, "Damnation Falls," is set in the American South, because that's where I grew up, and the book was my way of revisiting my roots. My latest, "From Blood," is set all over the western U.S,, from Southern California to Seattle and from San Francisco to Chicago. Since this is a story that reaches back to the 1960s for its origins, I wanted it to feel big geographically as well.
How do you know where to begin any given story?
I ask myself what the book needs to get it going. "Clea's Moon" and "While I Disappear" had what I think of as "small" openings -- a man warily approaching an apartment building not knowing what he'll find inside; three people sitting in a car on a busy Los Angeles street as rain washes down the windshield. But my third book, "Red Sky Lament," deals with the politics of postwar America, particularly the Hollywood Red Scare of the late 1940s, and I thought it needed a bigger opening, so I began with a barbecue on a ranch in the San Fernando Valley, music playing and many of the book's characters on the scene, ready to introduce themselves.
What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?
Let's see. . . Paying bills. Checking email. Playing with the dog. And best of all, surfing the Internetunder the guise of researching the book, which is an important part of the work but which also is a convenient way of wasting time.
Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?
My wife, who is my first editor, provides wonderful support. I mentioned once belonging to a writing group. I don't anymore, but I recommend that anyone starting out in fiction writing consider joining one. There are many kinds out there, from the casual and self-directed to the very formal kind led by a writing teacher who charges a fee. Ask around, sample a few, and there's a good chance you can find the group that's right for you.
What are your inspirations?
I'm often inspired by what I read, and I lean toward any writer who can take me into another world, make me believe and make me care. Even though I now live in California, my early reading was influenced by the South, where I grew up. I discovered Mark Twain when I was about 10 years old and still consider "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" one of those books that belongs in everyone's library. And Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men" is probably my favorite novel, a giant story about politics and honor, guilt and redemption.
Have you had a high point in your writing career?
Several, which makes me glad to be doing what I'm doing. One that stands out came in 2006, when Cathy and I went to London for the Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award, which goes to the best historical mystery of the year. The ceremony, attended by a crowd of writers, editors, and publishers, was held in a former courtroom -- where the Oscar Wilde trial was held, if you can believe it -- and the award was presented by a knight of the realm. When he called my name, I stumbled up to the podium, said a few instantly forgettable words, and spent the rest of the evening in a daze, asking my wife, "Are they sure they got the right guy?"
Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?
Yes: http://www.edwardwrightbooks.com/books.html
Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?
A tree house in the Amazon rain forest, with a refrigerator, a comfortable couch, and a 360-degree view (which would probably guarantee that I'd never get any work done).

Another Word of the Day

[image error] Image via Wikipedia
Word of the Day is divorced from the other posts in this blog and produced in response to a request from a follower to provide just such a service.
Word of the Day; question mark.  A question mark (?) is a punctuation mark and not a substitute for a question, as so many of today's commentators seem to think. If you want to ask or place a question, the best way is to simply do so. And, it's fine to suggest that there is 'a question mark' over a particular policy, action or event. But, please, don't use the two as though they were interchangeable. They're not. They are different things. 'Does

Interview with Phillip Chen, Author

Philip Chen was born in China in 1944 and immigrated to the United States in 1949. Growing up in Washington, D.C., during the 1950s and 1960s, Philip learn both the pains and triumphs of American society at a crucial turning point in America's history. After receiving a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Distinction from the University of Virginia and a Master of Science from Stanford University, he worked as an ocean research engineer in the development of deep submergence systems. Part of his work dealt with vehicles that could freely dive to 20,000 feet of water depth. He also participated as a hyperbaric chamber operator for manned dives. Although his training included being pressurized in the chamber (he went as deep as 125 feet) he was not qualified or crazy enough to go 1,500 feet. They used US Navy underwater demolition team members for that task. They were the predecessors to SEALs. He holds one U.S. Patent for an underwater mooring system.
After his stint as an ocean research engineer, Philip was an environmental and energy engineer, a trial attorney, a public securities attorney, an investment banker, a corporate executive, a private equity manager (in Africa), a strategic consultant, a cartoonist, an illustrator, a website manager, and author. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota.
One of his mentors once told Philip that it wasn't that he couldn't hold down a job; he couldn't even hold down a career!
Philip's biography has been included in Who's Who in America and in Who's Who in the World for many years.Tell us about Falling Star in a few sentences. Falling Star uncovers the truth about mysterious objects buried deep in the oceans that suddenly awaken and start sending signals to outer space.  Mike is abruptly pulled out of a comfortable existence back into a dark world of intrigue to help decipher these signals.  In the course of doing so, he is attacked by bands of ordinary Americans bent on killing him.  On top of all this, Mike learns that a revered friend has died.  Will the death of Mike's friend mean that the secret of the mysterious objects will remained forever buried in the silt and muck of the ocean bottom?What qualities do you need to be a successful writer?You have to have a thirst for the unknown whether that unknown is in the people around you, mysterious happenings, or how the world evolves.What is your working method?I constantly mull over the storylines for my work; arranging and rearranging events and characters.  The actual process of putting thoughts on to paper, or into computer bytes flows smoothly once the sequence has hardened in my mind.What is the single biggest mistake made by beginners to writing?Writing before they actually have anything to say.How did you come to write this particular book?In 1990, I had a series of recurring nightmares in which gangs of ordinary Americans engaged in apocalyptic violence against other people and institutions.  Because I was traveling to London on a regular basis and carried a Compaq Aero, I started typing on the red-eye flights and on weekends.  Within one and one-half months, I had a 560 page manuscript completed.If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?I particularly like Mildred, a kindly old Norwegian grandmother who possesses a most unusual trait and skill.How can people buy your book?At this time, Falling Star is available only as a Kindle Book.  It can be found at http://amzn.to/Falling-Star.To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?Correct use of English is very important and I work hard at making sure my manuscripts are grammatical and that my spelling is correct.  Unfortunately, mistakes will inevitably happen.How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?Multiple and never-ending revisions, even after it has been sent off.Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?Two major time periods were needed to make this story work.  The first was the discovery of the objects by an oceanographic survey flight and the second was the abrupt recall of the principal character Mike back into the clandestine agency to help decipher the messages.  The U.S. Navy actually was engaged in geomagnetic surveys around the United States in the 1960s and this provided an interesting nexus to begin the tale.  Some who have read this novel have asked if this story is real.To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?I think that genre is important; however, I think that too many people blindly follow these artificial categorizations in making decisions to buy books.  Falling Star is a thriller, but with a definite science fiction theme.What are your writing habits?As I discussed above, I mull over the scenes for a long time and then have bursts of writing to capture my thoughts.  I have recently found that early morning is probably the best time for my writing.How do you know where to begin any given story?I am an engineer by training and I find myself usually starting from scratch in conceptualizing a story.  In Falling Star, I start with the discovery of the mysterious objects.What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?The need to provide food, shelter, and education for my family has been the greatest displacement activity that has kept me from writing.Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?No.Is presentation of the MS as important as most agents and publishers suggest?There are a thousand ways to say no and only one way to say yes.  While I have not heard that my "presentation" of the manuscript has kept my book from being published; I think that I have heard every other reason.  I supposed that if I had "presented" my manuscript by tying it to the steering wheel of a brand new Porsche 911, it might have worked in my favor.How long does it normally take you to write a novel?I have completed two manuscripts; each took me about one to two months after I started writing.  Editing takes considerable longer.What are your inspirations? I have these stories running around aimlessly in my head, crying to come out.  I find that even ordinary interactions are filled with absurdities; that can blossom into the most outrageous scenarios with one small change.  Take Mildred, for example.  I married into a Scandinavian family and began learning about the typical older Norwegian woman, who endures her life, but fills it with attempts to bring happiness and joy to those around her.  Well, give that person a special proclivity, make her very, very good at what she does, and you have Mildred.If there's a single aspect to writing that really frustrates you, what is it?My greatest frustration was trying to get traditional literary agents and publishers to take a look at my manuscript.  As I have often said, "I endured the slings and arrows of outrageous rejection from righteous agents and publishers for too many years before finding Kindle."  [Spoiler Alert]  For twenty years, agents and publishers probably thought that my sub-plot about foreign agents living in deep cover in America, marrying, having children, growing hydrangeas, and working at ordinary jobs was preposterous.  After all, something like that could never happen in our country.  Then June 2010 arrived ….Do you think writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?I believe that it is a combination of gift and acquired skills.  Just like the opera singer with a natural talent will not be able to sing at the Met, an author with a great story will go nowhere unless he or she can put that story down in a cogent fashion.What are you writing now?I am writing the sequel to Falling Star.  The book will be called, Plain View.Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?Telling the story and having people interested in what I am saying.Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?I have several, but I need to spend more time with each. The first is my community message board, Soundings: Puget Sound Speaks at http://pugetsoundspeaks.com.  Incidentally, I invite independent authors to come and talk about their work on this site.  Another feature of this site is that I am moving my cartoon blog, There is Strangeness in the Universe, to the community message board.My Facebook Page can be found here. My book blog (a work in progress) is located here. Finally, I have a video book trailer on YouTube here. Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?Making enough from writing so that I can continue to write.Where do you actually write?On my computer keyboard in my office at home, such as it is.Falling Star, a thriller, uncovers the truth about mysterious objects buried deep in the murky depths of the oceans and secret government attempts to uncover their real meaning.  These objects wake up and start sending messages to outer space. Mike is pulled back into a clandestine world that he thought he had left behind to uncover the truth about these weapons. But he is attacked by gangs of ordinary looking Americans and must fight for his very life.  On top of all this, Mike learns that a revered friend has died. With the death of this friend, will the secret of the mysterious objects remain forever buried in the silt and mud of the ocean bottom?The book is available as a Kindle at:http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Star-The-Watchers-ebook/dp/B003YCPK4COne reader recently said in his review:Great read that left me wanting more (rumor alert: sequel in the making!?) With the political/military intrigue of a Tom Clancy novel and the Sci-Fi feel of the 2001/2010/2061 Arthur C. Clarke novels coupled with the page turner, fast paced plot of a Dan Brown novel how could you go wrong. Chen's knowledge runs deep and shines in the book. His characters are very cool and well written.The book was also positively reviewed by Robin Hathaway, the Agatha Award winner for her mystery novels and Gordon Ryan, an author of Political Thrillers.Gordon said in his review:As an author of political thrillers, I was quite pleased to discover Phil Chen's Falling Star while browsing the Kindle offerings. From the early pages, I knew this was a writer to be taken seriously. Mr. Chen has penned a dynamic, thought-provoking cross between contemporary thriller and science fiction tome. His characters are well developed, the multiple storylines complex, and the ending . . . well, you'll have to see for yourself. Suffice it to say that I feel this particular ending is NOT the ending for this writer. And I anxiously await the follow-on volume.http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Star-The-Watchers-ebook/dp/B003YCPK4C (US)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Falling-Star-The-Watchers-ebook/dp/B003YCPK4C (UK)http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/24267 (Smashwords)  (The eBook is on Smashword's Premium Catalog)https://www.createspace.com/3493702 (soon to be released on Create Space in Print at Create Space, Amazon, and Booksellers)My sites:http://fallingstar1970.wordpress.com/  Websitehttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4221239.Philip_Chen/blog  My Goodreads Blog, The EclecticFinally, I am a proud member of Operation E-Book Drop.  http://www.operationebookdrop.com/Thank you for conducting this interview.Best regards,Philip Chen

A new word for today

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Word of the Day is divorced from all the other posts in this blog and produced in response to a request from a follower to provide just such a service.
Word of the Day; paradox. A paradox is a contradiction in terms. 'I am always wrong, is a paradox, because if that's the case, then I must be right on this occasion.'