S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 62

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Ronald Russell Farnham and Leisa Ebere

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Ronald Russell Farnham and Leisa Ebere.
Ronald Russell Farnham

Ronald Russell of the family Mass-Lavori is the Authorized Representative of RONALD RUSSELL FARNHAM [a UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CORPORATION].

Ronald Russell holds a Bachelors Degree in Business. He is a screenwriter, author, director, actor, and a member of the screen actors guild.  He has performed in live-theatre, worked on hundreds of studio level feature films, live TV, pre-recorded TV, been a commercial spokesperson, and has hosted unscripted reality shows.

He has been a casting director, line producer, executive producer, and has just released the feature film that he produced and directed in Los Angeles, titled, HOLLYWOOD AND VINE, which is an action adventure conspiracy about the female messiah who writes the book to end war and poverty on earth and she teams up with a female Russian double agent and a CIA agent to stop Islamic Radical Terrorists from detonating a dirty nuclear bomb at the Hollywood and Vine Train Station; saving the world from a devastating global nuclear conflict.

Ronald held a Top Secret Clearance with the department of defense where he was an active duty Army Intelligence analyst, Korean linguist, counter terrorism analyst, and a trainer of Special Forces Analysts and Head Quarters Special Operations Command.

Teaser for HOLLYWOOD AND VINE   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_OAdjYKdik

Ronald has created, produced and directed music videos, documentaries, reality shows, episodics, and feature length motion pictures.  Ronald’s personal theme with everything that he creates is “Enlightenment Through Entertainment.”

In addition to reading thousands of top secret messages about situations across the world through which he garnered a picture of the true nature of geopolitical relationships that are diametrically opposed to the information distributed on the nightly news, he is an avid reader of metaphysical books, motivational material and spiritual enlightenment books.  He is a fan of Gene Rodennberry’s Star Trek concept of a galactic federation and an earth that operates without a monetary system.

His newest book and documentary that will both be out the holiday season of 2017 is titled, THE PEOPLE VS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. It contains his truth-based solution that will end war and poverty on earth.  The solution must be released into the mainstream before the final stages of World War Three [the Global War on Terror] reach the point of no return, which will destroy mankind leaving only the Global Military Industrial Complex.

Ronald recently released a DVD titled, RONONYMOUS which contains the first step of the solution to end war and poverty and it can be found on Amazon.   https://www.amazon.com/Rononymous-Ronald-Russell-Farnham/dp/B01J4E22GC/

His book, The Second Coming of the Messiah may be categorized as science fiction, but the metaphysical concepts are based on the most recent theories.  The government and military portions are based on his real experiences.  The solution for planetary sovereignty by collapsing the world government and its monetary system is based on a viable and executable idea that he has researched and created.

In 2009 Ronald began producing and hosting the reality show, The Ronald Show, Documenting the collapse of Life as we know it as Perpetrated by the Global Military industrial Complex.”  Ronald hosted and distributed 47 one-hour episodes and has 20 more episodes in post production.

In 2006 while Ronald was the Pathfinder trainer of Special Forces analysts at HQ SOCOM, he was faced with a dilemma after undergoing an awakening by reading the book “A course in Miracles”.  His dilemma was to either continue serving the psychotic and corrupt Global Military Industrial Complex, or quit and devote his passion to Enlightenment Through Entertainment.  He chose the latter and resigned from the world of the Department of defense where he had held a Top Secret Clearance for 13 years.

Ronald also just published the first of his series of Docu-Dramas, TRUE STORIES EPISODE 1 THE UFO ABDUCTION OF ROB AMOS. It begs the question if a military psychological operations program is perpetratring fake USO abudctions to create anti-alien sentiment throughout earth.   https://www.amazon.com/TRUE-STORIES-Episode-Abduction-Amos/dp/B01FT6W566/

Ten years ago, in 2006 Ronald created Enlightenment Thru Entertainment Productions [E.T.E. Productions] in his effort to create motion pictures that speak directly to the subconscious of his audience.

Ronald's Works:

Hollywood and Vine

True Stories the UFO Abduction of Rob Amos (DVD, nonfiction)

How to Write a Screenplay in 30 Days or Less (nonfiction)

Ronald's Links:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Movie (Hollywood and Vine)


Leisa EbereLeisa Ebere

Leisa Ebere, was originally born in San Francisco, California and now resides in Gravesend in the UK. She is married with three children and one grandchild.

Leisa has been writing poems and stories since the age of twelve and was inspired to write Crows and Angels, her new novel, by the stories her grandmother told her, of her ancestors settling in the Dakota Territory.


Leisa grew up on a horse ranch in the Northwestern United States and is 1/16 Sioux Indian by birth; and has a special place in her heart for Native Americans. Her aim is to tell their side of the story through her writing.

Leisa's Book:

Crows and Angels 

Leisa's Links:

Blog
Facebook

From Today's Program: Scientists Teaching Computers to Track Asteroids

Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT or in archive here.

Recharge

Back to the 52-week blogging challenge and today's prompt is "What I do to Recharge."

You know, being a writer gives you a lot of freedom in your day. You can wake up when you want (although I usually wake up earlier than I want), go to bed when you want, spend the day how you want (mostly, unless I have freelance assignments due). And usually about 2:00 PM in the after noon, I take a nap. Almost every day. Doesn't seem to matter how much sleep I get, about 2:00 PM I'm ready for a nap. I'll sleep from half an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how tired I am. I even have a "nap hat" I wear to keep the sun out of my eyes that comes through the upper windows in my family room that don't have shades.

But sometimes that nap can hit as early at 10:00 AM. I've even taken naps at 7:00 PM. I once took at nap at 8:00 PM, woke up at 9:00 and went to bed and slept fine.

But a nice little nap in the afternoon is a great way to recharge.

How do you recharge? Comment below!

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Tina Field Howe and J. R. Rada

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Tina Field Howe and J. R. Rada.
Tina Field HoweTina Field Howe

Tina’s first book was Snailsworth, a slow little story, a children’s picture book which she wrote and illustrated in 2004. Snailsworth book and audio book won Silver in the 2013 Readers’ Favorite Awards.

Tina’s first novel, Alysa of the Fields, Book One in the Tellings of Xunar-kun, won the 2006 Dream Realm Awards for Cover Art. The second book in the series – The TrailFolk of Xunar-kun – won First Place in the 2009 Written Art Awards, Science Fiction category; and Silver in the 2011 Readers' Favorite Awards.

Tina received a 2009 Artist Crossroads Grant from The ARTs Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and NYSCA to create an audio book of Alysa of the Fields. She cast 42 actors in the character roles and lent her own voice to the narration. She produced the 8-CD audio book in her home studio. It was released in 2010 and has won three awards: Gold in Readers' Favorite, Silver in Mom's Choice and First Place in Reader Views.

Tina dabbled in screenwriting on and off for several years then discovered Screenwriting U’s online screenwriting intensive which she completed in 2011, and the Master program in 2015. She has been focused on screenwriting and has won and placed in several competitions and has two feature films in development. For her screenwriting efforts she won a spot at The 2016 Writer’s Lab – Women Over 40 competition – sponsored by IRIS/NYWIFT and funded by Meryl Streep. In 2017 she received a grant in the form of a series of workshops titled Creative Capital's Professional Development Program through the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and Creative Capital.

In addition to writing books and screenplays, for many years Tina was an illustrator and her day job is in corporate communications. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and a Minor in Art. Her favorite college studies included physical and cultural anthropology, archaeology, studio art, and art history.

Tina lives in Waverly, New York. She “gives back” by speaking at career seminars at public schools, meeting with creative writing classes, and speaking to individual aspiring writers.

Tina's Books:

Alysa of the Fields, Book One in the Tellings of Xunar

The TrailFolk of Xunar-kun, Book Two in the Tellings of Xunar-kun 

Snailsworth, a slow little story

Tina's Links:
Website Website Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn IMDb First Short Film
J.R. RadaJ. R. Rada
J. R. Rada is a pen name for award-winning writer, James Rada, Jr. He has written five books of fantasy and horror. These include A Byte-Size Friend, Welcome to Peaceful Journey, Kachina, and Kuskurza.
He works as a freelance writer who lives in Gettysburg, PA. James has received numerous awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, Associated Press, Maryland State Teachers Association and Community Newspapers Holdings, Inc. for his newspaper writing.

J.R.'s Books:
The Man Who Killed Edgar Allan Poe
Kachina
Byte-Size Friend
J.R.'s Links:
WebsiteBlogFacebookTwitter
From today's program: Hottest Exoplanet Ever Found.
Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM PT / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.

Snacks

Back to the 52-week blogging challenge. Today the prompt is "My favorite snacks."

Well, as I explained last week, I have tried to avoid snacks and eat fruit instead. So now my favorite snacks are pineapple, oranges, and apples. And strawberries. Love strawberries.

But if I'm going to be honest, those aren't my favorite. I love Tapatio Doritios. And Cheetoes. And Tim's Cascade Chips Sea Salt and Vinegar potato chips (a regional brand). And nachos with chips, salsa, cheese, and guacamole.

And Oreo Cookies (Double Stuf please).

Man, now I'm getting hungry.

My birthday is coming soon and I'm hoping for a Grandma's White Cake (old family recipe) with caramel frosting. It's so good.

What's your favorite snack? Comment below!

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Mary Louise Davie and Vance Huxley

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are please to welcome writers Mary Louise Davie and Vance Huxley.
Mary Louise DavieMary Louise Davie

Mary Louise Davie brings to her writing and presentations her quick wit and humor - making the subject matter - be it a science fiction adventure out in deep space with the characters facing black hole V4641 Sgr or a NASA presentation with NASA taking on the Galaxy, quite literally. It is a part of her view on life - laugh a little no matter what and then marvel at the beauty of the sky, the planets and dream of what it would be like to be there.

Ms Davie suffered several strokes which left her on Disability for a time. Unable to walk and after re-teaching herself much, rather than go stir crazy, she wrote and wrote. The first of the three books came out of that time.

Having been a Chemist and later an IT person, but always having written, Mary Louise now is an author and presenter full time.

Mary's Books:

Sanacion II: We Are the Aliens

Sanacion III: Remnants of the Done


Target Earth: You Only See What You Want To See

Mary's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Vance HuxleyVance Huxley

At 70  I’m a mossy stone, a rolling stone that had to stop moving at 54, after living at 27 addresses . I’ve worked as a building labourer, taxi driver, accountant, engineering workshop manager, shop assistant and a graphic artist, and a lot of other things in between.  I never had a profession, unless dog walker or avid reader is included?

My joints, eyes and spine all began to act up, until even walking the dog involves an electric mobility scooter. I ended up sat in front of a computer screen, looking for something to occupy me because my eyes can’t deal with TV, or any moving pictures. I tried poetry but the poems became too long, so I wrote short stories. The stories grew until I’d written nearly three million words split into book titles. They weren’t readable books, so I spent a solid year working with an editor to iron out some of my bad habits.

I sent a few for Beta reading to see how I was doing, and in September 2015 Entrada offered me a publishing contract. They’ve accepted all seven so far. The rest of those words (and some new ones) still need correcting and organising so retirement has been postponed.

Vance's Books:

Fall of the Cities III – Branching Out 

Shattered Stars I – Breach of Contract

The Forest and the Farm

Vance's Links:

Website
Goodreads

From Today's Program: A Commercial Private Space Station Planned.

Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT or in archive here.

Bad Habits

Time once again for the 52-week blogging challenge. Today's prompt is "My bad habits."

How much time do you have?

My biggest bad habit is I eat too much. So I'm a big guy. I've tried to do better and have lost some weight. I've replaced junk with fruit, mostly. And I try not to eat everything in sight. Or on site.

I used to be hooked on diet pop. But now I drink mostly water, which is a good habit.

Some people might say I have a bad habit of driving too fast. But I don't think I do. I drive 5 mph or the speed limit or as fast as conditions permit. Sometimes conditions permit only going 30 mph (bad snowy roads) and sometimes conditions permit 130 mph (empty back country roads where it's unlikely I'll encounter any police). No matter how fast I'm driving, I do it safely. I'm not suicidal, after all.

I'm trying to think of other bad habits I have (at least ones I'll admit to). I'm kind of a clutter creator. I'm not very organized (which is part of the clutter thing), and I probably spend too much time on my phone or computer.

So, what are your bad habits? Comment below.

Television Review: Sense8, The Best Show You Shouldn't Watch

I just (well, yesterday) finished watching all the episodes available of the Netflix series Sense8.

The show is about eight people who are "senesate" (get it?) in that they can telepathically connect with the other people in their "cluster." Not only can they hear each other, they can help each other out. In one episode in the first season, a member of their cluster is running from the cops. She jumps in a car and then says "What am I doing? I can't drive." But one of the other people in her cluster is a bus driver, so he drives for her, despite that she's in San Francisco and he's in Nairobi, Kenya. It sounds preposterous but it's so well done you willingly suspend disbelief.

Sense8 is probably the best show on Netflix that you shouldn't watch. The production values are feature film quality. There is no point where you think the production compromised to save money or time. It is filmed on location around the world in places such as Iceland, India, and Korea. Everything looks and feels authentic. The bad guys (an evil corporation--of course--that seems to produce or sell nothing so I don't know where it gets its money) are bad along with people you may or not be able to trust. The eight main characters are diverse in their personalities and beliefs. But when one needs help, they all come to the rescue. The one unbelievable thing is the hacking skills of the woman in San Francisco (and her friends) who seem to be able to do anything with computers. Also, one of the characters changed actors in the second season and that was a bit jarring. I didn't like the second actor as much as the first. But probably just because he was the first one.

It was produced and often directed by the Wachowski brothers sisters who made the Matrix movies so you know it's going to have attention to detail and be a bit over the top. And it was.

To watch Sense8 you'd best not be easily offended. There are two gay couples, one male-male and one with two females. The violence is graphic and the sex (including gay sex) is near pornographic. But none of it feels gratuitous. The language alone would have earned it an "R" rating if it were a movie.

But you shouldn't watch Sense8. Why? Because after two seasons it was canceled by Netflix, leaving you hanging and with a lot of things unexplained. You'll get involved in these people's lives and then be abandoned by Netflix. It's is a great show, but unless Netflix changes its mind and renews it, don't watch it. Unless you want your heart broken.

It was probably its quality that doomed Sense8. It was very expensive to produce, I've read, and didn't attract enough eyeballs. So Netflix cut its losses and canceled it.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Ronald Chapman and Debbie Kump

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Ronald Chapman and Debbie Kump.
Ronald ChapmanRonald Chapman

Ronald Chapman is an author, speaker and facilitator of approaches that increase well-being-ness and produce breakthroughs when practiced deeply and in a sustained fashion. He is the creator of Seeing True™ and Progressive Recovery, resources dedicated to exploring the concepts of engaging, releasing and transcending, essentially the core of forgiveness practice. Ron is an internationally accredited inspirational speaker and workshop leader, and the author of two novels, two works of non-fiction and two audio sets. He holds a Masters in Social Welfare.

Ronald's Books:


A Killer’s Grace

Seeing True: The Way of Spirit (nonfiction)

Ronald's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

Debbie KumpDebbie Kump

As a teen, I enjoyed writing and illustrating my own books. I’d spend hours pounding away (literally!) at the keys of my mother’s archaic typewriter, dreaming of one day getting published. I put those dreams on hold to pursue my other love: teaching. After graduating from Cornell University with degrees in Biology and Education, I taught middle and high school science in Maui, Seattle, and the Twin Cities and worked as a marine naturalist aboard a whale watch and snorkel cruise. When I’m not teaching or working on my next novel, I enjoy coaching my sons’ soccer, hockey, and lacrosse teams and dogsledding to school with our three Siberian huskies.

Debbie's Books:

Elemental (Book 1 of The Elementals Trilogy)

Essence (Book 2 of The Elementals Trilogy)

8G

Debbie's Links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

From Today's Program: Do Black Holes Have Event Horizons?


Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.

My Favorite TV Shows

Time once again for the 52-week blogging challenge and today's prompt is "My favorite TV shows."

I don't watch a lot of TV and I'm very selective about what I watch a lot of. I tend to watch Netflix movies on disc (yes, Netflix still does that).

But here are my favorite (current) TV shows:

TURN: Washington's Spies . A very well done (if somewhat inaccurate) account of people who spied for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. It's sort of slow moving but it is fascinating to watch.

One interesting thing about this show is that a lot of the characters are actual historical people. I knew Washington and Benedict Arnold were, of course, but the other characters I assumed were made up. Then Robert Townsend showed up and I knew he was a real person (family legend is that we're related to him) so I started Googling other characters and most of them are historical figures. Unfortunately, the show is in its final season.

Orphan Black . I first started watching this on DVD from Netflix. Then we caught up and I started watching it in first run on BBC America. While the show has some issues (they tend to leave plot lines unresolved) it mainly revolves around the amazing performance by Tatiana Maslany. You have to watch the show to believe it (I'd have to give spoilers to tell you why her acting is so amazing). It, too, is in its final season.

The Simpsons . Yes, after twenty-some odd years, it's lost some of its earlier edge. But it's still consistently funny and often brilliantly satirical. (If you want edgy, now you have to go with Family Guy.) This show came out the year my oldest son was born. He's now 27, almost 28. He and his brothers have never known a world without The Simpsons. I am pretty sure I've seen every single episode.

Jeopardy : I blame my friend Sarah for getting me hooked on Jeopardy again. I've always loved quiz shows because I have a head full of useless trivia. And Jeopardy is the best and hardest of them all (except I would suck at Sports Jeopardy ).

What are your favorite TV shows? Comment below!

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