Steve Umstead's Blog, page 16
August 9, 2011
Proud Dad…
I don't blog very often (and as a writer, I know…I know…), and never on personal matters, but this one was just too exciting for me to fit into a social media post. My 11 year old son Evan, after having tremendous success over the past year in his school's choir (they won a Philly [...]
July 22, 2011
Book Review: Game 7: Dead Ball by Allen Schatz
REVIEW: I'm going to preface this review by saying I am a diehard Phillies fan, and the '08 World Series win was one of the best nights (or two, if you know what I mean…rain…) in memory. The plot summary of Allen Schatz's Game 7: Dead Ball sounded like an interesting story, but the fact [...]
July 18, 2011
Readercon – Good Times, Man…Good Times.
I just returned from one of the most enjoyable four days I've ever had, and I mean that seriously. I've been fortunate enough with my 'day job' to have been able to travel to many different countries, see many beautiful locales, and lie on many gorgeous beaches, all while sipping many local drinks. Jealous? Hey, [...]
July 3, 2011
Excerpt from Gabriel's Redemption for #SampleSunday
Lamber and St. Laurent crept up on their first two targets, red outlines in their IR sensors showing the warm bodies huddled behind a ten foot snowdrift about forty feet away from the doors, where the other two figures stood. St. Laurent reached her target first, a man wearing a civilian environment suit. His visor [...]
June 23, 2011
Converting a Kindle book to Nook format (or How I Synced My Life)
A couple of months back, I was sans e-reader. Yes, as strange as it may sound, I was a self-published author in e-book format only…who didn't have an e-book device. For the past few years, I had been reading books on my iPhone. Damned convenient, no doubt (talk about read-anywhere), but hell on the eyes. [...]
June 15, 2011
Hands on with the new Nook Simple Touch e-reader
OK, I admit it…I can't keep my hands off new tech toys. I picked up a new e-reader the other day with the intention of wrapping it and giving it to my son for his 8th grade graduation present Thursday. Needless to say, the wrapping never happened. I will say, unequivocally, that he WILL receive [...]
June 2, 2011
In celebration of the new Nook, join me in promoting fellow authors
I was lying in bed last night (no worries, this blog post isn't going there) reading Game 7: Dead Ball by Allen Schatz on my Nook Classic (tip: go buy that book). As I swiped my finger from right to left on the awesome little color nav screen, I realized I really love my Nook. [...]
May 24, 2011
Special Delivery – A short piece from WAY outside my normal genre
Maybe a second glass of wine will help my nerves, thought Kerry Jensen as she changed channels for the umpteenth time, finally settling on a cheesy horror movie. Must be from the 70's, judging from the bell bottoms and big hair the girl being chased sported, she mused. She splashed a few more ounces of [...]
May 23, 2011
How editing for a friend made me a better writer
I just wrapped up a line-edit for a very good friend last week. It was for his existing novel he was looking into putting into print. We chatted a bit ahead of time, and because he had mentioned in the past he wished he could have put it through an editor previously, I volunteered to [...]
May 19, 2011
E-books officially pass print books, no looking back now…
From time to time, in both my personal life and business ownership, I make decisions that don't work out. Whether it's to lay a tile floor (weeks of backache afterwards said that was a mistake), try to install my own fence (complete disaster), try a trade show outside of our business focus (waste of several [...]
