Stephen Leary's Blog, page 4
July 30, 2015
The Many Possible Futures of Cafe Patrons
Impossible Cafes #2
I'm often searching for words that don't exist to describe things. The latest example, one word to describe a café habitué. Caféer? Cafénian? Cafénik?
Of the dozens of customers I see in the cafe, will any one of them do something dramatic in their lives? Accomplish a a feat few others do? Can you tell somehow that one of them will stand out from the crowd in some way?
Every caféer is in search of a dream that may or may not transform into a nightmare. Because dreams ar...
I'm often searching for words that don't exist to describe things. The latest example, one word to describe a café habitué. Caféer? Cafénian? Cafénik?
Of the dozens of customers I see in the cafe, will any one of them do something dramatic in their lives? Accomplish a a feat few others do? Can you tell somehow that one of them will stand out from the crowd in some way?
Every caféer is in search of a dream that may or may not transform into a nightmare. Because dreams ar...
July 29, 2015
My New SciFi Story 'Daybreak' Now on Amazon
My new SciFi short story "Daybreak" is now up on Amazon.
Rivenlann is a world that has known only darkness and the thousand gentle stars in the night sky. The advanced Aarpions live on one landmass and dominate the primitive Towahs who reside across the sea on the other.
An ancient prophesy of the Towahs called the Day of Reversal they believe is expected soon, though the Aarpions dismiss it. According to the prophesy, a bright god will suddenly appear in the sky and never leave, bringing...
Rivenlann is a world that has known only darkness and the thousand gentle stars in the night sky. The advanced Aarpions live on one landmass and dominate the primitive Towahs who reside across the sea on the other.
An ancient prophesy of the Towahs called the Day of Reversal they believe is expected soon, though the Aarpions dismiss it. According to the prophesy, a bright god will suddenly appear in the sky and never leave, bringing...
July 27, 2015
Writing in the Cafe of Babel
In the not too distant past, Panera opened a new coffee shop in Washington DC's Chinatown. I somehow found myself in the area one early Saturday morning and so went in and discovered it was easily the biggest Panera I had ever seen.
Beyond the ordering counter near the door was another level where sat a large number of people, even though it was so early in the day. I placed my order and was given a small electronic device to take with me. I ascended the steps up to a second level and found an...
Beyond the ordering counter near the door was another level where sat a large number of people, even though it was so early in the day. I placed my order and was given a small electronic device to take with me. I ascended the steps up to a second level and found an...
July 23, 2015
Almost Killed While Writing At Starbucks
Impossible Cafes #1
I write at several different cafes in my area, most of them Starbucks. I have a favorite table at one of them, right next to a large window and the parking lot. Lately I've been writing my upcoming novel "Drone Fever" and a short story called "Daybreak" while there. I'm often there in the mornings. But I had gone elsewhere one day.
So when I returned the day after, I was surprised to see a large piece of cardboard where a window had been. I assumed as anyone would that...
I write at several different cafes in my area, most of them Starbucks. I have a favorite table at one of them, right next to a large window and the parking lot. Lately I've been writing my upcoming novel "Drone Fever" and a short story called "Daybreak" while there. I'm often there in the mornings. But I had gone elsewhere one day.
So when I returned the day after, I was surprised to see a large piece of cardboard where a window had been. I assumed as anyone would that...
July 22, 2015
How Fast Should You Write a Book?
Lately I've read advice from self-published authors on how fast to write books. Some suggest no less than 3 novels a year. Others say you need to publish something regularly--every few weeks--so your audience stayed interested and doesn't leave. One prominent author claims to write short stories in 24 hours and then publish them.
Earlier I blogged on authors suggesting a book needs a certain word count for best effect on potential readers. 80,000-90,000 was considered ideal for novels.
The idea...
Earlier I blogged on authors suggesting a book needs a certain word count for best effect on potential readers. 80,000-90,000 was considered ideal for novels.
The idea...
July 21, 2015
Snowden Leaks Continue to Aid US Enemies
Islamic State has used National Security Agency documents stolen by Ed Snowden to change their operations in an effort to prevent the US from gathering intelligence on the group, according to new reports:
The Islamic State has also studied revelations from Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, about how the United States gathers information on militants. A main result is that the group’s top leaders now use couriers or encrypted channels that Western analysts canno...
July 16, 2015
New York Times Finally Adds Ted Cruz's Book to Bestseller List
Responding to the firestorm of controversy that erupted after Republican conservative Senator Ted Cruz's book was left off the New York Times' bestseller list, the politically liberal newspaper caved in and the book will appear on their list tomorrow.
Cruz said public pressure led to the decision:
Cruz said public pressure led to the decision:
“They don’t want people to read the book, ‘A Time for Truth;’ they left it off and then an amazing thing happened. Number one, they accused me of bulk sales. I said that is a lie. ... Then my publish...
July 15, 2015
Amazon's Bestselling Books 1995-2015
Amazon sold its first book in July 1995, Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies by Douglas Hofstadter. They have now posted a list of their bestselling books for every year from 2015 (so far) going back to 1995. Here are the top books for each year:
2015 Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee2014 StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath2013 StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath2012 Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James2011 Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson2010 The Girl Who Kicked the Ho...
2015 Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee2014 StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath2013 StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath2012 Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James2011 Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson2010 The Girl Who Kicked the Ho...
July 14, 2015
Authors Accuse Amazon of Antitrust Violations
A long list of authors and the American Booksellers Association are requesting Obama's Justice Department investigate Amazon for antitrust and anti-competitive behavior.
From Authors United to the DOJ:
From Authors United to the DOJ:
In recent years, Amazon has used its dominance in ways that we believe harm the interests of America’s readers, impoverish the book industry as a whole, damage the careers of (and generate fear among) many authors, and impede the free flow of ideas in our society.What I think is curious about thi...
July 13, 2015
Amazon Calls Out New York Times on Cruz Book
Amazon has called into question the assertion by the New York Times that sales of Senator Ted Cruz's book were driven by "strategic bulk purchases." That was the reason given by the Times for refusing to include the Republican's book on their bestseller list.
From Politico:
From Politico:
"As of yesterday, 'A Time for Truth' was the number 13 bestselling book, and there is no evidence of unusual bulk purchase activity in our sales data," Sarah Gelman, Amazon's director of press relations, said in an email.Har...
