Stephen Leary's Blog, page 5

New York Times' Dishonest Book Bestseller List

The New York Times isn't the newspaper it was in the old days. Today, its editorial and news outlook is something like a far-left blog. The radicals have taken over. It's not independent but is part of the Democrat Party. It almost seems illegitimate that it should have the same name as it did in days gone by.

The latest example of so many: Ted Cruz is a conservative running for the Republican Party presidential nomination. He has written a new book called "A Time for Truth."



According to Polit...

Cafes Wish Lingering Customers Would Leave

It's never really been an issue for me, but I see in a recent news article that some cafes, at least in the Washington DC area, are trying to encourage customers who stay a long time to get up and leave. The idea is that their table could be used by a new customer and the cafe could make more money.

It's not an issue for me because most of the times I go to cafes, few people are there. I'm usually in Starbucks or some other national chain. I haven't seen them telling anyone to leave, ever, alt...

This Is What I'm Up Against As A Self-Published Author

I have to be honest and admit I've never respected genres of fiction such as "Romance" and what is euphemistically called "Erotica." Lousy writers titillating readers for very cheap thrills and profit. I hardly consider these people "writers" in any meaningful sense of the word, except they put words on paper.

I'm reminded of what Truman Capote said about Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation: "It isn't writing, it's typing." I've always thought of these genres as typing, rather than writing. T...

My New Story: 'I, Manikin'

My brand new story "I, Manikin" is now available on Amazon.


In the near future, rebel cell group members confront the reality that they have been infiltrated by a government manikin sent to spy on them. But who is it? The manikins are indistinguishable from humans. One of their group has recently died from a supposed accident that they believe was orchestrated by the government. They must identify and destroy the manikin before he can do them any further harm.

This short story is about 6,000 wo...

I Republished My Story 'The Smartphone'

My short story "The Smartphone" has been republished is now available on Amazon again. I've decided to keep it as a standalone single for $0.99.


From the Afterword:

Does Rory's new smartphone possess an unusual power to see things others can't? Is his estranged son a terrorist? And are the FBI visiting again? What does his wife think about all this?

The Smartphone was inspired by two famous short stories: “Signs and Symbols” by Vladimir Nabokov and “The Enormous Radio” by John Cheever. I hope y...

Scribd Dumping Erotica, Romance Titles Must Be a Good Thing

As someone who has never written or read a single Romance or Erotica book, I'm not shedding any tears over the news that Scribd is dumping something like 80-90 percent of the Erotica and Romance novels available at their site, including those written by best-selling authors.

Apparently Romance fans are voracious readers, and Scribd is paying authors and publishers of such novels far more than their business model can sustain. It's not a problem with any other genres.

I've noticed whenever I sea...

My Upcoming Novel 'Drone Fever'

My next novel will be Drone Fever. I'm arranging all the scenes and chapters in order now (as usual, not writing from beginning to end in sequence). The word count at the moment is about 70,000 and the finished book will likely be about 80,000.

The story is about a man who develops a strong interest in drones as a hobby. But he becomes nosy and uses his drones to watch his neighbors through their windows. In a house down the block, he sees what might be a murder.

Is he spending too much time on...

Anti-Confederate Hysteria Sweeps the Nation

Don't you get the impression a virus is sweeping through the United States that causes Confederatephobia?

All of a sudden, everyone is treating the Confederate flag and all things Confederate as if they are worse than Nazis or Satanists. Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Sears, Ebay, politicians, everybody is jumping on the anti-Confederate bandwagon in the space of a few days. Many have noted that Nazi memorabilia is still available at some of those companies.

The trigger was the church shooting in Char...

Do You Add Words To Your Novel So It Will Sell Better?

The topic of Word Count is popular on message boards for self-publishing authors. How long is a novel? Novella? Short Story? Short Short Story?

The word count for each can vary widely depending on who you listen to. Wikipedia tells me a mystery novel (60,000 to 80,000) is typically shorter than a thriller (100,000+). A Novella could be anywhere from 7,500 to 40,000. A Short Story is between 1,000 and 20,000. Shorter than 1,000 words is now called Flash Fiction or a Short Short Story.

A popular...

UK Says Snowden's Secret Files Cracked by Russia, China

The UK Sunday Times reported that Russia and China have cracked the top secret files stolen by Ed Snowden, forcing Great Britain to withdraw their spies from ongoing operations in hostile countries, as their lives were now in danger. No word yet from US officials.

Snowden's supporters question this news story and question its timing, coming 2 days after the UK's terrorism watchdog published a review into terrorism legislation, which was set up amid public concerns over surveillance sparked by...