Sol Crafter's Blog, page 4
April 16, 2014
The evils of guest blogging?
I am so confused! I got sent this link = http://searchengineland.com/matt-cutts-stick-a-fork-in-it-guest-blogging-is-done-182147 = and now I’m just like “Huh?” Because obviously I have no idea what I’m doing.
I turned off Trackbacks and Pingbacks because of all the spam I was getting, but I guess I should be using the “nofollow” code on links? I thought my site did that automagically! I thought that’s what the no trackbacks/pingbacks was 
I like the idea of giving people props where it’s due, but it was getting a bit ridiculous when I was finding my comment inbox filled with “Interesting site. Many great things to talk about. You haf affected my life in many great and wonderful ways. I have a good article …” and blah blah, bunch of spam. One look at the comment title and the site link “Buy awesome bags (dot) totally spam (dot) com” (but as a real, horrifying URL) and I can tell that people are trying to spam me. I never click the links I’m sent, and definitely not from some stranger off the Internet.
The worst thing? I don’t even use the WordPress comment system on my blog! I have Disqus installed, yet still those spammer people manage to cram their garbage into the built-in comment box and I have no idea how it happens. So I go through once and a while and delete everything, because any real comment would be in my Disqus, and not through some wily backdoor knocking system.
I thought I was the Master of My Own Life!
http://www.beatricebiologist.com.
But I guess when it comes down to it, we’re all just tools in the great machine. And there’s always someone trying to use us for their own purposes. Sad, but true.
So if you get an email from some random person on the Internet offering to write posts for your blog or site at no cost to you “… as long as I can include several links …” it might be a good idea to give them a side-eye and a “No candy” if they’re not someone you know. At the very least, you should be able to type their site into your browser yourself (don’t click their links!) and take a look around. If you’re running PeerBlock, WOT, and you’ve got an up-to-date antivirus you should be okay (there’s always a risk on the Internet).
And if you do offer guest blogging, they should be added as a “Contributor” and you can totally “Editor” their asses. What does that mean? Well, you have the power of veto over what they post before it goes live, and you can edit their links to remove any breadcrumbs or garbage they’ve added on the end.
Just because someone is guesting on your blog, that doesn’t give them the power in the relationship. It’s your blog. They have to play by your rules, including not linking to a bunch of awfulness and ruining what you’ve built up.
Be the master of your own life. Tell the wo phage to “Suck it. It’s my way or no way!”
Links of relevance:
Matt Cutts: “The decay and fall of guest blogging for SEO” – http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/guest-blogging/. The post in question. He had to clarify some points after hundreds of comments, but basically boils down to: “Watch out who you let guest blog on your site, because the links they want to add in their post can make you look like a spammer.”
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Wikipedia: “Nofollow” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nofollow. “nofollow is a value that can be assigned to the rel attribute of an HTML a element to instruct some search engines that a hyperlink should not influence the link target’s ranking in the search engine’s index.”
Basically, you add a “nofollow” to a link to keep whatever you’re linking to from gaining influence because of you. So if you link to some horrible site on the Internet featuring puppy torture, you can vent your outrage and call public attention to the atrocities committed, without giving them your tacit approval. You know, so puppy torture people don’t end up as the top result on Google for some kid looking for “cute puppies.”
You don’t need to add it to all your links, just the ones you don’t want to give a page rank boost. The sites still receive their hits, you still remain awesome, and spammy sites don’t end up at the top of search results. Otherwise, it’s not a big deal to leave links normal, but be aware that if you’ve got a lot of guest bloggers, you’re responsible for the actions they take on your blog.
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Wikipedia: “Trackback” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trackback. “A trackback is one of four types of linkback methods for website authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to their articles.”
Basically, you write something about someone else’s blog, and when you post it, their blog receives a message saying “Hey, this dude wrote about you.” Then they can approve the trackback and have it show up in their comments “[... so and so talked about blah blah ...]” and you get that warm glowy feeling of knowing that your site is mentioned on the site you talked about.
You have to have your trackbacks enabled and so does the site you write about to have this system work. Unfortuantely, spammers have figured out that if they mention your blog on their spam site — usually surrounded with a bunch of info and other links scraped off the Internet — then when they post their garbage, your site receives a trackback saying you were mentioned. And if you don’t know what you’re doing or you accidentally click Approve, all of a sudden there’s a link to their awful site on your blog, giving them a nice hit, and making you look bad as you send your guests to visit the dangerous depths of the Internet or some random porn ring. Unless you hit “Approve,” they shouldn’t appear, though they will clog up your comments page like nobody’s business.
I’ve shut off trackbacks because scrapers and spammers were hitting me so hard I just couldn’t take it anymore. They’re why we can’t have nice things …
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Wikipedia: “Pingback” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pingback. “A pingback is one of four types of linkback methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles.”
You want to know who’s mentioning your blog online? Well, a pingback is when one site writes about your site and sends out a signal saying “Hey, I wrote about you.” Your site sends back a ping to check if there’s a link in place, then gives you the message “Site name says: Hey, I wrote about you.” And now you know. You’re famous!
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All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 13, 2014
RE: Hackers (the movie)
When I was a teenager, the movie Hackers was the greatest thing ever to me and I loved it. I still have a copy on DVD.
Sexy Burn, vibrantly dressed Crash, and a bunch of brightly cheerful pseudo-hippies/anarchists. What wasn’t there to love? This movie had it all, including a red leather motorcycle suit, close ups of dewy stomach skin and near kissing-close conversation. Plus a crazy alternate state version of the Internet and reality.
Though considering the direction graphic interfaces are taking, the rise of vblogging, and the changing state of technology, maybe Hackers is closer to reality than it was back when it was made. Sure, it’s full on cheese, but there are some aspects that spark a strange echo in my chest.
So when I saw “xkcd: The Hack,” my heart did a little skip-beat and I was filled with such happiness that I just had to share it with the world.
Links of interest:
IMDB: “Hackers (1995)” – Hackers. Starring: Johnny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie. I had such a crush on Johnny Lee Miller at the time, and Angelina Jolie was completely mesmerizing. I wanted to see more of Joey, which meant I stalked Jesse Bradford for a time. Plus Matthew Lillard will always be my favorite Cereal Killer.
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Wikipedia: “Hackers (film)” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_%28film%29. Spoiler alert?
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All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 12, 2014
Terrible article, great comments: “Fan Fiction”
Wow. I found this = “What is Fan Fiction – and why is it making people nervous?” = and I am just stunned by this man’s complete IGNORANCE, nay, stupidity. He doesn’t even know that it’s “fanfiction” or “fanfic,” not “FanFic.”
He thinks the gender-divide is equal, when fanfiction is really about 76%+ female powered. Most writers are in their 20s-50s+. The most popular fandoms are Harry Potter, Sherlock, Marvel, Supernatural, and I want to say maybe The Avengers (Stony!), though I’d have to do some research, and that’s largely me hoping 
(I also want to believe that Buffy is still a booming fandom because that’s my slashy baby, but Xander will never quite be the Little Black Dress that Harry Potter or Methos have become.)
Mostly I’m curious as to why all these men that don’t know anything about fanfiction are being asked to write these asinine articles about it :/ It shows a terrible lack of commonsense on the part of the site admins. I mean, if you’re going to ask someone to write you an article, why wouldn’t you go to someone that actually knows what they’re talking about?
All you have to do is look at the comments to see that there are masses of people much more intelligent than the OP available for questioning.
Though I will tell you flat out that if you are with some media outlet – Do Not Approach A Fanficcer. (I’m looking at you Buzzfeed. You totally freaked out my friend by just randomly coming up to her and asking her for an interview. If she ends up friends-locking her LiveJournal because you can’t respect the rules, I’m going to be upset because she’s awesome and there’s so many people that would miss out if she instigated a full-cloak.)
Do your research like a regular person does: by googling “fanfiction,” maybe hitting up some websites like Fanfiction.net, Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, and just treating it like you would when you’re entering a new society or a hip cool forum that you want to join. Basically, keep your mouth shut, your eyes open, follow the rules of the community, and don’t be such a n00b.
This guy could have done the most basic of research by just searching Wikipedia. The fact that he didn’t, and chose instead to make up his own facts and figures and even his own lexicon of “FanFic” phraseology, is proof that he has a complete lack of respect for all of the people of the world, from those that love fanfiction or hate fanfiction to those that don’t have a single clue what fanfiction is but are curious about this thing that their child loves.
For the sake of the children, don’t be so ignorant in the future Stephen Downes. It makes you look foolish, disrespectful, and most of all, a lazy writer.
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The “Unwritten” Rules of Fanfiction:
1st Rule: You do not talk about fanfiction.
2nd Rule: You DO NOT talk about fanfiction.
When I was a teenager and first discovered fanfic, it was like Fight Club. It was spoken of in whispers and Yahoo groups, Fanfiction.net was “The Pit of Voles,” and the efiction code was spawning archives far and wide.
Nowadays, there are so many people in fandom that the rules have gone slack. Some writers *cough*EL James*cough* have broken the vows of silence and done the unthinkable — profited off this thing we created out of love. There are so many newheads running around that seem to think they are the first people to have ever discovered fanfiction, and they don’t know the rules that fanficcers have followed for generations or they decide that the rules don’t apply to them. (“Espechul snowflake” syndrome.)
Basically, the biggest rule of fanfiction is to write it because you love the characters and the story. Write because you have a story in your heart that you want to share. And never profit from it, because that crosses the line of fair use and other writers can become targets, and fanfiction can be rousted out by the PTBs.
EL James earned herself some backlash not just by those in Twilight fandom, but in every fandom, because things could have gone wrong. She could have rocked the boat so hard that fanfiction could have been ruined for everyone. Because when it comes down to it, the copyright holder has the power in the fanfiction relationship, and even though there are lawyers able to fight the fight, they shouldn’t have to.
Because “fair use” can become a very narrow line when money is involved. And profiting from fanfiction has always been the biggest no-no out there.
Links of interest:
Sycophant Hex: “Avoiding Mistakes in Fanfiction Writing: A Beginner’s Guide” – http://sycophanthex.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=41. Interesting little guide. Gets better toward the end.
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Geekosystem: “Why Writer’s Don’t Read Fanfiction of Their Own Work (It’s Not Because They Think It’s Stupid)” – http://www.geekosystem.com/writers-fanfiction/. This one is something some fans need to take a close look at, then follow up with some other articles. Why? Because you don’t take your fandom jizz to the PTB and expect them to care and/or be comfortable with what you have to say. From a legal standpoint, they don’t want to be accused of stealing your story. Remember that kerfluffle with Marion Zimmer Bradley? Yeah, that was a case of one fan(atic) ruining things for everyone. A lot of authors got turned-off of the idea of running their own anthos and zines.
It also reminds me of that Supernatural Q&A where an overenthusiastic fan asked one of the actors whether Destiel could happen. No! Bad girl, no cookie. You don’t bring your shipping obsession up with the actors. You don’t go up to the wife of one of the Sherlock stars and harass her because her husband is obviously gay for your favorite slash pairing. No. And you especially don’t want to see Fox Mulder (’cause that’s his name IRL, right?) on a national television show being surprise attacked by the host asking “Did you know there’s a whole site about Mulder and Krycek?” and then having the big screen cut to manipulated images of Mulder/Krycek taken from a fansite that immediately had to shut down even though they had some of the most beautiful R and X-rated renderings I have ever seen (those girls in Australia really know how to cut and paste. That stuff should have been hanging in a gallery.)
There are some lines not meant to be crossed. Don’t send your fanfic or fanart to the original creator. Don’t ask the actors or actresses uncomfortable questions because you can’t differentiate between real life and fantasy. Be aware that some people can be really judgy and maybe even abusive about fanfic/fanart, and if you don’t want to be mocked or bullied IRL, use a fandom name and keep it fandom-related. (Especially if you’re a high school or college student, because you know, you might want to have a job someday, or maybe you might have a family member that turns out to be really against your obsession with Hannigram.) The last thing you want is for someone to run a search on your email address and have all your fandom stuff pop up porn style — get a fandom email address, fandom LiveJournal, whatever.
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Dear Author: “Q&A with Professor Rebecca Tushnet” – http://dearauthor.com/features/essays/qa-with-professor-rebecca-tushnet/.
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Tushnet.wordpress.com: “Copyright Law, Fan Practices, and the Right of the Author” – http://tushnet.com/writings/. Scroll down the page to find the article. It is in PDF form and is titled fandombook.pdf. It’s number 35 from the top.
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Organization for Transformative Works: “FAQ” https://transformativeworks.org/faq. Click Legal and answer your own questions. They pretty much cover every concern.
Copyright is intended to protect the creator’s right to profit from her work for a period of time to encourage creative endeavor and the widespread sharing of knowledge. But this does not preclude the right of others to respond to the original work, either with critical commentary, parody, or, we believe, transformative works.
In the United States, copyright is limited by the fair use doctrine. The legal case of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose held that transformative uses receive special consideration in fair use analysis. For those interested in reading in-depth legal analysis, more information can be found on the Fanlore Legal Analysis page.
– Why does the OTW believe that transformative works are legal?
While the OTW believes in transformative works, there is a difference between fair use and for-profit.
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Center for Media & Social Impact: “Documentary Filmmaker’s Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use” – http://www.cmsimpact.org/fair-use/best-practices/documentary/documentary-filmmakers-statement-best-practices-fair-use. As the OTW say, “Best practices can successfully defend fair use rights even without litigation.”
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Ebook Friendly: “10 most popular fanfiction websites” – http://ebookfriendly.com/fan-fiction-websites/. Lists archives, and gives suggestions on how to search.
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Croatoan: “Where has Anne Rice fanfiction gone?” – http://www.angelfire.com/rant/croatoan/. A glimpse at history, and the horrors of an author going after the fans.
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Fanlore: “Chronology” – http://fanlore.org/wiki/Category:Chronology.
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Fandom Wank: “Fandom Wank Lives!” – http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/. These guys are the reason we don’t mess with fandom. Very entertaining/reason to keep it real. What is wank? Wank is: Self-aggrandizing posturing. Fannish absurdities. Circular ego-stroking. Endless flamewars. Pseudointellectual definitions. e.g. Entertainment for the rest of us.
The post Terrible article, great comments: “Fan Fiction” appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 11, 2014
XKCD explains the Heartbleed bug
Source link: http://xkcd.com/1354/
Other links to Heartbleed info:
Heartbleed Bug – the site themselves: http://heartbleed.com/
Lifehacker – “What the Heartbleed Security Bug Means for You”: http://lifehacker.com/what-the-heartbleed-security-bug-means-for-you-1560801201
Mashable – “The Heartbleed Hit List: Passwords you need to change right now”: http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/heartbleed-bug-websites-affected/
CNET – “How to protect yourself from the Heartbleed bug”: http://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-protect-yourself-from-the-heartbleed-bug/
CNET – “Heartbleed bug: Check which sites have been patched”: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/which-sites-have-patched-the-heartbleed-bug/
The post XKCD explains the Heartbleed bug appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 9, 2014
Beatrice the Biologist strikes again! “Some superhero suggestions”
I love these ideas more than is probably healthy. I find myself being inspired by these superheroes/supervillains(?) and might have to do some research.
You’re a superhero come to arrest some baddies, but oh no! It’s Sea Cucumber Woman, gross! While she makes off with her bag of stolen goodies, she casually reaches in through her mouth and pulls out something pulsing and squishy purple. You try to dodge out of the way, but … Ugh.
Amoeba Woman absorbs you into her amorphous body and begins to squeeze. You struggle and attempt to break away, but once she’s got you in her grasp, the only escape is the GRAVE!
Fungus Woman may look like she’s got a serious skin condition, but once you get close enough to catch a whiff of her alluring spores, it’s already too late. Lulled into a state of dreamy reticence, you don’t even notice the almost silvery webbing forming over your skin, strands of frothy white forming as you are consumed alive.
Link: http://www.beatricebiologist.com/
The post Beatrice the Biologist strikes again! “Some superhero suggestions” appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 8, 2014
Recommended reading: Daron’s Guitar Chronicles; CJ Cherryh; Lorna Freeman
Recommended reading:
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles, by Cecilia Tan [mm, rock and roll]
Updates weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays at http://daron.ceciliatan.com/. It’s hundreds of thousands of words into the series, so you might want to pick up the ebooks to catch up.
Volume 1 is free, if you want to get started with reading, otherwise the ebooks are $4.99 each.
Blurb borrowed from Smashwords: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Coming out and coming of age in the days of AIDS, MTV, Reaganomics, and Just Say No. Daron Marks is a young guitar player with a dream: make it big like the guys he grew up idolizing in New Jersey–or at least escape his dysfunctional family. He makes it as far as music school in Rhode Island, and the stages of Boston beckon. But it’s hard to succeed from the closet.
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 1 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 2 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 3 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 4 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 5 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Omnibus Edition Volume 1 (print).
You can also find all five volumes on Scribd if you’ve got a subscription.
Tomorrow is Cecilia Tan’s birthday. So everyone wish her a happy day 
She’s also running a Kickstarter that begins on her birthday.
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C.J. Cherryh [science fiction, fantasy]
Science fiction and fantasy author. She’s written a ton of books, and having read most of them, I would rate her as my favorite overall author. The ones listed here are the ones that I consider some of her best.
The Fortress Series: [Wikipedia] My favorite!
Blurb borrowed from Scribd: Deep in an abandoned, shattered castle, an old man of the Old Magic muttered almost forgotten words. His purpose — to create out of the insubstance of the air, from a shimmering of light and a fluttering of shadows. That most wondrous of spells, a Shaping. A Shaping in the form of a, young man who will be sent east on the road the old was to old to travel. To right the wrongs of a long-forgotten wizard war, and call new wars into being.
Fortress In the Eye of Time [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Eagles [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Owls [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Dragons [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Ice [Amazon] [Scribd].
Downbelow Station [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
Merchanter’s Luck [Wikipedia] — The single version is no longer available, but Alliance Space [Amazon] contains Merchanter’s Luck and Forty Thousand In Gehenna.
Cyteen [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
Regenesis [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
The Chanur novels: [Wikipedia].
The Chanur Saga (The Pride of Chanur, Chanur’s Venture, The Kif Strike Back) [Amazon].
Chanur’s Endgame (Chanur’s Homecoming, Chanur’s Legacy) [Amazon].
Faded Sun Trilogy [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
The Deep Beyond [Amazon] comprises Serpent’s Reach and Cuckoo’s Egg. Both stories are particular favorites of mine, so this is a great deal.
Serpent’s Reach [Wikipedia].
Cuckoo’s Egg [Wikipedia].
The Morgaine Saga (Gate of Ivrel, Well of Shiuan, Fires of Azeroth) [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
Foreigner universe: [Wikipedia].
Arc 1 (Foreigner, Invader, Inheritor): focuses on an assassination attempt against Bren Cameron, an act illegal by the peace treaty made following the War of the Landing. The attempt proves to be a conspiracy by factions of humans and atevi to depose Bren as the paidhi, or official translator between the two cultures. The Starship Phoenix returns, causing the entire system to come out of balance, causing political unrest on both Mospheira and the mainland, and while the atevi change from simple rocketry to advanced single-stage-to-orbit shuttles, radically altering their economic and industrial base in the process.
Foreigner [Amazon].
Invader [Amazon].
Inheritor [Amazon].
Arc 2 (Precursor, Defender, Explorer): focuses on Bren as he is elevated by Tabini to be the Lord of the Heavens, making him a lord of the aishidi’tat with authority to negotiate. Bren is then charged with taking Tabini’s heir, Cajeiri, and Ilisidi, Cajeri’s great grandmother, to see to a threat of aliens encountered by Phoenix, but Bren and the aiji-dowager must first solve a mutiny aboard Phoenix.
Precursor [Amazon].
Defender [Amazon].
Explorer [Amazon].
Arc 3 (Destroyer, Pretender, Deliverer): focuses on the return of Bren Cameron, Ilisidi and Cajeiri from deep space and their encounter with the alien Kyo. They find the aishidi’tat in tatters, Tabini-aiji rumored to be dead, and Murini, the pretender-aiji, on the throne in Shejidan. The kyo will expect to meet a unified planet under the rule of Tabini-aiji. Bren, the dowager, and the aiji must restore order before the kyo arrive for negotiations.
Destroyer [Amazon].
Pretender [Amazon].
Deliverer [Amazon].
Arc 4 (Conspirator, Deceiver, Betrayer): set in the immediate aftermath of the third arc, and is set against the shifting political relations between the different Atevi ethnic factions. With Tabini restored in Shejidan, Cameron must find a way to stabilise the Eastern and coastal regions where he has his own Lordly estate. The peace gained with the restoration of Tabini’s rule is threatened by long standing ethnic and cultural differences between the ruling Ragi Atevi and the more conservative Edi and Eastern clans.
Conspirator [Amazon].
Deceiver [Amazon].
Betrayer [Amazon].
Arc 5 (Intruder, Protector, Peacemaker)
Intruder [Amazon].
Protector [Amazon].
Peacemaker [Amazon].
The Gene Wars universe: [Wikipedia].
Hammerfall [Scribd] [Amazon].
Forge of Heaven [Scribd] [Amazon].
Ealdwood Stories: [Wikipedia].
The Dreaming Tree (single volume containing The Dreamstone, and The Tree of Swords and Jewels) [Amazon].
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The Borderlands series, by Lorna Freeman [fantasy]
For some reason, the first two books are unavailable except in used editions, which some people have taken advantage of to sell their copies for obscene amounts. The series is good, but not $22-54 good.
Hopefully if there’s enough interest, the two books will be reissued at a reasonable, non-exploitative price. Remember when Kirith Kirin [$4.99 for kindle] went out of print, then enough people wanted it that there was a rush to sell the used copies and some sellers wanted $375+ and then when another edition was published the cover price was over $20?
For used books, always check Abebooks.com before paying a ton of money. And while you’re there, don’t forget to look up Elizabeth Willey and The Merro-Tree by Katie Waitman.
Book One: Covenants (out of print, used copies).
Book Two: The King’s Own (out of print, used copies).
Book Three: Shadows Past.
Book Four: The Reckoning Flames (forthcoming?).
Blurb borrowed from Amazon: When Rabbit joined the Royal Army of Iversterre, he was just trying to get off the family farm. Instead, he got mixed up with a magical from the Border, learned he couldn’t escape his noble lineage, and developed some surprising talents that he can’t always control. But with Iversterre sliding toward the abyss, Rabbit needs to master his powers quickly-before someone else does it for him.
Strangely, though she made mention of a fourth book, Lorna Freeman seems to have disappeared sometime in 2011. She made a post to her blog January 1, and that was it. No more sightings of her on the Internet, no mentions of her popping in anywhere IRL, nothing. It’s kind of mysterious and spooky.
She wrote this excellent series, and her fans would love to hear more from her. I hope that she is well.
The post Recommended reading: Daron’s Guitar Chronicles; CJ Cherryh; Lorna Freeman appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
Recommended reading: Daron’s Guitar Chronicles; CJ Cherry; Lorna Freeman
Recommended reading:
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles, by Cecilia Tan [mm, rock and roll]
Updates weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays at http://daron.ceciliatan.com/. It’s hundreds of thousands of words into the series, so you might want to pick up the ebooks to catch up.
Volume 1 is free, if you want to get started with reading, otherwise the ebooks are $4.99 each.
Blurb borrowed from Smashwords: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Coming out and coming of age in the days of AIDS, MTV, Reaganomics, and Just Say No. Daron Marks is a young guitar player with a dream: make it big like the guys he grew up idolizing in New Jersey–or at least escape his dysfunctional family. He makes it as far as music school in Rhode Island, and the stages of Boston beckon. But it’s hard to succeed from the closet.
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 1 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 2 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 3 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 4 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Volume 5 [Amazon] [Smashwords] [Scribd].
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles: Omnibus Edition Volume 1 (print).
You can also find all five volumes on Scribd if you’ve got a subscription.
Tomorrow is Cecilia Tan’s birthday. So everyone wish her a happy day She’s also running a Kickstarter that begins on her birthday.
* * *
C.J. Cherryh [science fiction, fantasy]
Science fiction and fantasy author. She’s written a ton of books, and having read most of them, I would rate her as my favorite overall author. The ones listed here are the ones that I consider some of her best.
The Fortress Series: [Wikipedia] My favorite!
Blurb borrowed from Scribd: Deep in an abandoned, shattered castle, an old man of the Old Magic muttered almost forgotten words. His purpose — to create out of the insubstance of the air, from a shimmering of light and a fluttering of shadows. That most wondrous of spells, a Shaping. A Shaping in the form of a, young man who will be sent east on the road the old was to old to travel. To right the wrongs of a long-forgotten wizard war, and call new wars into being.
Fortress In the Eye of Time [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Eagles [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Owls [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Dragons [Amazon] [Scribd].
Fortress of Ice [Amazon] [Scribd].
Downbelow Station [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
Merchanter’s Luck [Wikipedia] — The single version is no longer available, but Alliance Space [Amazon] contains Merchanter’s Luck and Forty Thousand In Gehenna.
Cyteen [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
Regenesis [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
The Chanur novels: [Wikipedia].
The Chanur Saga (The Pride of Chanur, Chanur’s Venture, The Kif Strike Back) [Amazon].
Chanur’s Endgame (Chanur’s Homecoming, Chanur’s Legacy) [Amazon].
Faded Sun Trilogy [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
The Deep Beyond [Amazon] comprises Serpent’s Reach and Cuckoo’s Egg. Both stories are particular favorites of mine, so this is a great deal.
Serpent’s Reach [Wikipedia].
Cuckoo’s Egg [Wikipedia].
The Morgaine Saga (Gate of Ivrel, Well of Shiuan, Fires of Azeroth) [Wikipedia] [Amazon].
Foreigner universe: [Wikipedia].
Arc 1 (Foreigner, Invader, Inheritor): focuses on an assassination attempt against Bren Cameron, an act illegal by the peace treaty made following the War of the Landing. The attempt proves to be a conspiracy by factions of humans and atevi to depose Bren as the paidhi, or official translator between the two cultures. The Starship Phoenix returns, causing the entire system to come out of balance, causing political unrest on both Mospheira and the mainland, and while the atevi change from simple rocketry to advanced single-stage-to-orbit shuttles, radically altering their economic and industrial base in the process.
Foreigner [Amazon].
Invader [Amazon].
Inheritor [Amazon].
Arc 2 (Precursor, Defender, Explorer): focuses on Bren as he is elevated by Tabini to be the Lord of the Heavens, making him a lord of the aishidi’tat with authority to negotiate. Bren is then charged with taking Tabini’s heir, Cajeiri, and Ilisidi, Cajeri’s great grandmother, to see to a threat of aliens encountered by Phoenix, but Bren and the aiji-dowager must first solve a mutiny aboard Phoenix.
Precursor [Amazon].
Defender [Amazon].
Explorer [Amazon].
Arc 3 (Destroyer, Pretender, Deliverer): focuses on the return of Bren Cameron, Ilisidi and Cajeiri from deep space and their encounter with the alien Kyo. They find the aishidi’tat in tatters, Tabini-aiji rumored to be dead, and Murini, the pretender-aiji, on the throne in Shejidan. The kyo will expect to meet a unified planet under the rule of Tabini-aiji. Bren, the dowager, and the aiji must restore order before the kyo arrive for negotiations.
Destroyer [Amazon].
Pretender [Amazon].
Deliverer [Amazon].
Arc 4 (Conspirator, Deceiver, Betrayer): set in the immediate aftermath of the third arc, and is set against the shifting political relations between the different Atevi ethnic factions. With Tabini restored in Shejidan, Cameron must find a way to stabilise the Eastern and coastal regions where he has his own Lordly estate. The peace gained with the restoration of Tabini’s rule is threatened by long standing ethnic and cultural differences between the ruling Ragi Atevi and the more conservative Edi and Eastern clans.
Conspirator [Amazon].
Deceiver [Amazon].
Betrayer [Amazon].
Arc 5 (Intruder, Protector, Peacemaker)
Intruder [Amazon].
Protector [Amazon].
Peacemaker [Amazon].
The Gene Wars universe: [Wikipedia].
Hammerfall [Scribd] [Amazon].
Forge of Heaven [Scribd] [Amazon].
Ealdwood Stories: [Wikipedia].
The Dreaming Tree (single volume containing The Dreamstone, and The Tree of Swords and Jewels) [Amazon].
* * *
The Borderlands series, by Lorna Freeman [fantasy]
For some reason, the first two books are unavailable except in used editions, which some people have taken advantage of to sell their copies for obscene amounts. The series is good, but not $22-54 good.
Hopefully if there’s enough interest, the two books will be reissued at a reasonable, non-exploitative price. Remember when Kirith Kirin [$4.99 for kindle] went out of print, then enough people wanted it that there was a rush to sell the used copies and some sellers wanted $375+ and then when another edition was published the cover price was over $20?
For used books, always check Abebooks.com before paying a ton of money. And while you’re there, don’t forget to look up Elizabeth Willey and The Merro-Tree by Katie Waitman.
Book One: Covenants (out of print, used copies).
Book Two: The King’s Own (out of print, used copies).
Book Three: Shadows Past.
Book Four: The Reckoning Flames (forthcoming?).
Blurb borrowed from Amazon: When Rabbit joined the Royal Army of Iversterre, he was just trying to get off the family farm. Instead, he got mixed up with a magical from the Border, learned he couldn’t escape his noble lineage, and developed some surprising talents that he can’t always control. But with Iversterre sliding toward the abyss, Rabbit needs to master his powers quickly-before someone else does it for him.
Strangely, though she made mention of a fourth book, Lorna Freeman seems to have disappeared sometime in 2011. She made a post to her blog January 1, and that was it. No more sightings of her on the Internet, no mentions of her popping in anywhere IRL, nothing. It’s kind of mysterious and spooky.
She wrote this excellent series, and her fans would love to hear more from her. I hope that she is well.
The post Recommended reading: Daron’s Guitar Chronicles; CJ Cherry; Lorna Freeman appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
April 7, 2014
Release for Allies & Enemies; Recommended Reading
Release date for Allies & Enemies
Found out the release date for Allies & Enemies — July 16th, 2014 from Less Than Three Press. I don’t have a cover to show you yet, but it’s coming
I am so excited because I’ve been swallowing down all these spoilery-type comments or what have yous because the events of Allies & Enemies are very startling. There’s a reason why I couldn’t give any tasty excerpts from later in the book … because things get heavy. Like whoa.
“Allies & Enemies” is the second novel in the Heroes & Villains series. It can be read as a standalone novel, though the backstory from “Heroes & Villains” would probably make it a better experience for readers.
Recommended Reading:
Armor, by John Steakley [military sci-fi]
The book is only available in print, but it’s worth the buy. If you’re into military sci-fi, bad assery, body armor, and humans versus giant bugs, you definitely need to add this book to your collection.
Blurb borrowed from The Official Unofficial John Steakley Site: Armor is the tale of Felix, a scout fighting in a brutal war on a planet known as Banshee. While on the surface it’s an action/sci-fi book like Starship Troopers [Heinlein] (which it was inspired by), it’s much, much more. It’s the story of a man who simply does not want to live anymore, but has a thing inside of him (he calls it his Engine) that will not allow him to simply lay down and die. So he lives on, fighting through hopeless battle after hopeless battle with no hope of either victory or defeat.
Blur borrowed from Wikipedia: Armor is a military science fiction novel by John Steakley. It has some superficial similarities with Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (such as the military use of exoskeletons and insect-like alien enemies) but concentrates more on the psychological effects of violence on human beings rather than on the political aspects of the military, which was the focus of Heinlein’s novel.
My thoughts: I recently recommended Armor to someone and it brought up all these feelings in me, so much that I went back and read the book again. And it’s still as mind-blowing as the first time I read it as a teenager.
It is unfortunate that John Steakley died before he could complete the sequel to Armor, though I’ve recently found out that he allowed an excerpt of the work to be put online. Here’s the link to the Armor 2 excerpt. I’m curious to know how much of the novel was completed and whether there will ever come a time when the fragments will be available to the public.
* * *
Elfhome, by Wen Spencer [urban fantasy] (Elfhome, Book 3)
Currently available for the Kindle price of $3.99. If you’ve got the rest of the series or you’re starting your collection, this is a great deal.
Summary borrowed from Amazon: #3 in the groundbreaking, award-winning Elfhome series. Pittsburgh, PA has been magically transported to a world of elves and magic in order to stave off a monstrous invasion of Earth. Now Tinker must root out and destroy an evil plot.
Elfhome. A world of powerful magic, beautiful elves, man-eating trees, frost-breathing wargs, and god-like dragons. Pittsburgh. A city that has been stranded deep in virgin elfin forest to stave off an invasion by the merciless oni. Its population of sixty thousand humans and a handful of elves are pitted in war that will only end in genocide. Winter is coming. Supplies are running low. All political ties are fraying. Hidden somewhere in Pittsburgh’s crumbling neighborhoods, a vanguard of oni are growing in number and attacking from the shadows.
Girl genius Tinker was once a human orphan, growing up on the Pittsburgh streets. Now she’s an elf princess with all the bells and whistles. She rules over a melting pot of humans, elves, half-oni, and the crow-like tengu. Tinker is determined to make her city a place of freedom. She’s going to have to kick butt and take names. Seven elf children are already missing — and the oni eat their prisoners when they outlive their usefulness.
Book One: Tinker
Book Two: Wolf Who Rules
Book Three: Elfhome
Book Four: Wood Sprites (forthcoming)
Tinker introduces our titular main character, Alexander Graham Bell, better known as Tinker. Girl genius caught up in strange happenings in a Pittsburgh that travels back and forth into Faerie. She saves Wolf Who Rules and finds herself dragged into adventure, danger, and a plot by the secretive and evil oni.
Wolf Who Rules continues Tinker’s story as she faces the mistakes that she’s made and desperately tries to fix things. All while following the yellow brick road.
My thoughts: This series is a lot of fun and I have a great deal of fondness for Tinker. I was pleased that the latest book, Elfhome, includes Oilcan’s story as it happens, and I can’t wait for the fourth book, Wood Sprites, which is coming in September of 2014.
* * *
Jurisdiction Series, by Susan R. Matthews
Blurb borrowed from Amazon: Andrej Koscuisko had graduated with the highest honors from the Mayon Medical Center and could have started a lucrative private practice. But his father had other plans for him, sending him to Fleet Orientation Station Medical where he will learn to become a Ship’s Surgeon, a highly skilled torturer armed with the powerful Writ of Inquistion. Unable to escape his brutal training, Koscuisko will have to reconcile his natural empathy for the sick with a dark secret he will learn about himself.
Blurb borrowed from Amazon: Under Jurisdiction torture isn’t about truth. It’s about terror.
The Jurisdiction’s Bench has come to rely on the institutionalized atrocities of the Protocols to maintain its control of an increasingly unstable political environment. When Andrej Koscuisko, a talented young doctor, reports to orientation as a Ship’s Inquisitor he will discover in himself something far worse than a talent for inflicting grotesque torments on the Bench’s enemies. He will confront a passion for the exercise of the Writ to Inquire whose intensity threatens to consume him utterly.
As he struggles to find some thread of justice and compassion under the Law, as he fights to hang on to what remains to him of his sanity, he will make powerful enemies who are eager to use his knowledge, his empathy, his passion against anyone who challenges the Bench.
Book One: An Exchange of Hostages (Andrej Koscuisko)
Book Two: Prisoner of Conscience (Andrej Koscuisko)
Book Three: Angel of Destruction
Book Four: Hour of Judgment (Andrej Koscuisko)
Book Five: The Devil and Deep Space (Andrej Koscuisko)
Book Six: Warring States (Andrej Koscuisko)
My thoughts: I liked the original covers a lot, but I’m just happy that this series is available for a reasonable price. The books all seem to be $4.99 in Kindle format. I’ve really only read the Andrej Koscuisko novels, as I didn’t even realize the other stories were part of the same series.
These are some really gritty books that involve torture and sadism. Andrej is a man that knows he has some very sick impulses, but he can’t seem to help himself. It’s kind of like those Star Trek mirror-verse stories where Bones is Emperor Pike’s personal medic and receives Kirk as his slave — Bones enjoys bringing pain even as he’s a talented healer and refuses to take it when he catches his wife cheating on him. He goes after her and her lover, then takes custody of his little darling Joanna, with gladiator/pleasure slave Kirk as her secondary caregiver.
Except Andrej doesn’t have a whole lot of sex and it doesn’t happen on-screen, as it were. He likes hurting people, but otherwise is very polite, clean, has impecable manners, and comes from a family that’s like something out of an old Russian play (though I’m not sure if everyone dies).
I haven’t read the books in several years, as I couldn’t find copies to purchase, so it’s a great find that they’re newly available as ebooks. I’ve got to move some money around, but these are definitely going on my to-buy list.
* * *
Wolf’s Hour, by Robert R. McCammon [historical fantasy]
This book had been out of print for a long time, and now it’s finally available again, though seemingly only as an ebook ($7.99). Still, this is really exciting because this has got to be one of the greatest werewolf books I’ve ever read.
Beginning during World War II, we’re thrust directly into the action with our main character then there’s a break during the second part of the book that goes back to when Michael was Mikhail and how he became a werewolf, then things go back to the “current” action happening. The writing is great, the story is spellbinding, and this has to be McCammon’s best. I love it!
Blurb borrowed from Amazon: On the eve of D-Day, a British secret agent with unique powers goes behind Nazi lines
Michael Gallatin is a British spy with a peculiar talent: the ability to transform himself into a wolf. Although his work in North Africa helped the Allies win the continent in the early days of World War II, he quit the service when a German spy shot his lover in her bed. Now, three years later, the army asks him to end his retirement and parachute into occupied Paris. A mysterious German plan called the Iron Fist threatens the D-Day invasion, and the Nazi in charge is the spy who betrayed Michael’s lover. The werewolf goes to France for king and country, hoping for a chance at bloody vengeance.
Other classics by Robert R. McCammon:
Swan Song [apocalypse]
Stinger [aliens]
They Thirst [vampires]
Usher’s Passing [horror]
You can tell that a lot of these stories were written in the late-80s/early-90s, but they’re still fun reads. Swan Song has to be my favorite apocalypse book, possibly because of nostalgia, but whatever the reason it’s got a spot in my heart.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
March 28, 2014
Is anyone else really tired of CNN’s dramatics?
I remember a time many years ago when CNN used to report news. It was a golden age of television when “24-hour news source” actually meant there would be more than one story, and the speculation and sensationalism was kept to the minimum. But that time has passed.
In recent years, CNN has been relegated to rehashing and regurgitating the same story over and over again for weeks at a time. They badger the victims of horrible crimes, and if the victims are unavailable, they go after their family members, their friends, and even strangers that happen to live in the same town.
BREAKING NEWS!!! “This is John, he might possibly have known the victim at some time in his life. He says she liked to chew gum and she wore shoes.” Gasp!
I personally wouldn’t care so much that CNN has become a steaming pile of poop, except my dad is a big fan of the show. He’s been a faithful fan of CNN for years, yet even he is growing frustrated with the crap they dare to pass as news. He gets frustrated with the so-called stories, he gets angry at the partisan commercials, and he rants about the stupidity displayed by the news anchors and the network. And I have to listen to it all, and I would just like to say, “No thank you, CNN. No thank you.”
I get angry at the victim-blaming. I get angry at the way CNN picks and picks at the same story, making up their own news as they see fit, and the insensitive way they badger the victims and their families. Poor grieving people not even given the chance to process the fact that their loved ones have been so badly damaged or even killed, yet there CNN is, jamming a camera in their faces, demanding to know “How does it feel?”
Well I’ll tell you what CNN, when I feel like crap just watching you victimize people, I can only think that you are doing irreparable damage in your quest for ratings. It is disgusting.
I was sad enough when the History Channel stopped being about history, but when news channels stop being about news … Is it any wonder that people turn to the Internet for some kind of sanity in news reporting?
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
March 15, 2014
This week in history: Table push-ups and jogging in place; Beta readers; Catching Fire
Table push-ups and jogging in place
As you know, I’ve been trying to get a bit fitter, so I’ve been working some exercise into my routine in-between all my ass sitting and TV watching. So far, it’s been working out pretty good for me
I do about 200-300 push-ups a day — my sissy table push-ups, since I’m not willing to go down to the floor with my dog ready to stomp on my back. I don’t do them all at once, since I’m not secretly Superwoman, but I do groups of 40-40-20 within a ten minute period. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. I’m thinking about adding another two groups in there to get it up to a round 500.
I’ve already lost one pound since I started and my arms are getting toned and that annoying waggle has disappeared.
Tonight I added five minutes of jogging in place, which science tells me should have burned 45 calories. It got my heart rate up and I could feel it working my legs, so I’m going to add that to my routine as well. I don’t really like running, since my feet are a little flat and it starts feeling like the skin is tearing right at the arch, but the jogging in place wasn’t bad at all.
I figure 30 minutes of jogging in place (272 calories according to MyFitnessPal’s calculator) and 500 push-ups a day should see some serious results within a month. At the very least, I’ll honestly be able to say that I’m trying to get healthier. Plus, I’ll have me some serious arm guns.
* * *
Beta readers
I am on the lookout for some beta readers. I’ve made myself a little side-site and I’ve gotten some very helpful concrit, but I’ve always been of the mind that a few more eyes never hurt anything.
Projects I’m working on and will be posting:
Tuesday Night
The Brand
The Panic Pure
Paradigm Shift
Franz Caulder: Rescue Position
Faizel 02
Doggy Style
Residual Blue
Fiends
Spores!
So if you’re a cash-strapped fan of my work willing to read some stuff and offer some feedback, let me know. The rewards include clean copies of the ebooks once they’re ready to go, your name listed in the acknowledgments*, and my eternal gratitude.
I’m good at spelling and grammar, though I do occasionally double up words when wordwrap defeats me (it mostly seems to be “the the”). I had Seth finish eating the same sandwich twice. Solar’s clothes changed during a scene and no one noticed it. And sometimes it helps to have someone tell me “More details” when I don’t realize I’m glossing over a scene.
* I realize that some people don’t like to be associated with m/m stuff, and that’s totally cool. You can be listed by your first name and last initial, or your non-profane nickname (Ass Monkey Ball Licker will not receive a dedication, though A.M.B.L. will get a big thank you).
* * *
Catching Fire
I finally saw Catching Fire, the second movie in the Hunger Games tetralogy (there were three books, but there’s four movies, it’s weird). Jennifer Lawrence is my heterosexual girlcrush; fuck anyone that hates her, she’s adorable.
I watched the movie with my dad, and while The Hunger Games didn’t move him, I think Catching Fire has sealed the deal and he’s become a fan. I’ve loaned him my copies of the books and we’ll see what he thinks about them. (I expect there to be some bitching about the first person narrative, but I’m hoping he’ll be able to get past it.)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman played the Plutarch (game master guy) and he already filmed the first part and most of the second of Mockingjay, though he died with one week of filming left. I guess they’re going to CG him into his last scenes, so I’m not sure how that’s going to work out. Anyways, Catching Fire was a good movie, and it was brilliant on Blu-Ray. Though Liam Hemsworth’s face looked ginormous and I can see why he grows that beard between movies. I mean, I wouldn’t say anything, but I was seriously startled.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
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