Florence Witkop's Blog, page 66

I’ve been following a couple of discuss

I’ve been following a couple of discussions on writing groups lately. Both are looking for a way to vet self-published books so the reading public will have a way to know before buying which books are well written and edited and which aren’t.

I like the concept of vetting self-published books because there are a lot of sloppy books out there. But I don’t think that either of the discussions considers what needs to be done. It’s not enough to vet a book and put some sort of stamp of approval on it. In order for the buying public to find it, that book must be where it’s easy to find.

Self-pubbers need to create a web site similar to those of the major … and minor … electronic publishers. A one-stop shopping place for self-published books that’s as easy to find and use as the best sites out there.

Anyway that’s my two cents. Maybe I’ll post to those discussions and see if anyone is ready, willing, and able to create such a site. Not me, my problems creating and managing web sites is well known. But it’s a good idea for someone to run with.

Read a tweet the other day. It asked whe

Read a tweet the other day. It asked whether people write with or without music. I replied that I write without music because I can either listen to music or write but I can’t do both at the same time and if there’s music playing somewhere then I’ll forget everything else and just listen. Not so good for creative endeavors.

There is one exception. When I’m driving and need to stay focused, I turn on heavy metal. Same thing when I need to create white noise to block out something that’s preventing me from concentrating. At home it doesn’t work so well because DH can’t stand heavy metal. Okay, I’m not a fan either, but that’s the whole point. It blocks out distracting noises without taking me away from what I’m doing.

So I wonder if that’s what’s happening with all those people I see walking around wearing earbuds who are totally tuned out of the world around them. Are they simply creating white noise so they can think? Or just using it to escape reality? Either way, I wonder if they’d be better off without the earbuds. Unless they are in heavy traffic or near a construction jone. Everyone needs earbuds in those situations.

More hoar frost outside and warm weather

More hoar frost outside and warm weather for winter. At or near freezing, which here in northern Minnesota is the same as a January thaw anywhere else in the lower forty-eight states. The hoar frost is so thick that it’s like a fairy land out there.

I eagerly wait for the sun to come out to make the whole world sparkle. Then it truly is a spectacular sight. Of course the same sun that turns the world into diamonds also melts the frost off of everything so it’s imperative to get out there and enjoy the sight while it lasts.

I’m having a hard time writing because every time I look up from my laptop I see that beautiful outside world and my thoughts scatter as I drown in one of the most beautiful aspects of winter.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a sc

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a sci-fi junkie and can’t pass up anything about space. Which just might explain why my next novel will take place on a colony ship heading out of the solar system.

So it’s only expected that a quickie news flash the other evening sent me to my computer to look up Mars-One. When I was finished checking it out, I was dancing for joy. Because if the Mars-One project goes as projected I’ll live to see the first colony on the red planet. Okay, I’m unlikely to be one of those colonists but I’ll know it’s happening and that’s a great because ever since I studied history in school and realized that the only true frontier left is outer space, I’ve been concerned that mankind might miss out on the whole thing and countries would just continue squabbling among themselves. Now I know that forward-thinking people will be able to do what they’ve done for thousands of years even though the areas of earth most hospitable for habitation have been developed. I know they can still find the nearest frontier and make a new life and a new nation.

The best thing about Mars-One is that no government will be involved. It’s strictly a private enterprise kind of thing. They plan to pay for the colonization program through a reality TV program detailing the recruitment, training and flight of the Mars colonists. How about that for ingenuity?

I’m not sure if they are still accepting applications but I noticed that I qualify. So I might just apply. I won’t be chosen, of course, but just knowing that I can apply is amazing. I have no astronaut training, no special skills, and I’m a klutz mathematically, which automatically disqualifies me for just about anything in the scientific realm.

Anyway, I bookmarked the site. Mars-One.com. Because you never know.

Cats can be problematic. Ours definitely

Cats can be problematic. Ours definitely is. He’s a cowardly cat, afraid of his own shadow and dependent on us to keep him safe. He’s also a house cat and proud of it. He has no wish to go outside, looking out the windows as if examining another galaxy.

Most of all, though, he knows what’s important to us and he commandeers whatever that thing is. Often whatever paperwork I’m dealing with on the table. Usually my laptop.

Once, when he took a stroll across the keyboard, getting the laptop to work again required a trip to the nearest computer repair shop. After that I protect the keyboard with whatever is handy so he can’t get to it. But he can and does choose to sleep on the closed laptop. So I can’t work on it unless I disregard his feelings entirely and shove him away. Which of course I never do because he’s so sad at being displaced that guilt prevents me from pushing him away.

But today, after half an hour snoozing on my laptop, he decided to let me get some work done. Actually, he decided to take a stroll through his kingdom … the house … and see what was going on. I took advantage of his generosity and am now getting some blog posts done.

At least he’s polite about claiming whatever he wants. And nice. And has a personality that meshes with ours.

Domestic cats are a whole different breed from lions, tigers, and cougars. They just take what they want and anyone who gets in their way had better start running. No manners at all. I think about the wild kind of cat, the kind of nasty cougar that inspired Wanted Sharpshooter, every time Smoky looks at me with that sleepy expression he has and simply purrs as he snoozes on whatever I want at the moment. So thank you, Smoky, for letting me actually get some work done today.

Cross your fingers for my son, Gary Witk

Cross your fingers for my son, Gary Witkop. He sent the manuscript of his next book, Dakota She-Wolf, to a publisher who’d expressed an interest in seeing it. Then he emailed me and asked me to pray for it’s acceptance. So I’m walking around the house mumbling. Hopefully God will hear and, when He stops laughing at my ineptitude, will consider granting my request.

I think it’s interesting that both mother and son chose to write about wolves at the same time, neither knowing the other was doing so. Gary’s book, unlike mine, is about real, live wolves, the kind that were re-introduced to Yellowstone and have spread beyond the park’s borders.

Which just goes to show how much wolves have insinuated themselves into our lives, along with the conundrums and controversy their reintroduction has created. They have invaded many peoples’ imaginations, not just ours.

I’m glad my wolves are of the imaginary variety but I suspect Gary’s book might be more widely read because real wolves and their place in the real world is a topic of much debate and interest.

A solar flare reached earth the night be

A solar flare reached earth the night before last. It was all over the news. Watch for it. Might interfere with communications. Most of all, though, the Aurora Borealis would be spectacular. Beautiful. gorgeous. So we looked forward all day to the night display. (Sort of like when the spirit in Spirit Legend appeared over the lake. The spirit was inspired by the Aurora.)

Didn’t happen. Clouds obscured the night sky and also the Aurora. The night news said the Aurora itself might not have come as far south as expected so perhaps we didn’t miss much but I believe that was just to make us feel better, not because it was true.

As compensation, though, the next morning was gorgeous. All the snow fog that obscured the Aurora coated every tree, every bush, the power lines and everything else with thick frost. It was beautiful and still is as I write this a day later. A flock of crows is flying in and out of the fog like black messengers in a white void.

So for every wonder taken away, another is given.

Wow. I heard from people who wolves and

Wow. I heard from people who wolves and coyotes and they had a lot to say.

Seems I was right when I said the howls of wolves and coyotes are different but I was wrong when I said they both howl. Coyotes, it seems, yip and yodel. So that’s the difference and is why it’s easy to tell the difference. Thanks, everyone out there who pointed out the difference.

Today I remember why we moved to norther

Today I remember why we moved to northern Minnesota. It’s a white world out there and it’s lovely instead of just cold. Makes me want to go cross-country skiing. Oh that’s right, we gave them away. Guess I’ll settle for enjoying winter. It’s easier on my legs and my fanny. With the windows closed in the winter I miss hearing the wolves and coyotes at night. I don’t know how we can tell the difference. They both howl. But there is a subtle but very real difference. And the wolves don’t come up to our bedroom window like the coyotes do.

LIfe and the world are finally coming ba

LIfe and the world are finally coming back to normal. I hope. Though it’s thirty below zero outside, it’s supposed to start warming up as the day progresses. Again… I hope. And the car is fixed. I hope. And I expect that DH’s routine check-up today following surgery will go well. And Snowball has been launched to the best of my ability under the circumstances. I promised her that she’ll get some professional marketing attention soon but for now I’m pleased. And I thank each and every one of you who made her entrance into the world a good one. After all, the world needs a few more prehistoric wolves. Doesn’t it?