Lynn Demarest's Blog, page 5
September 16, 2012
The Direct-Democracy Candidacy
Many good patriots bemoan the not-so-underhanded sale of their duly elected representatives. They dream about “getting the money out of politics,” but can’t imagine how to do such a thing beyond passing easily circumvented laws that are probably unconstitutional, too, given Citizen’s United. So here’s a suggestion. The problem with money, simply put, is that [...]
September 6, 2012
Do Publishers Publish Perfect Books?
A primary complaint lodged against books published independently is that they are full of typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors that make reading them a chore. A casual review will show this is often true. Indie authors struggling to build a reader community rarely have the money to pay professional editors, and editing one’s own work [...]
September 5, 2012
Pedophilia
One of the secondary characters in The Soul Gene, a Catholic priest named Father James O’Toole, sexually abuses choirboys placed in his care. I made Jim a priest because of my general disdain for the Holy See, but the truth is that pedophilia is today blithely practiced the world over by more than just Catholic [...]
August 31, 2012
Orphan Diseases
Bayner Genetics, the peculiar medical research firm at the center of The Soul Gene, makes money in part by focusing on ultra-rare diseases no other company is interested in fighting; there simply aren’t enough victims to make the effort profitable. Bayner does this by encouraging ultra-rich victims to finance the projects, few of which bear [...]
August 29, 2012
Reconstructing Shredded Documents
One of the characters in The Soul Gene is a private investigator who uses a computer to reconstruct shredded documents. Although Max Dubois may do it more easily than real-life investigators, this is not fiction. People do it every day. There is software available to help you do it, and several companies who will do it [...]
August 28, 2012
“The Soul Gene” paperback edition now available
“The Soul Gene” is now available in paperback. The Amazon.com page won’t be up for another week or so, but here’s the CreateSpace page from which you can buy the book: www.createspace.com/3956605 (or just click on the cover) The kindle e-book is also available here: www.amazon.com/The-Soul-Gene-ebook/dp... Here’s the jacket blurb: Geneticist Bailey Foster’s improbable discovery [...]
August 24, 2012
The Bird
I’m fortunate to work on my back porch. It’s a peaceful place. A cavernous screened porch surrounds a small swimming pool fixed with a waterfall that creates a soft babbling sound favored by the meditative Japanese. A family of bleating goats lives just over the back fence, in a corner of the neighbor’s little acre. [...]
August 11, 2012
Hugh Howey, Indie Novelist Extraordinaire
Nice interview with Jupiter novelist Hugh Howey, who is living every indie novelist’s dream as we speak. jeffrivera.com/index.php/for-writers/... Some Howey tidbits: … on how the writer-support group he joined viewed self-publishing “When I wondered aloud whether it wasn’t better to self-publish and allow readers to pick the winners rather than gatekeepers, it was insinuated that [...]
August 6, 2012
“The Soul Gene” now available on Amazon
My novel, “The Soul Gene,” is now available as a kindle e-book on Amazon. If you don’t have a kindle reader, you can download a kindle reader app for your iPad, iPhone, android, PC, Mac, etc. GET A KINDLE READER APP NOW A paperback edition is scheduled to be released before the end of August. [...]
July 8, 2012
Honey Mustard Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
If you’re still buying bottled salad dressing, stop. You’re wasting money and, unless you buy the expensive stuff, eating a lot of junk you’d be better off without. Instead, make this: Honey Mustard Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Ingredients: 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 3-4 shakes Worcestershire sauce 1/8-1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 pinches kosher salt several [...]
