Doug Dandridge's Blog, page 4

When Eagles Dare is Coming. And the Success Story of Chris Kennedy Publishing.

[image error]

I will be continuing my travelogue with my next post, but first I have some big news, and a shout out to some people you all may want to meet, if you haven’t already.

After about a month of talking and thinking about writing a novel in the Four Horsemen Universe of Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey, and finally coming up with a workable idea, I signed a contract to write a book in that Universe. When Eagles Dare will feature the Fierce Eagle Company, as featured in my short story in the anthology Few a Few Credits More, With The Eagles. In a universe where most of the mercenary companies use mecha and powered armor, the Eagles use good old-fashioned stealthcraft. So, this novel will be about that kind of mercenary unit. I am really excited about jumping into this universe. No, this doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up my own series and my independent career. Signing with Arc Manor to produce Kinship War didn’t mean that, and neither does this. But it is a big deal to get involved in this series.

Chris Kennedy has a winning formula here. I first met Chris, a retired Naval Aviator, at LibertyCon in Chattanooga, about four years ago. He was a successful independent author, and I had been working as a full-time author for over a year and a half. He was doing okay. Mark was struggling to get sales. They combined forces for a series and it took off. Both Mark and Chris are now full-time writers, and Chris is a publisher. The new paradigm of self-publishing allowed this. Chris and Mark both write in the Four Horsemen Universe, and imaginative setting filled with interesting aliens and the humans who are hired to kill them. For many years I have heard from my fans that they love how independent authors can put out more books in a series each year than a traditionally published author, who are normally limited to one. Chris and Mark, and the others they have enlisted into their cohort, allowing them to put out at least a book a month, are capitalizing on this fact. And the two anthologies of the series have helped other authors to be introduced to their reader base.

[image error]

That’s what interested me in the anthology last year. Do I have enough fans to keep me going as a self-employed author? Yes, I do. Do I want more? Hell yes. Chris has a great business plan. And he has published a lot of really good authors. People like Kacy Ezell, Jason Cordova and Kevin Ikenberry. I have known Kevin for many years, dating back to Superstars in Colorado Springs. Kacy was on a panel I moderated at DragonCon, and is a kick ass Air Force helicopter pilot. Jason I also know from LibertyCon, and he was a Campbell Award Finalist some years back. So just getting into that crowd was also something of an attraction. So I will be doing at least one book in the series, a stand alone not in the main storyline, and see what happens. That means it will be my best effort, the same effort I put into Exodus, the same I put into the Kinship War series. I have gotten regular payments from the anthology. I hope for the same from the novel. And in other news, I will be back in the next anthology, due to release in early July I believe.

Now for a plug for Chris Kennedy Publishing, and not just because I will be doing a novel for them. It’s a good organization, that puts out a good product. Mark just put out a book called A Time to Run, not in the 4HU series, but it still looks interesting. Chris just put out a book in the 4HU with author Thomas A Mays called The Mutineer’s Daughter. Not in the 4HU series but recommended. If you want to get into the 4HU series the place to start is Cartwright’s Cavaliers. Or you can get the anthology I’m in, For a Few Credit’s More. Kevin has written Peacemaker, a part of the 4HU. Kacey Ezelle wrote Minds of Men, found on Amazon. And Jason has written Wraithkin with Chris, which can also be found on Amazon. A lot of good books by a lot of good authors, and I’m just scraping the top of the ice flow here. So get on over to Amazon and pick up some new reads. Or continue on with these series by a kick ass bunch of authors.

Up next:  The Third Trip Out West, Part Six: Day Five: Death Valley and the Armagoosa Opera House Hotel.

The Third Trip Out West, Part Five: Day Four: Bullets and Burgers.

[image error]

Our monster limo awaits.

Before taking the trip I had thought about going through the desert in a four wheeler, actually seeing it from within. There were several options on Expedia, and off, but I chose the one that offered both four wheeling and shooting auto weapons. I had shot several automatic weapons while in the Army, including the German G3, the G1 machine gun, the Uzi, and of course the M16, and the M60 I carried most of the time. I also shot a submachine gun last year at the local range. But I wanted to try some more, for research, don’t you know. So I signed up for this trip. They called me the day before, while I was on the road the Sandy Valley out by Goodsprings, and we set up a meeting by the Camelot Hotel and Casino the next day.

[image error]

The Arizona Desert.

Things started off badly from the start. I couldn’t find my credit card when I was in McDonald’s getting breakfast. Fortunately I found it at the Bonnie Springs Restaurant that night. Then I couldn’t find the meeting place. I was on the phone with the driver/guide for some time before they finally found me. Then it was off to their facility, which turned out to be in Arizona on the road to Kingman that I had wanted to travel the day before.

They had a small roadside attraction with advertising for their firing ranges. First thing we did was get onboard a huge monster truck that was like a limousine, driving over hills and into dips. After we were outfitted with helmets and gloves, then it was back on the van to ride out to area where we would be riding the four wheelers. Now, I had ridden exactly this kind of four wheeler before, when I worked for Tallahassee Nurseries when I was an undergrad at FSU. We would fly on those things over the dirt road to the back of the nursery. I figured this would be the same. But I was much younger then, the rides were shorter, and the dirt road at the nursery was in much better shape.

[image error]

I was well outfitted for my hell ride.

Let me point out first of all that this was my experience, that of an out of shape sixty-year-old. Everyone else was much younger, most in their early twenties, and they seemed to eat it up. They checked to see that we knew how to use the brakes, and then we were off on the hour long trek through the desert and mountains down to the Colorado River. They tried to keep the speed down to twenty, and it was still too much for me. The road was too rough, and I felt like I was going to be flung off of my cycle. I still had some misgivings from the time I was thrown off a motorcycle and broke a rib, and it was only going to get worse. But I stuck it out, my pride not letting me quit, until we got down to the river. I saw some beautiful rock formations on the way, but I couldn’t check them out because I was having to keep all of my attention on the road. We went through some narrows, a lot of curves, and then stopped. The good news was I could get off the cycle. The bad news was I had to ride the damned thing all the way back. I learned later on that I should have bought a trip on one of the enclosed four wheelers. Too late now.

There were some young kids from California who were total jerks. They were pulling rocks off of walls of sandstone, just ruining the natural splendor of the area. And one kept letting me catch up to him, then sped off and pushed up a cloud of dust into my face. Again, it was not a ride I enjoyed, but everyone else seemed to.

[image error]

The payoff of the hour ride, the Colorado River.

We went back to their establishment to get our burger, what they advertised as the World’s Greatest. First, those of us shooting went out to the range. I had tried to get a P90, like the gun used in Stargate, but had been told they were having trouble getting ammunition for it. Instead I received a German submachine gun, I think a G5. First we started with a Glock 17, no big thrill since I own one. After that I fired the German Subgun. Then an AK47. I own one of those as well, but mine is only a semi, and this was the real thing. Last, for me, was a SAW, what they advertised as a belt fed machine gun. It actually is belt fed, but it can also be fed by a magazine, and that’s what I got, which was a little disappointing. It was fun, but not really worth what I paid.

Then it was back to the restaurant and the World’s Greatest Hamburger. Not even close. It wasn’t a bad burger, but Whataburger and Sonic at home had it beat, as did Goodsprings. After that it was back on the van and a trip to Hoover Dam. We didn’t actually go to the damn, but stopped at the walk way that led to the bridge over the Colorado. Still, I got some good footage riding in the front of the van. Would I do this trip again? No, not really. Seeing the territory was great, but the actual ride was a terror. I was back at Bonnie Springs that evening, recovered my credit card, and ate. It was my last night at the ranch. Tomorrow I was heading for Death Valley. I had been out there last time, but it had been true hell at 125 degrees. This would hopefully be much milder temperatures. I was really looking forward to it.

The Third Trip Out West, Part Four: Day Three: Lion Habitat Ranch, Goodsprings and Red Rock Canyon.

[image error]

Sign outside the Lion Habitat Ranch.

I had bought a behind the scenes tour with Lion Habitat Ranch a month before the trip. They had sent an appeal for a donation. Now, I support a number of big cat rescues, as well as some little feline organizations. I will list some of them at the end of this blog with links. I could have sent them a check, but then I found out they were in Henderson, right outside of Las Vegas. And they had a private tour listed. So I signed up for the tour and to feed a lion. Which would get money in their hands and let me do something new. I had also planned to drive to Kingman in Arizona and film the way back, the way I had come into Las Vegas the first time. Unfortunately, I had a computer to shop for, so plans changed.

[image error]

My first look at a male Barbary lion.

Waking up too early to get breakfast at the Bonnie Springs Restaurant, I ate at a McDonald’s in Vegas on the way. Pulling up at the Habitat I took some stills. I didn’t feel like trying to get video. I don’t know, I just didn’t want the hassle of asking and being refused. A news truck came by, passed, and then returned, to enter the gate just ahead of me. I met the lion keeper, and was told that a local news channel would be filming the first part of the tour. I asked how they knew a famous author like myself had come out here this day. So, we started in and saw the most dangerous animals on the habitat. The velociraptors, I mean, the ostriches. The keeper told me that they had to take special precautions with the ostriches, who would kick you to death in a heartbeat. They also had emus and a bunch of tropical birds scattered about. And then we were at the first lion habitat.

[image error]

Male Barbary lion being fed by the Head Keeper.

I think the lion’s name was Bennie, though it could have been Benji, since they had both and they were brothers. He was a six hundred pound Barbary lion, a subspecies that no longer existed in the wild. They had several of both males and females, so I guess the breed is still alive for now. We went around looking at the cats. In one enclosure they had three elderly females, and a film playing on a TV of the wife of the habitat owner playing with them when they were cubs. The keeper fed the lions as we went along, giving them ground meat through the fence. All of the cats are hand fed, six days a week. It was explained that a fast day was good for them, and all except the elderly cats went without one day a week. We were also warned that the males will spray. While looking at one large cat he turned and lifted his tail. We had the choice of right or left, or straight back. And since the wall was less than fifteen feet away, the effective range of the lion, we all went right. When he saw us go he lost interest and trotted off.

[image error]

I think this was one of the MGM lions.

The enclosures are all large, and they try to have several lions in each one, unless one is a wanabe alpha male, then they separate them. Each enclosure has a rolling cage that the lions can go in if a keeper needs to clean the enclosure, a daily task, and the cages can be rolled over to the heated inside washing station. The cats were all obviously very well cared for and I was suitably impressed by the operation. I saw several more of the Barbary lions, and the closest living relative of the MGM lion who roars at the beginning of their movies. It turns out that the MGM hotel in Vegas had those lions for quite some time, then gave them to the habitat.

[image error]

Young giraffe looking down at me from its height.

They also have a young giraffe. I was allowed to feed it as well. Such a gentle herbivore, it could bow on command, and had a car wash brush on a pole to rub against. It delicately took vegetables and favorite cookies from my hand. I really hadn’t expected to feed this animal, and it was an extra treat.

[image error]

Feeding a male Barbary lion.

Then it was time for the lion feeding. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had thought ahead of time that they might lead me into an enclosure with one of their milder beasts. I guess they thought this thing out more than I had. They put up a plastic barrier and I fed the lion through a hole with a wooden mortar. That really did make sense. These things are large predators, and they have been known to hook a claw into someone. And putting fingers near their mouths was not recommended. The keepers do it, but they are trained and know how to spot the body language signals of the lions. I fed the second of the Barbary Lion brothers, who licked it up, not missing a bit.

[image error]

Don’t want to forget the girls.

As said, I was impressed by their operation, and will be making regular donations to them. There are so many rescues out there that are deserving, and I will continue to help the ones out I have already donated to. But this one, with the Barbary and MGM lions, seemed like a special cause to me. Plus, I had met these animals, which always makes them seem more real. So I will be doing what I can to help them out, and would appeal to anyone with a heart for animals, especially big cats, to do the same.

[image error]

Sign at the back entrance of the Pioneer Saloon.

Then it was on to Goodsprings. I had a coupon they sent me, and wanted to see the inside of the saloon, after finding out some more about it from a, you guessed it, a Wonderhussy video. So it was onto I-15 South to get off at the Jean exit. I filmed this trip, and will be posting it on Youtube in the future. First I drove the road to Sandy Valley, a small community out in the middle of nowhere, but with some spectacular mountain scenery on the way. Then into Goodsprings. I had planned to eat in the saloon, but it was too crowded, so it was back to the all day restaurant I had eaten at twice before. I saw and talked with Johnny Utah, a young man from that state I had met there my first time through.  After a good meal and some picture taking it was off to Best Buy to get a new computer.

[image error]

The Carol Lombard and Clark Gable Memorial Room in the Pioneer Saloon. Gable sat in this room, drinking, while waiting to hear the fate of his wife, who had died in an airplane crash out in the desert.

Vegas has a lot of electronics stores. But Best Buy was the only one they had which I knew would also be in Tally. I wanted a machine that could be returned to them if something went screwy with it within the warranty period (unlike the last one, which died outside warranty, the bastard). I was hoping to buy a cheap notebook with a large (at least 1 TB) hard drive. No such luck, and this was just as expensive as the last. But I had it in hand, even if just to look over and save each day’s video take.

[image error]

Mountains in Red Rock Canyon.

The last thing on the revised menu was Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. This is a fee area, and part of the Department of the Interior. Fortunately, my National Park Pass got me in without any additional fee. I had been here before, on my first trip out west, on the day I flew back to Tally on a redeye. It was really crowded then. Still a number of people this time, on a Tuesday afternoon, but not near as crowded. The first time I had seen the place I had thought it was small, having been fooled by the way the desert air made everything seem closer. This time I knew better, and even more importantly, I knew where the restrooms were. The place is very large, big enough to swallow a moderately sized city like Tallahassee. The rock formations here are spectacular, and can be separated into several different areas of the mountains that box in this natural wonder. They continue on outside of the conservation area to backdrop the Bonnie Springs Ranch Motel. I think this is the prettiest part of the Las Vegas area, with Joshua Trees (though the ones in the conservation area seemed to have met with some kind of killer plague), cactus and roving wild horses and donkeys.

[image error]

The horror of the Chollo cactus. Avoid these vegetable demons at all costs.

I pulled back into Bonnie Springs after Red Rock Canyon and went to the zoo. I had promised myself I would go there, and since I had some time, it was now. I noticed there were a lot of Cholla cactus in the nearby desert, something I had not noted before, and I was glad I hadn’t wandered out there before I knew about the horror of the desert. Called jumping cactus, they drop sections, and have a barbed thorn that will stick in your skin. People try to pry them out, only to get another set of barbs caught in their hands. They are also a terror to animals. My solution would be to kill them with fire, but then I don’t know the environmental regulations out there.

[image error]

The Serville cat at the Bonnie Springs Zoo.

My room key got me into the zoo for free. It wasn’t very large, but was well attended by children and parents, and the gentler herbivores, like some of the goats and deer, were roaming free to get pets and food. There were a pair of wolves, a serval cat, and several emus. The people who started the motel and ranch had taken in animals that were no longer wanted, and the zoo began. I have donated to it (it is a nonprofit) both times I’ve been out there.

It was a great second day, and after I ate and reviewed my film I slept the sleep of the exhausted. The next day was the last that I actually had to get up at a certain time. Burgers and Bullets, which included four wheeling in the desert and shooting some automatic weapons. Little did I know what was in store for me.

Links to donate to animal rescues. There are many more, but these are some of the ones that I support. All are worthy of support by people who love big cats and other predators.

The Lion Habitat Ranch. I really like this one because of the kind of cats they keep. Lions are cool, and Barbary lions even cooler. And they have the descendent of the MGM lions.

Tiger Creek. The first big cat rescue I ever gave to, and one still close to my heart.

Tiger Haven. A very large rescue.

The Wildcat Sanctuary. Probably the largest big cat rescue in the United States. Unlike the others, they don’t have tours and the cats are not there to be looked at.

Priderock. A smallish rescue in Texas that really needs the help.

The Third Trip Out West, Part Three: Day Two: Wonderhussy Adventures.

[image error]

Sarah Jane, the Wonderhussy.

Monday, March 5th, and I was scheduled to meet with Wonderhussy to see parts of the desert I hadn’t dreamed of. I had always been restricted to the paved roads by the rental cars I drive, but there is so much else to see. Of course, if someone like myself had gone down random dirt roads I would probably get stuck in an area with no cell coverage. Someone, someday, might find my bleached bones.

Wonderhussy is the online name of Sarah Jane Woodall, a Las Vegas based model who spends her free time trekking to interesting places and filming them, posting them on Youtube. I was looking over videos of places I had been, the National Parks, the Mojave, and had come across a video she had done about hiking up to a cabin in a side canyon of Death Valley. I followed the links to other videos, until over a couple of months I must have watched a hundred of them. I really don’t know how many she has posted, but it must be near two hundred. She even has a video explaining why she uses the moniker Wonderhussy. Informative, humorous, with beautiful scenery, her videos are now among my favorites on Youtube. She wonders what happened to the people who used to live in the cabins and makes up some wonderful stories about what might have happened (hence the Wonder part of her name). And she also runs a guide service. Since I was heading out there anyway, and was already spending a bundle, I thought it might be cool to let someone with knowledge of the desert show me some of the sites. And meet someone who does a great deal of videos, as I was planning to enter the Youtube vid game.

[image error]

Inside electronics room of the abandoned concrete factory.

Sarah Jane showed up at my hotel about 11 AM with her four-wheel drive lift package Toyota. I had eaten a good breakfast at the Bonnie Springs restaurant, had my cameras, still and video, in hand, and was ready to go. I had planned to film on the Akaso, but for some reason never got around to it, though I did get some great stills. I was too busy talking with Sarah Jane about a variety of topics. Not just learning from her, but also telling her of my own adventures in the east. We talked mental health, religion, science, and of course self-publishing. A totally enjoyable trip with someone who enjoys discovering new things. She was just as attractive and personable as her online persona.

[image error]

Part of the kiln at the abandoned concrete factory.

We proceeded to the area north of Vegas, off of I-15, until we reached an abandoned concrete factory. I had seen this one in a video she had done, but walking it for real was somewhat different. More real. Not quite to the extent of the Grand Canyon, but actually being there made it real. We explored the outside, as well as the inside of one of the control rooms. It was amazing that so much machinery had just been abandoned. So much investment. In Florida it would be scarfed up and bulldozed under in no time. Or maybe it would have rusted into nothing. Here, it just sat out there in the emptiness, preserved by the dry climate and baking in the sun. There was the inevitable new trash scattered around, particularly empty boxes of rounds and some old shotgun shells. What is it about people wanting to spread their trash everywhere? The site also had some graffiti, and Sarah thought it might have been used in some films. We proceeded from there to a nearby town to get a couple of cold sodas.

[image error]

One of the abandoned cabins near the Virgin River, with a Tamarisk tree to the side.

Next it was to what must have been a series of cabins that had been used before the interstate had been built. A roadside hotel? The interstate had killed them, just like I-40 had killed so much of Route 66. Sad. These were much like the cabins she visits in her videos, filled with lots of items like old magazines and newspapers that were well preserved in the desert environment. There were Tamarisk trees in the area, and the Virgin River flowed in the background. I heard that haunting whispering sound of the wind through the trees, reminding me of the Australian Pines of home. I looked over the leaves and was surprised to see that they were the same as the Australian Pines. Maybe not the same species, but definitely the same order. Sarah Jane related a story of being chased off this site by a man screaming about trespassing. To me the sound of the wind through those trees evoked relaxation and a sense of being home. To her it brought on memories of the guy screaming at her and chasing her from the property. This shows how the experience changes the reaction to the same stimulus. Okay, enough psychobabble for now.

[image error]

Mountains in the distance.

The next part of the trip, and the longest, was up into the mountains. Sarah Jane was exploring herself this time, going places where she hadn’t been. We were going into the back country, where the Bundy’s and their supporters lived, where many old-style Mormon families stayed off the grid and possibly off the government net. Dirt roads climbing through the mountains, overlooking vast expanses of valleys. At one point we saw signs stating we were in the Grand Canyon. We crossed over into Arizona for part of the journey.

[image error]

Rock formation with my guide in the foreground.

At one point near the start Sarah Jane spotted some pipes and backed up to take a short upward trail. I have to hand it to her. I’m a very observant person and I didn’t see anything of note. We went into a small canyon and found a wall of concrete blocks, looking for all the world like a dam. There were other artifacts out in the desert in some sandstone formations. I later found out that this place was called the Cistern, and was a project from the depression built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Just one of the many hidden treasures out here in the wilderness, which includes abandoned cabins, old mines, ghost towns. You can see a lot of these on Wonderhussy’s videos, and I’m sure she’ll have more in the future.

[image error]

More cool rock formations, with my cool guide getting a closer look.

We spent the rest of the afternoon climbing a mostly well-maintained dirt road around a mountain, then down. There were some dips that would have killed my rental car, and I was more than happy that we were in her truck. There were some stops to see some of the scenery from high vantages, but mostly it was driving by the many ranches and small cabins that dotted the wilderness. Really some beautiful country, terrific rock formations for this geology aficionado, spectacular drop-offs. Sarah Jane moved her four-wheel drive expertly over the road. To tell the truth, I would have been terrified to be driving up there, but I had total confidence in the professional. Unfortunately, I only brought a couple of candy bars, and when that feeling of low blood sugar hit that’s all I had. So, I ate them and didn’t take my medicine or insulin, really only the safe way to manage it at that point. I probably should have said something, but I was so into the trip that I didn’t want to spoil the moment. We passed some grazing cows (on what, I’m not sure) then some horses, and then we were in Mesquite. She delivered me to my hotel at just a few minutes over eight hours into the trip. Perfect.

[image error]

More cool formations along the way.

It was an eye opener, seeing the wilderness like that, and well worth the cost. I can recommend Wonderhussy Adventures for anyone who wants to explore off the beaten path.

[image error]

The majestic desolation of the desert.

If only the rest of the night had gone so well. I tried to get on my computer to look up the address of the Lion Habitat Ranch, and the damn thing refused to boot up. I kept getting a screen that said my hard drive had failed, and to contact Dell support. Kind of hard to do when the hard drive won’t boot up. The next day I was shopping for another computer at Best Buy. If I had been at home I would have seen about having the notebook repaired. On the road? I could only take one computer back, so this one was trash.

Next: Lion Habitat Ranch in Henderson.

And be sure to check out Wonderhussy Adventures on Youtube. If you’re interested in Americana and history, her channel is a great source. She explores ghost towns, old mines, abandoned cabins, and hotels/restaurants/attractions that have been put out of business by the changing transportation patterns. She fearlessly goes to these places, so you don’t have to. Like and subscribe, and if you’re looking for a local guide for the Mojave, I highly recommend her.

The Third Trip Out West. Part 1: A Serial Blog.

[image error]

Mountains of Red Rock Canyon as seen from Bonnie Springs Ranch.

The Third Trip Out West. Part 1: A Serial Blog. Along with Part 2: Doing What We Do Best.

As I have blogged before, I went to the great American Southwest the first time in February of 2017. There was supposed to be a collaboration on a series going down, and the publisher had arranged for us to meet in Tucson, where the other author lived. He dropped out, and it was decided that since we all had tickets to there, and booked hotels, that we would go ahead and meet. I wanted to see some of the Southwest, so I bought a return ticket from Las Vegas and rented a car. While in Tucson I went to Saguaro National Park East, saw the aircraft graveyard, and took in a couple of other sites, and after the meeting was over headed up north to Flagstaff. The next day I was at Meteor Crater, then over to the Grand Canyon. Never been to the Grand Canyon? Go. Until you’ve actually stood there and took it in it just doesn’t seem real. I ended the day in Kingman, Arizona, and headed up the next to see the Hoover Dam and Goodsprings, home of Fallout New Vegas, with a side trip into the Mojave National Preserve. The last day I went to Valley of Fire State Park and Red Rock Canyon National Preserve. I loved it out there, feeling right at home. It was cold, below freezing in Flagstaff, but still dry enough to suck the moisture right out of you, but I could breathe again.

[image error]

Because of an error with the rental car company, I was upgraded to the same car I drive at home. Even the same color, but two years newer.

I loved it out there, as said, but the trip was too short. I had an idea for a post-apocalyptic series. One of the highlighted areas would be the mountain north of Flagstaff. I needed some more areas, and that meant I needed to do more research. So this time it was a ten day trip starting in Las Vegas, in July. Again the Mojave, discovering Bonnie Springs Motel in the Red Rock Canyon area, then over to Death Valley. Death Valley, at least as far down as I went, got up to 125 degrees. I flew into the Grand Canyon by helicopter, expensive but worth it. From there I went to Zion National Park, then swung up to his Bryce, Capital Reef, Arches and Canyonlands. I went down through Monument Valley, missing the best part of it, and then hitting the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. Finally over to Flagstaff to see Sunset Crater, then into California (Needles, hellishly hot) and to the Mojave, then back home.

[image error]

Horsey Love at Bonnie Springs Ranch.

I got the idea for the next trip while watching videos of the region, especially the wonderful short travelogues of Wonderhussy. She is a young woman who lives in Vegas and travels the desert, finding all kinds of cool places. I found other videos, national parks, state parks, wilderness areas, and formulated my next plan. This time it would be fourteen days. And I would videotape it on the Akaso cameras I had bought. I would hit some of the same places, but spend more time at them, and would do some different things as well. I pre-booked all of my hotel stays, some places I had stayed before, a couple of very unique hotels, and rented the most economical car I could get. And came out of that desert region with even more of an appreciation for it.

I met some interesting people, had some great experiences, was terrified on at least three occasions, and almost met with disaster on my last day.  So, for the sixteen or so episodes of this blog I will be giving an account on my trip. There will be times when I have to concentrate on other aspects of my career, but I hope to do at least one blog a week on this trip. I will have links to many of the places, and as I put my videos online at Youtube I will come back and link to them on the appropriate blog entry. Hopefully many of my readers will come along for the journey, and invite some friends. And I may gain support for some of the worthy people and places I found.

The Third Trip Out West. Part 2: Doing What We Do Best.

On Sunday, March 4th I woke way too early after not enough sleep to fly out of Tallahassee. I’m always anxious before a flight. Not from any fear of flying. No, it’s fear of sleeping through the alarm and missing it. So I was off, to little Tallahassee International Airport. Yeah, the international airport with four gates. And this time I was frisked by TSA, a first. They even swabbed my hands down to see if I had any explosive residue on my hands. I kind of expected that at a larger airport, but it happened to me in Tallahassee. So it was onto the aircraft for the first part of the flight, to Charlotte.

I normally fly Delta when I can. Delta has TV screens at each chair, free internet, music. This time I got American through Expedia. How was American? Well, next time I will fly Delta. Delta goes to Atlanta, while American goes to Charlotte. The first leg was not bad, since it was only about an hour. We got out of the airplane by rolling stairs on the runway, because Charlotte was under renovation, and there were not enough gates. It was a large airport with no tram between terminals. Many of the shops and even some of the bathrooms were closed. At least they had the moving sidewalk thingies in places. I always feel like airports are trying to kill me by making me hurry over long distances so I can get on a plane to cover longer distances quickly.

[image error]

A quartet of Peacocks having a conference.

The second flight was horrible. Four hours in uncomfortable seats. Even with the increased legroom I had purchased, my ass was numb halfway through the trip. No entertainment, the people on either side didn’t want to talk, and the guy with the window seat insisted on keeping the window panels down. So no view of the Grand Canyon on this flight. Finally the endlessly uncomfortable and boring flight was over, and I was in Vegas. The long trip to baggage claim, the endless voyage to the rental car terminal, and I was finally on my own. The strange thing about McCarran International Airport is the location of the rental car center. You have to take a bus that seems to take forever to reach it. All of the companies are there. I had ordered a really cheap car but Budget happened to be out of them, so I was given a grey Kia Soul with the total electronic package. The same car I own, only two years newer. I was thinking that this trip was going to be really cool.

[image error]

An oasis in the desert, the duck pond at the Bonnie Springs Restaurant makes for a relaxing breakfast view.

A quick stop at Walmart to pick up a fan, an ice chest and some water, and I was off to Bonnie Springs Ranch Motel. Bonnie Springs is in the Red Rock Canyon region, just out from the village of Blue Diamond, with the mountains of the canyon backdropping it. There is a small zoo, and restaurant, a western attraction and riding stables there as well as the hotel. There are flocks of peacocks roaming the grounds with their haunting calls, and the Mojave surrounds it. I couldn’t locate it on my new GPS, but I knew the general direction, and was already on Blue Diamond Rd. The mountains in the background were my beacon, and since I remembered the turnoff from the last trip, it was no problem. Soon I was through the entrance and on the way, Joshua tree desert on both sides. My favorite part of the property is the restaurant, which also has a bar. It looks out over the pond fed by the springs that gives the place its name. Ducks swim through the day, and turtles come out to sun. The last time I was here, in the summer, the turtles were out all day. It was cold at night, so they were nowhere to be found, sleeping under the water. Still, the ducks were out, the wait staff, a woman named Heather, was friendly, and the food was good. They had a fire going in the pit, and it was a very comfortable place to spend a cold night. I got in touch with Wonderhussy, letting her know I was there, and viewed the first of the videos I had taken, from Vegas to Bonnie Springs. And so the first day ended.

Theocracy Book 2 is out, and the Third Trip Out West.

[image error]

This is going to be a quick post, since I have to be up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready and head to the airport. Another trip to Las Vegas in in my immediate future. I’ll only be in that city and environs for three days, then it’s off to Death Valley, Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon (several locations), Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods and Canyonland. I will be filming the entire way on a pair of Gopro style cameras, and hope to put them up a half hour at a time on Youtube. This week has been busy. I turned in a short story that will be published in Galaxy’s Edge, which will be a lead up and background to the Kinship War series coming out later this year. And I finished Theocracy Book 2, which I put up on Amazon last night. It is also on Kindle Unlimited. I figure out the other day that I’m making as much on that venue most months, so for a book like this, which will probably get at most a thousand or two outright sales, it just makes sense. It’s available on Amazon US here, and Amazon UK here. While I’m out west I will be looking at locations for several possible series to be written in the future.

So here’s the excerpt:

Shadow moved through the almost total darkness like his name. Cats had terrific night vision to start with, part of their arsenal as a night hunter. Shadow was from genetically engineered stock, with twice the visual sensitivity of his species in the dark. That was what he had been made for. The final alteration had been the quantum organic module that had been planted in his brain. It was a twin of the one his mistress carried and allowed them to communicate through all modalities, no matter the distance.

Now he was stalking through the total darkness, making not a sound, looking for prey his species had never been meant to hunt. Fortunately for him he had been created with the weapons he needed to take down that prey. Each of the claws on any paw was attached to a different gland. Each paw was able to deploy five different substances from those glands. One was a soporific that would knock just about any creature into unconsciousness. The second was a substance that caused intense pain to flow through the body of the victim. The third would put the subject into a trance from which he would respond to any suggestion. The fourth was a fast-acting poison that caused instant death. And the fifth, what was called painful death, did just what the name said.

Shadow crept up the pipe he had found in the wall, his whiskers making sure that his body would fit. His ears were zeroing in on the human moving on the other side of the wall, whispering words. The cat knew about human communication devices. In fact, whatever Alyssa knew, so did he, on a much simpler level.

The cat came out on a small ledge, looking up and down the corridor. The human was moving along it, his helmeted head looking left and right, at the floor, but not up. Never up. What could be waiting up there in the darkness to harm the Marine? Shadow lay perfectly still, not moving a muscle, his vision unerringly picking out a vulnerable spot where the helmet overlapped the neck covering. It would take precision to strike that spot, but precision was something the cat had in abundance.

Painful death, came the command in the cat’s mind. Shadow didn’t really like that method of dispatching the foe. But it was the one his mistress was calling for, and she must have a reason.

Shadow made his leap as the man passed below. His hind paws, claws out, landed on the skinsuit, their razor-sharp carbon fiber digging in slightly, just enough to give him purchase. He brought his forepaws up and drove them into the uncovered region at the back of the neck. All ten claws penetrated, but only the middle talon on the left actually injected anything. Sure that the poison had gone home, Shadow pushed off from the man, twisted in the air, and landed on his feet, taking off at full speed down the corridor. He took a right at the next cross and was into the darkness, gone.

The Marine grunted as the claws drove home. His legs went out from under him as the poison sped through his body, landing in a trembling heap. And then the agony hit. The man opened his mouth in a scream that wouldn’t end until his heart stopped five to ten minutes later. A few seconds after that his brain function would stop as the enzymes in the poison ate the neurons. There would be no coming back from that.

*     *     *

“What in all the hells is that?” asked Griisla as the faint screams sounded in the distance. It sounded much like a sentient being that was being burned to death. But all of his people were here.

“Shadow just made a kill,” said Alyssa, a troubled look on her face.

“With what?” asked the captain. “A flame thrower.”

“It’s called painful death,” she told the Maurid. “Something to put the fear of God into those religious fanatics. I don’t think they’re going to be moving incautiously from here on.”

The Maurid continued staring at her. He shook his head, then walked on, leading the party down the corridor.

“What next?” asked Patrick, walking beside the woman.

Alyssa was still linked with the cat, though this time she was only using half of her concentration, letting Shadow pick his own way through the maze. “Next we kill another. But this time instantly. And painless.”

“Then why subject the first one to such torture?”

They could still hear the Marine screaming in the distance, along with the yells of the men who had found him.

“They will fear the dark,” she said with conviction. “From here on they will be taking their time looking for us.”

The monk looked like he still didn’t like it, but he nodded his recognition of the solution she had come up with.

Stories for Nerds Podcast.

 Recently, I had the honor of appearing on the Stories for Nerds Podcast, co-hosted by my old friend, Raphyel Jordan. The podcast can be found here. I met Raphyel as Superstars Writers Seminars about four years back, and always make a point of meeting with him at DragonCon every year since. This year, over dinner, I was told about the podcast he was running. It seemed to be quite popular, since they were booked up for the rest of the year. I asked about going on, and was told they could possibly get me on at the beginning of 2018. It happened, and the Podcast can be found online, going up today, along with my interview and a blog I wrote about magical weapons and artifacts.

Forward to 2018, and we set a possible date of late January/early February. I was planning a book release for January, the fifth book of the Refuge series. Not my most popular series, but the people who like it seem to really like it. I filled out the interview form they would post and checked out my equipment for my second ever podcast. Now, I’ve done one in the past, an interview on the changing landscape of publishing hosted by Moses Siregar. My friends Kevin J Anderson and David Farland were also featured on that cast. We had a lot of problems on that one. Firstly, my computer didn’t link properly, or Skype wasn’t connecting, or something, and I had to attend by phone. Then the roofers I didn’t know about showed up (I rented, and the landlord made no mention of putting on a new roof) and we had the sound of men scrapping the old tiles off. Still, it went forward, and I think it went well, all things considered.

Now I have my own house, and anyone on my roof during a podcast is an intruder, and will be dealt with as such. I was ready to go on. I had my expensive gamer headphones that I never use, my camera plugged in, all tested and working. I connected to Raphyel through Google Hangouts and his smiling face appeared on my screen. On his end, nothing. I brought out another set of headphones and a separate mic, and still, nothing. Finally I got my camera working, and the other hosts were on. I could see them. Eventually I could even hear them, but they still couldn’t hear me. Great, I thought. Raphyel handed me an opportunity and I blew it. The clock was ticking. I was supposed to go on at 10 PM, Abby and Scott, the co-hosts, were ready, and I was dropping the ball. There was some message about my mic being blocked. Finally, I unplugged my mic and headphones, and everything worked. Unknown to me, the camera had a mic in it, and it connected up just fine.

So we were off, at 10:30PM. Since the podcast wasn’t live (something I didn’t know when I first logged on) we were fine, and I found out that I wasn’t the first person who had problems getting on. But it was happening. The podcast wasn’t all about me. They had other segments, news, opinions. I thought all of the hosts were interesting people. I wouldn’t mind hanging out with them at Cons. After the initial problems it went very well. Maybe I might be invited back, if I promise to keep my tech simple.

I hung out with the team for about a half an hour after the cast, just talking. I have to be glad I don’t have a lot of internet friends I can sit and talk to online, or I wouldn’t get anything done. Facebook is bad enough. So, go check out my friends’ podcast and site, Stories for Nerds, for all the latest news in books, movies and sports. Well, maybe not sports. But all the stuff we nerds like.

Coming soon, Theocracy: Book 2. Also, I will be starting a Youtube channel with travel videos, movies of my workspace, and lots and lots of cats. I will be travelling to Nevada, to travel around that state, Utah and Arizona, filming my travels to put on the you tube channel. Stay tuned.

Refuge: Book 5: Angels & Demons is out on Amazon.

[image error]

 

After a two-year delay, the next book of the Refuge series is out. It can be found on Amazon.US and Amazon.UK, as well as every other Amazon site around the world.  I love writing this series. I really thought it would be my breakout series when I wrote the first one, back in 1997. I did the research, I did the maps, I put down a million words of background in a Treepad document, which I still have by the way. It was too long, I wasn’t a good enough writer, and I got scammed by an agent on it. I had already started book two when the scam blew up in my face and I was over $300 poorer. In 2007 I wrote Doppelganger, an attempt to get Refuge into the traditional ranks by writing a tighter story of under 100K words. From the replies I got back, they seemed to miss the point, thinking it was just a Lord of the Rings Wannabe (the references to Earth didn’t seem to make it through their filters). In 2010 I wrote Refuge: The Arrival, going back to the untold origin story, blending magic with technology. The book was too long, so I split it in two. It did well, in fact, most of the independent authors I know would have loved to have the sales it had. Over five thousand for both books 1 and 2.  Meanwhile, I had done the same with Exodus: Empires at War, splitting the too long book. Exodus: Book 1 sold over twenty-five thousand copies, book 2 almost as many.

As said, I love this series, and had planned to write twenty books or more in it. It was to build to a world war between the immortals, good and evil. I had stories set through the centuries as the Empire of Free Nations grew, and the Tarakesh Empire on the southern continent expanded as well. There were stories planned of expeditions to other continents, to the wild areas of the world. But then reality set in.

I spend the same amount of time writing a Refuge book as I do working on an Exodus book. If I spend three months on and off on a Refuge book I can plan on making between $4,000 and $6,000 on it. An Exodus book can make from $15,000 to $25,000. For the same amount of time spent. If I was only writing for fun, or as a hobby, I would write the entire Refuge series. I do this for a living, so I need to concentrate on series that give me the greatest return. Exodus: Empires at War and Machine War pay the bills. I have had some dedicated Refuge fans begging me to put out another book, but I never seemed to find the time with all of my other projects. And now I have a traditional project, signed and sold, soon to be delivered. I finally broke down to turn out Book 5. And I will be doing a book 6. Unfortunately, that will probably be the last book of the series. I will be able to wrap up the current storyline, and possible leave some hints for future books that may or may not be written. Only time will tell.

So if you are one of the people who love this series, talk it up in your reading and writing groups, or fantasy gatherings and cons. If the series does better, I might continue it. Otherwise, I need to finish up the Exodus series and get to work on the other ideas I have. I have a post-apocalyptic series planned, one of several alternate histories, and another space opera. A decade of projects. Refuge will have to earn its place in the lineup. Meanwhile, if you are a fan, I hope you enjoy this book. And now for an excerpt:

“They have taken the fort on the close side of the river, my Emperor,” said the messenger, his head almost on the floor, trembling in fear. “The tower on the far side still stands.”

The Emperor lurched to his feet, growling in anger like a rabid animal. He had hoped the fort wouldn’t fall, and the enemy would be delayed in crossing the river. Now he knew that was a false hope. There was no way they could have stopped the enemy, only delay them. They could still delay them with the final tower. It would not be easy to take, but these humans had proven they could do the impossible, so the difficult would happen sooner or later. Probably sooner.

“Leave,” ordered the Emperor. Relief flashed across the face of the messenger, and he staggered up to his feet.

“And send in my Archpriest of Bothar.”

Moments later the summoned man entered, his red robes fresh and spotless, as befitted someone in his position. Still, the man smelled of death, an odor that no amount of bathing could get rid of.

“Are your people ready?”

“We are, my Lord,” said the man in a sibilant voice, his eyes locked on the emperor’s. This was a man who feared no one but the gods he served, and for good reason. He was the most powerful necromancer in the Empire, after the Emperor. And even the Emperor couldn’t do without the power of the man and his minions.

“How many can you summon?”

“I think we can bring forth at least forty, my Lord.”

“So few,” growled the Emperor, his red glowing eyes narrowing,

“They will all be greater demons, my Lord,” said the priest, his eyes still locked on those of the half litch. “And we may be able to bring something even greater.”

The Emperor felt a thrill run through him at the thought. There were very few beings more powerful than a greater demon. Those that were could defeat armies by themselves, or so it was said.

“And can you do something to aid the soldiers at the bridge?”

“I might be able to do something, my Lord. Not enough, I am sure, but something to bleed the enemy some more. Maybe a couple. And they will have a hard time ridding the area of those I do call.”

“Then do it,” said the Emperor, a cold smile playing across his face.

*  *  *

“Fire,” yelled the gun captain. With a short but loud hiss, the cannon released its projectile, a cloud of steam following it from the muzzle.

The projectile flew toward the door, moments after a shimmering field appeared in front of the hard metal portal. The ball struck the shimmering field and slowed to almost a stop, hitting the portal and bouncing away without leaving a mark.

“It’s one of those damned inertia fields,” said Delgado, looking over at Levine.

“Your weapons have blown through them before,” said the old immortal.

“And they were traveling at a much higher velocity than these things,” said the general, looking over the battery of guns set up in the courtyard. He was glad they had the guns, and he expected big things from them in the future. But they weren’t as good as the one hundred twenty millimeter guns of the tanks, or even the lower velocity howitzers.

“Maybe the mages can help,” said Levine, waving a hand to attract the attention of Drake and the rest, who were sheltering behind the shields of an infantry company in reserve.

Delgado looked over as the mages, the once mentally ill of Earth, came running over, men with shields moving between them and the enemy. He still didn’t trust all of them. The young physicist, Drake, was trustworthy. The woman, Heidle, had almost destroyed the Refuge valley with her tornadoes, at the same time the enemy dragon fleet was threatening them with destruction. She had lost her mind, mad with power. Supposedly she had recovered, and had not slipped into madness again. But once a madwoman, always a madwoman, as far as he was concerned.

“You wanted us over here, General Levine?” asked James as they came up behind the guns.

“We’re having a problem with that field they have up protecting the gate,” said Levine, gesturing toward the tower. “I was hoping that you might be able to do something about it.”

“The problem is, the guns can’t generate enough force to get through the inertia field they’ve put up,” said Delgado, pointing to the tower. “What little they have is absorbed, and what gets through might as well be spitballs.”

“Katherine could probably just send a tornado at them,” said one of the other mages.

“That I will not do,” said the woman, a horrified expression on her face.

No, she won’t, thought Delgado. That kind of display of power could send her tumbling back into the realm of madness. He would as soon cut her throat now than risk his army to one of her rages.

“Perhaps you can impart some momentum to the balls as they leave the cannons,” said Levine. “Do you have that kind of control?”

“I…don’t know,” said Katherine in a soft voice.

“But you can try,” said James, smiling. “I know you have the power. Now, we just need to refine your control. And here is your needed practice.”

Katherine nodded, then looked over at one of the guns. “Get ready to fire. On my command.”

The gun crew nodded and went about their preparations, loading the water into the chamber, then setting the trigger with the glowing gem. As soon as the ball was shoved down the barrel they turned and looked at the weather mage.

Katherine had meanwhile been whispering words under her breath, whether as a spell or simply to focus her thoughts, no one could tell. She opened her eyes, which were now a glowing blue, with hints of the dark white of storm clouds. A wind started to rise, first a gentle breeze, rising to a light gale, then rising until it was shrieking around the guns. Men cowered, holding onto their helms, many closing their eyes.

She gestured at the gun several times, a flash of energy leaving her hands to impact the cannon. The gun fired without the captain having to pull the lanyard. The ball flew from the barrel, kicked into motion by the wind that increased its speed slightly, only to hit the field and die in the air, bouncing from the door without leaving a mark.

“Well, that didn’t go well,” said Delgado, glaring at the door, then looking over at the woman.

“Give her a chance,” said Drake, putting a hand on Katherine’s shoulder. “Try another one.”

Katherine nodded, then moved next to another gun, this one already prepared to fire. She went through the same motions once again, and yet again the gun fired without any need of a crew. The ball barely made it through the barrier to bounce from the door.

“Again,” said James, pointing to the next gun over.

“I’m not accomplishing anything,” she complained, shrugging her shoulders.

“And you won’t if you don’t try,” said James.

Katherine nodded once again, and performed her magic with the third gun. Again the ball barely made it through the field.

“It’s got to be weakening the magic,” said Levine hopefully.

Delgado didn’t see it. So far she had sent three balls into the field, and the door seemed to be laughing at her efforts.

The fourth ball seemed to pick up more of the wind, and hit with a noticeable clang as it bounced from the door, still without noticeable effect.

“She did better that time,” said Levine.

“And it still got us nowhere.”

Drake shot an angry glance at the general, and Delgado felt a shiver run up his spine. The young mage could turn him into a pile of ash in an instant, and his army would not be able to do anything to prevent it. He shook his head at the thought. Drake was not a murderer, nor would he use his fire magic against the army, but it was still frightening to be around people of such power, useful though they were.

The fifth gun went off, and this time a concentrated gust of wind kicked it in the rear, slamming it through the inertia field and actually putting a dent in the door. The sixth gun did even better, and the door shook from the hit.

The first gun had been reloaded. Now archers from the tower were showering the gun positions with arrows, trying to stop the assault. A glowing wall appeared before the guns, and every shaft that entered it turned to ash, to shower slowly to the ground, while their heads dropped as half molten objects. Katherine used the gun, and this time the inertia field dropped like it ran out of power. Delgado thought it probably had, since mages had to put energy into constructs like that, and each assault used up some of that power.

The second gun fired, and a highly concentrated blast of wind caught it and flung it into the valve they had been attacking. With a high shriek of tearing metal one of the hinges ripped away, and the door leaned out on the remaining sagging point of contact.

“Get the men ready to rush the door,” ordered Delgado, looking back at his aide.

Another gun went off, this time battering the door that first flew back into its frame, then fell outward until it was halfway to the ground. The next shot finished the door, which fell to the ground with a clang.

“About time I earned my keep,” said Levine, pulling his sword from his sheath and jumping over the embrasure the guns had been set behind. He trotted toward the tower, the assault company at his back.

That was when a sound like sails booming in the wind came to them, and every eye looked up. Delgado felt his knees weaken as fear rushed through him at the sight of what was dropping from the sky. A huge humanoid creature, at least ten meters tall, with another meter of horns protruding from the head. Red skin, with wings that flared out twenty meters. The general had seen demons before. His tank brigade had run into them when they first got to the planet. They had killed the ones they faced, though he had lost men and vehicles to them. But this thing looked a whole lot deadlier, and his people no longer had one hundred twenty millimeter guns to fire at them.

People started yelling, and men panicked, running furiously for cover. Levine set his feet and looked ready to fight, but the general was not sure that even the immortal could handle this creature.

“You men, stay by your guns. You mages,” he yelled, looking at Drake. “Do what you can, or that thing is going to slaughter us.”

The general wasn’t sure why the enemy had waited this long to deploy this weapon, but he saw his campaign going down in ruin if they couldn’t stop it.

*  *  *

Commodore Steffan Hauser stared in disbelief as two huge forms dropped from the sky, their flapping wings slowing their progress. One was coming down on each side of the river over the two forts. Neither seemed to have noticed his small flotilla of six galleys, a fact for which he was truly thankful. Each ship had a large ballista aboard, and he might be able to put a heavy shaft through them, with luck. He doubted there was that much luck in the world.

“If only we had some cannon,” said Lieutenant Jeff Bridges, the commanding officer of the vessel.

If only, agreed the commodore in his thoughts. But there weren’t enough of them, and the army got what was available. To the commodore it made sense to arm the galleys, at least a couple of cannons per ship. So far, the ram-equipped galleys had been more than a match for any of the river craft of the Empire, so guns had not been needed, but against a demon?

Screams and yells started to echo over the water, and Hauser crossed himself like the good Catholic he was. His faith might not save his life on this planet, but it would save his soul.

 

The Trouble With Multiple Platforms:

[image error]

A couple of months ago I bought a website on Wix, mostly because they had an easy way to set up the site so it would look good on all display platforms, PC browsers, tablets and phones. In fact, it had dual editing features, so your display for computer still looks good and takes advantage of the whole screen while the one for phone is set up for the smaller screen. It works really well, for the small percentage of people I assumed actually looked up websites on phones. I set up a sales page, hoping that people who buy my books, or at least some of them, would buy from the website, where I have code on each link that would make the sale through my Amazon Associate account. Eventually I was going to add some of my favorite books from other authors. It’s a great deal, since the author or publisher still gets their full payment.

Then I decided to put a sales page on my WordPress site, the one my blog runs out of. I had gotten the domain names for both, dougdandridge.net for the website, and dougdandridge.com for the blog site. Actually, I could get dougdandridge with just about every dot whatever that I want, since there are no other authors or internet public figures with my name. I already had all the links on a Notepad document for the Wix site, though I had to do some resizing of the images for book covers. I made the book covers all the same size, and all the sales links the same width as the books, so everything would line up perfectly, A couple of days work, a few hours a day, and the Exodus and Deep Dark Well page were done. One more day and I had the sales page for every other book I had ever written. I posted it online, since it had a blog link on every page. It looked beautiful, four covers side to side, sales links beneath each for Amazon.US, Amazon.UK, and Audible where appropriate. Then a fan commented on one of my Facebook posts, and stated that it looked screwed up on his phone. I looked it up, and sure enough, on a phone it had every cover that had been lined up next to each other in a column from top to bottom, followed by a column of five sales links for Amazon.us, then five sales links for Amazon.uk, then the five sales links to Audible. Very confusing to someone browsing on their phone. They might think they are clicking on one sales link, only to go to another book page, and finally be driven to give up. So it was totally screwed up. Then I read online that sixty percent of web browsing and sales take place on mobile devices like tablets and phones. Whoops. It seems like I am behind the times. I prefer the computer and the TV to get my content and entertainment. Yeah, IP providers advertise how you can watch movies on your smart phone, but  I want to watch mine on wide screen UHD TVs with sound systems. I want to play my games on my thirty two inch curved monitor. I want to shop on my office computer. Well, it seems like I’m not like the majority, and if I want to get the contacts, I need to set it up so people can easily browse on their smart phones while they ignore their friends at the bar or restaurant.

Now I am working on trying to get a page up that will not only look good on a PC browser, but also be useful on a phone. Which is not easy. And the WordPress editor is not the easiest thing to use to manipulate images and text together. A lot of cussing going on in my office, the cats avoiding me. I asked for help on Facebook, which, yes, I also look at on one of the three large screen monitors of my computer, dinosaur that I am. And I got several answers. Now I am going to try out Divi, which is supposed to allow you to fill up the screens of both computers and phones, and even tablets in between. You have to keep up with the world if you want to make it. I started out by learning everything I could about marketing books online, and it paid off in becoming a full time writer, and in selling over two hundred thousand books. Then I got lazy, since everything seemed to be going so well on its own. Still putting out the books, but cutting back on the marketing. I found to my horror that I had sites, my Amazon author’s page, my Goodread’s page, even the about page on my blog, that hadn’t been touched in four years. So here I go, rolling up the sleeves and digging in with the marketing once again.

Filed under: eBooks, Fantasy, Far Future, Kindle, Movies, Near Future, science Fiction, self publishing, Websites, Writing Tagged: blogs, books, internet, marketing, random ramblings, technology, Wordpress

New Bookstore Page on the Blog.

New Exodus Bookstore Page up at the dougdandridge.com blog. All of my Exodus books, Empires at War, Machine War, Tales of the Empire, and the Deep Dark Well. Coming soon: Another page featuring everything else coming soon.

via Bookstore: Exodus & Deep Dark Series

Filed under: eBooks, Far Future, Fusion, Future Prediciton, Future Warfare, Genetic Engineering, Intelligent Life, Kindle, Nanotechnology, Nuclear Weapons, Robots, science Fiction, self publishing, Wormholes Tagged: Exodus: Empires at War, Exodus: Machine War, Exodus: Tales of the Empire, The Deep Dark Well, Theocracy