R.F.G. Cameron's Blog
July 27, 2017
Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg
It took a while but I finally released a novel of decent length. Hopefully any who care to read my latest offering will enjoy it.
Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg
Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg
For now, duty calls as it has so often over the past year. Perhaps I'll be fortunate enough to get the time to offer new worlds for readers to explore in the not too distant future.
May 31, 2016
The Joys of Apolitical Children
The title of this piece may be a bit a of clue as to the subject matter involved, or perhaps not. The US political circus is, to me, just that, a spectacle designed to divert attention from bigger issues, such as children.
I love how children, as they grow and seek to understand the world they've been thrust into, so often see patterns adults have far too often forgotten. Whether it's a sense of conquering the world by learning how to walk, or a sense of linguistic mastery by haven't figured out how to tell an oblivious adult the urgent need to "go peepee in the potty" is both real and immediate, children have a way of hitting the reset button on what's important.
I realize what's important to a child, whether the infant seeking the comfort of a voice or the toddler whose anger is sparked by an inability to properly express outrage over the sun going down, may not seem urgent in a world filled with bigger issues. Yet, how we communicate with that child is vitally important, and ultimately more important than issues which seem critical today but will be forgotten within a year.
Too often the way we communicate with the very young shapes how those future adults will communicate with other adults. The Wife tells me at times how I may sound harsh, which prompts me to make greater efforts at patience. There is also non-verbal communication. The booboo of a scraped knee that might prompt some parents to rush a child to Urgent Care has me react with: "Okay, no broken bones, let's go clean that up." Yes, hugs and kisses are given when demanded, but I try to keep a sense of proportion.
How does child-rearing tie in with politics? If you watch how people react to campaigns as well as how they communicate their particular views, you can learn a lot about how communication was taught in different households. Which leads me back to the joys of apolitical children.
Children can be some of the most outrageous tyrants, fierce in their demands as they seek to instill order onto the chaos they perceive around them. Yet children can also be the most generous and inclusive egalitarians you'll ever hope to see. Maybe the way adults wage politics would be a bit less offensive if campaign tactics were inspired by the very young.
At any rate, I have a keyboard to pound out more story with, a tyrant's needs to attend to ( She wants stickers ), and about a million different tasks I need to take care of. Hopefully you'll forgive me while I go peel a wad of stickers off the floor, soothe ruffled feathers, and maybe (if I'm lucky) find the time to get a few more paragraphs in a novel finished.
I love how children, as they grow and seek to understand the world they've been thrust into, so often see patterns adults have far too often forgotten. Whether it's a sense of conquering the world by learning how to walk, or a sense of linguistic mastery by haven't figured out how to tell an oblivious adult the urgent need to "go peepee in the potty" is both real and immediate, children have a way of hitting the reset button on what's important.
I realize what's important to a child, whether the infant seeking the comfort of a voice or the toddler whose anger is sparked by an inability to properly express outrage over the sun going down, may not seem urgent in a world filled with bigger issues. Yet, how we communicate with that child is vitally important, and ultimately more important than issues which seem critical today but will be forgotten within a year.
Too often the way we communicate with the very young shapes how those future adults will communicate with other adults. The Wife tells me at times how I may sound harsh, which prompts me to make greater efforts at patience. There is also non-verbal communication. The booboo of a scraped knee that might prompt some parents to rush a child to Urgent Care has me react with: "Okay, no broken bones, let's go clean that up." Yes, hugs and kisses are given when demanded, but I try to keep a sense of proportion.
How does child-rearing tie in with politics? If you watch how people react to campaigns as well as how they communicate their particular views, you can learn a lot about how communication was taught in different households. Which leads me back to the joys of apolitical children.
Children can be some of the most outrageous tyrants, fierce in their demands as they seek to instill order onto the chaos they perceive around them. Yet children can also be the most generous and inclusive egalitarians you'll ever hope to see. Maybe the way adults wage politics would be a bit less offensive if campaign tactics were inspired by the very young.
At any rate, I have a keyboard to pound out more story with, a tyrant's needs to attend to ( She wants stickers ), and about a million different tasks I need to take care of. Hopefully you'll forgive me while I go peel a wad of stickers off the floor, soothe ruffled feathers, and maybe (if I'm lucky) find the time to get a few more paragraphs in a novel finished.
November 29, 2015
Happy Post-Thanksgiving/Black Friday
Recently I was reminded of just how long it's been since I've worked on editing the book I meant to release last May, or logged onto GR, or simply took a day. The reminder was a friend contacting me to ask if I was okay and just busy.
The truth is, I've been particularly busy with 1) keeping up with Her Grace (the not so Tiny Demon Warrior Princess who is now roughly three feet tall) and 2) erosion control projects.
We moved into our new home in the country at the end of August, but unlike homes in the city the landscaping and cleanup from construction is on us, or more specifically me. Further complicating matters is the fact the spot where the house is located is twenty-five to thirty-five feet higher than the front of the property, rocky, and prone to losing soil that isn't being held by rock and vegetation.
Since I got basic unpacking done (the rest has to wait until I build furniture to hold schtuff) I've been moving rock with the help of HG, leveling areas prone to excessive runoff in order to help rain soak in, and building low terrace walls to slow runoff and help the water drop any soil it carries.
Seems like a simple proposition until you realize HG is tall and strong for her age, likes to pick up fifteen pound rocks or collect acorns, and can go from nice to naughty in a negative three point two seconds. Also making the task a bit harder would be using hands, a shovel, a rake, and a five gallon bucket to do all the neat and wonderful excavating of roughly a ton to a ton-and-a-half of, rock.
As a result, since the beginning of September, I've been busy warding HG, moving schtuff around outside, doing laundry, washing dishes, cooking, getting behind on my editing, and watching my laptop slowly decline (dying keyboard).
The good news is at tax time the Wife is getting herself a better laptop, and me a refurbished desk-box, while HG will inherit a clunky old box to learn on (since she's already killed a keyboard with an application of water).
I'm online today in part because of the weather (rainy and chilly), in part because the ground needs to dry somewhat before I do any more terracing, and in part because the Wife got the day off, which also means my time online is limited by honey-dos.
In parting let me say I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and shopping or time with family, and I'll be checking in more often now that the major part of keeping the ridge-top out of the bottom-land has been accomplished and we haven't ordered trees yet. Not looking forward to planting trees yet, no breaker-bar and chiseling through three to six inch layers of rock to plant a tree is a pain in the asterisk.
Enjoy the time with friends and family as the year winds down, the days grow shorter and cooler, and the next year looms.
The truth is, I've been particularly busy with 1) keeping up with Her Grace (the not so Tiny Demon Warrior Princess who is now roughly three feet tall) and 2) erosion control projects.
We moved into our new home in the country at the end of August, but unlike homes in the city the landscaping and cleanup from construction is on us, or more specifically me. Further complicating matters is the fact the spot where the house is located is twenty-five to thirty-five feet higher than the front of the property, rocky, and prone to losing soil that isn't being held by rock and vegetation.
Since I got basic unpacking done (the rest has to wait until I build furniture to hold schtuff) I've been moving rock with the help of HG, leveling areas prone to excessive runoff in order to help rain soak in, and building low terrace walls to slow runoff and help the water drop any soil it carries.
Seems like a simple proposition until you realize HG is tall and strong for her age, likes to pick up fifteen pound rocks or collect acorns, and can go from nice to naughty in a negative three point two seconds. Also making the task a bit harder would be using hands, a shovel, a rake, and a five gallon bucket to do all the neat and wonderful excavating of roughly a ton to a ton-and-a-half of, rock.
As a result, since the beginning of September, I've been busy warding HG, moving schtuff around outside, doing laundry, washing dishes, cooking, getting behind on my editing, and watching my laptop slowly decline (dying keyboard).
The good news is at tax time the Wife is getting herself a better laptop, and me a refurbished desk-box, while HG will inherit a clunky old box to learn on (since she's already killed a keyboard with an application of water).
I'm online today in part because of the weather (rainy and chilly), in part because the ground needs to dry somewhat before I do any more terracing, and in part because the Wife got the day off, which also means my time online is limited by honey-dos.
In parting let me say I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and shopping or time with family, and I'll be checking in more often now that the major part of keeping the ridge-top out of the bottom-land has been accomplished and we haven't ordered trees yet. Not looking forward to planting trees yet, no breaker-bar and chiseling through three to six inch layers of rock to plant a tree is a pain in the asterisk.
Enjoy the time with friends and family as the year winds down, the days grow shorter and cooler, and the next year looms.
August 19, 2015
Moving Site
At long last the moment Her Grace, Tiny Demon Warrior Princess, Empress of the Galaxay, and Pick Pocket Extraordinaire has been waiting for with breath unbated, it looks like our rook-house out in the Shadow Lands is almost ready for occupancy.
The upside is She will have lots of room to run around and chase small furry creatures (mountain lions, hogs, raccoons, miner's cats, opossums, fae hominids, and more).
The downside is we won't have full internet access until the internet provider comes out to hook up the satellite dish.
Therefore while I rummage through thirty pounds of fossils (ranging from 65,000,000 to 240,000,000 years old), dodge poopy diapers, and try to get the installation in something akin to but not order, it may be hard to reach me to ask for free e-copy of my work.
Then again my diabolical marketing plan to be virtually unknown as a hominin-keyboard-pounder with as close to zero actual sales as possible is paying off. Nobody has contacted me to ask for a freebie, or even a link to the econo-prints. Hmmm...
At any rate, if I'm not active on GR after Sunday don't despair, my curmudgeonly unlovable self will eventually return with acerbic inane comments unrelated to anything remotely resembling the posts being replied to, so there. Something for people to not look forward to, and in the interim I'll enjoy fresh rattlesnake eggs and stale bier for linner (the meal combining lunch and dinner).
Then again I'll still get notifications someone tried to contact me via my dumb-fon. Oh well, time to run, boxes await.
Now that the PSA is over, below you'll find links to my work, that is if you really don't want to contact me for a free e-book or direct-links to the econo-print versions. Have a great day, and keep reading when you have the opportunity.
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua...
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/R.F.G.-Cameron/...
The upside is She will have lots of room to run around and chase small furry creatures (mountain lions, hogs, raccoons, miner's cats, opossums, fae hominids, and more).
The downside is we won't have full internet access until the internet provider comes out to hook up the satellite dish.
Therefore while I rummage through thirty pounds of fossils (ranging from 65,000,000 to 240,000,000 years old), dodge poopy diapers, and try to get the installation in something akin to but not order, it may be hard to reach me to ask for free e-copy of my work.
Then again my diabolical marketing plan to be virtually unknown as a hominin-keyboard-pounder with as close to zero actual sales as possible is paying off. Nobody has contacted me to ask for a freebie, or even a link to the econo-prints. Hmmm...
At any rate, if I'm not active on GR after Sunday don't despair, my curmudgeonly unlovable self will eventually return with acerbic inane comments unrelated to anything remotely resembling the posts being replied to, so there. Something for people to not look forward to, and in the interim I'll enjoy fresh rattlesnake eggs and stale bier for linner (the meal combining lunch and dinner).
Then again I'll still get notifications someone tried to contact me via my dumb-fon. Oh well, time to run, boxes await.
Now that the PSA is over, below you'll find links to my work, that is if you really don't want to contact me for a free e-book or direct-links to the econo-print versions. Have a great day, and keep reading when you have the opportunity.
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua...
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/R.F.G.-Cameron/...
July 26, 2015
Agendas, Razzle Dazzle, or Realities vs BS
There's been a lot of media hype of late wherein people with agendas are using a lot of razzle dazzle to convince people their cause is worthy and noble. Whether it's racism, gun control, trickle down economics, or the privilege of one genotype over another, too often there's a mixture of truth, half-truth, and downright BS all mixed together.
I have a few acquaintances who might lean progressive, liberal, or conservative, whereas I tend to hold a mixed bag of progressive or conservative leanings depending on the subject. Unfortunately, in the US, the sociopolitical system is based on the school of Western philosophy and debate wherein if one party is right, then the other party must be and is wrong. With certain matters, I tend to see things more in an Eastern fashion wherein one party may be right, up to a point, but the other party may be right to a certain extent as well.
Take gun control as an example. An activist in Brooklyn, NY, feels that what works in Metro NYC will work just as well in rural Texas, or Oklahoma, or New Mexico. It doesn't matter that you normally won't encounter wild animals capable of killing a human in Brooklyn, all that matters to the activist is pushing gun control. Why? The ostensible reason is because over 32,000 people are killed each year with firearms, with the subtle but unstated opinion that these are all murders. Two years cited were 2010 and 2011 as 32,000 plus killings per year. Yet official statistics from the FBI show a total of 13,164 homicides for 2010 and 12,664 homicides for 2011, and those were homicides by all means (edged weapons, firearms, clubs, poison, and etc). Total US firearms related homicides are 8,874 for 2010 and 8,583 for 2011.
If the activist quotes numerous studies as saying over 32,000 people are killed each with firearms, but the actual homicides are a good 23,000 less, then that figure has to include suicides, accidental shootings, but likely does not reflect the number of people (innocent or guilty of a crime) shot by police in a particular year. Therefore, if the idea behind gun control is to control gun violence, why isn't the emphasis more focused on promoting firearm safety or helping the suicidal find help before it's too late? One last note is that while it is stated that roughly 500 people have died in the US as a result of mass murders this year, a less publicized item is that over 500 people in the US have been killed by police so far this year. Obviously there is an agenda at play, but not the one some people would have you believe, otherwise they'd want the underlying causes of all types of violence in the US studied, rather than pushing studies that relate solely to gun violence.
Then there are the commentaries on racist emblems, and if one unofficial emblem (as in not the national flag) for a country that didn't last a decade is racist, then of course the emblem of the country that defeated it can't be. Oddly enough, I do believe the Native Americans would disagree with that view since the US government is still trying to strip them of lands (theirs by treaty) if a corporate interest sees something it wants, a practice of the US Government since the 1800s. I believe the Japanese-Americans who were interned in US-run Concentration Camps would tend to disagree with the benevolence represented by the US flag as well, since the survivors of those camps who were lucky enough to have their possessions stored in government warehouses typically found nothing was left untouched after the war. I would mention that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation only freed the slaves who were within the states that were in rebellion, but then I'd have to teach a history lesson.
Then there's the matter of ethnicity (genotype / phenotype) and how some people of one genotype are supposedly privileged and don't have to worry during traffic stops while people of another genotype do have to worry. I hate to say it, but many of the cops (of various genotypes) who've pulled me over through the years must not have gotten that particular memo. I've been told to shut up after reasonably asking "Is there something wrong, Officer?" I've been called a faggot, a pothead, a hippy, or a skinhead to name a few of the less colorful labels. I had one officer tell me "You're obviously going to be a problem, so if we have to arrest you, you can bet your butt you'll be one of those falling down two flights of stairs and getting injured at the jail." The jail in question was one story, on flat level ground, and a number of people have sued that department after the fact and won.
The point is there are good cops and bad cops out there, and the bad ones don't care who you are as all they're looking for is their next victim -- we all have to worry. I've avoided being shot or arrested and sustaining injury by having situational awareness as well keeping my mouth shut while replying to direct questions after a cop made it clear he or she was looking for trouble. My mother learned that lesson the hard way after being stopped while returning home after having been fishing. She knew her rights and gave the officer a piece of her mind until he said "Ma'am, I've tried being nice, but if you don't shut the hell up right now, I'm going to arrest you."
Trickle down economics is simply about concentrating the largest amount of wealth into the fewest hands as possible. In short, the US has reverted to a class system, though a class system where one is born into the right family or has the right connections early on. It's about a form of slavery based on economics where the victims aren't of any particular ethnicity (as in genotype / phenotype), they're just not lucky enough to have been born into the right families or to form the right connections at the right time.
By now you're probably wondering what all the issues I've brought up have in common, and it's really fairly simple. It's about divide and conquer and the politics of victim-identity. If enough people identify with only one group of abused individuals or another, then the oligarchs who run things won't have to worry about angry villagers, their pitchforks, or their torches, because all those villagers will be too busy fighting each other while trying to push their own separate agendas. All I ask is you think about it, and dig into the facts a bit, before you tell me how completely and utterly wrong I am.
Now that the PSA is over, below you'll find links to my work, that is if you really don't want to contact me for a free e-book or direct-links to the econo-print versions. Have a great day, and keep reading when you have the opportunity.
http://www.amazon.com/R.F.G.-Cameron/...
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua...
I have a few acquaintances who might lean progressive, liberal, or conservative, whereas I tend to hold a mixed bag of progressive or conservative leanings depending on the subject. Unfortunately, in the US, the sociopolitical system is based on the school of Western philosophy and debate wherein if one party is right, then the other party must be and is wrong. With certain matters, I tend to see things more in an Eastern fashion wherein one party may be right, up to a point, but the other party may be right to a certain extent as well.
Take gun control as an example. An activist in Brooklyn, NY, feels that what works in Metro NYC will work just as well in rural Texas, or Oklahoma, or New Mexico. It doesn't matter that you normally won't encounter wild animals capable of killing a human in Brooklyn, all that matters to the activist is pushing gun control. Why? The ostensible reason is because over 32,000 people are killed each year with firearms, with the subtle but unstated opinion that these are all murders. Two years cited were 2010 and 2011 as 32,000 plus killings per year. Yet official statistics from the FBI show a total of 13,164 homicides for 2010 and 12,664 homicides for 2011, and those were homicides by all means (edged weapons, firearms, clubs, poison, and etc). Total US firearms related homicides are 8,874 for 2010 and 8,583 for 2011.
If the activist quotes numerous studies as saying over 32,000 people are killed each with firearms, but the actual homicides are a good 23,000 less, then that figure has to include suicides, accidental shootings, but likely does not reflect the number of people (innocent or guilty of a crime) shot by police in a particular year. Therefore, if the idea behind gun control is to control gun violence, why isn't the emphasis more focused on promoting firearm safety or helping the suicidal find help before it's too late? One last note is that while it is stated that roughly 500 people have died in the US as a result of mass murders this year, a less publicized item is that over 500 people in the US have been killed by police so far this year. Obviously there is an agenda at play, but not the one some people would have you believe, otherwise they'd want the underlying causes of all types of violence in the US studied, rather than pushing studies that relate solely to gun violence.
Then there are the commentaries on racist emblems, and if one unofficial emblem (as in not the national flag) for a country that didn't last a decade is racist, then of course the emblem of the country that defeated it can't be. Oddly enough, I do believe the Native Americans would disagree with that view since the US government is still trying to strip them of lands (theirs by treaty) if a corporate interest sees something it wants, a practice of the US Government since the 1800s. I believe the Japanese-Americans who were interned in US-run Concentration Camps would tend to disagree with the benevolence represented by the US flag as well, since the survivors of those camps who were lucky enough to have their possessions stored in government warehouses typically found nothing was left untouched after the war. I would mention that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation only freed the slaves who were within the states that were in rebellion, but then I'd have to teach a history lesson.
Then there's the matter of ethnicity (genotype / phenotype) and how some people of one genotype are supposedly privileged and don't have to worry during traffic stops while people of another genotype do have to worry. I hate to say it, but many of the cops (of various genotypes) who've pulled me over through the years must not have gotten that particular memo. I've been told to shut up after reasonably asking "Is there something wrong, Officer?" I've been called a faggot, a pothead, a hippy, or a skinhead to name a few of the less colorful labels. I had one officer tell me "You're obviously going to be a problem, so if we have to arrest you, you can bet your butt you'll be one of those falling down two flights of stairs and getting injured at the jail." The jail in question was one story, on flat level ground, and a number of people have sued that department after the fact and won.
The point is there are good cops and bad cops out there, and the bad ones don't care who you are as all they're looking for is their next victim -- we all have to worry. I've avoided being shot or arrested and sustaining injury by having situational awareness as well keeping my mouth shut while replying to direct questions after a cop made it clear he or she was looking for trouble. My mother learned that lesson the hard way after being stopped while returning home after having been fishing. She knew her rights and gave the officer a piece of her mind until he said "Ma'am, I've tried being nice, but if you don't shut the hell up right now, I'm going to arrest you."
Trickle down economics is simply about concentrating the largest amount of wealth into the fewest hands as possible. In short, the US has reverted to a class system, though a class system where one is born into the right family or has the right connections early on. It's about a form of slavery based on economics where the victims aren't of any particular ethnicity (as in genotype / phenotype), they're just not lucky enough to have been born into the right families or to form the right connections at the right time.
By now you're probably wondering what all the issues I've brought up have in common, and it's really fairly simple. It's about divide and conquer and the politics of victim-identity. If enough people identify with only one group of abused individuals or another, then the oligarchs who run things won't have to worry about angry villagers, their pitchforks, or their torches, because all those villagers will be too busy fighting each other while trying to push their own separate agendas. All I ask is you think about it, and dig into the facts a bit, before you tell me how completely and utterly wrong I am.
Now that the PSA is over, below you'll find links to my work, that is if you really don't want to contact me for a free e-book or direct-links to the econo-print versions. Have a great day, and keep reading when you have the opportunity.
http://www.amazon.com/R.F.G.-Cameron/...
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua...
June 27, 2015
Redundundant Road
Some days I find myself dealing with something fun like today: "For help try this group first." I got to that group and found they wanted a separate thread for each issue or I could go back to the original contact form. This is what I like to think of as the Circular Redundundant Road, which leads to end-users pounding their heads on keyboards before they wind up drooling on a padded laptop.
Now, for anyone who has tried clicking GR link to find my work only to find it led to "item not found" or a similar message, I ventured forth from my position as editor ad nauseum and braved the Circular Redundundant Road (be glad video of me drooling has been disabled).
To be perfectly honest, I'm not that worried about sales -- if contacted I'll send Epub or Mobi copies or point someone to the econo-prints or PDF versions on Lulu. But some people insist on paying for my work, and it's for those individuals I braved the horrors of potential sanity by tackling broken links. I also asked to have the PBW Epub (Plain Brown Wrapper) version of "Regeneration: Capturing Shadows" added to my GR authors page.
While the helpful minions at GR Tech Support labor to avoid the looming Extinction Level Event certain to be caused by broken links and such, I have compiled a few links to help readers find my books.
Epubs and quality prints
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua...
Kindle and higher priced quality prints
http://www.amazon.com/R.F.G.-Cameron/...
Other vendors
Apple:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rege...
Apple:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rege...
Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebo...
Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebo...
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/regen...
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/regen...
With luck the preceding Public Service Announcement will be totally ignored by one and all and I won't have to tell Wife next year that I actually earned enough money we have to pay taxes on it. Brrrrr, scarey stuff there.
For now, have a great weekend while we return you to your regularly scheduled program.
Now, for anyone who has tried clicking GR link to find my work only to find it led to "item not found" or a similar message, I ventured forth from my position as editor ad nauseum and braved the Circular Redundundant Road (be glad video of me drooling has been disabled).
To be perfectly honest, I'm not that worried about sales -- if contacted I'll send Epub or Mobi copies or point someone to the econo-prints or PDF versions on Lulu. But some people insist on paying for my work, and it's for those individuals I braved the horrors of potential sanity by tackling broken links. I also asked to have the PBW Epub (Plain Brown Wrapper) version of "Regeneration: Capturing Shadows" added to my GR authors page.
While the helpful minions at GR Tech Support labor to avoid the looming Extinction Level Event certain to be caused by broken links and such, I have compiled a few links to help readers find my books.
Epubs and quality prints
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua...
Kindle and higher priced quality prints
http://www.amazon.com/R.F.G.-Cameron/...
Other vendors
Apple:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rege...
Apple:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rege...
Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebo...
Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebo...
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/regen...
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/regen...
With luck the preceding Public Service Announcement will be totally ignored by one and all and I won't have to tell Wife next year that I actually earned enough money we have to pay taxes on it. Brrrrr, scarey stuff there.
For now, have a great weekend while we return you to your regularly scheduled program.
June 3, 2015
House of Seven Fables
With luck the Wife, Tiny Demon Warrior Princess, and I will be out in the country in a couple months.
I look forward to actually having interior doors that latch, as well as more time to edit and write.
I had planned to have "Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg" ready to release last month, but life schtuff got in the way.
The other news is Her Grace is debating potty training, while trying to run naked through the house whenever she can. I may not approve as I don't like cleaning up puddles, but then again I'm just a lowly minion.
As for the Seven Fables, I do hope to finish seven before too long.
I look forward to actually having interior doors that latch, as well as more time to edit and write.
I had planned to have "Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg" ready to release last month, but life schtuff got in the way.
The other news is Her Grace is debating potty training, while trying to run naked through the house whenever she can. I may not approve as I don't like cleaning up puddles, but then again I'm just a lowly minion.
As for the Seven Fables, I do hope to finish seven before too long.
April 3, 2015
Reflections of a Diaper Master
I haven't taken the time to write a blog for a while due to trying to get some writing, editing, and typography done whenever and while Her Grace takes naps -- some days the time available is scant.
This morning She decided 02:00 is the new 06:00, with the wonderful result Wife and I were up two hours earlier than normal for Wife. The good news is I was able to sweep and mop the kitchen floor while Her Grace supervised my eradication of her sticky popsicle tracks (left behind when she devoured on the move).
At present Her Grace is taking a well-deserved nap, exhausted from keeping track of Her minions and making certain all tasks were accomplished (I also cut up another cantaloupe for Her). With luck, she'll sleep for two hours and I can get back to edits.
You might be wondering what all the preceding early morning activity has to do with writing and the answer is simple. Most writers have a life outside writing, responsibilities to take care of, and at times the back-step away from the work of writing to gain perspective or simply recharge.
As my daughter gets older She'll allow me more opportunities to do what I need to do, just as she'll also learn a bit about the world from the books She tries to help me write. Truth be told, there are days when the tiny demon warrior princess is sitting in the window next to my desk watching the world, and it's a calming thing.
One of the tasks I set myself lately was tightening up the typography for the print versions of my first two books, and while I was at it I set up economy prints as well. Is it possible to get the price of a POD book down to the mass-produced? While I can't get the basic cost of printing down that far, I learned it is possibly to get the cost down to a reasonable level: less than $5 (sans tax and shipping) for a roughly 70,000 word novel in Trade format.
I look forward to releasing "Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg" in the near future (those edits I was talking about), though it likely won't be as quick as I'd like. Part of the reason for the slow is an attempt to make English teachers not shudder, and then there are times where I need to go out into the hills to do a few things on the land.
I look forward to the day when I can step outside, sniff the breeze, and not see a neighboring house within twenty feet. I've always found more inspiration away from the larger cities, and with a bit of luck Her Grace will as well. Time for me to hie me off to other tasks -- may books that captivate you jump into your hands to keep you entertained.
Ciao
This morning She decided 02:00 is the new 06:00, with the wonderful result Wife and I were up two hours earlier than normal for Wife. The good news is I was able to sweep and mop the kitchen floor while Her Grace supervised my eradication of her sticky popsicle tracks (left behind when she devoured on the move).
At present Her Grace is taking a well-deserved nap, exhausted from keeping track of Her minions and making certain all tasks were accomplished (I also cut up another cantaloupe for Her). With luck, she'll sleep for two hours and I can get back to edits.
You might be wondering what all the preceding early morning activity has to do with writing and the answer is simple. Most writers have a life outside writing, responsibilities to take care of, and at times the back-step away from the work of writing to gain perspective or simply recharge.
As my daughter gets older She'll allow me more opportunities to do what I need to do, just as she'll also learn a bit about the world from the books She tries to help me write. Truth be told, there are days when the tiny demon warrior princess is sitting in the window next to my desk watching the world, and it's a calming thing.
One of the tasks I set myself lately was tightening up the typography for the print versions of my first two books, and while I was at it I set up economy prints as well. Is it possible to get the price of a POD book down to the mass-produced? While I can't get the basic cost of printing down that far, I learned it is possibly to get the cost down to a reasonable level: less than $5 (sans tax and shipping) for a roughly 70,000 word novel in Trade format.
I look forward to releasing "Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg" in the near future (those edits I was talking about), though it likely won't be as quick as I'd like. Part of the reason for the slow is an attempt to make English teachers not shudder, and then there are times where I need to go out into the hills to do a few things on the land.
I look forward to the day when I can step outside, sniff the breeze, and not see a neighboring house within twenty feet. I've always found more inspiration away from the larger cities, and with a bit of luck Her Grace will as well. Time for me to hie me off to other tasks -- may books that captivate you jump into your hands to keep you entertained.
Ciao
February 21, 2015
Muses, Caer Ibormeith, Dispersi
About two years ago an author / artist who has won awards (hybrid {TP/SP} published) asked me why I didn't traditionally publish because my work was certainly good enough to be deemed commercially viable. The truth is long ago I did consider it. My last submission left a sour taste due to a manuscript rejected more for length than quality of the story -- unknowns have to keep the word count at 130,000 words or less in order to be considered.
That last rejection was actually a favor done to me as I have assiduously avoided fame and fortune this long, there won't be many people asking me to attend book signings or pontificate on how to write something others enjoy. It's nice being Cellophane Man, ignored for the most part and left to do those things that matter to me.
The fact is I have never attended a creative writing class other than my high school English / Literature classes -- I honestly can't tell anyone how to write a story. Writing is something I do, much like woodwork or metalwork, it's an innate talent like smelling a soiled diaper across the room; as far as doing it's something you either can or can't.
Luckily for me, Her Grace is allowing me more time to write paragraphs here and there, and as soon as I can get a new computer set so I can use my old Word 97 with Linux I'll be making progress again.
Unfortunately, it looks like we may be moving in several months, so I'll be out playing with a chainsaw and a pick to open up[ a piece of driveway, then packing up and going through schtuff. Yes Wife and I got rid of just about all the disposable junk a few years ago but there are things that need to be reboxed.
Being out where we can breathe free, good. Having to get things ready for that day, work. Then again, the muses, Caer Ibormeith, the extimuit sparsa umbrae, whoever will keep feeding me stories. Simply put, the characters tell me what to write to tell their stories.
That last rejection was actually a favor done to me as I have assiduously avoided fame and fortune this long, there won't be many people asking me to attend book signings or pontificate on how to write something others enjoy. It's nice being Cellophane Man, ignored for the most part and left to do those things that matter to me.
The fact is I have never attended a creative writing class other than my high school English / Literature classes -- I honestly can't tell anyone how to write a story. Writing is something I do, much like woodwork or metalwork, it's an innate talent like smelling a soiled diaper across the room; as far as doing it's something you either can or can't.
Luckily for me, Her Grace is allowing me more time to write paragraphs here and there, and as soon as I can get a new computer set so I can use my old Word 97 with Linux I'll be making progress again.
Unfortunately, it looks like we may be moving in several months, so I'll be out playing with a chainsaw and a pick to open up[ a piece of driveway, then packing up and going through schtuff. Yes Wife and I got rid of just about all the disposable junk a few years ago but there are things that need to be reboxed.
Being out where we can breathe free, good. Having to get things ready for that day, work. Then again, the muses, Caer Ibormeith, the extimuit sparsa umbrae, whoever will keep feeding me stories. Simply put, the characters tell me what to write to tell their stories.
January 7, 2015
Write or Lotto
I've seen a few discussions on different boards, and more often than not I refrain from commenting, why? I refrain because too often it's a diatribe that revolves around Self-Published Authors being unprofessional, writing garbage, and how all Traditionally-Published Authors never write a bad book and so on.
I've also had someone state I was propagandizing for SPAs by saying Traditional Publishing doesn't offer only the best of the best, good manuscripts get rejected, and often enough there are typos in TP works. After all, this person recently entered the field, got a contract, and everyone is so nice...
Consider what would probably happen if J.R.R. Tolkien were starting out as a writer today and didn't have a connection to publishing already (he was an academic and a writer of children's stories before The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings was published). In this scenario, the books most likely wouldn't have been published, and a wonderful mythic world would never have fired the imaginations of readers.
The reason I made the last statement is because Tolkien broke rules publishers abide by for commercial viability just as he broke some rules creative writing gurus swear by. As a writer, Tolkien knew what he was doing and it worked.
In today's markets the stories would have been rewritten into something less epic. "The Lord of the Rings" was intended as one volume, and at 455,125 words long the original publisher insisted the book be split up in order to avoid taking a large loss if any one portion were not a success. Even split in three, if Tolkien hadn't been established it is highly doubtful one of today's Traditional Publishers would have touched the project as the three installments have word counts of 177,227 ("Fellowship of the Ring"), 143,436 ("Two Towers"), and 134,462 ("Return of the King").
Most Sci-Fi or Fantasy novels (which tend to be longer than other genres) only run to 120,000 or 125,000 words, unless the author is established.
In addition, if Tolkien were starting out today, the editors would have insisted on him 'fixing' the areas where he broke the rules while chopping out all those unnecessary words.
Do newcomers to writing get contracts? A few lucky ones do. If a newcomer's work is along the lines of profitable works already published by a company; people do get lucky. Though the flip side is if the manuscript ever makes it to the acquisition editor(s), it can also be rejected for purely subjective reasons; people get unlucky more often.
I checked the publisher's website of the person who called me a propagandist -- not a major publisher and the acquisition editor(s) made it clear a manuscript's acceptance is based as much on subjective opinion as it is on merit, and works over the publisher's limit will be chopped below the limit by the author.
The reality for most writers isn't as much puppies and kittens as some would have you believe. Well-written manuscripts can and do get rejected, often multiple times, and often enough the reason why is never given. Meanwhile Traditional Publishers seeking celebrity autobiographies offer contracts most writers would give an arm or a leg to land, because even drivel sells if a celebrity is attached.
With Traditional Publishing it's really not about how good or original the work is, it's about commercial viability; lowest printing costs combined with name recognition and the easiest marketing and promotion to turn a nice profit.
It gets even better to hear someone state 'writing is a business like any other business'. I heard roughly the same analogy by the same person applied to doctors, and the person who made the analogy obviously didn't realize that while medicine may be a business, it's an art as well. Treating medicine as simply a business where every patient is just like every other patient and everyone is exactly alike is why some patients die due to malpractice. Writing may be a business, but it's an art as well.
As an SPA if people want to read my work, great. I'll send a free e-copy or they can buy one. If someone wants to assume my work is crap without looking at it, that's fine as well.
I'll keep writing either way, and when I can afford a copy editor I'll release the too-long novel I've been sitting on for a year and a half (as I won't release it without editing). I'll get a graphic artist to do my cover art for other novels that get completed as I can afford it. Then I'll purchase the proof copy of each to go on the shelf.
In the interim, I have a Tiny Demon to care for. If one day she picks up those books I've set aside for her and actually likes them, I will have had the greatest reward. Plus, I won't have spent a small fortune on lottery tickets trying to get rich quick.
I've also had someone state I was propagandizing for SPAs by saying Traditional Publishing doesn't offer only the best of the best, good manuscripts get rejected, and often enough there are typos in TP works. After all, this person recently entered the field, got a contract, and everyone is so nice...
Consider what would probably happen if J.R.R. Tolkien were starting out as a writer today and didn't have a connection to publishing already (he was an academic and a writer of children's stories before The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings was published). In this scenario, the books most likely wouldn't have been published, and a wonderful mythic world would never have fired the imaginations of readers.
The reason I made the last statement is because Tolkien broke rules publishers abide by for commercial viability just as he broke some rules creative writing gurus swear by. As a writer, Tolkien knew what he was doing and it worked.
In today's markets the stories would have been rewritten into something less epic. "The Lord of the Rings" was intended as one volume, and at 455,125 words long the original publisher insisted the book be split up in order to avoid taking a large loss if any one portion were not a success. Even split in three, if Tolkien hadn't been established it is highly doubtful one of today's Traditional Publishers would have touched the project as the three installments have word counts of 177,227 ("Fellowship of the Ring"), 143,436 ("Two Towers"), and 134,462 ("Return of the King").
Most Sci-Fi or Fantasy novels (which tend to be longer than other genres) only run to 120,000 or 125,000 words, unless the author is established.
In addition, if Tolkien were starting out today, the editors would have insisted on him 'fixing' the areas where he broke the rules while chopping out all those unnecessary words.
Do newcomers to writing get contracts? A few lucky ones do. If a newcomer's work is along the lines of profitable works already published by a company; people do get lucky. Though the flip side is if the manuscript ever makes it to the acquisition editor(s), it can also be rejected for purely subjective reasons; people get unlucky more often.
I checked the publisher's website of the person who called me a propagandist -- not a major publisher and the acquisition editor(s) made it clear a manuscript's acceptance is based as much on subjective opinion as it is on merit, and works over the publisher's limit will be chopped below the limit by the author.
The reality for most writers isn't as much puppies and kittens as some would have you believe. Well-written manuscripts can and do get rejected, often multiple times, and often enough the reason why is never given. Meanwhile Traditional Publishers seeking celebrity autobiographies offer contracts most writers would give an arm or a leg to land, because even drivel sells if a celebrity is attached.
With Traditional Publishing it's really not about how good or original the work is, it's about commercial viability; lowest printing costs combined with name recognition and the easiest marketing and promotion to turn a nice profit.
It gets even better to hear someone state 'writing is a business like any other business'. I heard roughly the same analogy by the same person applied to doctors, and the person who made the analogy obviously didn't realize that while medicine may be a business, it's an art as well. Treating medicine as simply a business where every patient is just like every other patient and everyone is exactly alike is why some patients die due to malpractice. Writing may be a business, but it's an art as well.
As an SPA if people want to read my work, great. I'll send a free e-copy or they can buy one. If someone wants to assume my work is crap without looking at it, that's fine as well.
I'll keep writing either way, and when I can afford a copy editor I'll release the too-long novel I've been sitting on for a year and a half (as I won't release it without editing). I'll get a graphic artist to do my cover art for other novels that get completed as I can afford it. Then I'll purchase the proof copy of each to go on the shelf.
In the interim, I have a Tiny Demon to care for. If one day she picks up those books I've set aside for her and actually likes them, I will have had the greatest reward. Plus, I won't have spent a small fortune on lottery tickets trying to get rich quick.
