Matthew Alan Thyer's Blog, page 48
June 10, 2014
Slow Reader
I have always been a slow reader. When I was a kid, learning how to read, there were issues. Honestly, I can’t recall what they were, beyond the hazy understand that there was always something more kinetic and interestingto be doing than working on reading, but issues were encountered. It took comic books and eventually science fiction to get me hooked, and by then about the best I could manage was something approaching 200 words per minute.
And when it became apparent, as I became an adult, t...
June 8, 2014
Why I Love the Internet
I came across this video from Cory Doctorowtoday. It was posted on Boing Boing. For a YouTube video about books and book issues it’s on the long side (just shy of 13 mins), but I urge you to watch it completely, even if you don’t agree with with Mr. Doctorow. It may be the last time you see something of its kind.
Yes, this post is about Net Neutrality, here is why. Herein lies an instructive tale about what will happen should industry and money gain the liberties that they seek. Before us we h...
June 3, 2014
Goats
From ON THE LEFT FOOT.Thanks Zane, I can’t get enough of this goat.
Instead, what I saw might only be described as the stare of the unconcerned. The creature nosing through last night’s leavings looked something like a goat. It had yellow eyes flecked with blue. It had horns, but they were longer than anything I had ever seen growing from a goat’s head before. And instead of curling around the animal’s ears they shot up straight toward the sky like a pair of sky scrapers. And it was short. It...
Synchronicity
This afternoon I put Aral down for a nap. It was a long morning, filled with lots of errands and plenty of adventures. Admittedly, I snoozed a little while calming him down sufficiently that his tiredness could catch up and pin him in slumber. When he wakes in a while he’ll be happy and ready for some newadventures this afternoon.
But I got up from his bed and tiptoed down the stairs, thinking about the next stack of boxes I might unpack, when it occurred to me that I hadn’t written much to th...
June 2, 2014
Scotch and Writing
“What ever fucking works” (#WeFW) is the first, best answer. But here’s the thing, the writing process is a tender little morsel and since the invention of all these new fangled wordsmithing tools there is an ever increasing amount of noise. Your process may get bruised in transit. Find what works for you, but be willing to look over the shoulder of the person writing next to you. Her tool box may have just what you need, even if it includes a tumbler of scotch.
May 24, 2014
Interesting Cola Flavor Alpha or Beta?
Readers, I want to assure you from the get-go that this post is about Jason Gurley‘s soon to be released book ELEANOR.I recently got to beta-read this specfic masterpiece and what can I say? Despite moving, toddler-rearing, driving from Colorado to Washington and then up and down the coast a couple of times, potty-training, job-searching, job-finding, running, house-searching and procurement, and a number of other life changing and arduous tasks at hand I still found the energy to crack thiso...
May 20, 2014
The Real World
“This will go down on your permanent record. Oh yeah? Well don’t get so distressed. Did I happen to mention I’m impressed.”
– The Violent Femmes
Amy is spot on with this one. She worried that “she was very tired when [she] wrote this yesterday, so it turned into a bit of a rant,” but I don’t agree. Or if this is as rant-y as she gets she deserves a badge or something.
Anyway, some good words from a good author about a good life. Enjoy!
Originally posted on The Practical Free Spirit:...
May 19, 2014
Yet More Drama
Alright already! SFF writers can we please move beyond the petty, boorish and un-funk worthyspectacle of the day? Seriously, you guys waste way too much time expressing your heart felt opinions while simultaneously developing an unrivaled skill for hyperbole. What’s the beef de jour? This morning Hugh Howey wrote a brief bit about a weekend convention. Seems convention organizers decided to put some authors in a back room for some reason while other authors got big tables in a big, comfy room...
May 13, 2014
Northwestern Exposure
From Years Ago
As some of you have probably already seen we’ve been bee-bopping around the northwest corner of the States of late. It took a couple of months, but when we got Mommy back from Central America we collectively decided that her job search should focus on the west coast, with a particular emphasis on the stretch of land bracketed by in the south by the San Francisco Bay and in the north by the Boreal.
Today, Tess accepted a reallyfine position working at really innovative company in...
May 5, 2014
The Desert of Souls
The Desert of Souls: Dabir & Asim, Book 1
Release Date: 03-26-14
where I got it: second to last Audible credit
Pretty much every year since Audible started offering annual memberships packaged with a collection of discounted book credits I have raced sign up. When renewal time was upon me in 2013 I did not hesitate, even better, due to a clerical error on their part, Audible gifted me with a few extra book credits to spend this year.
As the year progressed I burned through my book credits pretty...
