Theodore’s Comments (group member since Apr 01, 2017)

Theodore’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Amy wrote: "The way I was taught a thousand years ago in the UK was there is no comma before 'and' under any circumstances. There are, however, other things I was taught at school which are incorrect. I don't ..."

Wow, that's a helluva rule...not even to separate two independent clauses?

My editor doesn't like it, but the fact is, either you use it or you don't. I don't like inconsistencies! Pick a lane and stick with it!

Dale wrote: "The epub and mobi editions of Ice on the Bay are finished, and the interior proof is ready to send to the printer. Just have to add a barcode to the cover and we'll be ready for production. Deadlin..."

Booyah!

Love the comma!

Why commas are important:

“A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife annual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

Years ago, I wrote a monthly column for SIGNAL, the monthly journal of the (US) Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). The editor always removed the Oxford commas from my submissions, which annoyed me no end. So, one month, I submitted a column in which the sentences were constructed in such a way that if she removed the Oxford commas, it completely changed the meaning of the sentences. It didn't take long for me to receive a call from her, saying "You win." She never again removed an Oxford comma from one of my columns.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/us/dai...

I always use them in ALL of my writings!!!!!

My editor doesn't like them, but it's good to be the king!

Carole wrote: "Congrats, Ted. Audios are great income generators."

Thanks, Carole. We'll find out, I'm sure. Exciting to try a new venue.

Christine wrote: "Great news, Ted!"

Thanks, Christine.

Dale wrote: "Thank you again, everyone. Due to a rotten internet connection at the hospital, I haven't been able to post any updates until now. So here's the story (with apologies for medical terminology; if yo..."

Holding good thoughts for you both, Dale.

Amy wrote: "Very exciting. Well done."

Thanks.

Amy wrote: "Just remembered I hadn't posted this one yet:

https://medium.com/@debzcooper/writin..."

Clap, clap, clap!!!

Amy wrote: "Not got anything fab to say

I wrote this on medium. I'd appreciate some claps and shares. Thanks in advance.

https://medium.com/@debzcooper/and-so..."

Clap, clap!!!

Thanks, Amy and Anna.

They've just asked me to sign a contract for a second audiobook, this one for my second Martelli mystery/thriller, House of Cards: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Am quite excited by all of this, as you can imagine.

Ted

The audiobook for my first Detective Louis Martelli, NYPD, mystery/thriller, Death by Wall Street: Rampage of the Bulls, was just released:

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Wall-Str...

Free with your Audible trial.

Alex wrote: "Just another example of intransigent 'bosses' who are always right, even when they're wrong."

The interesting thing is, the serial numbers of the books are listed in the books subtitles, which thwarts their system anyway. As well, their parent corporation, Amazon, through CreateSpace, lists the books as being in a series and Amazon and Kindle links the books as being in a formal series on their Website. So, Goodreads can remain stuck in the 19th century while the caravan moves on.

Theodore wrote: "For those writing series, here's something of interest: Goodreads' editors cannot make anthology series for display on Goodreads' author profiles because such anthologies, in general, do not appear..."

Based on several exchanges with the GR editors, fighting their daffynition of "series" appears to be a losing battle. However, that won't deter me from listing my books as such and having them shown on Amazon as series, either.

Ted

For those writing series, here's something of interest: Goodreads' editors cannot make anthology series for display on Goodreads' author profiles because such anthologies, in general, do not appear to meet Goodreads’ policy for series. Typically, a series needs to share common characters or take place in a common fictional universe.

I found this out when I attempted to have a new series created for my flash fiction anthologies. What's strange is that they created a series for my short-story anthologies, The Road Less Taken. I wonder if they'll now take that series "down."

Dale wrote: "Kathy's back in the hospital: an episode of gastric bleeding that looks a lot like what she suffered in 2014 (not that anyone here knew about that, I don't think). Things are going reasonably well ..."

Our thoughts are with you, Dale.

This is to announce the release of the first book in our Flash Fiction Anthology series, Creative Ink, Flashy Fiction: Flash Fiction Anthology – Book 1, by Theodore Jerome Cohen and Alyssa Devine. (Know that Alyssa Devine is a pen name used by Theodore Jerome Cohen for Young Adult (YA) and some other writings.)

Comprising 73 stories in a wide variety of genres, these tales—each 250 words of less and “prompted” by an intriguing photograph—are sure to enthrall you with their humor, pathos, and intrigue. (The photographs in the Kindle edition are in color.)

A reprint of what can be found on the back cover is below, as is the link to the book’s page on Amazon.com:

“If you like your fiction entwined with fact (“faction”), this collection of flash fiction (less than 250 words per story) is for you! Theodore Jerome Cohen is an award-winning author who has published more than ten novels—all but one of them mystery/thrillers—two short-story anthologies, and one Young Adult (YA) mystery/thriller written under the pen name Alyssa Devine. During his 45-year career he has worked as an engineer, scientist, CBS Radio Station News Service (RSNS) commentator, private investigator, and Antarctic explorer. What he’s been able to do with his background is mix fiction with reality in ways even his family and friends have been unable to unravel!

“Many of the stories featured here, in Book 1 of the series Flash Fiction Anthologies, were award-winning entries in the weekly Flash Fiction Challenges sponsored by the Website Indies Unlimited. Others are based on or inspired by Cohen’s Antarctic Murders Trilogy, Cold Blood; his Det. Louis Martelli, NYPD, series of mystery/thrillers; his two short-story anthologies, The Road Less Taken – Books 1 and 2; or Devine’s YA novel, The Hypnotist. Specifically, in Book 1, you’ll find the story of a distraught woman seeking answers from a fortune teller regarding her wayward daughter; a story about a French doll that predicts the future; a tale about a sharecropper whose family lost everything; and a chat over breakfast with a man who was on the posse that hunted down and killed Bonnie and Clyde. In short (pun intended), there is something in this book for almost every genre and taste.”

Four additional anthologies are scheduled for release later in 2018 (March, April, June, and July). Importantly, the Kindle edition of Book 2, scheduled for release on March 5, 2018, is on pre-sale now.

I hope you enjoy all of these anthologies and would love to hear what you think of the stories. You can write to me via my Website. And, as always, reviews are welcomed with open arms!

You’ll find Book 1 on Amazon.com at the URL below:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077RMWGTG

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1975804171

If you’d like to read one of the stories in Book 1, visit the book’s Webpage on my Website, and click on the hotlink for “View and Excerpt.” There, you’ll find a story about Bonnie (of Bonnie and Clyde fame).

https://www.theodore-cohen-novels.com...

As always, thanks for your support.

Ted (aka Alyssa Devine)