I'm a strange blogger (quiet!) in that I find it's easier to mine the brain cells for a blog post instead of blogging on the fly.
To me, blogging on the fly, while its the pinnacle of truly creative writing, ultimately kills me. It means I have to sit in front of my computer and not only think of a topic to write about, but write it without doing any kind of basic research. And believe it or not, blogging on the fly actually dries up my creative juices to the point where I actually wind up writing super duper short blog posts just so I can get something up for a given day in question.
However, mining the brain cells is a helluva lot more fun for me. I can take a pen to paper and write out a two to three page blog post on whatever the subject might be, from real world stuff to flash fiction, and stash it to the side for future use. This is the only advantage to my dead end job, because I have so much down time, this is the easiest way for me to fly under the radar and keep out of trouble. So more often than not, I can write about two week's worth of posts ahead of time while I'm killing time at work.
Some of my more crazier and well known posts have come from keeping myself occupied at work. Monday's post is a great example of that, in that I wrote the entire post at work, which took me about twenty-five minutes to write. The only extra work that I had to do on it was to dig out the half dozen or so links that were embedded in the post itself.
So the question for you today is, do you enjoy blogging on the fly, in which you sit down at the computer and simply write out your blog post with zero idea on what you're gonna write about (much like this post); or are you one of those people who enjoys mining the brain cells on what you're gonna write before sitting down at the computer and spending quality time writing out a thoughtful post?
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012, Take Quatro
Yowza, yowza, yowza!
Today, we have a special surprise for everyone: Blog posts swaps!
For today, I will be hanging out at Penny Estelle's blog pimping my latest with a guest post about e-mail, and Penny will be hanging out here with guest post about her journey as a writer. Take it away Penny!
Today, we have a special surprise for everyone: Blog posts swaps!
For today, I will be hanging out at Penny Estelle's blog pimping my latest with a guest post about e-mail, and Penny will be hanging out here with guest post about her journey as a writer. Take it away Penny!
My Journey Down Writer’s Lane
I was never a reader while growing up. I read only what was assigned in school. If reports were due, I fount out early, what a wonderful thing “Cliff Notes” were.
It wasn’t until I was married with a baby and a two-year old that I found out about the wonders of a talented author. Who knew one could escape the world of dirty diapers and screaming babies to a place of romance, mystery, eye-popping sex, and so much more.
I would read my historical romances, which were my favorites at that time, and think, “I could do this! How hard can it be?” Oh silly, silly girl.
So, thirty-five years ago I wrote a best selling historical romance. It took me five years to produce a two hundred and ninety-eight page story. It was so good. I could already see my house on the ocean. I sent out two queries and was promptly rejected. Deflated, I boxed up my story, put it in my closet and it has lived there ever since.
I have been lucky enough to have two stories picked up. Hike Up Devil’s Mountain and Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare.
I’ve also gone the self-publishing route. One is for the middle grade/tween age group, A Float Down the Canal and one is a non-fiction, SOLAR – One Family’s Reality. This was a venue I just wanted to try, as so many published authors are going down this path.
I just finished a story that is NOT for kids. At What Price? A family drama that includes a deserted six-year old, a mother mixed up in drugs, and a grandmother who steps in to protect the one person she would do anything for.
Some folks have asked me if I have made much money on this writing endeavor. My normal response is, “I can buy my husband and myself a large latte at Starbucks!” My first book was published June, of 2011. I have since learned, my vision of a house on the ocean will probably never be more than just that - a vision. Becoming rich, as an author is as likely as winning the million-dollar lottery.
I just like to write. I like coming up with the characters and seeing where they lead me. I like having my mom read my stories and having her rave how good they are, because she would never say they were bad. I like having the support of my husband who reads everything I write…over and over again.
If I were going to give advice to a person who is just thinking about writing a book, I would tell them, “Write because you love doing it. Hope the money comes also. Then go buy a lottery ticket. You just may get rich, one way or the other!
I would love to share all my stories with all of you. Please visit www.pennystales.com and get a taste of the type of stories I have written. Leave me a comment. I love to hear from folks who stop by.
Thanks for having me today, George. As always, it’s great stopping by.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Lunch!
Lunch is the most fun you can have at a meal. Whereas for breakfast and dinner you actually have to cook stuff to be creative, at lunch you don't. Have to cook that is. It took me a long time to realize this fact. I know you're scratching your head trying to understand where I'm coming from. So to quote Desi Arnaz, "Let me splain."
When I was my daughter's age, I was not very adventurous with my sandwiches at lunch. I rarely deviated from either ham and cheese or bologna and cheese. The cheese had to be American and the condiments had to be either mayo or mustard, and the bread had to be white.
It wasn't until I got to be much older (like in my mid-to-late twenties) to appreciate using other kinds of meats and cheeses.
Just ham you say? How 'bout we tack on some roast beef or some chicken or some genoa salami.
Bologna? How 'bout some liverwurst or pepperoni? Or even corned beef?
White? How 'bout rye, or wheat, or pumpernickel? How 'bout a miami onion roll?
Mustard? How 'bout spicy mustard or whole grain mustard?
Mayo? Well, we couldn't really deviate much from mayo.
Other condiments? Sure. Relishes and other stuff like that.
What about veggies?
Ahhhhhh veggies...I had a serious hate/hate/semi-love relationship with veggies while growing up. Corn was the only cooked veggie that I ate on a consistent basis. Onions came much, much later. It took me a very long time to even think of putting veggies on my sandwiches and even now, I do not use the traditional veggies when I make a sandwich.
To give you a good idea on how my tastes and creativity have evolved throughout the decades, I want to describe to you what goes into and how I create a typical sandwich for myself.
For starters, I usually use only one type of meat and one type of cheese when I make a sandwich (calories). For today's lesson, we'll go with oven roasted turkey breast and sliced colby-jack cheese. From the side refrigerator door, we'll pull out mayo and minced garlic; from my personal pantry, a bottle of crushed red pepper; from the bread drawer, a small flour tortilla.
So after setting up our work area (paper towel on counter), we lay out our tortilla. My personal preference is to lay out the cheese first, followed by exactly three slices of meat. No more and no less. Then we take three forkfuls of minced garlic and spread it around the meat. A slathering of mayo on the other half of the tortilla and a generous sprinkling of crushed red pepper all over the meat. By the time this bad boy is ready to eat some twelve hours later (lunch at work), the flavors have blended so much that my taste buds go on overload.
I often make bizarre sandwiches like this, so that my lunch at work isn't so predictable (which if you're a diabetic, becomes increasingly predictable).
To give you another bizarre sandwich concoction that I created for lunch this past week, I had rotisserie chicken and spreadable cheese on white, with whole grain mustard and peppercilli relish. The possibilities are unlimited in what you can use to create a sandwich that takes into consideration all of the strange foods that you've come to like and appreciate as an adult.
So my friends, if you're a sandwich eater, what kind of creativity burst forth from your imagination to your plate at lunch time?
When I was my daughter's age, I was not very adventurous with my sandwiches at lunch. I rarely deviated from either ham and cheese or bologna and cheese. The cheese had to be American and the condiments had to be either mayo or mustard, and the bread had to be white.
It wasn't until I got to be much older (like in my mid-to-late twenties) to appreciate using other kinds of meats and cheeses.
Just ham you say? How 'bout we tack on some roast beef or some chicken or some genoa salami.
Bologna? How 'bout some liverwurst or pepperoni? Or even corned beef?
White? How 'bout rye, or wheat, or pumpernickel? How 'bout a miami onion roll?
Mustard? How 'bout spicy mustard or whole grain mustard?
Mayo? Well, we couldn't really deviate much from mayo.
Other condiments? Sure. Relishes and other stuff like that.
What about veggies?
Ahhhhhh veggies...I had a serious hate/hate/semi-love relationship with veggies while growing up. Corn was the only cooked veggie that I ate on a consistent basis. Onions came much, much later. It took me a very long time to even think of putting veggies on my sandwiches and even now, I do not use the traditional veggies when I make a sandwich.
To give you a good idea on how my tastes and creativity have evolved throughout the decades, I want to describe to you what goes into and how I create a typical sandwich for myself.
For starters, I usually use only one type of meat and one type of cheese when I make a sandwich (calories). For today's lesson, we'll go with oven roasted turkey breast and sliced colby-jack cheese. From the side refrigerator door, we'll pull out mayo and minced garlic; from my personal pantry, a bottle of crushed red pepper; from the bread drawer, a small flour tortilla.
So after setting up our work area (paper towel on counter), we lay out our tortilla. My personal preference is to lay out the cheese first, followed by exactly three slices of meat. No more and no less. Then we take three forkfuls of minced garlic and spread it around the meat. A slathering of mayo on the other half of the tortilla and a generous sprinkling of crushed red pepper all over the meat. By the time this bad boy is ready to eat some twelve hours later (lunch at work), the flavors have blended so much that my taste buds go on overload.
I often make bizarre sandwiches like this, so that my lunch at work isn't so predictable (which if you're a diabetic, becomes increasingly predictable).
To give you another bizarre sandwich concoction that I created for lunch this past week, I had rotisserie chicken and spreadable cheese on white, with whole grain mustard and peppercilli relish. The possibilities are unlimited in what you can use to create a sandwich that takes into consideration all of the strange foods that you've come to like and appreciate as an adult.
So my friends, if you're a sandwich eater, what kind of creativity burst forth from your imagination to your plate at lunch time?
Friday, November 23, 2012
Not Resting On My Laurels (3)
part 1, part 2
This post was originally supposed to be the final part of a min-series about what novel I should work on next. Part 1 dealt with the pimping of my chapbook, my debut novel and a teaser of sorts. Part 2 featured the back story of incomplete novel #1. Part 3 was supposed to be about incomplete novel #2.
However, as all of you are no doubt aware, the best laid plans often get changed at zero minus twenty.
I actually wrote this entire post (by hand) back in late October prior to the release of my debut. But between the release of my debut and the final post of this mini-series, I managed to do some nifty networking on Facebook with a fellow writer/friend.
She recently came out with a new novel and one day she decided to pimp out her publisher. I chose to comment on it, and after a pleasant conversation that featured among other things, types of story and word length, she gave me a proverbial offer that was too good to pass up: help with my next submission.
So, a few weeks ago, I took out a completed long short story entitled "A Shadow Warrior's Redemption" (not sure if I wrote about this previously on my blog. I think I did, but I'll be damned if I can't remember what tags it went under) and got busy doing another round of edits, mostly to tightened up the structure and dialogue.
It's been a wickedly slow process, 'cause as most of you probably have experienced in your world, sometimes real life takes precedence over extracurricular activities, so you do the best you can, when you can.
And if you think that it's gonna get slower once I get done with another round edits, you are correct. 'Cause not only am I editing this story yet again, but I have to write a synopsis for it as well.
For those of you who were around when I was going through my trials and tribulations in trying to write a synopsis for my novel (damn thing took me about three weeks to write, of which 20 1/2 days were spent procrastinating and the other half day PAICAW*), aka condensing 69K words to a four page outline/story; this time, I have to write synopsis for what will wind up to be about 18,500 words and a good query letter.
*Plant Ass In Chair And Write
The interesting thing about this novella is that while there is some graphic sex (yeah, this will be running theme in perpetuity), it's also chock full of paranormal violence, along with themes of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, and with personages of Angels and Demons driving the story.
So to sum things up, I'm not exactly resting on my laurels with my writing. I do have a project in the works (although it's not fresh writing), which will help me stay occupied while I think of a good way to pimp my novel without actually having a print copy to play with yet.
This post was originally supposed to be the final part of a min-series about what novel I should work on next. Part 1 dealt with the pimping of my chapbook, my debut novel and a teaser of sorts. Part 2 featured the back story of incomplete novel #1. Part 3 was supposed to be about incomplete novel #2.
However, as all of you are no doubt aware, the best laid plans often get changed at zero minus twenty.
I actually wrote this entire post (by hand) back in late October prior to the release of my debut. But between the release of my debut and the final post of this mini-series, I managed to do some nifty networking on Facebook with a fellow writer/friend.
She recently came out with a new novel and one day she decided to pimp out her publisher. I chose to comment on it, and after a pleasant conversation that featured among other things, types of story and word length, she gave me a proverbial offer that was too good to pass up: help with my next submission.
So, a few weeks ago, I took out a completed long short story entitled "A Shadow Warrior's Redemption" (not sure if I wrote about this previously on my blog. I think I did, but I'll be damned if I can't remember what tags it went under) and got busy doing another round of edits, mostly to tightened up the structure and dialogue.
It's been a wickedly slow process, 'cause as most of you probably have experienced in your world, sometimes real life takes precedence over extracurricular activities, so you do the best you can, when you can.
And if you think that it's gonna get slower once I get done with another round edits, you are correct. 'Cause not only am I editing this story yet again, but I have to write a synopsis for it as well.
For those of you who were around when I was going through my trials and tribulations in trying to write a synopsis for my novel (damn thing took me about three weeks to write, of which 20 1/2 days were spent procrastinating and the other half day PAICAW*), aka condensing 69K words to a four page outline/story; this time, I have to write synopsis for what will wind up to be about 18,500 words and a good query letter.
*Plant Ass In Chair And Write
The interesting thing about this novella is that while there is some graphic sex (yeah, this will be running theme in perpetuity), it's also chock full of paranormal violence, along with themes of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, and with personages of Angels and Demons driving the story.
So to sum things up, I'm not exactly resting on my laurels with my writing. I do have a project in the works (although it's not fresh writing), which will help me stay occupied while I think of a good way to pimp my novel without actually having a print copy to play with yet.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Time Now To Flip That There Page
Before I launch off into a strange tangent about the mundane, I want to tell you about the wicked banner that I just got the other day from SelectOGrafix. Please hop over to either Shooting Suburbia or (if you're logged in) Facebook to check it out. They do fantastic work.
Did you ever notice that the pimping of new calendars seem to start earlier and earlier?
Instead of pimping them in December, most stores are now pimping them in October.
Now normally, I don't do calendars for work, simply because bad things seem to happen to me at work when I decide to acquire one. How did I come up with this hypothesis? The last time I decided to get a wall calendar for work, which was in December 2002 for 2003, I got laid off. Even though I came back in mid-July 2003, it wasn't until December 2010 before I decided to buy a calendar for my cube.
And even then, I couldn't exactly get what I wanted. I originally wanted to get one of those fantasy style calendars. the type based on whatever role playing game was currently popular at the time. But as most of you know, I work for the guv'ment (albeit state) and if I put a calendar up like that in my cube, I would once again get into deep dark doggie doo-doo.
So I struck a compromise with myself and bought for 2011, a mini-wall calendar of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Not the crappy Disney version as represented by our good drunken friend Yello Bear that every single child since the 70's has been corrupted on, but the classic A.A. Milne version of Winne-the-Pooh. You know, the version in which Pooh is au natural.
And yes, true to form, something bad did happen to me in 2011 that was an indirect result of me buying a calendar.
By the end of 2011 I was ready to break the curse of bad stuff happening, and I figured that the easiest way to do it would be to buy the same calendar. However, that was not the case as B&N was sold out and I couldn't find a suitable replacement. So I waited until mid-January to see if they had any, but all they had were the esoteric kind that catered to the older generation.
Having no luck there, I decided to see what my favorite discount store had left in stock for super cheap mini-wall calendars. What they had left definitely did not impress me. But I soldiered on, dug my way through leftover pop culture crap like Justen Beiber and eventually found a mini-wall calendar that I could feel comfortable in hanging on my cube wall.
National Parks of North America.
So for the entire year of 2012, I got to look at the best of what Father Nature had to offer in the way of National Parks. And for the first time in quite a few years, nothing bad happened.
Emboldened, I decided that I really needed to continue on this mini-hot streak. I figured if Father Nature could be a pleasant surprise, then surely Mother Nature could blow me away. So we proceeded to get an early jump and start our search in early November to see what we could find that wouldn't bore me to tears each and every time that I needed to look at it.
After fifteen minutes of searching, we narrowed it down to lighthouses, birds and flowers & gardens.
While lighthouses were kind of cool (did a large jigsaw puzzle on them years ago), they were also kind of unfriendly. Now the bird calendar was definitely cool, but looking at animals is something that I can tolerate only in short spurts to begin with, so back to the rack it went. That left the calendar of flowers & gardens, which to me really was the ideal choice.
What other medium is there that can showcase Mother Nature (with a little outside help) at her absolute zenith? None that I can really think of.
So for 2013, I will be looking at twelve months worth of beautiful flowers and gardens, as I while away the days, weeks, and months inside my cube. To me, this is the best way to experience a little peace of mind with zero effort.
How 'bout you? What kind of calendar will be gracing your humble abode or humble work station for 2013?
Did you ever notice that the pimping of new calendars seem to start earlier and earlier?
Instead of pimping them in December, most stores are now pimping them in October.
Now normally, I don't do calendars for work, simply because bad things seem to happen to me at work when I decide to acquire one. How did I come up with this hypothesis? The last time I decided to get a wall calendar for work, which was in December 2002 for 2003, I got laid off. Even though I came back in mid-July 2003, it wasn't until December 2010 before I decided to buy a calendar for my cube.
And even then, I couldn't exactly get what I wanted. I originally wanted to get one of those fantasy style calendars. the type based on whatever role playing game was currently popular at the time. But as most of you know, I work for the guv'ment (albeit state) and if I put a calendar up like that in my cube, I would once again get into deep dark doggie doo-doo.
So I struck a compromise with myself and bought for 2011, a mini-wall calendar of Winnie-the-Pooh.
 |
Not the crappy Disney version as represented by our good drunken friend Yello Bear that every single child since the 70's has been corrupted on, but the classic A.A. Milne version of Winne-the-Pooh. You know, the version in which Pooh is au natural.
And yes, true to form, something bad did happen to me in 2011 that was an indirect result of me buying a calendar.
By the end of 2011 I was ready to break the curse of bad stuff happening, and I figured that the easiest way to do it would be to buy the same calendar. However, that was not the case as B&N was sold out and I couldn't find a suitable replacement. So I waited until mid-January to see if they had any, but all they had were the esoteric kind that catered to the older generation.
Having no luck there, I decided to see what my favorite discount store had left in stock for super cheap mini-wall calendars. What they had left definitely did not impress me. But I soldiered on, dug my way through leftover pop culture crap like Justen Beiber and eventually found a mini-wall calendar that I could feel comfortable in hanging on my cube wall.
National Parks of North America.
So for the entire year of 2012, I got to look at the best of what Father Nature had to offer in the way of National Parks. And for the first time in quite a few years, nothing bad happened.
Emboldened, I decided that I really needed to continue on this mini-hot streak. I figured if Father Nature could be a pleasant surprise, then surely Mother Nature could blow me away. So we proceeded to get an early jump and start our search in early November to see what we could find that wouldn't bore me to tears each and every time that I needed to look at it.
After fifteen minutes of searching, we narrowed it down to lighthouses, birds and flowers & gardens.
While lighthouses were kind of cool (did a large jigsaw puzzle on them years ago), they were also kind of unfriendly. Now the bird calendar was definitely cool, but looking at animals is something that I can tolerate only in short spurts to begin with, so back to the rack it went. That left the calendar of flowers & gardens, which to me really was the ideal choice.
What other medium is there that can showcase Mother Nature (with a little outside help) at her absolute zenith? None that I can really think of.
So for 2013, I will be looking at twelve months worth of beautiful flowers and gardens, as I while away the days, weeks, and months inside my cube. To me, this is the best way to experience a little peace of mind with zero effort.
How 'bout you? What kind of calendar will be gracing your humble abode or humble work station for 2013?
Monday, November 19, 2012
G. B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012, Take Trey
Yowza, yowza, yowza!
A very happy Monday to everyone. Wish I could be here to enjoy it with you, but today, I am at writer Charles Gramlich's blog entitled Razored Zen, for the 3rd stop on G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012 in support of his commercial debut, Line 21
Please stop by to check it out as Charles manages to get yours truly to offer up more original tidbits about myself and my writing.
As always, I appreciate each and everyone who stops by my blog or at the other blogs where I'm visiting for the day.
A very happy Monday to everyone. Wish I could be here to enjoy it with you, but today, I am at writer Charles Gramlich's blog entitled Razored Zen, for the 3rd stop on G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012 in support of his commercial debut, Line 21
Please stop by to check it out as Charles manages to get yours truly to offer up more original tidbits about myself and my writing.
As always, I appreciate each and everyone who stops by my blog or at the other blogs where I'm visiting for the day.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Thoughts? Yup, Still Got 'Em
Over at Shooting Suburbia today, we have the fourth and final installment of Autumn Near Cedar Mountain 2012. Please swing by to check it out.
Over here we have a few randomy thoughts to serve to your today.
Randomy thought #1: Twinkies.
For those of you who may have been unconscious in a hospital this week, Hostess is no more. Regardless on how you feel about this, whether you're on the side of management or on the side of the unions, you have to admit that it is indeed a sad day when an iconic brand permanently (?) bites the dust.
However, on Facebook, the demise of the Twinkie has brought new life to the movie Zombieland. Pics from Zombieland are currently making the rounds on Facebook. Why? For those of you who haven't yet seen this incredibly funny movie, one of the major subplots is that Woody Harrelson's character Tallahassee, is on a mission to find the very last box of Twinkies. So people are posting snaps from the movie showing Tallahassee searching for the last box of Twinkies.
Randomy thought #2: Book.
Hot on the heels of success of my stop at Riot Kitty's blog for Line 21, is my next stop, which will be tomorrow at Charles Gramlich's blog Razored Zen. Please stop by to check it out as it should be really interesting. Charles has knack of asking interesting questions, and believe it or not, there are original-never-before-told-on-this-blog answers to the questions.
Randomy thought #3: Colts versus Patriots.
Last week on Facebook, I made something of a convoluted bet with Workingdan. I say convoluted because even though I initiated the bet some weeks ago, it was Workingdan who had to explain it to me after the dust settled.
So here is the bet. The winner of the bet (i.e. me) will write a blog post on the loser's blog (i.e. Workingdan) AND will make the loser of the bet write a blog post on something that he doesn't like, in glowing terms.
Randomy thought #4: Bad customer service.
I wrote about this on Facebook over the weekend, and I thought I would give you a very bright synopsis on how an incredibly simple coffee order got majorly F'd up.
Stopped at D&D for the first time in 1 1/2 years for a black coffee on the way to work Friday. Got coffee. Got to work. Sat down at desk to prep coffee (3 pink sweeteners). Took off lid and saw coffee was carmel colored. Looked at cup and saw that I got someone else's coffee that had 2 creams and 2 sugars. Wound up wasting $1.60 on a coffee that I had to throw out.
My friends, if as a business that specializes in coffee and donuts you can somehow F up an order of black coffee, you really don't need people like me. People like me who used to be diehard customers and left due to bad customer service, will continue to stay away due to bad customer service.
Over here we have a few randomy thoughts to serve to your today.
Randomy thought #1: Twinkies.
For those of you who may have been unconscious in a hospital this week, Hostess is no more. Regardless on how you feel about this, whether you're on the side of management or on the side of the unions, you have to admit that it is indeed a sad day when an iconic brand permanently (?) bites the dust.
However, on Facebook, the demise of the Twinkie has brought new life to the movie Zombieland. Pics from Zombieland are currently making the rounds on Facebook. Why? For those of you who haven't yet seen this incredibly funny movie, one of the major subplots is that Woody Harrelson's character Tallahassee, is on a mission to find the very last box of Twinkies. So people are posting snaps from the movie showing Tallahassee searching for the last box of Twinkies.
Randomy thought #2: Book.
Hot on the heels of success of my stop at Riot Kitty's blog for Line 21, is my next stop, which will be tomorrow at Charles Gramlich's blog Razored Zen. Please stop by to check it out as it should be really interesting. Charles has knack of asking interesting questions, and believe it or not, there are original-never-before-told-on-this-blog answers to the questions.
Randomy thought #3: Colts versus Patriots.
Last week on Facebook, I made something of a convoluted bet with Workingdan. I say convoluted because even though I initiated the bet some weeks ago, it was Workingdan who had to explain it to me after the dust settled.
So here is the bet. The winner of the bet (i.e. me) will write a blog post on the loser's blog (i.e. Workingdan) AND will make the loser of the bet write a blog post on something that he doesn't like, in glowing terms.
Randomy thought #4: Bad customer service.
I wrote about this on Facebook over the weekend, and I thought I would give you a very bright synopsis on how an incredibly simple coffee order got majorly F'd up.
Stopped at D&D for the first time in 1 1/2 years for a black coffee on the way to work Friday. Got coffee. Got to work. Sat down at desk to prep coffee (3 pink sweeteners). Took off lid and saw coffee was carmel colored. Looked at cup and saw that I got someone else's coffee that had 2 creams and 2 sugars. Wound up wasting $1.60 on a coffee that I had to throw out.
My friends, if as a business that specializes in coffee and donuts you can somehow F up an order of black coffee, you really don't need people like me. People like me who used to be diehard customers and left due to bad customer service, will continue to stay away due to bad customer service.
Friday, November 16, 2012
G. B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012, Take Duex
Welcome once again to G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour of 2012. Today's stop is over on the left coast, Oregon to be precise, where we visit our wonderfully skewered friend Riot Kitty and shamelessly pimp our novel to a wonderfully skewered set of potential readers. So if you could, please follow me over to the blog hosted by Riot Kitty called appropriately enough, Riot Kitty.
In the meantime, please check out what these kind people had to say about Line 21.
In the meantime, please check out what these kind people had to say about Line 21.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
I Is A Fuddy Duddy
I is now officially, a fuddy-duddy with my computer.
How did this happen?
Well, it was pretty gosh darn easy.
I have Windows XP on my computer, which I am completely besotted with. So much so, that when I did buy my computer 4 years ago, I had to pay extra to have it installed instead of that crappy Vista.
But now, enough upgrades have gone by and even though I have the 2nd latest IE browser (8), some of the blogs I read don't accept XP any more because they use Disqus for their comments.
So I am, for the moment, a fuddy-duddy. But not for long.
Because most of my programs/writing is under the XP banner, I don't want to go through the aggravation of having to run two operating systems at the same time. So what I plan to do next year, is buy a stripped down laptop with Windows 7 that I can install the student version of Office (and make sure that version of Word is compatible with Word 2003) and that it has at least one USB port that I can add my flash drive and my floppy drive (yeah, I am a serious fuddy-duddy) and use just that to surf the 'net.
'Course, this would require some major reconfiguration of my den (might even get me motivated enough to clean the rest of it out) so that I can have two computers running side by side, so to speak.
Not sure if it's money well spent, but this seems to be the most sensible alternative to spending approx $300 for an upgrade to Windows 7 (yeech) that may not be compatible with the XP programs.
So my question to you is this: do you have a multi-computer setup like this, in which you have a dependable computer with an out-of-date operating system that you use for non-internet stuff and an up-to-date computer that you surf the 'net with?
How did this happen?
Well, it was pretty gosh darn easy.
I have Windows XP on my computer, which I am completely besotted with. So much so, that when I did buy my computer 4 years ago, I had to pay extra to have it installed instead of that crappy Vista.
But now, enough upgrades have gone by and even though I have the 2nd latest IE browser (8), some of the blogs I read don't accept XP any more because they use Disqus for their comments.
So I am, for the moment, a fuddy-duddy. But not for long.
Because most of my programs/writing is under the XP banner, I don't want to go through the aggravation of having to run two operating systems at the same time. So what I plan to do next year, is buy a stripped down laptop with Windows 7 that I can install the student version of Office (and make sure that version of Word is compatible with Word 2003) and that it has at least one USB port that I can add my flash drive and my floppy drive (yeah, I am a serious fuddy-duddy) and use just that to surf the 'net.
'Course, this would require some major reconfiguration of my den (might even get me motivated enough to clean the rest of it out) so that I can have two computers running side by side, so to speak.
Not sure if it's money well spent, but this seems to be the most sensible alternative to spending approx $300 for an upgrade to Windows 7 (yeech) that may not be compatible with the XP programs.
So my question to you is this: do you have a multi-computer setup like this, in which you have a dependable computer with an out-of-date operating system that you use for non-internet stuff and an up-to-date computer that you surf the 'net with?
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Not Resting On My Laurels (2)
part 1
As I'd stated in my last post, I have two incomplete novels that I'm having an incredibly hard time in deciding on which to work on next. Today's post will examine the candidate for the Never Say Die party.
The candidate for the Never Say Die party is entitled "A Betrayal of Vows".
If this sounds familiar, it ought to be, because it's the long version of my current chapbook Betrayed.
This one had a peculiar birth, death, rebirth, killed again, brought back on life support, squashed like a bug, surviving like a cockroach, stomped to death like a wine grape, and yet is still clawing its way back to rap on my chamber door.
If this sounds confusing to you, imagine how confused I got while searching the memory banks for this one. Nevertheless, in its full uglified glory, is the story about the life of a story that simply would not stay dead.
This story was written sometime between 2006 & 2008. I can't quite pinpoint the year, 'cause I was doing a boatload of writing back then (all of it pretty atrocious, save for one short story) and as soon as I'd finish one story, I would start on another.
This story was basically my 2nd attempt at writing a dual plotted story, and by all accounts, it was mediocre. Nevertheless, being blinded by my inflated opinion of my writing, I sincerely felt that I did a whiz bang job on this story. However, people smarter than me did not, so to the slush pile it eventually went.
Two years later, having started doing the blogging thing and in desperate need of material, I resurrected the story and posted it on my blog. There it stayed for a little over a year, until I started looking for something to self-publish.
I dragged the story out from the slush pile and believe it or not, started writing two new versions of the story: one, the chapbook version that you see for sale on my book blog; and two, the novel length version. At the same time.
Back then, I did have some major moose-size testicles when it came to multi-tasking my writing.
Anyways, I decided to write both of these things in '09 and unlike my early attempts, this time I had at least a year of gathering practical writing tips and advice from writers like Charles Gramlich, David Cranmer, Travis Erwin and David Barber. So armed, I decided to do something that I never did with a novel, but often did at work.
Research.
I started writing the novel version by using Google, my memory and a ridiculously large out-of-date road map. The end result become a novel with a setting that started in Connecticut, turned into a flight, then a road trip that went through parts of Maryland and ended in Virginia. As a matter of fact, this novel become one of my better efforts at writing a dual plot.
As plot one became the wedding, the flight and the honeymoon, plot two become where the wife decided to cheat on her husband with her bff.
As solid as my writing was for this novel, things eventually grounded to a halt, as I had decided, after much waffling, to self-pub the short story. So the novel went on the back burner, not that it wasn't going to be headed there soon.
I was slowly having problems in writing the second plot, simply because finding a handle on how to get to where the short story opens up at was becoming increasingly impossible.
Since I'd decided to self-pub this story and make a few dollars (ha!), there remained the problem of what to do about the version I had posted on this blog. The solution, while pretty clear to me, also was pretty drastic. Thus, the first of only three times in the history of my blog happened: I nuked the story. 32 posts in all vanished in one fell swoop, or rather, one click of the button.
I presently stand at the following places with this novel.
1} With the main plot, I've written up to where the chapbook actually starts at, which totals about 6 chapters.
2} With the second plot, I'm kind of at a crossroads. I have the MC's wife thoroughly besotted with her bff and I have the wife as the husband in that relationship. This issue I'm having is that I'm trying to get them from the apartment to where they're making out hot and heavy in the front seat of the car. Once I can get to that, then I can properly incorporate and expand on the chapbook itself. This has five chapters written, so overall, the book has a total of 11 chapters completed.
And just so you can get a basic idea of what this one is about, please take a stroll over to It's Always Saturday In Suburbia (if you can) for a short excerpt.
to be continued
As I'd stated in my last post, I have two incomplete novels that I'm having an incredibly hard time in deciding on which to work on next. Today's post will examine the candidate for the Never Say Die party.
The candidate for the Never Say Die party is entitled "A Betrayal of Vows".
If this sounds familiar, it ought to be, because it's the long version of my current chapbook Betrayed.
This one had a peculiar birth, death, rebirth, killed again, brought back on life support, squashed like a bug, surviving like a cockroach, stomped to death like a wine grape, and yet is still clawing its way back to rap on my chamber door.
If this sounds confusing to you, imagine how confused I got while searching the memory banks for this one. Nevertheless, in its full uglified glory, is the story about the life of a story that simply would not stay dead.
This story was written sometime between 2006 & 2008. I can't quite pinpoint the year, 'cause I was doing a boatload of writing back then (all of it pretty atrocious, save for one short story) and as soon as I'd finish one story, I would start on another.
This story was basically my 2nd attempt at writing a dual plotted story, and by all accounts, it was mediocre. Nevertheless, being blinded by my inflated opinion of my writing, I sincerely felt that I did a whiz bang job on this story. However, people smarter than me did not, so to the slush pile it eventually went.
Two years later, having started doing the blogging thing and in desperate need of material, I resurrected the story and posted it on my blog. There it stayed for a little over a year, until I started looking for something to self-publish.
I dragged the story out from the slush pile and believe it or not, started writing two new versions of the story: one, the chapbook version that you see for sale on my book blog; and two, the novel length version. At the same time.
Back then, I did have some major moose-size testicles when it came to multi-tasking my writing.
Anyways, I decided to write both of these things in '09 and unlike my early attempts, this time I had at least a year of gathering practical writing tips and advice from writers like Charles Gramlich, David Cranmer, Travis Erwin and David Barber. So armed, I decided to do something that I never did with a novel, but often did at work.
Research.
I started writing the novel version by using Google, my memory and a ridiculously large out-of-date road map. The end result become a novel with a setting that started in Connecticut, turned into a flight, then a road trip that went through parts of Maryland and ended in Virginia. As a matter of fact, this novel become one of my better efforts at writing a dual plot.
As plot one became the wedding, the flight and the honeymoon, plot two become where the wife decided to cheat on her husband with her bff.
As solid as my writing was for this novel, things eventually grounded to a halt, as I had decided, after much waffling, to self-pub the short story. So the novel went on the back burner, not that it wasn't going to be headed there soon.
I was slowly having problems in writing the second plot, simply because finding a handle on how to get to where the short story opens up at was becoming increasingly impossible.
Since I'd decided to self-pub this story and make a few dollars (ha!), there remained the problem of what to do about the version I had posted on this blog. The solution, while pretty clear to me, also was pretty drastic. Thus, the first of only three times in the history of my blog happened: I nuked the story. 32 posts in all vanished in one fell swoop, or rather, one click of the button.
I presently stand at the following places with this novel.
1} With the main plot, I've written up to where the chapbook actually starts at, which totals about 6 chapters.
2} With the second plot, I'm kind of at a crossroads. I have the MC's wife thoroughly besotted with her bff and I have the wife as the husband in that relationship. This issue I'm having is that I'm trying to get them from the apartment to where they're making out hot and heavy in the front seat of the car. Once I can get to that, then I can properly incorporate and expand on the chapbook itself. This has five chapters written, so overall, the book has a total of 11 chapters completed.
And just so you can get a basic idea of what this one is about, please take a stroll over to It's Always Saturday In Suburbia (if you can) for a short excerpt.
to be continued
Sunday, November 11, 2012
G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour Of 2012
Howdy!
Today we launch G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour Of 2012, which is being done in support of his latest release:
Today's first stop will be at fellow writer Jeanne Bannon's blog "Beyond Words". Please stop by to check it out, 'cause believe it or not, I do have some original thoughts left in this ol' noggin of mine.
Today we launch G.B.'s Disjointed Blog Tour Of 2012, which is being done in support of his latest release:
 |
| Solstice Publishing |
Friday, November 9, 2012
Thoughts? Why Yes, Don't Mind If I Do
Don't have much in the way of a good solid talking point post on tap, so I thought I would post a few random snippets/highlight of my week for everyone.
This took me the better part of two days and one and a half color toner cartridges, 'cause I stupidly decided to use the photo printer option instead of simply copying the cropped photo to a Word document and printing it that way. Once I had fixed my mistake, I had a nice little poster to display at work. Unfortunately I couldn't, because my job has a policy of "no displays for personal profit". Still going to use it, but now I have to get creative on how I display it.
Did my usual morning routine on Wednesday and found a nice e-mail from writer Chris Stovell saying that I won a book of hers by making a comment on a recent Novel Spaces blog post. The book is entitled "Move Over Darling", so it looks like I'll be expanding my horizons yet again with an African-American Romance.
I'm starting to get into the swing of things with my book by setting up a blog tour. It looks like for the moment that the days in November will be a little scattered as people have the first part of the month locked up. Nevertheless, I do have an interview this coming Sunday (11/11) over at writer Jeanne Bannon's blog, so please stop by and check it out. Also, if you're interested in hosting me this month as I pimp my novel, please drop me line to let me know. I'm open for this entire month and will be more than happy to do an interview or a guest post.
Managed to snag a job interview next week at a local college for a payroll supervisory position, so I'm pretty psyched about that. Interviews have been few and far between for me this year, with the glut of qualified people versus scant job openings, so whenever I can land one, I like to brag about it. I plan on scoping it out this weekend, since the local college is located deep in the city and as a rule, I rarely venture that deep into the city.
Been doing a little networking on Facebook in the past few weeks, as I've made a few more friends and a few more contacts, out of which I got an invite to let a fellow writer know when I was ready to make another submission. So yours truly has dusted off a novella that I had rewritten earlier this year and have started the fun filled process of doing the following: note taking in preparation for editing, thinking about a hook for my query letter and thinking about what I'm going to write for a synopsis.
So that is what's going on with me for the month of November so far, and with the wealth of good news, I feel like playing a happy song. Since I can't play an instrument to save my garbanzo beans, how 'bout this video from Madness to start the weekend off on a good note.
This took me the better part of two days and one and a half color toner cartridges, 'cause I stupidly decided to use the photo printer option instead of simply copying the cropped photo to a Word document and printing it that way. Once I had fixed my mistake, I had a nice little poster to display at work. Unfortunately I couldn't, because my job has a policy of "no displays for personal profit". Still going to use it, but now I have to get creative on how I display it.
#2: Won a book.
Did my usual morning routine on Wednesday and found a nice e-mail from writer Chris Stovell saying that I won a book of hers by making a comment on a recent Novel Spaces blog post. The book is entitled "Move Over Darling", so it looks like I'll be expanding my horizons yet again with an African-American Romance.
#3: Blog tour for my book.
I'm starting to get into the swing of things with my book by setting up a blog tour. It looks like for the moment that the days in November will be a little scattered as people have the first part of the month locked up. Nevertheless, I do have an interview this coming Sunday (11/11) over at writer Jeanne Bannon's blog, so please stop by and check it out. Also, if you're interested in hosting me this month as I pimp my novel, please drop me line to let me know. I'm open for this entire month and will be more than happy to do an interview or a guest post.
#4: Job interview.
Managed to snag a job interview next week at a local college for a payroll supervisory position, so I'm pretty psyched about that. Interviews have been few and far between for me this year, with the glut of qualified people versus scant job openings, so whenever I can land one, I like to brag about it. I plan on scoping it out this weekend, since the local college is located deep in the city and as a rule, I rarely venture that deep into the city.
#5: Networking.
Been doing a little networking on Facebook in the past few weeks, as I've made a few more friends and a few more contacts, out of which I got an invite to let a fellow writer know when I was ready to make another submission. So yours truly has dusted off a novella that I had rewritten earlier this year and have started the fun filled process of doing the following: note taking in preparation for editing, thinking about a hook for my query letter and thinking about what I'm going to write for a synopsis.
So that is what's going on with me for the month of November so far, and with the wealth of good news, I feel like playing a happy song. Since I can't play an instrument to save my garbanzo beans, how 'bout this video from Madness to start the weekend off on a good note.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Four More Years Of This?
So.
The American people have spoken and have decided that we needed to have another 4 years of:
Us groveling to other countries begging their forgiveness for our past "transgressions".
A pseudo economic recovery that will not touch the American people...unless you're in a progressive business that loves to get free money before going belly up.
Gas prices that will never go south of $3.25, 'cause you know, we love to give our oil away to other countries and we love when other countries can drill on our home turf. And we love to regulate an industry until we bring it to its proverbial knees.
Being told that we don't have terrorists attacks. We have attacks that are born from "spontaneous protests" (Libya) or we have attacks that are "workplace violence related" (Fort Hood).
Of Big Brother and Big Nanny telling us what we can and cannot do, but what we need to buy and have, 'cause you know, we know better than you.
Passive-Aggressive governing.
Reactive governing.
Spend money, go broke, 'cause you know, being fiscally prudent simply isn't us. That's for other people
Yes sir, the American people have spoken loud and clear, and what they said is something that I didn't think would actually happen.
The American people have spoken and have decided that we needed to have another 4 years of:
Us groveling to other countries begging their forgiveness for our past "transgressions".
A pseudo economic recovery that will not touch the American people...unless you're in a progressive business that loves to get free money before going belly up.
Gas prices that will never go south of $3.25, 'cause you know, we love to give our oil away to other countries and we love when other countries can drill on our home turf. And we love to regulate an industry until we bring it to its proverbial knees.
Being told that we don't have terrorists attacks. We have attacks that are born from "spontaneous protests" (Libya) or we have attacks that are "workplace violence related" (Fort Hood).
Of Big Brother and Big Nanny telling us what we can and cannot do, but what we need to buy and have, 'cause you know, we know better than you.
Passive-Aggressive governing.
Reactive governing.
Spend money, go broke, 'cause you know, being fiscally prudent simply isn't us. That's for other people
Yes sir, the American people have spoken loud and clear, and what they said is something that I didn't think would actually happen.
I want someone to take care of me 'cause life is hard and I can't handle taking responsibility for myself.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Not Resting On My Laurels
One of the myriad of problems that can crop up when you create a multi-part post is when the first part suddenly becomes out-of-date and/or irrelevant.
Such is the case for this post. I had an absolutely beautiful beginning written for this post, where my biting humor, which has been sorely lacking for the past few months, came back for a surprise visit. However, last Thursday's post made part of this post completely irrelevant.
Be that as it may, I will do my best to salvage part 1 of this post. The title alone should give you the basic idea of what this multi-part post is about, which will be covered in minute detail (without putting you to sleep) in the coming days.
The now-tossed three paragraphs of part 1 dealt with the fact that I had the release date of my book pushed back because of some last minute editing changes. It also had a couple of links to the following blogs: Novel Spaces, my book blog and my adult blog.
And it also dealt with a blatant pimping of my chapbook "Betrayed"
Now that I've given you the essential re-crap of the first half of this post, we will now continue with the second half of the first part of this post as it was originally conceived.
Ahem
This P.S.A has been brought to you today by the wind being faster than a rolling "O", my imagination, which is stronger than a silent "E", and my ego, which can leap a seriously tiny "T" in a single bound without tripping over its shoelaces.
Because you know I'm not just a word, nor am I just a plan (contrary to the party of the 1st part of this post), I am Letter-man.*
*not to be confused with the gray hair himbo on CBS, 'cause you know I would never be a ho' or run interference for the President like he does.
Now, onto bigger and brighter things: namely, what in the world do I work on next?
The main reason why yours truly asks this seemingly inconsequential question of his readers, is that I really need to switch gears and work on something that would be more suited for general public consumption, 'cause you know what I'm working on now is not, beyond any truly enlightened people like my peeps, suited for public consumption.
The slush pile of ignorance that I have gently rapping at my chamber door isn't very large, but what I have is very meaty, very beefy, big and bouncy.
And maddeningly incomplete.
What might they be? Stayed tuned to this blog in the coming days to find out what that answer is. In the meantime, please enjoy this little video by Louis Armstrong.
Such is the case for this post. I had an absolutely beautiful beginning written for this post, where my biting humor, which has been sorely lacking for the past few months, came back for a surprise visit. However, last Thursday's post made part of this post completely irrelevant.
Be that as it may, I will do my best to salvage part 1 of this post. The title alone should give you the basic idea of what this multi-part post is about, which will be covered in minute detail (without putting you to sleep) in the coming days.
The now-tossed three paragraphs of part 1 dealt with the fact that I had the release date of my book pushed back because of some last minute editing changes. It also had a couple of links to the following blogs: Novel Spaces, my book blog and my adult blog.
And it also dealt with a blatant pimping of my chapbook "Betrayed"
Now that I've given you the essential re-crap of the first half of this post, we will now continue with the second half of the first part of this post as it was originally conceived.
Ahem
This P.S.A has been brought to you today by the wind being faster than a rolling "O", my imagination, which is stronger than a silent "E", and my ego, which can leap a seriously tiny "T" in a single bound without tripping over its shoelaces.
Because you know I'm not just a word, nor am I just a plan (contrary to the party of the 1st part of this post), I am Letter-man.*
*not to be confused with the gray hair himbo on CBS, 'cause you know I would never be a ho' or run interference for the President like he does.
Now, onto bigger and brighter things: namely, what in the world do I work on next?
The main reason why yours truly asks this seemingly inconsequential question of his readers, is that I really need to switch gears and work on something that would be more suited for general public consumption, 'cause you know what I'm working on now is not, beyond any truly enlightened people like my peeps, suited for public consumption.
The slush pile of ignorance that I have gently rapping at my chamber door isn't very large, but what I have is very meaty, very beefy, big and bouncy.
And maddeningly incomplete.
What might they be? Stayed tuned to this blog in the coming days to find out what that answer is. In the meantime, please enjoy this little video by Louis Armstrong.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Vanished From The Megahertz (2)
please click here for part 1
Led Zeppelin (or as I like to derisively call them, Fred Zeppelin, who are not to be confused with Dread Zeppelin) has famously and relentlessly over-played and over-killed from the moment that John Bonham had decided that drinking 41 shots of whiskey was a good thing. However, it seems that for the past few years the only song that gets played on the radio, is of course "Highway to Heaven". There are a slew of non-radio hits that don't get played ("Going to California" for example) that should, since they're perfect for the Classic Rock/Adult rock format, 'cause you know damn well that nostalgia is money, and money makes the bean counters extremely happy, and that makes Wall Street cream their pants.
The only Black Sabbath song that you will hear with any kind of regularity is "Paranoid". Maybe "Iron Man" every once in a blue moon, but "Paranoid" for redundancy. There is so much excellent Black Sabbath music out there, both with Ozzy and with Ronnie James Dio, that should be played, but isn't. I got into Black Sabbath way late in my life, but from what I've heard, I can safely say that programmers from the aforementioned radio formats are also missing a pure money maker. With so many listeners tuned into the pseudo hard rock/dark rock that passes for music, it's a no brainer that Black Sabbath should be added to the playlist.
The heir apparent to The Guess Who, BTO is arena rock at its best. Another band with a good catalog of radio friendly hits, this band should be played more often than their hit "Takin' Care Of Business." While this is a good song, there is a lot more to the band than simply that increasingly overplayed song.
"Let It Ride" is a good example of the type of song that can get that all important 35-45 age group that's quickly becoming the major player for spending money.
To close out part two of what seems likely to become an ongoing series, I leave you with an example of entire genre that is non-represented on the radio today. Namely, novelty/parody music. This particular song comes to you courtesy of my memory and via a comment on Facebook a few weeks ago.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin (or as I like to derisively call them, Fred Zeppelin, who are not to be confused with Dread Zeppelin) has famously and relentlessly over-played and over-killed from the moment that John Bonham had decided that drinking 41 shots of whiskey was a good thing. However, it seems that for the past few years the only song that gets played on the radio, is of course "Highway to Heaven". There are a slew of non-radio hits that don't get played ("Going to California" for example) that should, since they're perfect for the Classic Rock/Adult rock format, 'cause you know damn well that nostalgia is money, and money makes the bean counters extremely happy, and that makes Wall Street cream their pants.
Black Sabbath
The only Black Sabbath song that you will hear with any kind of regularity is "Paranoid". Maybe "Iron Man" every once in a blue moon, but "Paranoid" for redundancy. There is so much excellent Black Sabbath music out there, both with Ozzy and with Ronnie James Dio, that should be played, but isn't. I got into Black Sabbath way late in my life, but from what I've heard, I can safely say that programmers from the aforementioned radio formats are also missing a pure money maker. With so many listeners tuned into the pseudo hard rock/dark rock that passes for music, it's a no brainer that Black Sabbath should be added to the playlist.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
The heir apparent to The Guess Who, BTO is arena rock at its best. Another band with a good catalog of radio friendly hits, this band should be played more often than their hit "Takin' Care Of Business." While this is a good song, there is a lot more to the band than simply that increasingly overplayed song.
"Let It Ride" is a good example of the type of song that can get that all important 35-45 age group that's quickly becoming the major player for spending money.
To close out part two of what seems likely to become an ongoing series, I leave you with an example of entire genre that is non-represented on the radio today. Namely, novelty/parody music. This particular song comes to you courtesy of my memory and via a comment on Facebook a few weeks ago.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
It's Here! It's Here! It's Here!
We interrupt our previously scheduled post so that we can finally give you a proper update to the exceptional good news post of February 28, 2012.
Two and a half years ago (Super Bowl weekend 2010), at the same time that I decided to get serious about my writing, a small seed of an idea took root. No matter how much I tried to shake it loose or dig it up, it simply would not go away. So, off to the computer I went to see what words would come forth.
A little over 69,000 words sprang forth and decorated my world like a tree full of cherry blossoms. After spending two months completing that first draft and another year polishing up that first draft, I then spent the next several months afterwards querying my ass off to agents and publishers.
Initial success came on February 28, 2012 in the form of a contract from Solstice Publishing.
Complete success came on October 30, 2012 in the form of the commercial debut of my adult fantasy novel.
Right now, it's available from Solstice Publishing for $2.99, with release on Amazon and Smashwords within a week or so, and a print version to follow afterwards, along with a release on B&N.
To check out the hot trailer for it, please click here.
To check out the brief synopsis for Line 21, please click here.
To check out the original prologue, please click here (warning, it is housed on my adult blog)
Once again, I am forever and enternally grateful to Solstice Publishing for taking the chance on a newbie writer, and no matter what the future may hold or bring, I will always cherish this initial fulfillment of my dream.
Update (11/2/12): It is now live on Amazon and it has already gathered its first 5 star review.
Two and a half years ago (Super Bowl weekend 2010), at the same time that I decided to get serious about my writing, a small seed of an idea took root. No matter how much I tried to shake it loose or dig it up, it simply would not go away. So, off to the computer I went to see what words would come forth.
A little over 69,000 words sprang forth and decorated my world like a tree full of cherry blossoms. After spending two months completing that first draft and another year polishing up that first draft, I then spent the next several months afterwards querying my ass off to agents and publishers.
Initial success came on February 28, 2012 in the form of a contract from Solstice Publishing.
Complete success came on October 30, 2012 in the form of the commercial debut of my adult fantasy novel.
|
| Solstice Publishing |
To check out the hot trailer for it, please click here.
To check out the brief synopsis for Line 21, please click here.
To check out the original prologue, please click here (warning, it is housed on my adult blog)
Once again, I am forever and enternally grateful to Solstice Publishing for taking the chance on a newbie writer, and no matter what the future may hold or bring, I will always cherish this initial fulfillment of my dream.
Update (11/2/12): It is now live on Amazon and it has already gathered its first 5 star review.
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