Yes, I realize we are already on the third day of 2010. But with another 362 to go, it is still a "new" year. Hopefully I won't sound like a kill joy to mention that I was sound asleep as the calendar turned over. Even if I had been scheduled not to work New Year's Day, I doubt if I would have been able to stay up and welcome the New Year in. I'd been up since before 3:00 am on New Year's Eve, and heavy eyelids and an overwhelming desire to let them close led me to the covers around 8:30. As I did work, I was up again before 3 on the First. (Had my coat on and was heading out the door when Jessica returned from celebrating with friends.)
Mentioned in a reply to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) jpsorrow the other day that I do not make New Year's Resolutions. It's just something I've never done. I don't have to worry about breaking them, and if I feel the need to resolve to do something, I'll do it at the time I realize the need and not because it's the beginning of a New Year.
Right now, my reading and writing projects are combined. I'm working my way through BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE once again, hoping to put a bit more of a shine on it. I've had a request for the entire manuscript and want it perfect (or as close as I can get it) when I send it in. Having been over it several times, I would have sworn that it was just about perfect to begin with. Still, it is amazing that I am finding so many things to change and correct. Mostly they are small things, a word here, a typo there, and the occasional re wording of a sentence or paragraph. Even with this latest run through, I can't guarantee that it will be completely perfect. But I'm sure it will be a lot closer to that mark than it was. Anyway, I've had a copy of it with me at work and have been reading/editing on my lunch coffee break. I bring it home on weekends and make the appropriate corrections and changes on the computer. I've made it through chapter 15 (of 24) with the review, and have the first 11 chapters updated on the computer.
At the rate I'm going, I should have it complete around the middle of the month. Then I can get it adjusted to the specifics the requesting agent wants and get it on its way. I think I mentioned before that this particular agent wants a single space after periods, and if I haven't mentioned it, one copy via e-mail and a second hard copy. Uniquely, the second copy is to be in a binder and can be double sided. To me, that's neat, as that's how I print copies out for editing and also to pass along to "first readers."
A while ago I mentioned that I was re-doing the drawing(s) of HMS/OGS Island Expedition. After several false starts I have it drawn to what my vision dictates that vessel should be. I have only a few more areas to detail and color in, and then it should be done. Once complete I can scan it in to the computer and replace the current versions of the schooner in my user pics.
That should be about it for today. Still want to enter a few corrections for the book, and also have to go to the hardware store for a toilet inlet valve... the one that's on the wall under and behind the unit. Then at 1:00 pm I'll watch the Seahawks make one more attempt to win. About all I can say about this season is, "NEXT YEAR!"
Dave
Christmas Morning! No snow this year, although it is cold. A little foggy as well. While I have slept in compared to a normal working Friday, I am still up much earlier than anyone else in the house. I've read the paper, drunk two cups of coffee, and have migrated to the "office" and the computer. It will be a quiet day until the rest of the household is up and about.
Remembering Christmasses as a child, it seems that I was always up early, even when older and when I understood the reality of the Magic. Perhaps a bit of it lingered, as one or two gifts, apparently from Santa Claus still appeared under the tree on Christmas Morning. On the other hand, Jessica was never one to bounce out of bed before daylight to see what the Jolly Elf might have left for her. She has always been content to sleep half the day a way, and then to seem totally unconcerned about the gifts wrapped and waiting under the Tree. As well, Eva usually takes her own time in getting up on Christmas. Gift opening is usually of secondary concern to her as well, as she is more generally concerned with preparing dinner.
I hope I do not appear to be overly focused on the "present" aspect of the Holiday. Yes, I still enjoy getting them, but as much, I enjoy giving them. I look forward to opening the decoratively wrapped bundles of mystery as much as the next person. But I also enjoy and anticipate the reactions of others when they open something that I've gotten for them. And in truth, depending upon what it is and whom it is for, I might sometimes be a little nervous as a gift I bought and wrapped is opened and revealed. It might be that at my point in life, that I enjoy the giving as much as the getting.
This year, the pile of presents under the tree is smaller than in the past. With Jessica beginning her college education, the budget has come under review, and we thought it best to downplay the Christmas Shopping this year. Hopefully what we have gotten for each other this year will turn out to be gifts of quality rather than of quantity. Hopefully we will each appreciate those few items that the others give us, and more importantly, appreciate the True Reason for the Day.
On other topics: If I've not mentioned my current reading project for awhile, it is because I'm not actually reading anything at the moment. I finished PEOPLE OF THE WOLF a couple of weeks ago, and since have been doing a final review of my own BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. Rather surprising, how many changes I'm making, as I had one time considered it to be pretty much in final polished form. Yet as I go through it now, those awkward spots and those few remaining typos seem to stand out rather markedly. I suppose the biggest difference in this "go through" than previous ones is how sporadic the marked corrections and changes are. While I might have a page or two marked up as if they were part of a first draft, the next several pages might be devoid of any editing. A big help in this project is that Anne Mini is currently running a series on Self-Editing on her Author! Author! blog. (www.annemini.com) Already she has mentioned several areas that I find myself looking for as I go through the story.
Currently I've reviewed slightly less than half the book. I've brought the marked pages home over the Holiday weekend and hope to spend at least a part of my time in making the corrections on the computer. Ideally I'll have it completely done by the middle of January. Then I'll feel much better about sending it out, both to the agent that currrently has requested it, and to any others that might. If whatever I do in this current edit that might make it more acceptable to the industry, then going through it one more time is well worth it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, Everyone!
Dave
Nice to be sitting in a warm house today. The forecast calls for a high today that will still be under the freezing point. Lows for the next few days are expected to be in the single digits. There is some talk of snow, but today's paper didn't mention it. In a way, I wish it would snow. Regardless of the actual temperature, it doesn't seem as cold if there is snow on the ground. And if it snows and stays cold, really cold, the roads aren't that bad for driving. It's much worse when it snows and the temperature fluctuates around the freezing point.
The recent Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP) meeting turned out to be one of the best we have had in a long time. Our special guest speaker was famed local (and nationally known) humorist Patrick McManus. While he had indicated upon agreeing to our invitation that he wasn't too much of a speaker, he kept the group enthralled and in stitches for nearly an hour. We had also arranged with one of our members who also heads the book department at a local Hastings to bring copies of his books to sale. So once Mr. McManus had finished answering questions from the audience, our impromptu book store opened, while our guest signed copies of his books... both those newly purchased and those that members had brought with them. I bought NEVER SNIFF A GIFT FISH, and naturally had it signed. Over the past couple of days I've read bits and pieces of it, and have ended up laughing out loud every time. Our bookstore member also donated a copy of his latest book as a door prize. Almost as a side show, we also had our annual election. It looks as if three of us, the President, Vice-President, and Secretary will serve for at least another year. Because Mr. McManus's appearance took most of the time, we'll announce the election results prior to the next meeting.
Writing wise, I'm in the process of incorporating changes suggested by the writers group in BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. Then for the next few weeks I'll do a final review/revision of it during my lunch (half) hours at work. Want to have it as perfect as possible when I send it off to the agent who has requested it.
I finished reading PEOPLE OF THE WOLF on Friday. That's good as now I'll be able to concentrate on the final run through of my own work starting Monday.
With that, I'll end for now. Have a lot of other computer type stuff to do, and of course there is my normal "Saturday rounds" to make. Basically I'll go get a lotto ticket, check the Corvair Club mail at one post office and SASP mail at another.
Dave
For me, I think the most immediate thing to be thankful for is the chance to sleep in this morning. For the first time in four years, I am not working on Thanksgiving. Oh, to have worked would not have been that bad. I would have slept longer than normal, gone in, done a quick clean of locker rooms and washed a few towels. As it is nearly 11 am as I write this, I would probably be home by now. But still I would have had to set my alarm and gotten up at it's insistance. It sure is nice to not have to. As I slept until nearly 7, I was no doubt tired from the previous three days of the week.
We'll eat a bit earlier than usual this year as Eva has to work later in the day. With just the three of us it won't be that big of a production, but still more of a traditional sit-down family dinner than we usually have. We'll be having chicken instead of turkey, and Jessica who is vegetarian made a shepard's pie. Custom-wise, we will have pumpkin pie for dessert!
What I'm looking forward to, as far as eating is concerned, is the days that follow and cleaning up all the left overs. They seem to taste better, and there are all sorts of neat things to do with them. I particularly like to use the left over bird (chicken or turkey) to make pot pies. I did that last year and found that a pie would feed me for several days. I've made them with traditional pie crust, with "hot water paste... ie. a raised pie, and with baking mix, such as you would use for biscuits, waffles, pancakes, etc. The last is probably the quickest and simplest way to do it. Depending, I might do that for tomorrow night. Usually Friday is pizza night, but with all that will probably be left, it would be a shame not to try something a little different.
Writing wise I'm working on a final once over of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. I mentioned last time that an agent wants the entire manuscript, and as it has been a while since I've gone over it, I feel I should do so. Also, from about chapter Nine on, there are recommendations from those in my writers group that I haven't yet incorporated. And in accordance with this particular agency's wishes, there is the task of changing from two spaces to one space after a period. That's not all that hard to do if one uses the find and replace function.
As far as what I reading, I'm about three quarters of the way through PEOPLE OF THE WOLF, by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. By the time I finish that I hope to have an updated version of my work to take with me and review on my lunch break.
Having been at the computer for much of the morning, I'm starting to get a little burned out. Just might shut it off and go indulge in another Thanksgiving tradition... and watch a little football.
Dave
Just the kind of day to induce one to stay in and at the computer. Looked nice enough this morning. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and only a few white clouds rode through the heavens. But they were propelled upon their way by a strong gusty wind. A cold wind that quickly changed one's mind about the weather as soon as one stepped out into it. As the day wore on, it clouded up and at my last glimpse, the sky was a solid leaden gray. And still the wind howls and whips through the trees and around buildings, scattering dry leaves with abandon.
To start the day, I slept in. That's pretty much habit for Saturday mornings, seeing as how I'm up so early during the week to go to work. Even with sleeping in, I was still up a little after six, and since the paper wasn't even here yet, I got a bunch of bills paid while having my first cups of coffee. Following that and a read of the local press which had finally arrived, I did some work here on the computer. That was followed by a run to check mail for the Inland Northwest Corvair Club and Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers. I also stopped and deposited dues that had been collected at Thursday's SASP meeting. Then it was back to the desk, a break for an early dinner and some television. (Watched an interesting show about Death Masks on the History Channel.) Now, I'm back on the computer again. Don't know if I've actually accomplished much or not today, inspite of all the time I've spent at the keyboard. A lot of it has been e-mail correspondence, particularly with regard to SASP. (www.spokaneauthors.org) Also filled out the chapter report and made out the check for the filing fee for the Corvair Club Chapter report.
Tomorrow, or even later tonight I intend to get a start on the monthly Rear Engine Review. I'd hope to have gotten to it a few days ago, but there was a lot going on with Spokane Authors. Last weekend a few of us were exchanging e-mails at a near record pace, trying to put a proposal together to present at the meeting this past Thursday. That then meant that I didn't get a start on an outline for my presentation until nearly the last minute. But I did finish it, and from all indications after the meeting, I did quite well with my little talk. (As I preside over the monthly SASP meeting, month after month, I find that my confidence and perhaps even my skill as a public speaker improves.)
Last time I mentioned that I was close to finishing James Rollins' THE LAST ORACLE. I finished it on Monday, and on Tuesday read the excerpt from the DOOMSDAY KEY that was included in the volume. Then I started PEOPLE OF THE WOLF by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. If it is like PEOPLE OF THE RAVEN which I read a few years ago, it will take me a while.
That is probably about it for this time. But if you are so inclined, go to the top of the page and click on "friends." Then go down a few entries to jpsorrow 's entry about Chapter 6. If you are interested at all in what Joshua Palmatier writes, he has been given permission from his publisher to post the first six chapters of THE SKEWED THRONE. His post on "Chapter 6" has links to all six chapters. If you like what you see, he is also offering some really fine deals on purchasing copies of his books.
Well, it's either time to get busy on the newsletter or to relax a bit and get to sleep.
Dave
Sun, Nov. 1st, 2009, 08:38 pm
Another Week!
Sunday again! Another week gone by. Where does the time go?
A fairly busy life since I last posted. At work, the construction and remodel is complete for the most part. We are now operating in the refurbished areas and that's taking a bit of "getting used to." I don't think I left work on time any day of last week. Ended up with a lot of overtime from the five minutes extra here and there, so should have a nice pay check on the next pay day. Now I need to finish this post, get a shower and some sleep so I can tackle it all for another week.
I got fairly ambitious as far as sending out query letters and/or query packets last week. Wanted to get one or two out over the week end, but I was busy enough with other stuff that I didn't get a chance to. I've been trying to write out an outline for a presentation I volunteered to give at the next SASP (Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers) (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting on Thursday. Besides that, the rest of the Board of Directors and I have come up with a couple ideas for future activites, and we have all been busy e-mailing back and forth, trying to build a proposal package for the membership. We wanted to get it done in time to send it out with the e-mail we send a few days ahead of the meeting. Said e-mail is basically a reminder to SASP members that meeting time is once again approaching. Besides finishing up the presentation outline, I also need to develop an agenda sheet for the meeting, and it is once again time to start work on the next issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW. Looks like it will be a busy week. If I'm lucky, I'll get time to work on Chapter Five of DARNAHSIAN PIRATES some more. (I did finish the scene that I'd started on when I got back into the story a few days ago.)
It's probably time for me to end this and get on my way to some sleep. Sorry to be so rambling.
Dave
PS: Nearly finished reading James Rollins' THE LAST ORACLE. One of those books that seems to get better and better as you read through it!
I don't know that the title/subject I've selected will actually have that much to do with this post. Still, I have this thing, this rule in my mind that I need to have something in that spot. And as I have no particular subject to rant or rave about today, such a subject line is probably as good as any.
To begin with, one of these days I shall be re-drawing and replacing the user-pic depicted at the top of this post. HMS Theadora is the ship Edward Pierce is serving on at the beginning of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. I thought the representation of it, as shown above came out rather well. But I suppose I do the same with drawings as with my writing, and that is that after time I begin to see those things that could have been done a bit differently. Lately I've decided that both the fore and main masts need to be shifted slightly forward. And in reading through the very first chapter, I've discovered a technical discrepancy between the drawing and the text. The story mentions four carronades per side on the quarterdeck, and the drawing only shows two. So whether I change/redo the drawing or alter the story, I want the two to agree. I tend to think that the story is more true to what would have existed at that time. Thus it will be the pictorial representation of the frigate that gets redone.
Before I get around to doing that, I want to update and revise the drawing(s) of HMS Island Expedition as well. In fact, I've started several times and never seem to progress beyond a certain stage. What I have now (see user pics) just doesn't convey what I feel this vessel looks like. There are some peculiarities in its design that I am having trouble rendering in a convincing and authentic fashion.
Yes, to me creating these visual representations of the ships involved in The Stone Island Sea Stories is a form of research for writing them. I want the written and the visual depictions to match as much as possible. When a certain action takes place at a certain location on deck, I want to be able to visualize it in concrete terms. Thinking ahead, it might be that readers will someday also want to be able to see the ships and vessels in pictorial form.
Writing wise, I haven't accomplished a lot as of late. I do have some ideas for another leg of the overall story, one that has come about while engaged in my latest read. I suppose a year or so ago I developed an overall plot line while reading another book by this same author. I began weaving it into the tale as I neared the end of SAILING DANGEROUS SEAS. The one just conceived, however, will mean the eventual start of an entirely different story, but one that will eventually tie in with the current one. In other words, it will be a different series, a different tale, one that is set in the same location, but related events that happened hundreds or even thousands of years earlier.
My first idea for an overall, somewhat hidden plot line came while I was reading James Rollins' THE BLACK ORDER. My latest idea has come while reading his THE LAST ORACLE. Funny that work of an entirely different nature from what I write can influence me that way. Perhaps it is what he tends to imply in so many of his stories that intrigues me. So, unless it confuses anyone, I am currently reading THE LAST ORACLE. I'm probably a quarter of the way into it and enjoying it tremendously.
Over the past few weeks I've managed to send out a goodly number of queries. One has come back as a reject, but I've still not heard from the others. I had it in mind to query an agent who seems to deal with the type of books that mine seem to be, but it appears he is not accepting queries from new writers at the time. It's my goal to get as many as possible sent out before the industry takes a break over the Thanksgiving and the Holidays. Depending upon the results achieved, I may then attempt to submit to a local small press.
Right now I'm waiting for the fall edition of SPOKE WRITE: The Spokane / Coeur d'Alene Journal of Art and Writing to come out. My TENNIS BALLS AND BROADSIDES essay that I wrote for Anne Mini's AUTHOR! AUTHOR! First Periodic Awards for Expressive Excellence is supposed to be in it. By the way, you can see the effort at www.annemini.com/?p=5092
If you would be interested in seeing what others in the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area are writing, copies of SPOKE WRITE can be ordered from Gray Dog Press. www.graydogpress.com
While I'm thinking of it, fellow LiveJournal user jpsorrow has gained permission from his publisher to post the first six chapters of his first book, THE SKEWED THRONE. You can go directly to his journal or to my friends page and scroll down to the appropriate entry.
I should end now. I still have some things to update on the Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers web-site www.spokaneauthors.org There's a football game this afternoon, and if possible I want to get the oil changed in the '98 Sidekick.
Sat, Oct. 3rd, 2009, 11:21 am
Car Deals
After needing to take the newly purchased Audi in for a repair, days after having bought it, we got to thinking that perhaps it was not the ideal vehicle. It was getting to the point where it was going to need various things repaired or replaced, simply because of the mileage on it. Unfortunately, because of what it is, those repairs can cost more than on many other cars. With that in mind, we contacted the dealer where we had bought it and arranged to trade it for something else. We ended up with a nearly new Suzuki SX-4. It only has about 4600 miles on it. Payments will be a little higher, but being as new as it is, the worry over possible repairs and their associated costs isn't there. Plus that it gets a lot better gas mileage and looks more like what you would expect to see a college student driving. Definitely the better deal over the long run.
Truly a fall day today, and a good one for catching up on stuff at the computer. As we are into a new month, the REAR ENGINE REVIEW, the newsletter for the Inland Northwest Corvair Club is due. Once I finish this week's post I'll be working on that. And since I'm trying to send out a couple of query letters each week, that'll be something to do as well.
I don't think I've mentioned my current reading projects for awhile. A week or so ago I finished THE REALM OF SHADOWS by Shannon Drake. From the way some of the cover material read, I suppose it was one of those vampire romances. I didn't really see it as such, even though the main protagonist was female. I suppose there was some romantic elements in it, but I read it more for the suspense and terror. It was a book that a co-worker had brought in along with several others she had read. I picked it out of the selection along with two others that I've recently added on to my "what I've read" list.
Since then I've also read ANGELS THREE-SIX: CONFESSIONS OF A COLD WAR FIGHTER PILOT. Its author, Col. Chuck Lehman is a member or Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers. (www.spokaneauthors.org) and I bought the book when our local Hastings had a mass book signing a month or so ago. Next up for me is an unpublished short story that a friend of mine wrote. I should have taken it to work yesterday but I forgot and ended up looking at magazines on my lunch hour.
That should do it for this time.
Dave
Last Sunday's Corvair Club Picnic went well, even if it was somewhat sparsely attended. Jessica and I were the first to arrive, and we got there about ten minutes before the announced start time. Of course at events like that, precision arrival times are not important. The first hour or so was spent in general conversation as additional members arrived, most in their Corvairs, and then we ate. Our host member (and the club) provided hotdogs, hamburgers, buns, and condiments, while everything else was brought by those attending. I had hoped that Eva would have been able to make pancit, adobo, fried rice, or perhaps even lumpia for us to bring. Unfortunately she has a lot going on and wasn't able to. Therefore we simply brought a small tub of pre-made potato salad. It seems like a lot of those attending also didn't have the time to make anything from scratch, as we had about four different kinds of salad. The one dish that was homemade was a crockpot full of the best baked beans I've had in a long time.
Of course one of the things I wanted to determine from the drive to and from the picnic was the mileage that "Tim" would get. Since I got "him" running again in June, gas mileage has been pretty dismal. I'd definitely notice a hole in my budget if I had to drive "him" every day. Once every third or fourth work day I can manage. I topped off the tank the day before the picnic, and the day after returning I gassed up again. I didn't want even a single trip to work to mess up the mileage calculations for the trip. And yes, the mileage experienced over the ninety or so mile round trip was much better than what I'd been getting around town. In rough figures I showed about a 50% improvement. Still, what I got on the picnic trip is closer to what I should be getting overall and around town. We also noticed a distinct lack of power while going up a long, fairly steep grade just before we turned off the main road to our destination. We were probably doing a good 60 mph at the bottom of the hill. With my foot all the way to the floor, we nevertheless slowed down as we climbed the hill. We gained the top doing about 30 mph. Although I'd never driven this particular hill with this particular vehicle, I have driven up others that are similar and know "he" should have done better. Perhaps I will need to take "him" to the club's next "TECH-N-TUNE" and have one of the club experts adjust the carbs, etc. Or it just might be that there are other problems with the engine that prevent it from running at full strength and with the efficiency it should.
This coming week should be interesting as far as work is concerned. The Spokane Club, Valley Facility is closed until September 1st for renovation. While many of the administrative types will be off, those of us in the maintenance end of things will still be working. Hopefully we will be able to get to some of those areas we never get a chance at when the club is in operation. And because no members will be showing up to play tennis, I won't have to go in so darned early to clean the tennis courts before they arrive. Rather than starting work at 4 AM, I'll be starting at 6. The fact that I will be able to sleep an extra couple of hours in the morning will seem almost like a vacation to me. And I'll still be home around 3 or so, and since this will be closer to a "normal" day shift schedule, perhaps I'll have a bit more ambition once I am home.
The little writing group I'm in met earlier today. I passed along a hand-out I'd picked up from the PNWA Conference about "starting a writing group" and we all agreed that we were pretty much doing it by the "book." Basically we decided to keep going as we have been as the way we've been doing it seems to work for the group. Hopefully the one point that the hand-out emphasized will get us all on the ball to have something ready for review when we are the one scheduled. If no one else has anything we usually review the next chapter in my work. While I appreciate the consistency of having my stuff reviewed, it gives me an uncomfortable feeling of selfishness and using the group to my advantage. But as the others don't seem to mind, and as we did need something to review and critique, we went over Chapter 14, DESTINATION FOUND, of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. To me, this is one of the milestone chapters in the story, as it is where the fantasy aspect of the story becomes readily apparent. Members of the group felt that in this respect the chapter worked well. They also pointed out a few fairly minor problem areas, such as word repetition, things that I'll be able to fix without much trouble.
So, where am I at with regards to finding an agent? I think I've mentioned that my scheduled pitch at the PNWA Conference (www.pnwa.org) did not go as well as it could have. The particular agent and I simply did not match up. I speak briefly to another agent who is familiar with stories/series that tend to cross between genres as I believe mine do. With her verbal permission, I've queried the agency and have been invited to submit a more "formal" query. That is, the query letter plus pages. Also as a result of some detective work by a friend of mine who is more deeply entrenched in the writing and publishing world, I have an e-mail address for an agent who has been handling a series of stories that also seem not to fit neatly into any one genre or category. But as this same friend reminds people every year, many agents and their staffs tend to be on vacation about now. Therefore I'll probably wait until September is well underway before I do any more querying or submitting. As it has been explained to me, one does not want his or her material to be in the stack of queries and submissions that accumulates while the agent/agency screener is gone. Nor does one want to send material so that it arrives while said agent/agency screener is still trying to whittle that pile down to a more managable size. So around the second week of September, I'll dig out my basic query letter and update it to match the agent(s) that I'll be querying. I might also work up one and send it along to our local Gray Dog Press.
Lest I forget, for anyone who is in or will be in the Spokane area next Saturday, 29 August, give great consideration to stopping by the Hastings at the corner of Ash and Wellesley. The store manager is setting up a mass book signing with as many local authors as she can gather. (At last mention, I believe she had around 15 authors scheduled.) The event runs from 2PM through 5PM. While I don't have anything published yet, I plan to go up for a while. As many of those planning to participate are members of SASP, I feel can help support them simply by being there. In addition, I'm sure to find a few books that I like and will no doubt buy a few. After all, I need stuff to read on my lunch breaks at work.
As for what I am reading, I finished SHOOT/DON'T SHOOT by J. A. Jance on Wednesday. As I still had a few minutes left on my lunch break, I started in on SEA CHANGE by Robert B. Parker.
More next time,
Dave
Sat, Aug. 15th, 2009, 09:25 am
Door Prizes!
You may recall from an earlier post that I was fortunate enough to win a copy of THE SKEWED THRONE in a contest jpsorrow was holding. The book arrived in very good condition a couple of days ago. As I have it in paperback form and have already read it, it is my intention to use this new hard cover copy as a door prize at the next meeting of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP) www.spokaneauthors.org.
Earlier this summer, SASP was contacted by an author who had written a book on revising fiction. He offered the group a chance to post a few of his chapters/articles on the website and promised to send along a copy of the book when it was released. I recently received an e-mail from him stating that our copy of the book would arrive shortly. I believe it also will make a great (and useful) door prize at a future SASP meeting.
Now if you happen to wonder why authors would give away copies of their books, rather than demand payment for every copy that ends up in a reader's hands, I think the answer can only be...PUBLICITY and ADVERTISING. Hopefully, who ever ends up with that autographed copy of THE SKEWED THRONE will like it enough to buy and read THE CRACKED THRONE and THE VACANT THRONE, completing the Throne of Amenkor Series. I'm sure jpsorrow is betting that these folks will enjoy them enough that they will want to read his newer work as it comes out. At the same time SASP has been allowed to post excerpts from Kirt Hickman's book, and very soon one lucky member will be in possession of a copy. The excerpts and an enthusiastic review from that reader/user will convince other SASP members or their writing friends to purchase the book as well. As word spreads, both about the availability and overall great treat of reading either book, demand for copies (and sales) can only go up.
Then again there that inner divide that most authors/artists experience. While most certainly want the sales and the resulting money, some also want the knowledge that their books are "out there" and being read by thousands of people. It also might be this urge to see their books in circulation that prompts authors give copies away.
That will about do it for this time. I need to do some updating on the SASP website and then get some outside stuff done. It's supposed to be nice today, sunny but not to hot, so I should get some yard work caught up. I also want to wash "Tim," my '62 Corvair Rampside, and perhaps do an oil change and a little tinkering with timing and carburation. Tomorrow is the Inland Northwest Corvair Club's Annual Picnic, and quite naturally I want to be able to go in a Corvair. It should be a good chance to see if the tinkering will result in any improvement in gas mileage as it is a good drive over to Kidd Island Bay on Lake Coeur d' Alene and back.
As always, more next time. And lest I forget, and in case anyone wonders, I'm now reading SHOOT/DON'T SHOOT by J. A. Jance.
Dave
The trouble with weekends is that they are two short. By the time I get rested up from the previous week and start to feel ambitious, the weekend is drawing to a close and it is time to start getting ready for the coming work week.
I'll have a short week at work as I'll be going on vacation come Wednesday. I'll drive over to Sea-Tac that afternoon for the PNWA (www.pnwa.org) Conference. It actually starts Thursday afternoon, but I've always gone over the day before. That way I don't have to fight traffic or worry about being there on time. I also like the "free time" Thursday morning to do a little editing or polish my pitch.
The little writers group that I'm in met earlier today. For once, one of the other members had something for us to critique, so Edward Pierce and his adventures got a bit of a break. It's been neat to have been the one who's work is always reviewed, but it also makes me feel like I'm taking advantage of the others. But I guess that is what comes of having two books completed and a third in work. If none of the others have anything, I always do. As it turned out, I didn't make it all the way through the material she brought us, so I'll take it with me to the conference and finish going over it. That way I can give a more detailed critique than I was able to do today.
I never did make much progress on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES over the past week. I will go through and see about including the corrections and updates that I made to it a few months ago. Then I'll be able to go over the once revised material when I'm at the conference.
Don't be surprised if I don't post anything until after next weekend. I'll be driving back Sunday afternoon, and if it's hot at all, I probably won't feel like doing much of anything on the computer until Monday at least. I'll still be on vacation Monday and Tuesday, but a lot of my computer time will probably be taken up with catching up on e-mail and the like.
As I still have a little time before crawling under the covers, I might see about making some of those changes to the third book that I just spoke of. And in case anyone is interested, I've just about finished with MOBY DICK. My hope is that I'll finish it over the next two days at work.
Dave
When I check e-mail on Sunday mornings, one I receive is from an individual who spoke at a SASP (Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers, www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting last fall. I ended up on his e-address list and weekly he sends a link to his blog. I usually read it and perhaps send the link on to a few others. His blog of 5 July might be of interest to writers, although he did not write it (I think) with authors or books in mind. It can be found at: http://doctormarkshealthythoughts.blogspot.com/ .
At about the same time that Mark blogged, jpsorrow was posting about the revisions that his editor had asked him to make to his current project. Joshua mentioned being worried about adding too much to the story and causing it to feel bloated. This seems to be a common train of thought amongst today's writers. Certainly it is not an unheard of demand from agents and editors. "Cut this! Pare the story down to the barest parts. Get rid of any extra material that doesn't contribute directly to the story!" At the same time those folks in the industry might want a little more to "flesh out" the story and the world in which it takes place, which is what I believe Joshua was asked to do.
The point I'm trying to make is that perhaps a writer can delete so much so called bloat that the strength of the story disappears. If you don't feel like following the above link to Mark's blog, the essence of that particular post was that a "healthy" appearance doesn't always equate to actually being healthy. He mentions that when he served in the U. S. Marines several years ago, a particular individual had no problem passing the performance parts of the physical fitness/readiness test. However, he was borderline with regards to the appearance aspects or what the Marine Corps demanded of its members. Threatened with possible disciplinary action, this Marine went on an intensive work out regimen, lost the few extra inches he carried, and soon became the very model of what a Marine should look like. However, when it came time to test his actual strength and stamina, he failed the tests. The power he had had before had at least partially been contained in that part of him that detracted from his ideal Marine Corps appearance.
I see a correlation between the story of this United States Marine and the general guideline that writers of today eliminate all the "fat" or "bloat" from their stories. Is it possible that a little of that excess material is needed to give a story real strength?
Too much extra material in a book isn't good, just as extra pounds or inches on one's physical form are not good. It does seem that books written years and years ago had more of it, and in some cases, they were grossly "overweight" with excess and unneeded material. I've found that in reading many of the older, even classic works, that often those famous authors of yesteryear did so much of what we are told never to do today. Possibly an example of this would be my current read, MOBY DICK by Herman Melville. He (or Ishmael?) often wanders from the basic telling of the story to spend chapter after chapter detailing the history of whaling, the anatomy of whales, and the philosophical outlook of those engaged in the act of obtaining whale oil, etc. The volume I have is some 500 pages in length, and as of Friday I was nearing page 400. Yet at looking at the actual story, what has transpired so far could easily have been told in 150 to 200 pages. With a more modern standard of allowable "bloat," that would still allow for the story to be well rounded. In today's writing world, perhaps Mr. Melville would have been told to cut half or more of the material from the story, and if he felt the eliminated material needed to get to the reader, to write a companion non-fiction work.
Of course, the amount of excess material, if any, that a writer includes in his work is a personal decision. What comes out in published form is the result of collaboration between the author and those in the publishing industry.
With regards to other things around here, Jessica has decided that she doesn't want to go to Arcadia and London in the fall. Despite the great scholarship's they were offering her, she decided that as a family we could not afford it. She's contacted EWU and will probably be going there in the fall. She'll be able to live at home, which will cut college expenses even more.
We also have a new member of the household. "He-Lo" is an eight week old Quaker Parrot. His (her?) real name is Thelonius after T. Monk, a name Jessica chose as she is interested in Jazz. He's been here since Friday after noon and is quite a character.
Earlier in the week I got the current issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW sent out, both via e-mail and "snail" mail. Yesterday I got the SASP website updated, and today I'm getting this posted. That means I don't have any pressing computer projects for the next few days or so, and perhaps I'll get a chance to do some work on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES. I want to have a little bit of it done to take with me to the PNWA (www.pnwa.org) Conference at the end of the month. Now it's time to watch the Mariner's game. I might return to the computer during the heat of the afternoon, although I hope to get the yard mowed during the cool of the evening.
Hope everyone has a good week!
Dave
A cool rainy day makes it worthwhile to be inside at the computer. I suppose that is one of the nice things about the Pacific Northwest... the weather never stays the same for too long. Saturday it was into the 90's and today we will be lucky to top 70. According to the paper, we'll be back into the 90's for this coming weekend.
Over the past weekend I got the July issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW finished and sent out the e-version of it. Because I had included some photos I took, the "memory" count was quite high, and so to drop it to a level I thought most folks wouldn't mind download on e-mail, I converted it to PDF. I'm new at that step and I wasn't really happy with how it turned out. Oh, the actual appearance is fine, but it didn't upload and convert exactly what I had as a word document. It moved two or three lines from the top left hand column of the second page up onto the very first (cover) page and put them in the lower right. Then everything else seemed to have moved up a corresponding amount. The very last page, which is a "flyer" for a club event in August now starts on the next to last page. Also the "header/footer" that I always include that has the page number, date, etc didn't upload and convert. I guess I have a bit to learn about it, but as it drops the memory space used, I'll stick with it for a while. Stopped on the way home from work and got some more address labels. I'll print them out after a while and then I can get the hard copies ready to mail out.
Last week I got my critiques back from a certain literary contest that I had entered. A lot of what was detailed in the two write-ups goes hand in hand with what I mentioned in TENNIS BALLS AND BROADSIDES. (www.annemini.com/?p=5092) This year I entered my second book, SAILING DANGEROUS WATERS in the Science Fiction/Fantasy Category. (The first chapter can be viewed under the "Writing" button at www.stoneislandseastories.com.) Because the story starts with Edward Pierce and his companions journeying through the Vespican Wilderness to visit Dream Chief Shostalomie and the Kalish People, I thought that the Fantasy aspect would be noticeable right from the start, and I suppose that it was. However, perhaps the Fantasy level was not as clear. It was suggested that I should indicate whether or not the Kalish have any sort of magical powers. They do not, and in fact there is no magic or special powers in the STONE ISLAND SEA STORIES at all. If there is anything, it is that people in that other world are a bit more succeptable to superstition.
At least one of the critiquers saw the story as an "alternate world" piece, which it is, in a way. It probably doesn't fit the standard definition of "alternate world," so I was reminded of the patented definition, or at least the one in use for this particular contest. By that way of defining "alternate world," something was supposed to have happened in the past that causes the world in the story to be different from the way it really is. As an example I point to Philip K. Dick's THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. As I remember the story, FDR had been assassinated in his first or second term as President. That results in the Allies losing WWII, and as the story takes place, Imperial Japan controls the Pacific Coast and Nazi Germany the Eastern Seaboard. The STONE ISLAND SEA STORIES would be more of an "Other/Additional World" set up. This world, the world we know exists, but a few individuals have discovered how to travel to another one. There things are quite similar but not actually in parallel with the world we know. Geography is different, although political, racial, ethnic, and religious divisions are quite similar. Many historical events are of a like nature. One thing that is unique is that those few individuals are cognizant of their travel between the two worlds. When they are here, I try to keep as close as I can to the actual events and history of 200 or so years ago. When they are there, I feel freer to create a different history.
One other thing perplexes me a little, and that is how much back story to include, or to what degree to include it when the book under judgement/review is the second in a series. It was suggested that I should have been a little more detailed in relating the actions of an antagonist. My point is that had the reader read BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE, he/she would have already been made aware of this individual's actions, and in the second book I should have only had to mention them.
While it might sound as if I'm grousing about the critiques, I'm not. In many ways I think some valid things are pointed out. As time goes on I will make an effort to consolidate the feed back and apply it as needed.
I'm still plugging a way a Melville's MOBY DICK. While I find it interesting and a good story overall, it seems that he does so many of those things that today we are told never to do, lest we bore the agent/editor/reader to death. If I didn't mention it before, I read Robert Dugoni's DAMAGE CONTROL while flying between Spokane and Philadephia a couple weeks ago. Now I need to find and read J. A. Jance's book of the same name.
Posting this and getting the hard copies of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW ready to send out will just about do it for today's stint at the keyboard. Tomorrow I'll work at updating the SASP website (www.spokaneauthors.org) and then maybe I'll get a chance to get back to working on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES. I'd like to have enough finished to take a working/in progress copy with me to the conference. I've found that I can do some serious self-editng between sessions or while having coffee early in the day. I'd like to at least finish Chapter 5, and get a good start on Chapter 6.
That should about do it for this time. Hopefully I'll get back on track and get something posted once a week (preferably on the weekends) or so. Of course come the end of this month, the conference put on by the same organization who sponsored the above mention contest takes place. As I will be involved with that over the later part of the week and most of that weekend, the chances that I will get anything posted then are slim.
Dave
Over my last few posts, I think I've mentioned a contest that Anne Mini has been running on her Author! Author! blog (www.annemini.com). Anyway, sent in an entry and ended up with one of the two first place positions that were created for the competition. One of the perks or prizes was to have one's entry posted on Anne's blog. So for June 19th, I am her guest blogger. The other first place winner, Auburn McCanta (www.DancingBirds.com) was guest blogger on the 18th. The Grand prize winner's entry was posted on the 17th. All three entries deal, sometimes in quite round about ways with censorship, both subtle and direct in today's world of writing.
Speaking of (writing about) writing, I hope to get back to work on Darnahsian Pirates in the near future. I'd like to have enough to make it worth while taking a working copy with me to the PNWA Conference (www.pnwa.org) at the end of July. No, I don't try to foist it on unsuspecting agents or editors, but I find I can do a lot of revision and editing while waiting for sessions to start, or during those few times when nothing is happening. It can be a conversation starter, sitting with a loose leaf binder and intently marking changes and corrections. But before I can get back to that story, I need to write up something about the Corvair Club's recent Econo-Run Northwest and get it off to the Corvair Society of America (CORSA) (www.corvair.org) for inclusion in an upcoming issue of the CORSA COMMUNIQUE. I'll also have to include the story or a very similar one in the club's own REAR ENGINE REVIEW.
Reading wise, I'm well in to Herman Melville's Moby Dick. I'd mentioned before that I had never been able to read it, perhaps due to his complex and convoluted sentence construction. But the last time I tried was years ago. I still find it difficult at times, but as I read for relaxation during my lunch time, I just keep plugging away. I'm in no hurry to get through it. I simply savor the thirty or thirty-five minutes I spend with it everyday. And that causes me to wonder if the intend of writing, and of reading hasn't changed over the years. Regardless of the exact nature of the story, I think those written decades or centuries ago were meant to be more of a meander through life, rather than a mad dash through a brief portion of it. Those of us who are aspiring authors hear all the time that our stories must leap right into the action. Could that be a reflection of the modern reader? Does he or she want instant results, instant immersion into the story? Does today's typical reader jump in head first, rather than wading in a little at a time while getting used to the water?
Well, enough for today. I'm going into work for a while late this morning. They've had a crew in painting the walls and ceilings of the Spokane Club's indoor tennis courts, and as usual when a contractor crew is present, they've made a complete mess of the courts themselves. Our maintenance person, the other janitor and myself, along with the tennis director are going to attempt to get them cleaned up so they can be used come Monday morning.
Dave
P. S. If you happen to visit Author! Author!, read my guest post, and would like to comment, you can do so there, or I would welcome your thoughts and comments here as well.
Sat, May. 23rd, 2009, 09:59 am
Back On Track
For once I am taking off all three days of a three day weekend. Since I started in my current position with the Spokane Club, I don't recall that I've ever had a real three day weekend. And so you'll know, I've been doing the same job at the Valley or 4th Ave. location for nearly five years. It's usually ended up that someone else has had plans for the Monday Holiday, or we were filling in on the weekends anyway. I might have had the Monday off, but seemed to end up working either Saturday or Sunday. So for me, this Memorial Day weekend is a mini-vacation!
I know that a lot of people travel, go camping, picnicing, and the like, but I think we'll just stay home, relax and unwind a bit from all that is going on. I certainly have enough to do, what with Jessica's graduation approaching, the upcoming Econo-Run Northwest 2009, and a bunch of writerly stuff as well.
Among my list for things to do over the next three days are: Finish rebuilding and install the carbs on my '62 Corvair Rampside pick up. I'll probably have to have the battery recharged as well, and then it'll be time to see if it's going to run. (New spark plugs probably won't hurt,either.) I also need to update the Spokane Authors web-site (www.spokaneauthors.org) and work on my entry for the contest at Author! Author! (www.annemini.com) I'm sure glad she extended the deadline for that. I had something ready to go and was looking for the e-address to send it to when I noticed the extension of time. While I would have sent what I had in order to meet the original deadline, I realize that it needed a great deal of work to really convey the message that I want it to send. I've pretty much left it alone since discovering the "reprieve." When I get back to it in the next day or so, it won't be so fresh in my mind and I should be able to look at it with a more critical eye.
I think I mentioned Tuesday that I had completed reading Barbara Cagle's 16 X Mom: A Mastery of Motherhood. (www.barbaracagle.com) Since then I've been reading a short story anthology called The Pen and The Key. It was published a few years ago in honor of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's (www.pnwa.org) Fiftieth Anniversary. It features short stories and articles on writing by several well know Pacific Northwest writers. Everyone at the first PNWA Conference I went to a few years ago got a copy of it in their participants' packet. It's been lying around the house and I've finally decided that it is time I read it. I'm not sure what I'll read once I finish that, but I'm thinking of looking for something in the piles of older books we have in the basement. I'm toying with the idea of trying Moby Dick again. I've always wanted to read it, but for some reason Melville has always been one of the few authors I have had difficulty reading. I don't know if it is a particular way he constructs his sentences or not, but I remember having to read and reread everything several time to be able to understand it. But the last time I tried I was a lot younger, and I'm hoping that my increased age will equate to an increased ability to read his works. My current reading "method" may help as well. If I've not mentioned it before, I read on my lunch break for about a half hour a day. I don't rush and I don't try to get through what I'm reading in any set period of time. And as I enjoy the half hour as a time to be off my feet and relax, I will put up with a bit of difficulty in reading. I'll let you know how it goes.
Dave
Tue, May. 19th, 2009, 04:34 pm
On a Tuesday?
Seems strange to be posting during the week, but I never got a chance for it over the weekend. I worked Saturday morning, did some (other) computer type stuff in the afternoon, and went and watched the Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade in the evening. Jessica has been in the parade as part of the Shadle Park High School marching band for each of the past three years, and as this was her last time we thought we should go for once. The only other time I'd been to (or been in) the parade was a dozen or more years ago when the Corvair Club participated. I'd recently bought "Tim" my '62 Rampside pickup and ended up leading the group. The engine was dirty with oil and dirt, and with all the idling it did, it started to smoke. So here I was, laying down a smoke screen to effectively hide all the other Corvairs behind me. The cloud disipated as soon as I reached the end and got up to more normal driving speeds.
And speaking of Corvairs, Sunday the INCC got together for what we like to call "Tech 'n' Tune." The idea is that we can get those nagging little problems we have with our vehicles taken care of. Yes, some folks do get some work done on their cars, but for the most part it's a time to get together and chat BS. As it turns out we've had them for the past four years now, every spring, and I've never had either of my Corvairs running to drive to any of them. Next year? Anyway that took most of the day, and when I got home and finally went on the computer, I had other stuff that I needed to do.
I'd been trying to write a short five page essay or presentation for a contest that a perhaps well-known blogger is running. I was under the impression that the deadline for it was yesterday (Monday the 18th) at midnight. I had my thoughts on the topic pretty much together, but was having trouble translating them to "paper." I'd started a few days earlier but kept putting off a real indepth attempt at finishing it. Sat down again yesterday and worked it through to the end. Still it wasn't really what I wanted, but as the deadline loomed and I was tired I decided to send it as is. I went to the particular post that announced the contest to retrieve the e-address of where I should send it. In doing so I found that the deadline had been extended to 1 June. I suppose I had mixed reactions to that revelation. I was a little ticked off that I had worked later into the evening than I would have, and yet I was relieved, as now I'd have time to polish it a little more. Whether or not my effort does any good in this contest, I'm thinking about submitting it to Gray Dog Press for inclusion in the next or a subsequent issue of Spoke Write. That's a little collection of essays, stories, poems, and illustrations that the above mentioned publisher has started and sells in the Spokane area. It comes out on a quarterly basis and features work by folks in the local area. Either way, doing well in the contest or having it published locally would work to my advantage as a "hope to be published author." It will be something I can list as having been published in my author bio and other claims to fame.
Information about the contest can be found on the Author! Author! blog at www.annemini.com Go to the list of categories along the right hand side of the page and look for Author! Author! Award of Excellence. Click on that and it will take you to Anne's post of 20 April in which she announces the contest. It basically has to do with our view or experiences with subtle or direct censorship, and perhaps how it relates to one's writing. She also has several guest posts dealing with the subject from about that time.
So that's what I was doing, rather than posting here. And since I am here today, and since I've got over two weeks to polish my little entry, I'm NOT working on it today. I'll give it a couple days' rest, which should allow me to collect my thoughts a little more.
Today I finished 16 X Mom by Barbara Cagle (www.barbaracagle) Guess I'll need to find something around the house to take to work tomorrow so I'll have something to read on my lunch (half) hour.
Dave
Sat, May. 9th, 2009, 10:58 am
Busy Weekend!
If I get half of the stuff I plan to do done, this will turn out to be a busy weekend. Thus this week's post will be fairly short.
Last evening and earlier this morning I finished up the latest issue (May) of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW, the newsletter for the Inland Northwest Corvair Club. I've e-mailed it out to all those that get it that way. As I work on this post, the last page of the hard copy version is being printed. Then I'll have to assemble the six pages (three sheets) that make up each of the thirty plus copies and get them ready to mail.
While I'm thinking of it, I know that some of you that I send the RER to also read this. But if any others "out there" reading this LJ that would like to take a gander at the newsletter, let me know. You can e-mail me at daveeva@comcast.net I'll reply and attach a copy of the newsletter. I think I did everything right this time, so the e-version should exactly match the printed version. The only difference is that I usually print the cover on colored paper. This month's cover is in bright yellow.
My one big project for the week end is to get away from the computer, get outside and see what I can do to get "Tim" running. "He" is my 1962 Corvair Rampside pickup. Had it running a couple of summers ago. "He" started running rough and I send for a few parts. Weather and other things got in the way and I've never gotten around to doing anything. I'm thinking that all "he" needs is a good tune up.
Tonight is Jessica's senior prom. While she's gone, I'd thought to take Eva to dinner, sort of a Mother's Day Eve celebration. But I've since found out that one or the both of us might end up playing chauffer for Jessica and her friends for at least a part of the evening.
The last page has finished printing, so I should end this and get on with assembling the newsletter. Hopefully I can get that done and get it to the post office before it closes this afternoon.
I usually try to keep everyone appraised of what I'm currently reading. Right now I'm reading 16 X MOM: A Mastery of Motherhood, by Barbara Cagle. I'm sure I've mentioned before that she was the president of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP www.spokaneauthors.org) before me. More info about her book can be found on her web-site at www.barbaracagle.com
Well, time to get busy!
Dave
A subject or title that really means I haven't the slightest idea of what I'm going to say.
I had kind of a wierd and wacky week at work. As you may know, I do janitorial work at a private athletic club. One of my duties, and the reason I start work at 0400 hrs. every day, is to "sweep" the tennis courts before members arrive and promptly mess them up again. Fortunately I do not use a broom to accomplish this task, but rather a battery powered sweeper/vacuum machine. Normally I can plug it in and charge it over night about once a week. It is then usually good for two or three cleaning cycles. (I normally clean the courts three days a week, so it all works out to charge it up once a week.)
Anyway, when I had put it on the charger the week before, it evidently hadn't taken a full charge. It did okay the following two sessions, but by last Monday it was fairly well depleted. I got five of the twelve half courts done and started the sixth, when it got so week that I couldn't hear it running. Put it back on charge until Tuesday morning and it only had enough to do about three more half courts. That still left four (two full courts) that hadn't been done since the previous Friday. That day we found that the batteries were low on water and that there was a loose connection in the wiring that goes to the charger. By Wednesday it had enough of a charge that I was able to do all except two I had done on Tuesday. I could have done them as well, but I had gotten started a little late and folks were now on the courts. Did them again on Thursday, and all of them Friday. Looks like the machine is now taking a full charge again. Thus it should be ready to go when I go in tomorrow morning.
If there is any connection between cleaning tennis courts and writing, it is that the task is not that taxing of mental abilities. I need just enough brain power to move in a somewhat coordinated manner and to ensure I cover all the court surfaces. In many ways it's a lot like mowing a lawn... 'round and 'round, and 'round. That leave a lot of cranium space that I can devote to other pursuits. I've done a lot of plotting of my stories while thusly engaged. I've also devised pitches to use at writers conferences and come up with things to post here.
I didn't really mind having to do the court sweeping on a different schedule. The only bad thing is that I wasn't able to do the stuff I'd normally do on the days I don't clean the courts.
I may have mentioned a time or two in the past that I also do the majority of my reading while at work. I take my "lunch" break around 0800 hrs, and since I don't really want to eat at that time of day, I have a large cup of coffee and read for a half hour or so. It takes me a while to get through a book, but I find I tend to read deeper into the stories than if I try to set reading speed records. Still, in the four years or more that I've been doing this, I've managed to read around eighty books. Friday I finished pbray 's THE FINAL SACRIFICE and started Phillip K. Dick's THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRIDGE. As to the first work mentioned, I enjoyed it tremendously and will look for the other two volumes of the trilogy in the future. (I suppose I should have read them in order, THE FINAL SACRIFICE being the final installment. However I found it on the book store shelf, bought it and read it. While it is the third of a series, it was written in such a manner that it was very easy to read as a single story. While there were a few times that things seemed a bit unclear, things that possibly would have been noted and clarified in the earlier stories, I had no trouble at all with it. If I had any problems at all with the story, it would be with regards to some nautical technical details. As near as I can figure, the story takes place on a world and in a region much like the Mediterranean during the time of the Roman Empire. If my knowledge of ship design is correct, vessels of that time were steered by means of one or more steering oars near the stern of the ship. The helmsman (helmsmen) would have worked directly with the "handle" end of the oar, and would have been on the open deck, exposed to all the elements. The traditional ship's wheel did not come into being until the early eighteenth century, and it wasn't until around the time of the American Civil War that it began to be enclosed. For me, the mention of ships of Roman Times having a wheelhouse takes me out of the story ever so slightly. (Of course the story is fantasy, and in that world, it may well be that the wheel and the idea of enclosing it in a wheel house developed much earlier.)
Would such technical discrepencies stop me from reading Ms. Bray's other works? Certainly not! I look forward to reading the others in this series as well as others she has written. I find little nit-picky details like this in a lot of what I read, and while it bothers me a little, it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the overall story. I found much the same in the recently read UNDER ENEMY COLORS. While the story takes place in 1793, there is mention of Royal Navy officers, lieutenants to be exact, sporting eppaulettes. It's my understanding that no one in the British Navy wore eppaulettes until after 1795, and that it wasn't until 1812 or so that they were authorized for lieutenants. Nonetheless, I found the story intriguing and I look forward to more from that author (S. Thomas Russell) as well.
I certainly don't want to set myself up as any kind of expert on these matters, and as one writing stories in a similar vein, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to have a reader find a tiny detail that I had gotten wrong.
I have an appointment this Thursday with H & R Block to have our taxes done. I'd always done them myself, but a couple of years ago we got involved with selling my late sister's house and wrapping up her estate. It got to be a little more complicated than I wanted to attempt on my own, so we had them done. Last year we went that route as well, mainly because once we had filed with them, the IRS no longer sent us forms. I had planned (actually Eva had planned) that we would once again do them ourselves this year. But after several hours of feeling like I was a dog chasing my tail and getting more and more frustrated, I decided to go back and have them done. Hopefully they will know more about it than I do and can find ways to get some money back. As far as my figuring goes, we owe!
Regarding taxes, I'm not so much opposed to the rates we pay as I am to the complexity of computing them. If Congress ever really addresses and brings about tax reform, it should be the procedure as much if not more than how much we pay, that they should deal with. I won't get started on what I think should be done, as that would make a decent sized post of it's own. One of these days, maybe.
That should about be it for today. If possible I want to get my query letter file reorganized and maybe even one or two new ones sent out. I might even get back to doing a little revision on BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. I started incorporating some of the changes suggested by my writers group and want to continue. A few sessions of that and I might be back in the mood to continue work on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES.
Dave
Which may not be a subject or title that will appropriately match what I end up with at the end of this post. I just have an aversion to posting something with no title or subject line. A few times I've decided to wait and fill that in when I'm done, but invariably I forget to do so. Strange, isn't it, the little rules we impose upon ourselves in nearly every aspect of our lives?
I sent out to more queries by "snail mail" last weekend. Also sent one via e-mail. That one came back, rejected, the next day. But I still have several out there that I'm waiting to have a reply from, and I hope to send a couple more in the next day or so. Rejections certainly do not make one jump for joy, but the only way to eliminate them is to not query at all. And if one wants to find an agent, he/she needs to run the risk, accept rejections as a fact of life, and keep querying until a connection occurs with that agent who sees true value in one's work.
Still, and as I may have mentioned, I'm leaning towards going with a small press in the future. My reasoning is that my work might not fit neatly into the predetermined categories set up for fiction, making it harder for agents to place it. At the same time I've determined to get back to a heavier pace of sending out those queries for the next several months. So, when I finish this post, it might be time to get one or two, perhaps even three queries ready to send out.
The little writers group that I'm in met yesterday with three out of the four in attendance. For once, one of the other members had something for us to review, so I was not in the "hot seat." As we are a group with various interests and writing skills, we went over some short poems that one of the other individuals had written. Poetry is not my forte, but I do know what I like. And quite honestly, I liked most of what she had written.
A couple of days ago Jessica (my daughter) and I went by the local Barnes and Noble. We were actually enroute to another store, but I had a 15% off sticker that was about ready to expire, and had a couple of books in mind that I wanted to buy. She also had a reading list from school and wanted to see if she could find any of them. She did, and I found one that I had been wanting. Specifically the 2009 edition of the Writer's Digest's GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS. I'll probably take my 2008 copy to the SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting this coming Thursday and offer it as a door prize. Still a lot of good information in it. I was also hoping to find a paperback copy of jpsorrow 's VACANT THRONE. I already have it in hardback, but I want to donate that to a local school library. I had suggested the school to Joshua late last year when he first decided to send hardcopy copies of his first two books to various libraries.
Alas, there were no copies of any of Joshua's books, whether in paperback or hardback in the store. I did, however, find one copy of one of pbray 's books on the shelf. Bought that, along with the Agent's Guide and a couple that Jessica had found. I ended up with THE FINAL SACRIFICE. I believe it is the third of a trilogy, but I will probably read it anyway, hoping that Ms. Bray has written these stories in such a way that one isn't all that lost if one reads them out of order. (Of course, if she or anyone who has read her work realizes that this is a false assumption on my part, I would not be adverse to a little reminder...ie. warning!)
I do have a heads up for any that like to discuss various aspects of the writing craft. If you have any deep thoughts regarding naming of characters in your stories, I believe Anne Mini will soon be posting a "Let's Talk About This" segment on her Author! Author! blog. (www.annemini.com). It is certainly a topic that I could address and get well carried away with. No doubt I'll have something to say in response to her request, and if I have the gumption to do so, might post something of a more expanded nature here. I certainly won't do that today, as I think this is getting long enough as it is.
Well, it's about time to end for today. Have those queries to get out, as well as getting a start on the next REAR ENGINE REVIEW. Also need to work on a little survey for SASP members, and maybe even do a little work on story #3.
Dave
Sun, Feb. 8th, 2009, 07:49 am
Always Onward!
At least until we invent a time machine, that shall forever be so! From our usual perspective, time just keeps marching forward. We may see it moving a different speeds, but it rumbles onward, regardless. And as many of us have discovered, as we grow older it seems to accelerate. (Isn't there a quip that compares life to a roll of toilet paper...it goes faster as you near the end!)
It is sure nice to have an operable computer this weekend. Hopefully I'll get some of the stuff done that I had planned to do last week end. Of course, having computer ability will probably keep me from working on the project that I started last time as an alternative. I spent the majority of the day sorting and filing stuff that had piled up over the past few months. I got a good start, but it still needs a finishing flourish. But I can almost see the top of the desk, so I suppose I did make progress.
Yesterday I put most of the February REAR ENGINE REVIEW together. Today I'll review it and hopefully eliminate any really noticeable typos and get a start at printing it. I want to get as much done as possible today, because once the week sets in I've other stuff that I need to do. And as I work during the week, I have less time in which to do it. I've got a "first fifty pages" submission to get ready and send. And I thought it was neat that while asking for fifty pages, this particular literary agent basically said, "give or take a few pages should the story break more cleanly elsewhere." I think there is a chapter end at right around that point, so that's what she'll get. Otherwise, I'd send exactly fifty, even if it were to end in mid-sentence.
I also have two different literary contests that I want to try and enter. One, I've been aware of and have entered for the past few years. This year I'll try my second book instead of the first. I've also just heard about a second one that I might try as well. I'll probably enter the first book in that.
Finished reading FAST SHIPS, BLACK SAILS, early last week. I found it to be a very readable collection of pirate oriented fantasy or even science fiction. I found that my reactions varied from story to story. Some were supurb, and stayed with me after I had finished. Others were amusing, and a few did nothing at all for me. Those were the ones that upon finishing, I simply said, "huh?"
Hopefully the Sunday paper is here now. If it is, I'll take some time away from the key board to read it. The Pro Bowl is on today as well, so perhaps while it's on, I'll get the newsletter printed.
Dave
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accomplished
nostalgic
energetic
complacent
busy
relaxed
hopeful