For the next 3 to 5 blogs, I'm going to highlight some fellow authors that I think my readers should investigate. Now it's just my opinion, mind you, but these authors have real talent and their books need the recognition.
First on my list is Tony Eldridge and his action/adventure novel The Samson Effect - http://www.samsoneffect.com/index.html
I'm biased, of course, because Tony writes in the same genre as I, but there's more to it than that!
For instance, check this out.
The Samson Effect is a “first class thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure.”
- Clive Cussler
Now I don't know about you, but I'd give my left arm (I've gotta keep my right arm for writing), to get a review like that from Clive Cussler, perhaps the greatest action/adventure author ever.
So, if you trust my recommendations, pick up a copy of The Samson Effect soon. I don't want to spoil the plot or lead the witness. What I can tell you is, you won't regret it!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Simple Ways to Show You Care
Regardless of your political affiliation or your opinion concerning the war in Iraq, today's post is about two simple ways you can support our men and women in the armed forces.
1) Books for Soldiers http://booksforsoldiers.com/ is a great site dedicated to providing reading material for our troops overseas. Life can be pretty boring while on duty and reading a good book can break the monotony. If you've got some paperbacks laying around, please donate them to this worthy cause.
2) If you use True Lemon, True Lime or True Orange, please take this opportunity to encourage a friend/family member to register for free samples. They are still donating 10 packets to Operation Gratitude for every new registration and they've almost reached their goal of donating 1,000,000 packets for Operation Gratitude's Patriot Drive in May.
Operation Gratitude is sending 50,000 care packages to our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and True Lemon wants to make sure each of those care packages has 20 packets of True Lemon included so they can add True Lemon to their water also.
http://www.truelemon.com/sample.html is the link for your free samples. It's a great way to flavor water.
"My husband is on a tour of duty in Iraq and he always complained about the taste of water until I started sending him True Lemon and True Lime," said Emily Barone, wife of one of our brave soldiers. "Having True Lemon and True Lime really helps him to get the water he needs and so this program is special not only to the troops but to their families too."
"It means a lot for our troops to get these care packages and know so many people have not forgotten them. The True Lemon samples are going to be a great addition to our care packages, and we've really appreciated the generous support of all the True Lemon customers who participated in this packet drive," said Carolyn Blashek, founder and president of Operation Gratitude.
CLICK HERE TO HELP SEND 1,000,000 PACKETS OF FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMON TASTE TO OUR TROOPS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN!
Click here to learn more about Operation Gratitude and the great work they do supporting our troops!
Thanks for participating in either of these programs. It means a lot to our Americans in uniform.
1) Books for Soldiers http://booksforsoldiers.com/ is a great site dedicated to providing reading material for our troops overseas. Life can be pretty boring while on duty and reading a good book can break the monotony. If you've got some paperbacks laying around, please donate them to this worthy cause.
2) If you use True Lemon, True Lime or True Orange, please take this opportunity to encourage a friend/family member to register for free samples. They are still donating 10 packets to Operation Gratitude for every new registration and they've almost reached their goal of donating 1,000,000 packets for Operation Gratitude's Patriot Drive in May.
Operation Gratitude is sending 50,000 care packages to our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and True Lemon wants to make sure each of those care packages has 20 packets of True Lemon included so they can add True Lemon to their water also.
http://www.truelemon.com/sample.html is the link for your free samples. It's a great way to flavor water.
"My husband is on a tour of duty in Iraq and he always complained about the taste of water until I started sending him True Lemon and True Lime," said Emily Barone, wife of one of our brave soldiers. "Having True Lemon and True Lime really helps him to get the water he needs and so this program is special not only to the troops but to their families too."
"It means a lot for our troops to get these care packages and know so many people have not forgotten them. The True Lemon samples are going to be a great addition to our care packages, and we've really appreciated the generous support of all the True Lemon customers who participated in this packet drive," said Carolyn Blashek, founder and president of Operation Gratitude.
CLICK HERE TO HELP SEND 1,000,000 PACKETS OF FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMON TASTE TO OUR TROOPS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN!
Click here to learn more about Operation Gratitude and the great work they do supporting our troops!
Thanks for participating in either of these programs. It means a lot to our Americans in uniform.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Dry Bones Band
I want you to know about a great little band out of Saratoga Springs, New York. They're the Dry Bones Band and I highly recommend you check them out. I have included 3 links here for your choice. If you like them, then make sure you make a habit of visiting youtube on a regular basis, because Dry Bones Band has been posting new videos lately.
http://www.garageband.com/artist/drybonesband
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drybonesband
Dry Bones Band on iLike
They have a unigue Folk/Alternative Folk sound, but 90% of their music is original, written by Dan Hubbs (who looks entirely cool in his shades). They are sometimes compared to Carter Family, Tom Waits, Charlie Poole and Dan admits being influenced by wallace stevens, memphisminnie, pogues, Iris Dement, and Bruce Springsteen .
The band consists of Dan on Old Time Banjo, Frank on the Fiddle, Matt on the Guitar, and beautiful-voiced Mare does most of the Vocals. Don't take my work for it, but find out for yourself. They're good, damn good.
Right now the Band does the Upper New York thing, with gigs in cafes, bars, coffee shops and festivals. They are well known in their neck of the woods, but it's just a matter of time before they break out.
In the meantime, if you REALLY like their music, drop me a line and I'll send you their CD.
http://www.garageband.com/artist/drybonesband
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drybonesband
Dry Bones Band on iLike
They have a unigue Folk/Alternative Folk sound, but 90% of their music is original, written by Dan Hubbs (who looks entirely cool in his shades). They are sometimes compared to Carter Family, Tom Waits, Charlie Poole and Dan admits being influenced by wallace stevens, memphisminnie, pogues, Iris Dement, and Bruce Springsteen .
The band consists of Dan on Old Time Banjo, Frank on the Fiddle, Matt on the Guitar, and beautiful-voiced Mare does most of the Vocals. Don't take my work for it, but find out for yourself. They're good, damn good.
Right now the Band does the Upper New York thing, with gigs in cafes, bars, coffee shops and festivals. They are well known in their neck of the woods, but it's just a matter of time before they break out.
In the meantime, if you REALLY like their music, drop me a line and I'll send you their CD.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Widgets
First, up until just a few days ago, I thought I knew what a widget was. According to my American Heritage Dictionary, a widget is a term used to refer to any discrete object, usually of some mechanical nature and relatively small size.
Alas, I have since become educated! In this techno age, widgets display information and invite the user to act in a number of ways. Typical widgets include buttons, dialog boxes, pop-up windows, pull-down menus, and all sorts of neat little gizmos.
The reason I'm writing about widgets today is simply because I now am a fan of widgets and have experienced their usefullness firsthand.
Now here is where I add my recommendation. Over the weekend, I shared a flurry of emails with Fraser Kelton, the Director of Business Development at AdaptiveBlue. I must tell you that Fraser is patient, creative, customer-service focused, and a pleasure to work with! In fact, Fraser took the time to create 15 of the coolest book widgets I could imagine. I have been busy this morning sharing widgets with everybody I know and asking people to post them on their blogs, YouTube, Facebook, websites, or any social networking site they can think of.
Believe me, if you want to get some fantastic widgets made for you, please contact Fraser at support@adaptiveblue.com for their widgets! You won't be disappointed.
Alas, I have since become educated! In this techno age, widgets display information and invite the user to act in a number of ways. Typical widgets include buttons, dialog boxes, pop-up windows, pull-down menus, and all sorts of neat little gizmos.
The reason I'm writing about widgets today is simply because I now am a fan of widgets and have experienced their usefullness firsthand.
Now here is where I add my recommendation. Over the weekend, I shared a flurry of emails with Fraser Kelton, the Director of Business Development at AdaptiveBlue. I must tell you that Fraser is patient, creative, customer-service focused, and a pleasure to work with! In fact, Fraser took the time to create 15 of the coolest book widgets I could imagine. I have been busy this morning sharing widgets with everybody I know and asking people to post them on their blogs, YouTube, Facebook, websites, or any social networking site they can think of.
Believe me, if you want to get some fantastic widgets made for you, please contact Fraser at support@adaptiveblue.com for their widgets! You won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Bullies, Big Boys & Egos
Smell that? Do you smell that? That's fear and you can not only smell it, you can hear it and taste it and feel it all around you.
I'm certain that anyone involved in the publishing business in any aspect, be that author, printer or retail bookstore, has been made aware of Amazon.com's move to control the publishing world.
What fascinates me much more than the online behemoth's tactical and strategic manuevers, is how everybody is reacting. I have visited scores of blogs, social networks, and author websites, where Amazon's posturing is the topic of the day.
It's all about change and lots of people don't handle change very well. It often brings out the snarling dogs, who snap and bite everybody nearby. I am NOT amazed at some of the pompous, self-centered bullying unleashed by the Old Guard, as they are uneffectionately dubbed, those people and institutions supporting how things used to be.
The publishing world, books and magazines, is a-changing and there's not a bloody thing anybody can do about it, except complain or go along for the ride. Yes, the Internet is to blame, but not in a bad way. Technology has given a common voice to so many. That's true democracy in action, by the way.
Sure, I've read all the banter about the quality of books today, the poor writing, lousy editing, ridiculous plots, blah, blah, blah. The fact is that many books published by the BIG Boys in new York are pure crap, have lots of typos, editing mistakes, lousy editing and stupid plots. Just because a named publishing house was foolish enough to publish a certain work, doesn't give it instant credibility. Yes, there is a lot of less-than-spectacular work out there, but the customer will decide what's good and what isn't, not Borders or Barnes & Noble, not Amazon.com, not New York publishers, not anybody but the buyer.
In simple terms, all of the traditional publishing icons we've know over the years are fading and they're going fast. So who can blame them if the dig in their heels and growl? Seems perfectly normal behavior to me. It's too bad they're wasting so much energy on bad-mouthing everybody else, instead of working to be a positive influence as the change takes place.
Remember the music industry? LP's to CD's to downloads. Recording artists realized very quickly that things weren't right, that the moguls were keeping all the money. The customer didn't want to pay for LP's that scratched. They didn't want to pay for CD's that had 1 or 2 good tracks, so the consumer made it clear what they wanted. In 10 years, we won't recognize the music industry at all, because the new generation of musician is responding to the customer, providing the needs directly.
Likewise, so should publishing.
Remember Hollywood? Beta, then VHS, then laser disc, now DVD. Movies also went through an enormous change. Sure, we still go to the theater, but for the experience and movies we really want to see on the giant screen. The rest we rent on DVD. Movies open and close in a week, if they're bombs, but can be redeemed with DVD sales/rentals.
Likewise publishing. It was just a matter of time.
Now Amazon flexing it's muscles is to be expected. The final outcome is too foggy to be foretold. The backlash is already pretty vocal. It may or may not change Amazon's collective minds.
Still, for authors and independent publishers, this is a critical time. As a part of that crowd, I am welcoming the change with open arms. When the dust settles, the publishing world will be different and perhaps so much better. I tend to believe that the horizon looks very bright. What I won't be a part of is the bullying authors who strut around badmouthing all the little guys. In the end, the little guys are going to win and I want to be with the winners.
My advice? Put aside your egos, your NY attitudes, your "I'm so special" nose-in-the-clouds view of books, bookstores, and authors, so you can be a part of this glorious transition. If you're really a writer, then you put your arm around all the other writers in friendship, because you know how tough this industry can be. You support your independent bookstore, not the soulless chains. More importantly, you fight narrow-mindedness. Shame on anyone who claims to be an author, who also shuns others, just because they sought a different path. Artists are all about differences.
Please, put aside the emotional response and let's make this journey benefit anyone with the courage to put words on paper, even electronic. We're still capable of burning books, just with email, delete buttons, and inflamatory press lambasting fellow authors. Get over it!
I'm certain that anyone involved in the publishing business in any aspect, be that author, printer or retail bookstore, has been made aware of Amazon.com's move to control the publishing world.
What fascinates me much more than the online behemoth's tactical and strategic manuevers, is how everybody is reacting. I have visited scores of blogs, social networks, and author websites, where Amazon's posturing is the topic of the day.
It's all about change and lots of people don't handle change very well. It often brings out the snarling dogs, who snap and bite everybody nearby. I am NOT amazed at some of the pompous, self-centered bullying unleashed by the Old Guard, as they are uneffectionately dubbed, those people and institutions supporting how things used to be.
The publishing world, books and magazines, is a-changing and there's not a bloody thing anybody can do about it, except complain or go along for the ride. Yes, the Internet is to blame, but not in a bad way. Technology has given a common voice to so many. That's true democracy in action, by the way.
Sure, I've read all the banter about the quality of books today, the poor writing, lousy editing, ridiculous plots, blah, blah, blah. The fact is that many books published by the BIG Boys in new York are pure crap, have lots of typos, editing mistakes, lousy editing and stupid plots. Just because a named publishing house was foolish enough to publish a certain work, doesn't give it instant credibility. Yes, there is a lot of less-than-spectacular work out there, but the customer will decide what's good and what isn't, not Borders or Barnes & Noble, not Amazon.com, not New York publishers, not anybody but the buyer.
In simple terms, all of the traditional publishing icons we've know over the years are fading and they're going fast. So who can blame them if the dig in their heels and growl? Seems perfectly normal behavior to me. It's too bad they're wasting so much energy on bad-mouthing everybody else, instead of working to be a positive influence as the change takes place.
Remember the music industry? LP's to CD's to downloads. Recording artists realized very quickly that things weren't right, that the moguls were keeping all the money. The customer didn't want to pay for LP's that scratched. They didn't want to pay for CD's that had 1 or 2 good tracks, so the consumer made it clear what they wanted. In 10 years, we won't recognize the music industry at all, because the new generation of musician is responding to the customer, providing the needs directly.
Likewise, so should publishing.
Remember Hollywood? Beta, then VHS, then laser disc, now DVD. Movies also went through an enormous change. Sure, we still go to the theater, but for the experience and movies we really want to see on the giant screen. The rest we rent on DVD. Movies open and close in a week, if they're bombs, but can be redeemed with DVD sales/rentals.
Likewise publishing. It was just a matter of time.
Now Amazon flexing it's muscles is to be expected. The final outcome is too foggy to be foretold. The backlash is already pretty vocal. It may or may not change Amazon's collective minds.
Still, for authors and independent publishers, this is a critical time. As a part of that crowd, I am welcoming the change with open arms. When the dust settles, the publishing world will be different and perhaps so much better. I tend to believe that the horizon looks very bright. What I won't be a part of is the bullying authors who strut around badmouthing all the little guys. In the end, the little guys are going to win and I want to be with the winners.
My advice? Put aside your egos, your NY attitudes, your "I'm so special" nose-in-the-clouds view of books, bookstores, and authors, so you can be a part of this glorious transition. If you're really a writer, then you put your arm around all the other writers in friendship, because you know how tough this industry can be. You support your independent bookstore, not the soulless chains. More importantly, you fight narrow-mindedness. Shame on anyone who claims to be an author, who also shuns others, just because they sought a different path. Artists are all about differences.
Please, put aside the emotional response and let's make this journey benefit anyone with the courage to put words on paper, even electronic. We're still capable of burning books, just with email, delete buttons, and inflamatory press lambasting fellow authors. Get over it!
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