Museletter Video 6Oct2017 Introduction to new subscribers and updates on my work
Now that my subscribers have had a few days to see this, I’m posting it publicly, now. … Continue reading →
Category Archives: ENTERTAINMENT
Rocking the Boat Authors must defend themselves
Don’t say anything. Don’t make a comment. It will make you look bad. That’s the usual advice in the publishing industry when someone posts a caustic review of your book, under the assumption that this is about some type of insecurity on the part of a writer. This is not insecurity. It is frustration, and in this case, it’s also outrage. In fact, historically, authors are expected to keep their mouth shut about these things, but I am a proponent of the adage Silence equals Death. This advice to stay mum strikes me as the same mentality that got that Orange Nightmare in the Oval … Continue reading →
Is it Goodreads or Badreaders? Mean-spirited behavior is a learned behavior. It can be unlearned.
I’ve always believed that every ill in our society falls under one or more of three categories: Greed, Ignorance or Zealotry. I was faced with an example of one or more of these while updating my author page on Goodreads. I came across a negative review, quite by accident, of one of my earlier books. Against my better judgment, I read it, and was horrified. The reviewer, obviously, did not like my book, and that’s fine, in and of itself, but this reviewer made statements that were patently false. She claimed the character in my book was “helping a pedophile.” … Continue reading →
Sex & menopause in Lesbian Fiction Facebook Livestream video
NEW RELEASE: The Girls in the Band lesbian fiction
Available now on Amazon! The Girls in the Band. http://viewbook.at/TheGirlsintheBand This is a universal link, it will take you to the Amazon page in your country. Enjoy! … Continue reading →
Mistress of Mogador by T.T. Thomas Great book by a talented author
I have never been a fan of historical romance, perhaps because most of my experience with them has been of the insipid, cheesy variety. Mistress of Mogador is not that. No ridiculous fragile women seeking validation from some musclebound man, poisoned by testosterone; no need to be saved by such a man, and no absurd, quixotic ruminations about love in the vein of puerile cupidity. No, the females of Mistress of Mogador carry the modern I’m-a-Nasty-Woman sensibility, in the most attractive and honorable ways. The characters here are also sufficiently flawed to burst from the page into personhood in the … Continue reading →
Circling Uranus final draft done
Done with final draft of Circling Uranus: Samegenders in Space & Elsewhere. Edit/betaread in the hand of Melissa Walker. My short story turned into a novella, and this might be Episode One, as i have ideas for future installments. The blurb isn’t written yet, but here’s the BEFORE WORDS: (at the moment) This story was inspired by the character, India Bell, of the Rain Falls series. As a ruse, she had supposedly written a science fiction book titled Circling Uranus, and it became a bestseller, much to her chagrin. It reportedly included some form of tentacle sex with an alien. I … Continue reading →
Goodies, Captured Critters & Politics
Sort of a quick diary entry of our day, with our usual adventures with photography. Allergy shot today (only 28 more to go. LOL) Afterward, we had a joyful visit to Barnes & Noble (a rare treat these days) and got some goodies. Melissa bought me a pen-cup I loved, and we of course bought some books too. Tesla: The Life & Times of an Electric Messiah, Pocket Birds of North America, Speeches That Changed the World, The Total Outdoorsman (read: outdoorswoman–sexist bastards.) and a fabulous journal. On the way home, we saw a fox with an injured paw. Followed … Continue reading →
Day of the Turkeys (with one exceptional squirrel)
For our first wedding anniversary, Melissa and I went to Onyx cave in Eureka Springs. Heading out, we were, as usual, watching for good pictures, our cameras at the ready, as I steered the Avalanche (whom we lovingly call Ava Lanche, as in French style Launch-SHAY. She is like another one of our pets.) Just down the road on Highway 23, we stopped to take photos of a tree full of turkey vultures. Creepy and wonderful. This was balanced by a precious little bluebird Melissa captured nearby. But not a turkey bluebird. We were starving, but thought we’d just stop … Continue reading →
Nom Nom Nom de Plume (with a side of science and metaphor)
How delicious. To be someone else. To reinvent oneself. I’m not talking about who you are at your core, but about characteristics that might not be serving you anymore. I’ve done it several times over, and not only with names. As long ago as my early twenties, I began referring to myself and introducing myself to others by another name. Eventually, it led me to legally change it. Psychologically, that was one of the best decisions I ever made for my health. I maintain that the name-change wasn’t running AWAY from something, but running TO. Seeking identity. I wanted to … Continue reading →
Thoughts on The Thief of Time by John Boyles I was intrigued by the idea of immortality, and the jaunt through history
I have missed sitting down with a physical book and reading. My recent decision to take a sabbatical and just allow myself to be creative and deadline-free, had me standing in front of my fiction bookshelf, seeking something new. Something enjoyable. As most of you know by now, I have become quite finicky about my fiction reading. I read so much of my own work in pumping out work in the last ten years, that I have had little time to read for pleasure, and when I do, it’s inevitably just before I go to sleep, and by then, my … Continue reading →
Whole Brain Literary Food Novelwriting is a WHOLE BRAIN activity. So is the publishing business.
Recently, I posted a inquiry to my readers, about a publishing aspect of my work. All the responses were encouraging and thought-provoking, but one in particular touched upon some deeper themes. Here it is. TO MY READERS–A QUESTION: As authors, we want to please everyone, but that’s just not possible. For instance, on my newest novella, Saturation Point, I have 4 and 5 star reviews and personal messages and emails that tell me how much they enjoyed the introspective nature of this book, and the characters, but on one review, the reviewer was bored because there wasn’t dialogue on every … Continue reading →
Weird reflection video
Okay this might not interest anyone but us, but we were trying to take a nap and noticed #weirdness on the ceiling…a strange, undulating reflection that looked like a miniature lightning storm in a teeny cloud. After a bit, Noodle jumped on my chest and interrupted the filming. Apologies for profanity. LOL. … Continue reading →
Singing, Snoring & Joy
Something happened to me. I was applying formatting to print file for one of my books, feeling the dessicated adrenal supplement coursing through my veins, and i was singing along to Shawn Colvin on “Get out of this house”, formatting, and feeling pretty damn good…and then i just started crying…not from sadness. It was a sensation I hadn’t felt in such a long time…one I can only describe as the elusive feeling of pure JOY. It made me want to perform again, write songs again. Buy a guitar to use until i could get mine from storage…I could barely sing … Continue reading →
Toward the Light
I was reworking the cover for In Absentia (Rain Falls series #2), which I released fairly quickly after Rain Falls, and it sort of fell through the cracks like an orphan. Someone mentioned that I had a bunch of new reviews on it. I didn’t know. Last I looked, I only had 2 on that book… Anyway, I was pleased to see that they were all really good: 4 and 5 stars, which is always a joy, and profoundly validating. But more than that, the readers/reviewers were saying things that reflected what I had talked about with this series. I … Continue reading →