Reviving Dead Spots

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One quarter to one third of the way through a novel, I sometimes hit this dead spot. I’m not sure where the story is going. For instance, this happened with Building Character (Book 2 of the Northwoods Trilogy).  Instead of a linear progression from one scene to the next I had a beginning and an end, but there was this entire middle part missing. I wondered how I was going to fill it in. There didn’t seem to be much room for story there. One character was in transit to the location of the other characters and I wondered how I … Continue reading →

Apple in my Eye

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I’m done with you, Apple. You hear me? Done. I can recall the joy I felt when I got my first iPhone. I was thrilled with the phone, and I used it for everything, and it made my life so much easier. I was in love with it. Now, the honeymoon is over. The love didn’t just fade, it was like continued infidelity. Spousal abuse. After the last few years of Apple’s proprietary restrictions, the constant purposeful inconveniences. To wit: …repetitive requests to logon after every update, which happened whether i was currently using the phone or not, the inability … Continue reading →

Rocking the Boat

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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?

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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 →

What Happened & What’s Happening

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Melissa and I did our first Facebook Live Stream on the 16th. Here it is. SUBJECTS: Hillary’s new book, my new releases, Melissa’s book projects, calling the cops last night because someone shot at our house.

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The Girls in the Band

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from the Girls in the Band backmatter…. After Words My days in a chick-band are some of my most cherished memories. There were plenty of challenges, but none of them could eclipse the joy I got from performing my music in front of an audience–that instant validation that comes from applause, after you have given your all. Nothing else has compared to the unique bond I shared with the other girls as we created music together and shared it with whomever would listen. As things morphed into a situation I could no longer tolerate, I had to walk away from … Continue reading →

What Happened

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This blog is from both of Us. My words in black, Melissa’s in red. So, here’s a funny thing…I guess you could say it’s WHAT HAPPENED. We preordered– SHE preordered. Though I won’t complain. …Hillary’s book, expected it on the 14th, but this morning it still wasn’t in the mailbox… (our morning starts about 3pm these days). I’m about to send Amazon a snarky note– Then it hits me, I say, “Oh!” and me and my birthday-suit jump out of bed and jiggle down the hall to the foyer… I do so enjoy the fact that she sleeps au naturel. …where there is … Continue reading →

New Release: Circling Uranus

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5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant!!!!!! ByThe old one!on August 30, 2017 Kuddos to Ms. Baeli! This story is fantastic. Talk about covering some ground (or space) in a short book—this is a prime example of brilliant writing. Science Fic—yes. Les/fic—somewhat. Adventure—yes. Homesteading–yes. Perseverance—-yes. Bravery—yes. Humor—yes. I liked Story but it was Shrtz that really grabbed me—-and can she ever “grab”! I enjoyed he references to “Clan of the Cave Bear” because it is one of my all time favorite series. I also thought the POTUS anagram was exceptionally well done. If you have any trepidation about reading this—-just go for … Continue reading →

Mistress of Mogador by T.T. Thomas

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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

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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 →

Workspaces & Tentacle Sex

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Since my surgery at the end of May, I have had to accommodate my recovery, while still getting my work done. The whole thing has made me feel old and decrepit. Our bedroom is now in the living room because it was just easier to put everything in one room. Especially after we realized the landlords weren’t going to cut down the dead trees and falling limbs just outside our wall of windows in the bedroom. We didn’t feel safe there, so the living room became our new bedroom. Only recently, could I sit in a desk chair as I … Continue reading →