Don’t Worry, Thunder is Just a Few Clouds Bumping Together

I have always been fascinated by thunderstorms. Living in a Mid-Atlantic state, during the spring and summer months, we are inundated with our share of severe weather, though not an overabundance of tornadoes. I am enthralled with each component – lightning, thunder, wind, updrafts, downdrafts, wall clouds, tornadoes and mesocyclones. I penned my first short story in high school with a tornado being the center of the tale.

To take this a step further, hurricanes tend to captivate my attention during their season, from June 1^st until November 31^st with the heaviest occurrences in late summer and early fall. I entertained the thought of becoming a storm chaser; however, with no formal training and unwilling to risk my neck in a big whirlwind of not knowing what I’m doing, I changed my thought process.

Now, I prefer to write about dicey weather situations. I can set the stage with tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, or a wayward spring shower if I so choose. Perhaps one of these weather monsters will collide with a creature from Burrus Plax. There’s no way to forecast this outcome.

Have a great day. And if you live in an area prone to severe weather, please be careful and lay low.

To end on a sideways note, the protagonist in my tornado-filled short story ended up in Oz.    

Home is Home, Unless it’s Home, Then it’s Really Home!

Some enjoy living in the city, others in urban areas and still others (me being one) in a rural setting, or as some say, the country. I’m surrounded by beautiful oak trees. In fact, when I was writing Eden’s Wake, the second book of the Rising Tide series, oak leaves were the inspiration for creatures called the Narify.

It doesn’t matter where you reside as long as it brings you enjoyment. Things are different for a city dweller than one who lives in the country. Municipal water and sewage compared to a well and septic system for one. Items and services are more readily available in a city setting; whereas, they may be few and far between in rural locales.

Another important item is law enforcement. In the country, we rely on sheriffs and deputies; however, in the city you are fortunate enough to enlist the services of Superman, Batman and the like.

If you’re a gourmet, food is another reason to enjoy city life. It has been my privilege to see a large amount of this country and to have spent time in many of its cities. From the west coast to the east coast and many points in between, I have dined on the finest fare available. All in all by a tiny margin, New Orleans sticks out as one of my favorite food destinations. Although, I’ll admit after a week in the crescent city the after burners are on full mode flame-out. That’s what you get when you are a lover of spicy foods.

We now return to the jest of the post, after my food critic corner. It makes no difference where you choose to live, they both have pros and cons. I prefer trees, fields and the quiet they bring, along with the star filled skies at night.

Enjoy the upcoming week and do yourself a favor. Munch on a few hot peppers and get your after-burners to cranking out the flames!

If I Exaggerate Something That’s Already Been Exaggerated, Does That Make the Exaggerated an Exaggerated Exaggeration?

Being a science fiction writer, I am able to exaggerate things to the nth degree. In fact, you can say some of my writing is exaggeration personified. I find when creating creatures, exaggerations  often come into play. In looking through the vast majority of my writing, I can see where I’ve spread the exaggerations rather thick; however, in my case, I find it necessary, especially, when the points I’ve exaggerated are believable.

Let’s venture from the world of make believe into our everyday lives. How many times have you heard, “It must be a thousand degrees in here?” Or, who could forget, “I’ve seen that a million times.”? Here’s an oldie but goodie, “I literally jumped out of my skin.” Remember this, “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times.“? I could go on and on, but let’s finish big. “I’m gonna hit you so hard, I’ll knock you into next week.”

It’s comical how often we exaggerate in our day to day lives without giving it a second thought, and to that end, I’d like to Thank you for taking time to read this week’s post. Just be sure, “Not to eat anything for dinner that you’ve eaten a thousand times before!”

A Book is a Book is a Book, Unless it’s Your Book, Then it Becomes a Whole Other Entity

I’ll have to admit I’m enthralled whenever I watch a television show or movie centered around an author. For reasons unknown, this seems to be more prevalent in mysteries.

Being one of my favorite shows, I watch Andy Griffith each morning. This a.m., there was an episode where Andy’s fiancée, Helen Crump, had written a children’s manuscript and sent it to a publisher in Richmond. Surprisingly so, in the mail several weeks later came an acceptance letter and a check for $1,000.

She made the trip to Richmond and reviewed details such as art work. The publisher suggested she begin rewrites. Later on in the show, one of the editors came to Mayberry and began working with Helen in the rewriting process. It was really surprising to see the characters  write with nothing but a pencil.

On one occasion, I saw a typewriter, not in use, but packed up with the lid attached. Even with the double barrel approach of the mighty pencil and the electric typewriter, I cannot imagine having to do edits and rewrites with such archaic writing utensils. Still we complain like babies when our computers act up showing how spoiled we’ve become with the tools of today at our disposal.

Write A Novel? Yeah Right, You Write First, Then I’ll Write, All Right?

When I set out to write my first novel, I admit I was a bit apprehensive. Being used to pinning only short stories, you understand my hesitancy. Once I began and discovered the difference between the two was not as astronomical as I had originally feared, the process smoothed considerably.

After the book was written, it was edited with the help of numerous people more adept in the ways of  blah, blah, blah, yackity schmackity grammar type things.

Having a completed manuscript in my hands, I began the search for a publisher (grueling search ensues), located a small press, and they agreed to publish my work.

Fast forward a year, I am holding a finished novel in my hands. It’s got all the great stuff: title, cover art, back matter, teaser, acknowledgements, dedication page, and lots and lots of words that I personally wrote.

I stare at the novel cover. With 800 new titles released each day according to one statistical estimate and 4500 according to another source, how do I get my book in front of the many eyeballs that I need to read it? Looking at it through my eyes that’s a lot of books released every day.

The answer  . . . MARKET! MARKET! MARKET! When you think you’ve done enough, that’s when you know you’re just getting started!