Random scribblings and thoughts about writing, publishing and the entire letters to dollars process. Includes copious notes about politics and everyday life.
I live alone. I've never been married, and at my age I don't see myself ever getting married. I suppose one never knows, but I can't imagine the woman who would share 1,500 of living space with me and not end up on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper.
Last night (Saturday, 8/29/20) I went to see The Blue Cats (FB Page) at Natalie's Coal-Fired Pizza and Live Music with No Facebook Ever Mike. I was lucky to get tickets, as the show sold out five minutes after it was announced.
What a show!
I was attending a workshop some years back given by Michael Stackpole at the Origins Gaming Convention. On the subject of ebooks, Kindle, and piracy (and not on the high seas) Stackpole displayed little knowledge or insight, but he did prompt me to think for myself.
We, the majority of writers on Amazon, don't fight piracy. We're fighting obscurity.
I write fantasy, science fantasy, general fiction, and hard boiled detective stories. Popularity on the level of, say, J.K. Rowling has eluded me - so far.
I was considerably cheered up when Lin Hilgendorf of Whole Grain Milling wrote and told me how much she enjoyed Magic for Hire. That really makes my day!
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| Fan Mail |
Now I'm off to finish a short story and add another chapter to my novel.
Let me make this perfectly clear right from the start: I don't like Monday. In particular, I never, ever enjoyed Monday morning. But we've got to feed the bulldog, right? So here's how to make a typical Monday morning do a U-Turn in heavy traffic.
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| Not Your Mother's Oatmeal |
Some years back I was on vacation and enjoying my brother Bob's hospitality in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We'd had a late night and I was feeling my age that morning when Bob announced that he was cooking breakfast. Bob is actually a good cook, so I had no trepidation until he announced that we'd be having cooked cereal. Oatmeal never did appeal to me, and cream of wheat is even worse. I maintain that it tastes like glue, and oatmeal reminds me of being trapped in a hospital and forced to eat hospital food.
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| Danté in Jacksonville, FL |
My cat, Danté, was euthanized on my order yesterday (Tuesday, 8/18/20) and passed away peacefully at 4:00 PM EST. He had contracted a serious disease, likely cancer, and his quality of life was declining. He spent his last night watching television with me in his usual place - on the footrest of my recliner between my feet - until 1:30 AM. When I turned the TV off, he hopped off and led the way up to bed, where he assumed his customary position on the bed next to me.
Like any good writer - scratch that. Like any idiot you'll find in heavy traffic, I've been ignoring things. Namely, my blog. I got a ton of spam when I put it online, and so set the comments to be moderated. Which, as far as it goes, is not a bad idea.
Unless, of course, the web master forgets to check for messages and as a result nothing ever shows up when it should. I just now, today, discovered what's been going on - people have been posting, but their efforts don't appear on my blog. Now, for messages written in Arabic (and there have been a few) that's okay. But that leaves everyone else.
My deepest apologies to those of you who have thoughtfully left missives and feedback, and never had their message appear. I'm fixing that situation as of today.
Yours in Embarrassment,
WL Emery
