I'm going to pick up right where I left off: politics. But I won't dwell on it much. I've been having some interesting (if that's the right word) discussions on Facebook. It's mostly just me vs three or four that feel the opposite. I'm not sure I should say which side I'm on, though if you know me you probably know where I stand. But I will offer this: The most profane, obscene, and moronic of my opposition really outdid himself the other day. I often cite the fact checking sites I mentioned last time, and usually those fact checkers show him to be in error. So he struck back by announcing that he didn't need to check the facts. He knew the truth!
No good news on the writing front. I had three more rejections: "No Means No" from Madville Publishing and "The Weatherman" by Craft Elements Publishing for their anthology theme on conflict and also Sequestrum. Shucks.
I suppose the big news, both personal and on writing, is that I went to working just part-time. If work was just forty hours a week, I'd have stayed full time. But we were working fifty hours every week, and sixty hours was on the horizon. I'm getting too old for that sh—that stuff. So I will have more time to devote to writing, both on Lying Swords and the self-publishing of Just Lucky. The income reduction will not be welcome, but it may benefit us at tax time.
On the reading front, I’m still working on Black Veins, but I've only got one or two stories to go. As I wrote before, I'm not a big fan of horror fiction. Salem's Lot by King was the first real horror novel I ever read...and...not scary. No nightmares or any kind of psychic holdover. Most of the time, horror is a sub-genre of fantasy and I prefer different brands of fantasy.
If you like a good fantasy series, I'd recommend David Eddings' The Belgariad series. I've blatantly stolen an idea from that series, rebranded it slightly, and I'm using it in Lying Swords. In Eddings' work, it's called "the will and the word." I call my version something else, and it's not nearly as powerful, but the principle is close to the same.
Before I forget, I've posted an excerpt from Just Lucky, Book 1: Friends and Enemies on my Facebook author's page (F.G.Waiss, Author).
Besides The Belgariad (a five-book series), Eddings wrote other fantasy series: The Malloreon (another five-book effort), and then three more series.
Some other fantasy series include the Shanara series of series. It started with The Sword of Shannara and is followed by two more. Then, later, author Terry Brooks (On a personal and professional note, I knew a young lady named Terry Brooks in college, though it's likely she spelled her first name differently. She was a freshman when I was a senior in the same campus area. About two years later when I went back to college for graduate work, she happened to be living in the same apartment building. It's very possible that Teyla in Witchery looks like her. Very possible.) added another few Shannara series of books.
Another fantasy series perhaps less well-known is The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson. I've read the first trilogy, but not the following seven books. It's a different kind of fantasy series. The hero, Thomas Covenant, suffers from leprosy.
I'm having an unexpected delay writing this blog. We have a puppy. He's a little over three months old (we've had him for two) and he's a little bigger than a full-grown beagle. He likes to come into the office and put his front legs on my arm or the desk and look (and sniff) at what's going on. As my wife's support dog (and, hopefully, service dog eventually) we took him with us on the week we spent in Rochester where the boss had a five-day course of physical and occupational therapy. The treatment worked. We put the pup on the leash and kept it short and he trotted right along the right side of the wheelchair while I pushed. Then during her sessions he'd lie down and play with his chew toy or go to sleep.
He's a very pretty dog and very fluffy and of course being a puppy he loves everybody. We had many people—mostly women patients—that wanted to pet him and take his picture and thanked us for bringing him. Mostly ladies that missed their own dog. My worry was how would he deal with living in a motel room? He's completely housebroken here, but he has a doggy door, so he doesn't need to alert us when he needs to go outside.
He was great. He let us know every time...even when it was four in the morning, and held it until we got him outside. His only serious flaw, being a large puppy with a mouthful of needles, is that he regards the whole world as his chew toy and the hands that feed him are not exempt. Once he gets past that stage, he should be a real good big dog.
And that's all for this time.
As usual, I urge you all to read, either my books or someone else's.
And, in case I don't get to another of these before 11/3, please vote.
No good news on the writing front. I had three more rejections: "No Means No" from Madville Publishing and "The Weatherman" by Craft Elements Publishing for their anthology theme on conflict and also Sequestrum. Shucks.
I suppose the big news, both personal and on writing, is that I went to working just part-time. If work was just forty hours a week, I'd have stayed full time. But we were working fifty hours every week, and sixty hours was on the horizon. I'm getting too old for that sh—that stuff. So I will have more time to devote to writing, both on Lying Swords and the self-publishing of Just Lucky. The income reduction will not be welcome, but it may benefit us at tax time.
On the reading front, I’m still working on Black Veins, but I've only got one or two stories to go. As I wrote before, I'm not a big fan of horror fiction. Salem's Lot by King was the first real horror novel I ever read...and...not scary. No nightmares or any kind of psychic holdover. Most of the time, horror is a sub-genre of fantasy and I prefer different brands of fantasy.
If you like a good fantasy series, I'd recommend David Eddings' The Belgariad series. I've blatantly stolen an idea from that series, rebranded it slightly, and I'm using it in Lying Swords. In Eddings' work, it's called "the will and the word." I call my version something else, and it's not nearly as powerful, but the principle is close to the same.
Before I forget, I've posted an excerpt from Just Lucky, Book 1: Friends and Enemies on my Facebook author's page (F.G.Waiss, Author).
Besides The Belgariad (a five-book series), Eddings wrote other fantasy series: The Malloreon (another five-book effort), and then three more series.
Some other fantasy series include the Shanara series of series. It started with The Sword of Shannara and is followed by two more. Then, later, author Terry Brooks (On a personal and professional note, I knew a young lady named Terry Brooks in college, though it's likely she spelled her first name differently. She was a freshman when I was a senior in the same campus area. About two years later when I went back to college for graduate work, she happened to be living in the same apartment building. It's very possible that Teyla in Witchery looks like her. Very possible.) added another few Shannara series of books.
Another fantasy series perhaps less well-known is The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson. I've read the first trilogy, but not the following seven books. It's a different kind of fantasy series. The hero, Thomas Covenant, suffers from leprosy.
I'm having an unexpected delay writing this blog. We have a puppy. He's a little over three months old (we've had him for two) and he's a little bigger than a full-grown beagle. He likes to come into the office and put his front legs on my arm or the desk and look (and sniff) at what's going on. As my wife's support dog (and, hopefully, service dog eventually) we took him with us on the week we spent in Rochester where the boss had a five-day course of physical and occupational therapy. The treatment worked. We put the pup on the leash and kept it short and he trotted right along the right side of the wheelchair while I pushed. Then during her sessions he'd lie down and play with his chew toy or go to sleep.
He's a very pretty dog and very fluffy and of course being a puppy he loves everybody. We had many people—mostly women patients—that wanted to pet him and take his picture and thanked us for bringing him. Mostly ladies that missed their own dog. My worry was how would he deal with living in a motel room? He's completely housebroken here, but he has a doggy door, so he doesn't need to alert us when he needs to go outside.
He was great. He let us know every time...even when it was four in the morning, and held it until we got him outside. His only serious flaw, being a large puppy with a mouthful of needles, is that he regards the whole world as his chew toy and the hands that feed him are not exempt. Once he gets past that stage, he should be a real good big dog.
And that's all for this time.
As usual, I urge you all to read, either my books or someone else's.
And, in case I don't get to another of these before 11/3, please vote.
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