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April 8, 2012

In the days of the comet (Review)

Ever had one of those things you’ve done in your life where you think back about it and shudder? Like a moment where you were so petty, so selfish, so cruel that you keep it locked down and try not to remember it. What if the world had thoughts like that, where it would look back and all its bloodshed and religious strife and economic crimes and colonization and collectively wince at itself? It seems amazing, when you think about it, that some people sleep in innocence in mansions while homeless children live in cars. That’s pretty much the course […]
April 8, 2012

Tehachapi Loop’s Links!

Jason Hill commented on my recount of Tehachapi and our last session there that I did not give their club due menion. So here are all the appropriate links… The sesion report itself: Off to Tehachapi First Day Second Day Club link LINK Jason & Gang, thanks for the great runs! We keep coming back, year after year!
April 5, 2012

Postfix Muse (DOG EAR)

Anyone who writes has a muse. If you are focused, it might be just a single heavenly ideal. For me, it could be the sun casting across a woman’s beautiful face, the blowing heat coming off an urban pavement or clouds chasing across the Florida sky. Inspiring muses are a dime a dozen. It’s the postfix muses that are harder to find. Once you publish, you are going to find yourself facing hardships you never imagined. Turns out that writing a consistent, entertaining, and marketable story over 500 pages is easy compared to selling it, accepting criticism, and getting screwed out […]
April 3, 2012

A tight spot

In my last session, the turnout going into Watsonville staging came literally unglued. Originally I had to cut half the mounts off it get it to fit, screwing it tight and backing it with double-sided sticky tape. Well, that worked – for ten years. Then, in the middle of the session it came apart, the motor swung loose, the throw arm popped out, and the switch was suddenly manual. Thankfully we could still position it by hand and trains could still enter Watsonville. But it had to be fixed. Since the tape was no good, I wedged styrene between it […]
April 1, 2012

Tigana (Review)

The poor Palm. The Palm is a splayed formation of land under a two-mooned sky, overrun twenty years ago by TWO empires, the Ygrath from the west, the Barbarior from the east. Since that invasion, the land huddles like Czechoslovakia beneath Germany and Russia. Worse, so bitter was the fighting in the west and so angered was the Ygrathian ruler with his son’s death in that campaign that he destroyed the two cities of the primary state which had stood against him, toppling its towers, grinding the survivors under heavy taxation, and even magically striking the original name of the […]
March 31, 2012

UCF Book Festival 2012

Don’t let anyone tell you doing a book show is easy. Up at five AM, out the door and on the road so we could make it early to beat the rush in the door (what rush?). The problem is if you plan for every disaster and there isn’t any, you’ve got a lot of dead time on your hands. Yes, we were set up and staffed for a 9am opening. At 6:30am. Oh well. Fortunately I was boothed next to Rod Sanford, a Florida mystery writer with some shows under his belt. He gave me advice that I found […]
March 29, 2012

A writer’s blog (DOG EAR)

Let this be your first lesson, Grasshopper. I’ve got to blog on a fixed schedule. Nobody is going to check back every day for irregular postings, nobody except crazed stalker-fans. And my mom. With this in mind, I’m going to start posting up twice a week. As already established, I’ll post book reviews on Sunday. Since I can’t knock down a book a week, you’ll have to deal with some hazy recollections. But still, I’ve read a lot of books and will do my best to point out the more entertaining (for better or worse) of them. I’m also beginning […]
March 29, 2012

Site Timetable

Updates to be posted as follows… (check the bottom of this page for specific updates!) Writing Advice – EVERY THURSDAY EVENING! (In the inkwell) Book Reviews – EVERY SUNDAY EVENING! (On the nightstand) Model Train Blog – AFTER EVERY SESSION! !!!FULL BOOK REVIEW LIST!!!
March 28, 2012

Opslog – LM&O – 3/18/2012

It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that I’m a curmudgeon – I don’t really like kids.They follow manufactured fads like lemmings. Youth is wasted on them. They had door-stops for heads. We were getting ready for the session tonight – not many of the usuals were there, but in contrast, we had a couple local visitors (guys who know how to run) who we pressed into service. And we also had two kids, JW’s son and another new member named Matthew. Junior JW signed up for the Silver Bullet #1 (his old man said he’d give him the […]
March 28, 2012

Supplies for the book show

So, I’m going to the UCF Book Festival. Got a booth and everything. Chairs are there, table is there, I just need books and a pen, right? My supply list: Cover Art picture (12″x18″) Cover Art easel Sample book Sample book easel Price post sign (for corner of book cover) Scotch tape (to attach price sign to book) Spartan helmet Books (60 of them, in two rolling suitcases) Cash for change ($200 in ones, $300 in fives) Cash box Ipad (borrowed from my brother) Credit card reader Camera (gotta get pictures of this event – needed to charge the battery, […]