PBW on Hiatus

As of right now it looks like we will be dealing directly with Hurricane Irma starting tomorrow night. The last time we faced a storm this strong we had no power for 21 days afterward, so I may be scarce for a while. We have made all the proper preparations, and have been through many storms like this both here and in South Florida, so we feel confident that we'll make it through again.

Since I won't be around to approve comments or update PBW I'm going to put the blog on hiatus for the duration. I'll check in when I can and let you all know how we made it through. In the meantime, please send good thoughts and prayers for all the people of Florida and the Caribbean. This time we're really going to need them.

Storm Hiatus

Paperback Writer will be on hiatus for the duration of Hurricane Matthew and the aftermath. I'm hoping that won't be too long, and I'll check in with you all whenever I can. In the meantime, please send good thoughts our way.

Off to Achoo

My guy brought home an upper respiratory virus he picked up at work, and promptly infected me. I must stop kissing this man before I spray him down with Lysol. Anyway, I'm going to take a sick day to sip chicken soup, read and be miserable. See you tomorrow.

Off Again

I'm heading off again to get some necessary things done in real life. Hang in with me; I'll get back to the blog when I can.

Off to Deal

I am bailing on you guys again to deal with some work-related things this weekend. So your stop here was not a total waste, I direct you to go and play with this story plot generator, which based on your input or random fills generates a short synopsis for a variety of stories (and cover art, too.) Here's what I got by just going with the random button:

Off & Sub Op

I am taking off today to deal with some family business. So that your stop here was not wasted, here's an interesting new sub op I found among the marvelous market listings over at Ralan.com:

According to their web site, Spacesuits and Sixguns is a "magazine of contemporary pulp fiction – simple, straightforward storytelling with an emphasis on action. We’re not looking for Lovecraft or Howard pastiches, or stories set in the 1930’s. Read a dozen pulp fiction stories, soak it all up, then ask yourself: what if this happened in my hometown today? Write close to home, write about what you love, and follow Elmore Leonard’s maxim: leave out the parts people skip. All genres accepted — detective, horror, mystery, adventure, SF, sword and sorcery. We love them all." Length: "Give us about 4000 words. Shorter is fine. We’re flexible. If it’s longer and it’s good, no problem. Rule number one – be fun!" Payment: "Pays 4 cents/word on publication." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Off to Deal

I'll be offline today getting some author stuff and other things ready for a promo event this weekend. So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, here's an interesting open call for a humorous SF/F antho I spotted over at AbsoluteWrite.com:

"Unidentified Funny Objects is an annual anthology of humorous SF/F. Headliners include Piers Anthony, Robert Silverberg, Mike Resnick, Karen Haber, Esther Friesner, Tim Pratt, Jody Lynn Nye, Jim C. Hines, Gini Koch, David Farland. Length "500-6000 words"; Payment: "$0.05 per word + contributor copy. Payment will be made upon acceptance. Our preferred method of payment is via PayPal, but you may request a check." Reading Period: March 1 – March 31, 2014. See open call post for more details.

PBW notes: The post very clearly states that all submissions sent in before March 1st will be deleted unread, so definitely hold your horses until the reading period begins on March 1st. Also, while they have some dazzling headliners listed evidently this is like a Kickstarter-funded project, so you might want to check on how that's going before you agree to or sign anything.

The Science of Nope

I'm unplugging in order to head into the city and take care of some business, which means no, I won't be around today. So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, I'd like to direct you to a very interesting article over on Life Hacker about a scientific process that allows you to say no effectively (and said link was brazenly swiped from Gerard over at The Presurfer.)

Create Once, Publish Everywhere

I have to bail on you guys today to deal with some work offline. I know, I'm all work and no play lately, but there you go.

So that your stop here was not a complete waste, I direct you to Publishing app set to make headlines, an article by Brisbane reporter/blogger Katherine Feeney, about a new direction in digital publishing by Australian company Liquid State. Their soon-to-launch app will convert "print-ready content to mobile and tablet layouts with just five clicks." If that works, we may be saying good-bye to the long and laborious porcess of converting text to all the various formats for digital self-publishing -- evidently this app will do all that for you.

Comments Catch-up Day

This year I wanted to be a better blog host and make more of an effort to respond to the comments you all are so kind to leave for me. I started on this goal in January but other responsibilities derailed that in short order. Now that I'll be updating the Disenchanted & Co. blog as well as my photoblog I do need to make some changes to be more productive with my online time.

I think the only way I'm going to manage this is to devote one day a week to simply answering on comments. This will keep me from becoming distracted or doing a haphazard job of it. Since weekends are a bit less hectic than weekdays I thought I'd reserve Sundays for catching up. If nothing else I'll find out how many I can answer in one day's allotted internet time.

So, I'm off -- see you in comments. :)

Off to Batten Down the Hatches

I'm unplugging today to finish our prep for Tropical Storm Isaac and check on family to make sure everyone else is ready. This is by no means our first time weathering a storm, and our house has survived much worse, so I expect we'll be fine. I'm sending out my prayers for everyone who has already evacuated from the islands and the Keys, and hope all of you who live in areas under watches or warnings stay safe.

Off to Sharpen Pencils

I am unplugging today to do the last thousand things necessary to get my kid ready for school. So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, some other places to visit:

There's an interesting article here by Alan Finder at the NY Times that lightly touches on some of the available sites and services out there for indie authors; definitely worth a read if you'd like a (very general) overview of self-publishing options.

If you are working on querying agents, you might want to read this post by literary agent Suzie Townsend, which offers some very sage -- and hilarious -- pointers, such as One sentence about your book and two pages about you is not the best way to sell me your book.

Someone (you know who you are) asked me if I'd ever found a random generator online that produces quick character outlines; thanks to RanGen, here you go.

Off to Hunker Down

Debby is shaping up to be our first tropical storm of the 2012 season, so we're shutting down all the computers and devices and otherwise getting things ready here. We don't expect much more than some flooding and power outtages, but our region will likely remain under a tornado watch until it passes. I'll check in when I can. NOAA's latest advisory on Tropical Storm Debby can be found here.

Image Credit: NOAA/National Hurricane Center

Deadline Week

At the moment I have a novel to wrap up and send off to one editor, a proposal to finish for another, and (possibly) an offer in the works from a third. Family is also descending for a visit, so things are likely to be a bit sketchy around here for the next week. I'll try to check in and post something of interest when I can.

Do you know you can make a word cloud from any blog by feeding it to Wordle? Go to the create page and in the second search box (just below the top text box) enter a URL for any blog, blog feed or any other web page that an Atom or RSS feed. Once you've done that, click on submit and Wordle will generate a word cloud based on the content. It's an interesting way to get a quick profile on what you (or your favorite bloggers) are talking about at any given time. Here's one for PBW, one for The Presurfer (my favorite link goldmine), and one for author Marjorie Liu's blog.

Off to Avoid Doing Anything Really Stupid

Create a sticky note online for your blog at Wigflip.com's sticky note generator, Superstickies (link originally swiped long ago from Gerard over at The Generator Blog.)

Got Doggelgänger?

Today I'm unplugging to finish up some work for my editor. So that your visit here was not entirely wasted, I thought I'd let you meet my canine twin. We met when Gerard over at the Presurfer tempted me to try out Doggelgänger, an online toy which matches human faces with their canine doubles.

Turns out I am a 56%* match for this lovely creature named Bailey:



Bailey is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and has the chocolate brown eyes I always wanted. Staffies are great dogs, too. If only I were this gorgeous!

The neat thing about this is that the pups used for matches to are all awaiting adoption (I'm guessing they're all in New Zealand, the site has an nz at the end of the URL, and my match is listed as being in Auckland.) Hopefully lots of our Kiwi friends try it out and find someone to bring home and love.

*We have the same white hair. I just have a lot more.

True or Fake?

I am bailing on you guys today to take care of some new contract negotiations. So your trip here was not entirely wasted, you might visit Mikhail Simkin's True Art, or a Fake?*, a quiz to test your knowledge of authentic abstract art.

I scored 92%, but then I'm a student as well as a fan of abstract art, and recognized all but one of the real artworks. Just the Klee threw me for a loop.

*Link swiped from Gerard over at The Presurfer.

Technical Difficulties

Just an FYI for everyone who has been stopping in and/or trying to reach me, some wicked storms knocked out our power, phones and internet service, and we're just now getting everything back up and put to rights.

Unless more of the same happens again today -- that was not a hint, God -- I'll be back to posting tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the rest of Memorial Day weekend.

Off to Chauffeur

I am in charge of providing airport limo service for the family, so I will be off today hunting for overpriced parking, standing in line for hours and then watching security search my loved ones (try explaining to an eighty-year-old with Alzheimer's why he has to submit to a pat-down by a complete stranger when he can't remember who the hell you are. As futility goes, there is no better exercise.)

So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, you might want to check out This Into That, the web site of artist Jim Rosenau, who makes vintage books into shelves, chairs, tables and other interesting works of art.

Part of me cringes when I see books treated as construction materials, but he's got a great sense of humor, as demonstrated by his bookmark:



See you tomorrow.

It Figures

Sorry I'm late posting; due to some connection problems we're currently on dial-up only, and will likely remain that way until my guy figures it out, or the cable company sends someone to check out our equipment (at this point, looks like Saturday.)

In the meantime, please be careful out there tonight. Stay home if you can, or if you're planning to go out to party, decide in advance on a designated driver who can see to it that everyone gets home safely.