tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58912788852878163692024-03-13T21:10:59.974-05:00AHPellett - Pondering WriterI write novels that pull readers in with deep characters + deeper stories. Watch out for the twists!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-5060548240009948182017-01-05T11:21:00.000-06:002017-03-08T15:52:04.437-06:00Now Available ... Audible Version of "Off the Fairway - A Lesson in the Woods"Title says it all. It's narrated by yours truly and it's great listen (or read if that's still your thing).<br />
<br />
Here's <a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Off-the-Fairway-Audiobook/B01MTNKI4Y/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1483636302&sr=1-1">the links</a> (okay, that was a seriously bad pun but I couldn't resist). Enjoy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOwULNGNU0EyERm9uGNo4pIIyxvlJSII5-CVmM46M__XST3A5ok0eHo0T2A3UBwvm0gkDwrzz3m4OZOOMxUC_xuBW50rgOBTbM9NCqBY5OXrRDGArJ4j1TBCLKusMT-lT2MyKvTuU3zA/s1600/ACX+Draft+Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOwULNGNU0EyERm9uGNo4pIIyxvlJSII5-CVmM46M__XST3A5ok0eHo0T2A3UBwvm0gkDwrzz3m4OZOOMxUC_xuBW50rgOBTbM9NCqBY5OXrRDGArJ4j1TBCLKusMT-lT2MyKvTuU3zA/s320/ACX+Draft+Cover.png" width="319" /></a></div>
Don't forget there is a free trial available for new Audible subscribers so this title is a sure-fire hole-in-one! Now go ahead and tee it up.<br />
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<i>(Digression: I don't know why it took me so long to post this here.
The title has been on Audible since November. I've apparently been
distracted by "the" Facebook and "the" Twitter to the point I've
neglected the good 'ol blog. My apologies to the massed hoards who have
been waiting for this post.)</i> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-21065644890005707002016-06-13T15:05:00.000-05:002016-07-12T17:06:34.901-05:00Press Release: Off the Fairway - A Lesson in the Woods<div align="Center">
For Immediate Release</div>
<br />
Nashville author, Art Pellett, writing as A.H. Pellett, is pleased to announce the publication of his second novel, Off the Fairway – A Lesson in the Woods. It is a comedic coming-of-age story that may remind some readers of the laugh-out-loud golf movies of the 1980’s. Others may appreciate it for its tender treatment of the serious subject of war induced post-traumatic stress.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIgLtSyVsxGIilSK8gKS8TQS9dlMchFGdj1UNk8TsI8FA95nLZ_d0aEh-MRnuB2yQmXBhjft8KGDVdZQNyodL6weoSWOjJQbpNmXZYm0mSWbqwtlSd-kA0h1wOVoRkmhl0xAYxY5BBQc/s1600/Off_the_Fairway__A__Cover_for_Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIgLtSyVsxGIilSK8gKS8TQS9dlMchFGdj1UNk8TsI8FA95nLZ_d0aEh-MRnuB2yQmXBhjft8KGDVdZQNyodL6weoSWOjJQbpNmXZYm0mSWbqwtlSd-kA0h1wOVoRkmhl0xAYxY5BBQc/s320/Off_the_Fairway__A__Cover_for_Blog.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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John Russell is a decorated veteran of World War II. Awarded medals of heroism for saving the lives of two men during a ferocious battle. He is home and happily running a classic golf course dedicated in his honor. John’s son, Bart, a bright and fun-loving teenager with dreams of running the operation himself one day, works there too.
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But dreams don’t always come true and some memories are worse than others. John begins to suffer disabling recollections of the battle and his “friends” begin to notice. Financial disaster, complete with lawsuits and likely bankruptcy soon follow.
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His own dreams shattered and his father in ruins, Bart faces his own crisis. Meanwhile, something deep is a work, both pushing and pulling him, and it is more important than his life goals and bigger than his dreams could ever imagine.<br />
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<i>Set among the beautiful rolling hills of a Pennsylvania country club, Off the Fairway – A Lesson in the Woods follows the development of a care-free teen as he plays, cries, fights and grows into a man of integrity, learns the truth about power and discovers what character, honor and respect really mean.</i>
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Title: Off the Fairway – A Lesson in the Woods<br />
by A.H. Pellett<br />
Genre: General Fiction<br />
Copyright Arthur H. Pellett 2016<br />
Cover Design - HCF Enhancement, LLC<br />
547 pages<br />
ISBN:153036986X<br />
Available in trade paperback and ebook formats<br />
Audiobook available Summer 2016<br />
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Other works by A.H. Pellett:<br />
Sleeping in Snow with Bears – the Making of a Legend (novel)<br />
The Ghosts of Belmont (short story)
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-36165578949366112792016-05-16T15:46:00.000-05:002017-02-27T14:59:02.219-06:00Proud to Announce my New Golf Comedy Novel: "Off the Fairway - a Lesson in the Woods"<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="256" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/REo3GheafTQ" width="400"></iframe><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-14004079827344994762015-03-10T15:44:00.000-05:002015-05-11T17:27:52.812-05:00Audible version of Sleeping in Snow with Bears now available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3DqZ0VpYSYpVqn96OpdU6clOWgi7xYnBGtjPjtfrt4Ytg5HpSudcKbyOPE6ESKuM43C3xo3oiZN8srHmcR5BVGj7edlQfxO7GDq6VKhLTt_BhZqC_5_27dpzRTklWCGBk93hXEU38u0/s1600/Audio+Bears+Announcement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3DqZ0VpYSYpVqn96OpdU6clOWgi7xYnBGtjPjtfrt4Ytg5HpSudcKbyOPE6ESKuM43C3xo3oiZN8srHmcR5BVGj7edlQfxO7GDq6VKhLTt_BhZqC_5_27dpzRTklWCGBk93hXEU38u0/s1600/Audio+Bears+Announcement.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
After numerous requests, I'm pleased to announce that the audio version of my 2012 novel, <b><i>Sleeping in Snow with Bears</i></b>, is now available.<br />
<br />
The text is spoken in the author's voice (that's me ... so please be kind). It can be found on several of the major audio-book web sites.<br />
<br />
Here's a <a href="http://artpellett.com/bears/samplenarration.mp3" target="_blank">three-minute audio sample</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-42857950419773492672015-03-07T13:21:00.000-06:002015-03-07T13:21:16.151-06:00Has the Literary World Changed in 100 Years? - This Side of Paradise, A Book Review<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b>I only mention this because it is my understanding that "This Side of Paradise" was a big hit in its day. Was that why? Naivity?</b></i></span><br />
<br />
<i>Spoiler Alert - This post contains spoilers regarding the novel, This Side of Paradise.</i><br />
<br />
Having finished <b>Tender is the Night</b>, I decided to read another <b>F. Scott Fitzgerald</b> novel before I at least temporarily stepped back to more contemporary fare. I chose <b>This Side of Paradise</b>, first published in 1920.<br />
<br />
The novel is a coming of age story, following a young American boy from a life of mid-west privilege, through college and his introduction to the real world with all the stuff life throws at you in the first years out.<br />
<br />
While the the first two-thirds of the novel - about life at prep school and Princeton - were well told and enjoyable, I was disappointed as the story stretched beyond those years. Following this period, the narrator goes off to war and then barely gives the time overseas or the tragedy of WWI a paragraph's mention (it is implied that he is a platoon leader of some sort - kind of important don't you think?). After the conflict is over, he comes home to a changing world, his mentor dies and he finds himself disappointed with his future prospects for love and a creative career. Instead of noting the connection and giving it any sort of introspection, the reader is given a treatise on leftist ideology with a literal diatribe against the capitalistic system. The novel closes at that.<br />
<br />
I guess it's understandable that this pro-communistic outlook was popular among elitist American thinkers of the early twentieth century; since the horrors of the system weren't well known yet and the dream of equality for all may have seemed economically plausible. Sadly, so many have forgotten the results that ugly social experiment had on the world stage and seem to have some of the same ignorant sentiments today.<br />
<br />
But I digress. I only mention this because it is my understanding that "This Side of Paradise" was a big hit in its day. Was that why? Naivety? The novel came out five years' prior to "The Great Gatsby" and helped establish FSF in the literary world.<br />
<br />
When "Tender is the Night" came out in 1934, a novel I consider to be a superior to Paradise, it met quite a bit of scorn (See my review of TITN on this blog).<br />
<br />
A key difference is that TITN didn't preach.<br />
<br />
For the uninformed, TITN's acceptance was a disappointment to FSF. In need of additional income to sustain the lifestyle people expected of his stature, FSF went moved on to Hollywood script writing (little gems like Gone with the Wind) and drank himself to death before reaching his fifth decade.<br />
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One tends to notice it in today's publishing and academic world, but must one have always pandered to popular ideas to get noticed in the literary world? Hmmm.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-62329499761763493682015-02-11T14:49:00.000-06:002015-02-11T14:49:07.491-06:00Last Century's Downton Abby - F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night" - A Book Review<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b>The sentences, like in Gatsby, read like a patty of butter on a warm skillet ...</b></i></span><br />
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* * * * *<br />
<br />
Like many classics readers, I truly enjoyed the F. Scott Fitzgerald's jewel, "<b>The Great Gatsby</b>", and after twenty years, two readings of that text (a decade apart) and seeing the 1970's and the 2014 versions on DVD and at the movie theater, I thought I owed it to the author to investigate some of his other work. A few weeks ago, I finished reading one of his other well known novels.<br />
<br />
Not being too up on FSF, I chose to read, "<b>Tender is the Night</b>." I'm embarrassed to say I picked it chiefly because I had heard of it before--probably because it too had been made into a movie, though I'd never seen it.<br />
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I enjoyed the book immensely. It follows one of my favorite styles, the circular plot which spins off after the first lap into an unexpected tangent. The sentences, like in Gatsby, read like a patty of butter on a warm skillet i.e. smooth. Since I (like most of us) have heard bits about FSF's background, it was enjoyable seeing his characters develop on the page. They are the types of people he obviously had become familiar with over the course of his life (the psychologically frail - his wife; psychiatrists - her doctors; the ridiculously well-off by both birth, luck and hard work - his life in and after the Ivy Leagues; Hollywood personalities - his job, etc.). Similarly settings match what I can only suspect match his own travels to places like the south of Europe, the mountains north of there and the hotels catering to the visitors of the same. There is some action but the story is primarily a study of human character. Still, if you are patient you may find yourself caring about them as I did. One surprise to me is that the protagonist turned out not to be who I thought. Still I was not left disappointed.<br />
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While as I say, I enjoyed the book, what floored me was that it was not received well, despite FSF pouring more into it than any other novel in his career (nine years!). It was published in 1934, some years after "<b>This Side of Paradise</b>" and "Gatsby" came out. While it probably sold well, it didn't meet (or surpass) the critical expectations of those two works and thus it was dismissed by many. I for one do not share that critical sentiment at all (though I have yet to read "This Side of Paradise" ) and instead found it to be well worthy of my time. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classics. The casual <b>Downton Abbey</b> fan may enjoy it as well as there are many parallels (in the luxurious lives of the well-to-do of days gone by and all their scandal).<br />
<br />
I plan to read "This Side of Paradise" next. Since it was considered (at the time) the better novel, I'm looking forward to many more hours of this master class.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-20109454014946540402015-01-30T12:13:00.000-06:002015-02-10T16:10:41.680-06:00Sadly, this Brought the Sexual Assault Conversation Back to my Dinner Table … What Could Make It a Subject at Yours?<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>What we each think
about sexual assault must become instinctive and of one voice. ... We will
all—individually and/or together—act when we must,
because we know.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;">If you are familiar
with the OJ Simpson (football star) murder trial some twenty years
ago and the media theater that played on living room TVs across the
country each evening, this past week was a deja vu moment in
Nashville, TN when two football players from the city's almost-Ivy
university, Vanderbilt University, were tried for an alcohol/drug
fueled gang-rape which occurred inside one of the school's dorms
early one morning during the summer of 2013. The week-and-a-half long
trial held many locals spell-bound as the court room trial was
televised live, gavel to gavel, along with expert commentary and
screaming newspaper headlines. In the end, two of the defendants were
found guilty on all counts for, among other things, aggravated rape
(of an unconscious female). Two other defendants who agreed to
cooperate with prosecutors still await a decision between the state
and their attorneys regarding their fate.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One sad fact (among
many) that came up in the football players' trial was that while a
number of knowing bystanders could have stepped in to stop the
assault, or even simply render after-the-fact assistance, no one did.
Oddly, the whole incident apparently only came to light to
authorities after the victim was left out in the hall, the campus
rumor mill got out of the assailants' control and evidence was
seized, including cell-phone video, photography and text messages.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The defendants'
attorneys blamed their clients' incontestably inappropriate behavior
(remember it's on video) on the “culture” of excessive alcohol,
youth and today's sexual mores (I paraphrase). “A perfect storm,”
one called it. Outsiders have posited the “bro-code” had
something to do with it as well. I might add another factor: <i>the
victim could not fight back</i>. She was blacked out, totally
unconscious—allegedly from too much alcohol (Caution dear reader, I'm NOT pointing my finger at the victim, nor should anyone!). Per testimony, the
victim for some time blamed herself before she got her head around
the pertinent facts and wisely realized she was <i>not</i> to blame.
She's now rightly being called a survivor and a hero.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">This
was a lot to absorb for this two-time alum of the same university. As
such, the weeks' past events have gotten me thinking about the
problem of sexual assault and what we can all do about it as a
community. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I
first visited this topic in my novel, </span><i>Sleeping
in Snow with Bears</i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">,
published back in 2012. </span>Even though a campus rape is a primary
plot driver in my novel, I always had some misgivings about writing a
blog-post about the topic—several years' of misgivings in fact. In
part because rape is a real downer, but more importantly, I wondered,
would it be acceptable to play off a theme that is so awful?
Certainly not. So instead of focusing on rape directly when I pitched
the novel, I talked around it, focusing instead on the victim's
after-the-fact struggles and the physical and inner-strength her best
(female) friend had in spades but could not, for innumerable reasons,
teach. The rape and the inadequate response was brushed over,
allowing other plot points to prevail whenever I spoke about the
book.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But given recent
high-profile discussions around the country about the right of all
women to be safe from sexual assault (recall the mattress carrying
women at Columbia University), this real-life assault which happened
more or less in my own backyard, and the subsequent conversation in
my immediate community—not to mention my own family's dinner
table—I thought it might be acceptable <i>now</i> to post a piece
(here) that pitches what I was trying to get across in the book all
along.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Like the rape case I
describe above, in <i>Sleeping in Snow with Bears</i> the rape victim
also blames herself. It isn't for being unconscious and unable to
fight back, but for not fighting back at all—more accurately, not
knowing how to fight back. Was she correct in blaming herself? What
difference might fighting back have made had she?
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The novel deals in
large part with the protagonist's conscious and unconscious life-long journey to
learn to fight—both physically, emotionally and spiritually—after
the fact. But in a perfect world, she never should have had to fight
back in the first place.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the case of the
football players' trial, I side with the defense on one point; that
being, the culture—I call it <i>society</i>—is to blame (and of
course, as the jury unanimously agreed, so were the players). It is
society's job to prevent sexual assault from ever being contemplated.
If the bro-cod—to first support one another—the bro-code needs to
change. There need to be obvious catalysts that trump it. Total
success sounds impossible, but surely society could prevent many.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But how?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">First, there must be
a <i>national conversation</i> the result (second) from which we all
come together with some general, ever-lasting agreement as to what
defines inappropriate behavior. But besides just talk and finding a
common definition that society as a whole agrees upon, it goes
further such that <i>society </i><i>understands what to do</i>—like
communities who pull together and assist one another after a storm
without being asked. What we each think about sexual assault must
become instinctive and of one voice. The third point will then happen
automatically. <i>We will </i><i>all—individually and/or
together—act</i> when we must, because we know.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So what exactly
could kick-start such an important conversation? <i>Sleeping in Snow
with Bears</i> offers one solution to bring about in-your-face
national consciousness regarding sexual assault. It involves
Hollywood and red carpets, a little bit of spirituality, and … I've
said enough. It's fiction after all.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you've read this
far, you might be thinking, “So what? <i>Sleeping in Snow with
Bears</i> is fiction, someone's dream, while sexual assault is real.
We need a real solution.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I agree. All I can
argue is that enough fiction (think old science-fiction) has come
true to life because of dreams, so <i>why not try</i>? The goal is
worth it. Let's have that conversation. Perhaps it could work in real
life too. It certainly will get more of us on board.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">#VAW #Anitrape #Rape
#YesAllWomen #AllMenCan #SurvivorPledge #HeForShe #EndVictimBlaming
#SupportSurvivors2015</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-25117771176755566842014-10-28T17:54:00.001-05:002014-10-28T17:54:11.691-05:00The Unspeakable Gentleman - A Book Review<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>If you read a lot of trash and would like to up your game to say a classic level without compromising your need for speed, may I suggest The Unspeakable Gentleman, an exciting novel published in 1922 by John P. Marquand. </i></span><br />
<br />
Believe it or not, this classic is an action/suspense piece with the what might be the first novel with spies, greed, gun-play, high-stakes poker and a beautiful unflinching girl who knows how to load a firearm during a high-speed chase.<br />
<br />
It is set in early 1800's and concerns a young man who meets his estranged, much despised father--a man who describes himself with the title of the book--and learns there is more to the man than he's been led to believe. The plot revolves around securing a certain document penned with the signatures of traitors to Napoleonic France--the government of which is pulling out all stops to get their hands on it.<br />
<br />
The occasional disparaging use of the "n" word in reference to a good-man-Friday, who is one of the men's slave, is almost shocking as were they not there I might have forgotten I was reading a book written nearly 100 years ago.<br />
<br />
I recommend The Unspeakable Gentleman highly. It is a fast and fun read, comes in at about 250 pages and is available for free through Project Gutenberg at gutenberg.org.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-44547782583526225842014-10-08T17:35:00.002-05:002014-10-08T17:35:38.100-05:00Stover at Yale - A Book Review<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">That they called
each other, “Old Sport” (whisps of Fitzgerald here) regularly,
made it even more fun to read.</span></b></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
As one who likes
novels about the social and academic challenges of high school and
college, I recently finished reading Owen Johnson's
1911 work , <i>Stover at Yale</i>. Besides that the novel's subject
matter fit well with one of my favorite genres, I was excited to read
it because a close relative I'd never known attended another Ivy League school in the
same general time period as the story in this book and I was hoping
to get hints of what college life might have been like for him back
then. I was not disappointed.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
What probably hooked
me was a quote that Andrew Delbanco in the The New York Review of
Books refers to F. Scott Fitzgerald as having said about the book,
(this is paraphrased, I assume) <i>It is</i> “the textbook of my
generation.” That I could download <i>Stover at Yale</i> to my
electronic reader for nothing, since its copyright had expired, was
an added perk.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Reading Stover, what
I learned was that while things were quite different back then, many
things have not changed. Much of the text revolves around the
protagonist's desire for the other students' approval, including
decision to join a society club (aka a fraternity) or not, and his
own youthful rebellion and epiphany. For many of us who went to
college in the latter Twentieth or even early Twenty-first Centuries,
those stories still relate.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Still there are some
that do not, like trying out for <i>and making</i> the varsity
football team; being seen with a low-class woman and having it
splashed across the newspapers; and my favorite, smoking a pipe in
your dorm room by the fireplace. That they called each other, “Old
Sport” (whisps of Fitzgerald here) regularly, made it even more fun
to read.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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</div>
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I'll recommend
<i>Stover at Yale</i> to anyone who likes the genre as I do. It is
well written and comes in at around 350 pages (my estimate). Be
forewarned, it has some blatant unapologetic attitudes towards other
classes of people that one can assume was commonplace for the time
and place, but may be a bit jarring for the Twenty-first Century
reader. If you can get past that fault—and let's all hope those
days are past—and take it for what it is, symbolic of its era, you may find you enjoyed this book as much as I and perhaps even learned something along the way. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-84775273229542894642014-08-04T17:36:00.003-05:002014-08-04T17:36:55.094-05:00Steven King's Convenient Dilemma<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Steven King has taken a brave step in publishing </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Doctor Sleep</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and I applaud him for it. He could have written a very different, very disappointing manuscript that just sucks off the aged-teat of a masterpiece for nourishment. </span></b></i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Imagine
you are one of the world's greatest living writers. You are still
very productive and popular. Part of that popularity stems from a
novel you wrote nearly thirty years ago, titled Book30+. Book30+ was
so great that it was turned into a movie that even more people saw
than read the book, making you even more popular. Both the book and
movie had satisfying endings, but your fans, to this day,
occasionally ask what happened to such and such character (in this
case, a sweet little boy from Book30+), despite the novel's age and the
strange logic—or lack thereof—of the question.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You
know in your own logical mind, it was a book. The characters stopped
there, on the last page. But in your heart, you know that's not
true. Your characters were, in a strange way, writers know all too
well—quite real. One day you catch your mind doing its involuntary
writer tricks, imagining just this scenario—the ultimate fate of
the little boy. You realize you know the answer! Do you write a
sequel? Is it possible to satisfy those untold millions who
intimately know the character? Is there a satisfying answer? Isn't it
likely that a huge contingent of your most loyal fans will be
disappointed?
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If
you are <b>Steven King</b> and the book in question is <b>The
Shining</b>, the answer is yes, you write it. Published in 2013, <b>Doctor
Sleep</b>, tells the story of the now adult, Danny, the little boy
from the first novel with “<i>the shine.</i>”
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">I
just finished reading </span><b style="line-height: 100%;">Doctor Sleep</b><span style="line-height: 100%;"> and came away quite
content. While not as satisfied with Danny's character as I might
have liked—he's not the sweet little boy from </span><b style="line-height: 100%;">The Shining</b><span style="line-height: 100%;">
any longer but now a grown man, an alcoholic drug-user with a guilty </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">conscious,</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> who is less
than careful with whom he sleeps. The story works well though and
references back to many aspects of the original story in the old
hotel on top of a mountain in Colorado. Readers will welcome hearing
back from Tony, the invisible character who gave Danny advice when he
wiggled his finger. Tony has a new friend, who you may like equally,
though I must say she reminded me a bit of other protagonists from other
King books. Besides Danny, other characters return too, including Dick Holloran and
Jack, Danny's crazy father. On the disappointing side, I was sorry
Jack didn't play more of a role in the new novel, but I don't imagine
King wanted to overshadow his new novel with that old story.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Whatever
the case, Steven King has taken a brave step in publishing </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Doctor
Sleep</b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> and I applaud him for it. He could have written a very
different, very disappointing manuscript that just sucks off the
aged-teat of a masterpiece for nourishment. Instead he's presented
readers with a whole new story that piggy-backs off the old but is
fresh and new. May all writers have the fortune of facing a convenient
dilemma like this one day.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-61680450414800719742014-04-29T16:40:00.000-05:002014-05-12T16:29:10.216-05:00Improved Back-matter for Sleeping in Snow with Bears - More Plot Disclosure<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: inherit;"><i>Here is some new
back-matter I've just written for my novel, <b>Sleeping in Snow
with Bears</b>. It shares a bit more of the story's plot than
prior versions where I was deliberately evasive.
</i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">* * *
* *</span></div>
<br />Aimee, Marcie and Boyd, three best friends since college, will do absolutely anything for one another. Their lifelong bond gets sealed one Halloween evening when Aimee is victimized in a horrible sexual assault and Boyd and Marcie step in to take revenge. Unfortunately, things don't work out as planned. Marcie, a brilliant student who wants to be a surgeon, is jailed for the deed and Boyd, a wannabe male model, is facially disfigured and leaves the U.S. for Brazil to learn to fly from an acquaintance who works as a jungle pilot. Still, steel bars and distance can't keep the two apart and Boyd and Marcie find an especially risky way to build a romance. Meanwhile, Aimee's life—initially as promising as her friends'—is falling apart. To numb memories of her assault she's become self-destructive and loses a fiance'. Realizing they must do something to help her, Boyd and Marcie put thoughts of themselves aside and come up with a plan to save Aimee from ruin before she kills herself. Tough under any circumstance, the assignment is especially difficult as one of them has become the focus of nationwide media attention and the other the target of the FBI. Still more challenging, they learn they are vital to an even more important agenda set in motion years earlier by a mysterious spiritual dying man who emulated the American Indian and claimed <i>they will awaken nations if they follow his path</i>.<br /><br /><b><i>Sleeping in Snow with Bears</i></b> is a novel of suspense, action and a touch of romance. It is available in e-book and paperback formats through most major booksellers.<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-767104069221553812014-03-07T16:41:00.000-06:002014-03-11T16:47:07.311-05:00New Video Book Trailer<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>I've just added a second video to this blog's Book Trailers page. </i></span><i><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">For now, you can see it here. </span></i><br />
<br />
This new trailer introduces the themes (some hidden) in <b style="font-style: italic;">Sleeping in Snow with Bears</b> and includes a reading of selected passages. Thanks <i>Google+ Writers Discussion Group</i> for the idea!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hyl27lLRAQQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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For a more traditional music backed book trailer, see the other video I've posted (under Book Trailers tab).<br />
<br />
PS Sorry that the guy in the bottom of the screen is such a stiff. Maybe I should make his lips move.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-4189504653237710592014-02-28T11:20:00.000-06:002014-02-28T11:23:47.918-06:00Just Like Big Publishers - Indies Can Set Up Pre-Orders Too<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><i>Have you ever wondered how a book that has only been released days earlier manages to shoot to the top of the best-seller lists immediately? I always have, until now.</i></span><br />
<br />
Recently, I watched the roll-out of a well known author's new book. It was interesting to watch because even before the title was released, there was tremendous marketing buzz. I thought it peculiar because one would think it better to be promoting a title when it was available, rather than before so. That's when I learned about<b> <i>pre-ordering</i></b> - a concept that was entirely new to me. The promotions for this new title were not in vein at all but rather <b><i>a great marketing tactic to get high sales numbers right off the blocks on the day the title is released</i>.</b><br />
<br />
I wondered, is that something I could take advantage of? As an independent author, I had my doubts. It did not appear that I could do that until I learned that Smashwords has such a program. Mark Corker, head guru at Smashwords has put together a presentation entitled, "<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Smashwords/hit-the-ebook-bestseller-lists-with-preorders-a-guide-to-preorder-strategy">Hit the Ebook Bestseller Lists with Preorders ... A Guide to Preorder Strategy</a>". Follow the link for the online presentation.<br />
<br />
Thanks, Mark! I plan to follow these words of wisdom with my next independent release.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-53593638283957857072014-01-13T12:12:00.000-06:002014-01-22T13:30:13.689-06:00kindle matchbook - a Belated Christmas Gift<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">A couple months ago, I, like most others who have physical books and ebooks for sale on Amazon.com, was invited by the company to participate in their new "kindle matchbook" (no caps ... catchy, huh?) program. Upon reading about the program, I had some decisions to make. This post discusses how I made these decisions.</span><br />
<br />
"kindle matchbook" allows the publisher to set special ebook pricing for people who purchase a physical book (from Amazon). i.e. if you bought the physical book, the ebook may be discounted below the original ebook price.<br />
<br />
There was a lot of discussion on the inter-tubes about how best to approach this? Should digital copies be priced the same? Discounted? Deeply discounted? Free?<br />
<br />
After some consideration, I realized that my readers most definitely ought to be rewarded for purchasing the physical book and that it costs me nothing other than an unlikely <i>ebook</i> sale to give these readers a digital copy of my work. Besides that it makes the text more accessible, which promotes my ultimate goal - getting people to read my work.<br />
<br />
For these reasons, anyone who purchases (or has purchased ... I think) the <b><i>Sleeping in Snow with Bears</i></b> paperback version through Amazon can now order a FREE digital copy of the book through Amazon.com.<br />
<br />
Thank you readers! I had intended to post this just before Christmas-time, as a gift to you, but I failed to get around to it. I hope you all have a terrific new year!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-32533324576885738512013-10-30T20:45:00.001-05:002013-10-30T20:48:25.438-05:00A Spooky Short Story for Your Enjoyment<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">It's that time of year when I present my Halloween appropriate short horror story. Here's the pitch ...</span><br />
<br />
<i>What can happen when a highly anticipated celebratory biography you've just published is entirely wrong? A Civil War historian excited about his just published book is haunted when he discovers new information.</i><br />
<br />
It's FREE and downloadable to your PC or digital device. <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/240014">Enjoy!</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-70824328758203946002013-08-09T13:06:00.000-05:002013-08-20T12:16:00.631-05:00AHP is on the Radio "Doing Well By Doing Good" <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">AHP is on the radio! </span><br />
<br />
Last week I was invited to speak about my novel, <i><b>"Sleeping in Snow with Bears"</b></i>, during a radio program. The topic was <b><i>"Doing Well by Doing Good,"</i></b> and it was hosted by the <b><i>Cancer Support Community (CSC), formerly Gilda's Club</i></b>, which supports people struggling with cancer. There's a cancer support tie-in to my novel (though the novel is NOT about cancer) and I'm interviewed for about 15 minutes during which, among other things, I explain why I chose to partner with and donate a portion of sales to CSC.<br />
<br />
If you're interested in checking out the show, it is now available as a digital stream. Download it or listen directly on your favorite digital device. See embedded link below.<br />
<br />
Thanks in advance to anyone who spends 15 valuable minutes (or more) listening to this show. If you'd like an incentive to listen, besides the other two more polished guests who have some nice products you will want to hear about, you might get a good laugh comparing my segments to way the pros do this. I'm clearly out of my element (I wish I was being humble ... I'm not).<br />
<br />
If you like what you hear, or know someone who may benefit from their services, please consider supporting CSC.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cancersupportcommunity.org/MainMenu/About-Cancer/Frankly-Speaking-About-Cancer/Internet-Radio-Show/Doing-Well-By-Doing-Good.html">"Doing Well by Doing Good"</a><br />
<br />
<i>Listener note: I'm the third of a panel of three guests and each of our parts was split into four segments. My parts are at the 7:50 mark, 24:24 mark, 38:51 mark and 52:39 mark.</i><br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-35801010611470684142013-07-01T10:32:00.000-05:002013-08-04T15:08:27.587-05:00"It's Always Something" - How I Wish Things Really Were<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">At its core, my novel, <b>Sleeping in Snow with Bears,</b> is about strong, inspirational women and how they got to be who they are. This post salutes one such strong <i>real</i> woman and those people and organizations who have been inspired by her to continue her fight.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Great battles are known for their fighters who inspire others to fight too. In the battle against ovarian cancer – quite literally a battle of a lifetime – there is one woman who stands out particularly well.</span></div>
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Back in the early days of the television show, <b>Saturday Night Live</b> (SNL), there was a lead character actor named <b>Gilda Radner</b>. She had multiple talents but is most well known for her comedic genius. Few have ever been funnier ... really.</div>
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Among others, Gilda had two particularly memorable characters on SNL. One was named, <b>Emily Litella</b>. Emily was a meek, half-deaf older woman who kept her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her schtick was to complain, in a quiet, polite librarian-type way about some particular issue of the day that got in her craw. The other character - the antithesis of Emily - was <b>Roseanne Rosannadanna</b>. She was a tough, raised in the streets, unkempt young woman known for using gross-out humor and having zany, memorable lines, like <i>"It's always something"</i> (Not funny yet? Keep reading). </div>
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Both characters would come on during the "News" portion of SNL (separately of course) - in Emily's case, when the broadcast let citizens from the community speak their mind; and in Rosanna's case, during the "Commentary" portion of the program. You may have seen short features like these on your own local newscasts from time to time. Get the picture? </div>
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Anyhow, meek Emily (Gilda) would go on and on <i>and on</i>, getting riled up about her chosen community issue. What was funny, was that she was <u>always</u> wrong. And because she had misunderstood something simple, everyone including the audience was in on the mistake except for Emily who would keep going right on and on <i>and on</i> with her polite rant. Finally, the camera would pan out to the newscaster sitting at the news desk beside Emily who after considerable effort to get Emily's attention, manage to point out her error. Emily being <i>meek Emily</i> would then listen politely, sit quietly for a moment considering the correction she had just been told, and then timidly say,<i>"Oh. (dramatic pause) Never mind."</i> Gilda's comedic timing was perfect and this especially made everyone laugh (occasionally even the SNL cast).</div>
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I always wished Gilda could have done one of these skits about ovarian cancer, combining her best Emily and Roseanne Rosannadanna as one. I'll explain. </div>
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It would start out with the street-tough Roseanne spouting off some lines about how she'd just been told by <i>"some phony baloney doctor in a white coat"</i> that she had ovarian cancer. Just imagine. She'd continue, <i>"It's always something." </i> Then she'd go on and tell - in her best exaggerated nasely upper-mid west accent - all about the symptoms. How "<i>the cancer makes you feel rotten all over"</i>, how <i>"it makes you curl up like a ball of cat puke and you feel like you gonna die." </i> </div>
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In my dream skit, Gilda (the combined Emily Roseanne) would be there on the set doing her (their) thing, getting all riled up and the newscaster would lean over and say, <i>"No, Emily-Roseanne </i>(one person in my dream)<i>, that wasn't a doctor in that white coat, that was a chef. And he didn't say you have ovarian cancer, he said you have 'onions 'n capers.' "</i> </div>
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Emily Rosanne would then pause for an awkward moment and think about what she had just been told. And then she would timidly say, <i>"Oh .... Never mind."</i></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The sad thing is, in real life, Gilda couldn't say, <i>"Oh .... Never mind."</i> She couldn't because she didn't have <i>"onions 'n capers"</i>. She really had ovarian cancer. While still a strong young woman, with a loving supportive husband at her side and millions of fans in her corner, Gilda succumbed to the disease at age of 42.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What we, the public, didn't find out until after her death was that during her struggle with her illness, Gilda was a frequent participant at <b>The Wellness Community</b>, in Santa Monica, CA. She mentions in her book, <b>It's Always Something</b>, how much she loved making people there laugh and how it helped her find her role again. At one point during a brief remission, Gilda made a surprise TV-short repeating Mark Twain's famous quote, <i>"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."</i> </div>
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More seriously, she said in her book, <i>"I have the highest regard for the work of The Wellness Community. I wish there were a thousand more of them."</i></div>
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In Gilda's memory, her husband, <b>Gene Wilder</b> (also an actor) and a group of her friends delivered her wish by starting <b>Gilda's Club</b>, in New York City, based on the support-model Gilda loved so much. <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Since then, both Gilda's Club and The Wellness Community have thrived and in 2009 they decided to join forces. Today, they are known collectively as </span><b>The Cancer Support Community – A Global Network of Education and Hope</b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> (some go by the name Cancer Support Community or CSC, others are called Gilda's Club or The Wellness Community).</span></div>
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Gilda's story is touching, but it is near to my heart for another reason – my mother had an ovarian cancer scare. Fortunately for Mom, her's was diagnosed early. She survived. Many are not so fortunate. As I type this, countless women are fighting this great battle – a battle for their lives. I can only imagine what it is really like – the pain, the uncertainty, the fear. Then add in the huge and important decisions one must make for one's family and oneself; and especially that primary one ... whether it's even worth fighting at all.</div>
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<i>In the opening pages of my novel, </i><b>Sleeping in Snow with Bears</b><i>, we meet a character, Aimee, a young woman dealing with her own ovarian cancer crisis. She's already made up her mind. She doesn't know how to fight, has lost the will to try and is about to kill herself. The story is of the circular variety. It goes back in time and we learn cancer is but one of several huge problems she has. She thinks she is alone with nothing to live for, when actually she couldn't be more wrong, for there are reasons – far greater than she understands – that she </i><i><u>must</u></i><i> live. Her best friends, who are facing serious life-threatening danger themselves, are doing all they can to get to her before it is too late, and before long it is a race against time and all the obstacles that stand in their way.</i></div>
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Obviously, while "Bears" celebrates one fantastic approach to how a fictional dying woman dealt with her real life demons and finds meaning in her shortened life, and my imagined <i>Gilda</i> skit is of a crazy blended character who turns out to have made an even crazier mistake, <i>both of these stories are imaginary</i>. ... I wrote this short essay because these portrayals are how I wish cancer <i>really was</i> ... just imaginary ... make-believe. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sadly, ovarian cancer (and others cancers) is not make-believe. It is real ... too real. Sufferers can't say, <i>"Never mind"</i> and get a laugh. It requires a serious, real fight and somehow, even if its victims <i>don't know how</i> to fight, they may have to learn how – a struggle all its own. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gilda supported The Wellness Community because the emotional and social support of people working and being together really can make a difference in ways far bigger than individuals can on their own. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No one has to fight alone. Organizations like The <b>Cancer Support Community</b> exist because they are effective. They really work.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The CSC network today delivers about $40 million/yr in free services including a telephone hotline and and a full suite of online services to anyone (patients and families) touched by cancer<i>. </i>I invite you to visit the CSC web site or contact them directly if you have any questions or have need of their services. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In closing this essay, it is my sincere message for everyone who is struggling with any cancer, and for the people who know someone who may be, to please remember this ... <i>you/they never have to be alone</i>. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
* * * * *</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>As part of the fight against ovarian and all other cancers, and to support those in need during their struggle, twenty-five percent of the sales revenue I receive in calendar years 2013 - 2014 from my novel, Sleeping in Snow with Bears, will be donated to </i><i><b>Cancer Support Community</b></i><i>. Please join me in making this donation as large as possible. </i> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Pro-Tip to maximize contribution – Due to production costs of printing on paper, shipping, etc., lower-priced ebook purchases actually maximize the donation size (and minimize your cost).</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_AMwiCfwcN7cKXtu6Lttz-JMS54C_UKDacVmFaBBIzhyphenhyphenHlc1wmpr96hBicvABNduskwffX5tQA_rO43kULmnpFju7WT3OZjADmmNTuTeNFUjvUSAnWbg1xylXi-TR7vNj6IXpCyD0Ug/s1600/CSC+Tri-logo_Color_highres+-+Arts+Edit.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cancer Support Community, Gilda's Club and The Wellness Community logos" border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_AMwiCfwcN7cKXtu6Lttz-JMS54C_UKDacVmFaBBIzhyphenhyphenHlc1wmpr96hBicvABNduskwffX5tQA_rO43kULmnpFju7WT3OZjADmmNTuTeNFUjvUSAnWbg1xylXi-TR7vNj6IXpCyD0Ug/s320/CSC+Tri-logo_Color_highres+-+Arts+Edit.png" title="Cancer Support Community" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br />
</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Representatives of CSC are aware of this promotion.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-65464085389136176082013-05-31T14:17:00.000-05:002013-06-24T15:15:49.526-05:00Just an Incentive to Remember the Title to my NovelTake all the time you need. No pressure. Really.<br />
<br />
<iframe src="http://free.timeanddate.com/countdown/i3nld8ff/n171/cf12/cm0/cu4/ct0/cs1/ca0/cr0/ss0/cacfff/cpcfff/pc000/tcfff/fs70/szw576/szh243/tatTime%20left%20to%20Memorize/tacfff/tptOops%20times%20up.%20/tpcfff/matAHP's%20Book%20Title/macfff/mptWhat's%20that%20title%20again%3F/mpcfff/iso2013-06-01T00:00:00/bas3/pa3" frameborder="0" width="257" height="104"></iframe><br />
<br />
Didn't recall in time? Look to the right.<br />
<br />
Thanks timeanddate.com!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-79726617399817615052013-03-11T16:29:00.000-05:002013-04-15T11:15:03.597-05:00New Hashtag Idea to Promote your Books<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Consumers buy based on familiarity. That's why one of Amazon's most popular features is the function where they show "people who bought this also bought that". There ought to be a solution that we can use in the real (non-Amazon) world for our books. Below, I offer a possible simple solution using the social media hashtag system.</span><br />
<br />
At one time or another, most of us readers seek out "books like" ... name your author or title ... in a book store or on-line, or just in conversation.<br />
<br />
I've come up with a new hashtag system that I hope (<i>if it is legal ... I don't know</i>) may help all of us undiscovered writers use that as leverage in social media like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to get our books noticed alongside more well known titles.<br />
<br />
I checked and it seems the hashtag #bookslike is not being used. Just imagine, you could search on #bookslike Tom Sawyer or #bookslike Forrest Gump or #bookslike Pride and Prejudice .<br />
<br />
The bottom line is, we could all benefit from knowing what book or author your book is like. Let me know if you like this new hashtag idea.<br />
<br />
<i>Finally, I'm not an attorney so I don't know the legalities of comparing one's product to another product when you don't own the rights to the latter. </i><u><i>Before you go ahead and use the hashtag, I suggest we wait and hear what others - more informed sources - think about this approach. </i><i>Any attorneys or publishing gurus wish to weigh in on this?</i></u><br />
<br />
* * * *<br />
<br />
Related: #ebookslike #novelslike #readslikeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-1483828782111505322012-09-28T13:35:00.000-05:002012-10-15T13:40:09.241-05:00Read "The Ghosts of Belmont" Short Story<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">My short story, <i>The Ghosts of Belmont</i>, is out, just in time for Halloween.</span><br />
<br />
My short story, <i>The Ghosts of Belmont</i>, is out, just in time for Halloween. If you think it's in the horror genre, you guessed correctly. <br />
<br />
Here's the premise: <i>What can happen when a highly anticipated celebratory biography you've just published is entirely wrong? A Civil War historian excited about his just published book is haunted when he discovers new information. </i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-ItmfuFTB9tghd4d0OsLAepqMiA7AkQyVkdo-rxIyHaHbql14fWr_gjNFOSI2rUGE-L43Vk8h9FCYyxIXVnWJxjbw9H-Px0SnxPyMCy_ahbeNe1yVgsvJqlv3k-SFCjRsclnyJjUXxw/s1600/Ghosts+Cover+Image+Draft+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-ItmfuFTB9tghd4d0OsLAepqMiA7AkQyVkdo-rxIyHaHbql14fWr_gjNFOSI2rUGE-L43Vk8h9FCYyxIXVnWJxjbw9H-Px0SnxPyMCy_ahbeNe1yVgsvJqlv3k-SFCjRsclnyJjUXxw/s320/Ghosts+Cover+Image+Draft+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Download it for FREE to your browser or reading device. It's only about five pages so you could even print it out to put on your refrigerator! (just kidding - but you really could print it out) For the next few days <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/240014">it is available only at Smashwords</a>. It should be available in most other major ebook stores before long. Reviews are very much appreciated.<br />
<br />
Finally, if you like the short story, please consider trying some sample chapters (for FREE of course) from my novel, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/123759">Sleeping in Snow with Bears</a> - The Making of a Legend. This latter link is to SW, but you can find the book in digital or paperback at most major ebook stores.<br />
<br />
* * * *<br />
<br />
UPDATE: The Ghosts of Belmont is now available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Ghosts-of-Belmont-ebook/dp/B009L6GG3O">at Amazon.com</a> (still free at Smashwords).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-3889443069978003282012-09-11T12:11:00.003-05:002012-09-11T12:11:27.548-05:00About that New Print Version<i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Sleeping in Snow with Bears is now available in print trade paperback!</b></span></i><br />
<br />
Sleeping in Snow with Bears is now available in print trade paperback! Yes, I recognize that this is not much of an achievement and that I probably look to some of you like Steve Martin in his movie, The Jerk, when he saw his name in the new phonebook and began jumping around and yelling ... "I am somebody now ... Things are going to start happening to me now!". The truth is, that a lot of people I've told about the book, and expressed interest are not yet e-readers. This version is for them (for now, the price is still <i>a lot</i> lower if you purchase digitally - see side bar for e-stores).<br />
<br />
Here's the link to the dedicated page for the title in the <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3962177">CreateSpace eStore</a>. <br />
<br />
If you visit, you may note that I've changed the cover. I wanted to emphasize the snow. Using white background and white paper, I've tried to create that effect. The bear claws with scar tissue work well on white. Also, if you read the book you may note that the top of the bear paw has a double meaning of fairly deep significance.<br />
<br />
Oh, and finally, there is a surprise on the spine and the back but I'll save that for my buyers (if that isn't enough of an incentive to buy the print version, I don't know what is! ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-35882218708673173702012-06-29T14:01:00.000-05:002013-07-19T09:40:11.591-05:00Should I Stay or Should I Go?<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">We've all been given a reason to live. Striving to find the reason why, before we die, is the big question we
each face. Are you up to the challenge?</span></b></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
* * * * *<br />
<br />
"Should I Stay or Should I Go?" That's the title of a hit song from the '80's British punk-rock band, The Clash. The song, found on their album, Combat Rock, goes, "Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble. If I stay it will be double. So come on and let me know. Should I stay or should I go?"<br />
<br />
I have no idea if the song is a
decision about suicide, a relationship, or just getting out of town.
Whatever it is, it is a question we all have asked ourselves at one
time or another, be it in school, work, at a party, or whatever - and
it can be even deeper than that.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the opening chapter of my novel,
"Sleeping in Snow with Bears", Aimee, the weaker and more
sensitive of two female protagonists, is facing her own death (from
ovarian cancer) and has decided to end it all by suicide in a very
lovely, gentle way. Only things don't go as she planned. The story
then goes back in time and examines Mindy's life from the beginning,
what her journey has been all about, the friends she has made and the
decisions which have impacted the world around her – think George
in "It's a Wonderful Life". But unlike George, even before
her terminal diagnosis, life has kind of sucked for Mindy, and one
might even wonder why she didn't kill herself earlier. It's good she
didn't though. That's what the story is really all about ... why she
had a reason to live up to now.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well that's fine for fiction, but why
are <i>you</i> here? In <i>this</i> world, I mean. You don't have to
be suicidal to ask yourself this question. It's a pretty logical
question to ask. When you think about it, the likelihood of being
you; much less being conscious of that fact, the chance of you being
you are near infinitesimally small.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I haven't made my point yet on the odds
of you being here? Imagine what are your chances of hitting the
lottery. Now consider the size and vastness of the entire universe
and all. By just being here, now, you've beaten the odds by
bazillions of times greater than the longest lottery odds ever (yes,
I said 'bazillion' and I said 'ever').</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>So is there a reason you exist?</i>
Is there a chance you may find out why you exist? What your purpose
is, I mean. Does each of us have a purpose? Is our purpose unique,
or are we joined to others on a mission together? Will we ever know?
Personally speaking, I contend there has to be a reason and we each
have a role.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As people age, they tend to become more
spiritual. Some go to church more and seek solace in the teachings of
those who came before us and studied the matter in depth. Others
study themselves more. They all ask themselves who am I, what have I
done? And perhaps they ask themselves this ultimate, some might say
unanswerable, question. Why am I here?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Have you asked yourself these questions
yet? I'm guessing, if you live long enough, and are introspective
enough, you have or someday you will. And I'd take those odds, any
time, against you being here – being you - in the first place.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
These are not pointless questions. For
many people who find out, or at least decide what their purpose is,
they may find it drives them forward. For those of us who don't find
out, and many of us may never, it gives us reason to keep living ...
to keep seeking.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Remember, the odds that you are here
and that you know it are so small, so unlikely, it's hard to reason
that it is pure chance. For that reason alone we must keep seeking.
After all, we've all been given the gift of life and seeking is one
of those benefits.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let me know the answer when you find
it. I'll be seeking too - so it shouldn't take so long.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-41384054934064795112012-06-08T17:04:00.001-05:002012-06-08T17:08:31.540-05:00What is Love?<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Call me stupid, but if simple
visual/touch stimuli that an attractive womanly chest paired with a
firm masculine jaw line, each respectively triggering the release of
brain chemicals in the other and all designed in the name of
reproduction, qualifies as a foundation of love, I'm just not getting
it. </span></b></i>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>* * * * *</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What is love? No I'm not rickrolling
you - that's another song (this is a serious question, but if you don't know what
"rickrolling" is, you've been hiding under a rock, so go
ahead and google it. I can wait).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What is love? OK, now you're probably
laughing or really pissed. Really, though, "What is love?"
It's a serious question. I explore love in my writing because I think
it deserves more than it gets in all the steamy novels, movies and
other media that explore the erotic periphery. Are those portrayals real love? My short
answer is, "no." Not at least by my definition. I'll
explain.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Love is a lot of things, and it
certainly <i>can</i> be expressed in the steamy near-porn like verbal
melange that passes these days as new-age fiction, but writers of that sort of prose usually don't get the readers much past the arousal stage.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This begs the question, why are shallow
portrayals of love so prevalent if there is so little substance? I
can think of two reasons. One, it's easy to write; primarily because
the imagination is all too ready to go there. My keyboard looks
pretty boring, so why not write some literary-disguised porn today?
Readers are no less guilty. Most of of us can relate to the naughty
scenes in some way or other (be it via fantasy or real life) and it's
fun to see what's possible (and sometimes forbidden), but I posit
love is a deeper than that (pardon the pun).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of course, fictional portrayals of love
aren't limited to sex. In classic British fiction, if the couple
somehow comes into money through heredity, an anonymous gift, or some
otherwise honorable means, then their bond qualifies as love or at least
most likely means some character or other thinks it does. The stories
tell us that love like that means forever – but let's think about
that for a moment. It really is all dependent upon the financial
figures, isn't it? I'm not an accountant, but I don't think that's
what love is either.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We're told that many people have fallen
in love "at first sight." Perhaps you have. I'm not saying
you didn't. But is fast acting passion real love? Is being fascinated
with a new partner, love? Sure it's lovemaking, but is it love?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Scientists (an ugly word in this
conversation) say passion is the result of mutually shared Oxycontin-like releases of endorphins. So that's love? Or rather, its
effect on the brain? Some have said it is. It sure can feel like great, like we're told love is supposed to "feel" like. And it's certainly real enough to have successfully populated
the planet, but where is the foundation of it beyond basic chemistry?
Call me stupid, but if simple
visual/touch stimuli that an attractive womanly chest paired with a
firm masculine jaw line, each respectively triggering the release of
brain chemicals in the other and all designed in the name of
reproduction, qualifies as a foundation of love, I'm just not getting
it.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
True foundations of love need more than
every-day ready-to-rock sensory induced chemically catalyzing
hormones that are all too ready to match any couple more permanently
given proximity.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So by now, you've probably figured me
out. My definition of love is different from all of this. It is one
that isn't born, triggered or dropped in one's lap - love, rather,
develops. It has a firm basis that is built over time with lots of
different parts. Sure it can have all of the above, but it has more
of the metaphysical, too. It has trust, devotion and energy. It has
patience and understanding. It has shared experience – good and bad
– and it has time. And that's not all. There's even more. The
unquantifiable, untouchable, mysterious, and spiritual are good
places to look. It might not have all of these, all of the time, but
with the strength of each comes something deeper ... true love.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Near the beginning of this post I
mention that I write about love. My novel, <i>"Sleeping in Snow
with Bears,"</i> has two love stories. They share the common
features we've all come to expect in contemporary novels (You forgot
already? Read the first part of this post again), but they also have
more. The two love stories in Bears are different from each other but
they are similar in one big way - neither is easy and they both take
time. And in the end, they are real.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OK, if my definition of love doesn't
satisfy you, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6g-Vh4vcD0">here's
another</a> (and it's not a rickroll, I promise!).</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-83175945784697404242012-05-09T16:13:00.001-05:002012-05-09T16:29:44.319-05:00About the Book Trailer - "Sleeping in Snow with Bears"I just posted <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmN1A_rAu7g">a book trailer to <i><b>Sleeping in Snow with Bears</b></i> on YouTube</a> (see link or yesterday's blog post). This post is about the video, what it's about, and the process I went through to put it together. Besides my roll, quite a bit of work on the part of many other individuals went into it too, and thought I'd share a little bit about their rolls here as well.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Bears</i></b> is a thriller/adventure/suspense novel that covers a lot of territory (thematic, cultural and geographical), coming to its final close from a variety of angles. The intent of this trailer is to give the person with a casual interest a sense of the story, it's vastness, and some of its themes, without giving away too much. In my choice of what to show and the music provided, I have tried to give viewers some sense of feeling that they might get if they read the novel from beginning to end (a grand goal, I realize). <br />
<br />
I had initially planned to shoot a variety of shots at locations near my home in Tennessee and in/near the Rocky Mountains of Montana, where I have friends and relatives. I would then have creatively edited these shots to match scenes from the book that take place both there (Montana) and elsewhere, but my urge to get a product out sooner than late summer (the earliest I could have made a trip out west) precluded that. In my determination to find an alternative, I discovered the treasure trove that the internet (more specifically social media) offers.<br />
<br />
The trailer ended up being a compilation (a mash-up, if you will) of approximately 64 photos which I found primarily on Flickr.com and in the National Archives. The shots in large part are from the places where the novel takes place. In many cases, I did some photo-editing to better match the story theme e.g., I made the snow bloody in one; added storms (both snow and rain) to several others; and of course, cropped where necessary.<br />
<br />
I was especially thrilled when I found shots that I never imagined existed (e.g., a man hanging from an airplane by a rope; an Indian warrior reaching toward the sky in salute; etc.) and I had to force myself to not include some as they would have given away too much of the story. In the end, I do not think I could have found a better set of photos and am happier with the results than I ever would have been had I shot them all myself. I hope you enjoy the results as much as I have had finding them.<br />
<br />
While every shot I chose has some variety of Creative Commons licensing or is in public domain, I would be remiss if I did not thank everyone who was so kind as to give free license sharing rights to the their photos and music. A long list of these credits (with URLs to them) follows at the end of the video (hence the length of the trailer).<br />
<br />
Ok, enough reading. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmN1A_rAu7g">Here's the link to the trailer on YouTube</a> again if you missed it. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891278885287816369.post-91127588512465191552012-05-07T16:55:00.000-05:002012-05-07T16:55:10.086-05:00Book Trailer - Sleeping in Snow with Bears<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cmN1A_rAu7g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295057308855671371noreply@blogger.com0