Meet Lois

In today's Family Sunday post, I'd like to give you a brief introduction to the newest member of my family tree, Lois Janet Ingham:

Born at a quarter past one on September 19th, she weighed in at an even 7 pounds, and was 19.5 inches in length.  She had quite a bit of hair, which appears to be dark blond.  Time will tell if it lightens up to match her siblings, or darken like her mother's.

Here's a picture of her at 1-day old, being held by big brother Wyatt:

And here's one with big sister Sylvia holding her:

I'm glad to report there is no sibling rivalry or jealously issues.  They all love their baby sister.  All 4 of them: Lois, Wyatt, Sylvia, & Kathryn:

Lois is strong and healthy, with no apparent maladies.  My wife and I are fortunate to have compatible genes that produce such offspring.  Maybe we'll have more of them someday.

The Curse of Selwood (Week 5)

The fifth free chapter of The Curse of Selwood came out Monday evening, and things are heating up as we near the end of our six part run of freebies.  This week, Doliber and Grimes seek help from a notorious outlaw who is supposed to be dead.  Can it be that the infamous Jesse James is alive and well in Nevada?  Or is there some trickery afoot?  Find out in "Recruiting the Damned."

http://www.hallbrosentertainment.com/mini_curseofselwood.html

The Temporal Element: Complete Submission Guidelines

With just over a week to go before open submissions for The Temporal Element, here is the complete and unabridged list of submission guidelines:

The Temporal Element:

Time-Travel Adventures,

Past, Present, & Future!

Since the dawn of the modern era, mankind has dreamed about the possibility of traversing the bounds of linear time, to explore the dark mysteries of pre-history or seek out the wild possibilities of the far future in person.  This collection of stories does the next best thing, allowing readers to dream of the possibilities of such a theoretical trip.

The anthology will contain stories all about traveling through time, and not in the natural way.  From spell-casting wizards, to mad scientists, and government-sanctioned time agencies, The Temporal Element will feature the best stories of people traveling beyond their native time.  Explore ancient history, the distant future, or anywhere in between.

If you have a story that fits this theme, consider submitting it, but please adhere to the instructions below:

1:  Font:  Stories must be formatted in either Times New Roman or Courier New, single-spaced.  Do not add an extra space between paragraphs.  A lot of writers separate their paragraphs into blocks these days, like they're writing a blog post.  It's something I'd just have to undo, so please don't submit it that way.

2: Keep your stories PG-13 or softer in nature.  While I'm putting together a collection for adults, I'm also seeking to assemble something that would be appropriate for high school students.  If you write the best piece of Erotica about a time traveling gigolo, more power to you, but it's not going to fit this market.

3:  Format stories as either a .doc or .rtf file format.  No .docx files!  I still use Windows XP, so if you send me a .docx file, I will not be able to read it.  Please, no argument about how "there's a patch for that."  I don't want .docx files, period, so make sure your file is in one of the aforementioned, acceptable formats.

4:  Word Length:  2,000-6,000 words preferred.  If a story is longer but of exceptional quality, it may gain acceptance, as well.  Likewise, a story under 2k may be accepted if it is really good, but generally I'm looking for stories within the word range.

5:  No Simultaneous Submissions.  I don't want to read the greatest story and accept it, only to find out that some other editor has bought the rights out from under me.  If you submit to this anthology, please have the courtesy to wait for a response before marketing it elsewhere.

6:  One Story At A Time:  If you have multiple stories you'd like to submit to the anthology, please send only one, to start.  I'll have a lot of stories to read through, and prefer to see single story submissions.  After you get a response about your first story, you're free to submit another story, but editors only handle one at a time, generally.

7:  No Fan Fiction.  Though it may be tempting to write stories about your favorite tv show characters, there are copyrights and trademarks involved.  Even the best piece of fan fiction cannot be accepted.

8:  The submission period will be open October 1, 2012 and stay open until January 31, 2013.  During this time period, you may submit your stories to mtiediting (at) inbox.com as an email attachment.  Please put "Submission: (Your Story Name Here) in the subject line.

9: Response Time will vary, depending on the number of submissions.  There is only one of me, and I have several other things to contend with at the moment, so it may take some time to wade through the slush.  I'll say four to six weeks just to be safe, but it may be much sooner than that.

10:  Payment.  While Publication is the major form of pay, the editor would like to personally thank each accepted writer with the munificent sum of 15 cents.  Yes, a nickel and a dime, but it's no ordinary pocket change.  Each accepted writer will receive a silver Winged Liberty (aka Mercury) Dime, and a Buffalo Nickel.  Why?  Because it's something different, and it'll be memorable. 

*Due to the rising cost of international postage, writers from outside the USA will be offered a paypal payment of $5 instead of the antique coins.

11: Genre:  Since this is an anthology about time travel, most of our stories will be either Science Fiction or Fantasy, though there is no specific genre limitation.

12:  Publishing details.  This anthology will be released by Martinus Publishing.  Tentative release date is spring 2013.  It will be a print anthology, with an ebook release for Kindle.  A few free samples will also be displayed on the forthcoming Martinus Publishing website for promotional purposes, as well.

That is everything I have for you at the moment.  Get ready to submit on October 1st!

The Curse of Selwood (Week 4)

Today, we're starting in on the back half of our free preview of The Curse of Selwood, and this week things get really exciting.  Follow Joella Grimes-Talus, the deputized lady elf, as she faces a molestation plot, envious prostitutes, and the sinister schemes of Marshall Ned Rodgers in "One of Those Days."

Only two more chapters remain in our free preview series.  Get ready for the official release of the book in the coming weeks!

An Influx of Spam

I don't know about anyone else, but I've seen a sudden increase in the number of spam comments being submitted to my blog posts.  This started about a month ago, and it just keeps getting worse.  It seems I have a spam comment every day, and never on the same blog post or from the same spammer.  It is a growing annoyance.

Basically, this is what happens; someone submits a comment, often in broken English, saying something like "Wow, you blog is some good.  You give me insight I never had before on this subject.  You really nailed it. I love to read about you, hope to share good word.  Visit my website: ~stupidspamshop."  Sometimes they get more creative with their praise, talking about how I've changed their outlook, or "You have tackled this subject so well," never giving specifics about the post they're supposedly commenting on, just a typical cookie cutter response they must throw down on a thousand different blog posts each day, hoping to promote their online pharmacy or other venture.

This is one of the main reasons I have "comments by approval" set on my blog.  When someone posts a comment, I have to approve it before it gets out there for all to see.  This means that dumbass spam artists don't get any exposure when they submit a post that is nothing more than bad advertising.  Nobody but me will ever see that comment, and guess what.  I'm not buying.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate self promotion, and when someone actually visits the blog and gives a serious reply, I don't mind if they share a link to their own blog or writing website.  However, I don't accept people spamming the blog, having never even read the post they're responding to, on the vain hope that someone might buy whatever crap they're peddling.  It is discourteous and has no place being attached to any of my posts.

Well, that's enough for this rant.  Now to sit back and read the onslaught of spam replies trying to sell me male enhancement products and cheap nick-knacks.  How glorious that will be!



Sample



The Curse of Selwood (Week 3)

The third installment of The Curse of Selwood comes out today, as we hit the mid-point in our series of free episodes.  Only the first six chapters will be released for free online, so get on over to Hall Brothers Entertainment and read the next section of story, "Runaway Train."

This week, Ron and Doliber investigate the train massacre that kicked off the book, and they run into all sorts of trouble.  Nefarious cow punchers have it out for them this time around, as the plot thickens.  All this, and a real-life Leprechaun in this week's exciting excerpt from The Curse of Selwood!

The Temporal Element Submission Guidelines

Starting October 1, I'll be accepting submissions for a time travel oriented anthology called The Temporal Element: Tales of Time Travel Adventure, Past, Present, & Future.  In preparation for this grand endeavor, I'll now provide to you the full set of guidelines, which should prepare you to submit your stories when the time comes:

1:  Font:  Stories must be formatted in either Times New Roman or Courier New, single-spaced.  Do not add an extra space between paragraphs.  I know, a lot of writers separate their paragraphs into blocks, like they're writing a blog post.  It's something I'd just have to undo, so please don't submit it that way.

2: Keep your stories PG-13 or softer in nature.  While I'm putting together a collection for adults, I'm also seeking to assemble something that would be appropriate for high school students.  If you write the best piece of Erotica about a time traveling gigolo, more power to you, but it's not going to fit this market.

3:  Format stories as either a .doc or .rtf file format.  No .docx files!  I still use Windows XP, so if you send me a .docx file, I will not be able to read it.  Please, no argument about how "there's a patch for that."  I don't want .docx files, period, so make sure your file is in one of the aforementioned, acceptable formats.

4:  Word Length:  2,000-6,000 words preferred.  If a story is longer but of exceptional quality, it may gain acceptance, as well.  Likewise, a story under 2k may be accepted if it is really good, but generally I'm looking for stories within the word range.

5:  No Simultaneous Submissions.  I don't want to read the greatest story and accept it, only to find out that some other editor has bought the rights out from under me.  If you submit to this anthology, please have the courtesy to wait for a response before marketing it elsewhere.

6:  One Story At A Time:  If you have multiple stories you'd like to submit to the anthology, please send only one, to start.  I'll have a lot of stories to read through and prefer to see single story submissions.  After you get a response about your first story, you're free to submit another story, but editors only handle one at a time, generally.

7:  No Fan Fiction.  Though it may be tempting to write stories about your favorite tv show characters, there are copyrights and trademarks involved.  Even the best piece of fan fiction cannot be accepted.

8:  The submission period will be open October 1, 2012, and stay open until November 30, 2012.  An email address for submissions will be announced on this blog during the last week of September.

9:  Payment.  While Publication is the major form of pay, the editor would like to personally thank each accepted writer with the generous sum of 15 cents.  Yes, a nickel and a dime, but it's no ordinary pocket change.  Each accepted writer will receive a silver Winged Liberty (aka Mercury) Dime, and a Buffalo Nickel.  Why?  Because it's something different, and it'll be memorable.

Okay, I think that's everything.  I hope this will help prepare you for the forthcoming submissions period.  I look forward to reading through the many qualified stories, and selecting from amongst them.

The Curse of Selwood (Week 2)

The second installment of "The Curse of Selwood" is up and running at Hall Brothers Entertainment.  Two down, four to go, as we count down to the official book release!

Picking up from last week, an angry mob seeks vengeance, and it's all Ron Grimes and Marshall Rodgers can do to keep them cool.  Meanwhile, Joella finds herself the target of blackmail in the Marshall's mysterious machinations, as the true "curse" of Selwood continues to unfold.

Don't miss this thrilling episode in the second Fantasy Western!

The Curse of Selwood (Week 1)

At last, it's here!  After all the months of writing, editing, and pre-publication setup, the Curse of Selwood is ready.  The final cover art is being commissioned as we speak, and the first episode is posted for free online.  Go over to Hall Brothers Entertainment to read "Blood on the Tracks," the first of six free installments that will be shown prior to the book's release.

In week one, readers will reconnect with the characters they came to know and love in West of the Warlock.  See Ron Grimes and Joella Talus in action, and peer into the life of warlock sheriff James Doliber, as he does some soul searching.  On top of that, meet the horrific creature stalking the Nevada desert, and experience its bloody wrath.  It's just the beginning, so return to the wild west the way it wasn't with "The Curse of Selwood."

My Upcoming Anthology

After months of anticipation, it is finally time to reveal the theme of the Anthology that I'll be compiling and editing for Hall Brothers Entertainment.  Without further ado, I'm pleased to announce this great endeavor into short story excellence:

The Temporal Element: Time-Travel Adventures, past, present, & future!  Since the dawn of the modern era, mankind has dreamed about the possibility of traversing the bounds of linear time, to explore the dark mysteries of pre-history or seek out the wild possibilities of the far future in person.  This collection of stories does the next best thing; allowing readers to dream of the possibilities of such a theoretical trip.

The anthology will contain stories all about traveling through time, and not in the natural way.  From spell-casting wizards, to mad scientists, and government-sanctioned time agencies, The Temporal Element will feature the best stories of people traveling beyond their native time.  Explore ancient history, the distant future, or anywhere in between.

I'm sure to get a lot of talented writers submitting to this anthology, so I'm giving you all a heads-up.  The Submission Period will open on October 1, 2012.  At that time, I'll post a contact email where you can submit your stories, along with other submission details.  Here are a few pointers, to help you with formatting prior to the submission period:

1:  Stories must be formatted in either Times New Roman or Courier New, single-spaced.  Do not add an extra space between paragraphs.  I know, a lot of writers separate their paragraphs into blocks, like they're writing a blog post.  It's something I'd just have to undo, so please don't submit it that way.

2:  Keep your stories PG-13 or softer in nature.  While I'm putting together a collection for adults, I'm also seeking to assemble something that would be appropriate for high school students.  If you write the best piece of Erotica about a time traveling gigolo, more power to you, but it's not going to fit this market.

3:  Format stories as either a .doc or .rtf file format.  No .docx files!  I still use Windows XP, so if you send me a .docx file, I will not be able to read it.  Please, no argument about how "there's a patch for that."  I don't want .docx files, period, so make sure your file is in one of the aforementioned, acceptable formats.

These are the only major pointers at the moment.  So, get writing your time-travel story, and let's see what happens.  Remember to visit this blog on October 1, 2012 to submit.

UPDATE:  Check out a more comprehensive list of submission guidelines!

Boycott Downeast Glass

There's nothing like a bad experience to snap me back into writing mode, and my latest quest for quality service in automotive glass replacement has me fired up.  You can already tell from the title of this post that things did not go well, and "quality" is still something I'm searching for.  Bear with me as I explain my frustrating experience, as I hope to spare you the trouble of finding out the hard way.

Not so long ago, I acquired an old car (something I'm planning to unveil in a future blog post once it's ready for display).  It needed a few things when I bought it, and one of those things was a front driver's side window.  The old safety glass was cracked, and it needed to be replaced before I could get the car inspected and on the road.  Since I'm not a professional installer of automotive glass, I decided to take the problem to a shop that purports to be such an installer; Downeast Glass.  I brought them the pane in its mounting rail and the lady at the service desk courteously took it, saying it would be a few days to have it ready.  That was on August 6th.

The following Friday, I stopped by to ask if they'd finished the window (considering 5 days to be "a few") and they politely explained that it wasn't done yet, that their work men were "on the road" and hadn't gotten around to it yet.  They said they would have it done by Tuesday, and that they would "definitely call" when it was ready.

Tuesday came and went, and no call was made.  I decided to give them a few more days, as driving to their location was out of my way, and they had promised to call when it was finished.  Time ticked by, and still no call.  Yesterday we hit the two week point, and I decided to go find out what was taking so long.

Tuesday, August 21, I made a special detour to their shop, and asked about my window.  I heard the magic words, "It's done," and for a fleeting moment I had my hopes up.  Sadly, they were dashed when they carried out a piece of glass along with my mounting rail wholly unattached.  Their shop goon had finally gotten around to cutting the glass, but no attempt was made at mounting the thing.  They slapped down a tube of automotive calk and made up a cockamamie excuse as to why they didn't do their job, and expected me to do it myself.

Tell me, what would you say if you went to a shop, asked them to install a part, only to have them hand you the part and say, "Here you go, do it yourself," while acting as if this was standard operating procedure?  I'm sure you'd be pissed off, as well.

The "excuse" they used for not installing the window is that it "has to be set just right, or it won't fit in the car."  Obviously, they know nothing about the car or glass in question.  If they had a clue, they'd know how full of crap their excuse is.  First off, their goon should have measured the position of the glass in the rail before ripping it out.  Barring that logical step, the window assembly in the car is adjustable, so even if they didn’t put it back exactly the way it came out, the window rollers are easily adjusted, so long as the glass is the right size.

So, after not doing their job and handing me a piece of glass that I'm supposed to install myself, they charge me $142.85.  $77 of that is "labor."  Almost $30 of it is for the tube of "automotive adhesive" they expect me to use to install my own glass, and  just over $32 was for the piece of glass itself.  Talk about a rip off.  There's a shop in Pennsylvania that sells glass for my car, and I could have an exact pane for $56.  Even with the shipping, it would've been less to have it ordered and delivered, and I would have gotten it faster.  Too bad I thought a local shop could actually do something right.  If I'd known they weren't going to install the damn pane, why would I have bothered to take it to them in the first place?

This isn't the first example of bad service I've encountered from Downeast Glass.  Back in 2006, a friend of mine had them install a windshield in her truck.  This was a straightforward job done on a fairly recent model.  When they installed the windshield, they couldn't get the gasket back into place so they just smeared some "automotive adhesive" (they must really like that stuff) around the top of it and called it good.  The thing leaked like sieve and looked like hell, and they didn't give a damn.  I thought after six years they might have improved and acquired some competent workers, but obviously nothing has changed.  I should have known better.

Downeast Glass is a piss-poor operation, and I would never recommend their services to anyone.  On the contrary, I'm telling everyone I know to avoid them.  There are other glass places, and I can't believe they'd all be this incompetent.  I will certainly find out about their competition the next time I have a window to replace, as Downeast Glass will never get my business again.

Spread the word; the boycott is on!

Back to the Blog

It has been far too long since I posted to this blog, and even though it is a busy time of year for me I wish to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about you, my loyal readers.  In the coming months, things will hopefully calm down enough for me to resume a more regular posting schedule, or at the very least I'll make more time to keep you updated.

Among my many activities, the Summer Shootout writing contest is taking up a bit of my time.  As the host/moderator of the event, I have the pleasure of reading stories and coordinating everything, and that does take a bit of energy.  We've just entered the 2nd round review period, where the writers review each other's second batch of short stories, which were composed on a most whimsical theme: "Write a story containing a silver plate, an angry woman, and a cannon."  As always, we have some very talented writers competing.  Remember, the grand prize will be publication in a forthcoming anthology that I'll be compiling for Hall Brothers Entertainment.  The theme of that collection will be revealed on August 26, 2012!

There are several other things I'll be sharing in the coming months, concerning several things I've been doing recently.  There are a few big news items that are waiting to be revealed, though at present I'm not at liberty to discuss them.  Keep your eyes open for more blogging excellence!

Last Call

The last day to sign-up for the Summer Shootout writing contest is Friday, 13 July 2012.  We'll kick things off the following day, and while we have a good crew already lined up, there are still some slots available for writers who wish to test their mettle and write for a shot at publication in my forthcoming anthology.

As many reasons as there are to join the competition, there are some big reasons that writers decide to forego the shootout experience.  I will list the top 10 here, for your consideration.

1. Difficulty:  The shootout can be a grueling experience, and the thought of having to write a story in a single week and then review the work of fellow writers the following week (three times in a row) can be intimidating.  A lot of good writers aren't confident that they can pull it off.

2. Lack of Confidence:  Some writers have the feeling that they're bound to lose anyway, so why waste your time on a longshot?

3. Lack of Time:  We all have such busy lives these days, and many talented writers have day jobs or other commitments that take priority.

4. Fear of Rejection:  This is something all writers deal with, but sometimes it's easer to get rejected by a "professional."  The thought of writing a story that your writing peers criticize can turn off quite a few writers.

5. Fear of Rejecting:  Most people don't like to be negative, and many aspiring writers don't feel it's their place to criticize their fellow authors.  They don't want to run into stories of questionable quality and have to give a poor review.

6. Arrogance:  There are a few writers who consider this sort of contest to be "beneath their dignity."

7. Boring:  Yes, some writers actually don't like to read, or they only want to read specific stuff in their preferred medium, by their preferred authors.  They consider the idea of reading raw work by their contemporaries to be boring, and putting together reviews equally lusterless.

8. Greedy: Some writers will only write or review something if there is a check attached to it.  "What do you mean you don't pay 5-8 cents per word for my shootout stories?"

9. Insecure: It's possible that some writers don't want to expose their "unpolished" works to strangers, and there is something to be said for this.  I, myself had misgivings about showing others my work when I first started out, though it is a necessary part of the creative process.

10.  Just Plain Don't Know:  There are a lot of talented writers out there who would love to participate in this sort of writing competition, especially with publication as the Grand Prize.  However, it's impossible to tell everyone, and with only word-of-mouth and a few internet postings, this event is generally unknown.

Well, there you have it, the top ten list.  Of course, not everyone who has chosen to forego this contest has done so for these reasons.  However, these are the main things that have come up when I've asked different people about their lack of participation, though some are purely speculation.  Hey, it's just a list.

Those writers who want to jump on board at the last minute, be sure to post in the sign-up thread before Friday night!