#286: Free ebook.  Free download of my futuristic thriller, The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan, today, Friday, and through Tuesday, July 2, on Amazon.  What happens when paranoid U.S. government officials decide their elderly agents and top scientists are becoming security risks with the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s?  The year is 2030.  Meet DHS agent Ashley Scott and Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Eduardo Ortega. They battle a government conspiracy that goes far beyond an attack on the elderly who possess classified information.  But is it really the government conspiring? A shadowy group led by a man called Raven lurks in the wings, manipulating events for his own benefit.  Download…and enjoy.  (As always, a review is appreciated—take a wee bit of time to let other people know how much you enjoyed the book.)

#287: A heartfelt thanks.  I want to thank all who participated in the promos of Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder and Angels Need Not Apply.  If you downloaded both these freebies, don’t forget The Midas Bomb, the first ebook in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.”  Think of it this way—you can have the entire series for the price of The Midas Bomb (FYI: it’s not easy for me to change prices on my Infinity books).  By the way, in the chronology of my wacko alternate universe, The Midas Bomb is the first book.  All my books so far are related through this chronology.  While I have many “what-ifs” in my e-coffers to work on in the future, and some of them won’t fit into this chronology, but so far that hasn’t been the case.  (Again, a review would be appreciated of any and all of these books—the wee bit of time it takes you lets other readers know about the books.)

#288: Something to look for.  No Amber Waves of Grain, the sequel to Full Medical and Evil Agenda, is nearing completion.  This will make the “Clones and Mutant Series” into a trilogy.  In order to avoid spoilers, let me just say that it will involve many of your same favorite characters from the first two books, plus some new ones.  Also on the immediate event horizon is Paso Dobles in a Quantum Stringscape, an anthology of speculative fiction short stories that will include a newly revised version of my novella, From the Mother World, which appeared in serialization in this blog.  (I use the term “speculative fiction,” as championed by Margaret Atwood, because some of these stories are about horror and paranormal, not just sci-fi.)  I’m hoping for an early fall release of both these ebooks.

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Human beings are wonderfully complex, so it’s interesting that sci-fi writers love to write about computers developing near-human characteristics (I’m guilty too—see The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan—FYI: this is a free download on Amazon starting tomorrow, June 28, through July 2; also, Odri’s starship in Sing a Samba Galactica is just another member of the crew).  But, let’s face it, it’s hard to imagine an AI computer program capable of modeling the emotional ingredients that influence human decision making.  (I suppose you could argue that you don’t want emotions influencing the computer’s thinking because they so often get humans in trouble, but that’s another issue.)

Last week I was struck by the stock market’s reaction to Bernanke’s announcement that the Fed was going to halt their stimulus policies and, in particular, let interest rates rise to a self-sustaining  and steady-state level.  The best way to describe it is that it was an “oh-my-God” reaction of Wall Street and the rest of the financial world to an abrupt change in the rules of the game.  Ignoring the fact that we can’t model these emotional responses (part of the problem), we still should wonder why.  Why is it that human beings have knee-jerk emotional reactions to outside stimuli that can send their world into a vortex of disaster?

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[Note from Steve:  I met Eileen at BooksNJ a few weekends ago.  I immediately knew that readers of this blog, avid readers and writers alike, would like to get to know her and her opus.  Her latest book is DARK MUSIC —I was immediately attracted to the musical subtheme.  So, without further ado, let’s meet E. F. Watkins.]

Steve:  First, tell us something about yourself.

E. F.:  I write paranormal mystery and suspense stories using the E. F. Watkins author’s name.  My opus is comprised of:  DANCE WITH THE DRAGON (2003), RIDE A DANCING HORSE (2004, as “Eileen” Watkins), BLACK FLOWERS (2004), PARAGON (2005), DANU’S CHILDREN (2009), ONE BLOOD (2010), and DARK MUSIC (2013).  DANCE WITH THE DRAGON won Best Horror Novel 2004, from EPIC (Electronically Public Internet Connection).  BLACK FLOWERS was a 2005 EPIC Finalist in the Thriller category and 2006 Indie Book Awards Finalist in the Thriller category.  ONE BLOOD was an EPIC Finalist in the Paranormal category.  You can visit me at my website.

E. F. on Writing:

Steve:  Why, how, and when did you start writing?

E. F.:  I actually started trying to “write books” as soon as I learned to print, but as you can imagine I didn’t get very far! Growing up as an only child, I always made up my own stories. I wrote my first short story in high school and a revised version of it won a contest my freshman year in college. My sophomore year, I wrote a “fan fiction” novella based on the TV soap DARK SHADOWS that went over pretty well with my friends. My first year out of college, I wrote a very early version of the book that eventually became ONE BLOOD, and I’ve been writing (and rewriting) my novels every since.

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Not an ode exactly.  I can’t write good poetry, so my odes are just blog posts, a poor substitute for those who love Grecian urns and the like.  This post is indirectly about urns, though, in the form of receptacles found in offices usually containing bad, old, and cold coffee.  When I had a day job, I fortunately had a physicist colleague who believed in a good cup of coffee, an amateur barista, if you will.  The fact that Starbucks is raising the price of their coffee products by 1% made me reconsider our and the whole world’s love affair with coffee.  I come not to bury Starbucks but to praise coffee.  And I generally wonder: what the hell would we do without it!

Coffee is a drug, although a benign one.  We use it, often in social contexts, to get a fix of caffeine, or as lonely addicts just trying to stay alert.  These are legitimate excuses for consuming a wonderful beverage.  College kids tossing down those energy drinks don’t know what they’re missing.  Drunks using coffee to cure a hangover don’t either—you have to have some mental alertness to start with in order to savor this wondrous brew.  Coffee is a stimulant, but also contains all sorts of things that the docs say are good for you, depending on the latest study on coffee from the New England Journal of Medicine.

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I’m always amazed when talking to other writers who tell me they don’t do much reading.  They make all kinds of excuses:  I don’t want to steal anyone’s X, where X could be plot, characters, settings, and so forth.  Sure, outright stealing is plagiarism, and it’s not recommended for writers, newbies or old-timers.  Another excuse: I want my ideas to be fresh, not stale and formulaic.  I don’t know how you can be fresh if you don’t know what other writers are doing in your genre.  And, if you don’t, how can you avoid becoming stale and formulaic?  The most stupid excuse: I don’t have the time.

I don’t buy any of these excuses.  In particular, I don’t know how someone can want to become a writer without being an avid reader first.  Way back when, I decided I liked writing after reading so many books that I thought I could do that too—maybe not better, but differently.  Life’s financial obligations delayed my ambitions (fortunately, I’ve never had to make a living writing), but during that delay I still read, preferring reading to most other forms of entertainment.

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Northern Ireland is playing host to a high-stakes sporting event:  Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama will see verbal combat in a heavyweight bout.  Neither one is John Wayne’s “Quiet Man.”  Neither combatant likes the other.  This time, Maureen O’Hara’s role will be played by Bashar al-Assad.  The stakes are high because Russia and the U.S. have been posturing and fighting in the Middle East for over fifty years, and neither one has delivered a knock-out blow.

Proud Putin is between a rock and a hard place these days.  The rock is the U.S. with its huge economy and Yankee ingenuity.  The hard place is China, whose leaders have morphed Mao’s brand of communism (never a copy of the Kremlin’s) into a fascist capitalism that’s engine for another huge economy.  How successful the latter will be in the long-run is an interesting question, but Putin’s immediate problem is how to turn Russia’s failed economy run by him and the rest of the Kremlin oligarchy into something positive before things get out of hand.

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[Note from Steve: A long newsletter today.  I thank you for your patience.  Maybe you’ll want to read only a few sections each day today and over the weekend, especially if you’re a Papa or you’re a family taking Papa out to some special event.]

#280: Free ebook…for all reading fathers and summer readers everywhere!  Angels Need Not Apply, where Detectives Chen and Castilblanco play dangerous games with al Qaeda terrorists, a Mexican cartel, and a neo-Nazi militia, will be available as a free download from Amazon, June 14 through 18—that is, starting today!  Don’t miss out on some free, exciting, and entertaining summer reading.  This is the second book in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.”  If you liked The Midas Bomb and/or Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder, you’ll enjoy this one.  And, if you haven’t read any of my books, what a nice opportunity to try one of them.

#281: Who are the avid readers?  I hold all readers in esteem because I believe that reading is a truly uplifting, intellectual, and entertaining pursuit.  Last week, though, I signaled out readers overseas.  If one believes the stats, readers across the pond are more evenly divided in gender than here in the States.  At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader for machismo, let me say: C’mon, guys.  Reading is better than TV or golf any day.

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[Note from Steve: Allende, Borges, Garcia-Marquez, and Vargas Llosa are four great South American authors.  There are many more, of course, and many of them are unfamiliar to U.S. readers, even though many of us consider Spanish our country’s second language.  Here is a note from Vargas Llosa about political incompetence in Latin America and the current political nexus between Argentina and Venezuela.  Any similarities of the former to our political situation in Washington D.C. might not be coincidental.  The latter might be controversial.

Over the years, political winds have blown from many directions and Latin American writers reflect those shifting winds.  Take what truisms you find from the following.  As with all op-ed, the educated reader should question the opinions and perhaps develop his own.  My review of Edward David Holzman’s book Malena—also see my webpage “Steve’s Bookshelf”—is complementary to this article in many ways.  As always, your comments are welcome.

By the way, the translation is mine—don’t blame the author!  My version is a free rendering of the original.  Things can be lost in the translation.  The original Spanish text follows.  Thanks to my compadre for bringing this article to my attention.

If you like this post, support this blog: buy, read, and review some of my books.  Free ebook: In particular, Angels Need Not Apply will be available as a free download on Amazon, June 14 through 18.  Don’t miss this chance for some exciting summer reading.]

Yes, I Cry for You, Argentina.

Argentina, a country that was democratic when three-quarters of Europe was not, a country that was one of the most prosperous on Earth when Latin America was a starving and backwards continent.

 The first country in the world that ended illiteracy wasn’t the United States or France—it was Argentina with an educational system that was an example for all the world.  How could this progressive country become the impoverished, chaotic, and under-developed country of today?  What happened?  Who invaded it?  Did it suffer through some terrible war?

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#272: Time to celebrate?  This is installment #50 of my sometimes cynical and acerbic newsletter about the writing business as seen through the eyes of this indie writer.  Although it’s targeted more towards writers, I also hope readers enjoy it too, because I think it helps everyone understand the idiosyncrasies of those people like me who strive to bring some enjoyment to your lives beyond the droll drivel found on TV these days.  Or, maybe everyone just has fun laughing and crying with me about the ins and outs of this wacky business.  Whatever the reason, keep on reading, and I’ll keep on writing.

#273: Showdown at the iPad corral?  Last Monday, David, the tiny Justice Department, went up against Goliath, multinational, tax evading Apple Inc.  While I expect this trial to go on forever, the smart money in Las Vegas is probably on Apple because Apple has been smart about making money.  It’s a bit like the last election: the Koch brothers and other billionaires were standing behind their man Romney—all bets were on him.  What the Apple lawyers should remember, though: even with all that power and money behind Romney, Obama won.  Sometimes, all it takes is that little stone from David’s sling to hit right between Goliath’s eyes.

In this case, the stone is an incriminating email from Jobs to Murdock.  There was clearly an attempt at price-fixing (consumers still aren’t seeing fair ebook pricing—how can an ebook cost more than a paperback?).  How does a man (Steve Jobs) get caught with his pants down even after death?  It’s all about those emails.  Just ask Mr. Wiener.  (Oops, he might be the next mayor of NYC—strange world!)

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In Tuesday’s post, I began to reminisce a wee bit about my modest beginnings as a writer.  Like many others, I had to steal moments to write because of a demanding day job.  While many would argue that my career as a scientist uniquely prepared me for writing sci-fi thrillers, I can only say that it does make it easier, sometimes.  Moreover, every day that’s less true.  If you want to write a sci-fi thriller and it contains new scientific or technological themes, you can probably google the key words and come up with more information than you should ever put into a work of fiction.

Those day jobs can be exhausting, but many of us still manage to find time to write.  Better said, we still participate in the writing life.  On a day trip or vacation, I would often sit in a coffee shop and jot down what-ifs on a napkin while my wife visited the local stores.  Sometimes, that napkin would be filled with equations relating to my day job, but just as often I would note ideas and observations about the people in the coffee shop and passers-by on the sidewalk outside, or jot down story ideas.  This is writing.

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