Believe me, I want to give Mr. Trump a chance. At least he speaks out against the Washington insiders. In spite of disgruntled naysayers, he is our legitimate president. He played by the rules and won fair and square. Yes, I understand these rules are rigged: the GOP has twice lost the popular vote in recent memory and won in the Electoral College. But those are the rules; he won.

Mr. Trump, a newcomer to the political scene, is an unknown factor, although we’ve had strong and troubling hints in his rhetoric. This business mogul and reality TV star goes his own way. Unfortunately, unlike on “The Apprentice,” the American people can’t fire him very easily. First among my worries about the new administration is his role in foreign policy and as commander-in-chief. A person who shoots from the hip doesn’t belong in that role. That said, I find Congress and the Supreme Court more worrisome.

Congressional Republicans have been waiting to wreak revenge on liberal policies for years. Now that they control both houses, the Supreme Court, and the White House, expect fireworks displays of pent-up anger. They might even go against Mr. Trump who has occasionally shown signs that he will stand up against congressional rancor. The bullies in Congress, though, are the most vociferous about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) AKA Obamacare. Their mantra has been to repeal it in spite of having zero viable alternatives. In many ways, they now should be called congressional death squads.

McConnell and Ryan are their leaders; Price their hired assassin, and maybe Trump; and they’re all sycophants of the insurance companies and Big Pharma. I’m talking about a Republican takeover of our government that is going to result in early and needless deaths for millions of Americans as the ACA is dismantled and Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid become dismembered. The GOP administration will be willing agents of the Grim Reaper marching to battle with their scythes swinging. Here are the estimates, courtesy of the Urban Institute:

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Vladimir Putin is a strong leader in the same way arsenic is a strong drink.—Gary Kasparov

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Coming soon! Gaia and the Goliaths. Climate control and environmental issues are on everyone’s mind right now. They’re on Chen and Castilblanco’s minds too when they’re called in to solve the murder of an environmental activist. A Big Apple case soon becomes national and international, though, with Russia and an old nemesis of the detectives become involved in a multi-country hunt for the activist’s boyfriend. This is #7 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.” It will be available in all ebook formats, as are the first six books in the series. Don’t miss it.

In libris libertas!

Hidden Figures. Theodore Melfi, dir. Racial and gender biases in science and technology are always ugly. As a working scientist, I always thought everyone should be given an equal opportunity to show what they can do, especially in critical R&D where time constraints must be met head on by the best and brightest. I still do. This movie follows three black women—Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, played ably and respectively by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae—who contributed significantly to the Mercury program that put John Glenn in orbit. That was just the beginning of their illustrious careers in space science; the movie doesn’t consider the rest except in the credits at the end. This is a history rarely told by white historians documenting the U.S. space program.

The era covered in the movie was at the beginning of the civil rights movement. Blacks still set in the back of the bus and had to use separate water fountains and bathrooms. Those were minor but flagrant and demeaning inconveniences compared to the discrimination in education and opportunities. These three women and many others had to overcome that, not an easy task in the old white boys’ world of space science at the time. The three main characters had two strikes against them before even stepping to the plate: being black and being women. They still hit home runs.

Excellent acting and screenplay based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly make this movie one of the most entertaining and meaningful I’ve seen lately. Melfi’s excellent screenplay was surely made easier to achieve with such a book to inspire him.  In spite of the blatant discrimination portrayed (I imagine it being much worse), this is the kind of feel-good movie we need now as we still face these problems and an uncertain future with the new president-elect and his cronies, not to mention the current attitude by many budget-cutting politicos that the space program is a waste of money.

Recommended for all audiences, but especially for today’s STEM students who are minorities and/or female—don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t be successful in an R&D career in science and technology. Show what you can do!

***

Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By. The Silicon Valley hasn’t seen anyone like Mary Jo Melendez, ex-USN Master-at-Arms, and she’s not sure she wants to stay there either. Readers met the MECHs (Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans) in Muddlin’ Through. Russia and the U.S. still want them and think Mary Jo knows where they are. But they have to compete with Mary Jo’s stalker. Unlike the first book in the series, this one doesn’t travel around the world, but the dangers for her might be worse. This mystery/suspense/thriller novel is available in all ebook formats.

In libris libertas!

Our Revolution. Bernie Sanders, author (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s, 2016). Thank goodness for Christmas gifts. The price on the flyleaf for this hardbound is $27! Not Bernie’s fault, of course. If you don’t know it already, Bernie Sanders is one of my heroes, right up there with Kurt Vonnegut. I identified with this man and his campaign—probably the first time since McGovern—and now I know why. His background is similar and his views are similar. Mind you, I don’t agree with him 100%, but the percentage is higher than with any living politician.

This book is a post mortem of his campaign and an introspective look at a great progressive. His ideas need to continue into new generations to give hope to the downtrodden. As he states, the progressive movement isn’t about one candidate or one campaign. It must build from the ground up so that America can return to being the shining star of freedom in this world that has become so dark in its move toward fascism, exploitation by multinationals, and enriching the one-percenters. Every progressive who deserves the name should read this, absorb the ideas, and act. Yearn for the Bern.

Poisoned Palette. Jill Paterson, author (J. Henderson, 2017). Not a bad little mystery, emphasis on “little,” as DCI Fitzjohn and DS Betts solve another one in the Blue Hills region two hours from Sydney. But wasn’t the last one in this series about an art shop too? (This is #6 in the series.) OK, it was a literary agency. Similar. The downhill slide noted in Mini-Reviews #18 continues. The twists and turns in earlier books are fewer and the story more predictable. The 172 pages relies too much on the previous books for character development—the MCs aren’t further developed here, the feud between Fitzjohn and his boss becomes more of a stretch, and the romance between a victim/suspect and a visiting American is left as a cliffhanger.

Maybe the author is tired of old Fitzjohn and should have taken the opportunity to end the series with the old boy retiring to babysit his orchids? The rush to end this story hints at a yes answer. Editing errors, noted in previous books, also continue, although the author seems to be more into dropped words now (I can fill something in, but I don’t know about the average reader, and s/he shouldn’t have to do so). The $3.99 price seems to be a bit much too, considering this is more novella than novel. If you’re new to this series, don’t start with this one—numbers one through three are better fare.

***

Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By. The Silicon Valley hasn’t seen anyone like Mary Jo Melendez, ex-USN Master-at-Arms, and she’s not sure she wants to stay there either. Readers met the MECHs (Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans) in Muddlin’ Through. Russia and the U.S. still want them and think Mary Jo knows where they are. But they have to compete with Mary Jo’s stalker. Unlike the first book in the series, this one doesn’t travel around the world, but the dangers for her might be worse. This mystery/suspense/thriller novel is available in all ebook formats.

In libris libertas!

There are plenty of stats out there that show readership—do I dare say literacy?—is down. Many people don’t read a book after high school. Many don’t read one after college. While online material keeps increasing, Facebook posts and Twitter tweets are now read more than blog posts, and the latter, like this one, can’t be called literature by any stretch and Facebook and Twitter might as well be mutterings from prehistoric shamans. What’s going on?

As might be expected, I tend to communicate, especially online, with literate people. OK, maybe they suck at spelling, or they allow auto-correct to change things to something they never intended, but they can put thoughts together intelligently on the printed page and make sense of mine. And we tend to talk about books a lot—reading, writing, reviewing, marketing, whatever. All this activity tends to bias my perspective, so I had to base the opinions in that first paragraph on real stats (that happens with a lot of my posts, by the way, although many of them are op-ed and therefore my opinions). Those stats confirm that we’re becoming a nation of non-readers no matter the anecdotal experiences people tell me about.

Computer games, streaming video, mind-numbing jobs, a flawed educational system that makes students hate reading, music downloads, sporting events, liquor and drugs—you can probably add to this list other distractions that can all be summarized by saying that literacy is attacked on many fronts. Moreover, the substitutes are often passive pastimes, not active and certainly not creative. Even the reading genres have become trivialized—mysteries have become cozies, romantic adventures have become plotless bodice rippers, sci-fi has become fantastic and unscientific space opera, and serious historical and political tomes have become celeb books written by ghostwriters.

The number of books and authors is increasing in the digital age, but is quality decreasing? I don’t think so, but, because there are fewer readers, even good books and authors go unread. There has always been chaff that an erstwhile reader had to separate from the good wheat, of course. Before it was just created by traditional publishing; now it’s also created by indie authors and indie publishers. But does it matter? If there are so few real readers, people who read more than N books per year (you pick N) and read quality material, literacy in America and the rest of the world will suffer. That seems to be the path we’re going down.

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More books and authors, fewer readers? Peruse my blog post tomorrow and see if you agree. Comments are always welcome. You can do so directly in the blog; that’s public, so if you want to keep them private, use my contact page. In any case, please remove foul language, whether you agree or disagree. Let’s keep internet discussions civil.

New review for More than Human: The Mensa Contagion. Ramon Somoza has written a nice review of this sci-fi saga, illustrating that sci-fi is international. He is also a sci-fi author, so I am humbled and appreciative of his opinions. I have very few reviewers, so I thank each and every person who has taken the time to review one of my books. You can read any ebook for free in return for an honest review. Query me using my contact page.

Books added to Smashwords. Have you been keeping track of them? The advantage of Smashwords, of course, is that they not only retail my ebooks in all popular formats, they distribute to other retailers like Apple, B&N, and Kobo, along with various lending services. Next up are The Collector and Family Affairs, #5 and #6 from the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.” BTW, all future ebooks from Carrick Publishing will be published on Smashwords as well as Amazon.

New PDF free for the asking. Speaking of detectives Chen and Castilblanco, they are featured in a new novella, “Dreams of Revenge.” Both cops’ new families are threatened. This and any other PDF in my list—see the webpage “Free Stuff & Contests”—are free for the asking. Query me using my contact page.

New books are coming! Gaia and the Goliaths, #7 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series,” will be published soon by Carrick Publishing. Rembrandt’s Angel will be published by Penmore Press this spring. I also have a post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel, Qasis Redux, waiting off-stage left, and I hope to publish it by this fall. My goal is to entertain my readers, so I’m still writing a lot and have a lot more ideas for new books.

Silicon Slummin’…and Just Getting’ By. The Silicon Valley hasn’t seen anyone like Mary Jo Melendez, ex-USN Master-at-Arms, and she’s not sure she wants to stay there either. Readers met the MECHs (Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans) in Muddlin’ Through. Russia and the U.S. still want them and think Mary Jo knows where they are. But they have to compete with Mary Jo’s stalker. Unlike the first book in the series, this one doesn’t travel around the world, but the dangers for her might be worse. This mystery/suspense/thriller novel is available in all ebook formats.

In libris libertas!

I imagine many people are yearning for Bernie Sanders right now—yearn for the Bern! If you were a Clinton supporter, admit it: she failed you. If you were a Trump supporter, you might have considered Sanders because his message about trade agreements hurting America’s working classes was similar to Trump’s, although his alternative had its genesis in his genuine concern for people and not Il Duce’s faux-concern just to get votes (HRC’s was false too, but she would have made a better president than Il Duce, but Sanders would have made a great president).

Sanders warned HRC about those battleground states—he knew the anger and frustration their citizens had with the status quo, a political establishment that continually failed them—but HRC didn’t listen. Apparently Il Duce and his goose-stepping minions did. Past history now. The question now is: how do progressives stand up to President Trump and move forward with a progressive agenda?

First, progressives have to realize that they weren’t well represented by establishment liberals in the Dem party. Part of that realization has to be that being liberal can mean not being progressive. HRC and her supporters liked the status quo—that’s not being progressive! HRC was also a one-percenter; so were many of her backers like George Soros, who claims to support progressive causes but should even be considered a faux-liberal. Most of Clinton’s rich backers have nothing in common with people in the struggling middle class and poor—they’re completely out of touch with our reality. Like Soros, they have no idea what it means to be a salaried worker dependent on a job (or jobs) to continue their daily struggle that often leaves them in retrograde motion. The income gap between one-percenters and the rest of us increases day by day, month by month, and year by year. Sanders understands that; the Clintons no longer do; and the Trumps, Bushes, and other GOP VIPs never will.

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Let’s all work for a colorblind America and its extensions–racial, religious, health, and other rights must not take steps backward in these troubled times.  On a lighter note:

I think that novels that leave out technology misrepresent life as badly as Victorians misrepresented life by leaving out sex.—Kurt Vonnegut

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Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By.  The Silicon Valley hasn’t seen anyone like Mary Jo Melendez, ex-USN Master-at-Arms, and she’s not sure she wants to stay there either. Readers met the MECHs (Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans) in Muddlin’ Through. Russia and the U.S. still want them and think Mary Jo knows where they are. But they have to compete with Mary Jo’s stalker. Unlike the first book in the series, this one doesn’t travel around the world, but the dangers for her might be worse. This mystery/suspense/thriller novel is available in all ebook formats.

In libris libertas!

Manchester by the Sea. Ken Lonergan, dir (he also wrote the sappy screenplay). As much as I like this area near Boston, this movie didn’t live up to its pre-Oscar hype. It’s sappy, boring, and depressing—a real downer. Matt Damon says it’s “real life” in his pimping of the movie. Maybe Damon and the Affleck brothers should get a reality check! While most people have some negatives to contend with, and that’s part of the human condition that can affect anyone, what happens to Lee Chandler in this movie is six-sigma from the norm and is enough to make anyone suicidal. Casey Affleck overacts in his role as Chandler, mumbling his lines along with other “superstars.” Lucas Hedges as Patrick Chandler is the best actor in the movie. And FYI to Mr. Lonergan: there are blacks in Boston. Like the Academy Awards last year, not a black face in sight in this movie. No other minorities either, except maybe the internist. Just old white boys…ho hum for two hours of boredom.

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Muddlin’ Through. Mary Jo Melendez is an ex-USN Master-at-Arms who is ready to start her new civilian life as a security guard. She is framed for her sister and brother-in-law’s murders. This mystery/suspense/thriller novel describes how she works to clear her name and pay back the group that framed her. In the process, she discovers the MECHs, Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans, and an intense romance as she runs around the U.S., South America, and Europe. Available in all ebook formats through Amazon and Smashwords and its retailers.

In libris libertas!

Whether traditional ones (Ellory Queen and Fantasy and Science Fiction are examples) or online ezines (eFiction is an example), have become as bad as many Big Five book publishers. The “good ones” that remain (many have died or will die) have editorial boards who waste authors’ time by requesting contributions they reject (for many reasons, but usually summarized by observing the zine is in a incestuous rut or simply a club of writers publishing their own stuff) and pay peanuts for royalties when they don’t (no one can live on what they pay). The bad ones are just bad. No wonder the grand tradition of short story writing is going the way of the dinosaurs.

Generally small presses that are more open than the Big Five to new voices and original stories at the novel level rarely risk publishing anthologies or short story collections. There are authors who prefer the short story form and there are authors like me who start a story without knowing whether it will be a short story, novella, or novel. While it’s an interesting question whether readers still enjoy short stories (readers are a disappearing species too), zines, anthologies, and collections have fewer readers with every year that passes. Add to that the fact that fewer authors want to waste their time with the editorial circus for a short story and you have a vicious circle that’s closing in and will disappear into a singularity of nothingness.

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