The Commune

In Today's News: Amazon and Hachette Dispute Continues

2008-06-27T21:46:00.003-05:00

AMAZON'S GIANT NEW warehouse in Swansea may be the size of 10 football pitches, but bulk stock of various best-selling Hachette group titles are still not to be found inside as the retailer's dispute with the publisher continues. As PN went to press, 'Buy New' buttons for Kate Mosse's Labyrinth(Orion), Stephen King's Duma Key (Hodder), James Patterson's The 6th Target (Headline) and Michael Connelly's The Overlook (Orion) had still not been reinstated, more than a month after they were first removed. However, the 'Buy New' button for Richard & Judy pick No Time for Goodbye (Orion) had reappeared, demonstrating, perhaps, that Hachette has the upper hand: this title is too important to be left to Amazon Marketplace.

Amazon dispute: New warehouse but 'battle of buttons' rages, Publishing News online

In Today's News: A rock'n'roll book club

2008-06-27T00:05:00.001-05:00

But Franz Ferdinand have always been different. It's not like they are flamboyantly intellectual, but in a world where it's alleged that Noel Gallagher has read just one book, they are not afraid of literature, and books have even influenced their songwriting. Love and Destroy a B-side to Michael was inspired by The Master and Magarita and singer Alex Kapranos has published a collection of food writing (taken from his Guardian column).

A rock'n'roll book club by Penny Anderson, The Guardian, 24JUN08

Random Question #9

2008-06-26T00:05:00.000-05:00

Or not so random. We're currently halfway through the year. Where do you stand with your goals and objectives?

Do you periodically step back and evaluate where you are with the goals and resolutions you made at the beginning of the year? Why or why not?

Addictive Stories

2008-06-25T11:40:00.002-05:00

People are often surprised by the things that I read or watch on television. Apparently, my tastes are supposed to be much more high-brow than they are. Actually, I do like the finer things. I enjoy reading Shakespeare and listening to classical music and going to see live performances at the theatre. Many people do. I also enjoy pop culture. I like watching television shows that have no redeeming qualities whatsoever (think reality TV) other than the fact that they’re fun to watch and I enjoy them.

And then there are the things that exist between pop culture and high brow entertainment. These are the things that I, personally, in my egotistical moments, think everyone should experience. For the most part, things in this between category masquerade as pop culture -- because let’s be honest, that’s where the bucks are -- but have subtle layers that just make you laugh with delight. Sometimes, they’re evil. Sometimes, they’re insidious. Always, they are captivating and I can’t wait for the next page, the next episode, the next installment, because I absolutely, positively must know what happens.

In short, as reader, viewer, audience member, I am hooked.

Joss Whedon’s short-lived Firefly was one such. I only caught glimpses of it when it was on television, but after it was canceled, a friend bought me the DVD package as a present. I watched it all and spent the better part of a year griping at him for getting me hooked on something that was already canceled. He was very glad to be able to tell me when Serenity came out.

Books with this quality are the ones I stay up until three or four in the morning, when the alarm is set to go off at six or seven, reading and only stop reading when I can no longer keep my eyes open or my head upright. When I’m not able to read, I spend the time wanting to be able to read, to get back to the story and it’s characters and the world because I have to know what happens next. It becomes a moral imperative.

I sometimes beta for an author who writes books like that. Liam Jackson’s Offspring was a book that I could not put down. I had to read it and know what happened next. Back in January, I was introduced to Girl Genius, an online comic. I’ve found I feel the same way about it. When I was first introduced to it, it was in mid-story. I spent several days going back and reading all the back episodes, to get myself up to speed. While it started slow -- as comics often do -- I did feel compelled to read about the character and then… something shifted. The artist and storyteller took things up a notch and I became a Girl Genius addict. Everything else went by the wayside while I read at every available opportunity. When I reached the end of the archived material, I had the moment of saying, “That’s it? But what do I do now?” Other addicts laughed at me. They told me I would just have to wait for new material to be released like everybody else. Humph. Cruel, merciless people.

Naturally, I want to write something that people are addicted to like that. I want to write something that makes friends call one another up, read the open paragraph to prove that they go the newest release first, cackle maniacally, then hang up the phone. I want to write something where people have to know what happens next.

I’ve looked at Liam’s work and I can almost see how he does it. It goes beyond any individual component. It’s not about character or plot or genre. It’s not even about story. It, and this is just me working this through in my own mind, is more about the way the story is told. First, the author has a passion for it. Yes, they may enjoy the story itself, but there’s a passion that infuses the writing, the words, the way the things come through. It’s alive and vibrant and there is more, much more, than just the surface story going on. It’s layering but not in a deliberate, meta, I’m proving how smart I am sort of way. It’s a layering that reaches through time, through space, and adds depth to the work. The work is connected not just to the story being told, but it also has work from the past to act as its foundation. The canon of literature is interwoven throughout it. It’s also True, not real, but True. It speaks to the soul, to the essence of what it means to be human and it… I don’t know. I’m still puzzling it out.

What do you think? What work have you read that you think everyone should experience? What work have you become addicted to not as a writer but as a member of the audience?

Not Forgotten

2008-06-20T04:26:00.005-05:00

Hi, everyone.

I haven't forgotten this place. Or you. The last couple of months have been very busy. In May, it was the end of the semester, with all that entails, and the publishing of The Alchemist Review, the corresponding festival, etc. This month, I've been finally, and diligently, working on my thesis. After meeting with a professor who is finally giving me the direction and assistance I've been needing, I've abandoned the creative writing project in favor of an analytical thesis.

At this point, most of my conversation is involving fairy tales and Cinderella in particular, because that very much features into my thesis. There are so many versions of Cinderella littering my kitchen table, that it's not even funny. Not only that, there are more on their way to me.

Did you know that Cinderella is cited as the most widely known fairy tale with the most versions scattered across the world?

It's all very fascinating. You can expect more babbling about it, and other things, here. Aren't you excited?

In Today's News: The great American pause

2008-06-18T09:50:00.001-05:00

Perhaps if technology is changing what we read, and how we read, one thing it will have trouble changing is how hard it is to write something worth reading. In this sense, Franzen's act of writing in the dark was symbolically apt. Novelists face more domesticated electronic distractions than ever before, the culture which once supported discussion of their work is ever more fragmented. The 24/7 news cycle has stolen what was left of the form's claim on what was new. We live in a universe that routinely confuses what's next for narrative.

The great American pause by John Freeman; Guardian blog

The War Comes Home: PTSD (Reprint)

2008-06-16T00:08:00.004-05:00

The following is reprint authored by Liam Jackson.

Howdy, pilgrims.

Those of you who've read my drivel know that I occasionally wax windy and poetic. I appreciate a well turned phase as much as the next writer. Besides, some topics simply demand an air of decorum and civility.

Frequent readers also know that at other times, I tend to lose any semblance of civility and take a more direct approach to a given subject. During those moments I'm about as subtle as a triple root canal. This is one of those moments.

I'm going to share some information with you. When I finish, I ask, urge, cajole, beg...hell, I dare you to share it with ten others. I don't care about attribution. Tell 'em where you got the info, or don't. I couldn't give a shit less. Like the old saying goes, it's about the message, not the messenger. Now that my rambling preamble is out of the way, let's discuss for a moment the invisible wounds of combat. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, in particular.

If you read my last blog or recent offerings by Clint Overland or Dr. Kevin Keough, you know that many of us are more than a little bent by the recent examples of malfeasance committed by certain employees of the Veterans Administration (VA). "Cover-up" and "willful negligence" barely begins to describe the disgraceful bullshit occurring with regularity at the VA.

Citing public opinion and time/budgetary concerns, some of the heavy-hitters at the VA have gone so far as to encourage errant reports regarding suicide attempts by troops, and the deliberate misdiagnosis of PTSD, a combat-related psychological illness. (See my previous blog for the story. If it doesn't set off your ulcer(s), you're in a coma.) In the minds of many, this writer included, that negligence borders on criminal practices. On second thought, "borders" hell. It's passed the "criminal" and is headed toward treasonous.

Perhaps you're a strong supporter of the current U.S. military agenda. Or maybe you're one of the teeming thousands who've adopted the mantra, "I don't support the war, but I support our troops." Or, it's possible you really don't give a flying fuck at a rolling donut about the U.S. military or our veterans. That's fine, too. Vets served so that you can enjoy the right not to give a flying fuck.

But let's set aside for a moment those issues and any altruistic or ethical obligations of a citizen or government/society to its warrior class. (By the way, the notion of highly defined warrior class system operating inside a democracy has been around far longer than Plato's Republic. You don't have to agree with the system. You just need to understand that it's alive and well throughout the world, today.)

As of this writing, approximately 1.5 million American warriors have served in a Middle East combat theater since 1991. A significant number of those troops are citizen soldiers; average folk much like you and I, but who serve in the military on a part-time or "as needed" basis. Thousands of citizen soldiers have already, or soon will, return from the Middle East and reenter civilian life.

A significant number of those troops will carry the lifelong scars of combat, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an often debilitating disorder resulting from expsoure to extreme violence. Relentless nightmares, sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, violent behavior, substance abuse, and suicide attempts are some of the symptoms of the disorder.

Now with that in mind, please read the following excerpt, taken from a story written by Stacy Bannerman. (I'll tell you more about Mrs. Bannerman in an upcoming blog.)

"At least 30 percent of Iraq or Afghanistan [veterans] are diagnosed with PTSD, up from 16 percent to 18 percent in 2004," said Charlie Kennedy, PTSD program director and lead psychologist at the Stratton VA Medical Center. The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans getting treatment for PTSD at VA hospitals and counseling centers increased 87 percent from September 2005 to June 2006, and they have a backlog of 400,000 cases, including veterans from previous wars. The most conservative estimates project that roughly 250,000 Iraq war veterans will struggle with PTSD.

These figures are particularly significant for citizen soldiers when considering that: A 2004 analysis of Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans who received VA healthcare revealed that 58 percent of the veterans seeking treatment were members of the Army Reserve/National Guard and 71 percent of Operation Enduring Freedom vets who utilized VA services were citizen soldiers. A 2006 report detailing VA healthcare utilization by Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans revealed that, of those who sought care for PTSD, 18 percent were formerly active duty personnel, and 30 percent were National Guard soldiers and Army reservists.

Even at their highest rates of deployment, National Guard soldiers and Army reservists represented no more than 44 percent of deployed forces; and, many studies conducted at Walter Reed Military Hospital don't include National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers.

The most disturbing fact about the above excerpt is that the numbers only reflect diagnosed or suspected cases. They do not take into consideration the potential (inevitability) for as-yet undetected cases that will eventually arise. Conventional wisdom tells us that hundreds, if not thousands, of new cases will surface over a period of months or years.

Since the beginning of Iraqi Freedom, I've heard people say some odd things.

Example:

*"Best trained, best equipped army in the world against a bunch of wannabes! This ain't no real war!"

*" Soldiers sign the contract, take the oath, and cash the paycheck, right? Fuck 'em. End of story."

*Shellshock? PTSD? No such thing! Psycho-babble!

*Not my problem, anyway. Right?"

Wrong. On all counts.

Nothing truly prepares a warrior for combat except the experience of combat. Period. Look at it this way: I can spend the next six months telling you that a baseball bat to the kneecap hurts like a mofo. I can draw you a picture, sing you a song, or show you a video and you'll think you understand. But I promise you, if I actually de-cap you with a bat, your level of understanding will increase about a thousand-fold in just a few seconds.

Let's play a little game. Just for shit-n-giggles. Imagine if you will that you're a full-time U.S. Marine or "regular" Army. (Not disparaging the Air Force or Navy. The imagery just works a little better with "ground-pounders.") Now, imagine that you live and train in a military environment twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Suddenly, you're out of that familiar base housing and standing in a narrow, smoke-choked, dimly lit corridor. Working on little sleep, you begin the mission: Flush out an enemy who is well armed, highly motivated, and extremely capable. An enemy who knows you're coming.

There are several doors to your left and right. No idea what lies behind them. As you move foward the distinctive bark of an AK-47 splits the air. The acrid smell of gunpowder fills your nostrils and stings your eyes. You hear the screams of the wounded and dying. An explosion. Blood and body parts litter the hallway. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Nothing to do but move forward or die.

You've been a full-time soldier for 2-3 years or longer. You've received the best training in the world. But nothing…nothing…prepares you for the reality of urban combat. Are you a candidate for PTSD? You betcha. VA statistics tell us that you have about a 1-in-6 chance of developing the disorder.

Now, step away from the scene and reset your mind. Take a deep breath. Ready? Good. Let's picture that same scenario, except that now you're no longer a full-time soldier. Last month you were a clerk at an auto parts store, or the manager of a movie theater. Sure you went to basic training several years ago, and you drill a month out of the year. Yet, last week you were sacking spark plugs and battery cables or tearing movie tickets. And now... Given this scenario, are you a PTSD candidate? Those same VA stats tell us you now have about a 1-in-3 to 1-in-4 chance of developing the disorder.

Sounds melodramatic? Maybe so. It's also a fairly accurate description of hundreds of firefights that have occurred over the past several years.

I haven't spent the first day inside Iraq, but I know a little about violence. I know what it's like to physically and mentally train for a violent encounter. I could count the total number of shooting incidents I've been involved in on one hand... but I'd need a few more fingers. I understand the physical and psychological consequences of walking into a shit storm with firearm at the ready and a buddy protecting my "six" (ass).

I also know what it's like to walk alone into a pitch-black house or alley, expecting anything but a bullet or a blade... and be unpleasantly surprised. I don't give a damn if it's a jungle, downtown Baghdad, or a Wal-Mart parking lot, all combat carries risks to health, heart and soul. It's the nature of the beast. Combat sticks with a person. Those experiences can also produce profound physical and psychological consequences, the kind that live in your gut long after the political speeches cease and the cheering or jeering crowds disperse. The kind of consequences that can affect individuals, families, and even entire communities for years to come.

The effects of PTSD may surface almost immediately or the problem can lay dormant for years until... Until. Who's at risk for PTSD? Anyone. Everyone. There's no shame in having the disorder, though it does come with an undeniable professional and social stigma. Most misunderstood maladies carry such stigmas. PTSD is a brain chemistry issue. There's no body armor on earth that can protect you against it. It can impact people who've witnessed or survived almost any type of violent encounter including traffic accidents, tornados and hurricanes, or spouse/child abuse. If a three minute encounter with a tornado can induce PTSD, and it can, imagine what a year inside a combat zone can do.

Folks, our troops are coming home. You'll see veterans in the grocery store, at PTA functions, and the movie theaters. You see them mowing the lawn next door. You'll never know or understand what they saw and experienced in those narrow, smoke-choked, dimly lit corridors, streets, or alleyways. Those experiences are coming home, carried in the hearts and souls of thousands. For many, the memories will eventually fade or be mentally filtered and normalcy ensues. Others won't be so fortunate. That's when it becomes my problem. Your problem. Our problem.

What can we do? For starters you can practice a little righteous indignation. Act like an American who's had enough of bureaucratic malfeasance and refuses to take this shit another day. Demand the government take responsibility for the troops who've served in harm's way. Demand adequate testing, accurate diagnoses, and aggressive treatment. Demand the "right thing."

Begin by visiting Kevin Keough's page. (His picture is on the top line of my Friend's list.) Doc has listed several sites and organizations that deal with PTSD and other veteran/combat-related issues.

Thanks for your time.

In Today's News: Booklocker.com Files Suit Against Amazon

2008-05-21T21:46:00.002-05:00

Booklocker.com has filed suit against Amazon.

So long, Sherman

2008-05-13T11:33:00.004-05:00

Ted Key, creator of "Mr. Peabody and Sherman," from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and author of the screenplay The Cat From Outer Space, died on May 3rd. He was 95.

Making Light Requests Assistance

2008-05-04T01:44:00.003-05:00

Making Light, the popular blog operated by Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden of Tor, "has just suffered its own data disaster. Some fried hardware at its hosting site has wiped out everything back to the beginning of March 2008." Anyone who reads Making Light or has experienced recovering Google caches is being asked to help them recover their data.

Their emergency operation center is located at Evilrooster Crows. Individuals should check in their to discover what data has been recovered and what data is still needed. Additional information is available on Absolute Write. Instructions for retrieving data is also available on AW.

Cascade the word.

What's a Writers' Responsibility?

2008-04-28T09:22:00.001-05:00

Many people work in jobs or careers -- and I differentiate between the two -- that simply require them to arrive at work at a certain time, perform certain tasks, and then leave at the end of the established work day. While these jobs are important and vital to the economy and a certain standard of life maintained in many industrialized cultures, most of them do not carry with them a greater responsibility to the public at large. However, there are many careers where more than normal honesty is required. The public must be able to trust that the person performing the tasks is not only skilled and qualified, but committed to the duties and obligations that they have accepted for the greater good.

While there are some examples -- such as doctors who vow to do no harm -- that might leap readily to mind for many people, there are others that we must also trust to do their jobs to the best of their ability in order to insure that the country continues to be a safe and productive environment. For example, we turn our children over to teachers in the public school system for several hours a day. In doing so, the teachers must be committed not only to providing the next generation with the best education available, but also to looking after their psyches and physical well-being. We trust, when we hand our children over, that they will not deliberately seek to harm our children or devalue the education that they receive. Those who break this trust are severely punished. We trust the individuals who design our roadways and bridges to make them not only functional, but also strong and secure so that our driving experiences will be as safe as it possibly can be. We trust the individuals assigned to monitor the use of radioactive materials to respond appropriately to any reported misuse of such material in order to prevent harm or panic among the public. The people who choose to pursue these careers are obligated to the public to perform their tasks to the best of their ability. It is there responsibility and their duty.

What then about the writer? What is our responsibility and duty? What purpose do we serve in society?

Aristotle taught that poets, the word used for writers in ancient Greece, were obligated to provide a catharsis from excessive emotion. By so doing, poets helped maintain stability and balance in society by preventing any unnecessary build-up of harsh, negative feelings among the populace. We were to keep the pressure cooker from cooking over.

Having read far and wide, I've observed another role, besides simple entertainment or information exchange, which writers of the past have often performed: They open the door for people to think about the tough issues of the day. They provide the initial 'what if' or 'why' about things that need to be changed in society. Mark Twain's Pudd'n Head Wilson, for example, opens the door for a discussion about nature vs. nurture and whether or not race or environment really affects a person's behavior and character. This was a startling notion in the post-Civil War United States, but it opened the door for real people to see beyond racial stereotypes.

Thinking about the role of the writer in society and my responsibilities and obligations as a writer has been on my mind a lot lately. I look around me, I read the news, I watch gas and food prices soar while all around me people are being forced to work for less and less, I stand outside and I can feel events moving and swirling around me and I know that everyone does not see the bad times that are coming like I do. As a writer, do I have a duty to try to tell them, so they can be prepared? Should I try to open their eyes so they are not caught unprepared? As a writer, what duty do I have to society? What role do I fulfill in the human community? What's my purpose?

In Today's News: Should Writers Be Readers?

2008-04-28T08:44:00.002-05:00

Reading too much, my brother explained in his English-teacherly way, is a disaster for a writer. To immerse yourself in literature - particularly those of your contemporaries - makes your work derivative at worst, and unoriginal at best. To keep your voice pure, he suggested, you must retreat, Kasper Hauser-like, only to emerge later with a voice as clear as God intended. It was an argument that almost culminated in our first exchange of blows since 1994.

"Should Writers Be Readers?" by Stuart Evers. Guardian Unlimited. 25APR08.

In Today's News: BookMooch

2008-04-24T23:32:00.000-05:00

"This is meant to be a noncommercial business, with no ads and no fees. We're just trying to do something fun and huge--like be the biggest bookstore on the planet," said Buckman, who sits on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and European equivalent, the Open Rights Group. "It seems to me we should be able to trade more books than Amazon sells."

Free BookMooch service puts novel spin on books

Random Question #8

2008-04-24T00:05:00.001-05:00

What's your favorite food-related memory?

Obesity, Stereotypes, & Prejudice

2008-04-17T00:05:00.001-05:00

As I write this, I’m watching shows about people and weight loss. The first show focused on people who are truly obese, people whose health and ability to just live, even move, are affected by their weight. These are people who are desperate, who are willing to risk their lives with such drastic procedures as stomach reduction surgery in order to lose weight.

The second show featured other people, some who are truly obese, others who are obsessed with their weight because they wrestle -- and must make their weight class, even if it is not their natural size -- or because they compete in beauty pageants and must somehow appear to be the current cultural-ideal in a two-piece bathing suit.

From both shows, a few things were clear. One, America is obsessed with appearance and size. Two, they are willing to take some pretty drastic measures to achieve whatever personal weight loss goal they have. Three, treating someone differently because of their weight is one of the last forms of acceptable prejudice in this country.

In every show, a stranger publicly insulted everyone who did not have a “standard” appearance or weight. Sometimes, the overweight individual was even engaging in exercise when they were insulted. In one case, a teenager was walking his dog and strangers down the street called him “lard ass” and “fat ass.” Walking is a great form of aerobic exercise. It helps increase metabolism and stamina and burn calories. Yet, the individual could not engage in this simple, healthy activity without being verbally abused. All because he did not already possess an ideal form or figure. In another instance, a woman who was about to engage in a strenuous and healthy weight loss and workout routine was at a restaurant, talking about it with her family and friends, when a couple of young men at a nearby table overhead her and felt the need to make rude comments about “fat camp.” I assure you, the man who made the bulk of the rude comments was not an Adonis.

Yet, the woman who was planning to lose weight was planning to do it the healthy way. Despite being the heaviest person on the second show, she was probably one of the healthier individuals, as far as her relationship with food went, than the other two. She lost nearly forty pounds through diet and exercise, by watching what types of foods she ate and by working out with a personal trainer. The other two people focused on the show -- the wrestler and the beauty pageant contestant -- starved themselves in order to make what they felt was their ideal weight. This, despite the people who cared for them, begging them to lose weight the “right” way, by watching the types of foods they ate, eating regularly, and working out.

Thing is, I know what it is to be judged strictly by my weight. I know what it is to be riding a bicycle, go through an intersection, and be told to “move my fat ass” because someone on a motorcycle was waiting for his turn to go through the intersection and I was not able to pedal as fast as the car that went through at the same time in the same direction as me. I know what it’s like to be made to feel that I shouldn’t exercise, or engage in any physical activity, until after I lost weight. Fortunately, I no longer have that attitude and I am now more active, healthier, and happier.

Yet, even before I started exercising and losing weight and gaining muscle tone, I was a complete individual. I was intelligent, was not a glutton, had no abnormal obsession with food, enjoyed certain physical activities, and had a sexual appetite. Popular media would have people believe that none of these things were true about any overweight individual.

As writers, I think we need to be aware of stereotypes. No. We need to be more than aware. We need to be fully conscious of them. Our characters, all of our characters, should be fully developed individuals. When they’re not, we need to be fully conscious of what we are saying and demonstrating about our own beliefs and about society’s. What myths are we, as writers, perpetuating, what harm might it inadvertently cause, and who might be hurt by it? We should not allow any myths or stereotypes to enter our work without first thinking about their origins and their impact on our readers.

We can change people’s perceptions and how they respond to and treat others.

Amazon, Take II

2008-04-14T00:05:00.001-05:00

There is a great deal of monopoly-like behavior that is making me grit my teeth lately. There is, of course, the MSN-Yahoo potential merger that would give MSN even greater control of online communication than they already possess and limit the choices for individual users. MSN already has enough access to our lives without further growing their presence. Then there is the deal with Amazon and BookSurge.

While Amazon is claiming that their move to consolidate printing of POD titles through the Amazon-owned BookSurge is all about serving the customer, that excuse is too transparent and flimsy to be displayed in public. What Amazon’s poorly disguised goal appears to be is monopolizing the POD and small press publishing market by leveraging its powerful online presence in order to undercut BookSurge’s competitor Lightning Source.

Publishers who refused this “deal” will reportedly have the buy button removed from their Amazon listings. If they want to sell through Amazon, they will be required to pre-print five copies to store in Amazon’s warehouse and sign up for Amazon’s Affiliate program, which would mean they would have to pay both a percentage of sales and an annual fee to Amazon.

The Author’s Guild is reportedly looking into antitrust laws to address this issue.

However, attempting to strong arm small presses and POD publishers is apparently not enough for Amazon. They have now issued a statement that if a publisher sells a book at a deeper discount on the publisher’s website than is offered on Amazon, they will pay the publisher 50% of the publisher’s discounted price rather than on the price sold at Amazon. This would mean if a title was offered for $15 on the publisher’s website and $20 on Amazon, Amazon’s bean counters would only pay the publisher $7.50 rather than the $10 they contractually owed.

Apparently, no one’s ever explained to Amazon’s executives the phrase “getting too big for [their] britches.” Maybe someone should?

On the plus side, PublishAmerica has refused to cave to Amazon’s demands and their books are now no longer available for purchase directly through Amazon. Maybe Amazon’s strong arm tactics will finally put the United States’ scammiest publisher out of business?

Regardless, this is going to be an interesting year in publishing.

I’m going to remove the Amazon search feature from The Commune. While I do that, here’s a few extra links for your reading pleasure:

Amazon faces anti p.o.d. surge, theBookSeller.com, 09APR08

New publishing policy at Amazon angers authors, Seattlepi.com, 09APR08

Inquiries Concerning Amazon.com's "Print on Demand" Policy, Washington Attorney General's Public Notice, 08APR08

For the love of a cell phone...

2008-04-10T00:05:00.001-05:00

For the last several weeks, my greatest, most sincere desire has been to drop off the grid. People who know me outside the virtual plane have commented how I need to take a break, maybe shift gears, recharge, and gain perspective. My mother even recently offered to take me shopping, just to give me a day off. I turned her down, but I told her, the one thing I really, truly wanted, was to find a cheap hotel, with clean sheets, a clean shower, no internet access, let no one know where I was, and just spend a couple of days there. She sympathized, but it didn’t go beyond that.

Every so often I get this way. Being constantly connected -- the cell phone, the internet, e-mail -- people wanting me to be places, needing things from me, just wanting to spend time with me -- it gets to me. Wears me down. I have to go some place, or go no place, just close the blinds, and spend time with me, alone with the voices and thoughts in my own head. However, as things often happen, when I get like this is, the universe often conspires to remind me how good and nice it is to be so connected.

Several years ago, after my father died and before 9/11, my mother flew out to visit my brother. When she returned, I went to the airport, a little over an hour to an hour and a half trip one way, to pick her up. Along the way, about fifty miles from my house and about thirty from hers, my car started overheating. I let it cool down and doubled-back to her house, where I exchanged my car for hers, which I fortunately had a key for, and started out again. By the time this was accomplished -- I had also taken the time to use the bathroom and check her flight status online -- I was running late to pick her up. I found myself on the interstate, about thirty minutes from the airport, thinking, “For the love of a cell phone…”

At this point, neither my mother nor I had purchased a cell phone. This was in 2000. Cell phones were common, but it still wasn’t completely unheard of for someone not to have one. Only Sprint offered anything resembling a nationwide plan, which wasn’t really nationwide, there were no rollover minutes, no calling circles, and no family plans. People had not yet started abandoning their landlines for cell phones. Cell phones were still supplemental, a convenience, not a necessity.

Later, I learned that about the same time I was thinking, “For the love of a cell phone…” my mother was having the same thought. She was in the airport. I was not there. She had no idea where I was, and her mother’s imagination started working overtime. Logic and reason won out and she realized that she could not go looking for me. That I knew exactly where she was, but she had no idea where I was.

We did eventually reconnect, I rescued her from the airport, and shortly thereafter, we both purchased cell phones, just for those little, “where are you” and other roadside emergencies.

A few, very short years later, I had already grown tired of always being connected, always being able to be reached. Therefore, while driving to my brother’s for my nephew’s first birthday, I turned my cell phone off. I figured anyone trying to reach me could go to voicemail. I wanted to enjoy the road and the drive the way I used to, just me, the road, and my thoughts, alone together. Along the way, a couple people I knew did try to call. Someone who had even been driving and seen and recognized me along the road had even called. They all went to voicemail. As I crossed my second state line, I did relent and turned the phone on long enough to call my mother and check on her flights, and to call my brother in order to let him know my progress and estimated time arrival, and then I turned the phone back off and tossed it back in the passenger seat. That is, until a few more miles down the road, when I got off at a rest stop and, halfway up the ramp, the car suddenly convulsed and died, leaving me to drift to the shoulder. When I got out to figure out what was wrong, antifreeze was leaking out onto the ground. So not good. Fortunately, because I had the cell phone, I was able to call people, let them know what had happened, where I was, and arrange for assistance. I was very glad for technology at that moment. I was happy to be “on the grid,” as it were.

Fast forward to this week, and me desperately wishing I could just “go away” for a couple of days. On Monday, I had to make a quick run to campus. On the way home, I blew a tire. No big. Although I was, once again, on the interstate, I was no more than seven miles from home when it happened. I put on the spare and started back on my way. I didn’t make it the full seven miles before the spare blew, too. Not my day for tires, apparently. However, this time, I was only about three miles from town and about a mile from my mother’s companion’s house. With trusty cell phone, I called them, let them know what had happened, and that I was in need of assistance. They were at the grocery in the somewhat larger town north of us at the time. As I walked away from my car, to the companion’s house to sit on the front porch and wait for them, I was also able to call That Barb Person to whine and later, once I was comfortably on the front porch with my feet up, watching the horses graze in the pasture on the adjoining property, I also left a message regarding the event I was supposed to attend that evening to let them know not to expect me. The person in charge called me back a short time later to make certain I wasn't still stranded somewhere. Throughout the evening, my mother and I exchanged several phone calls, coordinating everything from repairs to dinner.

Once again, I was reminded that being connected, being on the grid, is not such a bad, horrible thing. It has its definite advantages. Used properly, as a tool, technology really can help make the world a better, more unified, and somewhat safer place.

In Today's News: Microsoft Said to be Talking With News Corporation About Joint Yahoo Bid

2008-04-09T21:31:00.002-05:00

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is in talks with Microsoft about joining in its contested bid for Yahoo, according to people involved in the discussions. The combination, which would join Yahoo, Microsoft’s MSN and News Corporation’s MySpace, would create a behemoth that would upend the Internet landscape.

"Microsoft Said to Be Talking With News Corporation About Joint Yahoo Bid" by Andrew Ross Sorkin and Miguel Helft, The New York Times, 10APR08.

In Today's News: Write for Happiness or Cash?

2008-04-09T03:29:00.003-05:00

No-frills, no-advance publishing is the latest symptom of an age-old writerly dilemma. Should you write for happiness, or for cash?

"Writing, the no-money game" by Jean Hannah Edelstein, Guardian Unlimited, 08APR08

Review: Frost Byte

2008-04-07T13:25:00.008-05:00

Most of you probably already know that Kristine Williams has started a side business designing keyboards using stones and other unexpected materials. She sent me one called Frost Byte to beta test. She's not getting it back. I really enjoy typing with it. I've hooked it up to my office computer on-campus and use it there, exclusively. As I've mentioned previously, the interesting thing about these keyboards, apart from the obvious artistic merits, is that they end up being ergonomic. Using them requires me to hold my hands and wrists in a more healthy posture.

People who have seen Frost Byte have also commented that the keys are not marked. I'm a touch typist, so had no problems with the basic keys. For the number keys, I discovered that the stone for the number 6, is a slightly different shape than the other keys present, so it serves as a reference. My main problem was deciphering which of the six keys off to the side were PG DOWN, PG UP, INS, DEL, HOME, and END, as the order and placement of these keys varies from keyboard to keyboard. However, through trial and error, I've figured it out and use those keys mostly with confidence now. No other keys have given me any trouble.

I do truly enjoy the feel of the stones under my fingertips. Using Frost Byte took no more getting accustomed to than any other keyboard -- I've always found every keyboard is somewhat unique and has a brief learning curve until it becomes comfortable. Much to my surprise, the keys do not show fingerprints. After nearly a month of use, I fully expected the blue keys to have become smudged and cloudy from hand oils and other grime, but they haven't. I did get a drop of soda on one of the keys the other day and had to clean it off before I could continue working. It showed up far more than it would have on a normal keyboard. But that's just me.

These pictures were taking by Kristine prior to shipping.

Please keep in mind that she still needs used keyboards in order to make these works of art and she's willing to trade rock pendants in order to keep old but still functional keyboards out of the landfill.

Charlton Heston, 84, Dies

2008-04-05T23:43:00.002-05:00

Just the other night, I was flipping through late night television and came across a rerun of the 1968 version of Planet of the Apes, starring Charlton Heston as Taylor, the astronaut, stranded on an earth he does not recognize. This evening, I learn that Charlton Heston, who brought so many characters to life, has died.

Whose Turn is it to Watch Lori?

2008-04-05T23:40:00.000-05:00

Gah. That’s today’s answer to life, the universe, and everything. Not forty-two. Gah. Trust me on this.

It’s been a long month. Maybe two long months. I don’t know. I’ve lost track. Whose turn is it to be my official timekeeper anyway? One of these days, I’m going to have enough money to hire an assistant. Part of their job description will be functioning as my internal clock. Of course, they will be external. Having an internal personal assistant just sounds messy and counter-productive.

Just to give everyone a rundown of where I’m at with some of the projects I mention here (because I know you all care immensely):

• The Alchemist Review has been sent to the printer. We received the galleys back on Monday. I’ve gone through them. Marked a few mistakes -- primarily spacing and issues with the right margin -- and given them to my Assistant Editor to glance at. We take them back to the printer tomorrow, at which point it’s off my desk until the copies are delivered to my greedy little hands. I’m nervous, excited, and relieved. It’s time to focus on other things.

• A couple of weeks ago I received Frost Byte, not from the winter that would not end, but from Kristine. She sent me one of the keyboards she has been building to beta test. The model I received is called Frost Byte and consists of blue and white glass stones. They are smooth and cool to the fingers. The design is such that although it’s a standard designed keyboard, it requires me to hold my hands slightly off the keyboard, making my posture more ergonomic. Since I’d been battling a pinched nerve in my left hand recently, this is a good thing. I took some time off over Spring Break -- okay, it was because I had the flu -- and the nerve seems to have healed. Frost Byte is helping prevent the injury from recurring. I love the fact that the keyboard is not only functional, but it also enhances the look of my desk. It always gets comments from people coming into my office for the first time.

• I’m currently stalking a professor. I need information and I believe he is the best person to contact, yet every time I show up during his office hours, he’s not there. (I have learned through my sources that he has been having medical tests and health issues, so I cannot fault him for this.)

• On the submission/rejection front, I’ve received the requisite rejection from Donald Maass. (Go me!) I’ve received rejections on other projects since the last time I gave a run-down of my submissions/rejections, but I’d have to look at my database to see what they were. You’ll just have to trust me that I’ve submitted and rejected stuff.

• Much other stuff is going on to. I’ll probably bore you with it eventually.

Now, that’s enough about me. Everyone should go read Soccer Mom’s story in Coyote Wild. It’s good and definitely worth the storytime break.

The Truth About the Slush Pile

2008-03-31T00:05:00.002-05:00

Attached is a candid video, taken in an unnamed editor's office. It reveals the horrible truth about what really happens to unsolicited manuscripts.

Be warned, the video is even more eye-opening than the pictures of slush taken in Tor's offices. Some might even call it graphic.

Amazon Reportedly Issues Mandate to POD Publishers

2008-03-29T23:13:00.004-05:00

There’s some interesting things going on in the world of POD publishing. Word on the ‘net is that Amazon is starting to strong arm smaller publishers that use POD technology to maintain their booklists.

Representatives from Booksurge, Amazon’s print-on-demand subsidiary, has reportedly been contacting POD publishers and telling them that if they don’t use BookSurge’s services, the “buy” button on their books’ Amazon listings will be removed. For most of these publishers, this mandate puts them in a difficult position. Switching their entire booklists to meet BookSurge's requirements would be a major expense, plus it would require them to maintain two formats, one for Amazon and one for other outlets.

Publishers Weekly has reported on it and BookLocker’s Angela Hoy has posted about her own experiences on Writers Weekly. I’ve contacted a couple of the smaller publishers listed in the online reports to find out their side of the story. I’m waiting to hear from them. I’ll keep you posted to the best of my ability.

Random Question #7

2008-03-27T08:15:00.000-05:00

Why do female characters always scream uncontrollably in stressful situations on TV crime dramas?