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Donaldson"},{"term":"Steve Montiglio"},{"term":"Steve Wozniak"},{"term":"Steven Silver"},{"term":"Steven Utley"},{"term":"Story Order"},{"term":"Strange Horizons"},{"term":"Stupefying Stories"},{"term":"Suzanna Choffel"},{"term":"Sysadmin Day"},{"term":"TED Conference"},{"term":"Tangent"},{"term":"Terry Bisson"},{"term":"Terry Lee"},{"term":"The Atlantic"},{"term":"The Dead Robots' Society Podcast"},{"term":"The Denver Post"},{"term":"The Dragon Page"},{"term":"The Finkler Question"},{"term":"The Jennifer Morgue"},{"term":"The Lappin Team"},{"term":"The Merry Blacksmith Press"},{"term":"The Perfect Sentence"},{"term":"The Ramones"},{"term":"The Revelator"},{"term":"The Ware Tetralogy"},{"term":"Theodora Goss"},{"term":"Thog's Masterclass"},{"term":"Ticonderoga Publications"},{"term":"Tim Powers"},{"term":"Tinkoo Valia"},{"term":"Tolkien"},{"term":"Tom Whitmore"},{"term":"Tor Books"},{"term":"Tor.com"},{"term":"True Review"},{"term":"Vance Museum"},{"term":"Variety SF"},{"term":"W. P. Kinsella"},{"term":"Writer's Knowledge Base"},{"term":"Xcanex"},{"term":"YouTube"},{"term":"Yves Meynard"},{"term":"Zima Blue"},{"term":"bookgeeks"},{"term":"e-paper"},{"term":"eReader"},{"term":"efanzines.com"},{"term":"family"},{"term":"memories"},{"term":"neologism"},{"term":"oddly weird fiction"},{"term":"piQx imaging"},{"term":"proteopape"},{"term":"scanners"},{"term":"serial comma"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"More Red Ink"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":""},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026orderby=published"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=26\u0026max-results=25\u0026orderby=published"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"358"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-5599047931102276410"},"published":{"$t":"2015-02-01T20:13:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-02-03T11:26:53.482-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ace Books"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Charles Stross"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laundry Files"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Laundering Reality: Charles Stross's Laundry Files"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0425256863\/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0425256863\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Rhesus Chart\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3730\/11076703486_019842e281.jpg\" height=\"320\" style=\"float: center; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"210\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EI'm about three months behind on blog posts, so....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EDuring the latter part of October (that's 2014) I received in the mail my comp copies\u003Ca href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\" style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn1;\" title=\"\"\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"MsoEndnoteReference\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\"\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"MsoEndnoteReference\"\u003E[1]\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0425256863\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0425256863\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Rhesus Chart\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=0425256863\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, volume 5 in the continuing Laundry Files series by Charles Stross.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EInterestingly enough, at about that same time, Charlie published a blog post on his public \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.antipope.org\/charlie\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EDiary\u003C\/a\u003E entitled \"The Curse of the Laundry.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn the opening paragraph, the author writes:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThere's some kind of bizarre curse hanging over my Laundry Files series. Or maybe it's a deeper underlying problem with writing fiction set in the very near future (or past): I'm not sure which. All I'm sure is that that for the past decade, reality has been out to get me: and I'm fed up.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHere's the first example that Charlie provides in his post:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E[in 2001] I'd just finished writing \"The Atrocity Archive\" and it was being edited for serial publication in issues 7-9 of the Scottish SF magazine \u003Ci\u003ESpectrum SF\u003C\/i\u003E....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn Chapter 4 of \"The Atrocity Archive\" Bob learns from Angleton who the Middle Eastern bad guys who kidnapped Mo, intending to use her sacrifice to open a gateway to somewhere bad, really were ... and when I originally wrote the story, in 1999-2000, they were a relatively obscure bunch of anti-American zealots who'd blown up the USS \u003Ci\u003EStark\u003C\/i\u003E and an embassy in Africa. I know this may boggle the imagination of younger or more forgetful readers, but Al Quaida and Osama bin Laden had not at that time hijacked any airliners, much less etched themselves into the pages of world history....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESo, on the 12th of September 2001, the score stood at Reality 1, Fiction 0. And I hastily did an edit job, replacing ObL and AQ with Yusuf Qaradawi as inspiration behind a hypothetical radical group based in groan Iraq (hey, this was before the invasion, all right?). And lo, part one of \"The Atrocity Archive\" was published in November 2001, and parts 2 and 3 in March and June of 2002.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI'm not sure if the Laundry Files take place in the recent past or in the very near future, or in an alternate reality -- or all three of those at once! In his \"Curse\" post, Charlie goes around and around on this given how current events always seem to catch up with -- and overtake -- most of the novels. The \"Laundry Curse\" came back to haunt Charlie with \u003Ci\u003EThe Fuller Memorandum\u003C\/i\u003E, written in 2008; \u003Ci\u003EThe Apocalypse Code\u003C\/i\u003E, written in April 2010 and March 2011; and again in the recently published \u003Ci\u003EThe Rhesus Chart\u003C\/i\u003E, written between September and December 2012.  Of course, not to be left out, the forthcoming \u003Ci\u003EThe Annihilation Score\u003C\/i\u003E also gets bit by reality.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EYou can read all of the events to which Charlie refers  -- including his declaration about the reality of the Laundry-verse -- in his post \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.antipope.org\/charlie\/blog-static\/2014\/10\/the-curse-of-laundry.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\"The Curse of the Laundry.\"\u003C\/a\u003E And don't forget to check out the nearly 300 comments!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E---------------\u003Cbr \/\u003EFootnotes:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\" style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn1;\" title=\"\"\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"MsoEndnoteReference\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\"\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"MsoEndnoteReference\"\u003E[1]\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E I have been involved as an editor in one form or another with all six volumes of the Laundry Files. I acquired and edited the original hardcover editions of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0441016685\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0441016685\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=BYODCC4YXMDQ3M5M\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Atrocity Archives\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=0441016685\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E (novel \u003Ci\u003EThe Atrocity Archive\u003C\/i\u003E and Hugo Award-winning novella \"The Concrete Jungle) and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0441018149\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0441018149\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=DK2CWZOBVBG35XKT\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Jennifer Morgue\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=0441018149\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E for Golden Gryphon Press. With volume three in the series, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/044102050X\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=044102050X\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=FZLHTUMD4VNCPMJM\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Fuller Memorandum\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=044102050X\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, Charlie moved to Ace Books -- and I was hired as a freelancer by Ace to line edit and copy edit the novel. Ace obviously was satisfied with my work, because I was called upon to work on the next three volumes. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to work on future Laundry Files volumes as well. And yes, I did mention volume 6, \u003Ci\u003EThe Annihilation Score\u003C\/i\u003E, which I just completed work on, and will be published by Ace Books this coming July. But more on this title soon (though Charlie does reveal a major plot point in this novel in the blog post).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E[Addendum note 3 February 2015: Since I mentioned my initial involvement in acquiring and editing the first two Laundry Files books, I really should have included a link to my blog post on how these two books came about: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2009\/12\/charles-stross-on-her-majestys-occult_10.html\"\u003E\"Charles Stross: On Her Majesty's Occult Service\"\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/5599047931102276410\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2015\/02\/laundering-reality-charles-strosss.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/5599047931102276410"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/5599047931102276410"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2015\/02\/laundering-reality-charles-strosss.html","title":"Laundering Reality: Charles Stross's Laundry Files"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-8469279395643102085"},"published":{"$t":"2015-01-08T15:14:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-01-08T15:14:10.746-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Status Update for January 2015"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cblockquote\u003E(to paraphrase General Douglas MacArthur...)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EI said, to the readers of this blog whence I came, I shall return. Tonight, I repeat those words: I shall return!\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/8469279395643102085\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2015\/01\/status-update-for-january-2015.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/8469279395643102085"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/8469279395643102085"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2015\/01\/status-update-for-january-2015.html","title":"Status Update for January 2015"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-4734083934180140881"},"published":{"$t":"2014-09-10T15:25:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-09-10T15:25:46.503-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"David Mitchell"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Random House"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Suvudu"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Book Received...David Mitchell"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1400065674\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1400065674\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=6HXY3FAJYPZC5FEM\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Bone Clocks\" border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3871\/14965037829_717166ba7b_o.jpg\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"217\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EBack in the summer of 2012, when I learned that the Wachowski Brothers' directed \u003Ci\u003ECloud Atlas\u003C\/i\u003E, starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, was to be released in October, I decided it was about time that I read the novel, considering that David Mitchell's \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0375507256\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0375507256\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=F36DMA5MQJDTLWAR\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECloud Atlas\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=0375507256\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E had been published eight years earlier.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECloud Atlas\u003C\/i\u003E was even one of the few books I added to my Goodreads shelf -- that's how intrigued I was with the prospect of finally reading this book. The story is divided into seemingly unrelated sections: The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing, Letters from Zedelghem, Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery, and The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish -- all well-written and as intriguing as I had hoped: great stuff. Then I got to the section An Orison of Sonmi-451 -- an interview with a genetically engineered fabricant. And the interview seemed to go on and on and... and I became bored and set the book down. Never to pick it up again. In fact, just the other day I realized the title was still listed as being read on my Goodreads shelf, about two years later! (P.S. I haven't seen the movie yet either; I'll wait now for it to be available on cable.)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut, I'm not giving up on David Mitchell, and, in fact, courtesy of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/suvudu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ESuvudu.com\u003C\/a\u003E, I now have an Advance Reader's Edition of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1400065674\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1400065674\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=3XSEAIOBFSFBT3LS\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Bone Clocks\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1400065674\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E to read at my leisure.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHere's an excerpt from the publisher's PR sheet that was inside the book:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EFollowing a scalding row with her mother, fifteen-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: A sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as \"the radio people,\" Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena, and she has caught the attention of a cabal of dangerous mystics—and their enemies. But her lost weekend is merely the prelude to a shocking disappearance that leaves her family irrevocably scarred. This unsolved mystery will echo through every decade of Holly's life, affecting all the people Holly loves—even the ones who are not yet born. A Cambridge scholarship boy grooming himself for wealth and influence; a conflicted father who feels alive only while reporting from occupied Iraq; a middle-aged writer mourning his exile from the bestseller list—all have a part to play in this surreal, invisible war on the margins of our world.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMitchell's writing has that underlying element of the \"fantastic\" -- science fiction in \u003Ci\u003ECloud Atlas\u003C\/i\u003E, and evidently the supernatural in \u003Ci\u003EThe Bone Clocks\u003C\/i\u003E -- and yet, his fiction is considered \"mainstream,\" as is the fiction of W. P. Kinsella, whom I wrote about \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/editing-in-processthe-very-best-of-w-p.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E, and Kazuo Ishiguro, whom I wrote about \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2011\/03\/kazuo-ishiguro-on-science-fiction-oops.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E, to name only two others. And gawd help us if we should ever refer to these individuals as science fiction writers.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4734083934180140881\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/09\/book-receiveddavid-mitchell.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4734083934180140881"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4734083934180140881"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/09\/book-receiveddavid-mitchell.html","title":"Book Received...David Mitchell"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-3539755056627549720"},"published":{"$t":"2014-09-05T11:33:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-09-05T11:33:12.642-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Authors"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Justin Steele"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laird Barron"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ross E. Lockhart"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Word Horde"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Children of Old Leech Anthology: Excerpts"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1939905028\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1939905028\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=53X4J563X7WJKQ7P\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Children of Old Leech\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3876\/14558301791_5f2325732a_o.jpg\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"198\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPress Release: The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EPETALUMA, CALIFORNIA–Word Horde is proud to announce the release of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1939905028\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1939905028\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=LS24ZL47GC6UUZNQ\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1939905028\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E. Editors Ross E. Lockhart (\u003Ci\u003EThe Book of Cthulhu, Tales of Jack the Ripper\u003C\/i\u003E) and Justin Steele (\u003Ci\u003EThe Arkham Digest\u003C\/i\u003E) have gathered together many of the brightest lights in dark fiction to pay homage to one of horror's masters.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOver the past decade, Laird Barron has become one of the most lauded and influential names in horror fiction. His short stories, two novels, and three collections have garnered numerous nominations and awards, including three Shirley Jackson Awards and a Bram Stoker Award. Recognizing Barron's meteoric rise, Lockhart and Steele sought to assemble an original tribute anthology unlike any other, focusing on atmosphere and affect, rather than simple pastiche.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Barron's fiction has long been an inspiration to his peers,\" says co-editor Justin Steele. \"The interwoven stories and novels create a rich tapestry of noir-infused cosmic horror. This mythology makes for an excellent backdrop for the weird tales within.\" Offered this unique opportunity to play in what \u003Ci\u003EPublishers Weekly\u003C\/i\u003E calls Barron's \"worm-riddled literary playground,\" these children of Old Leech—Barron's fans, peers, friends—conjured an anthology \"with a coherent feeling of dread, without feeling derivative of the source.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Children of Old Leech is distributed by Ingram, and will be available in Hardcover and eBook formats through most online retailers and better independent bookstores everywhere in July 2014. For more information about Word Horde or to request an electronic review copy, please email \u003Cb\u003Epublicity[at]wordhorde[dot]com\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOn April 24 I wrote about \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/editing-in-processthe-children-of-old.html\"\u003Ecopy editing\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E for Word Horde; and then on July 5 I posted details on the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/book-receivedthe-children-of-old-leech.html\"\u003Edeluxe edition\u003C\/a\u003E of \u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E, of which only 100 numbered copies were made available for sale.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn celebration of the release of TCoOL on July 15, excerpts from each of the stories were published on the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wordhorde.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWord Horde blog\u003C\/a\u003E over a span of weeks. All of the excerpts have now been posted.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHere is the contents list for \u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EIntroduction: Of Whisky and Doppelgängers — Justin Steele\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Harrow — Gemma Files\u003Cbr \/\u003EPale Apostle — J. T. Glover \u0026amp; Jesse Bullington\u003Cbr \/\u003EWalpurgisnacht — Orrin Grey\u003Cbr \/\u003ELearn to Kill — Michael Cisco\u003Cbr \/\u003EGood Lord, Show Me the Way — Molly Tanzer\u003Cbr \/\u003ESnake Wine — Jeffrey Thomas\u003Cbr \/\u003ELove Songs from the Hydrogen Jukebox — T.E. Grau\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Old Pageant — Richard Gavin\u003Cbr \/\u003ENotes for \"The Barn in the Wild\" — Paul Tremblay\u003Cbr \/\u003EFiredancing — Michael Griffin\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Golden Stars at Night — Allyson Bird\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Last Crossroads on a Calendar of\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Yesterdays — Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Woman in the Wood — Daniel Mills\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrushdogs — Stephen Graham Jones\u003Cbr \/\u003EYmir — John Langan\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf a Thousand Cuts — Cody Goodfellow\u003Cbr \/\u003ETenebrionidae — Scott Nicolay \u0026amp; Jesse James Douthit-Nicolay\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfterword — Ross E. Lockhart\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe first story excerpt is \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wordhorde.com\/the-children-of-old-leech-excerpt-the-harrow-by-gemma-files\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\"The Harrow\"\u003C\/a\u003E by Gemma Files; at the bottom of this excerpt you will find a link to the next story, and so on, through the entire contents list. I would normally say something to the effect of \"Enjoy the read!\" -- but \"enjoy\" isn't quite the word one would use when it comes to Laird Barron's work, or the work of those writing in Barron's world. In my earlier blog post on copy editing this anthology I used the phrase \"a feeling of dread, of impending doom...\" So read at your own risk....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIf you are a fan of Laird Barron's writing, then you will definitely want to read these stories. If you are a reader of dark fantasy -- \u003Ci\u003Every\u003C\/i\u003E dark fantasy! -- and you are new to the world of Laird Barron, then you should be reading these stories.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/3539755056627549720\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/09\/the-children-of-old-leech-anthology.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/3539755056627549720"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/3539755056627549720"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/09\/the-children-of-old-leech-anthology.html","title":"The Children of Old Leech Anthology: Excerpts"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-6084166459729999560"},"published":{"$t":"2014-08-26T18:07:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-08-26T18:07:00.563-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Authors"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Editing in Process"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tachyon Publications"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"W. P. Kinsella"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Editing in Process...The Very Best of W. P. Kinsella"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961872\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961872\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=LLXXT55VYNIHAKPA\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Very Best of W. P. Kinsella\" border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3906\/14990773481_680c5e96ec_o.jpg\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"213\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ECover art by Thomas Canty\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIf you read this blog fairly regularly, you'll recall my post earlier in the month when I wrote about purchasing the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/xcanex-professional-book-document.html\"\u003EXcanex Professional Book and Document Scanner\u003C\/a\u003E by piQx imaging. In that post I mentioned a huge scanning project I had begun working on at the time, which is why I was in a bit of a kerfuffle over scanners -- and the fact that my go-to scanner for nearly 10 years no longer worked with OmniPage Pro and Windows 7.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThat scanning project is short story collection \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961872\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961872\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=M4YGBKKCUMOFT6AK\"\u003EThe Very Best of W. P. Kinsella\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1616961872\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, forthcoming in 2015 from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tachyonpublications.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETachyon Publications\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAnd the project is indeed huge: approximately 138,000 words of fiction, all of which has to be scanned, then cleaned up and formatted, and finally copy edited.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIf you've seen the movie \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0097351\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EField of Dreams\u003C\/a\u003E (1989), starring Kevin Costner, then you've experienced a wee taste of W. P. Kinsella, who wrote the novel \u003Ci\u003EShoeless Joe\u003C\/i\u003E (1982), upon which the movie is based. And Kinsella's novel is an expansion of his 1979 short story, \"Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa\" -- which is included in this \u003Ci\u003EVery Best of\u003C\/i\u003E collection. In the story, a corn farmer in Iowa hears a voice:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ETwo years ago at dusk on a spring evening, when the sky was a robin's-egg blue and the wind as soft as a day-old chick, as I was sitting on the verandah of my farm home in eastern Iowa, a voice very clearly said to me, \"If you build it, he will come.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe voice was that of a ballpark announcer. As he spoke, I instantly envisioned the finished product I knew I was being asked to conceive. I could see the dark, squarish speakers, like ancient sailors' hats, attached to aluminum-painted light standards that glowed down into a baseball field, my present position being directly behind home plate.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe \"he\" in \"he will come\" is Joseph Jefferson Jackson, the \"Shoeless Joe Jackson\" in the title, one of the greatest baseball outfielders of all time -- who had passed away in 1951, years (and years) before our Iowa corn farmer heard that voice. But if our farmer builds that ballfield, he will come. [Note: Shoeless Joe had been mired in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_Sox_Scandal\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBlack Sox Scandal\u003C\/a\u003E after the Chicago White Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1919 World Series; Joe and seven other teammates were banned for life from baseball the following year.]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThere are a few other baseball stories in this collection, but you don't need to know anything about baseball to enjoy these tales: baseball merely serves as a backdrop to these stories, which are about life and the human condition, often with a bit of the \"fantastic\" thrown in. My favorite story in the collection is \"K Mart\" -- but don't let the title fool you: it's the story of lost childhood love, nostalgia, and survival, all amidst the backdrop of a neighborhood dirt-lot baseball game, a game that seemed endless (to the children playing it), but only lasted throughout the summer months.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EW. P. Kinsella is also well-known for his \"First Nation\" stories about the indigenous Cree on the Hobbema Reserve near Edmonton, Canada. These stories reflect the Cree's destitute and disadvantaged culture, yet add an element of humor by exploring the convoluted situations (and shenanigans) they get into trying to survive in a world dominated by white people. But even with the element of humor, there is a sadness to all of these stories. What is especially delightful about these stories is that Kinsella's characters -- Silas (the narrator), Frank Fencepost, Mad Etta, Bedelia Coyote, Sadie One-wound, and Rufus Firstrider, to name just a few -- appear in all the stories. By the time you finish reading this collection, you'll certainly consider them acquaintances, if not friends. In \"Beef,\" Bedelia Coyote determines that a treaty the Cree signed with the Canadian government in the 1800s is still valid, and she files the necessary paperwork so that the reserve receives financial compensation. But Frank Fencepost has a better scheme in mind: he hijacks the paperwork and requests the government honor the compensation put forth in the original treaty: cattle -- figuring he can make more from the cattle than the money the government was offering. The title of the story, \"Beef,\" says it all.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOther stories include the ability to transcend art, literally (\"The Grecian Urn\"); removing deceased family members, over time, from the family portrait (\"Out of the Picture\"); gangs, a bikers' bar, and undercover cops (\"King of the Street\"); and a restaurant where one never gets served (\"Waiting on Lombard Street\"); and many more. Thirty-one stories in all. Here's the complete contents list, in alphabetical order:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EThe Alligator Report—with Questions for Discussion\u003Cbr \/\u003EBeef\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrother Frank’s Gospel Hour\u003Cbr \/\u003EDistances\u003Cbr \/\u003EDo Not Abandon Me\u003Cbr \/\u003EDoves and Proverbs\u003Cbr \/\u003EDr. Don\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Firefighter\u003Cbr \/\u003EFirst Names and Empty Pockets\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Fog \u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Grecian Urn\u003Cbr \/\u003EHow I Got My Nickname\u003Cbr \/\u003EHow Manny Embarquadero Overcame and Began His Climb\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;to the Major Leagues\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Indian Nation Cultural Exchange Program\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Job\u003Cbr \/\u003EK Mart\u003Cbr \/\u003EKing of the Street\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Last Surviving Member of the Japanese Victory Society\u003Cbr \/\u003ELieberman in Love\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lightning Birds\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lime Tree\u003Cbr \/\u003EMarco in Paradise\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Night Manny Mota Tied the Record\u003Cbr \/\u003EOut of the Picture\u003Cbr \/\u003EPunchlines\u003Cbr \/\u003ERisk Takers\u003Cbr \/\u003ESearching for January\u003Cbr \/\u003EShoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa\u003Cbr \/\u003ETruth\u003Cbr \/\u003EWaiting on Lombard Street\u003Cbr \/\u003EWavelengths\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Few writers can match Kinsella's ability to establish tone, character, and a complete reality in just a few paragraphs, then sweep the reader into his imagined world.\"\u003C\/div\u003E—\u003Ci\u003ELibrary Journal\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"[Kinsella] uses baseball not so much as a metaphor, but as a familiar starting place for exploring, with pinpoint control, the human psyche.\"\u003C\/div\u003E—\u003Ci\u003EBooklist\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/6084166459729999560\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/editing-in-processthe-very-best-of-w-p.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/6084166459729999560"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/6084166459729999560"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/editing-in-processthe-very-best-of-w-p.html","title":"Editing in Process...The Very Best of W. P. Kinsella"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-6467510914023125119"},"published":{"$t":"2014-08-21T17:10:00.003-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-08-21T17:21:40.191-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"music"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Suzanna Choffel"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Austin Musician Suzanna Choffel"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESo I was channel surfacing last night at about 8:30pm, looking for something to watch for a half hour, and I saw a listing in the paper for \"Austin Musicians\" on San Mateo's PBS station, KCSM. So I hit the remote for cable channel 17. The show was an hour-long broadcast of the 2013 All ATX concert at the Moody Theater in Austin, a benefit to support the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EFortunately, I turned on the TV just in time to catch musician Suzanna Choffel's two-song performance, the latter of which, entitled \"Raincloud,\" absolutely knocked my figurative socks off. I spent some time this morning searching for more info on Ms. Choffel, and learned that she was a performer on NBC's \u003Ci\u003EThe Voice\u003C\/i\u003E a few years back, losing in the \"knockout\" round to a singer who I thought (having watched both performances on \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BkN2V_Q2irU\"\u003EYouTube\u003C\/a\u003E) was (aside from being occasionally off-key) derivative of nearly every other female singer one hears on contemporary pop radio. Anyhow, Ms. Choffel said about her loss: \"I was definitely the wild card of the show, doing folk, pop, and reggae, and that may have hurt me in the end, but it's who I am.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI also found on YouTube what appears to be an audience recording of \"Raincloud\" from the All ATX concert, but the quality is quite poor; so, searching for the song itself, I found a superb version performed \"live\" at Austin's The Sessions production company. Enjoy!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ciframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"275\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KdDmcGuvWqA\" width=\"489\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI checked out Suzanna Choffel's albums -- her latest, \u003Ci\u003EArcher\u003C\/i\u003E, includes \"Raincloud\" -- but I was disappointed: the sultry, raw quality of her vocals and fretwork are lost, sadly, in the music's overproduction. If she were to release a live album, I'd snatch it up in a digital minute!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOther performers at the All ATX concert included Marcia Ball, Christopher Cross, Eric Johnson, the Sexton brothers, and Jimmy Vaughan, to name but a few. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.austinchronicle.com\/daily\/music\/2013-09-25\/all-atx-the-concert\/\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Austin Chronicle\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E had a fairly decent review of the concert the following day.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENote: Ms. Choffel currently resides in NYC.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/6467510914023125119\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/austin-musician-suzanna-choffel.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/6467510914023125119"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/6467510914023125119"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/austin-musician-suzanna-choffel.html","title":"Austin Musician Suzanna Choffel"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-1681810832714991840"},"published":{"$t":"2014-08-06T13:45:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-08-25T14:00:50.969-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"piQx imaging"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"scanners"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Xcanex"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Xcanex Professional Book \u0026 Document Scanner"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00DFWCCXS\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=B00DFWCCXS\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=P5DLA6M2PLZV3COB\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Xcanex-box\" height=\"255\" imageanchor=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3838\/14843131314_f8bf6768e2_o.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" width=\"320\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EThe first flatbed scanner I purchased was a Microtek brand, I'm guessing about a dozen years ago. I was running Windows ME (Millennium, remember that short-lived OS?) at the time and the Microtek scanner worked like a charm. Of course, as is the way of all things technical, I decided to upgrade to Windows XP in 2005.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI purchased the XP system discs and, with the help of my friend Randy (the same person who helped me design my first desktop years earlier, which I wrote about \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/journey-through-past-ms-dos-622-windows.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E), I wiped the hard drive and installed Windows XP. I then spent the next two days installing all my software and hardware. Around the end of day two the OS started behaving badly and I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I'll admit I was in a hurry to get the new system up and running, and I didn't keep track of what I installed when, I didn't create restore points, and I didn't test the system after each install. Silly me.... So, back to square one: I wiped the hard drive myself and reinstalled XP, and began the arduous task of installing hardware and software correctly. I created a restore point before each install, I rebooted and tested the system after each install, and I kept a running list of what I installed at each point. Instead of two days, this \"best practice\" process took me about four days -- at which point everything started behaving flaky again. After some investigation, reverting to restore points, reinstalling some things yet again, I determined that the Microtek driver for the scanner was crashing XP.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI clicked on over to the Microtek website only to discover that they did not support Windows XP on this particular scanner; I guess their developers were too bloody lazy to update the Windows ME driver -- but I bet they sure would like to sell me a new scanner that works under Windows XP! What we call built-in obsolescence! Well, if I'm going to have to dump a perfectly good, working scanner to buy a new one that works with Windows XP, I certainly will not give any more money to Microtek. You would think these corp. idiots would learn....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00DFWCCXS\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=B00DFWCCXS\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=P5DLA6M2PLZV3COB\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Xcanex open box\" height=\"320\" imageanchor=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5562\/14658895190_3c102266be_o.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\" width=\"271\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESo after some research I purchased a Canon CanoScan 4200F flatbed scanner -- which is even better than the Microtek and has served me far longer. The beauty of this CanoScan is the hinged lid that allows you to place an open book face down on the glass and still be able to place the lid on the book. I used this scanner with Nuance's OmniPage Professional -- first OmniPage Pro 12, then I upgraded to 14, then 16, then 17, and finally 18. (Note: Version 18 has a lot of glitches at startup which Nuance has simply refused to address (or even respond to on their own community forum) since they've now moved on to an even bigger and better version -- and because of this, my days of upgrading have ceased with version 18. These tech companies can really be a pain in the behind.) I've been using one version or another of OmniPage Pro and the CanoScan scanner for nearly ten years. The scanner has performed flawlessly.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ETime to upgrade again, to Windows 7; or, I should say, I replaced my entire desktop PC with a Win7 Pro 64-bit Lenovo system (which I blogged about \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/lenovo-thinkcentre-m73-mini-tower.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E). And, you guessed it: my OmniPage Pro and CanoScan scanner, which had worked together flawlessly for a dozen years under Windows XP, no longer worked together at all. The CanoScan uses a \"TWAIN\" driver and for whatever reason, OmniPage simply would not recognize the driver.  I don't know if it is Win7 64-bit or OmniPage or the Canon 64-bit Win7 driver or some combination thereof -- but I simply couldn't get OmniPage to find the scanner no matter what I did, no matter how many times I uninstalled and reinstalled the software and\/or the driver; I even tried a couple different versions of OmniPage -- all to no avail.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe flatbed scanner on my Epson Workforce WF-3540 all-in-one printer was recognized (it uses a WIA driver rather than a TWAIN driver) and worked well with OmniPage so I wasn't in panic mode -- just yet (but I did have a new 100,000-plus word scanning project on my desk, demanding my attention).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ETime to research yet again for another scanner. I was partial to the Canon scanner with the hinged lid -- and, in fact, during my research, Canon announced a new model, the LiDE 220 Color Image scanner, which seemed to fit my needs perfectly. Unfortunately, this was just an announcement, and upon telephoning Canon's marketing division, they weren't even able to provide me with an availability date as yet. The problem with a flatbed scanner is that I tend to damage the spine of the book, particularly a fat trade paperback, because the book must be pressed flat -- very flat -- against the glass to avoid the dark shadow along the gutter; and this shadow can easily interfere with the text on one or both pages.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00DFWCCXS\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=B00DFWCCXS\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=P5DLA6M2PLZV3COB\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"xcanex-dual-orig\" height=\"345\" imageanchor=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3845\/14658968388_7ccb8a9ae0_o.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" width=\"400\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EXcanex Professional Book \u0026amp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EDocument Scanner\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EKeep in mind I hadn't looked at scanners in nearly ten years, so I was surprised to see this new type of scanner: one designed for books, that allows the books to be scanned face up -- not pressed  face down against a sheet of glass.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWhile checking out this new style of book and document scanner, I found a high-end Fujitsu model (nearly $600.00), which was way above my price range; and a lower-end IPEVO model (just under $100.00), which didn't quite do what I needed such a scanner to do. Enter the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00DFWCCXS\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=B00DFWCCXS\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=SOFOBBZPOP2C25B3\"\u003EXcanex Professional Book and Document Scanner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=B00DFWCCXS\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.piqximaging.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EpiQx imaging\u003C\/a\u003E of Singapore.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAs you can see from the open box pictured above, there are only two main parts to the Xcanex -- five parts if you count the USB cable (from which the scanner also gets its power), the blue guide board, and the software disc (these are not shown; they fit in the box under the two main parts layer). What is especially unique about this scanner -- though I have not tried this myself -- is that it can be attached to a laptop; the imaging part then folds down onto the top of the laptop thus making it portable.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe secret to a successful scan using the Xcanex is the placement of the book on the guide board. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this at first. I was placing the book on the guide board incorrectly -- based on a statement I had \u003Ci\u003Ethought\u003C\/i\u003E I had read in the manual -- resulting in scans that the software was unable to correctly recognize. The company has provided a multitude of YouTube videos that show various uses and operations of the Xcanex, but none of the vids focused on the actual placement of the book on the guide board. \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI was just about to give up: I already had the scanner packed up for its return shipment... but I hate to let technology get the better of me. So I posted an entry to piQx imaging's Xcanex \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.piqximaging.com\/forum\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EForum\u003C\/a\u003E and asked that they record the entire scanning process, from start to finish, showing that the Xcanex software -- called PerfeCapture -- recognizes each page correctly before and after each scan. And considering how much time the tech support person had already directed my way in response to all my questions and issues, I really wasn't surprised when, the next day, the following video was posted:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ciframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aQzYE_8Ozgs\" width=\"420\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIf you prefer a higher resolution vid, you can \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/vwl7madpbeqynxl\/Effects%20of%20Camera%20Aiming%20and%20Book%20positioning%20Pt2.wmv\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eview the video direct from Dropbox\u003C\/a\u003E (you do not need a Dropbox account). This is a \"wmv\" video file; Windows systems should have no problem viewing it; as to Macs, well, good luck.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESo I unpacked the scanner again and gave it another try. And yet, I was still having problems. My wife, Diane, happened to pass by the room, so I called her in and showed her the problem I was having. She made a casual suggestion to move the book farther down (away from the silver guides on the edge of the guide board, whereas I had the book against the silver guides, which is what I had recalled reading) -- and, lo and behold, the imaging, and the software, worked perfectly. Duh!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI then used the scanner to scan five different stories from three different books (one hardcover and two trade paperbacks) as part of the current project I was now working on -- and except for a couple hiccups (like my not having the page flipped and the book set when the camera clicked for the next scan), everything worked flawlessly.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAnd when I have to scan one of those monster \u003Ci\u003EYear's Best\u003C\/i\u003E volumes, and the curve of the gutter is just too great for even the Xcanex to handle open-faced, I can turn the book sideways and scan all the left-facing pages, then turn the book around and scan all the right-facing pages, and the PerfeCapture software is intelligent enough to be able to integrate the left and right pages accordingly.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Xcanex software also comes with ABBYY FineReader 10 OCR (optical character recognition) software. I had previously tested FineReader (when I became frustrated with the behavior of OmniPage Pro 18), but I wasn't happy with the results -- and even considering the initial problems opening OmniPage Pro 18, I still prefer it over the competition. \u003Ci\u003EBut\u003C\/i\u003E, with the PerfeCapture software, I save my scans as a PDF file that has been OCR'd using its built-in ABBYY FineReader software, I then load the PDF into OmniPage and let it do its OCR thing as well, and hopefully the resulting Word file is that much cleaner.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/1681810832714991840\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/xcanex-professional-book-document.html#comment-form","title":"5 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/1681810832714991840"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/1681810832714991840"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/08\/xcanex-professional-book-document.html","title":"Xcanex Professional Book \u0026 Document Scanner"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"5"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-5769424751013984718"},"published":{"$t":"2014-07-28T14:30:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-07-28T14:30:20.814-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Daryl Gregory"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tachyon Publications"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Book Received... Daryl Gregory"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961716\/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961716\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"We Are All Completely Fine\" border=\"0\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3866\/14583666800_823ff06d95_o.jpg\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"250\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EBack in February, I wrote about working on Daryl Gregory's \"sharp-edged\" novella \u003Ci\u003EWe Are All Completely Fine\u003C\/i\u003E -- and even included a very brief excerpt from the story in order to make my point.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAs I said, that was earlier (you can read that blog post \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/02\/editing-in-processdaryl-gregory.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E) -- and this is now: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961716\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961716\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EWe Are All Completely Fine\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1616961716\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E is available ahead of schedule direct from the publisher, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tachyonpublications.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETachyon Publications\u003C\/a\u003E, or your preferred retail bookseller.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn fact, I can think of no other active independent publisher that is consistently on schedule -- actually, ahead of schedule -- for every single book that they publish. That's Tachyon Publications. (And, Gawd bless them, they pay on time, too -- every single time! And have done so, since 2002, when I worked on that very first book for them. Writers, keep that in mind when you are considering your next novella, novel, or collection submission, and are looking for a quality publisher.)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIf you are not familiar with Daryl Gregory's work, then \u003Ci\u003EWe Are All Completely Fine\u003C\/i\u003E is a good place to start; if you are a fan of his work, then I don't need to say anything further: you've most likely had this book on order since you first learned about it. In fact, I believe we'll be seeing this novella on many awards lists beginning in early 2015. Yes, he's that good.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/5769424751013984718\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/book-received-daryl-gregory.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/5769424751013984718"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/5769424751013984718"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/book-received-daryl-gregory.html","title":"Book Received... Daryl Gregory"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-4663710429004772051"},"published":{"$t":"2014-07-12T16:23:00.002-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-08-21T17:18:24.719-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"music"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Punk"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"The Ramones"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Tommy Ramone, January 29, 1949–July 11, 2014"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ciframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZLlLtSG7xe4\" width=\"420\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThomas Erdelyi -- better known by his stage name Tommy Ramone -- was a co-founder of the seminal punk band The Ramones and the last surviving member of the original group. \u003Ci\u003EThe New York Times\u003C\/i\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/07\/13\/nyregion\/tommy-ramone-65-dies-gave-punk-rock-its-pulse.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eobituary\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4663710429004772051\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/tommy-ramone-january-29-1949july-11-2014.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4663710429004772051"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4663710429004772051"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/tommy-ramone-january-29-1949july-11-2014.html","title":"Tommy Ramone, January 29, 1949–July 11, 2014"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-8699294464855048729"},"published":{"$t":"2014-07-05T09:17:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-07-05T09:17:39.142-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Justin Steele"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laird Barron"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ross E. Lockhart"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Word Horde"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Book Received...The Children of Old Leech Anthology"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1939905028\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1939905028\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=53X4J563X7WJKQ7P\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Children of Old Leech\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3876\/14558301791_5f2325732a_o.jpg\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"248\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EWhen I first wrote about my involvement (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/editing-in-processthe-children-of-old.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E) in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1939905028\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1939905028\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=LS24ZL47GC6UUZNQ\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1939905028\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E anthology -- the newest title from publisher \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wordhorde.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWord Horde\u003C\/a\u003E -- I also recommended at the time that readers opt for the Deluxe Pack available direct from the publisher's web site. As only 100 numbered Deluxe Packs were made, they sold out fairly quickly. I'll post some of the items below, but keep this in mind in the future: When Word Horde offers a deluxe package for one of their books -- snag it!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E (\u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E) isn't just \u003Ci\u003Eanother\u003C\/i\u003E themed anthology. The book's subtitle is the reveal: \"A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron.\" That \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/editing-in-processthe-children-of-old.html\"\u003Eprevious blog post\u003C\/a\u003E I mentioned above has some of my thoughts on Laird Barron and \u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E as well as a list of the book's 17 stories. But a list of stories is just that: a list. \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-CR6YQ4-DUfA\/U7ghc8isJhI\/AAAAAAAAC6E\/trwu-vwQPII\/s1600\/TCoOL+back+cover.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-CR6YQ4-DUfA\/U7ghc8isJhI\/AAAAAAAAC6E\/trwu-vwQPII\/s320\/TCoOL+back+cover.jpg\" height=\"400\" width=\"248\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe truth, of course, is in the content: courtesy of publisher Ross E. Lockhart and the 19 \u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E authors, the Word Horde web site will present a brief excerpt from each of the 17 stories, beginning with \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wordhorde.com\/the-children-of-old-leech-excerpt-the-harrow-by-gemma-files\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\"The Harrow\" by Gemma Files\u003C\/a\u003E (on July 2) and continuing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday over the next few weeks. So if you are still fence-sitting and haven't purchased a copy of \u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E as yet, please do check out these mini excerpts from all 17 stories. But, lest we forget, it's the mind -- and writing -- of Laird Barron that provided the inspiration for these stories.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBack to the \u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E goodies: if you had ordered the Deluxe Pack, you would have received a numbered \"chapbook\" by Paul Tremblay entitled \"Notes for 'The Barn in the Wild.'\" The story is a \"found notebook\" story -- and the chapbook is comprised of the notebook pages themselves.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-xeLxlkxMT3M\/U7gfMyXPtFI\/AAAAAAAAC5o\/X8nILrgSqJY\/s1600\/Exam+Book+front.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-xeLxlkxMT3M\/U7gfMyXPtFI\/AAAAAAAAC5o\/X8nILrgSqJY\/s1600\/Exam+Book+front.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"248\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy copy is not numbered but is rather a \"PC\" copy -- a Presentation Copy that I received as one of the book's contributors. Now\u0026nbsp;here's a behind-the-scenes peek at the publisher hand-assembling the chapbook:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-As0jPoUr6hk\/U7ggNzR5lhI\/AAAAAAAAC5w\/ZEJHTgOVbdE\/s1600\/Paul+Tremblay+Exam+Book.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-As0jPoUr6hk\/U7ggNzR5lhI\/AAAAAAAAC5w\/ZEJHTgOVbdE\/s1600\/Paul+Tremblay+Exam+Book.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"240\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Deluxe Pack also came with a Word Horde bookplate signed by both \u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E editors, Ross E. Lockhart and Justin Steele:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-z81-2thNFi8\/U7ggn_N4kcI\/AAAAAAAAC54\/4FvJt6BDUdk\/s1600\/signed+bookplate-2.jpeg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-z81-2thNFi8\/U7ggn_N4kcI\/AAAAAAAAC54\/4FvJt6BDUdk\/s1600\/signed+bookplate-2.jpeg\" height=\"320\" width=\"279\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EThe hand holding the book is courtesy\u003Cbr \/\u003Eof Ross E. Lockhart. Thanks, Ross!\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOther goodies included bookmarks, stickers, and postcards....And, to top it off, the Deluxe Pack also included an ebook edition of the anthology, in the reader's format of choice.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/8699294464855048729\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/book-receivedthe-children-of-old-leech.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/8699294464855048729"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/8699294464855048729"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/book-receivedthe-children-of-old-leech.html","title":"Book Received...The Children of Old Leech Anthology"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-CR6YQ4-DUfA\/U7ghc8isJhI\/AAAAAAAAC6E\/trwu-vwQPII\/s72-c\/TCoOL+back+cover.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-2189815150415044695"},"published":{"$t":"2014-07-01T07:23:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-07-01T07:23:55.411-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ace Books"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Charles Stross"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kirkus Reviews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laundry Files"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Charles Stross's The Rhesus Chart: \"Pounce!\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0425256863\/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0425256863\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Rhesus Chart\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3730\/11076703486_019842e281.jpg\" height=\"320\" style=\"float: center; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"210\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EToday -- July 1 -- is the publication date for \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0425256863\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0425256863\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Rhesus Chart\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=0425256863\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, the fifth in the Laundry Files series by \u003Ca _blank=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.antipope.org\/charlie\/blog-static\/target=\"\u003ECharles Stross\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHow the first two Laundry Files books came to be published by Golden Gryphon Press I have written about at length in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2009\/12\/charles-stross-on-her-majestys-occult_10.html\"\u003Emy blog pos\u003C\/a\u003Et of December 10, 2009. But suffice to say that when Charlie and I first met, albeit briefly, at the ConJosé WorldCon in 2002, I asked for an original novella, and Charlie offered me a novel that crossed so many genres that his agent, he said, didn't know what to do with it. Fortunately, I did, and the rest, as they say, is Laundry Files history. \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0441016685\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=0441016685\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=4AWM3BGWRVOZWZBE\"\u003EThe Atrocity Archives\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=0441016685\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E turned out to be an ideal book for a small press publisher. The first print run of 3,000 hardcovers sold out in about three months, so the book had a second hardcover printing. Not too shabby for a small press that was then publishing six hardcovers per year.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI've been fortunate to have worked on all five Laundry Files novels, even when book 3, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/044102050X\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=044102050X\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=6AH5C34RVYXIYOAJ\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Fuller Memorandum\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=044102050X\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, was acquired and published by Ace Books. I've written about all three Ace Laundry Files novels within this blog, but you may find of special interest (especially if you are a writer) \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2012\/07\/reviewing-apocalypse.html\"\u003Emy blog post\u003C\/a\u003E of exactly two years ago, on \u003Ci\u003EThe Apocalypse Codex\u003C\/i\u003E, entitled \"Doing Charles Stross's Laundry with Style.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut back to \u003Ci\u003EThe Rhesus Chart\u003C\/i\u003E... How can you go wrong with a novel that opens with the following line:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Don't be silly, Bob,\" said Mo, \"everybody knows vampires don't exist.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Rhesus Chart\u003C\/i\u003E was recently graced with a \u003Cb\u003Estarred\u003C\/b\u003E \u003Ci\u003EKirkus\u003C\/i\u003E review. Let me repeat that: a \u003Cb\u003Estarred\u003C\/b\u003E \u003Ci\u003EKirkus\u003C\/i\u003E review. A review by \u003Ci\u003EKirkus\u003C\/i\u003E is difficult enough to come by, but a starred review? Now that's a treat. The review was \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.kirkusreviews.com\/book-reviews\/charles-stross\/the-rhesus-chart\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eposted online\u003C\/a\u003E on June 5 and appeared in the June 15 issue of \u003Ci\u003EKirkus Reivews\u003C\/i\u003E. Here's a taste:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EFast-tracked into management after recent successes, Bob grows suspicious when a whiz-kid team of investment bankers which calls itself the Scrum discovers an algorithm that promises to make its members billions in profits but whose unfortunate side effect...is to turn them into vampires. (The supreme irony of this will be lost on few readers.) An added complication for Bob is that the Scrum's ringleader, Mhari Murphy, is an ex-girlfriend. More peculiar yet, why is everybody in the Laundry convinced that vampires don't exist? Bob's superiors take prompt action—and form a committee. Laundry regulars by now will be familiar with Stross' trademark sardonic, provocative, disturbing, allusion-filled narrative. And, here, with a structure strongly reminiscent of Len Deighton's early spy novels, the tone grows markedly grimmer, with several significant casualties and tragedies, perhaps in preparation for Angleton's [Bob's superior] feared CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EStross at the top of his game—which is to say, few do it better. Pounce!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ECourtesy of the author Charles Stross and Ace Books, the entire \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.antipope.org\/charlie\/blog-static\/2014\/06\/the-rhesus-chart-chapter-one.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Efirst chapter\u003C\/a\u003E of \u003Ci\u003EThe Rhesus Chart\u003C\/i\u003E has been posted online for your reading pleasure. If you are unfamiliar with the Laundry Files tales, \u003Ci\u003EThe Rhesus Chart\u003C\/i\u003E is actually a good place to start.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2189815150415044695\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/charles-strosss-rhesus-chart-pounce.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2189815150415044695"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2189815150415044695"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/07\/charles-strosss-rhesus-chart-pounce.html","title":"Charles Stross's The Rhesus Chart: \"Pounce!\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-6886066732768089727"},"published":{"$t":"2014-06-29T15:21:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-29T15:21:40.247-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fantasy and Science Fiction"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gordon Van Gelder"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tachyon Publications"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Book Received...The Very Best of Fantasy \u0026 Science Fiction, Volume 2"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961635\/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961635\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Very Best of F\u0026amp;SF V2\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7333\/12123023544_fecc5300a8.jpg\" height=\"400\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"266\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EThe second project I worked on this year was \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961635\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961635\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Very Best of Fantasy \u0026amp; Science Fiction, Volume Two\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1616961635\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, edited by Gordon Van Gelder -- and the first project for this year for \u003Ca _blank=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/tachyonpublications.com\/target=\"\u003ETachyon Publications\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EReading this volume of \u003Ci\u003EThe Very Best of F\u0026amp;SF\u003C\/i\u003E is like peering into a time capsule of the history (well, at least as far back as the '50s) of fantasy and science fiction short stories, from \"The Third Level\" by Jack Finney, published in 1952, to the most recent story, \"The Paper Menagerie\" by Ken Liu, published in 2011. \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/01\/editing-in-processthe-very-best-of-f.html\"\u003EMy blog post\u003C\/a\u003E of January 24 lists the full table of contents, along with some personal thoughts on the stories themselves.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAnd if this \"very best of\" Volume Two intrigues you, then please check out the previous volume, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1892391910\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1892391910\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=RLPL5W637UI5IJXD\"\u003EThe Very Best of Fantasy \u0026amp; Science Fiction\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1892391910\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, which I worked on in early 2009. I didn't post the table of contents at that time, but the stories range from \"Of Time and Third Avenue\" by Alfred Bester (1951) to \"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate\" by Ted Chiang (2007). This first volume also includes the original Hugo Award-winning novella \"Flowers for Algernon\" by Daniel Keyes, who passed away on June 15.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/6886066732768089727\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/book-receivedthe-very-best-of-fantasy.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/6886066732768089727"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/6886066732768089727"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/book-receivedthe-very-best-of-fantasy.html","title":"Book Received...The Very Best of Fantasy \u0026 Science Fiction, Volume 2"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-4326363921710800489"},"published":{"$t":"2014-06-13T09:13:00.003-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-08-03T14:35:47.358-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lenovo"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Windows 7"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Mini Tower"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-4Wg-Wo3AZOk\/U5n3cCugsYI\/AAAAAAAAC0Q\/DRMZfZiURA8\/s1600\/DCP_0508.JPG\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-4Wg-Wo3AZOk\/U5n3cCugsYI\/AAAAAAAAC0Q\/DRMZfZiURA8\/s1600\/DCP_0508.JPG\" height=\"291\" width=\"320\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn the fall of 2011, my old Compaq laptop finally gave up the ghost. I won't touch any Dell hardware (in fact, Dell couldn't \u003Ci\u003Egive\u003C\/i\u003E me a laptop for free -- I wouldn't accept it; I used a Dell laptop when I worked at LSI Logic and it always seemed to have one hardware problem after another); and as for HP, well, not only do their laptops run exceedingly hot, one never knows from day to day whether HP will still be in the PC business. So, I had heard good things about \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.lenovo.com\/us\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELenovo\u003C\/a\u003E (a Chinese-based company that had bought the IBM ThinkPad name and division), did some research -- and I ended up purchasing a Lenovo IdeaPad Z575, which I unboxed in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2011\/11\/lenovo-ideapad-z575.html\"\u003Ethis blog post\u003C\/a\u003E on November 5, 2011.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Z575 is a beautiful piece of hardware, with its 15.6-inch backlit HD display, and has performed superbly these past two-and-a-half years (knock on wood!). So, when it came time to replace my XP box (now that Microsoft is no longer supporting XP), I looked to Lenovo for that replacement.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bqzE5w3I4Bw\/U5n7MktLI_I\/AAAAAAAAC0Y\/h3N2djLa-xI\/s1600\/DCP_0510.JPG\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bqzE5w3I4Bw\/U5n7MktLI_I\/AAAAAAAAC0Y\/h3N2djLa-xI\/s320\/DCP_0510.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf course, I'm not one to purchase an off-the-shelf box. I had to put this one together, option by option, from the Lenovo website. I checked out the K-series towers, but eventually decided on the M-series. I had initially settled on the M93p tower, and had it completely configured, when I figuratively slapped my hand, realizing that I didn't need \u003Ci\u003Ethat\u003C\/i\u003E much power. So I settled for the ThinkCentre M73 mini tower instead. But, within that tower, I selected some special goodies.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI placed the order on March 27 with the understanding that delivery could be a minimum of 5 weeks; that's correct: 5 weeks. On April 8 I received a follow-up email that my order has been delayed and will be delivered within 30 days. Unfortunately, I had an open window in my schedule at the end of the 5 weeks, but not within that 30-day-delay window. Finally, on May 2, I received a shipment confirmation email. The box arrived on Friday, May 9, and has been sitting in a back room, still sealed, ever since.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-7eRkjfF8xM0\/U5oRPEXcofI\/AAAAAAAAC0k\/R1sWdLIKG-o\/s1600\/DCP_0512.JPG\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-7eRkjfF8xM0\/U5oRPEXcofI\/AAAAAAAAC0k\/R1sWdLIKG-o\/s320\/DCP_0512.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ELike I said, I didn't have an open window in my schedule at the end of those additional 30 days. See my recent blog posts on \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/baycon-2014-recap.html\"\u003EBayCon 2014\u003C\/a\u003E (which included the Writers Workshop and meeting with Matt Maxwell, upon my completing work on his novel \u003Ci\u003EBlue Highway\u003C\/i\u003E) and the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/editing-in-processthe-very-best-of-kate.html\"\u003EKate Elliott \"best of\" collection\u003C\/a\u003E (actually the \"very best of\"!).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut you're probably thinking, Just unpack the box, take out the bloody tower, and hook it up....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EUnfortunately, the tower only came with Microsoft Office 2013 and Adobe Acrobat XI. If those were the only applications I needed to do my work, well, then, I could indeed have hooked everything up within a day. But then there were the Windows 7 drivers I had to track down for my Canoscan 4200F scanner. I had to install more than forty additional applications, some from discs (Acronis True Image Premium 2014 [and then create a bootable recovery disc], Epson WorkForce WF-3540 drivers and apps, FileMaker Pro 11, OmniPage Pro 18, and Webroot Personal Security, just to name a few), but most from online sources, too many to list fully, but here are a few: Google Chrome, Google Keep, Mozilla Firefox, 7Zip, Belarc Advisor, Evernote, FileZilla FTP, Greenshot, Homebase 3, Secunia PSI, TeamViewer 9, and five different cloud services. And, as I said, these are just a few.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-HQbOw36-CpQ\/U5oSRB_a2HI\/AAAAAAAAC0s\/sz8Q0iVbYi0\/s1600\/DCP_0514.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-HQbOw36-CpQ\/U5oSRB_a2HI\/AAAAAAAAC0s\/sz8Q0iVbYi0\/s320\/DCP_0514.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ENot to mention the fact that I've been using Microsoft Office 2003 for more than ten years; Microsoft Office 2010 only occasionally, when I use my ASUS Zenbook (see \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2012\/02\/asus-zenbook-zen-of-ultrabooks.html\"\u003Ethis blog post\u003C\/a\u003E), which is typically when I'm traveling. But this new Lenovo box comes with Microsoft Office 2013, and I'm still trying to find the \"x\" to close just the document in MS Word without having to close the entire app. So, if I'm going to use this new tower for my day-to-day work, then I'm going to need a few days to familiarize myself with all the new apps (Greenshot, for one; since the previous screen capture utility I used doesn't work on Win7) and capabilities.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWhich brings me to what's inside the box, which I finally unpacked this weekend, nearly four weeks since it actually arrived:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EThinkCentre M73 - Mini Tower - 10B0CTO1WW \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E4YR Onsite + Keep Your Drive + Tech Support Warranty\u003Cbr \/\u003ECore i7-4770S 3.1GHz 8M Cache        \u003Cbr \/\u003E500GB+8GB_Hybrid HDD_2.5\"_SATA HDD Drive\u003Cbr \/\u003E8GBx1_PC3-12800_DDR3_UDIMM Memory\u003Cbr \/\u003ENVIDIA 620_1GB_DP+VGA_FH Graphic Card\u003Cbr \/\u003EDVD Recordable_W7 Optical Drive\u003Cbr \/\u003EIntegrated Audio\u003Cbr \/\u003EIntegrated_Intel GIGA Ethernet\u003Cbr \/\u003EWireless Combo N6235_FH\u003Cbr \/\u003EOS Windows 7 Professional 64\u003Cbr \/\u003EMicrosoft Office MSOF2013B+AdobeAcrobat XI_NA\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWith the hybrid drive I'm able to boot up Win7Pro in under 60 seconds, which is nearly as fast as the Zenbook (30 seconds) with its solid state drive.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ENow compare this M73 to my first Windows PC, purchased in April 1995, which I blogged about \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/journey-through-past-ms-dos-622-windows.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWindows 3.11, a huge 1GB hard drive, and a whopping 8 \u003Ci\u003Emegs\u003C\/i\u003E of RAM. And that old 1995 Windows tower was a \u003Ci\u003Elot\u003C\/i\u003E more expensive, too!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy only complaint so far with the M73 is that it is louder than I had anticipated; the fans are very noisy, though this may be due in part to the fact that there are vents on both the front and the left side of the tower, both of which face me when I'm sitting at my desk.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/10-things-not-to-buy-in-2014-2013-12-27?link=MW_popular\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMarket Watch\u003C\/a\u003E currently has an article online entitled \"10 things not to buy in 2014.\" Included in this list, in addition to cable TV and DVD and Blu-ray players, are desktop and laptop computers. Now, maybe the author of this list, AnnaMaria Andriotis, has no need for a desktop, or even a laptop, in order to do her job, but if I'm going to scan in 75,000 words of fiction, and then clean up the formatting and scanning errors in those 8 files, I want to be comfortable doing so -- especially when I'm spending 6-plus hours at a time at this -- with a full keyboard, a 22-inch flat-screen HD display, and all the conveniences a desktop provides, including two stand-alone backup drives for redundancy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E[Update 07\/27\/2014] I've added an additional 8GB of RAM, for a total now of 16GB. I bought a potentially memory-intensive scanner -- a new, unique style of scanner (to be reviewed fairly soon, hopefully) -- since my existing, still-working scanner no longer works with OmniPage Pro 18 under Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, and I wanted to insure I had sufficient RAM to scan a lengthy book.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4326363921710800489\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/lenovo-thinkcentre-m73-mini-tower.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4326363921710800489"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4326363921710800489"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/lenovo-thinkcentre-m73-mini-tower.html","title":"Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Mini Tower"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-4Wg-Wo3AZOk\/U5n3cCugsYI\/AAAAAAAAC0Q\/DRMZfZiURA8\/s72-c\/DCP_0508.JPG","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-2781550667714270695"},"published":{"$t":"2014-06-12T11:19:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-12T11:19:48.614-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Alis A. Rasmussen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Authors"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Editing in Process"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kate Elliott"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tachyon Publications"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Editing in Process...The Very Best of Kate Elliott"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961791\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961791\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=BCGKOVNWU3TAAMHD\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Very Best of Kate Elliott\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2904\/14337825831_9bc4015bb0_c.jpg\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"212\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ECover Art by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.juliedillonart.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EJulie Dillion\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe beauty of any \"best of\" collection is that it allows the reader to experience the full expanse of the author's writing and story telling. And, if the collection is indeed worth its (literal) weight, then the book will hopefully have some small treasure, a story unfamiliar to the reader, even if the reader is one of the author's biggest fans. That was true of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961376\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961376\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Very Best of Tad Williams\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1616961376\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E (see my November 13, 2013 \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2013\/11\/editing-in-process.html\"\u003Eblog post\u003C\/a\u003E); and it holds true on my most recent project, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961791\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961791\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=SWOJVFX4SFDD2UNU\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Very Best of Kate Elliott\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1616961791\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, both from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tachyonpublications.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETachyon Publications\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy commitment for \u003Ci\u003EKate Elliott\u003C\/i\u003E project was to have the entire 113,000-word collection reviewed and copy edited by \"early June.\" At issue, though, was that two-thirds of the overall word count -- approximately 75,000 words -- needed to be scanned in, and then the scanned files cleaned up (formatting problems, scanning errors, etc.). I completed all the scanning, and emailed the completed files to Tachyon on May 15.  I then used the following week to prepare for BayCon 2014, held on the Memorial Day weekend, which I blogged about at length \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/baycon-2014-recap.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E. After recovering from the con, I then proceeded to work on the Kate Elliott manuscript files, all of which were completed -- on schedule -- the first week of June. (A bit of work had to be done during the intervening weekend as well to ensure that I completed the project by \"early June.\")\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EGiven the sources of their original publication, the majority of these Kate Elliott (the pseudonym of Alis A. Rasmussen) stories were new to me. Six of the twelve stories, for example, were originally published in anthologies from DAW Books, only one of which, the \u003Ci\u003EDAW 30th Anniversary Science Fiction Anthology\u003C\/i\u003E, edited by Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert (2003), was known to me. Of the other six stories, one previously appeared online only on \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.kateelliott.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EKateElliott.com\u003C\/a\u003E, and another -- \"On the Dying Winds of the Old Year and the Birthing Winds of the New\" -- is original to this collection.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ERegardless of the source of these stories, they are all as varied, and finely crafted, as the anthologies in which they originally appeared. My favorite story would have to be \"A Simple Act of Kindness,\" which originally appeared in \u003Ci\u003EThe Shimmering Door\u003C\/i\u003E, edited by Katharine Kerr (HarperPrism, 1996). The story of Daniella, a young girl who, in some ways, feels safer out in a storm at night -- even a night and a storm such as this -- searching for lost sheep, than at home with her family (not the least of which is \"her cousin Robert, who had been pestering her for months now, ever since her first bleeding came on her\"). To set the scene:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EClouds massed, black and brooding, over the hills and the great length of forest that bordered the village of Sant Laon. They sat, almost as if they were waiting, and the wind died down and tendrils of mist and spatterings of rain were all that came of them through the day. At evening mass, at a twilight brought early by the lowering clouds, Deacon Joceran spoke solemnly of storms called up by unnatural means, and she warned all the villagers to bar their doors and shutters that night and to hang an iron knife or pot above the door and a sprig of rosemary above the window.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EUnknown creatures, dark shapes, darker than the night, pass Daniella as she searches for the lost ewe. The thing the creatures seek takes refuge with its horse in the church, and Daniella follows it inside.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E...by the light of seven candles lit round the altar and protected by glass jars, Daniella saw it was no Thing at all but a young woman, dark-haired and dark eyed, her skin dusky colored like bread baked too long in the oven.... The horse was a fine beast, big-boned but not enormous, with an intelligent head—a nobleman's mount. Tied on beside the saddlebags were a tasselled bowcase of leather embossed with griffins and a quiver full of arrows. A small shield painted black hung from the saddle. The woman wore a sword at her belt.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESince this is a spoiler-free post, I'll only say that Daniella's selfless act that night brings her to the attention of these dark creatures, and you'll need to read the story (if you haven't done so previously) to learn the ripple effect this has on Daniella, her family, and the village of Sant Laon. It's certainly not a \"happily ever after\" story, at least for Daniella.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHere are the twelve stories:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Gates of Joriun \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ELeaf and Branch and Grass and Vine\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Queen's Garden\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOn the Dying Winds of the Old Year and the Birthing Winds of the New\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Memory of Peace\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWith God to Guard Her\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ERiding the Shore of the River of Death \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy Voice Is in My Sword\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESunseeker\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EA Simple Act of Kindness\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ETo Be a Man\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMaking the World Live Again\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn addition to these stories, the author has also included four essays, all in print for the first time: two originally appeared on KateElliott.com, a third appeared on \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.sfsignal.com\/\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESF Signal\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and the fourth essay on \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.tor.com\/\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ETor.com\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. Here are the four essays:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Omniscient Breasts: The Male Gaze through Female Eyes\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Narrative of Women in Fear and Pain\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAnd Pharaoh's Heart Hardened\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Status Quo Does Not Need World Building\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThese essays are an added bonus, and provide the reader with some insight into Kate Elliott the person as well as a foundation for much of her story-telling.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ELastly, I hope you are as knocked out by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.juliedillonart.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EJulie Dillon\u003C\/a\u003E's cover art as I am. In a one-pager entitled \"About the Cover Art\" in the book, Kate Elliott states that Dillon's art illustrates a passage from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/031608090X\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=031608090X\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECold Steel\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=031608090X\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E (Book 3 in the author's Spiritwalker Trilogy).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E[Update, about two hours later]\u003Cbr \/\u003EI realized that I neglected to mention the introduction that Ms. Elliott wrote specifically for this collection. Subtitled \"The Landscape That Surrounds Us,\" this new intro clocks in at nearly 3100 words and ten manuscript pages -- and sets the tone for the entire volume. The author writes at length about her childhood, growing up in rural Oregon, and how the life she led influenced her writing. \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2781550667714270695\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/editing-in-processthe-very-best-of-kate.html#comment-form","title":"4 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2781550667714270695"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2781550667714270695"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/editing-in-processthe-very-best-of-kate.html","title":"Editing in Process...The Very Best of Kate Elliott"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"4"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-3480505914572107325"},"published":{"$t":"2014-06-07T08:21:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-07T08:21:16.648-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"James Morrow"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tachyon Publications"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Book Received...James Morrow"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961597\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961597\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=IMRPBMOXFRYHNITA\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Madonna and the Starship\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5520\/14175348729_6e651f67aa_o.jpg\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"196\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003ELast fall I had the pleasure of working on yet another James Morrow novella from Tachyon Publications: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961597\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961597\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=4GXRI3OFRXBI6D46\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Madonna and the Starship\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1616961597\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E.  You can read about my work on this book in my \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2013\/11\/editing-in-processjames-morrow.html\"\u003Eblog post\u003C\/a\u003E dated November 24, 2013.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut all you really need to know about James Morrow -- and all of his stories -- are these six words I used to describe him in that blog post: \u003Ci\u003EJames Morrow is an absolute master of the sardonic\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut don't take my word for it, read this novella for yourself. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961597\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961597\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=4GXRI3OFRXBI6D46\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Madonna and the Starship\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1616961597\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E is now available from you favorite store, physical or virtual -- and I have the proof, since my contributor's copy arrived this week.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHere's an excerpt from the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.publishersweekly.com\/978-1-61696-159-6\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EPublishers Weekly\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E starred review:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EJonathan Swift meets Buck Rogers in this hilarious send-up of the golden ages of television and pulp sci-fi.... [L]obster-like extraterrestrials get wind of \"Sitting Shivah for Jesus,\" an upcoming episode of a Sunday-morning religious program written by Kurt's love interest, Connie Osborne. The crustacean \"logical positivists\" propose to use their death ray to annihilate the show's two million devout, \"irrational\" viewers. Can Kurt and Connie refashion her script into a satirical, sacrilegious screed, forestalling mass slaughter? This delightful romp from Morrow provides the breathless answer in short order; no need to wait for next week to tune in and find out.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/3480505914572107325\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/book-receivedjames-morrow.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/3480505914572107325"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/3480505914572107325"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/book-receivedjames-morrow.html","title":"Book Received...James Morrow"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-3192519608325758143"},"published":{"$t":"2014-06-06T15:21:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-06T15:21:44.861-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"CIA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Twitter"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"News of the Day:"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-5ZXcCgl2g_4\/U5I-sBuzx9I\/AAAAAAAACzk\/IDosXLE2Sjo\/s1600\/cia.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-5ZXcCgl2g_4\/U5I-sBuzx9I\/AAAAAAAACzk\/IDosXLE2Sjo\/s320\/cia.jpg\" height=\"107\" width=\"400\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/3192519608325758143\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/news-of-day.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/3192519608325758143"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/3192519608325758143"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/news-of-day.html","title":"News of the Day:"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-5ZXcCgl2g_4\/U5I-sBuzx9I\/AAAAAAAACzk\/IDosXLE2Sjo\/s72-c\/cia.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-7876278542165811370"},"published":{"$t":"2014-06-06T10:05:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-06T10:18:17.827-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BayCon"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Chameleon Publishing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Matthew Maxwell"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"BayCon 2014 Recap"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-dzQLFHYxavg\/U5C6pRyJuTI\/AAAAAAAACyU\/ZsGPV_HD_u0\/s1600\/Scan10001.JPG\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-dzQLFHYxavg\/U5C6pRyJuTI\/AAAAAAAACyU\/ZsGPV_HD_u0\/s1600\/Scan10001.JPG\" height=\"320\" width=\"244\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThis was the first year that I volunteered to participate in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.baycon.org\/2015\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBayCon\u003C\/a\u003E Writers Workshop. My group was scheduled for Saturday, May 24, from 2:00-5:00pm. I had three stories to critique, so I set aside the weekdays prior to BayCon to read -- and reread -- mark up, and then critique the three stories.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe other \"Pros\" in my workshop group were Jennifer Carson and Candy Lowe; the three \"Writer Participants\" were Dana Ardis (\"Whetstone\"), Susan Mittmann (\"Perceiving Gabi\"), and Francesco Radicati (\"A Fistful of Brifgars\").\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI understand that the BayCon Writers Workshop follows the Clarion format, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with said format. Each of the three writers was critiqued by the five other workshop participants. We had three minutes apiece, I believe, to provide feedback to the respective writer. That means each writer had to listen to input for fifteen minutes (and from five different people) before responding. Fifteen minutes yields a \u003Ci\u003Elot\u003C\/i\u003E of input. If the writer jots down notes, then the note-taking process interferes with the ongoing critique: one cannot write down what has just been said, or a question in response to what has just been said, and listen to new input at the same time. Fifteen minutes of input is simply overwhelming. Regardless, that is the process, and a writer who participates in the BayCon Writers Workshop must work with it.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe story \"A Fistful of Brifgars\" by Francesco Radicati was a takeoff, an homage, of the movie \u003Ci\u003EA Fistful of Dollars\u003C\/i\u003E. A delightful story with a surprise ending. Our review of the story yielded a couple of specific improvements that would have given it a rock-solid plot, at which point we felt the story could be submitted for publication. Unfortunately, Francesco had already sent out the story to every print and online magazine we suggested, and the story had been rejected by all of them. (Remember, this was prior to our suggested improvements.) Francesco will now have to dig a bit deeper into second- and even third-tier venues in his effort to have this story published. The lesson learned here? If you are going to have a story critiqued -- workshopped -- do it \u003Ci\u003Ebefore \u003C\/i\u003Eyou submit the story for publication, not after. Of course, the caveat is that you may not realize the story \u003Ci\u003Eneeds\u003C\/i\u003E work before you send it out. In that case, once the story has been rejected by two, or even three venues, consider that it might need some rework before sending it out to every venue you can think of.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe fifteen-minute critiquing format aside, the workshop was both an enjoyable experience as well as a learning experience for me and I would be willing to participate again next year, if they'll have me.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBefore going any further, I need to give a shout out to the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.santaclara.hyatt.com\/en\/hotel\/home.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EHyatt Regency Santa Clara Hotel\u003C\/a\u003E. When I reserve a hotel room, I specifically request a quiet room as well as a feather-free room. I can handle a feather comforter, but I have to avoid feather pillows, otherwise I will experience breathing difficulties throughout the night. So, when I first enter a hotel room, the first thing I do is check the pillows to make sure they are foam, and not feather. Unfortunately, this time around, I neglected to perform that critical check. We (my wife Diane and I) checked in around 11:00am on Saturday, and once in the room immediately unpacked and then prepared to meet someone for lunch (more on this in a bit). We were just about ready to leave the room when the phone rang: the front desk had called. Evidently the staff person realized I had checked in early and the room still had feather pillows and blanket. I requested that just the pillows need to be swapped out and before we had left the room for lunch, housekeeping had shown up to remove the feather pillows. Had the front desk not caught my negligence, I probably wouldn't have discovered the feather pillows until late that night when we were readying for bed, and I would have had to deal with getting foam pillow replacements from the hotel's night shift. So, thank you Hyatt Regency for being aware of your guests' special requests.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy other shout out goes to the staff of the TusCA Restaurant, located within the hotel. I will admit it, I am a chocolate freak. When I travel, I typically take some chocolate with me; but this time I forgot. By Sunday afternoon Diane and I were both craving chocolate, and there was none to be found. So we planned to have some chocolate dessert after dinner. Unfortunately, the dessert menu only had a couple items with a chocolate sauce; we wanted chocolate! When the waiter (my apologies but I do not recall his name) (I seem to be forgetting a lot lately...hmm....) returned to our table for our dessert order, I explained the problem -- chocolate sauce, but no actual chocolate dessert. He said that he just may be able to get us a slice of chocolate cake: Would that do? YES! And, of course, he returned a short while later with a huge, and wonderful, slice of chocolate cake, which Diane and I shared. (Actually, I think she took a couple bites and said enough, and I ate all the rest; remember, I'm the chocolate freak.) Now the waiter could have said something like, I'm sorry that we don't have the dessert you want; I'll bring you your check. But he made the extra effort, which was the icing -- literally and figuratively -- on an excellent meal.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAs an aside, the Hyatt Regency provides free parking for all of its guests (and convention attendees) with a fairly large parking area in front of the hotel and a three-level (or is it four?) parking structure in the back. My concern for future BayCons: Will this parking remain free once the new San Francisco 49ers stadium opens in August?\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI also want to take this opportunity to offer kudos to the convention staff for putting together one of the best BayCons in years. I don't have access to the numbers, but it appeared, at least to me, that there were more people in attendance than in recent years. If so, then I have to believe that choosing David Weber as the Writer Guest of Honor had a lot to do with that increase in attendance, as his appearance at the con no doubt brought in a large contingent of military SF readers and fans. Having the St. Michael's Salle d'Armes members on hand, performing fencing demonstrations, and acting out fight scenes from published novels, was an added plus. I'm hoping BayCon 2015 will be just as successful, with Writer GOH Seanan McGuire and Artist GOH Julie Dillon. (You'll see Julie Dillon's name again in a forthcoming blog post here.)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBack in March, I signed an agreement with author \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/highway-62.com\/wp\/\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMatt Maxwell\u003C\/a\u003E to review, critique, and mark up his 115,000-word novel \u003Ci style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBlue Highway.\u003C\/i\u003E Matt and I had first crossed paths, albeit briefly, at WesterCon 66 in Sacramento last July. Since he was planning to attend BayCon as well, I set aside the necessary time, and made the effort to complete the manuscript in time to be able to hand it off to him at the convention. But before we met to discuss business, I wanted us to have an opportunity to simply get to know one another first. So, we arranged to meet for lunch at noon on Saturday. We snagged a table after a short wait in the Evolution Café (just off the lobby area), and over various sandwiches, we chatted about writing, movies, architecture, families, and more. Matt and I then arranged to meet (just the two of us this time, no Diane) in the lobby at 2:00pm the following day, Sunday, to review the manuscript.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOn Sunday afternoon, Matt and I met in the lobby at the specified time, and then sought out an empty table at which to sit and work on the second-floor mezzanine. I reviewed the copy editing symbols I use to insure that Matt understood my markups; I discussed some content issues that I had found; and then I reviewed the overall manuscript. Lastly, I  shared with Matt the plot questions\/issues that I had upon completing the novel. All of these questions were actually in sync with Matt's intentions in \u003Ci\u003EBlue Highway\u003C\/i\u003E as this was to be the first volume in a trilogy. Matt has published his own comics, game-related projects, and short stories, but I believe this is his first novel. But don't let that stop you from adding the name \u003Ci\u003EMatt Maxwell\u003C\/i\u003E to your list of authors to watch. Here's the opening paragraph to Chapter 11: [Note: Authors always share the opening chapter to their novels. Why? Because Chapter 1 is the most worked\/reworked chapter in the entire book. But, will the rest of the book reflect the same quality of prose, stand up to the same scrutiny?]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ENew Saigon was built like a house of cards too tall for its own good, ready to topple in a stiff wind, raining jokers all the way. Tall spires needled from the tops of the apartment towers and impaled the perfect blue sky. Pennants and banners made up a fragmented rainbow that rippled in the breeze lazing off the nearby Pacific. The skyline was a bizarre juxtaposition of Khmeresque towers and sterile ultra-modernity. Detail and crenellation and ornament staring down blank and featureless curves lined with mirrored carbon glass. There was no continuity, just leaps in style from the florid and exotic to suggestive flatness and back again.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003EAnd \u003Ci\u003Ethat \u003C\/i\u003Eis a brief introduction to \u003Ci\u003EBlue Highway'\u003C\/i\u003Es New Saigon.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESaturday evening, around 7:00pm, Diane and I met up with \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/asterling.typepad.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAmy Sterling Casil\u003C\/a\u003E for dinner at the TusCA Restaurant. Amy has launched a new publishing venture -- \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/rockthepost.com\/chameleon-publishing\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EChameleon Publishing\u003C\/a\u003E --  and since we have spoken about my involvement in the press, I wanted to learn more about Amy's publishing philosophy, the authors whom she will be initially publishing, etc. I think Amy spent more time talking than she did eating, which is unfortunate because the TusCA food is always excellent. Diane and I each had a mini Margarita Pizza, while Amy chose the dinner buffet. Chameleon Publishing will be showcasing some top authors when those first books start hitting the shelves, both real and virtual -- but since I'm not sure how much of this is public knowledge, I'll refrain from mentioning any of those names for now. I'm looking forward to this future opportunity, and I will definitely post here when opportunity becomes reality.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAnd what would a science fiction \u0026amp; fantasy convention be without panels, and panels, and more panels. Though I participated in two other panels, and attended a few others, I'm going to use this remaining time (The meter is still running, right?) to focus on only one: \"How to Develop Your Marketing as an Author.\" Aside from yours truly, the other panelists included \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.aisteach.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EKyle Aisteach\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/aemarling.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EA. E. Marling\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.glaws.org\/cgi-bin\/pmpre3\/cgi\/pm.cgi?action=display\u0026amp;login=tntodaro\u0026amp;session=\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETony N. Todaro\u003C\/a\u003E, the panel moderator. Kyle and Tony and I have shared many a panel in the past; and A. E. Marling and I have now met and shared a panel as well.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAuthorial self-promotion is sort of like chocolate: you gotta have some every day. This panel was an hour and fifteen minutes in length, and could easily have run another half hour or more. I had hoped to talk about the special (what I believe to be unique) promotional project I undertook for the publication of my \u003Ci\u003EAlien Contact\u003C\/i\u003E anthology, which is why I signed up to participate on this panel. Sadly, even at one and a quarter hours, there was insufficient time for me to even mention the project. [You can read about it \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2011\/04\/alien-contact-anthology-beginnings.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.] However we did learn everything (and more) that there is to know about the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (and its various writers conferences), of which Tony is the president. Kyle spoke briefly about his many pseudonyms and the problems this presents for self-promotion. [Note to BayCon and other cons: How about a panel on \"Pseudonyms and Self-promotion\/Marketing\" -- and please make sure all the panelists have published under pseudonyms.] A. E. Marling has self-published a number of fantasy titles and was able to share his hands-on experiences with these titles.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBottom line: I encourage all new, novice, and\/or self-publishing authors to seek out these types of panels and attend them as often as possible. We see how quickly social media can change. Self-promotion\/marketing opportunities and resources for authors change just as quickly. And an open forum such as this panel at an SF\/F convention can provide a myriad of ideas, resources, connections, etc. For example, did you know: If you have a Goodreads account, you can sign up for the \"Author Program\" to promote yourself and your books. As part of the sign-up process, you can link your blog to your Goodreads profile. When you publish a blog post, it gets posted to your Goodreads profile as well.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHopefully, if all goes well, I'll see you next year at BayCon 2015.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/7876278542165811370\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/baycon-2014-recap.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/7876278542165811370"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/7876278542165811370"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/06\/baycon-2014-recap.html","title":"BayCon 2014 Recap"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-dzQLFHYxavg\/U5C6pRyJuTI\/AAAAAAAACyU\/ZsGPV_HD_u0\/s72-c\/Scan10001.JPG","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-643969699083954485"},"published":{"$t":"2014-05-14T09:55:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-05-14T09:55:13.306-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Barbara J. Webb"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Self-Publishing"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Book Received...Barbara J. Webb"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00IUQ901Q\/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=B00IUQ901Q\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"City of Burning Shadows\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3829\/13139059555_c621b36574.jpg\" height=\"400\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"258\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EAs I have previously mentioned, I work directly with writers on their unpublished manuscripts. Some of these writers plan to self-publish their work; others want an edited manuscript to submit to an agent\/publisher.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EToward the end of last year, I worked with author \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.barbarajwebb.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBarbara J. Webb\u003C\/a\u003E on her soon-to-be-self-published novel \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00IUQ901Q\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=B00IUQ901Q\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECity of Burning Shadows\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=B00IUQ901Q\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E: the first volume in her new series, Apocrypha: The Dying World.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/01\/editing-in-processbarbara-j-webb.html\"\u003E\"Editing in Process\" blog entry\u003C\/a\u003E was posted on January 12, and included a \u003Ci\u003Every\u003C\/i\u003E brief excerpt (just a few paragraphs) from the novel. \u003Ci\u003ECity of Burning Shadows\u003C\/i\u003E was published shortly thereafter in March, in both Kindle and trade paperback editions.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAbout a week ago I received my comp copy of the trade paperback from Barbara. As to that gap in time from March, when the book was published, until now, well, Barbara shared a few life-happenings with me and, with her permission, I'll share them with you as well. But just a quick recap:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBarbara was invited to participate in the Rio Hondo Writers Workshop, hosted by Walter Jon Williams and held in northern New Mexico in the Taos Ski Valley. I don't have a complete roster, but I've seen a few photos posted on Facebook and recognized Nina Kiriki Hoffman, James Patrick Kelly, David D. Levine, and Rick Wilber in attendance. Now, you would expect a writer to attend a writing workshop, but Barbara is also a professional violinist, and a member of the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/cco.missouri.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EColumbia Civic Orchestra\u003C\/a\u003E.  And the demand for orchestras -- and violinists -- is at its highest during the April\/May Easter season and the Christmas holiday season. So, while Barbara played her violin, and then wrote fiction at a ski lodge (and ate fancy food, and hung out in the hot tub with other writers),\u0026nbsp;I waited patiently for my copy of \u003Ci\u003ECity of Burning Shadows\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut you won't have to wait:  \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00IUQ901Q\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=B00IUQ901Q\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECity of Burning Shadows\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=B00IUQ901Q\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E is available now for your reading pleasure.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/643969699083954485\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/05\/book-receivedbarbara-j-webb.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/643969699083954485"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/643969699083954485"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/05\/book-receivedbarbara-j-webb.html","title":"Book Received...Barbara J. Webb"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-2697252321875738457"},"published":{"$t":"2014-05-12T14:32:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-05-12T14:32:33.553-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books Received"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tachyon Publications"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tad Williams"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Book Received...The Very Best of Tad Williams"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961376\/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961376\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"The Very Best of Tad Williams\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7297\/10828595383_dbf6b29665.jpg\" height=\"320\" style=\"float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;\" width=\"213\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003EShort story collection \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1616961376\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1616961376\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Very Best of Tad Williams\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E has recently been published by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.tachyonpublications.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ETachyon Publications\u003C\/a\u003E and should now be available in bookstores, real and virtual, at this time.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis post is to acknowledge receipt of my comp copy of the book, as I copy edited the 135,000-word manuscript last fall. In fact, should you so desire, you can read my \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2013\/11\/editing-in-process.html\"\u003E\"Editing in Process\" blog post\u003C\/a\u003E from November 13, 2013 -- assuming you haven't done so already.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHere's a brief excerpt from the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.publishersweekly.com\/9781616961374\" targt=\"_blank\"\u003EPublishers Weekly starred review\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EThis marvelous short fiction retrospective testifies to the breadth of Williams's creativity....\"A Stark and Wormy Knight,\" a linguistic tour de force, shows without one misplaced word just how clever dragons can be. Williams's sensitivity to atmosphere and trademark attention to telling detail shine through most of the selections in this varied collection of little gems.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2697252321875738457\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/05\/book-receivedthe-very-best-of-tad.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2697252321875738457"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2697252321875738457"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/05\/book-receivedthe-very-best-of-tad.html","title":"Book Received...The Very Best of Tad Williams"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-290759460031664221"},"published":{"$t":"2014-04-24T09:33:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-07-02T16:58:58.382-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Authors"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Editing in Process"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Justin Steele"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laird Barron"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ross E. Lockhart"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Word Horde"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Editing in Process...The Children of Old Leech"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-yxPwmEiwOm0\/U1gDgMH1R4I\/AAAAAAAACt0\/lyNe72pqdVM\/s1600\/CoOL-639x1024.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-yxPwmEiwOm0\/U1gDgMH1R4I\/AAAAAAAACt0\/lyNe72pqdVM\/s1600\/CoOL-639x1024.jpg\" height=\"400\" width=\"248\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ECover design by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.matthewrevert.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMatthew Revert\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWhen a publisher self-destructs, all that remains are the books that were published -- and I'll be the first to admit that the original Night Shade Books published some amazing, even awe-inspiring, books.\u003Csup\u003E1\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThree such books were written by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/lairdbarron.wordpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELaird Barron\u003C\/a\u003E. But, now that I think about it, maybe \"amazing, even awe-inspiring\" aren't the appropriate words to use to describe a Laird Barron book. I had read a few of his stories in various anthologies, and then in April 2007 I had the opportunity to copy edit his collection: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1597800880\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1597800880\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Imago Sequence and Other Stories\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1597800880\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E. I was excited to work on this, the author's first collection, but that excitement was tempered with trepidation. You'll know what I mean if you've ever read a Laird Barron story. His writing is difficult to describe; his stories are categorized as \"horror\" and \"dark fantasy,\" but neither of those terms aptly describes what the reader experiences. A Laird Barron story isn't scary, nor is it shocking; the best word that immediately comes to mind is \"dread\": a feeling of impending doom that permeates throughout the entirety of a Laird Barron story. And even though no doom may befall the protagonist, the feeling persists nonetheless -- even after the story has been read, the book closed and put away.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Imago Sequence and Other Stories\u003C\/i\u003E was followed by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1597805149\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1597805149\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EOccultation and Other Stories\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1597805149\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, a second collection that I worked on in January 2010. All of which paved the way for Laird's first novel, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1597804673\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1597804673\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1597804673\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, one of the last books that I worked on (December 2012) before opting out of Night Shade Books (before they kicked me out). \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ELaird Barron typically writes novella-length stories: they are long, like 25,000-35,000 words long, but while reading one, I can still see the light at the end of the tunnel; I know that if I hang in there for another 20 or so pages, I'll get to the end, be able to finally take a breath without that feeling of dread directly pressing down upon me. But a novel? A book-length story? Would I be able to hold my breath, as it were, through an entire novel? Obviously, but certainly not unscathed....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWhich brings me to Laird Barron (sort of) and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wordhorde.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWord Horde\u003C\/a\u003E, a relatively new publisher, headed by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.haresrocklots.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ERoss E. Lockhart\u003C\/a\u003E.  As some of you may know, Ross wore many hats during his five years with Night Shade Books. He was the \"go to\" guy for books, hardcopies, files, questions, whatever. Ross did the majority of book layouts and then worked with the authors directly once I completed my edits.\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E He even edited quite a few titles himself as well. After departing NSB, Ross formed Word Horde and published his first book in August 2013: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1939905001\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1939905001\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ETales of Jack the Ripper\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1939905001\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, an anthology which Ross himself edited. Ross and I signed an agreement on May 13, 2013, and shortly thereafter I began copy editing \u003Ci\u003ETales of Jack the Ripper\u003C\/i\u003E, which I wrote about last year in a \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2013\/06\/ross-e-lockharts-word-horde-and-tales.html\"\u003Eblog post\u003C\/a\u003E on June 5.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ENow Ross and Word Horde is gearing up to publish his second anthology, this one co-edited with \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.arkhamdigest.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EJustin Steele\u003C\/a\u003E, entitled \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1939905028\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1939905028\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\u0026amp;linkId=LS24ZL47GC6UUZNQ\"\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E-- pictured above. But it is the subtitle that's the clincher: \"A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron.\" Imagine, 17 stories (by 19 authors) and more than 100,000 words of fiction, written using characters, situations, and locales created by Laird Barron. It gave me the willies just thinking about it... And that was even before I worked on the book!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHere's the table of contents for \u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E, an anthology of original fiction:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EIntroduction: Of Whisky and Doppelgängers — Justin Steele\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Harrow — Gemma Files\u003Cbr \/\u003EPale Apostle — J. T. Glover \u0026amp; Jesse Bullington\u003Cbr \/\u003EWalpurgisnacht — Orrin Grey\u003Cbr \/\u003ELearn to Kill — Michael Cisco\u003Cbr \/\u003EGood Lord, Show Me the Way — Molly Tanzer\u003Cbr \/\u003ESnake Wine — Jeffrey Thomas\u003Cbr \/\u003ELove Songs from the Hydrogen Jukebox — T.E. Grau\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Old Pageant — Richard Gavin\u003Cbr \/\u003ENotes for \"The Barn in the Wild\" — Paul Tremblay\u003Cbr \/\u003EFiredancing — Michael Griffin\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Golden Stars at Night — Allyson Bird\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Last Crossroads on a Calendar of Yesterdays — Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Woman in the Wood — Daniel Mills\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrushdogs — Stephen Graham Jones\u003Cbr \/\u003EYmir — John Langan\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf a Thousand Cuts — Cody Goodfellow\u003Cbr \/\u003ETenebrionidae — Scott Nicolay \u0026amp; Jesse James Douthit-Nicolay\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfterword — Ross E. Lockhart\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI am confident that some of these stories will make their way onto the list of finalists for next year's Bram Stoker Awards and\/or World Fantasy Awards. This is some of the finest \"dark\" fiction I've read in a very long time. One story of particular note is \"Ymir\" by John Langan. Langan's story, at least for me, evoked that same feeling of dread, of impending doom that I sense with every Laird Barron story. It's as if John Langan, intending to or not, channeled Laird Barron throughout that entire story.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ENow here's the deal that Word Horde and Ross Lockhart are offering readers: Preorder \u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E Deluxe Pack, and in addition to the anthology itself, you'll receive a copy of the ebook (choose your format) and an exclusive, limited edition chapbook. Word Horde went all out on the deluxe package for \u003Ci\u003ETales of Jack the Ripper\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;last year; here's my \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/jack-swag.html\"\u003Eunboxing blog post\u003C\/a\u003E. The \u003Ci\u003ETCoOL\u003C\/i\u003E deluxe pack won't be \u003Ci\u003Eas\u003C\/i\u003E elaborate -- remember, \u003Ci\u003ERipper\u003C\/i\u003E was the press's first book -- but if you're going to purchase \u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E anyhow, you may as well opt for the other goodies, too. As to that exclusive, limited edition chapbook, here's what contributing author Paul Tremblay had to say about it:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"So, if you preorder \u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E, you'll also get an exclusive chapbook of my story 'Notes for \"The Barn in the Wild.\"' The story is a found-notebook story. The chapbook will be comprised of scans of the actual notebook pages I wrote longhand, so there are fun sketches and chicken-scratched notes in the margins all of which help tell the story of a journalist investigating a disappearance and the odd history of a barn in the middle of nowhere (Labrador). A digital version of the story will be in the antho, but only in the limited\/exclusive chapbook will you get the re-creation of the actual notebook. You want the chapbook, you know you do....\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E Deluxe Pack is available on the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wordhorde.com\/product\/tcool-deluxe\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWord Horde website\u003C\/a\u003E. Preorders will ship in July after the books arrive from the printer. I don't know how long this deluxe pack will be available, probably only until the publisher runs out of the exclusive chapbooks. So, as \"they\" say, order now and order often.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI'll leave you with this final excerpt from co-editor Justin Steele's introduction to \u003Ci\u003EThe Children of Old Leech\u003C\/i\u003E:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIf you're still reading this you must now know that it's too late for you too. You've started to twist the handle, and the opening of the door is soon to follow. You're going to meet the dwellers on the other side. The Children of Old Leech will soon be whispering in your ear, and they will whisper the same thing they whispered to me, \u003Ci\u003E\"There are frightful things. We who crawl in the dark love you.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E---------------\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EFootnotes:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E1. About a year ago, on May 6, 2013, I wrote a blog post entitled \"Doin' Hard Time at Night Shade Books,\" in which I spewed a bit of vitriol, but I also listed all 125 books I worked on during my nearly nine years of freelancing for this publisher. If you wish to read this post, and in particular the list of books, you can click \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2013\/05\/doin-hard-time-at-night-shade-books.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E2. That is, until Night Shade added three more individuals into the mix. I'm sure Ross was pleased to have had some of his workload reduced, but from my perspective I then never knew who to ask what of whom. But that's a story for another time or, more likely, not at all, ever.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/290759460031664221\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/editing-in-processthe-children-of-old.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/290759460031664221"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/290759460031664221"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/editing-in-processthe-children-of-old.html","title":"Editing in Process...The Children of Old Leech"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-yxPwmEiwOm0\/U1gDgMH1R4I\/AAAAAAAACt0\/lyNe72pqdVM\/s72-c\/CoOL-639x1024.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-2103340454059237276"},"published":{"$t":"2014-04-18T23:41:00.002-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-04-18T23:41:23.862-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gabriel García Márquez"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quote"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"One more from Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"If I knew that today would be the last time I’d see you, I would hug you tight and pray the Lord be the keeper of your soul. If I knew that this would be the last time you pass through this door, I’d embrace you, kiss you, and call you back for one more. If I knew that this would be the last time I would hear your voice, I’d take hold of each word to be able to hear it over and over again. If I knew this is the last time I see you, I’d tell you I love you, and would not just assume foolishly you know it already.”\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2103340454059237276\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/one-more-from-gabriel-garcia-marquez.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2103340454059237276"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/2103340454059237276"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/one-more-from-gabriel-garcia-marquez.html","title":"One more from Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-4101644331066502127"},"published":{"$t":"2014-04-17T17:40:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-04-17T17:40:38.390-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gabriel García Márquez"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quote"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"In Memory of Gabriel García Márquez, 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"When I finished one book, I wouldn't write for a while,\" he said in 1966. \"Then I had to learn how to do it all over again. The arm goes cold; there's a learning process you have to go through again before you rediscover the warmth that comes over you when you are writing.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E- Gabriel García Márquez\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4101644331066502127\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/in-memory-of-gabriel-garcia-marquez-6.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4101644331066502127"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/4101644331066502127"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/in-memory-of-gabriel-garcia-marquez-6.html","title":"In Memory of Gabriel García Márquez, 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-724410736772263741"},"published":{"$t":"2014-04-12T15:34:00.002-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-04-15T19:45:44.883-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Microsoft"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Journey Through the Past: MS Dos 6.22, Windows 3.11, 1GB HDD"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI'm getting ready to retire my Windows XP box (more on this in a future blog post), now that Microsoft is no longer supporting XP. While preparing for this event -- and process: more than 50 software applications to install on the new system when it arrives! -- I was sorting through some boxes of old files and software....\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn 1995 I was finally ready to purchase my first Microsoft Windows computer (up to this point I was all Apple). But I didn't want an off-the-shelf box -- in fact, in 1995, I'm not even sure you could buy an OTS PC. So I arranged a lunch meeting in Sunnyvale (California) with my best friend Randy Davis, who worked for Lockheed at the time, and one of his best friends, Kelly Floyd, who, I believe, worked for Hewlett-Packard. And, during lunch, the three of us built -- on paper -- a top-of-the-line Windows PC. Don't forget, this was 1995.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESo while I was sorting through those boxes I mentioned above, I came across the original invoice for the purchase of that first PC -- almost 19 years to the day -- on April 15, 1995.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-CI8YyGcZjCk\/U0mmDVpxRwI\/AAAAAAAACtM\/othDngVBxQY\/s1600\/1995+Windows+Desktop+PC-page-0.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-CI8YyGcZjCk\/U0mmDVpxRwI\/AAAAAAAACtM\/othDngVBxQY\/s320\/1995+Windows+Desktop+PC-page-0.jpg\" height=\"640\" width=\"496\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESince this JPG of the invoice is a bit difficult to read, here's a link to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/0B9q3VSSEWskcV3ZWQWdReml2NjQ\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPDF version\u003C\/a\u003E -- much brighter and easier to read, though I can only post the link to the document.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut for those who aren't into JPGs or links to PDFs, here is the parts list direct from the invoice:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EINTEL P5 PCI MOTHERBOARD 90 W\/IDE U00726593\u003Cbr \/\u003EINTEL PENTIUM-9O CPU L502376050179\u003Cbr \/\u003EMID TOWER CASE\u003Cbr \/\u003E8M SIMM (72 PINS) Bl09\u003Cbr \/\u003EMITSUMI l.44M FLOPPY DRIVE 2839806\u003Cbr \/\u003EWESTERN DIGITAL 1GB IDE HARD DRIVE WT2720648236\u003Cbr \/\u003ESPIDER TARANTULA PCI SVGA 2M VIDEO VRAM 16217\u003Cbr \/\u003EMITSUMI 101-KEYS KEYBOARD\u003Cbr \/\u003EMICROSOFT MOUSE (OEM)\u003Cbr \/\u003EMICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.11\u003Cbr \/\u003EMICROSOFT DOS 6.22\u003Cbr \/\u003ESOUND BLASTER 16 SCSI OEM 073320\u003Cbr \/\u003E75W SPEAKERS\u003Cbr \/\u003EPLEXTOR CD ROM 4X SCSI 43CSO35795\u003Cbr \/\u003E850 MB TAPE BACK CONNOR DC013PV\u003Cbr \/\u003ECPU HEAT SINK \u0026amp; FAN FOR P5-75\/90\/100\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMind-boggling, isn't it: DOS! Windows 3.11. Western Digital, one of the best hard drives at the time, with a whopping 1GB of storage (I now have a 32GB thumbdrive that I use with my Nexus 7 tablet!), along with a \u003Ci\u003Etape\u003C\/i\u003E backup! Thank gawd I never had to actually use that tape backup to recover files or data.... The Spider Tarantula video card and Sound Blaster sound card were state-of-the-art. And \u003Ci\u003E8 Megs\u003C\/i\u003E of RAM!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe total price, including sales tax (7.75% in 1995 -- which is quite surprising considering that the current sales tax is only one percent more): $3,325.74. That was \u003Ci\u003Enot\u003C\/i\u003E a cheap PC.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOf course, HKG Computers in Sunnyvale is no longer with us; probably hasn't been located in that store front for more than a decade. A lot has changed since then.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E---------------\u003Cbr \/\u003ESpecial thanks to Neil Young for the loan of the title \u003Ci\u003EJourney Through the Past\u003C\/i\u003E."},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/724410736772263741\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/journey-through-past-ms-dos-622-windows.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/724410736772263741"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/724410736772263741"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/journey-through-past-ms-dos-622-windows.html","title":"Journey Through the Past: MS Dos 6.22, Windows 3.11, 1GB HDD"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-CI8YyGcZjCk\/U0mmDVpxRwI\/AAAAAAAACtM\/othDngVBxQY\/s72-c\/1995+Windows+Desktop+PC-page-0.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-5737232104724642545"},"published":{"$t":"2014-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-04-11T10:16:31.834-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Alien Contact"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Authors"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Jack Skillingstead"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SETI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"What You Are About To See\" by Jack Skillingstead (Part 3 of 3)"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWhat You Are About To See\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003Eby Jack Skillingstead\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E[Continued from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/what-you-are-about-to-see-by-jack_9.html\"\u003EPart 2\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EProbabilities shuffled...\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI woke up next to my wife. In the ticking darkness of our bedroom I breathed a name: \"Andy.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EConnie shifted position, cuddling into me. Her familiar body. I put my arm around her and stared into the dark, hunting elusive memories. Without them I wasn't who I thought I was. After a while Connie asked:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What's wrong?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I don't know. I think I was having a dream about Andy McCaslin. It woke me up.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Who?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Guy I knew from the Rangers, long time ago. I told you about him. We were friends.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EConnie suppressed a yawn. \"He died, didn't he? You never said how.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Covert op in Central America. He found himself in the custody some rebels.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Oh.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"They kept him alive for weeks while they interrogated him.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"God. Are you—\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"That was decades ago, Con. Dreams are strange, sometimes.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI slipped out of the bed.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Where are you going?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Have some tea and think for a while. My night's shot anyway.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Want company?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Maybe I'll sit by myself. Go back to sleep. You've got an early one.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Sure? I could make some eggs or something.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"No, I'm good.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut I wasn't. In my basement office, consoling tea near at hand, I contemplated my dead friend and concluded he wasn't supposed to be that way. My old dreams of pain surged up out of the place at the bottom of my mind, the place that enclosed Andy and what I knew had happened to him, the place of batteries and alligator clips, hemp ropes, sharpened bamboo slivers, the vault of horrors far worse than any I'd endured as a child and from which I fled to the serenity of an office cubicle and regular hours.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut that wasn't \u003Ci\u003Esupposed\u003C\/i\u003E to have happened, not to Andy. I rubbed my temple, eyes closed in the dim basement office, and suddenly a word spoke itself on my lips:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESquidward.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy name is Brian Kinney, and today I am not an alcoholic. My \u003Ci\u003Efather\u003C\/i\u003E was an alcoholic who could not restrain his demons. During my childhood those demons frequently emerged to torment me and my mother. Dad's goodness, which was true and present, was not enough to balance the equation between pain and love. I had been skewing toward my own demon-haunted landscape when Andy McCaslin took my gun from my hand and balanced out the equation for me.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy new world order.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI'm driving through the moonless Arizona desert at two o'clock in the morning, looking for a turn-off that doesn't exist. After an hour or so a peculiar, hovering pink light appears in the distance, far off the road. I slow, angle onto the berm, ease the Outback down to the desert floor, and go bucketing overland toward the light.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EA giant pink soap bubble hovered above the 7-Eleven. Reflective lights inside the bubble appeared to track away into infinity. It was hard not to stare at it. I got out of my car and entered the store. The Indian gentleman in the lavender suit emerged from the cold storage run, a small suitcase in his left hand.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What goes on?\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"You remember,\" he said, more command than comment.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAnd at that instant I did remember. Not just the bits and pieces that had drawn me out here, but \u003Ci\u003Eeverything\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"My survival imperative sought for a probability equation by which my death could be avoided. You are now inhabiting that equation. With your permission I will, too.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What do you need my permission for?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"You would be the author of my death, so you must also be the willing author of my continued existence. A law of probability and balance.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI thought about Connie back home in bed, the unfathomable cruelty of my former probability, the feeling of restored sanity. Like waking up in the life I \u003Ci\u003Eshould\u003C\/i\u003E have had in the first place. But I also thought of Andy, and I knew it had to go back.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"No,\" I said to Squidward.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"You must.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Not if my friend has to die. By the way, isn't it a little warm for you?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESquidward smiled. \"I'm already in my ship.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Only if I allow it.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"You will, I hope.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"It's the feathery thing,\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Behold.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIn my mind's eye images of unimaginable carnage appeared, then winked out. I staggered.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I am a Monitor, coded from birth to your world's psychic evolution,\" Squidward said. \"I subtly shuffle the broad probabilities in order to prevent what you have just seen. Without me there is a high probability of worldwide military and environmental catastrophe. Such eventualities may be avoided and your species may survive to evolve into an advanced civilization.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"That sounds swell, but I don't believe you. You've been doing plenty of shuffling in captivity. With that power why do you need anything from \u003Ci\u003Eme\u003C\/i\u003E?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"That's merely my survival imperative, drawing on etheric energy from my ship's transphysical manifestation. My survival, and perhaps your world's, depends on you permitting this probability to dominate.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI didn't allow myself to think about it.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Let the original probability resume,\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Please,\" Squidward said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Let it go back to the way it's supposed to be.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"There are no 'supposed to be' probability equations.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI crossed my arms.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESquidward put his suitcase down. \"Then because of what you are you will doom me. My probabilities concluded.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Because of what I am.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Yes.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EShuffle.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy name is Brian Kinney, and I am the sum total of the experience inflicted upon me.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EBut not only that. I hope.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe Tahoe's deadly acceleration. Sudden synaptic realization across the probabilities: \u003Ci\u003EYou are about to murder your wife.\u003C\/i\u003E The Vault Of Screams yawns open.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EWill.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHanging on the wheel, foot fumbling between pedals.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThat big green Rubbermaid trash can bouncing over the hood, contents erupting against the windshield. It was just garbage, though.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThen a very sudden stop when the Tahoe plows into the low brick and wrought-iron property wall. Gut punch of the steering wheel, rupturing something inside my body. And don't forget a side of razor ribs.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAround the middle of my longish convalescence Connie arrives during visiting hours, and eventually a second convalescence begins. A convalescence of the heart. Not mine in particular, or Connie's, but the one we shared in common. The one we had systematically poisoned over the preceding ten years. Okay, the one \u003Ci\u003EI\u003C\/i\u003E had systematically poisoned.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWatershed event.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHappy ending?\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIt sat in a cold room.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOutside that room I watched a perfectly squared-away Marine enter a code into the cipher pad. I was the sum total my inflicted experience, but it was the new math. The door opened, like a bank vault. Andy McCaslin looked at me with a puzzled expression.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe was alone in the room.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E[End]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E---------------\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What You Are About To See\" is copyright © 2008 by Jack Skillingstead and is reprinted here by permission of the author. The story was originally published in \u003Ci\u003EAsimov's Science Fiction\u003C\/i\u003E, August 2008.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What You Are About To See\" is one of 26 stories included in anthology \u003Ci\u003EAlien Contact\u003C\/i\u003E, edited by Marty Halpern and published by Night Shade Books in November 2011. For more information on this anthology, start \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/p\/alien-contact.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.jackskillingstead.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EJack Skillingstead\u003C\/a\u003E’s first professional sale was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.  Since 2003 he has published more than thirty short stories in various magazines, year's best volumes, and original anthologies. His work has been translated into Polish, Russian, Spanish, French, and Czech.  In June Fairwood Press will publish a reprint of his Golden Gryphon Press collection, \u003Ci\u003EAre You There and Other Stories\u003C\/i\u003E. His latest book, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1781081174\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;camp=1789\u0026amp;creative=9325\u0026amp;creativeASIN=1781081174\u0026amp;linkCode=as2\u0026amp;tag=morein-20\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ELife on the Preservation\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=morein-20\u0026amp;l=as2\u0026amp;o=1\u0026amp;a=1781081174\" height=\"1\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" width=\"1\" \/\u003E, is a finalist for the Phillip K. Dick Award. Jack is currently working on a science fiction novel based on his short story \"Dead Worlds.\" He lives in Seattle with his wife, writer Nancy Kress.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/5737232104724642545\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/what-you-are-about-to-see-by-jack_11.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/5737232104724642545"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/5737232104724642545"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/what-you-are-about-to-see-by-jack_11.html","title":"\"What You Are About To See\" by Jack Skillingstead (Part 3 of 3)"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615571722773062719.post-421489417050607684"},"published":{"$t":"2014-04-09T10:19:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-04-11T10:18:56.964-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Alien Contact"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Authors"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Jack Skillingstead"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SETI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"What You Are About To See\" by Jack Skillingstead (Part 2 of 3)"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\"What You Are About To See\"\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003Eby Jack Skillingstead\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E[Continued from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/what-you-are-about-to-see-by-jack.html\"\u003EPart 1\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe moon was a white poker chip. The desert slipped past us, cold blue with black ink shadows. We rode in Andy's private vehicle, a late model Jeep Cherokee. He had already been driving all day, having departed from the L.A. office that morning, dropping everything to pursue \"something like a dream\" that had beckoned to him.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Care to reveal our destination?\" I asked.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I don't want to tell you anything beforehand. It might influence you, give you some preconception. Your mind has to be clear or this won't work.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Okay, I'll think only happy thoughts.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Good. Hang on, by the way.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe slowed then suddenly pulled off the two-lane road. We jolted over desert hardpan. Scrub brush clawed at the Cherokee's undercarriage.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Ah, the road's back thataway,\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe nodded and kept going. A bumpy twenty minutes or so passed. Then we stopped, for no obvious reason, and he killed the engine. I looked around. We were exactly in the middle of nowhere. It looked a lot like my personal mental landscape.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I know this isn't a joke,\" I said, \"because you are not a funny guy.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Come on.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWe got out. Andy was tall, Scotch-Irish, big through the shoulders and gut. He was wearing a sheepskin jacket, jeans and cowboy boots. A real shit-kickin' son of a bitch. Yee haw. He had a few other sheepskins somewhere, but his walls were wearing \u003Ci\u003Ethose\u003C\/i\u003E. I followed him away from the Jeep.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Tell me what you see,\" he said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI looked around.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Not much.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Be specific.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI cleared my throat. \"Okay. Empty desert, scrub brush, cactus. Lots of sand. There is no doubt a large population of venomous snakes slithering underfoot looking for something to bite, though I don't exactly \u003Ci\u003Esee\u003C\/i\u003E them. There's also a pretty moon in the sky. So?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI rubbed my hands together, shifted my feet. I'd worn a Sun Devils sweatshirt, which was insufficient. Besides that I could have used a drink. But of course these days I could always use a drink. After a lifetime of grimly determined sobriety I'd discovered that booze was an effective demon-suppressor and required exactly the opposite of willpower, which is what I'd been relying on up till Connie's death. I have no idea what my \u003Ci\u003Efather's\u003C\/i\u003E demons might have been. He checked out by a self-inflicted route before we got around to discussing that. I almost did the same a couple of years later, while in the thick of Ranger training, where I'd fled in desperate quest of discipline and structure and a sense of belonging to something. Andy talked me out of shooting myself and afterwards kept the incident private. I sometimes wondered whether he regretted that. Offing myself may have been part of a balancing equation designed to subtract a measure of suffering from the world.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ENow, in the desert, he withdrew a pack of Camels from his coat pocket and lit up. I remembered my dad buying his packs at the 7-Eleven, when I was a little kid.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Hey, you don't smoke,\" I said to Andy.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I don't? What do you call this?\" He waved the cigarette at me. \"Look, Brian, what would you say if I told you we were standing outside a large military instillation?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I'd say okay, but it must be invisible.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"It is.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI laughed. Andy didn't.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Come on,\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"All right, it's not invisible. But it's not exactly \u003Ci\u003Ehere\u003C\/i\u003E, either.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"That I can see. Can't see?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Close your eyes.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Then I won't be able to see \u003Ci\u003Eanything\u003C\/i\u003E, including the invisible military instillation.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Do it anyway,\" he said. \"Trust me. I've done this before. So have you, probably.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI hesitated. Andy was a good guy—my friend, or the closest thing to one that I'd ever allowed. But it now crossed my mind that my informal status vis-à-vis the Agency was about to become \u003Ci\u003Eterminally\u003C\/i\u003E informal. Certainly there was precedent. We who work on the fringes where the rules don't constrain our actions are also subject to the anything-goes approach on the part of our handlers. Was I on the verge of being...severed? By \u003Ci\u003EAndy McCaslin\u003C\/i\u003E? He stood before me with his damn cigarette, smoke drifting from his lips, his eyes black as oil in the moonlight.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Trust me, Brian.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMaybe it was the lingering wine buzz. But I decided I \u003Ci\u003Edid\u003C\/i\u003E trust him, or needed to, because he was the only one I ever \u003Ci\u003Ehad\u003C\/i\u003E trusted. I closed my eyes. The breeze carried his smoke into my face. My dad had been redolent of that stink. Not a good sense-memory. But when I was little I loved the \u003Ci\u003Elook\u003C\/i\u003E of the cigarette cartons and packages, the way my dad would say, Pack a Camels non-filter, and the clerk would turn to the rack behind him and pick out the right one, like a game show.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Now relax your mind,\" Andy said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Consider it relaxed, Swami.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Try to be serious.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I'll try.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Remember the empty mind trick they taught us, in case we ever got ourselves captured by unfriendlies?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Sure.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Do that. Empty your mind.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EIt was easy, and I didn't learn it from the Army. I learned it at my father's knee, you might say. Survival technique number one: Empty your mind. Don't be there. Don't hear the screaming, even your own.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAndy said, \"I'm going to say a word. When I do, let your mind fill with whatever the word evokes.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI nodded, waited, smelling the Camel smoke, my head not empty in the way Andy wanted it to be. I was too preoccupied by a memory of smoke.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Arrowhead,\" Andy said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI felt...something.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAndy said, \"Shit. And then, \"What you are about to see is real. Okay, open your eyes.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWe were now standing outside a 7-Eleven store. The desert ran right up to the walls. A tumbleweed bumped against the double glass doors. The interior was brightly lit. In the back I could make out a pair of Slurpee machines slow-swirling icy drinks in primary colors. After a while I closed my mouth and turned to Andy.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Where the hell did \u003Ci\u003Ethis\u003C\/i\u003E come from?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Instant Unconsciously Directed Association. You like that? I made it up. Only I don't know why this should be your Eyeooda for Arrowhead. I was hoping you'd bring up the real place. Anyway, let's go inside while it lasts.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe started forward but I grabbed his arm.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Wait a minute. Are we still operating under the disengagement of preconceived notions policy, or whatever?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe thought about it for a moment then said, \"I guess not, now that we're sharing a consensus reality. Brian, this 7-Eleven is actually the Arrowhead Installation.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe coal of an extinguished memory glowed dimly. I \u003Ci\u003Eknew\u003C\/i\u003E Arrowhead, or thought I did. A top secret base located more or less in that part of the Arizona desert in which we now found ourselves. Or was\/did it? The memory was so enfeebled that if I didn't hold it just \u003Ci\u003Eso\u003C\/i\u003E it would blow away like dandelion fluff. Still, this wasn't a military base; it was a convenience store.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Bullshit?\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E“\u003Ci\u003EDo\u003C\/i\u003E you remember Arrowhead?\" Andy asked.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Sort of. What is this, what's going on?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Listen to me, Brian. We finally got one. We finally got an honest to God extraterrestrial—and it's \u003Ci\u003Ein there\u003C\/i\u003E.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"In the 7-Eleven.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"No. In the Arrowhead facility that looks like a 7-Eleven in our present consensus reality. The alien is hiding itself and the installation in some kind of stealth transdimensional mirror trick, or something. I've \u003Ci\u003Ebeen\u003C\/i\u003E here before. So have you. Our dreams can still remember. I've come out to the desert—I don't know, dozens of times? I've talked to it, the alien. It shuffles reality. I keep waking up, then going back to sleep. Here's the thing. It can cloak its prison, reinterpret its appearance, but it can't escape.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI regarded him skeptically, did some mental shuffling of my own, discarded various justifiable but unproductive responses, and said: \"What's it want?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"It wants you to let it go.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Why me?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Ask it yourself. But watch out. That little fucker is messing with our heads.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EThe store was empty. It was so quiet you could hear the dogs popping with grease as they rotated inside their little hot box. Okay, it wasn't \u003Ci\u003Ethat\u003C\/i\u003E quiet, but it was quiet. I picked up a green disposable lighter and flicked it a couple of times, kind of checking out the consensus reality. It lit.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAndy went around the counter and ducked his head into the back room.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What are you doing?\" I asked.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Looking for Squidward.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Squidward?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Yeah.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAnother dim memory glowed in the dark. For some reason I thought of the Seattle aquarium, where my father had taken us when I was little. It hadn't been a fun experience. I remembered being vaguely repelled by some of the exotically alien examples of undersea creatures. Prescient echo from the future?\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAndy snapped his fingers. \"Right. Squidward likes it cool.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI followed him into the cold storage run behind the beer, pop and dairy coolers. A man sat on a couple of stacked cases of Rolling Rock, his legs crossed at the knees, hands folded over them. He looked Indian, that nut brown complexion. He was wearing a lavender suit.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Squidward,\" Andy said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI tucked my hands snuggly under my armpits for warmth. \"Has he asked to be taken to our leader yet?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I don't remember.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESquidward spoke up: \"You are the torturer.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EWe both looked at him.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Sorry, not my gig,\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESquidward nodded. \"Your gig, yes.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESomething unsavory uncoiled in my stomach, then lay still again.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Andy,\" I said, nodding toward the door.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe followed me out into the glaring light of the store.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Talk to me,\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe nodded, distracted. \"I'm remembering most of it, but who knows what I'll retain next time around. R\u0026amp;D developed some kind of souped-up spectrophotometer gizmo as a hedge against future stealth technology we suspected the Chinese were developing. During a middle phase test in Nevada we saw a vehicle doing some impossible maneuvers, somehow hiding between waves in the visible light spectrum. Naturally we shot it down.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Naturally.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAndy clutched his pack of Camels, plugged one in his mouth, patted his pockets for matches. I handed him the Zippo.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Thanks.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe lit up.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Anyway, it turns out we're as much his captive as he is ours. Uh oh.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EAndy's cigarette dropped from his lips, depositing feathery ash down the front of his sheepskin jacket. He blinked slowly, his eyes going out of focus, or perhaps refocusing inward.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Oh, shit,\" he said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Not again. I have to get \u003Ci\u003Eaway\u003C\/i\u003E from this.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EHe turned and stumped out of the store with the sloppy gait of a somnambulist.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Hey—\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EOutside the night absorbed him. I stiff-armed the door. Cold desert wind blew in my face. Andy was gone. So was the Cherokee. But he hadn't driven away in it. I looked around where it had been parked. There were no tire impressions, nothing, just my warped shadow cast over the tawny grit.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI turned back to the 7-Eleven, its solid, glaring reality. I don't know what hackles are exactly, but mine rose to attention. Out here in the desert, alone with a persistent illusion, I felt reduced. Childish fears came awake.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EExerting my will to power or whatever, I entered the store. The Slurpee machine hummed and swirled, hotdogs rotated. The fluorescent light seemed to stutter \u003Ci\u003Einside\u003C\/i\u003E my head.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI looked at the coolers, the orderly ranks of bottles and cartons. Damn it.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI approached the door to the cold storage, put my hand on the lever. Fear ran through me like electric current. I felt the world begin to waver, and stepped back. The door, silver with a thick rubber seal, appeared to melt before my eyes. I felt myself slipping away, and so brought the force of my will down like a steel spike. The door resumed its expected appearance. I immediately cranked the handle and dragged it open.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003ESquidward sat on his beer case stool in exactly the same position he'd been in ten minutes ago.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Make it stop,\" I said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"I don't make things,\" he replied. \"I allow the multiplicity to occur.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Okay. So stop allowing the multiplicity.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"Not possible, I'm afraid. My survival imperative is searching for a probability in which you haven't killed me.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"But I \u003Ci\u003Ehaven't\u003C\/i\u003E killed you.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"You have.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EI stepped toward him. That steel spike? Now it was penetrating my forehead, driving in.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"What do you want from us?\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\"From you I want to live,\" Squidward said. \"We are bound until the death is allowed or not allowed, conclusively. I have perceived the occurrence of my expiration at your direction, unintended though it will be. Having access to all points of probability time in my sequence, I foresee this eventuality and seek for a probability equation that spares me. From your perspective also this is a desirable outcome. Without me to monitor and shuffle your world's probabilities the vision vouchsafed your military leader may well occur.\"\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003EMy eyesight shifted into pre-migraine mode. Pinwheel lights encroached upon my peripheral vision. I ground the heels of my hands into my eyes, fighting it, fighting it, fighting...\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E[Continues in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/what-you-are-about-to-see-by-jack_11.html\"\u003EPart 3\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/feeds\/421489417050607684\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/what-you-are-about-to-see-by-jack_9.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/421489417050607684"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4615571722773062719\/posts\/default\/421489417050607684"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/martyhalpern.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/what-you-are-about-to-see-by-jack_9.html","title":"\"What You Are About To See\" by Jack Skillingstead (Part 2 of 3)"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marty Halpern"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/103122913309039735209"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-vpHLGAbqSx0\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAABbY\/OZ_0sawgkAY\/s512-c\/photo.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}}]}});