Reading Junkie

I've been on a reading spree lately.

Since the last week of January (when the ice storm hit and we were without power for five days) I've read

• Books 1-6 of the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
  
• "Pride" by Rachel Vincent (Excellent, btw. Read it in less than a day - pretty much in one sitting.)
• "At Grave's End" by Jeaniene Frost (Enjoyed much more than previous one. I still love Tate. And it left me hanging there at the end!)
• "Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand" by Carrie Vaughn (Okay, though I thought the resolution came too quickly.)
• "Kitty Raises Hell" by Carrie Vaughn (Much better than the previous. Interesting combining of legends. And it restored my faith in Kitty's ability to kick butt.)
• "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller (Very insightful.)
• "White Witch, Black Curse" by Kim Harrison (Best of the series, I think. I was glad I had read the short story that gave the backstory on one of the characters.)

I'm currently reading Devon Monk's "Magic to the Bone" and Lauren Winner's "Girl Meets God".

I don't have firm opinions on them yet since I'm not finished, but so far so good.

There have been so many new releases I haven't gotten to yet. But I will. :)
I know that the reading level has to do with the amount of time I've been avoiding my work in progress. (That includes what I'm doing now too...)

Free e-book

To celebrate the release of the latest novel by Simon Haynes, the guy who developed yWriter (in all its versions), his publisher Fremantle Press is giving away free e-copies of the first book in the seires.

I've never read any of his books, but it's always nice to support authors. (Especially when it doesn't cost me anything more than a little storage space on my computer.)

Here.

Writing software

Due to an entry on shay_writes about using Microsoft's program OneNote, I followed a link to a NaNo discussion on novel software. (That would be software to use while writing novels.) They've listed some applications that aid the writing process. And they're freeware. (Overly simplified definition: they're free!)

In alphabetical order:
Rough Draft: A "word processor for creative writers." Found here.
Q10: A very awesome-looking program. It says it will automatically count/display your words, provide an arrangeable format, time your writing sessions with an alarm, and wash your dishes at the same time. Sadly, it's only available in a Windows format.
yWriter4: "It's a word processor which breaks your novel into chapters and scenes." Available here. This one allows you to storyboard (!!) and re-order scenes and renumbers chapters automatically.


I'm still looking at things that will work on Ubuntu. It'd be nice to be able to switch between Windows and Linux without having do to a stupid dance. I'll let you know. (Other program suggestions are welcome.)

Why you should vote for who you want

The United States is merely a handful of weeks away from a big election. As Americans we have the right to vote for officials who will effect our daily lives for years to come - taxes, personal rights, the economy, traffic laws, growth of the area we live in, etc.

It has been impressed upon us that we should be American and vote. Punch that card, click that button, mark that ballot for one of those people on that preapproved list.

Yet many people are disenchanted with the system. "Why should I vote when it won't make a difference?" When most people say this, I believe they are referring to the presidential election. The way that the system works with the electoral college means that often your one vote doesn't really affect the outcome. If you didn't vote, would Harry Potter really have lost the presidency to Draco Malfoy? If you were really the only one who did not vote, probably not. However, when the "you"s out there multiply, it adds up.

There's a saying that if voting really changed things, there would be a law against it.

We can change this. We have other options than the ones spelled out for us on the ballot. Don't just vote for whoever is on that list. Vote for who you want. Write their name in. If everyone actually voted for who the thought would do the best job, the politicians would begin to notice. Sure, it may take a few elections, but eventually we could have more than two political parties. We could have candidates that truly represented us. We wouldn't have to pick the lesser of two evils. There would be other options.

So, be as American as you can be. Vote for whoever you want.

Eroding civil liberties

It amazes me sometimes how little things just slip by us. And then Americans don't care that the government is chipping away at our rights, doing unconstitutional acts. Now it's legal for the government (TSA/Homeland Security) to copy data on your personal devices without needing probable cause. To quote the Washington Post: "...federal agents may copy books, documents, and the data on laptops and other electronic devices without suspecting a traveler of wrongdoing."

And these changes are taking part without public input. This stuff matters. Read the original article.

Is the government becoming American versions of the Gestapo?

To quote Wikipedia (original source William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"), "The Gestapo had the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases, and cases of criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and Germany. A law passed by the government in 1936 gave the Gestapo carte blance to operate without judical oversight. The Gestapo was specifically exempted from responsibility to administrative courts, where citizens normally could sue the state to conform to laws. As early as 1935, however, a Prussian administrative court had ruled that the Gestapo's actions were not subject to judicial review."

And we all know how that turned out.



*(and your little dog too)**
**I don't believe it's a conspiracy theory, just that our elected officials are not doing their job of protecting our best interests.

Yes sirree, Bob.

My work is coming in sporadic spurts today. Fortunately, one of my procrastinating endeavors turned into something productive. (Why yes, my pretty, that was all a part of the plan.)

Lynn Viehl has posted a worldbuilding notebook, "It Only Took God Six Days: Worldbuilding within Reason". Here for: blog | PDF. Haven't actually read it yet, but the title is humorous. Plus, I'm getting sick of the 2YN worldbuilding section. Don't tell.

Also, I'm in the market for an internal cheerleader. ... Anybody?

Yetis do Tulsa

Finally recouped from this weekend's Conestoga 12 conference in Tulsa, Okla. It was an inspiring weekend. Met awesome people and great authors, discovered new books to check out, and learned some secrets of the trade.

Made Mark Henry some brain cake. (See photo of Eliza and the bubble-gum pink icing.) (Guilty admission: Don't have a picture of the final cake. Anyone else?)

Learned interesting tidbits about life that I was better off not knowing. (Can anyone say "olive fetishes"?)

Bought a couple of books, had them signed, and I've already finished one of them (highly enjoyable). Received free books, bookmarks, buttons, postcards, pens and the like. Shay wants a shirt that says "Swag Whore."

The best part of going besides the fun times, cool people, was how the panelists made writing a book and being published seem not only easy, but an attainable goal. The projected mindset was "If we could do it, you can definitely do it."

Pact

I bit the bullet yesterday. Shay and I made a pact to finish our manuscripts in time to go to RT in April. Technically, my goals are:

* Finished rough draft by January 1, 2009.
* "Final" draft by April 1, 2009
* RT end of April, 2009

Met with the Yetis last night (translation: writing group). Between them and My Favorite (translation: W.) had some world building breakthroughs.

St. Patty's luck requested

I just applied for an editorial position with a local newspaper. Wish me luck. All thoughts and prayers are appreciated.