PAIN
Pain? My wife says I am insensitive. I guess I am not as sensitive as most people. An indication of this is that I am continually doing inadvertent damage to myself: cutting fingers, or bumping into things. But I do heal fast. (more…)
A few years ago I was searching for a firm footing for my religious beliefs.
My 1953 Chevrolet pickup had died on me half way between Big Spring and Abilene, so I was standing in the hot sun beside the road with my thumb out. (more…)
How does a book get to the top of the “Best Seller” list?
It isn’t always because it is a good read. (more…)
GERMAN BRUTALITY
Readers of my novel, Amour et Vengeance, (Love & Revenge) have questioned my depiction of brutality by the German soldiers. Is it exaggerated or is it historically accurate?
I know immediately that these people have not read accounts of WW 2 and descriptions of what some German soldiers did during this time. (more…)
All the politicians in Fort Worth (and in the country) are going to be agonizing over the promises made for pensions which are tough to fulfill when the city’s revenues are dropping.
One major change that FW should consider (more…)
ENGINEER’S GUIDE TO
DIETING
Engineers don’t diet. At least not willingly.
It usually involves their POSSLQ. That’s an old acronym that is not in fashion anymore that meant your spouse or someone you were living with.
Anyway, my POSSLQ often goes on a diet when she thinks something makes her look fat. This is usually the latest diet in fashion. It’s always a new, different diet. But the new eating menu affects me, of course.
Now why don’t engineers diet? Because they are too organized, structured, focused. We have to be to produce dependable designs.
I’ll give you an example. (more…)
CHAPTER ONE
Amour Perdu (Lost Love)
He should be happy.
Six months earlier his colleagues of twenty-five years had honored him for outstanding performance in running the engineering department.
He stood in front of almost one hundred fellow workers and their spouses like a blond Viking in a tuxedo. They had lavished praise on him to send him off to the great retirement airship in the sky. He and his team had helped design the latest fighter plane for the Air Force, the YF-16. But what now?” (more…)
This Sunday’s NY Times Magazine had an article about Amanda Hocking and her phenominal success in publishing her books on Amazon and all the other e-book outlets. She is selling 9,000 ! ! ! books every day.
There is more to the story, but it illustrates what a powerful change is happening in the publishing business. The Big Six (now the Big Seven–see Christine Rose) will have to change their ways or go out of business. I predict that the Big Six will be forced to reduce their people and their influence in the business. (more…)
Every single Sunday morning for the past twenty-five years the Half Fast Bicycle group has met for breakfast. Somewhere in the Fort Worth area. And after breakfast, we may ride somewhere. Steve keeps us on roads with no traffic. The title ‘half fast’ was my wife, Marlene’s title for the bunch. We have no formal organization papers, although the name appears on some of the gang’s custom carbon fiber bicycles.
The wise guys in our bunch say that we have no by-laws only by-suggestions. If a new person shows up, one of us will declare “I am in charge of new members. Just give me fifty bucks and you are in.” But if we start getting too many showing up (more that ten riders), Cinco just calls only the core group on Sat. night at 6 pm to let us know where we will meet the next morning.
Cinco (Edward Phillips, the Fifth) calls each of the interested bike riders at 6 pm Saturday and leaves a cryptic message, such as “The Guys at Eight. The Guys at Eight.” If Marlene and I can make it, we will show up at the designated breakfast place. In this case, the cafe on the square in Weatherford at 8 am.
The group has about ten interested riders. All may not show up–vacations, illness, etc.–but for all these years we have met for breakfast. The location varies, but even if it is raining, snowing, sleeting, freezing–no mater the weather, we’ll meet for breakfast. Afterward we may ride our bicycles somewhere. ‘Where’ is not decided until we are rolling and someone says “How about to the golf course?” or some other direction.
There are dozens of bike routes around Weatherford that have little traffic. Sometimes the wind or the temperature influences our decision. As we are getting older, the routes are getting sorter. Now, most are about forty miles. That’s about my comfort limit.
Two of the younger riders were State Mountain Bike Champions in their age groups, and one woman has won gold in World Track Racing. The group is kind and, at times, waits for me or another slow, old rider to catch up.
Good exercise and friendship.
You have a novel or instruction book in your head. Everybody does. Maybe you have even started writing. Should you find an agent, finally get a publisher, etc.?
No matter where you are in the process, get Christine Rose’s book Publishing and Marketing Realities. She gives one a real honest look at the book business–based on her experience. You don’t want to make the same mistakes she has made. I made different mistakes and am still contemplating more mistakes. It is a wild and changing business. The best advice she give is, that if you wish to get wealthy by writing a book, your chances are better if you just buy a lottery ticket every day. It’s a much easier and a smaller investment.
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