tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19774574604793884212023-11-16T04:22:18.030-07:00Author Everett PowersEveryone has something to say.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-36980890102775233622014-10-22T16:52:00.000-06:002014-10-22T16:52:39.150-06:00How do you get ideas for your stories?<div style="font-size: 11px; text-indent: 0.1px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Amal Manikkath</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 0.1px;">Authors are often asked where we get our ideas. I get mine from fortune cookies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just kidding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got the idea for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QGYA0A" target="_blank">CANALS</a> after driving over, or next to, yet another irrigation canal in Modesto, California. One day I thought, what if there was a monster in the canals? Man, no one would be safe because those canals are <i>everywhere</i>. Just about everyone who lives in Modesto and has a decent arm could throw a rock into an irrigation canal from somewhere on their property.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got the idea for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WG4KZO" target="_blank">THE MIGHTY T</a> from a newspaper article about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O'Shaughnessy_Dam_(California)" target="_blank">O’Shaughnessy Dam</a> and the Tuolumne River. That dam is still a hot topic today. Environmentalists want it torn down so the Hetch Hetchy Valley can be restored... Well, not all environmentalists. The ones in San Francisco don’t because they get their clean, pure drinking water form the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009W3Q9RY" target="_blank">DEATH OF A MATADOR</a> after attending a Portuguese bloodless bullfight in Stevensen, California. It was one of the craziest things I’d ever seen and I thought it would made a good story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J8S2LTS" target="_blank">SUNSET HILL</a> followed MATADOR, but wasn’t inspired by anything other than the fact that Mindy got away at the end of THE MIGHTY T. She was too good a character to just let go like that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The idea for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NYC52XQ" target="_blank">THE KING OF ROUND VALLEY</a> sprung from a location: the place Grant ended up at at the end of SUNSET HILL. That’s where he was so I began looking into what might be going on in Mendocino County...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Vjeran Lisjak</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 0.1px;">Then, yesterday morning, I was on the treadmill at the gym listening to a podcast titled </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/08/26/215826949/predicting-the-future?showDate=2014-10-10" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 0.1px;" target="_blank">Predicting The Future</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 0.1px;">, an episode from the </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2014-10-17" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 0.1px;" target="_blank">NPR: TED Radio Hour Podcast</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 0.1px;">. (You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, like I do, or download it directly from the site.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because I only walked for 30 minutes, I only made it up to Marc Goodman’s section, What Does The Future Of Crime Look Like? I was particularly struck by <a href="http://ninatandon.co/" target="_blank">Nina Tandon’s</a> and <a href="http://www.genomequest.com/management" target="_blank">Richard Resnick’s</a> segments. Tandon’s company is growing bones from stem cells and Resnick says sequencing genes will likely change the way we live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, couple this with my recent experiences in ordering a new iPhone and iPad and ... BAM! An idea for a story sprouted. At first it was a short story, but after I’ve a couple of days to play with it, it’s gonna be a novel. And I think it’s gonna be really good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’ll be about the way we pick our children in, oh, about a hundred years from now.</span></div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-28264684844799007272014-09-29T13:41:00.000-06:002014-10-02T09:07:36.632-06:00eBook Formatting: Ellipsis, Nonbreaking Spaces, Em DashesI wrote a couple of posts in September and October, 2011, on formatting for eBooks and print. The first post covered the <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2011/09/formatting-for-ebooks-and-print-part-1.html" target="_blank">ellipsis</a>, the second <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2011/10/formatting-for-ebooks-and-print-part-2.html" target="_blank">em and en dashes</a>. In summary, for the click-shy, I recommended:<br />
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Ellipsis</h4>
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Print Formatting</h3>
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I recommend the use of space-period-space-period-space-period-space (three periods, each surrounded by a space) when the ellipsis is in the <i>middle</i> of a sentence.<br />
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If ellipsis is at the <i>end</i> of a sentence, instead of the last space, insert whatever punctuation mark is appropriate. I don't use a fourth period at the end of a sentence in fiction like I would if I were publishing non-fiction. A close quote mark, question mark, or exclamation mark would immediately follow the last period with no additional space.<br />
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You or may not need to use a nonbreaking space between the preceding word and the first period, to keep them on the same line. That's handled in the copy-fitting stage, when you're examining each page of your manuscript in your page layout program.<br />
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eBook Formatting</h3>
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I recommend the use a true ellipsis in eBook formatting. The only downside to this is, the eReader could choose to split a line at the end of the word, making an orphan of the ellipsis. The only way I know to prevent this would be to use an HTML editor and insert a <a href="http://epubsecrets.com/avoiding-bad-punctuation-breaks-in-ebooks.php" target="_blank">zero width non-breaking space</a>. Editing HTML is outside my skill set. I write my novels in <a href="https://www.literatureandlatte.com/" target="_blank">Scrivener</a> and use it to generate my eBook files.<br />
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In a comment I made at the end of the ellipsis post, I wrote you could also use the three periods surrounded by spaces recommended in Print Formatting. To make this work, you would need to make each space a <i>nonbreaking</i> space or risk the eReader splitting the periods up if it runs out of space on the line it's working on.<br />
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The risk of an orphaned ellipsis (or em dash) is small, especially on larger-screened eReaders like the Kindle Fire, iPad, Nook, and even the Kindle Paperwhite. I recently bought an iPhone 6 Plus so I'll be reading on my phone again, when hauling my iPad along is inconvenient, but I think most people are reading on larger devices now.<br />
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Em Dash</h4>
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Print Formatting</h3>
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My recommendations are unchanged from <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2011/10/formatting-for-ebooks-and-print-part-2.html" target="_blank">my earlier post for the use of em dashes in print formatting</a>.</div>
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eBook Formatting</h3>
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I've softened on my recommendation to use a soft space before and after em dashes when they appear in the middle of sentences. I think it makes for a more visually appealing line on an eReader, but I don't see it used much.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqm2FUHJI07pKTXolY-14fXPi6at5Bj2hs93bIVfSEzFnKDQ2H4-ZAN6F5iB5TPnk8BwLz23yvb9Q6v5Nx826EwVZ6DV7u3JPWLcon8tK2WVag6oUiCMZxDFZLsfzWGRq-iJoJF7SfQJ7/s1600/SS+2014-09-29+at+1.07.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqm2FUHJI07pKTXolY-14fXPi6at5Bj2hs93bIVfSEzFnKDQ2H4-ZAN6F5iB5TPnk8BwLz23yvb9Q6v5Nx826EwVZ6DV7u3JPWLcon8tK2WVag6oUiCMZxDFZLsfzWGRq-iJoJF7SfQJ7/s1600/SS+2014-09-29+at+1.07.07+PM.png" height="171" width="400" /></a></div>
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eReader software can add space between the em dash and surrounding words when justifying a line, which, in my opinion, is more visually appealing.</div>
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When em dashes appear at the end of a line, we have the same dilemma we had with the ellipsis: the eReader may orphan the em dash, like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4DHBjouhNik5Fnp_U5u7nG8auy6LzmGrjE9W-_vu5xPkm-TfNwnt3guuvGcaSUbQ76oIRWIApy5RGbCrfI1YKhuMYkfVVmFzT76k5YE9LDyKWShenoD2EoVhe0jPpS9s4lxm7nEIkb7U/s1600/SS+2014-09-29+at+10.13.01+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4DHBjouhNik5Fnp_U5u7nG8auy6LzmGrjE9W-_vu5xPkm-TfNwnt3guuvGcaSUbQ76oIRWIApy5RGbCrfI1YKhuMYkfVVmFzT76k5YE9LDyKWShenoD2EoVhe0jPpS9s4lxm7nEIkb7U/s1600/SS+2014-09-29+at+10.13.01+AM.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Awkward looking, no?</div>
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But, is this any better?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAB1NVVgfG3ViMt3Qu6Of0nw84IM8SdTlER8f73y3vZ2g1dfORXItbgNyyIjnlFo88282getwjyE1ne5iUHzcEUijmbRKTIO4IhCem5Gf8-kWAGC4PgPRM73yjPIDtfO9QVbU6bvhha6C/s1600/SS+2014-09-29+at+11.47.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAB1NVVgfG3ViMt3Qu6Of0nw84IM8SdTlER8f73y3vZ2g1dfORXItbgNyyIjnlFo88282getwjyE1ne5iUHzcEUijmbRKTIO4IhCem5Gf8-kWAGC4PgPRM73yjPIDtfO9QVbU6bvhha6C/s1600/SS+2014-09-29+at+11.47.52+AM.png" height="218" width="400" /></a></div>
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I inserted a nonbreaking space after "shoulda" to prevent the eReader from making an orphan of the em dash and close quote. If you choose this option, you'll have to do the same for every em dash that appears at the end of a line, to be consistent. </div>
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I for one, since I don't edit HTML, will stick with option one and take my chances that the eReader will have mercy on my eBook and orphan few or no ellipses and em dashes.</div>
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Thanks for stopping by. While you're here, you could check out my novel <i><a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/p/mighty-t.html" target="_blank">The Mighty T</a></i> for only 99 cents. It's a great introduction to my Grant Starr novels. Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Everett-Powers/e/B004ZZ5MHM" target="_blank">Amazon</a> or anywhere fine eBooks are sold.</div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-10229110670425212712014-09-26T14:08:00.003-06:002014-09-26T14:09:37.271-06:00The King of Round Valley eBook Released<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQMHKBG8xnuj7SNIwpi4yVeB4gHP2h6bQ18GqHcBrZiQVA1TxRiEqju_rIFLxmaeUcmIVe_laEbPRUsRsVOzANkrsoNIKgsn_8nfgjmV1QHcI5PjvtdKdup1nUgIJ0NMsYZMl-5GwkI30/s1600/560104_83654289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQMHKBG8xnuj7SNIwpi4yVeB4gHP2h6bQ18GqHcBrZiQVA1TxRiEqju_rIFLxmaeUcmIVe_laEbPRUsRsVOzANkrsoNIKgsn_8nfgjmV1QHcI5PjvtdKdup1nUgIJ0NMsYZMl-5GwkI30/s1600/560104_83654289.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah!</td></tr>
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The eBook version of my new novel, <i>The King of Round Valley</i>, was released on Kindle, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/479991" target="_blank">Smashwords</a>, and Nook today. Smashwords will distribute to the iBooks store and a few other small retailers. The paperback version will be available in about two weeks.<br />
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(At the time of this posting, Smashwords is the only retailer where the book is live. I'll update this page and my blog when the other sites go live.)<br />
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<i>The King of Round Valley </i>was a fairly easy book to write, but fairly difficult to edit. The entire editing and pre-publishing process too four months—way too long. I blame my wife because, hey, isn't that what wives are for? (Joking, of course.) It just was a difficult book to edit.<br />
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As usual, I came to like many of my characters. In past books, some of my favorite characters were bad guys. Take <i>Death of a Matador</i>. I really liked Manny, the murderous, greedy mayor. Perry Dillard, not so much. I liked writing Mindy in <i>The Mighty T</i> and <i>Sunset Hill. </i>Lightfoot was far too cruel to like.<br />
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I can't say that I <i>liked</i> Johnny Pipe, the main bad guy in <i>The King of Round Valley</i>, but I sympathized with him having to work with so many dimwitted people. That's gotta wear on you eventually. I enjoyed writing Acorn and Bear because they were so dumb they were fun, but I could never empathize with them. They were too brutal.<br />
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I hope you enjoy the novel.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-71759326447277094092014-09-19T16:04:00.002-06:002014-09-19T16:09:05.887-06:00Acorn and Bear and Worms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpln-vDsiIT31f0rtXDw_JwgUQx8XvGokzXqHBESUZCFL72XV5ketX7EgkCGED8_TvW6aGrAV2zZOKY1Uc0OtduiQx5tYmbHnhnj6RCb0BGEtOiC-c8WLUuufHueoLJ5oPtzt5xYPGBdp/s1600/worms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpln-vDsiIT31f0rtXDw_JwgUQx8XvGokzXqHBESUZCFL72XV5ketX7EgkCGED8_TvW6aGrAV2zZOKY1Uc0OtduiQx5tYmbHnhnj6RCb0BGEtOiC-c8WLUuufHueoLJ5oPtzt5xYPGBdp/s1600/worms.jpg" height="294" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here’s one of my favorite scenes from <i>The King of Round Valley</i>, my most recent and about-to-be-released novel. (I’m currently going through the paperback proof.) It features two of five bad guys in the story, Acorn and Bear. I like it because it demonstrates a couple of things:<br />
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One, the life of the criminal can be soooo boring. Acorn and Bear are sitting in front of Hopper Rigo’s house, waiting for Hopper to come out. Sitting around and watching a house is boring, and the time has to be filled with something. How about some idle chatter?<br />
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Two, the scene shows that these guys are dimwits. Violent and vicious, but dimwits nonetheless.<br />
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The setup: Hopper has been selling meth for Joe Pina at his school in Covelo. Hopper’s in middle school. Joe was selling meth without permission, got beat up by the main bad guy, Sergeant Johnny Pipe, then was told he had until the end of the day to get out of town. Joe wanted his cash and leftover meth from Hopper because all he had was a hundred forty bucks and change. How far would that get him?<br />
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Pipe sends Acorn and Bear to Joe’s trailer to make sure Joe leaves town on time. They get there a little early, and because they’re not real bright and didn’t quite understand their instructions, they beat Joe to death with baseball bats and bury him in the foothills surrounding the reservation.<br />
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Acorn and Bear set up this meeting with Hopper under the pretense that they’re going to score some meth from him. What they’re really planning on doing is recovering Joe Pina’s cash and leftover meth for their boss, Pipe.<br />
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Acorn and Bear sat in Acorn’s pickup, across from the Rigo’s house, down a bit on Lovell.</blockquote>
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Bear said, “How long do you think it’ll take Joe’s body to become, you know, all filled with worms and shit?”</blockquote>
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Acorn said, “I bet a couple of days.”</blockquote>
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“That quick?”</blockquote>
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“We didn’t put him in no casket or nothing. We just stuck him in the ground and threw dirt on him. The worms don’t have to chew through anything so they can get to him faster.”</blockquote>
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“I thought it would take more like a week, maybe two. The worms gotta find him first, then dig down to where he is.”</blockquote>
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“Don’t you know worms are everywhere in the ground? They don’t gotta dig down to Joe, they’re already down there with him. We probably cut some up when we were digging Joe’s grave.”</blockquote>
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“I don’t think so. There would be too much, you know, weight on top of them. From all the dirt. It would smash them.”</blockquote>
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“Then how could they dig through it if it smashed them?” Acorn turned and looked at Bear. “Huh?”</blockquote>
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“Because when you dig through dirt, you make a hole for yourself. So you don’t get smashed.”</blockquote>
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“Man, you don’t know what you’re—”</blockquote>
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Someone exited the Rigo’s house through the front door, a slender youth with hair down to his shoulders.</blockquote>
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Acorn said, “About time.”</blockquote>
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In my next post I’ll relate the story I found online that gave me the names Acorn and Bear.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-63177626702163547202014-09-16T10:55:00.000-06:002014-09-16T10:55:04.494-06:00The Pumps Gotta Go<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb3JEPD9H6nUYnLJk3hMi3q2eCh-G9M45tgPP-ZDQ_l9z6h-pdMtH2DspZ8qkYyE-dohPJlJk36Cv1L00A1lMQ3_fNdorlkUZmlCMhAfLp5d9YE10lX6HIFVEKj-cQaXItVMBNVFCUgyg/s1600/Jones+Pumping+Plant+new+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb3JEPD9H6nUYnLJk3hMi3q2eCh-G9M45tgPP-ZDQ_l9z6h-pdMtH2DspZ8qkYyE-dohPJlJk36Cv1L00A1lMQ3_fNdorlkUZmlCMhAfLp5d9YE10lX6HIFVEKj-cQaXItVMBNVFCUgyg/s400/Jones+Pumping+Plant+new+photo.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern Picture Jones Pumping Plant<br />
Scale: See the vehicles on opposite side of canal?</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
“There’re two sets of pumps drawing water from the Delta. One’s run by the feds and sends water to Southern <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>. The state runs the other one, the one blown up last night. It sends water to farms on the west side of the valley.”</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jackson</st1:place></st1:city> stretched his legs and continued. “The pumps are huge, like 25,000 volts. They suck water out of the Delta and pump it up a hill to a canal, where it flows down the valley by gravity. They put them in back in the 50s and right away knew they had a problem. Fish that got sucked into the pumps were chopped to pieces. So they dug canals to take water to the pumps and put up screens so the fish couldn’t get in the canals.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“Sounds like it would work,” Grant said. “What’s the problem?”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“Lots of controversy.” <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jackson</st1:place></st1:city> said, wagging a finger in the air. “Fish get caught in the screens and have to be pulled out of the water and trucked back to the Delta, far away from the canals. A lot of the fish die in the truck, plus bigger fish hang around the dump sites and gobble up the smaller ones. This has been going on for more than fifty years and they say it’s drastically affected some fish counts, particularly the little ones. And now that the Delta smelt is on the Endangered Species list, environmentalists are calling for the pumps to be shut off.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“But if the pumps are shut off, where will <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">L.A.</st1:place></st1:city> get their water?” Grant asked.</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“Exactly. No judge would ever go along with it, which is why they’re going after the farmers’ water first. They figure it’ll be easier to take water from a few farmers than twenty million people.”</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">* * * * *</span></div>
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Continuing from my <a href="http://everettpowers.blogspot.com/2011/04/lightfoot-makes-them-pay-for-what.html">last post</a> about certain fish species in the <a href="http://www.acwa.com/content/delta/californias-water-sacramento-san-joaquin-river-delta-0" target="_blank">San Joaquin Delta</a> and the <a href="http://www.tuolumne.org/content/" target="_blank">Tuolumne River</a>, central to the controversy are two sets of huge siphon pumps. Both draw significant amounts of water from the Delta and ship it south.<br />
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What Officer Jackson told Grant in this scene, and what Lightfoot told the gang while sermonizing on the riverbank, is mostly true. I’ll admit I made some stuff up to further the story along (it is a work of fiction) and likely got some other stuff wrong (again: fiction).<br />
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But here’s an update to the novel: a federal judge began restricting water deliveries from the pumps in 2007. Restrictions became so severe that much of the west side of Central California has reverted back to desert, unemployment hit 45% in some counties, and billions of ag revenue has been lost.<br />
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All because the <a href="http://www.fws.gov/sfbaydelta/species/delta_smelt.cfm" target="_blank">Delta smelt</a> was put on the Endangered Species List. Here is one of the little buggers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">5 to 7 cm (2.0 to 2.8 in) long:</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRR1Qath4ZN3R20AbFc5NCPAIfHdkYyide6emzQCsVg3bxQjxddsbc_3S5hJPItjwPyDrAmKAaiZqt4Tc4WcuYRvPL8LBpXG8I7F1FDfgyiwjY-HfcGEGE34YoL8ME3F5shcFwgEnmR9w/s1600/Delta+Smelt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRR1Qath4ZN3R20AbFc5NCPAIfHdkYyide6emzQCsVg3bxQjxddsbc_3S5hJPItjwPyDrAmKAaiZqt4Tc4WcuYRvPL8LBpXG8I7F1FDfgyiwjY-HfcGEGE34YoL8ME3F5shcFwgEnmR9w/s400/Delta+Smelt+2.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento</span></span></td></tr>
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Even if this had happened in the novel, it wouldn’t have been enough for John Lightfoot. Yes, the pumps have chopped up over 20 million baby salmon (that part’s true), but the pumps aren’t the whole picture. What he’s really after are the dams that control river flow.<br />
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That was the deal he’d struck with the two old Paiutes.<br />
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The pumps were for him, for fun. Because he couldn’t stand to let them be.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-76094147746573418542014-09-15T10:47:00.000-06:002014-09-15T10:47:18.885-06:00THE MIGHTY T eBook available everywhere, againI enrolled the eBook version my first Grant Starr novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WG4KZO" target="_blank"><i>The Mighty T</i></a>, in Amazon's Select program a year ago to see it would help boost sales. That means I had to take it off sale at <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mighty-t-everett-powers/1100745467" target="_blank">Nook</a>, Apple, and <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53257" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> (and all the other sellers they distribute to).<br />
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Select didn't do much for sales so I pulled the book out and have priced it at 99 cents. I'll leave it there indefinitely as an entry point into the Grant Starr books.<br />
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<i>The Mighty T</i> was my second novel, after <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QGYA0A" target="_blank">Canals</a>. Canals</i> is a horror/sci-fi novel that didn't garner much attention from traditional publishers. I blamed that on the genre, which I still believe is somewhat true. I read this in a post by Chuck Wendig titled <a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/10/11/25-things-you-should-know-about-writing-horror/" target="_blank">25 Things You Should About Writing Horror</a>:<br />
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"Horror’s once again a difficult genre. It had a heyday in the 80s and 90s, evidenced by the fact it had its very own shelf at most bookstores. That’s no longer the case at Barnes & Noble, and Borders broke its leg in the woods and was eaten by hungry possums. I’ve heard that some self-published authors have pulled away from marketing their books as horror because they sell better when labeled as other genres."</blockquote>
Sounds reasonable to me, based on my own experience.<br />
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So I thought, "Hey, I'll write a thriller! I like thrillers and there are tons of them in the bookstores." And <i>The Mighty T</i> was born.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-67894959815143509132014-09-10T16:33:00.001-06:002014-09-10T16:33:09.876-06:00eBook Cover for THE KING OF ROUND VALLEYJust six months after posting the eBook cover for my last novel, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sunset-Hill-Everett-Powers-ebook/dp/B00J8S2LTS" target="_blank">Sunset Hill</a></i>, I'm posting the eBook cover for my upcoming novel, <i>The King of Round Valley</i>. Let me show you the cover, then I'll tell you a little about it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK85Xs1_QQEQMWwh7rtrYPdThnAiMBIzL9T0-rb4-CfdvnH3gtTOOpMt5FUGJgV68AWj3XP5R_S_TTPzEIOYhvzs-8J3xse2pH3Kr-u5_zHvxq_tkS4QjPeiLXmv0cZ5gF6JbS2WOfc-pe/s1600/Round+Valley+eBook+Cover+4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the king of round valley ebook cover" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK85Xs1_QQEQMWwh7rtrYPdThnAiMBIzL9T0-rb4-CfdvnH3gtTOOpMt5FUGJgV68AWj3XP5R_S_TTPzEIOYhvzs-8J3xse2pH3Kr-u5_zHvxq_tkS4QjPeiLXmv0cZ5gF6JbS2WOfc-pe/s1600/Round+Valley+eBook+Cover+4.jpeg" height="400" title="The King of Round Valley eBook Cover" width="266" /></a></div>
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The cover was created using Swift Publisher 3 on my iMac. It's not Photoshop but it suits my purposes, and talent, fine. I applied a light shadow around the title text, but didn't feel it enhanced the rest of the text so I left them plain.</div>
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Here's the image before cropping:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SEp27-lJclcP3TJeNyI8ACoZBKcNQ0wUABpRKQWBIEGhgskziE6s_xKY9uJ1uyNk69n2rmKTEmb_xW_rdYAXl1v-7FPujnR2ggoAtM4sQtkxrq8cUMSu5Gj7YUhhGDzy2g-5o6wOYksV/s1600/Winery1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SEp27-lJclcP3TJeNyI8ACoZBKcNQ0wUABpRKQWBIEGhgskziE6s_xKY9uJ1uyNk69n2rmKTEmb_xW_rdYAXl1v-7FPujnR2ggoAtM4sQtkxrq8cUMSu5Gj7YUhhGDzy2g-5o6wOYksV/s1600/Winery1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back property of Pacific Star Winery</td></tr>
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It was taken on an iPhone 3Gs by <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/nedraggett/" target="_blank">Ned Raggett</a>. I found it on his Flickr stream. I ran it through DxO 8.0 to improve the lighting and contrast and to increase it to 300 dpi. Ned graciously permitted me to use the photo for the cover, provided I remembered the second 't' in his last name.<br />
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The picture is of the back of the <a href="http://www.pacificstarwinery.com/" target="_blank">Pacific Star Winery</a>, which I renamed Pacific Point Winery in the book. I like the moody atmosphere of Ned's picture. I felt it suited the novel.<br />
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I used two Emigre typefaces for the cover. The King of Round Valley was set in <a href="http://www.emigre.com/EF.php?fid=88" target="_blank">Dead History Bold</a> and the rest of the text in <a href="http://www.emigre.com/EF.php?fid=77" target="_blank">Arbitrary</a> Regular and Bold. I've owned these typefaces since the mid-1990s but feel they're still fresh.<br />
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This will be the subject of another post, but I enjoy setting my novels in real places as opposed to imaginary places, and I enjoy using pictures of those places when possible. I used my own pictures on the covers of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Mighty-T-Everett-Powers-ebook/dp/B004WG4KZO" target="_blank"><i>The Mighty T</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Matador-Everett-Powers-ebook/dp/B009W3Q9RY" target="_blank"><i>Death of a Matador</i></a>, but I've never been to the Pacific Star Winery so I had to find one. I think readers who live locally enjoy reading books set in familiar settings; I know I do.<br />
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I'm waiting to get the paperback proof from Creatspace before I publish the eBook. It seems there is always one or two more tweeks before I feel a book is ready to be released.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-6658661608447432062014-03-21T09:58:00.000-06:002014-03-21T09:58:01.329-06:00Sunset Hill eBook CoverI finished the cover for the eBook version of Sunset Hill today. Here's what it looks like:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBR4MDErxpFBKJZOzxkFtK_wZSn72q7GUKZc48YRlnOatStgy6EvMKGlPSUuvhsakt1L3qq2VB_4eQcU3RpaaghjSRwOHWTd-DDzPGEuViCWl1JeUoUIOwHvZn8HSfO0jn06c7vN_G8w4/s1600/Sunset+Hill+eBook+Cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBR4MDErxpFBKJZOzxkFtK_wZSn72q7GUKZc48YRlnOatStgy6EvMKGlPSUuvhsakt1L3qq2VB_4eQcU3RpaaghjSRwOHWTd-DDzPGEuViCWl1JeUoUIOwHvZn8HSfO0jn06c7vN_G8w4/s1600/Sunset+Hill+eBook+Cover.jpeg" height="640" width="427" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_739118520"></span><span id="goog_739118521"></span><br />
It's a little different than the cover for the paperback in that I used more of the ridged top of the knife, to make it look more like a knife.<br />
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The typeface is Kingthings Typewriter 2, a shareware face. The creator, Kevin King, allows free use of the typeface. It's one of my favorite old typewriter faces.<br />
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The file has been uploaded to Kindle, awaiting my click on the Publish button. I've just ordered my second proof of the paperback and should receive it next week. When the paperback looks good, I'll publish them both.<br />
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After uploading the book file, Amazon's spellchecker found two errors. I hadn't capitalized "Adirondack" and I spelled "wimps" as "whimps". I was impressed Amazon caught the.<br />
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I'm looking for readers who'd like to receive a free eBook in exchange for an honest review. I can send the book in Kindle, ePub, or PDF formats. Use the Contact Me page or send me an email to ep (at) everettpowers (dot) comEverett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-73869017966106084462014-02-17T13:17:00.000-07:002014-03-27T09:07:25.442-06:00Cover for Sunset Hill PaperbackAfter significant delay, I'm finalizing my new novel, <i>Sunset Hill</i>. In the past I've published my eBooks first, then the paperback. Most of my sales are of eBooks.<br />
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However, I found I caught a few more mistakes (aren't there always a few?) when proofing the paperback and had to edit both the eBook and paperback versions; such a hassle. This time I'm publishing the paperback first.<br />
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Here's the current version of the cover:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwvsmQoWQshmd-wd2ACqOgXIgEwIG-2Wz7oaJNa8hKmQRkag_U-HztvNjckv3Vlmo_ElaK_EAYsapdi9NEU5Y0_FawAdYgwgjGSSX49AuqaJ5jORMzZyrLRi3zEntcdWy0_hBrClceN4g/s1600/Sunset+Hill+Paperback+Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwvsmQoWQshmd-wd2ACqOgXIgEwIG-2Wz7oaJNa8hKmQRkag_U-HztvNjckv3Vlmo_ElaK_EAYsapdi9NEU5Y0_FawAdYgwgjGSSX49AuqaJ5jORMzZyrLRi3zEntcdWy0_hBrClceN4g/s1600/Sunset+Hill+Paperback+Cover.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'll see how the proof looks and make changes if necessary.<br />
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P.S. It might appear a little blurry because it was a screen shot. Pages doesn't allow exporting to image formats.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-81540297708949380012014-02-07T15:51:00.001-07:002014-02-07T15:57:49.293-07:00How to Wrestle a Bull, Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zC9x3x8eXJcWO7TCa2DRPZjFOLZqbzKZGvTV-jY9pi_wriRvDMGXypPRS0G1wOQ08rfIDn_5d0m43twpz86mHjX-jClgB_iUeHMqYPYRo0DvF8kKFy0c6GMEMlhECwDubmaBvn69nriJ/s1600/DSC_9192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zC9x3x8eXJcWO7TCa2DRPZjFOLZqbzKZGvTV-jY9pi_wriRvDMGXypPRS0G1wOQ08rfIDn_5d0m43twpz86mHjX-jClgB_iUeHMqYPYRo0DvF8kKFy0c6GMEMlhECwDubmaBvn69nriJ/s1600/DSC_9192.JPG" height="270" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forcados in action</td></tr>
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In April, 2011, I attended my first "bloodless" bullfight in Stevinson, CA. I blogged about it <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2011/05/o-touro-portuguese-bloodless-bullfight.html" target="_blank">here</a>. The bullfight was part of the research for my second Grand Starr novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009W3Q9RY" target="_blank"><i>Death of a Matador</i></a>. It was about this time I conceived of another novel with the forcado group as main characters. I'm now in the process of writing that novel, working title <i>The Young Bull Wrestlers</i>.<br />
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I'm only about 8,000 words in and have begun writing a scene where the team is practicing at the main character's house in Hilmar, CA. This scene, and a similar scene in <i>Death of a Matador</i>, was inspired by an actual (man I hate that word) experience I had. A patient of mine was well known in the Portuguese (Azorean) community in the Hilmar-Stevinson area and arranged for me to have "back stage" access to the Amadores de Merced team of forcados, or bull wrestlers. I didn't know I'd have this kind of access and so wasn't prepared. I probably could have made more of it than I did.<br />
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As I've blogged before, it's important to me that my books be as "real" as possible, meaning I don't want to give a reader an opportunity to say "No way that could happen!" (<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QGYA0A" target="_blank">Canals</a></i> excepted; it's a horror/sci-fi novel). With this in mind, I've done some research on the basic technique or approach used by a team of forcados.<br />
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<b>What Forcados Do</b><br />
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Forcados are called on to wrestle a bull into submission after it's been run around the arena for 15-20 minutes by a matador either on foot or on a horse, so the bull has been worn out to a degree. (Mind you, it still has plenty of energy and fury to run one of its horn through your gut!) At the two bullfights I attended, the horse and foot matadors did not whip up much excitement from the crowd, despite their great skill and artistry. People were talking and eating, trying to stay warm, texting or talking on a cell phone, drinking and laughing with friends, etc. My feeling is they've been to so many bullfights that the novelty is long gone.<br />
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But when the horns blow and the chosen eight leap over the wall and strut into the arena, the crowd comes alive. Cell phones drop into laps, children crowd the front of the stands to get a better view, and people quit yapping. (I never saw anyone set a beer down, though.)<br />
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The forcado's goal is to wrestle the bull into submission on the first try. From what I've gathered this means their front guy needs to have stayed on the bull's head until the bull has been subdued. If they fail they keep trying until they get it right. It took one team three tries to wrestle the last bull of the evening at one of my two bullfights. (The biggest and meanest bulls are, generally, saved for last.)<br />
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<b>Positions</b><br />
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Eight members are chosen to fight each bull. (Some teams have over 20 members.) They are assigned specific positions that have specific tasks. They are as follows:<br />
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<u>Position #1</u>: <i>Cara</i> or <i>Caras</i> - "Faces the bull"<br />
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This is the guy that leads the team into the arena. His is the position of greatest risk and skill. His one goal is to jump on top of the bull's head, preferably between the horns, wrap his arms around the bull's neck, and hang on until the bull has been subdued.<br />
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When you watch my YouTube video I've linked to, you'll notice that #1 is backpedaling when the bull hits him. Obviously, this takes some of the oomph! out of bull's charge.<br />
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You should also notice that the #1 position requires some style and grace. He must show the bull that he's not afraid of it by his posturing and verbal taunting (which you can't hear on the video). He doesn't just run into the arena and start yelling at the bull.<br />
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#1 is aided by junior matadors who stand outside the wall and distract the bull with their brightly colored <i>capas</i>, or capes. The distraction allows #1 to get closer to the bull. Why? So the bull doesn't hit #1 after charging halfway across the arena. The closer #1 is to the bull, the less inertia the bull will have gained when they collide.<br />
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Observe the guy in the #1 position in the following three photos:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF47fiLDFkiYPOJGJztgm0VDE7IQcopw-cjGQLcOHa1x0WZJAyu22CpS4k9eOHwihBa4X4WmF3ivZQJUiZSWcpuepbDlHN33Tj0RlfOWqqQbBmKhIbBbTqnhIQ1d1VSAXfGuoJBkCnQEf/s1600/DSC_9171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF47fiLDFkiYPOJGJztgm0VDE7IQcopw-cjGQLcOHa1x0WZJAyu22CpS4k9eOHwihBa4X4WmF3ivZQJUiZSWcpuepbDlHN33Tj0RlfOWqqQbBmKhIbBbTqnhIQ1d1VSAXfGuoJBkCnQEf/s1600/DSC_9171.JPG" height="270" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#1 is out there in front, by himself.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Fkh1K0FSFodz8HwvOK0rupety9qHiTQn5mohBdoNKkcVMLD1ljxOlCYvmF5SSBlwIHsAr1c_xwJc6aBUD18cA83-cxKvjTALZId8Gx6RtaEcBWd7TrOpBY6HW1fB6t3R4gZFtNzfRvkW/s1600/DSC_9172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Fkh1K0FSFodz8HwvOK0rupety9qHiTQn5mohBdoNKkcVMLD1ljxOlCYvmF5SSBlwIHsAr1c_xwJc6aBUD18cA83-cxKvjTALZId8Gx6RtaEcBWd7TrOpBY6HW1fB6t3R4gZFtNzfRvkW/s1600/DSC_9172.JPG" height="270" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He jumps on the bull's head. #2 is right behind him.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo-PPk3Of961TfEYHEsxlShWdxXTOWl1A6_mjwj7HmcC93pSZjaJQPw20Ne8lh0aImLW3OC48LY2b4VPFY0WvA2lKD4xFhn3yFEp66e8MmL0F8MeBUrhIHwRsHUbTb7h0FhqIPZmI1hKa/s1600/DSC_9173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo-PPk3Of961TfEYHEsxlShWdxXTOWl1A6_mjwj7HmcC93pSZjaJQPw20Ne8lh0aImLW3OC48LY2b4VPFY0WvA2lKD4xFhn3yFEp66e8MmL0F8MeBUrhIHwRsHUbTb7h0FhqIPZmI1hKa/s1600/DSC_9173.JPG" height="270" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He is hanging on for dear life.</td></tr>
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The last picture is a good segue into...<br />
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<u>Position #2</u>: <i>Contra Caras</i> - "First helper"</div>
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#2's main job is to see that #1 stays on the bull's head. If #1 is slipping off the front of the head, #2 tries to push him back up. If #1 is about to go over the bull's head onto his back, #2 tries to pull him forward. His roll is one of timing: he's got to get to #1 while the bull's head is down.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkYFAkcfJMIMc-khzWD3-Q4g5S44yJx2w8aiRxdt1lVsUsVikMtj1p1qToxJaLZrWJIYJLF3Jtu5CrxRr7IyTqcNmppuRzFnzAPiwwt5G0FypURAsUWwIXkF_03KzQB3kkzT24Gpda5I-/s1600/DSC_9174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkYFAkcfJMIMc-khzWD3-Q4g5S44yJx2w8aiRxdt1lVsUsVikMtj1p1qToxJaLZrWJIYJLF3Jtu5CrxRr7IyTqcNmppuRzFnzAPiwwt5G0FypURAsUWwIXkF_03KzQB3kkzT24Gpda5I-/s1600/DSC_9174.JPG" height="270" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This #2 has moved to the opposite side of the bull.</td></tr>
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You'll see in this picture that #2 moved to the side of the bull and has grabbed the bull around the neck. His #1 is securely on the top and front of the bull's head. This position can be dangerous because he doesn't get to backpedal like #1 does.<br />
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Numbers 3, 4, and 5 have entered the frame. 2 and 3 are there to...</div>
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We'll pick this up in my next post.<br />
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Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-79861192382969961822013-12-19T10:05:00.000-07:002013-12-19T10:05:09.727-07:00Generous 5-Star Review of CANALS<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I admit I don’t visit Goodreads often enough. Sometimes not for months. But, when I do, I like to see if any new reviews have been posted for my novels. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I found one today. Here’s the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/775761084" target="_blank">link</a> in case you want to see the original review.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Here’s the text of the review:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14.166666030883789px; line-height: 17.5px;">Canals starts off as a typical crime thriller as Detective Daniel Lawless comes to the scene of a dismembered body by a canal in California. Everett Powers then develops a wonderful story written in the style of a good police drama. Every character the reader meets is given a full introduction, it is not a case of "this is John, a 20 year old man" - you get to know each character as a real person. This character development is true for everyone, whether they continue to the end of this novel or meet a violent death.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14.166666030883789px; line-height: 17.5px;">Detective Daniel Lawless is a different type of policeman and has a quirky character. He likes opera and has a collection of 82 pairs of shoes giving him the nickname of shoe boy when he was at school. Before he can solve this death by the canal, another death occurs along a nearby canal. Something is going on around the canal network but can Danny solve the case before more people are killed?</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14.166666030883789px; line-height: 17.5px;">Slowly the reader finds that this is not your typical crime thriller. Little bits of information are drip fed into the story to make you think that something nasty may be lurking in the canals. Bit by bit this story becomes a science fiction novel.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14.166666030883789px; line-height: 17.5px;">Everett Powers develops a wonderful plot that bit by bit becomes a race for Daniel Lawless to save the day. The reader along with Daniel begins to understand just what is going on along the canals and we begin to get the bigger picture.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14.166666030883789px; line-height: 17.5px;">Canals is a very entertaining read. I like the way it moved from a crime thriller to a thought provoking science fiction story. The message at the end is very moving and forces you to consider real life global issues.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14.166666030883789px; line-height: 17.5px;">I can find nothing wrong with Canals. It is a great story that was told with precision and detail. The writing is top quality and it was a joy to read. I enjoy walking my dog along canals and now I will always wonder what may be in the water. I vote this book the top score of 5 stars. Canals is available as a 609 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2011.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">CANALS was the first novel I completed and my only horror/sci-fi novel. The Grant Starr novels are thrillers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">CANALS can be purchased for 99 cents right now at your favorite ebook retailer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I noticed Amazon is selling the quality paperback for $14.39, though I don’t know why. I never lowered the price from $15.99 and it’s sold only on Amazon.</span>Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-84197167973418090342013-10-17T13:08:00.000-06:002013-10-17T13:08:16.054-06:00Finished 1st Draft of The Mighty T ScreenplayI finished the first draft of my adaptation of The Mighty T to the silver screen. It weighs in at 120 pages, about 20 above my goal.<br />
<br />
I was advised that new screenwriters shouldn't turn in scripts longer than 90-105 pages, but when I looked at the winning scripts for the recent <a href="http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/" target="_blank">Nicholl competition</a>, they were all about 120 pages. We'll see how it looks after edits.<br />
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Some nuts-and-bolts stuff about my process.<br />
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1. The screenplay resides in <a href="http://www.literatureandlatte.com/" target="_blank">Scrivener</a> for Mac at the moment and will until it's ready for submission. Scrivener has a screenwriting mode, which makes it easy to format while you write.<br />
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2. I have Scrivener sync the screenplay onto Dropbox in <a href="http://fountain.io/" target="_blank">Fountain format</a>. That way I can work on it on either my iPad or, as I did yesterday, on a PC. Edited documents synced perfectly the next time I load Scrivener. I tried typing a new document using Fountain syntax but Scrivener put it in a trash folder when it synced. I'm not sure why. I copy and pasted the new doc into Scrivener but had to format it line by line. Kind of a hassle.<br />
<br />
3. I wrote with <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2011/05/tools-and-tips-for-writing-process.html" target="_blank">iA Writer</a> on the iPad and Word on the PC. I've used a Mac since March and it was a bit rough going back to a PC. It didn't help that it had a cheap keyboard with poor tactile feedback.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-8613747748612238262013-10-09T14:45:00.000-06:002013-10-09T14:45:02.002-06:00Adapting a Novel to the Screen - Part 1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFix0X_suQcbLbzD1Y008-31F3ZcLwbm3wl0pMUapGfW6R_BLOq9E_1W_e2tMgG-658JzQkIKwmSNw5-9v6b6Q-jTSZXhzjb5hlm7756VR6bGJc1v_Tw8ITHfZ3VK49jFTZ5NZu1e2Dd60/s1600/SS+2013-10-09+at+2.38.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFix0X_suQcbLbzD1Y008-31F3ZcLwbm3wl0pMUapGfW6R_BLOq9E_1W_e2tMgG-658JzQkIKwmSNw5-9v6b6Q-jTSZXhzjb5hlm7756VR6bGJc1v_Tw8ITHfZ3VK49jFTZ5NZu1e2Dd60/s400/SS+2013-10-09+at+2.38.27+PM.png" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page 1, <i>The Mighty T</i> Screenplay</td></tr>
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While waiting for feedback from some excellent readers who are reading SUNSET HILL, I decided to try my hand at adapting one of my novels to film; i.e., write a screenplay. I thought, I've written four novels, how hard could it be to write a screenplay for one?</div>
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Little did I know...</div>
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Screenplays and novels are not alike in the least. Novels can be 350 pages of prose while a screenplay should come in at about 100 pages. And no prose. They must consist of mostly action and dialogue with very little description. If a character must be described, it should be no longer than one sentence.</div>
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Peter Stone was the screenwriter for the original <i>The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3</i> (1976) (Stone passed away on 2003.) He's an Oscar, Tony, and Emmy winning writer. He talked about the differences between writing a screenplay and a novel in the commentary feature on the <i>Charade</i> DVD.</div>
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“When I couldn’t sell the original screenplay (for Charade) I was advised by my wife, and my agent concurred, to turn it into a novel. I had never written a novel and it was in the course of writing the novel that I came to realized that I had no ability for writing novels at all. <b>It’s a different set of muscles.</b> There are very, very few people who can write dramatic material and narrative prose. Very few. Chekhov could do it. There are some today who can do it. Richard Price can do it. Crichton. They just call on a different set of muscles. One is descriptive and uses language in a way that dramatic material does not.</blockquote>
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Dramatic material—everything has to be revealed through behavior, that’s all you have to reveal it with. And description plays such a small part in it. It’s just a different set of muscles at work and I don’t have them, or I never developed them, or I wasn’t interested in them or something. But I sure discovered it immediately. So it was a rotten novel.” (Emphasis added.)</blockquote>
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"A different set of muscles." That's exactly what it feels like to me.</div>
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I've decided to adapt <i>The Mighty T</i> for film.</div>
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I Googled screenwriting, found a bunch of good information, and talked to a writer I met on Twitter, <a href="http://katherinebennett.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Katherine Bennet</a>, who is a screenwriter. Alright. Ready to write that screenplay. After I reread the book. It'd been a while.</div>
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When I stopped to come up for air, I was 45 pages in. Unfortunately, I was on page 37 of the novel. Yeah, that won't cut it. At that pace I'd end up with a 500 page screenplay, enough for five movies.</div>
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Back to the drawing board.</div>
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Katherine strongly suggested using Chris Soth's Mini Movie Method: Organize the screenplay into eight "mini movies," each 12-15 pages long. It is supposedly the format Hollywood is looking for in a screenplay. I just couldn't wrap my brain around that format, though. Not for <i>The Mighty T</i>, at least. And, I'm very impressed by the movies coming out of Hollywood these days. Most are terrible.</div>
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So, instead, I decided to use the three acts format, with act 2 broken into two parts. I've organized the novel thusly:</div>
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Act I - the killing of the utility GMs</div>
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Act II, Part 1 - blowing up the Jones Pumping Plant</div>
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Act II, Part 2 - blowing up the O'Shaughnessy Dam</div>
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Act III - the attack on the Don Pedro Dam</div>
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Each act gets about 25 pages. </div>
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The task then becomes, what to cut from the novel? Obviously, much has to be cut. In fact, most of the novel has to be cut. And that hasn't been easy. I've had to cut scenes I really like. It's been a little like having a family of 50 but only being able to take 10 with you on vacation. </div>
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I'm currently into Act II, Part 2, with 54 pages written. (According to Scrivener's page count.) I'm writing the draft for screenplay in Scrivener, because I love it and already own it, but will have to get a dedicated piece of software for the finished product.</div>
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I'll post more on the process.</div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-68979270303440000672013-09-19T11:44:00.001-06:002013-09-19T11:44:55.523-06:00Excerpt from SUNSET HILLMy next Grant Starr thriller, SUNSET HILL, is with the beta readers. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 8.<br />
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Grant and Detective Ira Utter of the Seattle Police Department are in Utter’s car heading for a woman’s prison in Gig Harbor where they will interview a convicted killer. Grant is going to try and get the killer to give them the name of her accomplice, who’s started killing again.<br />
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Utter is a new character, naturally because he’s in Seattle, Washington, and the other two Grant Starr novels were set in Central California. I didn’t like him much at first because he’s so straight-laced and kind of boring. And, frankly, I didn’t like typing out his name much. But he grew on me and I came to appreciate him, and understand him. His character is in large part his attempt to separate himself from what he was: a drunk.<br />
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Grant’s sure the killer they’re looking for is Mindy, who escaped an intense police dragnet after the failed attempt to blow up the Don Pedro Dam in La Grange.<br />
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<blockquote>
Utter and Grant got into Utter’s department-issued Chevy Impala, and Grant asked Utter, “An Impala, huh? How’d Seattle PD end up with Impalas? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cop driving one.”<br />
“It’s a long story. The short of it is, Chief Dunston’s brother owns a Chevy dealership. They’re not bad cars.”<br />
“I heard they suck.”<br />
“Well ... okay. They do suck. Fortunately, there’s little call for a Seattle detective to engage a suspect in a high-speed chase. We have highway patrol Dodge Chargers for that.”<br />
Grant laughed. “You call in the HP for all car chases?”<br />
“Not all, just the ones where you suspect you might need to go more than eighty. The Impala starts to shimmy at eighty.”<br />
Grant laughed again and said, “How’d the media thing go?”<br />
“Okay. I remembered not to frown.”<br />
“Kept a poker face?”<br />
“Well, it wasn’t like I was being grilled by Mike Wallace or anything. Keely Wolfe asked about you and the others, who you were and why you were here. I said you were consulting because there might a tie-in with a cold case of yours. I hope you don’t mind.”<br />
“I don’t see any harm in it. If you didn’t tell them who we were, they’d think we were feds. That I would’ve been pissed about.”<br />
They swapped stories for thirty minutes until Utter said, “I Googled you this morning. 1970 Ferrari Daytona, huh? From trading stocks?”<br />
“Nah. Short-selling stocks. But I’m out of the game now.”<br />
“Sounds like it was lucrative. And a lot safer than hunting killers. Why not retire and do the stock thing?”<br />
“Because I’d go nuts. Short-selling gave me something to do at night while I dried up. I’d wake up at two or three and flip the computer on, run the numbers instead of reaching for a beer.”<br />
“How long did you drink?”<br />
“Started in high school and didn’t quit until I was twenty-six. Too long, but I know guys who still drink like they did in college, and they’re fifty now.”<br />
“Why’d you quit? If you don’t mind me asking.”<br />
“I don’t mind. I had a woman walk out on me. I thought she was the one, but ... turns out she didn’t like angry drunks. Who can blame her? Hell, I don’t like angry drunks.”<br />
“You in AA?”<br />
“Nope.” Grant turned to look at Utter. “Her leaving was enough of a shock that I just quit. Didn’t feel like I needed any help. You sound like you have a story. You in AA?”<br />
Utter nodded and said, “I’m an alcoholic. A recovering alcoholic, as they teach us to say. Unlike you, I can’t touch a drop. Just smelling a beer makes me break out in a sweat.”<br />
“How long you been sober?”<br />
“Five years, sixty-two days.”<br />
“Still go to meetings?”<br />
“Oh yeah. Probably will the rest of my life, or until I’m too old to drive myself there.”<br />
“I guess your marriage survived. Or is this wife number two?”<br />
“No, Lacey hung in there. Probably for the kids’ sake. I think she’ll leave after they move out.”<br />
“Why do you say that? The worst is over, man.”<br />
“The damage has been done, you know? Say you tell someone you hate them and suggest they jump off the Space Needle. You can apologize the next day, but you can’t take the words back. They’ll always be there, floating somewhere in time and space. Some things can’t be undone.”<br />
“Ah, time can heal most wounds, Ira. She’s stuck with you this long, she’s probably gonna hang in for the long haul.”<br />
Utter was quiet for a few moments, then he said, “I think she’s having an affair. In fact, I’m almost positive she is.”<br />
“Ah man, sorry to hear that. You think it’s a revenge thing? Getting back at you for the years of drinking?”<br />
“Could be. I’m thinking about confronting her about it. What do you think?”<br />
Grant blew out a breath, and thought through his answer. “I hate to think I’ll ever have to deal with that, but if I do, I’ll confront her for sure. There are few things worse than someone you love sneaking around behind your back.”<br />
They were quiet for a while, then Utter said, “Did I tell you she wears makeup to Zumba? Who wears makeup to Zumba?”<br />
“Women care about their appearance more than men, even at the gym. In fact, when I used to go to a public gym, most of the women there had makeup on.”<br />
“Zumba lasts an hour, but she’s usually gone two hours. Sometimes three.”<br />
“Ah man...”<br />
“Yeah.”<br />
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The Washington Corrections Center for Women was tucked into a corner of McCormick Forest Park, off Washington State Route 16. Utter exited at the Burnham Interchange, wound down Sehmel Drive, then hooked a left on Bujacich Drive, which cut through the park as it led to the prison.<br />
“Sure is pretty country,” Grant said. “Is it always this green?”<br />
“It’s why we’re called the Evergreen State,” Utter said. “This side of the Cascades is always like this. It turns white when it snows, but otherwise is green year round. I assume you’ve got a plan for interviewing Sorrentino? Is there anything you want me to do? Keep my trap shut? Play good-cop bad-cop with you?” He smiled.<br />
“I’ve got a plan, but nothing elaborate. Feel free to jump in if you think you have something to add.”<br />
When they pulled into the prison parking lot, Utter said, “Is there anything you want to ask me about Sorrentino before we go in?”<br />
“I think I got all I need from the files.”</blockquote>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-76961279042596639322013-07-22T11:54:00.000-06:002013-07-22T12:01:24.226-06:00Busy with my paper editI've been busy lately with my paper edit. I blogged about this before <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2012/07/on-screen-vs-hard-copy-editing.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I edit three different ways:<br />
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1) On-screen<br />
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2) On paper<br />
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3) On an eReader, in my case an iPad<br />
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I finished the on-screen editing a couple of weeks ago and am in the 12th chapter of my paper edit. Sunset Hill will have 14 chapters, so I'm almost done. I'll probably do a second paper edit on chapters 12–14. They're the most recently written chapters and so haven't been gone through as much as the others, and they're the most important because... You'll have to wait and see.<br />
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I'm pleased I'm finding very few actual typos or incorrect word usages. The most common error to pop up, 3 or 4 times, has been "there're" instead of "they're". And I've changed a lot of "in"s into "into"s.<br />
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I write and print manuscripts in Courier, size 11. 12 is too big and 10 is too small. 11 allows for just the right about of text on a line. The paragraphs are 1½-spaced, not double-spaced. I don't need them to be double-spaced.<br />
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I'm using a Nakami Vanishing Point fountain pen for editing, with a fine nib. The nib size is just right, allowing me to write more than you'd think between the lines and in the margins. I don't use the plastic cartridges but rather fill it from an ink bottle. The pen is very easy to fill. I use the Delta brand ink, at Bert's recommendation.<br />
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The pen looks just like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC30uZxA3WxILGwV3iEHJnXC_sEAehdUnMuwLunjWrKxA-_AwdU5-QpQ00OzNwX-oYyz5LC4sZnIynU5-nVaR2a0Am3Yo6P_xP9ESuMz-O2EMC9FEp-u-McDLdY2SMai6wYlkjNasS3gjx/s1600/Fountain-Pen-Blue-with-Rhodium-Accents-S-R-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC30uZxA3WxILGwV3iEHJnXC_sEAehdUnMuwLunjWrKxA-_AwdU5-QpQ00OzNwX-oYyz5LC4sZnIynU5-nVaR2a0Am3Yo6P_xP9ESuMz-O2EMC9FEp-u-McDLdY2SMai6wYlkjNasS3gjx/s640/Fountain-Pen-Blue-with-Rhodium-Accents-S-R-01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The nib appears when you push the button at the other end of the pen. Otherwise it's safely nestled inside the body of the pen where it won't cause a mess. The pen finds nicely in a shirt pocket and is rather large; perfect for my big hands.<br />
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You can buy the pen at <a href="https://www.bertramsinkwell.com/Namiki-Pilot-Vanishing-Point-Rhodium-Accents-Blue-Fine-Fountain-Pen.html" target="_blank">Bert's Inkwell</a>, if you like. Don't forget to get a bottle of the Delta Ink. I use blue ink because it's easily seen on a black and white page and is appropriate for all other writing uses. Other colors such as red would be more visible on the page, but you shouldn't write on checks or sign important documents with colors like red. Blue is universal.<br />
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I've also used a Pilot Precise V rolling ball pen for editing. (Pilot makes the Nakami Vanishing Point pen as well.) It has a very fine writing point and displays how much ink is left so you know when you're about to run out. But, a fountain pen has so much more class than an ordinary rolling ball pen, and I like to use my expensive purchases when I can.<br />
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As for printing the drafts, Scrivener makes it easy. Chapters are set up as folders in Scrivener's Binder display. Each scene is a text file in a chapter folder. In scrivenings mode, where the scenes of a chapter appear as a continuous stream of text, I click File, Print Current Document. On my Mac, the print screen tells me how many pages are in the chapter so I can be sure I have enough paper in my old LaserJet 1320. I buy Georgia Pacific multipurpose paper from Walmart for about $3.50 or so a ream, the 92 brightness paper.<br />
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Back to editing.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-80202422026486722042013-07-09T13:51:00.000-06:002013-07-09T13:51:07.248-06:00Wrap-Up Chapters and First Edits<div style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did Papa really say that?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 11px;">I finished the first draft of SUNSET HILL a couple of Saturdays ago. I had originally set a goal of 100,000 words, but it came in long at 119K. I'm okay with that; CANALS was 150K, THE MIGHTY T 105K, and DEATH OF A MATADOR about 125K. As I wrote </span><a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2013/06/thoughts-on-novel-length.html" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 11px;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 11px;">, 125K is a good length. For comparison, King's UNDER THE DOME has about 335K words.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">The word count will likely grow by the time I finish with edits. I feel like it needs a short chapter to wrap-up loose ends, but I have mixed feelings about that. I tend to overdo wrap-up chapters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;"><b>Wrap-Up Chapters</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;"><a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/p/canals.html" target="_blank">CANALS</a> had a fairly long epitaph where I wrote a follow-up on the church the monsters had done their worst work in, and a long follow-up on Lawless and Baskill. I thought the Baskill thing worked, but some readers said it should've been left out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">In <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/p/mighty-t.html" target="_blank">THE MIGHTY T</a>, I wrote a lengthy follow-up on the restoration of the Hetch Hetchy Valley, or what I guessed might happen should the O'Shaughnessy Dam be removed. I received a little criticism for that, too. That novel has quite an exciting ending and some readers thought I should've left well enough alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;"><a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/p/death-of-matador.html" target="_blank">DEATH OF A MATADOR</a> originally ended with the capture of ______ (no spoilers—you'll have to read it to learn who was captured and who got away). One beta reader complained the ending was too abrupt so I wrote a few pages of wrap-up. It was brief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I think most readers want to know what happens to at least the main characters, but in particular they want to be reassured the bad guys didn't get away with it. Even though in real life they often do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;"><b>Editing The First Draft</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">Most editing done on the first draft is mundane work. I like to use real street names, real business names, real landmarks, etc. Often, when I'm working on a first draft, I don't want to stop writing to look back in the text for the correct street or business name because it can break my rhythm. I'll put an *asterisk by whatever I choose to write, which lets me know it needs to be looked up when I'm editing. Or I'll put something in parentheses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I rarely make big story changes when editing the first draft. I try and make sure I've thought through logistical issues when penning a first draft so I'm not bothered with them later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">For instance, in SUNSET HILL I've got a bad guy with a cop's iPhone. iPhones have GPS functions and are fairly easy to track, if the phone is left on. Cops would know this yet I had the cops not thinking of it. Cops wouldn't normally bother with tracking a phone that's been stolen, but they would if the thief is a cop killer. I had to rewrite several scenes where I had the bad guy actually get rid of the phone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">If I don't catch stuff like this while writing the first draft, I'll catch it during the first edit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">The first edit is done electronically, meaning I either edit on-screen or on my iPad. I have Scrivener sync the manuscript with Dropbox and use Storyist for the iPad to edit the .rtf files in the draft. Storyist doesn't save the file to the same directory in Dropbox, which gives me a layer of security.</span></div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-75235903463655661552013-06-18T08:14:00.001-06:002013-06-18T08:22:14.078-06:00Thoughts on Novel LengthYesterday I topped 100K words in the novel I'm writing. It got me thinking about novel length. These days, the general consensus seems to be most readers enjoy novels in about the 80K area, give or take 10K words. I gleaned this from reading various blog posts and opinion pieces on the great big Internet.
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<br>I like a novel that's a bit longer than that, 100-125K, or 325-400 printed pages, but that preference has evolved. Back in the day, I used to like long novels like those written by Stephen King and Tom Clancy. How many novels have those authors published that pushed or topped 1,000 pages? King, several. Clancy, maybe in the 700-900 page range.
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<br>CANALS came in at 200K words at first and was trimmed down to about 150K, or about 425 pages (I think). THE MIGHTY T weighs in at a little over 100K and about 325 pages. DEATH OF A MATADOR was in between: about 125K words and in the upper 300s pages. (If I was writing this at home I could look on the shelf at the page counts, but I'm not. I'm in my office-away-from-home: the local Starbucks.)
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<br>I'm currently reading UNDER THE DOME by King, and I'm generally loving it. But I think it's too long. I have the ePub version I'm reading on Marvin for iPad, and Marvin tells me DOME had 336K words. If King was a young author trying to get a publisher interested in his manuscript, and he sent in a 336K manuscript, it would've been sent directly to the recycle pile. No passing GO, no collecting $200. By contrast, SILKEN PREY by John Sandford, which I recently read, weighs in at 109K, according to Marvin. DOME is three time longer than SILKEN PREY, and it feels it.
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<br>DOME is a great story with delicious characters. I'm 70% into the book now and find I'm reading faster, because I want to see how things turn out. I want the main bad guy to get what's coming to him, and I want him to suffer. I'm anxious to see how the "good guys" take the Dome down (see, I'm capitalizing Dome, too). I understand the main good guy, or supporting good guys, might die in coming pages, and I'm okay with that. But I'll be disappointed if Rennie doesn't get it in the end. King wrote him very well: a delectable bad guy.
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<br>Written in Writer in my iPad.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-24939920892558135432013-05-31T09:45:00.001-06:002013-05-31T09:45:33.828-06:005-Star Review for CANALSI recently received a 5-star review for my horror novel, CANALS. It now has an average of 4.6 stars over 10 reviews. The review is brief so I've copied and pasted it in its entirety.<div><br></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"This book kept me on the edge of my seat and made my heart race! I grew up in Modesto and it was interesting reading about places I am actually familiar with. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to really get involved in a great thriller! I got this book for a low price of .99 cents, but had I pay $10 it would definitely have been worth it and I would not have been disappointed! Awesome!"</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now, I admit it might look like I know this person. Let me assure you I don't. She purchased the eBook for 99 cents, read it, and left a review of her own accord.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I had hoped, when writing CANALS, that it would appeal to Modesto-area residents. The locals who've read the book have said they enjoyed reading about local sites and businesses, but it hasn't yet caught on big. I'd imagined throngs of citizens gobbling it up... A goal for the future.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">CANALS remains on sale for 99 cents.</span></div>Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-29586913755336899872013-05-10T08:16:00.000-06:002013-05-10T08:16:23.133-06:00I'm Interviewed by Eden Baylee<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fMvjBiELWPaUQc1flxKmeGeSGExt9TZshqclzcwcPtscqQwstliZVivAjhoRILk0wr2WAFhQR3mD8OzU85qt_1ayBMLxU0E4mbEmQrHOLkMZEG3fZgrUoRwfSmapkXCEduxNFdv7a9A0/s1600/Eden+Baylee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fMvjBiELWPaUQc1flxKmeGeSGExt9TZshqclzcwcPtscqQwstliZVivAjhoRILk0wr2WAFhQR3mD8OzU85qt_1ayBMLxU0E4mbEmQrHOLkMZEG3fZgrUoRwfSmapkXCEduxNFdv7a9A0/s1600/Eden+Baylee.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eden Baylee</td></tr>
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I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by <a href="http://edenbaylee.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/get-inside-the-mind-of-everett-powers-evpowers/" target="_blank">author Eden Baylee</a>. I've done several of these interviews and while I've enjoyed them all, I really enjoyed this one because Eden asked some of the toughest questions.<br />
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For example, how would you answer "<a href="http://edenbaylee.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/get-inside-the-mind-of-everett-powers-evpowers/" target="_blank">What is your idea of perfect happiness?</a>" <i>Perfect</i> happiness? Sheesh. I had to work on that answer alone for a month.<br />
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Thanks to Eden for asking the tough questions and featuring me on her blog.<br />
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Eden writes erotica and has published several books. <a href="http://edenbaylee.wordpress.com/the-books/" target="_blank">HERE</a> is her book page with buy links.Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-91745999774125099382013-05-08T15:38:00.000-06:002013-05-08T15:38:34.648-06:00Review of "The Rose Hotel" by Rahimeh Andalibian<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCgp-_LTzrDiv_GHHZYYfCbBK6EJfELIPpBWJtBqVAEbq00eZ4a2OqJS4Xj9tIsCfwzBsqAHyXNKRbNDgNK7QkWIr4vN3XgOauzUjC6k7Xu3bC8aUkRL9cJ_z21RvcRzUN2TUNU4UHmdM/s1600/Rose-Hotel-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCgp-_LTzrDiv_GHHZYYfCbBK6EJfELIPpBWJtBqVAEbq00eZ4a2OqJS4Xj9tIsCfwzBsqAHyXNKRbNDgNK7QkWIr4vN3XgOauzUjC6k7Xu3bC8aUkRL9cJ_z21RvcRzUN2TUNU4UHmdM/s400/Rose-Hotel-cover.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I recently finished reading a book titled "The Rose Hotel" by Rahimeh Andalibian. It's worthy of a review and post.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">The story begins in Iran shortly before the Islamic Revolution in the late-1970s and follows a family who owned a hotel called, you guessed it, The Rose Hotel, into the present time. Much has been written about Islam by both friends and foes since 9/11 and I thought this book might give me some insight into the life of an Islamic family unaffiliated with terrorism, or with what I think of as "militant" Islamic beliefs. It did and I'm glad I read it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">The family is thrown into turmoil when the oldest boy is arrested after the revolution and is sentenced to death for crimes he didn't commit. He's only sixteen. The grief and remorse his death causes traumatizes the family for a generation.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">The book details the family's journeys to England and the United States, how the parents face the challenge of their children becoming westernized, how the children deal with what happened to their older brother, and how they eventually realize they must face what happened together if they wanted to survive as a family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">At first I was a little annoyed that everything in this family's life revolved around the oldest boy, I mean <i>everything</i>. The mother nearly killed herself with grief and I am, frankly, surprised the parent's marriage survived considering the depth of her grief and the depth of the father's guilt. I would like to think that, God forbid, if something so tragic happened to my family we would find a way to move on quicker than the family in this book moved on. It nearly destroyed the parents marriage, drove one brother to drugs and another to reckless financial behavior, and caused many years of grief and, likely, illness, as chronic stress usually leads to illness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">But, I've never walked in their shoes and have no idea what it would be like to lose a child or loved one like that. He was taken from them unjustly and condemned by people who should have been honest and upheld the law.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">If this sounds like your cup of tea, the eBook can be found on Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00961VFX0" target="_blank">HERE</a>, as can the paperback, which, oddly, if you don't mind a used copy, can cost less than the eBook.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I rate the book four stars out of five.</span></div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-56240561654574782302013-04-26T08:42:00.002-06:002013-04-26T08:42:23.108-06:00“Seven Dwarf Stories” Released! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YueWKDcehH_oVTIVBLvalo2Pa2IU3lQ8GjXXEYDMTQKgahaYShxJ1n1I4rPgindtp7AQHV6lSZ55KTris3IBb-kmdqrEiWX-BWXUJZsCNAMB5oSV3fW1S6vXQ_kH0bnvuRLsufR8Bd3m/s1600/IMG_0309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YueWKDcehH_oVTIVBLvalo2Pa2IU3lQ8GjXXEYDMTQKgahaYShxJ1n1I4rPgindtp7AQHV6lSZ55KTris3IBb-kmdqrEiWX-BWXUJZsCNAMB5oSV3fW1S6vXQ_kH0bnvuRLsufR8Bd3m/s400/IMG_0309.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was privileged to be involved in an anthology for <a href="http://www.twistedcorepress.com/" target="_blank">Twisted Core Press</a> called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Dwarf-Stories-ebook/dp/B00CGKVPNI" target="_blank">"Seven Dwarf Stories"</a>; a grown-up take on the 7 Dwarfs. I chose to write a character named “Medicus,” a twist on Doc.<br />
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It was an excellent mental exercise for me as I’ve never written anything in what I would call Old English (or what I hope was Old English).<br />
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It’s a terrific anthology with terrific authors. Take a minute to check it out! At least download the sample and give it a read.<br />
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In case you missed the link above:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Dwarf-Stories-ebook/dp/B00CGKVPNI" target="_blank">Seven Dwarf Stories</a></span></div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-19425550527003400332013-04-11T12:52:00.000-06:002013-04-11T12:52:14.268-06:00Why I Bought a 27" iMac<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaJ4ML2a0dxIOzo9yewLv9zISccntG9V9uOpSaGoHlncdeGVmdZnxC8G0W2P3rDNj6XTI-KtTWs-mHzTNorouOgQrOfsHht5HydaJnAqeNUth_sPl0-1HLdmICi4dJbSiICiTyYxfZm70/s1600/27%22+iMac.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaJ4ML2a0dxIOzo9yewLv9zISccntG9V9uOpSaGoHlncdeGVmdZnxC8G0W2P3rDNj6XTI-KtTWs-mHzTNorouOgQrOfsHht5HydaJnAqeNUth_sPl0-1HLdmICi4dJbSiICiTyYxfZm70/s400/27%22+iMac.png" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Apple.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 18.1px;">As I wrote in my <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2013/03/man-ive-had-lot-of-computers.html" target="_blank">last post</a>, there was a time years ago when I considered getting one of those tiny Macintosh computers. The one with about a 9"-screen. (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/maryatchison/268970143/" target="_blank">Here's one</a>, supposedly still working!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I was attracted to the machine because, I suppose, they were trendy. I was attending professional college in Sunnyvale, a couple of miles down Highway 280 from Apple Computer's home in Palo Alto, so I was right near the heart of Silicon Valley. It also fulfilled my fantasy of owning a portable computer. It wasn't a laptop, of course, but it looked light enough to pick up and carry to school. And there was that WYSWYG. Pretty cool stuff back then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">But practicality led me to buying what was called a "PC clone" back then. A no-name desktop computer put together in a rented storage room. This was followed by many years of buying new Windows machines when the old one no longer served our needs, or when I had the money and wanted to upgrade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I've been a self-published writer for two years now and have written on Windows desktops, laptops, and an <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2012/09/using-your-kindle-and-scrivener-for.html" target="_blank">iPad</a>. Drafts were printed on my trusty HP LaserJet 1320. I'm on my second 1320. After the first broke I bought a refurbished model for $120, with credit for the broken one I traded in. It's fast, reliable, and will print duplex.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I wrote my first two novels in Word 2003. Print versions were set in an old version of MicroSoft Publisher. I got my first iPad, an iPad 1, in early 2011. On the iPad I wrote mostly in <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2011/05/tools-and-tips-for-writing-process.html" target="_blank">iA Writer</a>, which writes in .txt format only.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 18.1px;">I started my third novel in 2011 but didn't publish it until October 2012. By then I was working in Scrivener for Windows and no longer used Word except for uploading to some publishing sites. DEATH OF A MATADOR was written entirely in Scrivener for Windows. The ebooks were prepared using Scrivener, and turned out very nice. So nice that I went back and reformatted CANALS and THE MIGHTY T in Scrivener.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">Fast forward to March, 2013. I sold the license for an expensive piece of medical software, and because I didn't like the Dell laptop I'd bought in October 2012, I included that in the sale. (The software runs on Windows machines, not Mac.) Finding myself without a modern computer, I decided to get a Mac.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">You'd think that a writer who enjoys writing in different settings, like cafes and libraries, would get one of the great Mac laptops, wouldn't you? But, I had gotten so used to hooking up an old Acer 22" monitor to my laptop that I couldn't bear going back to working solely on a tiny 15" screen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I did my research online before making a trip up to the Apple Store in Murray, a fifty-minute drive to the north of us. I chose a 27" iMac. Here's why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 11px; text-indent: 18.1px;">The new iMacs are gorgeous machines. So are Apple's lineup of laptops. Once you see one, and you've got the cash, you want one. I thought the 21" unit would be big enough for me, and it would have. I was already used to working on a 22" monitor. But the "little" iMac has two limitations I couldn't live with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">One, it's not possible for the average user to upgrade the RAM themselves. It comes with 8GB, which is okay for now, but two or three years down the road it might be barely okay. I keep my computers as long as I can. I could've ordered a 16GB model from Apple but it would've taken a couple of weeks to get it. Maybe longer. I was pretty sure I didn't have that kind of patience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">Two, it comes standard with a hard drive that spins at 5,400 rpm. It's a hard drive meant to be used in a laptop, not a sleek new desktop computer. I'll skip the discussion about the fusion drive Apple offers because it would have meant waiting two weeks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">The 27" iMac has user-upgradable RAM (I've already upgraded the RAM to 24GB) and a faster hard drive. Instead of fretting whether my old-fashion "spinning" hard drive is fast enough, I have enough RAM that I simply leave all the apps I use in memory, ready for instant use.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">It took a few weeks to get used to the huge screen. Menus on some programs have text so small I have some difficult reading it. Some programs can be customized, but most can't.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">I purchased Scriveners for Mac, which is a year or two ahead of their Windows version. I also downloaded and installed Bean as my general word processor.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">Scriveners for Mac will sync files in Dropbox, and will sync them as .rtf or .txt. This means I can use iA Writer, which will sync with Dropbox, on my iPad. Or I can use an editor that writes in .rtf, like Storyist. Storyist also syncs with Dropbox.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">Since I bought the big iMac, however, I haven't done any writing on the iPad. It's hard to tear myself away from the big gorgeous screen!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 27" iMac</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 11px; text-indent: 18.1px;">As you can see, I opted for the wired keyboard with the ten-key keypad (I already have a wireless Apple keyboard) and the Magic Trackpad instead of Apple's mouse. Using the trackpad all the time was giving me a nasty case of tendonitis so I plugged in my cheap MicroSoft USB mouse. The scrolling is awful on the mouse, the trackpad does great there, but it's much easier to edit pictures and click on tiny on-screen buttons with the mouse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">Am I happy I switched to Mac? So far I am. The iMac works seamlessly with my iPhone and iPad everything I've plugged into so far has worked without having to download a new driver. Windows XP was a hassle when it came to plugging in a new device. 7 was a little better, but not as easy as the iMac.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 11.0px Courier;">Now that I'm fairly used to my new computer, I've got to stop fiddling with it and get back to work writing and promoting my work!</span></div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-8926556018131738462013-03-26T08:51:00.001-06:002013-03-26T08:53:15.480-06:00Man I've had a lot of computers<div style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.1px;">
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">I remember when I got my first computer, a Texas Instrument 99/4A. My dad got it for me for Christmas (I was a poor student then) for about $125 when TI was getting out of the computer business. It must have been in 1982 or 1983. Here’s a picture:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">As you can see, it’s just a CPU with an attached-keyboard. I hooked it up to a 10-inch black and white TV and a standard tape recorder, so I could save stuff, and bought an Advanced C programing cartridge that plugged into the port on the upper right of the computer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">Learning to program on that little computer became my hobby. I wrote a program that simulated a basketball game. I bought a book that listed basketball statistics for the prior year, plugged the data into the program, and played ball. I had a blast but my wife didn't like it because I spent so much time on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">But, that wasn</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">t my first experience with computers. While attending junior college in 1976 I took a </span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">“</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">computer programming” class. All I can remember is lining up punch cards that got fed into a "computer." Ancient of days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">Then, in professional school, around 1984, I bought a PC with a twenty megabyte hard. Yes, you read that right. Megabyte, not gigabyte. I paid for it with student loan money and as I recall it cost about $1,200. I might be wrong. I remember debating getting the PC or a Mac. The Mac was cool looking but cost too much for my student budget and had only like an eight-inch screen. I bought the PC from a guy who put them together in a storage locker. Here’s what the IBM PCs looked like back then (mine was nowhere as fancy):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">It had a 5¼-inch floppy disc drive and an amber monitor, which sat atop the gray metal box that held the computer’s guts. I had to have a printer, of course, so I picked up a Panasonic dot matrix printer with a box of pin-feed paper.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> It might have looked a little like this one, except I don</span></span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’t remember it having so many buttons on the front:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">The computer ran on DOS but I remember when my brother-in-law gave me a copy of Windows, I think version 1.2, on a floppy disc. I was fascinated by the graphical OS but it ran so slow it was useless to me.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">I used that computer until I went into practice for myself. When I started making a little money, I updated my own computer as well as the billing computer. The next computer I got was a Packard Bell, from Costco, which had just opened up in town. That was about 1991.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> I used the PB until it broke.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">Next up was an all-in-one computer from a local store, in 1998. I needed something portable but didn</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">t want to shell out for the still-high price of a decent laptop. It had an LCD screen and ran Windows 95, and was one of the most reliable computers I</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">ve ever owned. It was fast, for those days, portable enough to take on the road when I did out-of-town treatments, and even had a USB port. I just barely threw that computer away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">The company I bought it from offered lifetime free labor. And they came through. They actually replaced my hard drive two years after I had bought the computer, a year out of warranty, for free. The guy who owned the store ran a bang-up business. He sold out to a guy who looted the business’s assets before fleeing to China.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">Next was a Dell desktop I still own, running Windows XP. The fan has gotten loud but it’s served me well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> I love the Dell keyboard from that time, about 2004. It has a nice click feeling.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">After the Dell was an Acer laptop. I wrote most of my second book, THE MIGHTY T, on that computer. I still have it but haven</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">t turned it on for a few months. The WiFi hardly works and I somehow damaged the </span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">“</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">V</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">”</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;"> key.</span><span style="text-indent: 18.1px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">I purchased a Dell laptop running Windows 7 from Costco last October because the Acer doesn</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">t have enough horsepower to run my new testing software. And, there was the broken </span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">“</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">V</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">”</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;"> key. I liked Windows 7, though I thought XP is easier to use. Probably because I used it for years. I sold that laptop with my testing hardware and software to an acupuncturist this month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">And now I have a 27" iMac. Yes, I</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">m now a Mac guy. And I</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">m loving it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small; font: 12.0px Courier;">It</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">s been fun, this trip down memory lane, but it has to come to a close now. On my next post I</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;">’</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 18.1px;">ll write about my current computer and writing setup.</span></div>
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-47874154514235062232013-03-18T11:26:00.001-06:002013-03-18T11:26:11.342-06:00eReader Review: Marvin for iPad<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_n6EXBgnRb2aVJDaeykzragjmouI9YLBrB8wE5qIJgVnr1KB9YxKVRn31LlXKNQ-Jl-wFx8AGZHuu7Haier8SLYGSs-XdVotet67MtrS7T85kPpm8Uvc96vmai-Nyy7TiEzVYrFBvn3b8/s1600/Marvin+icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_n6EXBgnRb2aVJDaeykzragjmouI9YLBrB8wE5qIJgVnr1KB9YxKVRn31LlXKNQ-Jl-wFx8AGZHuu7Haier8SLYGSs-XdVotet67MtrS7T85kPpm8Uvc96vmai-Nyy7TiEzVYrFBvn3b8/s320/Marvin+icon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marvin for iPad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This is the third in my series of eReader reviews. I first reviewed <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2013/03/review-of-ereader-apps-kindle-app.html" target="_blank">Amazon’s Kindle app</a>, then the <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2013/03/review-of-ereaders-app-bluefire.html" target="_blank">Bluefire app</a>. Both are good apps, with strengths and weaknesses. The Kindle app is necessary if you want to read MOBI books on your mobile device and the Bluefire app will read eBooks locked with DRM (provided you open a free account with Adobe).<br />
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The last eReader app I’ll review is my newest: <a href="http://marvinapp.com/index.html" target="_blank">Marvin</a>. Marvin reads ePub 2.0 eBooks like no other eReader can.<br />
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Marvin has <a href="http://marvinapp.com/index.html#checkOut" target="_blank">too many features</a> to list so I’ll mention a few of my favorites.<br />
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<b>Important Features of Marvin</b><br />
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1) Marvin is fully customizable. Especially important to me are font size, typeface, margin size, line spacing, indentation, hyphenation, and justification controls.<br />
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- I like to read paragraphs with a little more space between lines, and Marvin lets me do that.<br />
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- I also don’t care for huge paragraph indents; they’re so ugly and interfere with reading.<br />
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- There are many typefaces to choose from and you can display titles in different faces than the<br />
text. My favorite text face is Lora while I leave the titles displayed in Open Dyslexic. Although I use Open Dyslexic because I like how it looks, it turns out it helps assist users with dyslexia.<br />
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2) There are three fully-customizable themes. I only use two: night and normal. Night mode has a black background, of course, with white letters. In normal mode I like a beige background so I have it set for Old Lace.<br />
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3) Marvin lets you export your notes, highlights, name lists, and summaries to formats compatible with most word processors. This is a boon for members of book clubs who discuss what they read in depth and to authors with beta readers. Authors can format their manuscripts in ePub and send them to beta readers. Beta readers can make extensive notes, if they like, which they can email to the author.<br />
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4) eBooks can be emailed to friends from within the program. Now authors, before you jump up and down and risk straining a muscle in your buttocks, this is no different than lending a print book to a neighbor, or that woman at work you’ve been trying to impress.<br />
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5) Marvin not only has up-and-down swiping for screen brightness, it also lets you control the warmth of the screen. There are smart-snapping gestures I’ve yet to explore, DropBox linking, a reading timer, multi-colored bookmarks, and it’ll correct incomplete or missing table of contents. Not real important for fiction, in my opinion, but would be useful for non-fiction.<br />
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There are many, many more features to Marvin. Check out their website for complete details.<br />
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<b>Not Quite Perfect</b><br />
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I have a couple of gripes with Marvin. It lacks a mono-spaced typeface like Courier for those times when I want to read in Courier. I especially like to do this when editing one of my drafts.<br />
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When I turn my iPad sideways and two-column reading is initiating, there’s far too much space between the columns of text. Very visually unappealing. I have to go into the menu to adjust the margins. Kindle handles this much better, leaving just the right amount of space between columns.<br />
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Both Marvin and Bluefire read ePubs but only Bluefire will read DRM-encoded eBooks. When I have the choice, I choose Marvin over Bluefire every time.<br />
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Marvin is a midget in a land of giants. Most readers buy books from companies with dedicated reading devices or eReader apps. Books purchased from these sites pretty much have to be read on their dedicated devices or apps. You can get around this by connecting your device to your computer and dragging and dropping books here and there, but most people don’t bother.<br />
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It’s a shame because Marvin gives a more satisfying reading experience. At least it does to me.<br />
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Being in the business of <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/p/ebook-conversion-services.html" target="_blank">converting manuscripts to ebooks</a>, I like having different apps I can check my work out on. I use them all, even the reading apps on my phone. Gotta be sure my products look good on whatever device my customers’ readers choose to view their books.<br />
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Which reading device or eReader app do you use?<br />
Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977457460479388421.post-25838316504320437572013-03-11T15:49:00.000-06:002013-03-11T15:49:37.086-06:00Review of eReaders App: Bluefire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWIW35tAs-dAk_iSrxSnsYfQb8klf5KHkJKPqvN9hIYbIElR4DXCOnBwMpPLtn7kV7UF-sK-_8OydGYV6EiMDXEC9SrwICw3qOL3xFRKGi8DCuVwMH7__XyN7YKsf4t7rW2QINW-dcpHZ/s1600/bluefirereader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWIW35tAs-dAk_iSrxSnsYfQb8klf5KHkJKPqvN9hIYbIElR4DXCOnBwMpPLtn7kV7UF-sK-_8OydGYV6EiMDXEC9SrwICw3qOL3xFRKGi8DCuVwMH7__XyN7YKsf4t7rW2QINW-dcpHZ/s1600/bluefirereader.jpg" /></a></div>
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On my last post, I reviewed the <a href="http://www.everettpowers.com/2013/03/review-of-ereader-apps-kindle-app.html" target="_blank">Kindle app for iPad</a>. Whether you’re a fan of Amazon or not, and many aren’t, I feel it’s a good app for reading.<br />
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However, it’s not a good app for sharing notes and marks you make in a book. Check this post out <a href="http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202120" target="_blank">here </a>if that’s your goal. You can get your notes and marks to sync across your own Kindle devices, but you can’t share them with others. However, if someone reads a MOBI file on Kindle for PC they can share their notes and marks. See the linked post on how to do that.<br />
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On to <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bluefire-reader/id394275498?mt=8" target="_blank">Bluefire</a>.<br />
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Last year, or maybe the year before, I received a “perk” from Klout: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mile-81-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B005COO1X6" target="_blank">Stephen King’s short story Mile 81</a>, which is protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM). I needed an eReader app that would handle DRM, so I found Bluefire. I had to create a free Adobe account to crack open Mile 81. When I upgraded my iPad I had to download Bluefire again and so had to log in to Adobe again.<br />
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Let me tell you what I like best about Bluefire: if you leave it in its native mode, it displays text in the Adobe Minion typeface, one of my all-time favorite typefaces, and it automatically and correctly inserts ligatures. People complain Bluefire loads eBooks too slow. This is why, it’s applying sophisticated typesetting to your eBook.<br />
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Ligatures make text easier to read and more visually appealing. Allow me to explain how.<br />
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I had a sister-in-law (she’s no longer my sister-in-law) who couldn’t tolerate food touching on her plate. The mashed potatoes, including the gravy, couldn’t touch the roast beef or the green beans. I always thought that was dumb since it all ended up as a ball of chyme in the stomach anyway, but I kept that opinion to myself. Which is probably why I got along so well with my ex’s side of the family.<br />
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Typefaces with serifs, those little extenders at the tops, feet, and cross bars of letters, often touch in set text. Particularly, the dot of an ‘i’ will touch the downward stroke of an ‘f’ set to its left. As my former SIL would say, yuck. A ligature fixes this by combining the ‘f’ and ‘i’ into one character. The crossbar of the ‘f’ joins the top of the ‘i’ and the ‘i’ is not dotted.<br />
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All basic ligatures involve the letter ‘f’. Two ‘fs’ are joined, an ‘f’ and an ‘l’, two ‘fs’ and an ‘i’, as in “office” are joined, and two ‘fs’ and an ‘l’ are joined. Here’s an example:<br />
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(Image from <a href="http://ilovetypography.com/2007/09/09/decline-and-fall-of-the-ligature/" target="_blank">I Love Typeography</a>.)</div>
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Bluefire does this for you whether you want it or not because they know it’s for your own good. Joking aside, you likely don’t consciously notice when text is set with ligatures. But your eye appreciates the aesthetics and you likely will read a little faster and better.<br />
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Bluefire has many other options: five margins, pages numbers in the margin, many different typefaces, orientation lock (a useful feature when reading while laying on one’s side), a night mode that works, and options for different effects while flipping pages. Two of my favorite features are, you can adjust the screen brightness by swiping up or down on the screen and you can turn justified lines off and read with ragged-right lines. Refer to my post on the Kindle app for details.<br />
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A glaring missing feature is, no two-column reading when in landscape mode. For me, unless I’m sure I won’t need to read a book in landscape mode, I will load the book into Marvin.<br />
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Stay tuned for my review of Marvin, the best eReader for the iPad.<br />
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Everett Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13447056422273768436noreply@blogger.com0