The this and that of the world from newsworthy to interesting to the mundane.
Wednesday December 14, 2022
Yes, the traditional publishing industry is very insular and the New York Times
Bestseller List is a scam. Much of what makes the list is people buying
their own book to inflate the numbers and their ego. The public has
long given too much undeserved weight and respect to the list and the
traditional publishing industry as a whole. You see this also among
writers who are insecure and seek traditional validation. I'm happily
independent in today's modern publishing industry. If the general public
knew how literary agents and editors behaved they might think twice
about looking down on us indie writers.
Monday December 12, 2022
It is strange and sad to read about the closing of the Tara last month in Creative Loafing. I wrote about the Tara in my new novel, Uncivil X.
I saw many films there that I would not have seen if it had not
existed. I have no idea why the author of the CL piece needed to take
the silly and unnecessary swipe at the name; that was a gratuitous pose.
Most residents would never have known the origins of the name and if
they did, they would not have cared. I did not know or care - it was a
place to watch films and enjoy them. The name was not a political
statement.
Tuesday December 06, 2022
This was such a fascinating film. I watched B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 last night. I appreciated seeing the archival footage and learning.
Now that I've had a little more free time, I've been catching up on films. Tar was very enjoyable. Not perfect, but miles and miles better than most films today.
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| Symptoms 1974 |
I also watched a little known film, Symptoms,
from 1974. I think of the 1970s as the high point of film and enjoy
finding films from that time that I have never seen. I also enjoy films
set in country houses and plenty of those were made in the seventies. Symptoms was slow, atmospheric and worthwhile.
Monday December 05, 2022
It’s nice to have 99X back on the radio and playing classic alternative. I’m not much for nostalgia, but this seems right.
Friday December 02, 2022
I do hope that readers find a universal appeal in Uncivil X and connect with it. My fear is that I'll be misunderstood, but that's always a potential no matter what I write.
I need a long, long break.
Thursday December 01, 2022
It's amazing how much work is required on book launch day. It's not glamorous, but I'm happy about it. Uncivil X is out there.
Sunday November 27, 2022
Something About You by Level 42 is one of my favorite songs from the 1980s. I learned so much from it. I listened to it again this morning to get fired up and reassure myself for publication week. Uncivil X on December 1st.
Wednesday November 23, 2022
A week before my new novel launch and I'm going through the cold feet stage knowing what is inside it. I am excited about this book. I do believe it is a good novel and I've definitely worked hard to write it.
To the 90s and the present Change by Lisa Stansfield.
Friday November 18, 2022
This story about a fifteen year old boy committing suicide breaks my heart. He suffered from bullying, informed people and this still happened. He appeared to be a sweet kid and good student. Tragedy.
Sunday November 06, 2022
A beautiful painting of Narcissus by Gyula Benczur.
Some adults behave as though their life is a television show on Facebook or that they are somehow interesting. They’ll say they are proud, but they are simply vain.
From Seamus Heaney in Personal Helicon : to stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring is beneath all adult dignity.
I can’t imagine how exhausting they must be in person.
Wednesday November 02, 2022
Sunday October 30, 2022
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| Click to enlarge. |
To Have Without Holding by Marge Piercy is one of my favorite poems. I had to read it this morning. I read this poem so many times in college in the early 90s that my copy of The Norton Introduction to Literature, Fourth Edition, 1986 opens directly to it.
If
you are reading my books on this free Halloween weekend I would be
grateful for a rating or review on Amazon. Thank you and happy
Halloween.
It's cool with periods of rain and drizzle here - perfect spooky weather and Nick Drake listening, Riverman.
Thursday October 27, 2022
Dweller On The Boundary and Terminal Wake will be free on Amazon Kindle October 29th, 30th and 31st.
Sunday October 16, 2022
I
scrolled through Facebook this evening and lasted five minutes. Let
people have their fantasies I
suppose, it's easier than the truth. If they knew what I knew then
they'd have to reconsider their past. Some doors are welded shut for
good reasons.
What A Fool Believes
Saturday October 8, 2022
Mums and some pansies hidden in that buggy for the fall flower season.
Tuesday October 4, 2022
I've used Facebook a few times in the past couple of weeks after a long absence and it makes me feel so icky and gross. It is awful.
I went for a nice long walk in the fall air the other day and saw a few deer. It is so dry around here.
Friday September 23, 2022
New website launched today. Hopefully all of the bugs have been worked out in the new design.
Friday goodness. The Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane
Thursday September 15, 2022
Dweller On The Boundary and Terminal Wake will be free this weekend (Sept. 17-18) on Amazon Kindle.
Tuesday September 13, 2022
From 2015, Mama Said
by Lukas Graham, when I still thought there was hope for modern music. A
song not about showing off, narcissism, money, bling or any of the
crap that is in most modern pop music.
Never forget from where you came and stay humble.
Sunday September 11, 2022
Yesterday
was one of those days at my house that was a tease as to what follows
in the fall. It drizzled all day with light showers at times,
temperatures remained in the 60s and a nice easterly wind was steady. It
was great weather to be outside. I watched the water droplets on some
of my roses in the rear. Fall is my favorite season and I'm ready.
Friday September 2, 2022
I cannot believe September is here. Two months to go until my next novel is released.
I've spent the last week bouncing around in Monroe, Athens and Atlanta in old warehouses and cotton mills looking for objects for the house.
I found myself listening to 97.1 HD2 The Other Side Of The River more this week. I was not writing and wanted to keep my head in the 90s by listening to the music while on the road.
They played a song by James that I had forgot. I loved the song back in the early 90s and it related to my life then.
Thursday August 24, 2022
This was the best thing I've read in a long while. I've noticed this trend also and it is unfortunate.
I ordered more books today. None of them were published this century.
Tuesday August 23, 2022
Since music is the filing system of my mind, I have went back and forth on sharing the story in my next novel filed under the song Beautiful In My Eyes by Joshua Kadison. I haven't decided if it makes the cut.
It makes for a great wedding song anyway.
Monday August 22, 2022
Someone said to me that they would like to write a book or I suppose a manual on how to live life.
I chuckled at the arrogance.
Who are any of us to tell strangers how to live or who among us is so perfect that we have figured out some secret meaning to human existence?
My second reaction was that the person had no business giving advice. I would not consider them qualified on such matters, but maybe they could be one of those new quasi-gurus called life coaches. They could also sell branded merchandise such as tee shirts and coffee mugs. Once you turn yourself into a brand, why not go all the way?
Sunday August 21, 2022
Summer is folding itself up and being stowed away for another year. I am thinking of the road. My name is painted like the dotted yellow line down the middle. I suppose it's almost time to go south and float in the water with closed eyes.
It is the two year anniversary of Dweller On The Boundary and two years I have worked on my next novel. I may like this one better.
Crash Into Me makes me think of summer no matter the time of year I hear it.
Saturday August 13, 2022
Book
blurbs are the most dreadful piece of marketing to write. They are more
difficult than you can imagine. I agree with Salinger.
Story from The Guardian.
The cooler temperatures and lower dew points this weekend are nice.
Friday August 12, 2022
I watched hype! again last night. I've seen it a number of times over the years. It's about the 90s music scene in Seattle. I think it's a great documentary and it holds up well all these years later.
It gave me a strong dislike of one of the members of Soundgarden that whined through the entirety of it.
Otherwise, the work continues, I'm busy and there are things on my mind about the nature of people.
Friday August 5, 2022
I finished writing the ending to my next novel this morning.
I remember getting comments from readers about the ending of Dweller On The Boundary. They said they did not want it to end. That was the response I wanted.
I don't know how readers will react to the ending of the next novel, but I love it.
Thursday August 4, 2022
We are over the hump with summer, schools are back in session here, an hour of daylight has been lost and I'm ready for the shorter days and cooler weather. I also am ready to have this next novel out. The final work on it is quickly coming together. When it gets to this stage, as with the previous books, it surprises me what writing choices I made. I went into it planning to write about certain subjects and some made it while others were replaced by different subjects.
I've been listening to that Georgia
band, The Black Crowes, this week. It's strange to think how popular
they were in the early 90s at the same time grunge was happening. I
loved their first two albums.
Twice As Hard
Sunday July 31, 2022
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| Toronto March 2007. Photo by me. |
In 1989 when I was fifteen going on sixteen I saw this Toronto band called The Pursuit of Happiness open for Duran Duran here in Atlanta at the Fox. I liked them. I'm An Adult Now, the video was filmed in what looks to be mostly the Queen Street West area of the city.
Saturday July 30, 2022
After another productive week of work on my next novel, I have a much firmer date on its completion. It will be out this fall and I have a more precise date in mind. I'm not ready to announce it yet, but barring something unforeseen it will be out on schedule. I'm excited about this book.
My email inbox is unattended except for work related
business. I can be reached by email for personal matters, but do not
expect a quick reply or a lengthy one.
Morning music - All Night Party by A Certain Ratio (John Peel Session version)
Tuesday July 26, 2022
There
is something funny about seeing someone you haven't seen in five years.
At first they look the same, but then after a few minutes you notice
the changes like wrinkles or weight or some other change. It plays
tricks on the mind.
Unrelated to this, but after years of
not listening to Nirvana, my favorite 90's band, I have listened to
interviews and watched some live shows in the last week. It reminded me
why I loved them so much then and how I have missed them.
I wrote a several thousand word defense of the band from memory for an email and my memory was pretty spot on.
I remember watching the Live & Loud show from Seattle in 1993 and it made me miss that time.
Friday July 8, 2022
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| Me in the first half of the 1990s. Taken from a video. |
Sometimes we hear songs that we have lived and they hit us in the gut or the heart. The One by Elton John was one of those songs for me in the early 1990s. Though I was a huge fan of Nirvana and grunge, I was still a sucker for romance. The writing on my next novel has been going well this week and it makes me excited to share it and what was the aftermath of the 1980s. Later this year, it's coming... cross my heart.
Monday July 4, 2022
I watched the film The Living End today that came out in 1992. I
had not seen it since the mid 90s. It's a good movie and I like the
other Gregg Araki movies that I've seen. What I loved most and I love
this about most older movies is the lack of technology such as cell
phones and the internet. I loved that freedom of being disconnected we
enjoyed back then. The quiet is almost palpable.
Sunday July 3, 2022
Dweller On The Boundary and Terminal Wake are free this weekend on Amazon Kindle.
Have a song for the holiday, I'd Have You Anytime, George Harrison. His album All Things Must Pass has been getting plenty of listens by me these past few days.
Tuesday June 28, 2022
I am eating cupcakes and listening to Morrissey's The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get. I loved the album Vauxhaul and I so much in the 90s. I watched two movies in the last week, one was this twisted movie filmed in 1973 in Athens called Poor Pretty Eddie - it was very much insane, but I did enjoy the Georgia scenery from the year I was born. The other movie I watched was Men,
which came out this year. I had high hopes for it, but it was absurd
and the ending was laughable - easily the worst movie I have seen in a
very long time.
Also it has been so nice to feel like I have disappeared by not being on Facebook since some time in May. I don't know how people tolerate that service everyday.
Thursday June 16, 2022
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| Rachel Ward in Against All Odds |
I have been plenty quiet about what is in my next autobiographical novel and there are plenty of reasons for that. One reason is that I want it to be as shocking as Dweller On The Boundary. Much of the next novel remains set in Paulding County, but much sunnier locales are front and center.
I've been working on this novel for a year and a half and parts of it have been written while staying in Fort Lauderdale. Home away from home is a place that influences and inspires me, more so this time around.
Against All Odds - I loved the movie and song since I was a kid in the 80s and it was relevant to my last novel and is again in the next one too, but in a different way.
Wednesday June 15, 2022
One aspect I love about writing is learning about obscure to me topics. Now I’m learning about the Mistral wind and shark fishing.
Sunday June 12, 2022
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| Photo courtesy the real person behind the character of Tavin. Taken in Columbus, Ga. |
4
AM and thinking of the conversations with some people from the past
that I'd like to have and may never. Perhaps that is what writing is
about for me, having conversations with them. I wish social media worked
for me in this regard, but we are incompatible.
Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole - I wish I had included the story attached to this song from Florida in Dweller On The Boundary.
Thursday June 9, 2022
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| Fort Lauderdale. Photo by me. |
I am in fortress mode for awhile, I'm too focused on writing, which is going well, to commit to social engagements. I hope my readers in the northern hemisphere are having a great summer and running on the beach with "Kennedy flair" as it goes in Summerfling by k.d. lang.
Wednesday June 8, 2022
The risks I am taking in the next novel will be worth it, is what I tell myself after a good morning of writing. Time to catch the sunrise and smell the morning after the rain.
Tuesday June 7, 2022
Via The New Yorker, How the Internet Turned Us Into Content Machines.
Saturday June 4, 2022
The hard parts are always written before sunrise. Four a.m. to six at my desk and I'm back from thirty years in the past.
Constant Craving was so good in 1992, k.d. lang. I laugh and smell incense in my old room whenever I listen to this song.
Wednesday June 1, 2022
It
is incredible how much more productive my writing has been without the
distractions and horseshit of social media over the past week and a
half. Why does it exist? Related: via The Critic.
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| Photo by me. June 2022. |
As Voltaire said, "cultivate your own garden."
Tuesday May 31, 2022
At least I am not the only one that sees the problems with text messages and instant messages. Via Wired.
Continue back in time to The Road Trail 2018 through 2021