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Two blog posts I've recently read that I hope you'll check out today (if you haven't already got them on your list of must read blogs, please think about adding them) are Mac's Stones in the Field and Jill's Writes Like She Talks.
The posts I've linked to are about a sensitive and contraversial topic (Jill gets to it at the end of her post) - but these bloggers, and the commenters on their blogs, are rational, thoughtful and compelling writers with opinions I think we all need to read and then think carefully about, especially if you are like me - believing nothing is black and white, and one must be well and broadly informed, before committing to a position.
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On a lighter note, my "green bean casserole twin" Anne has a blog now. Please drop by and say "hi, welcome to blogging!" and encourage her to tell lots of stories about her parrots!
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Do you have trouble remembering where you commented? Are you interested in seeing if anyone responded? I've been testing coComment out here on my blog (it's way down in the sidebar if you want to look). It's out of beta now and fully open to the public. Take a look. If you have your blogger comments set up as a pop up box coCommenters can't track comments they make on your blog - they're working on it, but for now, if you don't see my comment on your blog in my coComment box below, it's because your comments are composed in a popup box or I was posting from my computer at work which doesn't have the extension downloaded OR I just plain forgot. Thing about memory aides - you need to remember to use them...I still haven't found my sunglasses.
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I've got a bunch of new AW blogs to add to my blogroll - I really promise to get to them soon.
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James D. Macdonald, author, author advocate and purveyor of wonderful advice about writing, is having a debate about Publish America on a forum set up specifically for that purpose by a PublishAmerica author, who will get no further publicity from me on my blog, so you'll just have to go there to find out more. Anyway, the two issues being debated are:
Resolved: Publish America is a vanity press.While the PA author spends a lot of time wandering down dead end roads and blind alleys, Macdonald sticks to the facts and has presented a pretty damning case supporting the resolutions. I hope you'll keep an eye on it.
Resolved: PublishAmerica engages in unfair trade practices including false and misleading advertising.
I'd also like to see the debate forum start showing up in the front search pages of any PublishAmerica searches. Oh, other key words you might want to link the debate forum URL to? book publisher, free publishing, Publish America (that's with a space and without).
The saddest thing (so far and IMO) on that forum is the way the PA author has tried to sully the wonderful Stories of Strength book and the printer, Lulu.com. It doesn't advance her case and can only serve to show that this pro-PA author is spiteful and childish.
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Speaking of Publish America, Ed Horrell, a lovely Southern gentleman who has a radio program focusing on customer service, has a podcast of two conversations he had with people at the Publish America office. It won't be up forever, so listen while you can!
By the way, did you click on the site I linked to his name above? Isn't it beautiful? I would hope to have such an attractive site if I were ever to need a public face on the web. Kudos to your web designer, Ed.
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Hmm. Is this post to long to talk about a book I'm reading? Nah. So I read Making Light with much regularity. In the comments somewhere a couple of books were recommended. One of them was a collection of George Alec Effinger stories titled Live From Planet Earth. Each story has a fabulous introduction by a science fiction author who knew George. The stories themself are simply the best - he was quirky, funny and a damn good writer. Here's why I mention this book - it's published by Golden Gryphon Press in a limited edition of 2000 copies. It came out in 2005. I have copy # 39. I want to weep that this book hasn't sold many, many more copies.
Please, if you love short speculative fiction, or know someone who does, buy this book - it's worth every penny (and then some) of the Amazon discounted price you'll pay.
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Another book is the Lulu reprint version of James Macdonald's The Confessions of Peter Crossman stories. He put them together for a class he is/was teaching and linked to the book in his AW sig for awhile. I was curious so I ordered it - $6.99 plus shipping, what a deal.
I loved those stories - if you got talked into reading DaVinci Code and were disappointed because you thought there was a germ of an interesting concept buried under all that bad writing and improbable plotting - read the Confessions and see how it should have been done.
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Grandkitties are back with my son and his girlfriend. My SO suggested we mock up a copy of their apartment management letter head and post a note on their door saying there would be another inspection so they'd bring the kittens back. I can't tell you how tempting it is...
Here's one last picture of Jello - she has good taste in books.
Dawno, Absolute Write, Publish America, Raymond Wong, The Pacific Between,
PublishAmerica, PublishAmerica Debate, George Alec Effinger, James D. Macdonald, Ed Norrell, Talk About Service, Grandkitties
Posts
7 comments:
Hey Dawno! Thanks for the mention and I'm so glad I read today to find out about Anne's new blog. I went and visited and tried to be encouraging!
I would love to try that coComment thing - I ALWAYS forget where I commented and was JUST thinking about how I might figure that out. I'll take a look.
RE: the coComment tool. It's very easy to add, heck I did it.
Also, you'll need to change your comment format in your settings. Go down to the "show comments in pop up" and switch from 'yes' to 'no' if you want to test it out in your own blog.
Following you around the Internet this morning was like a blast from the past. Loved it. I'm going to try this coComment thing, but I think I already screwed up by putting in the name of my blog rather than the name I post with. We'll see if this shows up in my blog. :)
And Jello remains adorable!
Now that Jello's finished reading the book I can send it to you :-) (right, that's why it hasn't been mailed yet, not the fact that I'm simply disorganized)
I've already bombed out on trying the coComment thing. Maybe when I get some new brain cells. ;)
Awww, Dawno, you're just the bestest green bean casserole twin a girl could have! *hugs* Thanks so much for the mention. :)
Jill, would you like in on the brain cell that Joanne and Dawno and I have been sharing? I'm not sure how much longer it's gonna hold up so you better get in while you can. rofl
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