My political choices...bleech.

I usually don't talk about politics.  But I thought I'd talk about some of my votes in the most non-ideological way I can.  There is no certainty in these things.

I'm not interested in arguing about them.

I consider myself a progressive liberal, but I can see how some of my my choices may seem conservative.  They are conservative in the old-fashioned sense, that is, I'm not interested in change for change sake.

*****

For the GMO measure, I tend to come down on the side of the majority of science.  In this case, I believe the GMO's (probably) aren't harmful. 

In my opinion, you can't be a partaker of science when it is convenient to you, and a denier when it isn't.  The height of hypocrisy.  So for instance, it behooves me, if I believe the science of climate change, to believe that vaccines are helpful.  Hell, I drive a car, write on the internet, live in a cocoon of public health measures, all brought about by science.  So, I've often thought that if you don't want to vaccinate your kids, then you have to give up any modern medicine.  If you don't believe in climate change, you have to give up something else science has given you, you know, just to be consistent.

The idea that GMO's may have unintended consequences, Bill Nye, the science guy's argument, is almost persuasive, except that all human actions in nature have consequences, both positive and negative.

But even more to the point to me, and this is the conservative argument, would be: does labeling do any good?  Does it change either the behavior of the manufacturers or the consumer?

It appears to me like this is just a penalty, basically, a negative reinforcement, and a stalking horse.  I don't like people not coming out and saying what they really think. You want to outlaw GMO's and all that means, then say so.

*****

I fully intended to vote for the legalization of marijuana.  But the closer I come to actually voting, the more I doubt.  I think pot had a negative effect on me as a teenager.  I'm convinced that it was partially responsible for the clinical depression I suffered as a young man.  It's been 45 years, and for most of that time, I've been anti-drug in a big way.

But I've come around to believing that the "war" on drugs has been counter productive.

I'm for decriminalizing pot -- but maybe not for legalizing it.  Which seems pretty contradictory.  So my brain says, vote yes.  But my heart says, vote no.

Again, a fundamentally conservative reaction.

*****

For the city council, it was interesting to read The Sources recommendations.  Their argument basically was that the current council hasn't be proactive, and we need a new slate.

But from my perspective, not being proactive is a good thing.  The city council has done some dumb things over the years, and the wounds were self-inflicted.  If Juniper Ridge isn't good enough for the university (and it probably isn't) then it was a dumb idea.

The proactive stance I'm looking at now is the redesign of 3rd St.  I have a conservative reaction to this.  I think you would be likely to destroy or at least hurt most of the existing businesses in this part of town.

Yes, I have a business on the corner of 3rd and Greenwood, but I doubt any of these changes will happen soon enough to affect us.  But it does make me aware of the costs of these urban renewal projects.  I really do prefer that commercial interests change the nature of things, not government.  If you want to change something, then use incentives for businesses to get involved.

So, yeah, I'd like the city council to stick to the basics and stop promoting pie-in-the-sky boondoggles.

Still not sure how I'm going to vote on city council.  I will be voting for Barb Campbell because she is a fellow downtown business owner, and thus should have an awareness of what is needed down here.

*****

For the rest of the slate, I'm voting Democratic.  The Source really did give me pause when they quoted Wilhelm as being inflexible, and Buehler as being non-ideological.

Except I don't believe it.  I think The Source is being naive about this.  I believe Buehler will be a full fledged member of the Republican caucus, and his 'independence' will go away until the next election.

I'll be voting for Jodie Barram for county commissioner because she seems so engaged in our local community.

And I'm not certain about any of it.

Pot drenched comic books.

No, that isn't us.

Really.

DC Comics has released a Harley Quinn Annual with a marijuana smell.

Being a dork, I ordered a bunch of them, on the theory that it was such a weird thing to do that it would make it on the CBS Evening news and in every news outlet.  So far, I think there was a story in the USA Today a couple of days ago, and that's it.

Anyway, it never occurred to me that the majority of people would walk into the store and smell that smell and think, "Ummm."

Thing is, we'll never have a chance to explain that it isn't us in the back room.

The comics are wrapped in plastic, and I suppose I thought that would be enough to mask the smell.

Here's the thing.  Three times in Pegasus Books history, I've burned incense in the store. In every case, almost instantly, someone would sniff, give me a strange look, and say, "What have you been smoking?'

I'm pretty much anti-drug, at least for myself.  I don't think the stuff is good for me.  It's taken years and years to come around to a less anti-drug posture.  (Mostly, because it doesn't appear to me that "laws" are doing any good.)

So, I'm just explaining for those who come in the store and see my red-eyes and bumbling manner that that is just me, not the smell.

Even my subconscious can't nag me.

Took another section of Tuskers to writer's group.  Since it had been edited by Lara, there were few mistakes.  A couple of things they suggested, but mostly they liked it.

Thank goodness for writer's group, which kind of keeps me going when nothing else is happening.

I've been kinda blocked on the second half of Tuskers III.  I'm not pushing it.  Linda and I are having to do some fill work at the stores since one of her employees quit.

In some ways, I've gotten so far ahead of myself, that I'm feeling disincentived to keep writing.  If I was just putting them up online myself, I could probably get all this material done and out of the way, but because I've so far been going through publishers, the schedule of release is probably twice, maybe three, maybe four times slower than I actually write.

I shouldn't worry about it.  I should just write, regardless.

But, well, even my subconscious can't nag me too much about how much or how little I'd doing.

Inventory, inventory, inventory.

There's an old saying that the 3 most important things in business are: Location, location, location.

I'd have to say, the 4th thru 6th most important things are: Inventory, inventory, inventory.

There's an ongoing saga on a website I check out about a woman opening a bookstore.  So far, all the news has been about everything but...well, what she is going to sell.  Fixtures, insurance, location, all those kinds of things.

Now she's bemoaning that she may not have enough inventory to start.

I think she would have been better off starting off with the inventory, and then all that other stuff.  But no one does it that way.  They are more interested in the "looks" than the "content."

If you have great books, you can sell them on concrete floors off of milk crates with a cigar box for a cash register.  If you have great books, people will be looking at your books, not the age of the carpet, or the dings in the fixtures.  Let the books themselves be your atmosphere, your looks.

The other problem with this complaint of "not enough inventory" is that there are solutions.  Buy one of each book you want (you can replace any book in a day or two).  Start off with a used book selection in part of your store.  Used books are easy to get.  Just ask a used book dealer if he has any "extras" and I can almost guarantee he'll have a bunch he can sell pennies on the dollar.

There are also all kinds of "Remainder" houses.  There are huge amounts of mid-list books that you can buy at a high discount.  Even better, there are some really blue chip books that become available.

So there is no reason to open your store without a selection of books.  If you buy at full price, say, 25% of your books to start with, and make sure they are front and center, no one will notice that the books behind them are mid-list books.  They'll see your "good" books and assume that the other books are "good" for someone else.

She's right though about the danger of opening with too skimpy a selection.  People will judge you fast, and may not come back for a long time.

So start with as much inventory as you can afford, and use most of your budget on lower cost books to start with, and then build the more blue-chip selection.

We have some excellent bookstores here in Central Oregon.  Paulina Springs, and Sunriver books both do an excellent job of inventorying their stores.  The Open Book has a great selection of books, and so does my wife's store, The Bookmark.

And my store has as many books as I can pack in.  Because a basic rule of thumb I've discovered is -- the more inventory you have, the more you'll sell.


The Plot: People doing stupid things.

We've been watching The 100, which is a better than most Y.A. science-fictiony show on CW.  Pretty (and) young people.  It's a tolerable premise, and the plot mostly makes sense.

But it does depend a little too much on people doing stupid things to advance the plot.  Not as bad as most of these shows, but as the season progresses there have been more "Why the hell did he/she do that?" moments.

I generally call these "moron" shows.  I can watch about five minutes of any show and figure out if the show runners give a shit.  That covers probably 70% of dramas on T.V.  Another 20% are mediocre; you can see they are trying, but are either held back or can't quite get there.

Thankfully there is the 10% that meets Sturgeon's Law.

For instance, The Good Wife is absolutely brilliant.  Linda and I were laughing hard at the romance between the quirky lawyer and the federal prosecutor last night.  Just great.  I wonder how a show can be so well written and be surrounded by so much dreck.

I figure that most of these "People doing stupid Things" are done because there is a formula.  X-amount of romance, X-amount of conflict, X-amount of action.  So they come up with stupid reasons for these things to happen.

You just don't see that in books as much.  I think because there is more time to develop the story, you don't have to use so many short-cuts.  But mostly, I think it's just lazy storytelling.

Millions of dollars spend on movies, and they couldn't take the time to iron out the kinks in the plot?  We went to see Dracula Untold the other day.  Why would you have such great special effects attached to such a lame story?  I kept thinking, "Why did he do that?"  "Why didn't he do that?"

What's sad is that most of those questions could have been answered in a few short sentences, or a small scene here or there, just an acknowledgment that the viewer may wonder why.

I wonder why people like these idiotic shows where the characters "quirks" are supposed to character development.  (NCIS? Bones? CSI? Supernatural?)  I wonder if people prefer these lazy shows for some reason. I wonder if the creators dumb them down on purpose, or are forced by studio bigwigs to dumb them down.

I mean, somebody is hiring Micheal Bay.






Art versus Craft?

Drank some wine last night, which I rarely do anymore, to try to get some perspective on what I'm doing, to orient myself.

One thing I decided was to try to write single book next, instead of one of a series.  Also, maybe to try to be a little more ambitious, that is, letting myself really go for it, with the understanding that it probably will be unreadable to anyone else.

That has been my experience.  When I'm writing self-indulgently, I enjoy the writing but it isn't as good a read as when I'm conscious of the reader.

The one time I did this was with Sometimes A Dragon.  But it was a failed experiment, I can see that.  I loved some of the imagery, but it was imagery at the expense of clarity.  

So why do it?

Because I believe that any true art will be uncompromising.  That instead of craftsmanship, I'm reaching for a less accessible realm.

Or maybe it's all bullshit.  I don't know.  Maybe it's just stretching, experimenting, learning.

Just one book where I don't think, I just write whatever comes to me.  No explanation, no logical plotting.  Just words on a page.

I don't know.  Maybe this is just an ideal.  Pure art, versus craft.  Maybe there isn't such a thing.

High craftsmanship IS art, I truly believe that.

Sometimes, when I write poetry, I let myself not make sense.  But that is a shorter form. 

See?  I'm already not making sense...


Pigs, pigs, everywhere, pigs!

Ever since I started writing Tuskers, I've been seeing pigs.  Cute pigs, ugly pigs, small pigs, big pigs, cartoon pigs, cgi pigs, T.V. pigs and movie pigs.  Everywhere pigs.

Selective perception at work. 

Just never knew that pigs were so prevalent.

Ironically, my blog picture above has my two porch pigs which I picked up on a trip to Astoria years ago.

Linda just bought me a garden pig for my birthday that will soon join them.

I was showing a guy my Tuskers cover, and he whipped out a picture of a vicious looking pig he'd hunted in South Africa.  (I don't approve, but it was an awesome pig.)

Meanwhile, when I tell people I'm writing a "Wild Pig Apocalypse" they immediately get what I'm saying.  I mean, that's a pretty vague and unusual description, but it's like everyone instantly understands the possibilities.

Well, I'm getting ready to write the last half of the third book, bringing Zombie pigs into the mix. 

Hopefully, make it exciting.

An awesome ending.

I'm trying to think of an awesome ending to the Tuskers trilogy.  I'm willing to wait for it.

I kept thinking all along that I was going to get bigger, more apocalyptic in scope, but the story has remained local.  Which is actually consistent with the tone of the first book, and then the second book, and now the first half of the third book.

But I think I'm going to try to go big for the last half of the third book.  Jump ahead a couple of years, have everything ramped up to a higher level.

I need to go back into the second book and insert a Tusker villain who can summon the Zombie forces.

We'll see.  I've given into the tonal quality of the book, the kind of disaster movie type plot, so far.  But there has to be an Armageddon in this apocalypse.  A Ragnarok.

A satisfyingly big conclusion. 

Waiting in gueue?

Apparently The Dead Spend No Gold is in a queue at Books of the Dead Press.

I check every morning.  So far two other new releases have been announced.  Which, you know, is cool.  That's cool.  Just waiting, you know.  Lean against the post. Whistle.  Stare into the horizon.  Chew gum.

I've been sitting on Tuskers III for a few days, because really want to end the series on a bang.  There is no hurry.  Or is there?

I read recently that a sense of "urgency" is often necessary to get things done.  Certainly, that is how I've been treating my writing.  This slacking off may be a mistake.

Then again, the next book may be a completely different experience.

Spent all of yesterday at Linda's store, sorting and boxing books.  I have just one day a week to do that now, and there was quite a pile.

Working at my own store today.  It has been humming along quite nicely.  Knock wood.  I feel really fortunate to have the guys I have.

I've been trying hard to get Linda back to writing.  She stalled about halfway through her third book.  I'm hoping that she'll finish it soon.

Waiting sucks.


Pop-culturally young.

I've mentioned before that I feel like my 32-year-old writer-self who just happened to take a 'short' hiatus from writing.  I have all the enthusiasm I had then, plus a whole bunch of saved up creative energy.  I'm not short of ideas.  I feel determined, as if I'm trying to establish a career.

I think working in a "pop-culture" store for the last 35 years has kept me young in the sense of being in touch with pop-culture, probably more so than most 20 or 30-somethings.  I've been pretty much dealing with younger people for most of my career.  I feel in tune with them, to some extent -- at least in what they're interested in.

It's the same things I'm interested in.

At the same time, my age and experience has given me some perspective and discipline I didn't have before.

But I certainly feel in touch with the pop-culture zeitgeist.  As least as much as I was when I was 32 years old...if not more so.  The things I'm weak on now, I was weak on then.  The things I was strong on then, I'm stronger on now.  Plus a whole lot of knowledge I simply didn't have then.  (Like comic art and writing which I think is perhaps the most creatively open of all the media.)

Maybe I'm kidding myself, but I feel like I'm right in there.

With the added benefit that I have some hard-won, weathered maturity.  That is, I can be more patient, more deliberative in my efforts.  Wait until the books are ready.  Wait for them to take their turn in the carousal.  I have a stronger sense of how long things take and what it takes to get them done.

But that feeling of being in another place, in a world of my own making, that hasn't changed at all. 

"Hipsters? You mean beatniks?"

I forget sometimes that I really do have an unusual job.  Comic book guy.

Everyone I deal with is younger, (mostly by decades), everything I sell is meant for them.

So I was reading Tuskers in writer's group and one of the older members objected to me using this phrase, "He was glad to be away from Bend and all its hipsters."

"Hipsters is kind of old-fashioned, don't you think?  Like beatniks?"

I look at him somewhat in shock.  "Uh, hipsters is a very current term.  It's very, very current."

He looked at me skeptically, but let it pass.

Meanwhile, my editor (who is younger) wanted to know what "noodling" and "pickleball" is, so it goes the other way too.

I'm surrounded by 'pop' terminology so much that I just assume that everyone I talk to is aware of it all.  But in fact, I'm probably talking a foreign language much of the time.  I still can't get over the fact of my own very smart, educated family not knowing what Cthuhlu was.  It is such an everyday reference in my world.

I don't think I speak in jargon, but in fact I probably do. 

I'm dealing with a hard-core fan base for Doctor Who, and Star Trek, and Marvel and DC, and the Indies, and the Horror, Science-fiction, and Fantasy crowd, and many, many others.  Even if I don't watch Adventure Time, or My Little Pony, I have to know what they are referring to.    I have to know what everyone is talking about, and try to anticipate what they're going to want to buy.

It isn't hard, because it's the milieu I swim in.  But sometimes I get the indication that other 60-ish something people really aren't much like me...

It sometimes scares me that I might become as out of touch as they are.  And then I realize that in the more important scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. 

I have a friend who is very ascetic.  No T.V., no movies, mostly-non-fiction, philosophical leaning preoccupations.  Not saying his lifestyle is better (though he thinks it is) but it probably isn't any worse...

I just have to remind myself that most of this pop-culture knowledge is peripheral and ephemeral and somewhat trivial.

But oh how I love it.

They think, that I think, that they think, that I think...

To continue on with the post about people asking if Led to the Slaughter: The Donner Party Werewolves is non-fiction, I wonder if that doesn't explain some of the deep dislike of genre fiction that I occasionally run into.

To me, a good story is a good story.  Everything is narrative, most things are metaphorical.

But I do wonder if some people are so literal minded that they believe that anyone who reads about spaceships and aliens or hobbits or werewolves actually believes in them.

I bet you couldn't find a more skeptical crowd than science fiction authors, for instance.  I bet a whole bunch of them, probably most of them, don't believe that aliens have visited us.

But that in no way shape or form keeps us genre writers and readers from entertaining the possibilities.

For me, it was always about the adventure.  It was always metaphorical.

Horror is about our fears.  Zombies might be about people who are thoughtlessly destroying everything around us; werewolves about the predator in the dark; vampires about things that drain us of energy and life.

It isn't literal.

On the other side of that coin, I wonder if people who only read non-fiction understand that any book, even so called 'non-fiction,' has been put into a narrative form for them.  Which by necessity entails a certain amount of imagination and filling in the blanks.

Otherwise, the only non-fiction would be a recitation of facts. 

I guess there are those who value imagination and those who don't.

Never the twain shall meet.

Hitting rapids.

Sometimes the words flow cleanly, sometimes they just seem to hit rapids, getting all churned up and tossed around.

It can be hard, sometimes, not to just stop when that happens.  I know that I'll have to come back later and clean it up, remove the rocks under the water.  Especially after I've had a fertile period, the temptation is to wait for it to all clear up.

But I don't believe that I can have one without the other.  It is all part of the same river.  If I close the channels to avoid the rapids, well, the flow is cut off altogether.

I have to just stick it out.  Pick my way through.  Hope I can survive without capsizing.

Because otherwise, I just can't make any further progress.

Thing is, when I come back later and work on it, there is probably very little qualitative difference.  Most people probably can't tell the difference between the passages that come easy and the ones that come hard.  I'm traveling the same distance, after all.

So while I'd love for it all to be smooth and easy, it just doesn't happen that way for long.  It becomes hard work, and I just have to keep trying.

This blog is an example. Sometimes as I'm writing it I feel clunky and awkward and not very clear.  Sometimes I feel free and open and the words just right.

Either way, I go ahead and push "Publish." 

It's the flow that counts, not the perfection.  The more words flow, the easier it gets.

Hello. Where the hell did you come from?

There's nothing I like better than when a strong and quirky character comes along and takes over my story.

It always seems to rejuvenate me.  Brings the story to life.  This is a character I like!  This character is interesting!  I wonder where he or she will take me!

In this case, I've got a couple, which by bringing into the story means that I have to go back and rewrite some of the earlier relationships, but I think it will be worth it.

I worry a little that I've got too many viewpoint characters.  I'm not sure what the rule on that is.  (Whatever, George R.R. Martin has millions of characters.  But then, he is George R.R. Martin.)

I've become very open to detours and derailments.  They lead to interesting places.

Either way, being 'discovered' is hard.

I am going to make some sweeping statements that may be admittedly over-reaching, but I'm trying to make a general point here.

There is an illusion, I think, that traditional publishers give you more of a chance of being 'discovered.'  I mean, they'll get your book into bookstores and presumably will do some promotion.

With thousands of books being indie published online everyday, it certainly seems as though 'discover-ability' is the biggest problem indie writers have.  How do you get people to buy your book above other books?

Here's the thing, though.  I own a bookstore, and I often order from 'remainder' lists.

It is always an eye-opening experience.  There are a lot of books that are being sold off for pennies on the dollar. 

I'm going to use Young Adult as an example.

There are hundreds, thousands of these YA novels you've never heard of.  Seems like every other book offered is YA.

Thing is, you can kind of get a sense as to whether these books are any good or not.  The synopsis and the ideas and the covers and the titles all give you a pretty good clue.  If you assume the writing is competent, and I think for most publisher-published books you can assume there is a basic level of competency (sweeping statement #1.)

Most of these books actually look pretty good.  As good, I'll venture, as the books you have heard of. (sweeping statement #2 and so on...)

I'm assuming that publishers are hoping for the 'Franchise.'  The Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter road to riches.

The covers to most of these books certainly give that impression.  They follow the design concepts of the big books, are described in the same terms, and so on.

Funny thing is...in most cases, the 'Franchise' book is the book that broke away from the herd, the one that was different, so it seems kind of self-defeating to relegate you Franchise attempt as a knock-off.

Weird.

I'm betting that most of these authors weren't actually trying to mimic the existing blockbusters, but have been shoe-horned into that.

I have a little experience at that.  My first book, Star Axe, was meant to be a heroic fantasy.  My publisher was looking for Sword and Sorcery, so that is how the labeled it and marketed it.  That was fine.  It wasn't a huge reach.  But it was slightly off the intended audience.

My biggest sweeping statement is -- it seems to me that most of these books are just thrown out there in hopes that they'll somehow miraculously catch on.

Not that much different, I'd say, that an indie publisher putting his/her book online and hoping to catch on.

In both cases, the discover-ability depends a great deal on the author's own efforts, and...well, admit it...luck.

Downtown Comings and Goings. 10/17/14

Three businesses have left downtown or are going.

Bond Street Grill has apparently closed.  Urban Minx has a "Going Out of Business" sign in their window.  And D'Vine/Chocolate Element appears to have vacated their space.

The timing of these things are always interesting to me.  I can't really find a pattern.

I've been hearing rumors about other changes, but I'll wait for confirmation before I post them.

NEW BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN

Cosas, Minnesota Ave, 9/4/14
High Desert Chamber Music, Brooks St., 7/9/14
Via Delia/Just a Little Charm, Oregon Ave., 7/9/14
Angelina Organic, Bond St., 7/9/14
Fire in Bend, Franklin Ave., 7/9/14
Stihl Whiskey Bar, Franklin Ave, 7/9/14
The Red Pinecone, Minnesota Ave., 4/10/14
The Painted Gallery, Bond St., 4/10/14
The Basement, Bond St., 4/10/14
Bend Modern, Wall St., 1/10/14
Legum Design, Bond St., 1/10/14
Dogwood Cocktail, Minnesota Ave., 1/10/14.
Salud Raw Food, Franklin Ave., 10/10/13
Bhuvana, Minnisota Ave., 10/10/13.
Outside In, Wall St., 9/26/13.
Bishop's Barbershop, Oregon Ave., 7/24/13
Oregon Store, Wall/Franklin, 7/24/13
Supervillain Sandwiches, Bond St., 7/24/13
Taste Oregon, Bond St., 7/24/13
Wild Rose, 5/2/13.
Bluebird Coffee Company, Franklin, 3/29/13.
Pure Kitchen, Franklin (Bond), 3/29/13
Jeff Murray Photography, Minnesota Ave., 3/29/13
Luvs Donuts, Minnesota Ave. 3/29/13
Hub Cyclery, Wall St. 3/29/13
Ju-bee-lee, Wall. St.  3/29/13.
Sweet Saigon, Wall St., 1/20/13.
Brickhouse, Oregon Ave., 1/20/13.
The Drake, Wall St. , 1/20/13
541 Threads, Minnesota Ave., 10/13/12.
O Mo Mo!  Bond Street, 10/3/12.
Crow's Feet Commons, Brooks Street, 9/21/12.
The Cozy Lamb, Minnesota Ave., 9/14/12.
Noi, Bond Street, 9/14/12.
Azillian Beads, Greenwood Ave., 9/6/12.
Earth*Fire*Art, Oregon Av., 7/10/12.
Pastrami Deli, Franklin Av., 7/10/12.
Bend Your Imagination, Minnesota Av., 7/10/12.
Paul Scott Gallery), Brooks St., 7/10/12
Natural Edge Furniture, Bond St., 5/10/12
Hola!, Bond St., 3/3/12.
Amanda's, Franklin Ave., 2/24/12
Barrio, Minnesota Ave., 2/12/12.
Rescue Moderne, Harriman, 1/12/12.
Letzer's Deli, Franklin Ave. 2/12/12.
Navidi, Minnesota Ave., 2/9/12.
Mazza, Brooks St. , 2/9/12.
La Magie Bakery, Bond St., 1/6/12
Brother Jon's Ale House, Bond St., 12/10/11.
What Lola Wants, Wall St. , 12/2/11.
Jackalope Grill, 10/12/11.
Gypsy Soul, Wall St. 10/12/11.
Colour N' the City, Tin Pan Alley, 10/12/11.
Lotus Moon, Brooks St., 10/12/11.
The Lobby, Bond St. , 10/12/11.
Ruby, Minnesota Ave., 10, 12/11.
Kariella, Lava Road, 8/24, 11.
Plankers, Wall St., 7/11.
Faveur, Franklin, 7/11.
Dream Pebbles, Minnesota Ave., 6/15/11.
Bend Yogurt Factory, Franklin/Bond, 4/26/11.
High Desert Lotus, Bond St. , 4/4/11.
Tryst, Franklin Ave., 3/11/11. (Formerly Maryjanes, **Moved**).
D'Vine, Wall St. , 2/9/11.
Let it Ride!, Bond St., 1/29/11.
Gatsby's Brasserie Bar, Minnesota Ave., 1/8/11
Tres Jolie, Wall St., 12/20/10.
Caldera Grill, Bond St., 12/7/10
Bond Street Grill, 12/7/10.
Perspective(s), Minnesota Ave., 11/20/10
Toth Art Collective, Bond St. 11/20/10
Boken, Breezeway, 11/20/10
Dalia and Emilia, Wall St., 10/3/10.
Antiquarian Books, Bond St., 10/3/10.
Giddyup, Minnesota Ave., 10/3/10.
The Closet, Minnesota Ave., 8/11/10.
Showcase Hats, Oregon Ave., 8/11/10,
Red Chair Art Gallery, Oregon Ave. 7/13/10.
Earth Sense Herbs, Penny's Galleria, 7/12/10.
Mad Happy Lounge, Brooks St., 6/2910
Common Table, Oregon Ave. , 6/29/10.
Looney Bean Coffee, Brooks St. , 6/29/10.
Bourbon Street, Minnesota Ave., 6/22/10
Feather's Edge, Minnesota Ave., 6/22/10
The BLVD., Wall St. , 6/13/10.
Volt, Minnesota Ave. 6/1/10.
Tart, Minnesota Ave. , 5/13/10
Olivia Hunter, Wall St. 4/5/10.
Tres Chic, 4/5/10 (Moved to Minnesota Av.)
Blue Star Salon, Wall St. 4/1/10.
Lululemon, Bond St. 3/31/10.
Diana's Jewel Box, Minnesota Ave., 3/25/10.
Amalia's, Wall St. (Ciao Mambo space), 3/12/10
River Bend Fine Art, Bond St. (Kebanu space) 2/23/10
Federal Express, Oregon Ave. 2/1/10
***10 Below, Minnesota Ave. 1/10/10
Tew Boots Gallery, Bond St. 1/8/10.
Top Leaf Mate, 12/10/09
Laughing Girls Studio, Minnesota Ave. 12/7/09
Lemon Drop, 5 Minnesota Ave., 11/12/09
The Curiosity Shoppe, 25 N.W. Minnesota Ave, Suite #7. 11/5/09
Wabi Sabi 11/4/09 (**Moved, Wall St.**)
Frugal Boutique 11/4/09
5 Spice 10/22/09
Cowgirls Cash 10/17/09
***Haven Home 10/17/09
Dog Patch 10/17/09
The Good Drop 10/12/09
Lola's 9/23/09
**Volcano Wines 9/15/09
Singing Sparrow Flowers 8/16/09
Northwest Home Interiors 8/5/09
High Desert Frameworks 7/23/09 (*Moved to Oregon Ave. 4/5/10.)
Wall Street Gifts 7/--/09
Ina Louise 7/14/09
Bend Home Hardware (Homestyle Hardware?) 7/1/09
Altera Real Estate 6/9/09
Honey 6/7/09
Azura Studio 6/7/09
Mary Jane's 6/1/09
c.c.McKenzie 6/1/09
Velvet 5/28/09
Bella Moda 3/25/09
High Desert Gallery (Bend) 3/25/09
Joolz
Zydeco
900 Wall
Great Outdoor Store
Luxe Home Interiors
Powell's Candy
Dudley's Used Books and Coffee
Goldsmith
Game Domain
Subway Sandwiches
Bend Burger Company
Showcase Hats
Pita Pit
Happy Nails

(List begun, Fall, 2008.)

BUSINESSES LEAVING

D'Vine/Chocolate Element, Wall St., 10/17/14
Urban Minx, Minnesota Ave., 10/17/14
Bond Street Grill, Bond St., 10/17/14
Alpenglow, Wall St., 9/4/14
Christian Science Reading Room, Minnesota Ave., 7/9/14
Roberts Clothes for Men, Wall St., 7/914
Pure Kitchen, Franklin Ave., 7/9/14
Dream Pebbles, Minnesota Ave., 1/10/14
Pastrami Deli, Franklin Ave., 10/10/13.
Edman Furniture, Wall St., 9/26/13.
At the Beach, Wall ST., 9/18/13.
New York City Sub, Bond St. 3/29/13
Soba Asian Bistro, Bond St., 3/29/13
Volt Lighting, Wall St.  3/29/13.
Topolino, Wall Street, 1/20/13.
Cozy Lamb, Minnesota Ave., 1/20/13
Amalia's, Wall Street, 1/5/13.
El Jimador, Wall Street, 9/1412.
The Closet, Minnesota Ave., 9/1/12
Common Table, Oregon Ave., 8/11/12.
Honey Threads, Minnesota Ave., 8/11/12.
Bella Moda, Wall St., 8/11/12.
Giddy Up, Minnesota Ave., 5/10/12
Pottery Lounge, Oregon Ave., 5/17/12.
Boondocks, Newport Ave., 3/27/12
Game Domain, Oregon Ave., 3/27/12.
Toth Gallery, Bond St., 3/27/12.
Letzer's Deli, Franklin Ave., 3/22/12.
Clutch, Minnesota Ave., 3/22/12.  (Moving to Tres Jolie).
High Desert Gallery, Minnesota Ave., 3/22/12.
Tart, Bond St., 3/3/12.
El Caporal West, Franklin Ave., 2/24/12
Bo Restobar, Franklin Ave., 2/9/12.
The Lobby, Bond St. , 2/9/12.
Arts Central, Brooks St., 2/7/12.
Typhoon!, Bond St., 2/5/12.
Gatsby's, Minnesota Ave., 2/5/12
The Dog Patch, Minnesota Av. 1/9/12.
Bend Mapping, Bond St., 1/9/12.
Lotus Moon, Brooks St. 1/9/12   (Moving to Tres Jolie)
Bond Street Grill, Bond St., 11/20/12.
Mad Happy Lounge, Brooks St., 10/11.
Azu, Wall St., 10/25/11.
Showcase Hats, Oregon Av., 10/11.
Bourbon St., Minnesota Ave. 10/12/11.
Curiosity Shop, Minnesota Ave., 7/11
Luluemon, Bond St., 8/26, 11.
Shear Illusions, Franklin Ave., 7/11.
Crepe Place, Wall St., 7/11.
Pita Pit, Brooks St. , 6/28/11
Smith and Wade Salon, Minnesota, Av. , 6/3/11.
Perspectives, Minnesota Av., 6/1/11
River Bend Art Gallery, Bond St., 5/5/11.
Donner's Flowers, Wall St. 3/11/11. (Moved out downtown)
Maryjanes, Wall St. , 3/11/11. (new name, Tryst,  Franklin.).
Di Lusso, Franklin/Bond, 2/9/11.
Earth Sense Herbs, Penny's Galleria, 1/2/11
Marz Bistro, Minnesota Av., 12/20/10.
The Decoy, Bond St., 12/7/10.
Giuseppe's, Bond St., 12/1/10.
Ina Louise, Minnesota Ave., 11/3/10.
Laughing Girl Studios, 10/21/10
Dolce Vita, Bond St, 10/21/10
Diana's Jewell Box, Minnesota Ave., 10/15/10.
Lola's, Breezeway, 10/8/10.
Oxygen Tattoo, Bond St., 10/3/10.
Great Outdoor Clothing, Wall St., 10/3/10.
Volcano Vineyards, Minnesota Ave., 10/3/10.
Subway Sandwiches, Bond St. 9/2/10.
Old Bend Distillery, Brooks St., 6/19/10.
Staccato, Minnesota Ave. 6/18/10.
Showcase Hats, Minnesota Ave., 6/1/10
Cork, Oregon Ave., 5/27/10.
Wall Street Gifts, 5/26/10
Microsphere, Wall St. , 5/17/10.
Singing Sparrow, Franklin and Bond, 5/15/10
28, Minnesota Ave. and Bond, 5/13/10.
Glass Symphony, Wall St., 3/25/10
Bend Home Hardware, Minnesota Ave, 2/25/10
Ciao Mambo, Wall St. 2/4/10
***Angel Kisses 1/25/10   (Have moved to 'Honey.')
Ivy Rose Manor 8/20/09
***Downtowner 8/18/09 (moving to Summit location)
Chocolate e Gateaux 8/16/09
Finders Keepers 8/15/09
Colourstone 7/25/09
Periwinkle 6/--/09
***Tangerine 7/21/09 (Moving across the street.)
Micheal Cassidy Gallery 6/15/09
St. Claire Coffee 6/15/09
Luxe Home Interiors 6/4/09
Treefort 5/8/09
Blue 5/2/09
***Volcano Tasting Room 4/28/09
Habit 4/16/09
Mountain Comfort 4/14/09
Tetherow Property 4/11/09
Blue Moon Marketplace 3/25/09
Plenty 3/25/09
Downtown Doggie 3/25/09
***King of Sole (became Mary Janes)**
Santee Alley
Bistro Corlise
Made in Hawaii
EnVogue
Stewart Weinmann (leather)
Kebanu Gallery
Pella Doors and Windows
Olive company
Pink Frog
Little Italy
Deep
Merenda's
Volo
***Pomegranate (downtown branch)**
Norwalk
Pronghorn Real Estate office.
Speedshop Deli
Paper Place
Bluefish Bistro

(List begun, Fall, 2008 )

Dystopian Authors and Fans.

Joined a Facebook group called A Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans.  Seem like my kind of people.

Just in time, too, since Tuskers is my first true post-apocalyptic story.

Got the edited version back from Lara.  It'll take me a couple of days to go through her edits and add the ones I've done myself.  Then I'm going to send it on to a publisher who expressed interest and try to get a commitment of some kind.

I sent Tuskers II to Lara.

I'm halfway through Tuskers III.  It will get done, I have no doubt.

There has been a bit of an uproar in the small press world, since a company that was making a lot of waves, Permuted Press, has been making some questionable moves.  My publisher, Books of the Dead Press, wanted to make a statement about how he is different from that and asked all his authors for quotes to put in a splash ad in Cemetery Dance magazine, which I was glad to provide, as were most of his other authors.  I've been feeling fortunate that I hooked up with a company that seems to have integrity and seems to know the horror niche so well.

Interesting times in the publishing world.

I know at some point I'll make the leap to self-publishing, but I figure it doesn't hurt to get a little grounding with established publishers first.

I keep working on my Lander series (Faerylander, Wolflander, Ghostlander, so far) and I'm thinking of it as my magnum opus.  The series that I spend the most time doing.  I've already paid for the first two covers, so there is nothing to stop me from putting them out myself.

But, one step at at time.  I don't really want to release my books so fast that they step on each other, so I'm just going to be patient and get each book ready for their best time.

2nd quarter: my book sales.

Got a report from Books of the Dead Press of my book sales from April through June.

Better than I expected.  Not setting the world on fire, but enough to feel like I've got my foot in the door.

I had a rough idea of sales for Led to the Slaughter from Amazon, but there were some under the wire things happening that I couldn't see. 

Sales on the Vampire Evolution Trilogy were quite a bit higher than I knew.

There were some promotional sales that happened that bumped the numbers up a little, but didn't amount to as much in royalties.  I'm perfectly okay with that, in fact I was going to maybe recommend to the publisher that he do more of that.

Smashword sales still weren't huge, but much better than that month and a half I had in the first quarter. I'm pretty sure they don't include sales from Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, or the rest yet.  Not sure if it matters, the vast bulk of sales are likely to be Amazon, followed by Smashwords, and then the rest.

I know the books continued to sell at a slightly slower pace in the 3rd quarter, July through September, so I've got that to look forward to.  They've stopped selling as well in the 4th quarter so far, but I'm hoping that the release of The Dead Spend No Gold (soon, I'm told) will help that.

I'm trying to see this as a long term process.  That each book will help the previous book and so forth.

Onward.

The writer's lot in life.

Read another section of Tuskers at writer's group last night and got encouragement.  They really seem to like it.  Just when I needed it.

I've been feeling isolated for awhile now.  On my own.  Which is the writer's lot in life, I suppose.  But even five people approving of something you wrote face to face can be a powerful tonic.

I was a little horrified by how many little typos I had, since this is the version I sent a publisher.  I had at least half a dozen places where I had first person instead of third person narration, despite trying to wean those out.

I'm supposed to get a "clean edit" from Lara tonight, and when I'm done consolidating the changes I've made, with her edit, I'll send that version along to the publisher.

I've been sitting down and writing every day, despite not feeling particularly inspired.  I'll be about halfway done with Tuskers III by the end of today.

I've been struggling with words, and wondering if I wouldn't be better off waiting for "inspiration."  But I just took a month off, and I've got the feeling that not only didn't it help as much as I thought it would, it may even have hurt.  I need to immerse myself in this world, and the only way to do that is to sit down and do it.

I'm finding that even when I don't get much writing done, a few little plot turns come to me here and there.  So I'm sitting in that darkened room and trying to get there every day.  I'm on pace, but instead of it taking a couple of hours, like when I'm on a roll, it is taking all day to eke out the words.

Thing is --  by the time I rewrite, I'm not sure a reader can tell the difference between those words that come easy and those words that come hard.

No word on when The Dead Spend No Gold might be published, either ebook or physical. (The contract was signed.)  I swore I wouldn't pester my publisher, and I'm sticking to that vow.  But it's hard.

Led to the Slaughter has had it natural selling period. (About six months).  Now it needs the sequel to hopefully give it a boost.

It's just one of those lulls that happen.  Part of the cycle.  I just have to hang in there.

Linda and I drove out to Paulina Springs Bookstore in Sisters, to see if they had done anything with the five copies I'd left.  They had a copy of my book in the S.F. and Fantasy section, among all the other books, and that felt good.  They'd sold a couple copies, apparently, and sent a couple of copies to the Redmond store.  (Unlike another regional bookstore I'd given copies to, and who had basically dissed my books by putting them in a very poor location in their store.  I just picked up the copies I'd left there, thanked them, and left.) 

So thanks to Paulina Springs.

I also keep getting reports that the book is constantly checked out at the local libraries.  So that's cool.

Just looking for small encouragements.

And then trying to forget about them while I write.