TimeGate

Whilst other folks were out honoring our fallen warriors or grilling their favorite piece of dead livestock, I was at TimeGate. Originally a one-day convention in Atlanta, they got brave and expanded it to four days. The plan worked. The hotel (a HI Select) was the perfect venue with lots of restaurants nearby and at a price that we all could afford. They even came up with special drinks for the con at $5 a pop. That's cool. As a guest I was given the VIP treatment (literally) including an awesome gift basket. Wow!

The programming was laid out in three tracks -- StarGate, Dr. Who and a Time Travel/Science track. I was part of the latter so that meant panels discussing the mechanics of time travel as well as the ethics of slinging yourself back four centuries. Very informative. I met all sorts of new folks (Louis Robinson, David Harmer) and hung with friends from the Atlanta Science Fiction Society. I didn't get an opportunity to talk to John Levene (Dr. Who) or Tony Amendola (StarGate) but they were both quite gracious whenever I saw them hurrying past. I am a Dr. Who fan so I didn't feel completely lost when folks chatted about the current Doctor (David Tennant). Since we'd recently succumbed to Netflix we've been catching up on the Doc's adventures. Love those Daleks!

Retail (book sales) was quite brisk (smile) and I got to talk to all sorts of folks about time travel, writing and about anything else on our minds. A smaller convention allows that kind of time, unlike the big mega-cons. As usual, I toted a camera to the con and never took a pix. Like a pix of the stainless steel Delorean. Very nifty car.

Consider TimeGate for a nice weekend break next year. Laid back intelligent conversation and lots of fun things going on. Just the right mix. They get a definite THUMBS UP!

Getting WICKED

WICKED GAME is the most recent addition to the Jeri Smith-Ready universe. Today is the Launch Day. This is a big thing to an author. Their "baby" is now out in the world for all to see. It's a time of joy and anxiety. Will the readers like it? Will it sell enough copies to make the editor/publisher happy? Etc. Etc.

Because I'm in the midst of editorial right now , I recommend jmward14's excellent review of the book. To which I add an "Amen, Sister."

Jeri has created a very believable heroine you root for while wondering if she's going to end up ruining all the good she's done. Ciara's "blessed" with just as much of a compulsion as the undead. Luckily Jeri doesn't go for the usual morose, tortured vampires. Vamps so angsty you just PRAY someone will stake them sometime during the course of the book. Hers are real, if that makes sense. I LOVED the fact the vamps are OCD. Hey, I've got a touch of that myself (she says while hastily rearranging the paper clips by color order). Makes them more "human" which means you care about every one of them as much as you do the heroine.

So wander out to your local bookstore, be it an indy, a chain or an online place and order a copy of WICKED GAME today. Then settle into your favorite chair, bubble bath, beach or (sorry) airplane seat and immerse yourself in the story. It's just WICKED.

Woot #2

Earlier this year VIRTUAL EVIL was named a finalist for the ForeWord Award (Science Fiction). Today VE was announced as a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award (Science Fiction). I was a finalist for both of these last year so apparently I'm doing something right.

HUZZAH!

Dictating Characters

One of the best things you can do as a writer is to listen to your characters. [Not to worry - no spoilers here.] I'm working on a particular part of Madman's Dance that seemed to work okay. Jacynda, the heroine, kept muttering "Too easy." I ignored her. Then she got the other Time Rover (Johns Hopkins) saying the same thing. Then he asked, "So why aren't the bad guys stopping us, huh? This is too easy." Sigh...

So today I caved in and rewrote that scene to make it less easy for both of them. They're happy now (for the moment) and the story is better for it. I know there are authors who say they'd never let their characters dictate to them like that. I will if they're persistent. They know their story. I'm just their scribe (another point of contention with some authors). Jacynda's been right all along. Why muss with that success?

Tomorrow I'm back to the editing now that this scene is in place. I'm about 100 pages from the end and then the second half goes to the editor. We still have lots of clean up, but things are sorting themselves out. I always love how that happens right at the very end (NOT!) I think the characters do that on purpose -- make the author sweat. It always works.

And So It Begins...

Editorial-- that magic time when my editor looks at my hard work on Madman's Dance and goes "meh" (at least for certain parts) and then proceeds to help me fix my prose. She has the first half of the book in her hot hands while I'm straightening out some plot problems in the second half. Yes folks, this is a LONG book. I should have that second portion to her by the 8th or so.

I actually like this part of the book creation. Some authors dread it, but I'm blessed with an editor who knows my series intimately and will thump me on the head (electronically) when I send a character off in an inappropriate direction without good reason. You gotta have someone willing to take you to the woodshed.

In between the second half clean-up, I'm reading and critiquing submissions for the A-Kon Workshop. Some of them remind me of where I used to be. In a few years I'm hoping those newbie writers will look back and realize how much they're grown in the craft. It's what makes the journey worthwhile.

High Tech RavenCon

I'm a tech junkie. I LOVE new stuff. So when Gail Martin was so kind as to share these video blogs with me, I just had to post them. Snippets o'RavenCon without all the travel expense. Day Two features our Wicked Games Launch Party!

Be sure to check out her Ghost in the Machine podcast, as well.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

RavenCon

Just returned from Richmond after a five-day stint in that fair city. I had a hectic schedule which is probably why my brains are AWOL today. I flew up on Wednesday and settled into our hotel suite. I had two other roomies this trip: Jean Marie Ward and Jeri Smith-Ready. I've roomed with both of them before and since neither of them felt the need to place a pillow on my face and hold it down, I figured things were good. And they were. All three of us played nicely with each other. It's heaven to have considerate roomies. We understood our individual idiosyncrasies and respected each others.

Jean Marie is a Certified Night Owl (she's got the papers and everything) and Jeri usually goes to bed roughly when I do (11- midnight). Jean Marie does not rise at o'dark thirty in the morning, though she was up at eight a couple mornings in a row. (No, she was not happy about that). Both of the ladies are so quiet you'd never know they were in the room. They probably didn't think the same of me.

Wednesday evening Jean Marie and I headed into downtown Richmond and to Croaker's, a soul food kinda place with excellent fish. Since neither of us had eaten much, we had a feast. That area of Richmond is really cool. The next day I paid for the fact I didn't ask for a feather pillow when I checked in. Massive headache courtesy of the foam pillow. Happens every time. I ate Advil like candy. Didn't do a thing. So I powered through the day as we shopped for booze, munchies, ordered a custom-decorated cake for Jeri's launch party, etc. It was supposed to be a surprise, but when we had to prove that the WVMP logo was not copyrighted or that if it was that we had permission to use it, we had no option but to contact Jeri. Bah... Then we went downtown to the Poe Museum and to dinner at a fine Italian restaurant called Zuppa. Alas, I hurt so much it was hard to enjoy the food. Once I'd completed a particular project (that just had to be out Thurs noc) I drugged myself down and went to sleep about 11:30.

Up at 4 a.m. Yuck. Couldn't sleep any longer. Since I had to get up at 5 a.m. I just took my shower, checked my emails and vegged until I met a number of other zombies in the hotel lobby at 6 a.m. Jean Marie was not one of these. She was sensible. She slept in and did the canal tour of Richmond. I (and many others) went to Monacon High School to talk to the students courtesy of Tee Morris, a Monacon alumni. I did this last year and had a blast. This year was no different. I did a presentation (for two classes) on Jack the Ripper Fiction. The kids were cool and so were the teachers. I wish more conventions arranged this sort of foray into the high schools.

Then it was RavenCon - Friday afternoon I got back to the hotel at 2 p.m., got my con badge, a fifteen minute nap and then moderated a panel on Alternate History. It took full octane Mountain Dew to get through it as I was so toasted. Another panel at 4, opening ceremonies at 8, another panel at nine. I fell into bed at about midnight. We were on the Party Floor. Noise happens on a Party Floor. At least it stopped at one in the morning.

Saturday was full of things to do and Jeri's launch party for Wicked Games (see book cover above). It was also a launch party for Madman's Dance, but my book isn't out until October. So we celebrated Jeri's latest book (an Urban Fantasy with vampires as DJ's at a radio station). I started reading it on the plane to Atlanta and love it. Go buy a copy. We also had promo literature out for Jean Marie's book, With Nine You Get Vanyr.
The party was a blast. Jeri put together a track of classic rock 'n' roll, we had drinkables, munchables and cake. Gotta have cake. It had the WVMP "The Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll" logo on it. Really cool. Even better -- Chocolate cake. White frosting. YUM. No one got excessively drunk so the conversation was intelligent and entertaining. The suite was packed.

9 a.m. Sunday -- a panel on Urban Fantasy. How appropriate. Though we didn't get to bed until late, we were amazingly bright. Since Jana failed to get a late checkout time (dumb) we had to hustle to vacate the premises at 11. We did it.

Jeri continues her whirlwind promotion of the new book. Jean Marie is back to work on her latest project and I'm due to hand in the first half of Madman's Dance on Thursday. Thursday, like THIS Thursday. Humm.... Time to go. Thanks for checking in. Put RavenCon on your list of cons to do next April. It's an incredible convention.

Madman's Dance Cover Art

I'm on the downhill slope for the next Time Rovers book - Madman's Dance. Here's the gorgeous cover. The gent and the fiery background are courtesy of L.W. "Lynn" Perkins and the cover design is by Christina Yoder. These are the ladies who designed the other two covers in the series.

I gave Lynn an idea of what the gent looks like (for those who have read the series this is the Genius himself, T.E. Morrisey, the software wizard who created the Time Immersion industry along with Harter Defoe, who was on the cover of Virtual Evil). Theo is a babe.

Lynn and I examined potential backgrounds and finally settled on St. Martin-in-the Fields and the National Portrait Gallery (Trafalgar Square, London) engulfed in flames. When Christina asked the theme of the book, I said "Armageddon". She took it from there. As always, these artists have a talent that leaves me breathless.

Madman's Dance is going to be a long book. Sojourn was 367 pages and this one will be way over 400+ as there is a lot hitting the fan in this story. It's conveniently divided into two sections, not surprisingly entitled Part One and Part Two. Clever huh? So much needs to be resolved, both in 1888 and 2057. Those resolutions will involve not only some of the machinations of the Transitives (shape-shifters) but some personal resolutions, as well.

The manuscript will be sent to the editor May 1. It goes on press mid-July and should be available by October 30th, its launch date. I'm hoping that this one proves even better than Sojourn and Virtual Evil.

And now back to my rewrites. Thanks for sharing my adoration of the cover. I think it's way cool.

Amazon - The Five Hundred Pound Gorilla

Oh dear, it's a sad day when I find myself agreeing with PublishAmerica.

"PublishAmerica will not comply with Amazon's ultimatum, and will not allow that company to dictate who will print PublishAmerica's books, and at what conditions."

The fuss is over Amazon's decision to require their POD (print-on-demand) publishers to produce their books through Amazon's own POD supplier, BookSurge. You don't print through them, Amazon will disable the BUY button on your book's page. Lovely. So if you decide you wish to have Lightning Source, Lulu.com, etal., print your books, Amazon will cut you off at the knees. You still can be part of their Amazon Marketplace ($29.95 per year and 55% discount on retail price plus cost of shipping to Amazon). Trust me, you don't make money that way.

If you print through BookSurge, Amazon will assess a printing fee for the book, a set-up charge ($55) and still lop 48% off the top. At present they're waiving the $55 set-up fee to encourage folks to take part in their generous offer. To add insult and annoyance, BookSurge's specs are different than Lightning Source and some of the others, so not only do you have to set up the book twice (and yes, this does take some time) but you have to maintain two different file configurations lest you need to make changes down the line. What a freakin' bite.

An excellent, though long, article on the changes can be found at Writer's Weekly.

I've seen a few of BookSurge's creations. Other POD publishers do a better job. Lightning Source's work used to be so-so. They've improved and Lulu.com's is very good. I know Amazon wants to ensure their investment in BookSurge was a sound decision. Pissing off your existing customers to make a few more bucks is never a bright move.

I'll be writing their investment department, letting them know I think this is a bone-headed stunt. And if they proceed, I will vote with my dollars. There are other places I can purchase my books. Respect goes both ways.

StellarCon

The weekend in High Point, NC went well except for one minor glitch (explained later). The hotel (a Radisson) had a Sleep Comfort bed so I could adjust it to the proper degree of "ahhhh". I was on a quiet floor (no room parties) and that allowed me to get my sleep which I needed after the acrobatic couple from Thurs. night. The hotel's restaurant didn't do well Fri eve (45 min to get our meal) but switched to buffets from that point on and did just fine. The food was tasty and inexpensive by con standards ($8.95 for a supper buffet). That never happens.

The programming went pretty well. Some panels were better than others, but all had value. We had an interesting discussion during one panel about how long one should wait until throwing a hissy fit if your royalties aren't paid on time and your emails about those royalties are being ignored. Since most publishers only pay every six months and then they try to drag the actual check writing another three to four months, it can get annoying. Most of the authors said 4-6 mos. I said 2 beyond when they're contractually required to issue the check, especially if they're blowing you off. My recommendation to the fellow was to assess his downside risk and go from there. If the problem continues, take your work to a new publisher. The contract says that I do "X" and they do "Y". That's why you have a contract. If one party is not living up to the contract, that's a problem. Fortunately, my publisher is very good at issuing those checks. Not all of them are.

I also had the opportunity to share a dealer's room table with Tony Ruggiero, fellow DMP author, and dear Mary who always has some knitting project in hand. At Dragon*Con last year she was making (of course) a dragon scarf. This weekend she was making a baby sweater for a friend. I had a lot of fun razzing her about that. Tony's next book in the Team of Darkness Series (Operation Save the Innocent) is due out in April. We're all looking forward to it.

I also got to spend some time with Lee Martindale and commiserate with her (in her smoking room) with a cigar and some Aberlour A'bunadh single malt scotch. (If you're going to have vices, have good ones.) And I introduced Alan Wold to the Aberlour, as well, which was only fair as he'd gotten me hooked on Laphroaig a few cons back. I also got to talk to author Kristy Tallman. She was at RavenCon last year, but I didn't get a chance to officially meet her.

And now for the slight wrinkle in my weekend: 12:30 Sunday I pack the car, hop in, turn the key. Nothing. Zip. Da nada. Someone had left the map light on since Friday noon. Now I couldn't possibly be THAT stupid so someone had to have broken into the car, turned on the map light and then relocked the vehicle so no one would know. Yeah, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Any other possibility to is to embarrassing to consider. I called Honda's Roadside Assistance and they sent a very nice fellow to get the car started and I was out of High Point like a shot. Oh, and just to be annoying: the Gizmo (as we call it) got 49.7 mpg during the trip. It's a Honda Civic Hybrid. Fine car. The highest gas price for regular I saw was $3.40. Youch.

Of course, while I was gone downtown Atlanta had urban renewal courtesy of a tornado. Nasty. I can only imagine what it would be like in the middle of Dragon*Con (shudders.)

An Author's Life

Lest you believe that an author's life is all glitz and glamor, with the occasional period of writing, it's not quite that Hollywood. I'm currently ensconced in a Microtel, an overnight on the way to High Point, NC and StellarCon. It's not that long of a drive from Atlanta to High Point, but I had no desire to get on the road at O'Dark Thirty so I popped up here yesterday afternoon. After a nutritious yet uninspiring dinner at IHOP, I settled in for some writing time. By eleven or so, my brain seized up so I went to bed in my room near the front desk (as requested).

To give you a sense of my night:
11:30 -- curl up in bed
12:15 -- brain finally shuts down
1:00 -- awake to the sounds of a couple (either next door or upstairs) in the throes of sexual congress. She was clearly enjoying herself and wants the world to know it.
1:30 -- someone at the front desk decides to print a report on the World's Noisiest Receipt Printer that goes on a very long time.
1:45 -- blissful oblivion
3:00 -- knocking on a door somewhere nearby until someone finally gets their ass out of bed to answer it.
5:00 -- The Couple fire up for Round #2. This guy must be awesome is all I can say.
5:30 -- Jana crams in her earplugs and goes back to sleep.

While I was awake I did work out a key portion of the Save London From Destruction Scene so maybe there was some good in this after all. Ironically, in the last book Sergeant Keats had to listen to his neighbors at the boarding house in Rotherhithe doing the same thing. I resisted the temptation to pound on the wall and yell, "Give a rest, ya lecherous sod!"

Today I (hopefully) zip in the remaining hour or so to High Point, unpack and GET A NAP. That way I'll be a bit more human at 3 p.m. when the con starts.

I know -- all of this is book fodder. Problem is, some of it I've already used.

For Better or Worse... But Not For the Press Conferences

I'm a lengthily married person so I know about temptation. I attend a lot of conventions and there are some rather nice fellows at some of these. Since it is a convention I could probably get a little on the side and my spouse would never know. Unfortunately, I would. Guilt plays havoc with me. Hubby and I agree that every now and then one's eyes roam, but as long as the rest of you doesn't, we're in good shape. For us, crossing that line is not worth it. If it was, we'd have an open marriage, which seems a bit of an oxymoron to me. Maybe I'm just a bit old-fashioned.

The point of this post is the Spitzer fiasco. Yet again we have the power broker at the podium telling the world how he let them and his family down while his loyal wife is by his side. After the event, they're holding hands as they leave. Now I don't know the family dynamics there, but this always chafes me. The guy gets caught with his pants down and the faithful wife is there for him.

Just once I would love to see the following happen:
Guy Who Got Caught: "I admit I had a relationship with that woman, man, prostitute, sorority, football team. This is a deep blow to my career and, oh yeah, my family. As you can see, my beloved wife is up here with me so you know she'll forgive me. You should do the same because, hey, it's a guy thing."

When I Got Caught is through with his spiel, the wife leans over to the mic and says, "I have a few words on this subject." This will, of course, be a surprise to Lover Boy as he figures she's supposed to just stand there and look supportive.

Wife continues, "While I'm here being publicly humiliated because you can't keep your dick in your pants, the locks are being changed and your crap is being thrown out on the lawn. " She slaps down a sheaf of papers in front of him. "The divorce papers. Trust me, jerk, I'm taking half of everything. Then I'm going to write a tell-all book about what an ass you are and donate the proceeds to a battered women's shelter. Oh, and one final thing. You know those penis enhancing ads you get in the email? Try reading them."

Then wife walks off. I figure she'd get a standing ovation, at least from the women in the audience. Just once I'd love to see the woman in this horrendous tale nail the bastard during the press conference. Then I can die happy.*

Now a question -- does anyone remember a press conference where a female high roller admits to getting horizontal outside of her marriage and her husband stands up there with her looking supportive? If it's happened, I regret not seeing it. I would have felt for the guy, big time.

*Now that I think of it, there was recently an incident in China where a lady lit into her hubby on national TV for screwing around on her. It was a real shocker over there. If I remember it right, they put her in jail.

Update: Here's an article about why wives take the heat with their husbands. The video is very interesting in that former Mrs. McGreevey says that for three days her hubby was cloistered with the political and lawyer types trying to determine his future, she was trying to work out what to do on her own. That says it all. Maybe it is easy for some of us to ask "Why are you up there with him?" but it's a legitimate question. Yes, it's a personal decision. Still, the question should be asked.

And finally, a nice piece in Newsweek that asks the same question.

Okay, one last post on this subject. I got it all wrong: it's the wife's fault. I shoulda known.

A Bit of Good News

At some point in every book there is the tendency to whine "Am I done yet?" I hit that on Tuesday. Editing is sorta fun in the same way that cleaning the cat's litter box is entertaining. It's not great while you're doing it, but the end result is satisfyingly tidy.

Whilst I was in the middle of my doldrums (now is when new projects have a particularly strong pull) I received some good news. VIRTUAL EVIL is a finalist for a ForeWord Magazine Award for Science Fiction. I was a finalist for this award last year as well as Book of the Year. I won Book of the Year and, very rightly, you cannot win both. The chances of winning Book of the Year two years in a row is astronomical, so that's not something I have to worry about. I'm quite pleased I'm a finalist in SF, however. Another Dragon Moon book The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction - Vol. 1 - First Contact is also a finalist (in the Career category).

So that pulled me out of my funk and spurred me on to finish the third book. A nice incentive. If they liked VIRTUAL EVIL, wait 'til they read MADMAN'S DANCE.

Step Away From The Book!

I have noted that I've been a very political animal recently and since my blog does mention the word Writing in its description, I figured I'd best add a few electrons in that area.

This is the "Step Away From The Book!" week. Most folks recommend that once you have a workable first draft you get away from it for 4-6 weeks. That way when you return to the work the brilliant stuff is easily seen as well as the sections that really suck. There are always more of the latter than the former. I don't have 4-6 weeks. In fact, the book is technically due March 1, but my editor can't get to the actual chainsawing of my prose until the third week of April. This is very good.

Despite the fact that I wrote the first draft of MADMAN'S DANCE in Nov. 2006 just so I could tell where the story arc was headed, that was only about 75K words. My novels are usually 115-125K words long. So we were missing some bits. Lots of bits actually. After I finished VIRTUAL EVIL, lots of stuff changed that impacted the third book's draft. So I've been playing Victorian housewife with the manuscript. Victorians did not like to waste stuff so women would remove collars, cuffs and other edgings from their gowns and sew on different ones to fit the occasion. Voila! A new gown. So I'm ripping out the old stuff and sewing in new stuff. Not much fun, especially since I hadn't quite figured out the mechanism for the Everything Goes to Hell Moment in the book. Now I have a better idea. Hubby has been quite helpful with that.

So this week I'm stepping away from the work, telling the VIMH (voices in my head) to shut up and trying to work on a paranormal mystery/urban fantasy/romance that I wrote a few years back. It's had more reincarnations than Elizabeth Taylor. It needs to get cleaned up, darkened up and sent off to an agent. That won't happen this week, of course, but it will keep my mind off the other book.

Then there's the business finances. Last year we changed computer programs and some items just didn't cross over and changed banks. I've been lax about keeping up with the numbers. Then NetBank went under and we had to move our personal accounts as well. So this week is the tidy up the numbers so hubby can do the taxes thing. Whee.... As a friend put it this morning when e-mailing about her taxes, "Just shoot me now."

A week of tidying, getting things in order and living in contemporary L.A. instead of 1888 London. Next week I'll leap back in time to finish off the final book in Jacynda Lassiter's story arc. Even in rough draft stage, this thing has legs. That's reassuring, especially this late in the game.

The Shredding of the First Amendment

Being a bit cynical, I was wondering when this was going to happen:

Judge Orders Website Taken Down Wikileaks

The government has been merrily altering reports so we citizens won't be worried about Black Water, illegal contracts, the environment, etc. Now we have the dubious claim of be no better than China's puppet masters as a judge orders Wikileaks to close because of their expose about money laundering. Wikileaks brings us the dirt that big boys want hidden under the carpet. It is the ultimate expression of free speech.

So what the hell happened our Constitution? It used to be a bright light to the rest of the word, the first bulwark against tyranny. Freedom of speech is being eroded day by day. If we don't fight that now, in time we won't have that option.

I highly recommend the Electronic Freedom Foundation, folks. They've been fighting the good fight all along. They were the ones who worked hard to ensure Congress we didn't give the telecom giants a pass on their violation of U.S. wiretapping laws. As Mike McConnell, Director National Intelligence, admitted in a recent NPR interview, it was all about giving those big companies a break, not keeping the country safe from the bad guys.

"The issue is liability protection for the private sector. We can't do this mission without their help."

Bush and his cronies lied again. Why are we surprised?

Firearms & The Common Citizen

It's been a week for shootings, the one on the Illinois campus just yesterday. I wince every time I see something like this happen. Those kids had no chance to defend themselves. None whatsoever.

I have not said too much about firearms on this blog for good reason. It's usually a very hot topic, especially to those who have lost family and friends in that way. I respect those who would prefer that no one owns a gun. Unfortunately, that's not realistic. Despite England's strong anti-gun laws, they still have gun crime. The bad guys don't worry about the rules. England has outlawed knives of a certain length and is now after samurai swords because of a few incidents involving those. Humans will always find way to kill each other, though a AR-15 assault rifle is infinitely more speedy than a knife or a sword.

For those of you who've read my blog for some time, you know I don't particularly trust our government, especially over the last few years. Still, I have submitted to a full FBI background check, been fingerprinted and been granted a concealed carry permit. I'm not tickled the government has all that data, but that's what it takes if I wish to carry a firearm in this manner. Given that I travel alone on occasion, it was a logical choice. (Note, I'm speaking of concealed carry, which means you won't know I have a weapon on me, as compared to open carry, which I won't do. That just spooks people.)

Now, lest you think that means I'm totin' my gun just about anywhere I please, you would be wrong. Not in Georgia.

Let's see -- go into my favorite restaurant? Nope, they serve booze. That takes care of my favorite pub and the coffee house (they serve wine). How about the mall? Nope, not if there's a special event going on like a book signing or Santa meeting the kiddies. Everywhere I go, I have to triple think if I can have my firearm on my person or not. So why not leave it in the car? Great. So if my car gets stolen, they score a really fine handgun in the process. As a wise person put it, the firearm is safest on your person.

State laws vary so much that when I drive across a state line, I have to be aware of what that state allows in terms of possession of a firearm. Can it be within reaching distance in the car or does it have to be moved to the trunk? Can I carry it into the rest area bathroom or not? What if I stop for gas and there's a school across the street? Am I one thousand feet from that school, that church, that Federal building?

The problem with these laws is that the crazies don't care. They don't spend time reading through the mound of Georgia statutes (some 20+ pages worth) I rec'd when I applied for my concealed carry permit. They do not care if they tote their gun into a school, a church or a college campus. All they know there is little risk of someone shooting back.

I don't know if having just one armed individual in a classroom or at a shopping mall might make a difference. I do know that if no one is armed, the slaughter is horrific. I think we should open up the campuses, the public locations to those who have passed the full background checks and are permitted concealed carry. The crazies will still try to kill. At least someone might be able to stop them.

Since I've put my foot in it -- here's my notion on how it all outta work:

1) In addition to the standard background check to purchase a firearm, the purchaser must show proof of having completed a firearms safety course that includes operation of a firearm, legal responsibility for firing that weapon and how to store the weapon safely and securely. The course does not need to be weapon-specific, meaning you don't have to go through these each time you purchase a new gun. Consider this a lot like driver's education. You gotta know the basics.

2) Assault weapons (AR-15, etc) are not for hunting anything but people. These should be confined to the military. I know this will cause a howl amongst those worried about the government seizing our weapons. That is a remote possibility. I think in the short term, assault weapons have no place in our society.

3) If someone has satisfied the requirements for concealed carry, then they should be allowed to carry that firearm anywhere in the the country, no matter the state or the location. Right now there is a jumble of laws that vary from state to state. These need to be ironed out.

4) All public places, malls, etc., should have armed and adequately trained security personnel. The mall in Omaha didn't allow their security staff to have firearms. Unreal. These folks should coordinate with their local law enforcement agencies in test drills to deal with these kinds of events rather than feeling their way through them and making mistakes that cost lives.

And finally, something that is just coming on the horizon: microstamping. I need to do more research into this, but at first blush it looks promising.

That's my firearms spiel. I'm hoping in years to come that we won't have to have this discussion, but knowing human behavior, I suspect we will.

Thoughts?

Of Burqas and Headscarves

I've been watching this issue for a very long time. First in France, now in the Netherlands. At issue is whether wearing a headscarf or a head-to-toe burqa should be banned. The theory is that this will make Muslims integrate into society. My guess it will do just the opposite.

I have a litmus test for this kind of emotionally sensitive issue. If I was an Orthodox Jewish male and someone told me I could not wear a kippah (skullcap) to work, to school, on public transportation, how would I feel? The kippah represents more than just a piece of cloth. It's a connection between me and The Eternal. It reminds me that G*d is above all mankind and is part of my acceptance of the 613 mitzvot (commandments).*

So back to the original question. If I feel compelled by my religious beliefs to wear a kippah and someone said, "Can't do that," how would I feel? I'd be angry. If the decision could not be reversed, I've got a nasty choice in front of me. Some may abandon their kippah, scarves, burqas. A good many won't. If I was truly committed, I'd go somewhere where I could wear my kippah, amongst other like-minded folks. Which means the "we'll make them integrate into our society one way or another" strategy won't work. As we've learned, isolation breeds fanaticism.

I admit that trying to see the face of a woman in a full burqa is very difficult and the full covering is rather unsettling. If I was around women wearing burqas more often, that unease would disappear over time. Is it possible that one of them is toting a belt of bombs on a bus? Sure. Is it possible the guy across the aisle on the bus with the REI backpack has a bomb? Sure. Welcome to the 21st century, folks. It's not much different than the 19th when the anarchists were Irish and suitcases and parcels were exploding across London.

Most of this phobia is push-back at the high Muslim immigration levels. It's hard to see the landscape change in ways you can't understand. Which is the root problem: going out of our way to understand the other folks. My rabbi in Iowa was a very wise fellow. He frequently talked to high school classes and other civic groups. His theory was that once they'd met a Jew it would be harder for them to hate one. Stereotypes only exist in a vacuum.

Let the ladies wear their religious garb, whether that be a cross, a kippah, a headscarf or a burqa. Let the men wear their particular garb, be they Jew, Sikh, Muslim or Christian. Bring them together in community groups to talk to one another. Learn why they want to wear that headscarf, that burqa, why Orthodox Jewish women always wear a wig when they're in public. Find out what's behind the external religious symbols. The answers may surprise you.

As the rabbi said, it's harder to hate once you've shared your story with other person.

*Source - Wikipedia

Love is Murder - Chicago Style

Gotta love Chicago -- they know how to welcome a gal. Lots of snow. It was pretty. It tied up traffic to the extent that some friends driving down from Wisconsin required 4 hours to get to the hotel. They live 60 miles away. We had a grand dinner, b.s.'d and then they headed home late last night. By then the traffic was gone and the roads were being cleared. Chicago knows how to handle a bit of snow (somewhere over 6" the last I heard).

My hotel overlooks a parking lot near a big Target store. Last night there were six or seven snowplows working on the lot closest to the hotel. For a time, they got into one big circle and just went round and round like Indians circling the settlers' wagon train. Looked like fun.

The flight cancellations, etc. have caused some guest arrival delays here at Love is Murder (a mystery conference). Hopefully everyone gets in eventually. It looks to be a grand weekend. I'll do updates as time permits.

FRIDAY -- Today went well. I attended a Master Class by author Lee Child that was more Q&A than class. Then I had lunch with Barbara Vey of Publishers Weekly's Beyond Her Book Blog. We met at Moonlight & Magnolias last year and have been emailing off and on ever since. Her blog featured a blurb about Sojourn just about a week ago and so we talked about the series, about what other authors are writing and such. It was a couple hours' worth of interesting conversation, which was good as the service was rather slow in the restaurant and it took a long time to get the food and the check.

In the evening I reconnected with Robert Walker & his lovely wife, Miranda. Rob writes historical mysteries set in 1893 Chicago during the time of the Columbian Exposition. I also met Stacey Klemstein (we're doing a panel together tomorrow) and Kelle Z. Riley. Lots of new faces.

I have three panels tomorrow and a signing, plus the SINGLE MALT SCOTCH TASTING. Yeah, I've got my priorities right. And now to get a few more lines on the book before bed....

Saturday -- Three panels, one book signing, banquet and the single malt scotch tasting. All the panels went very well. Even managed to catch a wee nap this afternoon in between all the stuff going on. Barry Eisler (and others) conducted a martial arts, personal safety one-hour workshop that was very educational. After the banquet (and the piper) we tasted 6 Scottish single malts (Glenkinchie 12 y/o, Singleton, Dalwhinnie, Oban, Talisker and Lagavulin. The first three were a little light for my taste. I drink Oban already. I quite enjoyed the Talisker and found the Lagavulin to be a milder version of Laphroaig. Learned a lot. Now I just have to make to Scotland and do a distillery tour (or three). Tomorrow starts early(9 a.m. panel!) so I'm off to bed once I get the luggage packed. Met lots of new folks and that's what counts.

Sunday -- the final panel of the con started at 9 a.m. Before that we had breakfast while J.A. Konrath interviewed Tess Gerritsen on stage. Tess does great anecdotes. The panel allowed me one last opportunity to chat with Rebecca Kohles who writes unique books blending the supernatural and all things equestrian. Into a thriller. She's had good success with her first two books and is moving steadily toward that day she receives a contract from a traditional publisher. I'm wishing her all sorts of good luck and fat contracts.

Once at the airport, I popped into the Delta Crown Room (nice one), set up my computer and got another ninety-minutes of work done on Madman's Dance. I usually wouldn't spend $$ for such "luxury" but being out of the ebb and flow of humanity allows me to get words on page. I'm traveling a LOT this year so the membership will prove worth it over the long run. Unfortunately, I remember when TWA's club was $150 year. That might explain why they're no longer in business.

Home without a hassle, nice dinner (courtesy of the spouse who is thrilled I can take over cat fawning duties) and I spiraled into bed by 8:15. Totally knackered (as the Brits would say). Tomorrow is the day I'll officially start fretting about the next book. The deadline loometh. Those icy fingers of doubt are starting to flex. Well, nothing that dramatic. It's just going to be a day filled with lots of work.

"Repaid with Abandonment!"

Apparently, a few of the sisters in New York are peeved at Senator Edward Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama. (The national chapter promptly hedged on this harsh statement, by the way.)

From CNN:

"Sen. Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard," said the statement. "Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, the Family Leave and Medical Act to name a few."

"And now the greatest betrayal! We are repaid with his abandonment!" the statement continues. "He’s picked the new guy over us. He’s joined the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton."

Repaid? This is quid pro quo? That sounds like the Old Boy Network they're always railing about. Ah, but the real issue is buried inside that rant: someone who can't or won't handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton. My guess is that Kennedy could give a damn if the next prez wears a skirt or not. It's Hillary that bugs him.

HRC falls firmly into the "business as usual" camp. She part of the Old Boy Network despite her sex. Bill also is an issue for me. What is he going to do for four or eight years while his wife runs the country? He's not going to play lots of golf and keep his mouth shut, that's for sure. During that entire time the Repubs are going to spend every waking minute trying to scuttle the boat. The truth is, it'd be a lot harder with Obama.

The endorsement I found more compelling was Carolyn Kennedy's Op Ed piece in the NYT yesterday. I can't remember her endorsing a candidate before. Her elegant article lays out its case simply -- to her Obama is the man who offers a new vision for those of us tired of the politics of the Washington elite, the man whose vision most reminds her of her father's.

If elected, would he be able to fight the good fight? I'm not sure. But at best he offers a glimpse of someone before DC ruins them.

The Snowing of Atlanta

Atlanta has this thing about snow. It fears it. No, that's not too strong a word for its apprehension about anything resembling white stuff falling out of the sky. As an Iowan, unless it gets 5 or more inches deep and is blowing around in a blizzard, I ignore it. I do take note of driving conditions, but that's about it. Since I've moved South I've changed my thoughts about snow. Well, not snow per se, but my fellow Atlantans when the white stuff starts falling. They panic. Yesterday was a case in point.

Friend Pam (she who comments on this blog every now and then) flew into Atlanta to set up for a trade show. That's what her company does. Her morning flight was canceled because of the weather. Mind you, it wasn't doing much of anything here at 9:15 in the morning, but Delta decided it would be better to cancel the day before than the day of service. I don't fault the airlines. They're screwed no matter what they do. By ten in the morning it's snowing. It's light fluffy snow, enough to coat the ground and the cars. Pretty, especially since I know it will be gone in a day or two. No wind, temps are in the mid-thirties.

Friend Pam arrives later in the afternoon, her flight delayed due to the bad weather in Atlanta. Well, unless the airport had completely different weather than we were experiencing, the weather didn't suck. She found that quite amusing. We meet, go to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. It is at this point we note the Lack of People. Midtown Atlanta Saturday evening is like the Vegas Strip on the weekend. You can hardly drive anywhere without sitting in traffic for ages. Last night -- no traffic. Popped right into the restaurant, got a seat, ate a great meal. That never happens.

Then we adjourned to the Borders so we could sit, sip coffee and b.s. Borders closed at 8 p.m. due to the severe weather. Okay, at this point there is no snow, the streets are DRY and the temp at 35 degrees. So we went to a Cariboo Coffee. Ditto. Off to a Barnes & Noble. Closed. Starbucks? They remained open until ten and then booted us out due to the inclement weather. It's now 34 degrees, still no precipitation and no ice on the streets.

So we retreat to Pam's hotel and order (what we found out after the fact) were the World's Most Excellent Glasses of Wine(TM) The flat screen TV in the bar is turned to CNN and they're taking about the ONE THOUSAND (1,000) flights canceled because of the bad weather. We're looking at each other wondering what the hell is going on here.

Pam had an excellent laugh out of all this. Compared to the 5 inches of snow and sub-zero temps Iowa's been enduring the last few days, Atlanta is a weekend at the beach. The evening was fun, if nothing more than for the Twilight Zone-ness of it all.

General Sherman went about sacking Atlanta the hard way. He didn't need to bombard the city and burn it to the ground. All he needed was to walk up to one to Atlantan, peer quizzically at the sky and ask, "Is that snow?"

*The snowman is in our neighbor's yard. It's all decked out in Braves regalia, of course.