No Boundaries on Planet Earth

© Copyright 2010 by Ted Grussing

On Tuesday, January 5, 2010 my friend, Ted Grussing took to the air from the Sedona, Arizona airport and flew over Marble Canyon/Grand Canyon and the lava flow from SP Crater, one of several cinder cones in the area of the San Francisco Peaks volcano field, about 25 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona. A cinder cone is a steep conical hill of volcanic fragments that accumulate around and downwind from a volcanic vent. The SP crater is said to have erupted 71,000 years ago. The lava field that flowed from the cone extends out more than four miles. The SP crater is approximately 800 feet tall and has a 400 foot deep crater. According to geologists, several of the cinder cones surrounding SP Crater are even older, indicated by the erosion they show.

© Copyright 2010 by Ted Grussing

In 1969, President Johnson made Marble Canyon a National Monument. The Grand Canyon was designated a Forest Reserve in 1893, and named a National Monument in1908, and in 1919 it became a National Park. Then in 1975 Marble Canyon became part of the Grand Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon National Park covers 1,218,375 acres. The Canyon, deeply cut by the Colorado River, is immense, averaging 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 15 miles at its widest. The South Rim is 7000 feet above sea level, which means snow in winter and cool nights even in summer. Summer temperatures along the Colorado River at the Canyon bottom can reach 120º F., and the North Rim is 8000 feet above sea level and can receive snow a good part of the year.

Marble Canyon marks the western boundary of the Navajo Nation, and a few miles to the east is the Hopi Nation. Evidence of occupation of the Grand Canyon goes back more than 11,500 years, and archeologists and geologists have studied the area for decades. In 2008, archeologists excavated two sites along the Colorado River and one of the excavated sites has evidence of as many as six different human occupations over a time span of 3,500 years. The Park is also an ecological refuge, and home to numerous plant and animal species—1500 plant, 89 mammals, 47 reptile, 355 bird, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species.

This view of the river and Canyon that Ted captured from his vantage point with his camera, shows the geological wonder that it is, even more so than standing on the rim observing from that perspective.

Ted’s flight was obviously on a beautiful day, yesterday, to have captured such sights with his camera. This is what he wrote about his photographs:

“The flight north [from Sedona Airport] to the confluence of the Little Colorado River and the Colorado River and the landscapes were beyond belief with the snow highlighting variations in the texture of the earth. The water was running a beautiful turquoise blue the last several miles of the Little Colorado River and the Colorado was running green as usual; except for a portion of the river upstream from the confluence in Marble Canyon and there due to lighting conditions it was a bluish color with reddish reflections from the canyon walls in it. The shot was taken from 10,800’ over the Confluence looking upriver. The confluence is where going upstream the canyon is denominated as Marble Canyon and downstream the Grand Canyon. There are no such boundaries visible from the air and the canyons are simply one canyon broken into two for whatever reason. That is one of the beauties of flight; you get to see the earth with no boundaries or property lines of any kind; it is simply the surface of planet earth.”

“The SP photo is the polite name for a crater that geologists gave another name to. The lava flow which appears to be several hundred feet high trails from the volcanic crater base down to the lower left of the photo. You can also see the fields of volcanic craters everywhere on the landscape ahead of us. The San Francisco peaks are upper left. The air was uncommonly stable.”

Visit Ted’s website to see more of his photography.

~Linda

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Here's to 2010, and a new year filled with peace, love, health, prosperity, and happiness!

Linda

Amazing: Jeff Bezos and Amazon Kindle Reader

“Amazon Kindle is the Most Gifted Item Ever on Amazon.com
On Christmas Day, for the First Time Ever, Customers Purchased More Kindle Books Than Physical Books

SEATTLE, Dec 26, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced that Kindle has become the most gifted item in Amazon's history. On Christmas Day, for the first time ever, customers purchased more Kindle books than physical books. The Kindle Store now includes over 390,000 books and the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read, including New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases.

"We are grateful to our customers for making Kindle the most gifted item ever in our history," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "On behalf of Amazon.com employees around the world, we wish everyone happy holidays and happy reading!"

On Amazon's peak day, Dec. 14, 2009, customers ordered over 9.5 million items worldwide, which is a record-breaking 110 items per second.”

Read these incredible Amazon stats.

I sold some of my Kindle books and regular print books during this holiday season.

For those of you who purchased a Kindle Reader and are looking for books to upload, check my variety out on my Kindle Page.

And for those of you without a Kindle, like me, take a look at my print books.

Happy reading....

~Linda

The E-Book Battle

This Sunday article in the Washington Post addresses some of the publishing issues I have written about, i.e.: e-books, book prices, the industry ignoring what readers desire, and what writers want in regards to fair royalties. You can also add Print On Demand to this as e-books often have POD availability.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

E-books spark battle inside the publishing industry
By Marion Maneker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 27, 2009

“The evolution of publishing from print to digital has caused a schism in the reading world. There are now two constituencies: readers (and writers) on the one hand, and the publishing world on the other. And they don't want to hear each other.”

“Readers want books that are plentiful and cheap, publishers want to preserve their profit, and authors want a larger share of revenue. The conflict has created a strident internecine battle inside the publishing industry.”

...”Publishers can no longer be vast containers of intellectual property distributed in paper form to bookstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs. But they don't have to be: They can become highly selective distributors to bookstores, supermarkets and price clubs. That's the lesson of the television, music and movie businesses.”

“But if the publishers want a role in the e-books business, they'll need to get over it and get on with it, embracing lower-priced e-books with higher author royalties. That seems unlikely. Because it's now clear that publishers just don't want to listen to what their customers are telling them.”

Read the complete Washington Post article.

See my previous post on ebooks, self-publishing, Kindle.

Unease in the Publishing World

Pixels and Fonts, E-books and E-book Readers

Publishing With Kindle

~Linda

The Unease in the Publishing World

"Nothing endures but change." - Heraclitus

Many authors are moving away from traditional publishing and going to self-publishing. This last month there was outrage in the publishing industry because Harlequin and another publisher now have a branch of their companies dealing in self-publishing.

Kevin Weiss is CEO of Author Solutions, the company who owns the self-publishing companies such as Exlibris, Author House, and iUniverse (who I have published several books with in 2000 and 2002, in addition to putting 12 of my late husband, Don Pendleton’s books back in print with their program in association with the Authors Guild, Inc.).

I’m not necessarily recommending an author choose to go the self publishing route without doing some research of the idea, but as I have written I have been upset by the attitude of publishers and many agents who believe a self-published author is not worthy of regular, traditional publishing and is not a professional. And I am also perturbed by the same attitude of author organizations, such as the Mystery Writers of America, who will not allow membership in the organization unless an author has been published by a company they consider to be a traditional publisher. I consider those attitudes to be elitist and unreasonable.

I must say I agree with what Kevin Weiss states in his video, and in my last blog I talked about Jeff Bezos’ Amazon and the Kindle Reader.

Change is happening in the industry and there is resistance. I doubt we’re going to go backwards so everybody might as well surrender to it instead of fighting it. It is time for change. And readers who are not spending $30 on a hardcover book should be giving publishers a hint. And millions spent on advances, especially celebrity advances, are not being recovered.

Seems there is a message there.

Let's see what 2010 brings....

~Linda

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and the Kindle Reader

Jeff Bezos has always intrigued me with his innovative ideas and visionary approach to his business, Amazon.com, which he launched in 1994. I previously wrote about him and his company here.

When asked in a December, 2009 Newsweek article (by Daniel Lyons) about the success and broadening of his business, Jeff Bezos stated, “We learn whatever skills we need to service the customer. We build whatever technology we need to service the customer. The second thing is, we are inventors, so you won't see us focusing on "me too" areas. We like to go down unexplored alleys and see what's at the end. Sometimes they're dead ends. Sometimes they open up into broad avenues and we find something really exciting.

Of course his latest exciting adventure is the successful Kindle reader, but Kindle didn’t happen overnight according to Bezos. He said this about the development of the Kindle: “It's been on the market for two years, but we worked on it for three years in earnest before that. We talked about it for a year before that. We had to go hire people to build a hardware--engineering team to build the device. We had to acquire new skills. There's a tendency, I think, for executives to think that the right course of action is to stick to the knitting—stick with what you're good at. That may be a generally good rule, but the problem is the world changes out from under you if you're not constantly adding to your skill set.”

You see what I mean about a visionary attitude, and the guts to take risks and move forward?

I was somewhat surprised by the stats he gave on the success of the Kindle and his comment that he was “astonished” by the success of the Kindle. “Two years ago, none of us expected what has happened so far. It is [our] No. 1 bestselling product. It's the No. 1 most-wished-for product as measured by people putting it on their wish list. It's the No. 1 most-gifted item on Amazon. And I'm not just talking in electronics—that's true across all product categories. We've spent years working on our physical books business, and today, for titles that have a Kindle edition, Kindle book sales are 48 percent of the physical sales. That's up from 35 percent in May. The business is growing very quickly. This is not just a business for us. There is missionary zeal. We feel like Kindle is bigger than we are.”

Apparently Bezos believes that physical books are on their way out...although he admits he does not know how long that will take but they have had a five hundred year run. He stated, “Given how much change there has been everywhere else, what's remarkable is how stable the book has been for so long. But no technology, not even one as elegant as the book, lasts forever.”

I personally do not have a Kindle yet....maybe one day, but I am so interested because I am now selling 10 items through Kindle (fiction and nonfiction). I am making sales in the two to four months that my works have been available in that format. To hear that the Kindle book sales are nearly half of the Amazon book sales, sounds pretty good to me.

I’ve always get a kick out of Jeff Bezos’ humor and laughter. Maybe his attitude has helped him to succeed and laugh at the obstacles, ups and downs, and challenges along the way.

He seems to be enjoying the journey...

He dares to risk...

Maybe we all need to do more of that.

~Linda

"Blue Christmas," Elvis Presley and Martina McBride

“Rock and roll music, if you like it, if you feel it, you can't help but move to it. That's what happens to me. I can't help it.” ~Elvis Presley (1935-1977)



Amazing what can be done with our technology.

Here is Elvis singing Blue Christmas with Martina McBride. Elvis’ performance is from the NBC TV 1968 “Comeback Special.” Copyright (C) 2008 Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

~Linda

Creating Fictional Characters

“The writer is always working from his own individual world view, whatever the subject, so an honest writer cannot conceal himself in the work no matter how hard he may try to do so.” ~Don Pendleton (1927–1995)

A friend asked me the other day if my new fictional character, Private Investigator, Catherine Winter, from my book, Shattered Lens, was modeled after anyone I know. My answer was, “Not really.”

Catherine Winter is a strong woman, dedicated to her work, trusting of her intuition, and has seen it all...horrific murders, corruption, the corporate evils, the drugs, illicit sex, and downfalls of well-known celebrities and politicians.

She’s in her early sixties, a Southern California Private Investigator who has been in the business for many years, working alongside her husband in their PI Agency. After he passed away seven years ago, she kept the business going and feels she couldn’t give up her investigative work and cannot even conceive of doing anything else.

She has said, “As long as arthritis doesn’t lock up my joints or cataracts don’t keep my eyes from hitting the bulls-eye with a .357 slug then my shingle will stay on my door—C. Winter, Private Investigator.”

She also said this: “In this business you try your best to harden yourself to looking death straight in the eye but every time you are forced to face it you realize how damn vulnerable each of us are.”

I like the fictional characters I put in my novels...even the bad guys I create. I am now writing a second Catherine Winter novel, and I never know what characters will pop in and want a role in the story.

My friend is the second person who has asked me recently about the characters in my books. The other friend asked if he was in my book, Shattered Lens. I laughed and told him he was not. He wondered if I put people I knew in my stories. Again I said, “Not really.”

But the real answer is the character or characters I create within my own mind and who find their way onto the pages of my books, may be nothing more than a spark of creation from my own view of life, or from pieces of others who may have come in and out of my life, whether it be in a passing glance, a momentary speck of passion, an irritation, a voice, a song, a smile, a frown, or even a word.

I also asked my male friend what he would like to be in my book--what kind of character? I failed to tell him I could envision him as a romantic lead, a hero, or a knight in shining armor astride a white stallion, galloping off into the sunset with the woman he has rescued.

But if he actually ends up in any of my books, he won’t recognize himself, that is, unless he notices the male character with a small dimple when he smiles, or a guy with a bit of a tease in his voice, or the tall, good looking man who wins the heart of the little kid, or the heart of a mistreated puppy.

But heck, if I gave him a bigger role than that it will ruin the mystery of it all. Won’t it?

~Linda

Pixels and Fonts...E-Books and E-Readers

In this last two months I have published two new books, Shattered Lens, Catherine Winter, Private Investigator and The Cosmic Breath: Metaphysical Essays of Don Pendleton, and I have also published several of our in-print books as Kindle Editions. All are available at Amazon, including the new ten Kindle editions for the Kindle Reader.

I read an article in the New York Times, E-Reading, in 2 Authors’ Eyes by Peter Wayner, after a Twitter reference to it by author, Joseph Finder one of the subjects of the article.

Joseph Finder, author of high tech thrillers, stated, “I read a lot of nonfiction, particularly for research, and since I read a lot when I travel, I like the convenience of being able to lug a huge pile of books in one slim device.”

He does make a good point here that for traveling it would really come in handy to use the Kindle or another brand e-book reader. But Finder also brought up the disadvantage of not having an index in nonfiction books, especially while doing research. It can be time consuming and frustrating trying to find particular information without an index.

Lee Child, also a best-selling author of thrillers, mentioned in the article how not having the actual physical book made one concentrate a little more on the actual text. Even though he seemed content with e-book readers, he mentioned that one company may become the dominant supplier of e-readers, but that could also include e-books.

It appears that could happen easily with Amazon and the Kindle. Having just published ten things to Amazon Kindle, I can see what the future may hold in that regard.

We now live in a world of electronics and the young are fully immerged in that world and as new advances in technology come along, e-books and e-reading are bound to become more the norm. We’ve already seen that happening more in these few years.

Literary Agent, Nathan Bransford did his annual poll this week on his blog, on e-books, and the results show the trend moving toward the acceptance of e-books.

The percentage of people who said you'd have to pry paper books out of their cold dead hands:

2007: 49%

2008: 45%

2009: 37%

I wrote an article in 2002 about e-books and a librarian we had in our town. Pixels or Fonts, Does it Matter? The Resistance to E-books by Some in the Library Profession. Even though more than seven years have passed, it pretty much still applies as I wrote it. (The librarian left the job not long after.)

As long as they keep the font size on the e-readers adjustable for those of us over the hill, we may give up the paper books and the dust mites (I'm allergic to those little buggers that love old books) that go along with them, for a slick, thin, light-weight e-reader. I’m sure when prices come down, most of us will have one.

I read that Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com is working on getting the Kindle in Europe. I’m sure it will happen soon. I believe they have it worked out for Canada now. As authors, that will broaden our readership.

So if you are one who has a Kindle or will be getting one for a Christmas gift, consider some of my fiction and nonfiction Kindle Editions, or the regular old fashioned print books. And there is also my e-courses and e-books that can be given as gifts. Those do not need an e-reader as they are downloadable as PDF files from my publisher. They’ve sold all over the world.

~Linda

Joseph Finder, Author of Thrillers

“Writing is the only profession I can think of that requires no license, no certificate, no special training, and no special tools. Anyone who wants to can be a writer. All you have to do is write.” ~Joseph Finder, Author



Joseph Finder is a best selling author of thriller novels. Here in this interview he talks about his new book, Vanished, the first in a series featuring his new character, Nick Heller, a high-powered investigator with a private intelligence firm who was trained in Special Forces and “specializes in digging up secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden.”

This video is Joseph Finder conversation with actor Holter Graham who did the audiobook rendition of Finder’s book, Vanished.

~Linda

Art is in the Eye of the Beholder

I watched the American Music Award’s Sunday night and although most of the music and entertainers are not my “cup of tea,” I watched it all including the “climatic” (no pun intended LOL) performance by the very talented Adam Lambert. I did not really care for his song much, but he performed as I thought he might: outrageously, sort of in the “creative” vein of what Madonna used to do, and what some of the newer entertainers are doing....sex....

Even one of my favorites, American Idol’s Carrie Underwood—a real beauty—has gotten pretty darn sexual in her presentations. Come on people, all I am now hearing is how Adam Lambert kissed another man and had another person’s face in his crotch and snapped a bikini type costume. And watching the performance it happened so quickly that it was hard to tell if the blond keyboard player was male or female. Yes, there where chains and ropes, sexual innuendos, and movements, but what was really any different than watching Sakira and the thirty or so female dancers with their display of pelvic movements that people used to consider vulgar, or watching rap singers grab or touch their crotches in a way made “popular” by Michael Jackson. Seems you have to have the “wondering hand”to rap.

Then there was the outrageous Lady Gaga who looked like she was supposed to be naked but her body suit had an opening that appeared to be fly-like such as in male boxers or tape of some kind on her pelvic area. Have no idea what that was all about. I found her performance of falling all over the floor, and breaking liquor bottles on a flaming piano, crazy—but apparently that is the way she expresses her talent.

So maybe Adam did get “caught up in the moment” as he says about the kiss but what about the rest of the performance that obviously had been rehearsed, probably several times, and producers, (Dick Clark Productions) and directors knew what his performance was all about. They also knew it would get reaction and viewers as they saved Adam Lambert for the last three or four minutes of the show, at 11:00 PM. East Coast and West Coast. (sure not family hour). If they thought his performance was not a problem then why didn’t they not put him on in the beginning of the show—instead of saving him to last?

Was I surprised by Adam’s performance? Not at all. He is so talented, outrageous, daring, outspoken, and most of all, accepting of his sexuality, and is REAL. I admire that in him. At his young age he already knows who he is and he presents his authentic self.

And for those who do not care for his performances, don’t watch, don’t listen. But in doing so, you may miss some darn good talent because Adam Lambert is going to be around a long time.

But what I am irritated about today is ABC’s discriminatory action against Adam Lambert by canceling his scheduled performance on “Good Morning America” Wednesday morning.

Lambert said that any criticism he received for the performance was demonstrative of a double standard in entertainment. He’s quoted in a Rolling Stone Interview:
“Female performers have been doing this for years — pushing the envelope about sexuality — and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out,” Mr. Lambert said. “We’re in 2009; it’s time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people’s eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I’m not for them.”

I agree that there is a double standard. Rap singers have gotten away not only with risqué songs and dances, but violent songs, and a few bleeps later, they still perform on TV.

So why all the uproar now with a talented gay singer who does take risks and does get outrageous? Is ABC pulling a guest spot because people where offended by the sexual performance of a gay man but apparently are fine with similar behavior of scantly clothed women portraying sexual movements? One report was that ABC received 1500 complaints. With 14.2 million viewers of the awards show, it seems like the number of complaints was nothing to panic about. But apparently they did.

People still watch Madonna after some of her very sexual and risqué performances. And how about the Madonna, Britney Spears kiss? It may have lasted longer than Adam’s.

CBS is on the ball, though. After ABC announced the cancellation, CBS booked Adam for Wednesday morning’s “Early Show” where he will perform live and discuss his performance on the American Music Awards. Also his taped appearance will air on David Lettermen Wednesday night.

The artist must remain master of his craft, and bring his or her authentic self forward. That is how real talent blossoms and expands.

I wrote about Adam previously here, here, here and here..
I look forward to hearing his new album. Clips of it here at Amazon, Sounds like some good songs.

~Linda

Interview of Thriller Writer, Lee Child

In an interesting interview, Lee Child discusses writing, his books and his character, Jack Reacher. His thirteenth Jack Reacher thriller is Gone Tomorrow. His next book will be 61 Hours.





"All good thriller writers know how to build suspense and keep the pages turning, but only better ones deliver tight plots as well, and only the best allow the reader to match wits with both the hero and the author. Bestseller Child does all of that in spades... [He] sets things up subtly and ingeniously, then lets Reacher use both strength and guile to find his way to the exciting climax."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Read an excerpt of Gone Tomorrow

John Grisham Short Stories and Interview

John Grisham talks about his latest book, Ford County, his first collection of short stories. The seven stories are set in small fictional Mississippi towns. In the interviews he talks of the flaws and injustices that still remain in our justice system and are influenced by issues such as economics. He takes about wring novels vs short story writing. I found the interview very interesting.

Interview Part Two

Interview Part Three

Interview Part Four

~Linda

Mattie's Mom, Jeni Stepanek and her new Book, Messenger

“One day, for all to know, our legacy will simply be the shape of the life we leave behind, for eternity.”-Mattie Stepanek.

Jeni Stepanek was on Good Morning America today: See excerpt from the book, Messenger, the Legacy of Mattie J.T Stepanek and Heartsongs, and video. Tonight she wrote this on the Larry King Blog.


November 2, 2009
The Legacy of Mattie Stepanek
Posted: 07:10 PM ET
By Jeni Stepanek for the Larry King Blog

For many years, people have asked me, “When are you going to write the story of Mattie’s life? I am inspired by his words, his message. I want to know more about Mattie as a person.” And for a number of years, I have had this story planned – outlined into chapters, with detailed notes and thoughts about how such a book might unfold chapter by chapter. It wasn’t until last fall that I felt the time was ‘right’ to tell this story though.

Despite the sad truth that Mattie died just before his 14th birthday, I wanted this book to be a celebration of his life. I wanted to capture his wisdom (yes, he penned seven NY Times bestselling books of poetry and essays), and also his wit (yes, he really DID put apple juice in a urine cup and panic unsuspecting doctors who saw him drinking it). I wanted to write a book that inspired people to think of Mattie with a smile, and to recognize that he was an ordinary kid who made some extraordinary choices in life. I wanted folks to remember why they were drawn to him during his time on earth. I wanted readers to feel how ‘real’ Mattie was, and how very much alive his message of hope and peace is in the world today through a legacy that is growing outward and ‘forthward’ more and more each year. Now, that book, “Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs” is complete, and ready ripple around the world.

Through television appearances and writings and speeches, Mattie reminded people of all walks of life that ‘hope is real’ and ‘peace is possible’ and ‘life is worthy’ – despite whatever burdens or blessings were a part of any given day. This book will help readers finally learn about Mattie himself, and how he came to believe and live those truths in his own life. Readers will learn about Mattie’s hopes and hesitations, his education and spirituality, and his practical jokes and adventures at summer camp. The importance of ‘morning coffee’ and ‘afternoon tea’ are explored, as well as the significance of ‘sunrise on pier’ and ‘pumpkin season’ and other themes that touched Mattie’s essence. I share details of Mattie’s private life at home, his journeys on the road once he achieved some level of celebrity, and his long months in the intensive care unit during his final years of life. The book is filled with photos from throughout Mattie’s life, most of which I have never shared before. There are also bits of previously unpublished poetry and journal entries by Mattie, as well as excerpts from his e-mail correspondence with Oprah Winfrey, Chris Cuomo, and other friends.




Mattie was my son, and he was also my best friend. There is not a day that passes that I don’t miss him, or the little notes he would leave by my bed, or his snuggles and foot massages, or the word games and board games we played, or the conversations we had about life and our world, or just holding his hand. But this book is not about what I miss, or about my grief, or even about Mattie’s passing. This book is truly about the celebration and lasting inspiration of a young man who taught us all through word and action, to “Remember to play after every storm!”

I am very proud to be “Mattie’s mom.” And though there were some difficult moments during the writing of this book and during the audio recording of this book for CD, I am so happy that I realized last fall that it was time to share this story. I am excited about the release of this book, and I am looking forward to interacting with readers who want to share their thoughts after reading the pages. What a gift it has been to me to have the opportunity to share the story of my son’s life in this book. Please feel free to contact me through Mattie’s website: www.mattieonline.com.

© 2009 by Jeni Stepanek.

"Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs" is in bookstores November 3rd.

Read my review of Mattie's book, Just Peace, co written with President Jimmy Carter.

~Linda

Hate Crime Legislation signed by President Obama

"We must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones but to break spirits. No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love." ~President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON -- Today at the White House, President Barack Obama signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation, a milestone that activists compared to the passage of 1960s civil-rights legislation empowering blacks. The new law adds acts of violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to the list of federal hate crimes.

The amendment was named partly for Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who died after a 1998 savage beating targeting him because he was gay, and whose parents were instrumental in leading the fight for such legislation, and also named for James Byrd Jr., a black Texas man dragged to his death in a racially motivated killing the same year.

Matthew Shepard's parents joined Obama for the bill signing, as did the family of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy who was deeply involved in pushing the legislation prior to his death in August.

Judy Shepard issued a statement saying that she and her husband, Dennis, "are incredibly grateful to Congress and the president for taking this step forward on behalf of hate crime victims and their families, especially given the continuing attacks on people simply for living their lives openly and honestly."

She also called on Americans to look beyond legislation and work in their own lives to advance acceptance of gays.

~Linda

Adam Lambert CD Cover, For Your Entertainment

Adam Lambert's Cd Cover, For Your Entertainment. Album can be pre-ordered at amazon.com
Release date: November 23rd.


What is there to say??

~Linda

Don Pendleton Tribute

Writer and friend, Jon Guenther posted on his blog a very nice tribute, Remembering Don Pendleton in memory of my late husband, author Don Pendleton. Don passed away 14 years ago on October 23, 1995 and I have to say it almost seems impossible that much time has gone by since he left this physical world. Although absent in the physical dimension, he is still very much here.

I had a telephone conversation with Jon today. Jon has written close to thirty books in the Harlequin Executioner program (Executioners, Super Bolans, Stony Man). He is one of many fans who was inspired by Don’s books at a fairly young age. And like a few others, that inspiration resulted in becoming writers themselves. I still enjoy getting the fan emails and hearing how the writings of Don Pendleton influenced lives in various ways.

There is something special about Don’s Mack Bolan character that he created and wrote about in his original series of 38 books. Don gave Bolan the essence of a true hero that has lived on through the “pen” of other writers for about 700 books. Forty years since the first Executioner, War Against the Mafia. Don was known as "the father of action/adventure."

This week I published The Cosmic Breath, Metaphysical Essays of Don Pendleton, Introduction by Linda Pendleton.

Although Don was a successful novelist for many years, he also wrote nonfiction, including metaphysical essays. He had a life-long interest in metaphysics and considered himself a metaphysical scholar. His nonfiction book, (in original E-book edition), A Search for Meaning from the Surface of a Small Planet, was winner of The Independent E-book Award 2002 for Metaphysics, and the Digital Literature Best of Non-fiction, 2002 Award.

The Cosmic Breath is available in tradepaper at Amazon and will be available for Kindle in a few days.

Thank you, Jon for remembering.

And if you missed my interview with Jon Guenther about his new book, Soul Runner, you can find it here.

~Linda

New CPR

This is an important video to watch. It seems they have now changed the procedure for heart attack resuscitation. The immediate response is no longer mouth to mouth but is rapid chest compressions. And of course, hopefully, the opportunity to call 911 prior to beginning CPR.

Isaac Asimov on Writing

Writing can have its frustrations, and often those frustrations do not come from so-called writer's block, but from the business end of trying to get published. So the quote here by author, Isaac Asimov is correct.


“You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.” ~Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)


Asimov was a very prolific writer of science fiction, science, short stories, and essays. He wrote over 500 books in his long career and won numerous awards for his writings.

~Linda

Shattered Lens, Novel Excerpt

Excerpt from Chapter One, Shattered Lens: Catherine Winter, Private Investigator

She hesitantly crossed the room, lowered herself onto the chair, and replied, "Lucy Albright, but I don't think I'm at the right place."

"Oh?"

Her cheeks colored. "I mean this is the place I wanted, but, you know, I mean you probably can't handle my case."

"I haven't seen many I've turned away from in thirty some years in the business," I replied.

"Uh...." She lowered her eyes to her lap and twisted the emerald ring on her right hand. Without returning her gaze to mine, she added, "That's what I mean."

"What is what you mean?" I inquired.

She looked up and color returned to her cheeks as she said, "Well, I thought my case needs someone a little, um, younger to handle it. You seem older. Well, I mean, you know."

Sure, I knew exactly what she meant. I had heard it often. Some people believe when you turn sixty you belong in a rocking chair on the porch of an old folks’ home, bored and dispassionately awaiting the arrival of your monthly retirement check. Let me tell you that you'll never find me doing that. When it is time for me to go out to pasture, it ain't gonna be that way.

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