Say Yay With Me!

Why? At loooong last my book is available on Audible.com and through iTunes. Please join me in jumping for joy. My publisher and I have been trying for months and months and then for a few months to accomplish this.

The Audio book process was probably the hardest part of the entire publishing experience for me. The voice actor was a very nice man, but I kept thinking, “He doesn’t sound like Scott.” Of course I had to come to terms with the fact that the voice I have in my head for my character probably doesn’t really exist. (Ooo, did I just admit to hearing voices in my head ;)
The voice actor was from the Midwest, though, so I did have to explained to him how a character who grew up in California would pronounce certain things…like Los Angeles. :)

Ah, well. For the lovers of audio books, check out your iTunes or Audible.com . Scott would love to tell you all about the most startling thing he ever saw.

New Book Signing!

I just wanted to let you know that I have a new book signing scheduled for October (Praise God).
The date I have right now is October 10th at the Barnes and Noble in Fresno, California. We’ve been trying to get a book signing here since last December, so today is officially a good day! :)
I know it’s a bit early to announce this, but I thought I might as well start. I’ll post a reminder with more details closer to the actually date.
So, if you’re going to be in the Central Valley area of California in October, please stop by. I’d love to meet you!

Spark Some Discussion

My family and I had a very interesting movie experience this weekend. We saw a commercial for a science fiction, doomsday film and on a whim decided to rent it.

No, I’m not going to recommend it or even tell you the title. I know I have younger readers and this was frankly one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I had trouble falling asleep because I kept envisioning waking up to find a tall, thin, blonde man standing over my bed with his abnormally long, boney fingers reaching out for me (okay, so I’m impressionable).

Then why bring it up? The movie had an interesting effect on my family. As soon as the credits began to roll everyone in the room burst into discussion about all the ideas presented and questions left. It was not a Christian movie, but the themes were oddly strong.

The ones saved from the fires were those who “heard the call” and “followed the path.” The elements sparked a lot of questions…Those creatures were certainly aliens…but allegorically could they also be angels, coming to earth to take the chosen before the finally destruction? Is that supposed to be the tree of life? The new heaven and earth? Adam and Eve? Noah’s ark? Personally, I found the end to be extremely strange for a big budget Hollywood film.
The main character, a scientist who declares throughout the film that life is nothing more than a purposeless accident, finishes the story by clinging to his father, a Christian pastor, and declaring he now knows death is not the end of life.

Before long we were discussing what we believed, what other’s believed, how each idea appeared to different viewers, what could have influenced the writers, and then we were on the internet looking up different reviews, movie facts, and quotes, trying to see if we could understand the writer’s perspective.

Interestingly, one of the reviewers said he did not like the movie because he walked away with more questions than answers. I’m all for stories that have nice, neat endings, but is there not also value in a film that encourages people to talk about deep issues and search out more answers?

Mispellngs an other TypOs

I suppose this post should start with, “It was a dark and stormy knight…I mean night.” ;)
In a way, this is an official apology to all those who have read my posts and stumbled upon my typos and spelling errors. I’ve found them in the past, so I’m sure you have.
I do try (spell check, grammar check, and several readings), but it seems I just can’t avoid the mistakes.
There usually is a pattern. OFF is usually OF. AND comes out AN. AN is probably going to be A. And sentences with words like, “give her,” come out, “giver.”
That of course is a result of a brain that moves a little faster than my fingers. And then there are those times when my spelling is so unique it even stumps spell-check. It’s never good when spell-check says, No Spelling Suggestions. (lol)
Oh, come on, I know there are people out there who can understand. For the rest of you, grant me mercy and center your critique on my content. I beg you. :P
(Btw, does anyone else think grammar check is just a little bit over opinionated?)

Please Make Contact

I have not brought up politics on this blog as of yet. Though I often discuss the topic, frankly, I never really wanted to do so here. But every once and a while something comes up that I think really should be mentioned.

I am asking you to contact both your congressmen and senators, be they Republican or Democrat, and request they vote no on the “public option” health care bill that is being floated around the congress right now. It has already passed through several committees…in the middle of the night (that should say something).

I’d really rather not seem my country turn into Britain, where twice as many people die of treatable conditions because they are stuck on waiting lists. Or Canada, were people cross over boarders and pay cash just to get treatment that is plentiful in our country.
And as to the line, “You’ll be able to keep your own insurance if you want,” page 16 of the current draft does away with that.

I know there are many out there who feel our country is already doomed to follow this path and there’s no point in trying. Personally, I’d still like to try.

You can find the names of your representatives and ways to contact them at: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

Thanks for trying with me.

Look To The Right

Yes, scroll down just a bit and look to the right. Did you look? Good. Then you probably saw the poll I have there titled WHICH DO YOU PREFER? So, if you haven’t, VOTE. :)
Come now, I know I have visitors out there who haven’t voted yet. (Feel my reproachful gaze.)
And I’m certain you have an opinion. (Don’t deny it.)
This is actually a growing debate in the publishing word, especial in the wake of the popularity of the Kindle and iTunes.

For the record:
-I am a TRADITIONAL PRINT BOOK vote.
-Personally, I am not fond of audio books. One reason being I can read a book faster than I can listen to it. But I do know of people, particular those who have long commutes, who love them.
-I have not yet read an eBook, but I do intend to in the near future. A book I want to read has only been released in eBook. However, I can never see myself being won over by them entirely. Among other reasons, I love collecting books almost as much as reading them. I don’t think an eBook reader would make my house look as nice as a full bookcase would. ;)

So, what do you think?
(In reference to the person who voted WHAT’S A BOOK?…I know who that was and in a way he was being honest. :P)

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Isn’t that a great title? Okay, so maybe I’m a little bit prejudiced. ;)
Still, how could I not own a book with that title? My mom and I decided that it would look very good on our bookshelves.
But even before we got it home I realized I could not avoid reading the book…even though it is classified as a children’s novel best suited for 5th grade readers. :)
Perhaps I was egged on a bit by the fact that the “adult” novel I was reading at the moment was boring me into annoyance. I was coming up with ways to avoid reading it.
However, 485 pages later I was very happy that I’d pealed back the cover of The Mysterious Benedict Society. It is, in essence, what a good book ought to be. Exceptionally clever at times. Fanciful at others. Plenty of suspense to keep the pages turning. A great deal of adventurous escapades. Wit applied when needed.
I am willing to admit that on occasion I do read children’s novels, because I know good writing and storytelling is not confined to the realm of adulthood. I thoroughly enjoyed Holes (yes, I have a copy in my library). And I am a little tempted to try out A Series of Unfortunate Events someday (yes, the movie was dark and a bit strange, but somehow uniquely enjoyable).
Honestly, what true lover of books doesn’t search out good stories wherever they may be founds?
So, I say, if you ever long to be lost for a moment in the world of good old fashioned story-telling, why not follow Mr. Benedict and his team of exceptional children as they attempt to save the world from the very grip of evil?
NOTE: The description of Mr. Benedict given in the book does not match my father or my grandfather, so he must be a member of the east-coast branch of the family. ;)

Does No Ever Really Mean No?

I am not much of a swimmer. It’s just not something I’m all that fond of. I told my family that very clearly this weekend when they were trying to coax me into our pool.
After much pleading failed, my sister finally said, “Why don’t you just put your feet in?”
To be a good sport, I rolled up my jeans and sat down on the pool decking, without any idea how fast such an action could snow ball into disaster…or should I say sink.
First my Dalmatian mix, Margaret, took it as a signal she could now jump into the pool and swim to her heart’s content. The show she put on was enjoyable enough that I really didn’t mind the splash I got ever time she came over to make sure solid ground still existed. After all, I was just getting a little wet.
Then out of the blue, my brother’s mini beagle decided that she too wanted to go for a swim. That lasted for about three minutes, at which point she took a wrong turn, swam into a wall, and began to panic.
So what did I have to do? (Ah, come on people, you should have seen this coming.) I had to jump in and pull her out.
Why bother searching for a modest bathing suit? Blue jeans and a T-shirt work just fine. (lol)
Of course, I’m now afraid to see what will happen the next time I decide not to go swimming. :P

Blackout

Yes, it is officially summer in California. How do I know? We’ve had our first electrical blackout. ;)
Over the past few weeks we’ve been experiencing blackout “blinks,” but on Tuesday, just as I was about to put dinner into the oven, the lights went off, the air conditioner hummed to a stop, and a choirs of beeping surge protectors all sounded at once. A few minutes later one of our neighbors came over to inform us that, while outside washing his car, he heard an explosion like sound coming out of the PG&E electrical vault in our front yard.

So, just in case you experience the same issue, we’ve come up with a list of things to do while waiting for electricity to be restored.
-Trade out that great dinner you were planning for cold cut sandwiches.
-Watch smoke float out of the vault when the PG&E worker opens it. (I kid you not.)
-Try to find something by the light of a decorative votive candle.
-Think about blogging about a power outage and hope you’ll remember it when the internet comes back up.
-Listen to the automated PG&E voice during status calls.
-Watch the temperature on the thermostat rise and then calculate the difference between the outside and inside temperature.
-And of course, stay as still as possible in hopes that you won’t overheat. (Hard to do when it’s 102 degrees just beyond the walls.)

:) All and all, this one wasn’t too bad. Three hours later the power came back on. Frankly, it’s a little amusing these days. Ah, beloved California. ;)