Hi folks,
I've got an early version of the website up now. What do you think?
Ganzfield.com
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Website Designs
I'm working on the site for the Ganzfield series, and getting discouraged.
This is probably because I'm trying to build the site with three little kids in the same room. I don't recommend trying to think in HTML while simultaneously telling people not to spit on the furniture.
Anyhoo, I hope to have it ready for viewing in the next week or two. In the mean time, enjoy this unique book trailer:
This is probably because I'm trying to build the site with three little kids in the same room. I don't recommend trying to think in HTML while simultaneously telling people not to spit on the furniture.
Anyhoo, I hope to have it ready for viewing in the next week or two. In the mean time, enjoy this unique book trailer:
Monday, March 29, 2010
It Sounds Dirty
I'll admit it; it's nothing to be ashamed of, right? I've Googled myself a time or two.
This weekend, I checked out my nom de blog, though, and found this:*
* warning: the soundtrack isn't appropriate for the workplace, or around small children, or, frankly, around anyone. But it'll make you laugh until honey comes out your nose.
I also got a chance to watch an old movie this weekend. GHOSTBUSTERS is such a classic! Brilliant set-up of character, setting, conflict, and rising action. But the dialogue still seems like the highlight to me:
And for years, I used the phrase:
The special effects don't really hold up--it was made pre-CGI. Since I started writing in earnest, I'm more aware of the puppet-strings of books, shows, and movies. It ruins a lot of TV watching when you guess the ending six minutes into the opening.
But, when a story really pops, it's chocolate for the mind.
This weekend, I checked out my nom de blog, though, and found this:*
* warning: the soundtrack isn't appropriate for the workplace, or around small children, or, frankly, around anyone. But it'll make you laugh until honey comes out your nose.
I also got a chance to watch an old movie this weekend. GHOSTBUSTERS is such a classic! Brilliant set-up of character, setting, conflict, and rising action. But the dialogue still seems like the highlight to me:
"Ray when someone asks
if you're a god, you say—YES!"
if you're a god, you say—YES!"
And for years, I used the phrase:
"I love this plan—
I'm excited to be a part of it!"
I'm excited to be a part of it!"
The special effects don't really hold up--it was made pre-CGI. Since I started writing in earnest, I'm more aware of the puppet-strings of books, shows, and movies. It ruins a lot of TV watching when you guess the ending six minutes into the opening.
But, when a story really pops, it's chocolate for the mind.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Libraries!
Thanks for commenting, everyone! I'll drop off a check for $74 at the Hopkinton Town Library this week. My part in the Great Library Challenge has ended for 2010.
Let's do it again next year!
Let's do it again next year!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Talkin' 'bout My Generation
My urge to rant shows no signs of abating.
My entire life has been overshadowed by the Baby Boomers. Their freakishly huge generation continues to distort cultural trends like the gravitational pull of a black hole, even as they edge into old age.
OK, they had a LOT of cool music--I'll give them that.
But still! To this day, I can't call myself a thirtysomething without having a flashback to an 1980s, angst-filled TV series. BTW, does anyone else feel an existential similarity between that show and MAD MEN? Or is it just me?
The 1980s don't seem that long ago for me. But they were. Molly Ringwald now plays a grandmother on TV. Those thirtysomethings from the 1980s are now starting to retire. And that's giving me a midlife crisis--what have I accomplished with my life? And what can I accomplish in the next thirty years?
Gen-X stereotypes aside, it's not like I've been a slacker. I've been busy with jobs, books, kids, etc. But I feel like my group is slipping from the cultural sphere without ever really having had a turn to influence it properly. Heck--"Gen-X," an intentionally meaningless term, was actually the nicest thing we've been called. Remember "Baby Bust?" Do ya?
Plech.
So, I need to do something to feel good about my generation. Let's make today a celebration of Gen-X. Fill the comment section with waves of nostalgia and generational pride.
My entire life has been overshadowed by the Baby Boomers. Their freakishly huge generation continues to distort cultural trends like the gravitational pull of a black hole, even as they edge into old age.
OK, they had a LOT of cool music--I'll give them that.
But still! To this day, I can't call myself a thirtysomething without having a flashback to an 1980s, angst-filled TV series. BTW, does anyone else feel an existential similarity between that show and MAD MEN? Or is it just me?
The 1980s don't seem that long ago for me. But they were. Molly Ringwald now plays a grandmother on TV. Those thirtysomethings from the 1980s are now starting to retire. And that's giving me a midlife crisis--what have I accomplished with my life? And what can I accomplish in the next thirty years?
Gen-X stereotypes aside, it's not like I've been a slacker. I've been busy with jobs, books, kids, etc. But I feel like my group is slipping from the cultural sphere without ever really having had a turn to influence it properly. Heck--"Gen-X," an intentionally meaningless term, was actually the nicest thing we've been called. Remember "Baby Bust?" Do ya?
Plech.
So, I need to do something to feel good about my generation. Let's make today a celebration of Gen-X. Fill the comment section with waves of nostalgia and generational pride.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
What the Health?
Death threats toward Members of Congress? Are you frikkin' KIDDING me? What is the DEAL here?
In the past decade, Congress has voted to go start two wars, including one with a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. I didn't hear about Members of Congress receiving death threats over voting for those. But heaven forbid that we pass a law to try to give citizens healthcare--I guess THAT'S worth throwing bricks through windows.
Why is requiring citizens to have health insurance different from requiring car owners to have auto insurance? Why are so many people getting all worked up over this? I've lived in several countries which give their citizens government-funded medical care. Most people in these places consider healthcare on the same level as police and firefighting--basic protections for the well-being of the people.
If you don't feel safe enough with police protection, hire yourself a private bodyguard. But don't try to shut down the town police station and leave the rest of us unprotected. I'm thrilled that the healthcare law passed; I just wish we'd gone with a single-payer option, like most of the developed world.
After all, it's not like I get health benefits from writing novels.
In the past decade, Congress has voted to go start two wars, including one with a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. I didn't hear about Members of Congress receiving death threats over voting for those. But heaven forbid that we pass a law to try to give citizens healthcare--I guess THAT'S worth throwing bricks through windows.
Why is requiring citizens to have health insurance different from requiring car owners to have auto insurance? Why are so many people getting all worked up over this? I've lived in several countries which give their citizens government-funded medical care. Most people in these places consider healthcare on the same level as police and firefighting--basic protections for the well-being of the people.
If you don't feel safe enough with police protection, hire yourself a private bodyguard. But don't try to shut down the town police station and leave the rest of us unprotected. I'm thrilled that the healthcare law passed; I just wish we'd gone with a single-payer option, like most of the developed world.
After all, it's not like I get health benefits from writing novels.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Win a Book!
Hi folks! Our Library Challenge continues through the rest of the week. Yesterday, we raised nearly $40 for the Hopkinton Town Library.
Today I'm upping the ante.
You don't have to participate in the contest to continue the library challenge. I'll give $1 per commenter per day ($2 if you're a follower; you can sign up at the right). However, in addition, I'll pledge three signed copies of my new book, Minder, to the libraries of your choice.
Comment below by midnight (EDT) Thursday (3/25) if you want to give your local library a chance to receive a copy.
Include two things in your comment:
1) A MEMORABLE inscription suggestion. Funny, sweet, awe-inspiring--whatever blows your skirt up.
2) Contact info for the library. If you have a link--great! If not, just give me the name of the town and state (this offer's good only for the US and Canada, since international shipping gets pricey). If you want to donate it to a school library, include the school name, too.
I'll pick the three inscriptions I like best and announce the winners on Friday morning. Feel free to enter multiple times. I'll send the copies when the book comes out in June.
If you're new to the blog, you might not know that Minder is a YA fantasy, so here's the elevator pitch:
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn can hear other people's thoughts, but her own can kill. And when her boyfriend is abducted, she'll do whatever it takes to get him back.
Or, as a friend put it last fall:
Teenage mutants with superpowers--in love.
Feel free to point out your favorite inscription in the comments section. It's all good.
Great Library Challenge details: as I wrote Monday, from now until midnight Friday, I'll donate $1 to my local library for each comment you folks make (1 per person, per day), and double it for people listed as followers (sign up by clicking "follow" at the top or on the right). Say whatever you want. "I love libraries" is fine. The donation will go to the Hopkinton NH Town Library, and I've capped the gift at $150. Click here to see the list of participating bloggers. A few quick comments can help a lot of libraries.
Today I'm upping the ante.
You don't have to participate in the contest to continue the library challenge. I'll give $1 per commenter per day ($2 if you're a follower; you can sign up at the right). However, in addition, I'll pledge three signed copies of my new book, Minder, to the libraries of your choice.
Comment below by midnight (EDT) Thursday (3/25) if you want to give your local library a chance to receive a copy.
Include two things in your comment:
1) A MEMORABLE inscription suggestion. Funny, sweet, awe-inspiring--whatever blows your skirt up.
2) Contact info for the library. If you have a link--great! If not, just give me the name of the town and state (this offer's good only for the US and Canada, since international shipping gets pricey). If you want to donate it to a school library, include the school name, too.
I'll pick the three inscriptions I like best and announce the winners on Friday morning. Feel free to enter multiple times. I'll send the copies when the book comes out in June.
If you're new to the blog, you might not know that Minder is a YA fantasy, so here's the elevator pitch:
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn can hear other people's thoughts, but her own can kill. And when her boyfriend is abducted, she'll do whatever it takes to get him back.
Or, as a friend put it last fall:
Teenage mutants with superpowers--in love.
Feel free to point out your favorite inscription in the comments section. It's all good.
Great Library Challenge details: as I wrote Monday, from now until midnight Friday, I'll donate $1 to my local library for each comment you folks make (1 per person, per day), and double it for people listed as followers (sign up by clicking "follow" at the top or on the right). Say whatever you want. "I love libraries" is fine. The donation will go to the Hopkinton NH Town Library, and I've capped the gift at $150. Click here to see the list of participating bloggers. A few quick comments can help a lot of libraries.
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