[I wrote this over the weekend]
I'm in an Orlando hotel right now, so my Internet isn't so great. Tomorrow will be the last day of the Tri County Comic Book Convention / Jani Con. The hotel is massive and absolutely beautiful. It's the largest Marriott in the country. I've never been in such a huge hotel before. Surprisingly enough, the rooms aren't that expensive, compared to the hotels I've stayed at with all the other book events. I'm guessing that's because we're so close to Disney World, Universal Studios, etc. BUT where they get you is by the amenities. I'm looking at the breakfast menu and it's $5 for a simple orange, plus 20% service charge, $3 trip charge and tax and tip. When you're all done, you've spent like $10 for a 20 cent orange. Shouldn't oranges be cheaper in Florida? You'd think. Anyway, that's just an example (their cheapest breakfast meal will run you over $20). Needless to say, I haven't been eating at the hotel! The convention promoter was kind enough to take me out to dinner tonight.
Last night I had dinner with Lori Alan (Sponge Bob, Fantastic 4, Family Guy, etc.) and Gregg Berger (Garfield, GI Joe, Transformers, etc.). What wonderful people. Since I just did my audiobook, it was fun picking their brains. I don't plan on going into voice acting, but I'm sure I would do well with it, since doing character voices comes very natural to me, especially anime-type voices. (My biggest complaint with my audiobook was that I had more voices I could have done but no suitable characters to fit those voices–and that's after doing like 70 male voices!).
I'm surprised at how fast I was able to create friendships with the other celebrities. While I was waiting for the shuttle to take me to the hotel, I struck up a conversation with a woman and soon found out that she was Lori Alan, one of the fellow celebs for the convention. What a coincidence.
Oh, before I hit the hay, I need to mention that I'm visiting Utah next week. I might do a school visit.
P.S.
At the airport home, I met some triplet 13-year-old girls (and 2 of their younger siblings), who ended up buying my book and talking to me for an hour or two. Then on the airplane home, I ended up talking to the TV producer of PBS and a radio show in Arizona, so he's going to book me for the shows. What an eventful trip!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Too tired to write anything sensible
You know you're tired when you spend 30 seconds trying to remember the name of the main character you just wrote about. AHHH! Where's my brain gone!
Looks like I'm going to Utah again at the end of this month. Hopefully, I'll get at least one school visit in before I leave. But before that, I'm heading on to Florida for the Tri County Comic Con. Should be fun. I hope to sell a lot of books.
On a totally weirdo note: I just got my 30,000th visitor today on my website: www.ParaWorlds.com (YAHOO!).
Here's a part from my latest newsletter: "Well, a few days later, the new mickey ruptured, just like the first one! This time, my wife caught it soon enough and was able to put it back in herself to keep the hole from closing until we could get yet another button that wasn't ruptured. Anyway, it was a nightmare, but he's all right now."
November Newsletter: http://www.paraworlds.com/newsletter/2008-11.php
Oh, the World Fantasy Convention was just wonderful. My panel was great. I talked about mystery in young adult fantasy. Here are a couple of photos of me with some famous authors. You can see more photos in my photo albums.
Looks like I'm going to Utah again at the end of this month. Hopefully, I'll get at least one school visit in before I leave. But before that, I'm heading on to Florida for the Tri County Comic Con. Should be fun. I hope to sell a lot of books.
On a totally weirdo note: I just got my 30,000th visitor today on my website: www.ParaWorlds.com (YAHOO!).
Here's a part from my latest newsletter: "Well, a few days later, the new mickey ruptured, just like the first one! This time, my wife caught it soon enough and was able to put it back in herself to keep the hole from closing until we could get yet another button that wasn't ruptured. Anyway, it was a nightmare, but he's all right now."
November Newsletter: http://www.paraworlds.com/newsletter/2008-11.php
Oh, the World Fantasy Convention was just wonderful. My panel was great. I talked about mystery in young adult fantasy. Here are a couple of photos of me with some famous authors. You can see more photos in my photo albums.
David Morrell (creator of Rambo) and Matthew Peterson
Matthew Peterson, Carrie Vaughn, & George R. R. Martin (NYT bestseller)
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Our First Black President!
I promise that this will be my last political blog... until next election. I don’t know what’s gotten in to me lately. I’m so not political, but I guess I’ve got these thoughts running through my mind and I’ll share them with anyone who wants to listen.
No matter which man won the presidency, America was still going to have a first: either the first black president or the first female vice-president. Just goes to show how far our country has come. I will definitely support Obama, and I hope everyone else does too.
In the end, I would rather have had Mitt Romney as president--someone who actually has a track record of getting a state out of serious debt. We needed a businessman who understands large organizations and does what he says he’ll do. Upon entering office in 2003, Romney faced a $3 billion deficit, but by the end of 2004, not only had he gotten rid of the deficit, but Massachusetts ended the year with a $700 million surplus and a $500 million surplus the next year! Actions speak louder than words in my book. Neither Obama nor McCain can even remotely say the same thing regarding the states they represent. For those of you who didn’t know this, Illinois (the state Obama represents) had the largest deficit in U.S. (3 billion dollars) a little while ago. It’s too bad that Obama didn’t help his own state out. Perhaps with his idea of “change,” he’ll change the way he did things in Illinois and help our country out of the financial crisis it’s in. He didn’t do it for the state he represented, but I’m sure he’ll do it for our country, right? Miracles can happen.
I’m not saying McCain would have been any better in this regard. Arizona is in a deficit as well, and it really irritates me. Senators don’t have the same type of power and issues as Governors, so it's not exactly apples to apples, BUT you can’t ignore the simple fact that Mitt Romney knows how to deal with financial issues, which is what our country needs so badly right now. It’s too bad that religious bigotry got in the way. I just read all the jokes the TV personalities said about Romney and polygamy (he’s a Mormon). The funny thing is that from the Republican candidates, he was the only one who hadn’t had more than one wife (i.e. been divorced and remarried). I find that very ironic.
As a side note, my wife said something interesting to me today, and I think only a mother would even come up with this thought. She said, in a way, that she’s glad McCain didn’t win, because perhaps Governor Palin can now be a better mother to her 2-year old Down Syndrome child. We have a 2-year old with a very similar condition as Down Syndrome, so I think it affects my wife to see a mother put her career before her little child. Of course, many people praise Governor Palin for doing this. As for me, I’ll just remain quiet on the issue. Everyone has their right to do as they please. Perhaps that’s why our country is in the condition it’s in right now. I’m just glad that my wife has chosen to stay home with our five boys. I know they are better for it. Being raised by a loving mother is always a better alternative than being raised by the TV and by minimum wage daycare workers who could probably care less about your child's moral and social upbringing.
One last thought. This is a free country. Regardless of the issues, we have the right to believe and vote for what we want. It saddens me to hear that people on both sides of the issues regarding the "gay marriage" propositions defaced each other's signs. Someone was "kind" enough to remove the sign in my front yard a few days ago. Probably the same people who spray painted "NO" over the "YES" on the large signs I've seen around the city. Regadless of this, Prop 102 in Arizona passed and it looks like Prop 8 is going to pass in California (a little too soon to tell, but I'm not going to stay up any later to find out). If anyone calls me a gay-hater, they're just being ignorant of the issues and ignorant of who I am. I would give my life for gays and non-gays alike.
No matter which man won the presidency, America was still going to have a first: either the first black president or the first female vice-president. Just goes to show how far our country has come. I will definitely support Obama, and I hope everyone else does too.
In the end, I would rather have had Mitt Romney as president--someone who actually has a track record of getting a state out of serious debt. We needed a businessman who understands large organizations and does what he says he’ll do. Upon entering office in 2003, Romney faced a $3 billion deficit, but by the end of 2004, not only had he gotten rid of the deficit, but Massachusetts ended the year with a $700 million surplus and a $500 million surplus the next year! Actions speak louder than words in my book. Neither Obama nor McCain can even remotely say the same thing regarding the states they represent. For those of you who didn’t know this, Illinois (the state Obama represents) had the largest deficit in U.S. (3 billion dollars) a little while ago. It’s too bad that Obama didn’t help his own state out. Perhaps with his idea of “change,” he’ll change the way he did things in Illinois and help our country out of the financial crisis it’s in. He didn’t do it for the state he represented, but I’m sure he’ll do it for our country, right? Miracles can happen.
I’m not saying McCain would have been any better in this regard. Arizona is in a deficit as well, and it really irritates me. Senators don’t have the same type of power and issues as Governors, so it's not exactly apples to apples, BUT you can’t ignore the simple fact that Mitt Romney knows how to deal with financial issues, which is what our country needs so badly right now. It’s too bad that religious bigotry got in the way. I just read all the jokes the TV personalities said about Romney and polygamy (he’s a Mormon). The funny thing is that from the Republican candidates, he was the only one who hadn’t had more than one wife (i.e. been divorced and remarried). I find that very ironic.
As a side note, my wife said something interesting to me today, and I think only a mother would even come up with this thought. She said, in a way, that she’s glad McCain didn’t win, because perhaps Governor Palin can now be a better mother to her 2-year old Down Syndrome child. We have a 2-year old with a very similar condition as Down Syndrome, so I think it affects my wife to see a mother put her career before her little child. Of course, many people praise Governor Palin for doing this. As for me, I’ll just remain quiet on the issue. Everyone has their right to do as they please. Perhaps that’s why our country is in the condition it’s in right now. I’m just glad that my wife has chosen to stay home with our five boys. I know they are better for it. Being raised by a loving mother is always a better alternative than being raised by the TV and by minimum wage daycare workers who could probably care less about your child's moral and social upbringing.
One last thought. This is a free country. Regardless of the issues, we have the right to believe and vote for what we want. It saddens me to hear that people on both sides of the issues regarding the "gay marriage" propositions defaced each other's signs. Someone was "kind" enough to remove the sign in my front yard a few days ago. Probably the same people who spray painted "NO" over the "YES" on the large signs I've seen around the city. Regadless of this, Prop 102 in Arizona passed and it looks like Prop 8 is going to pass in California (a little too soon to tell, but I'm not going to stay up any later to find out). If anyone calls me a gay-hater, they're just being ignorant of the issues and ignorant of who I am. I would give my life for gays and non-gays alike.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Paraworld Zero Gets Its Fifth Award (Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards)
Paraworld Zero just got a silver medal (2nd place) from the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards in the Audio Book category. The 2008 contest had a total of 1,085 entries in 30 categories. That brings the total to 5 book/audiobook contests Parworld Zero has placed in.
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1250
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1250
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Jared's G-tube Goes Bye Bye
Originally posted HERE
This has been a crazy week. On Sunday morning, Jared, our almost-two-year-old “special needs” child pulled out his G-tube from his stomach, so my wife had to go to the emergency room for 8 hours. Evidently, the plastic bubble thing on the “mickey” (I call it his second belly button) that stays inside his body, ruptured, which allowed the tube to come out. The doctors couldn’t put the tube back in, but they were able to put a small catheter in. Then yesterday, the doctors put a larger catheter in because they still couldn’t get the G-tube in. My wife and I just tried to put the G-tube in ourselves (don’t worry, it’s legal!), but the hole in his stomach is still too small.
What happens is that the human body heals itself so quickly that if you don’t catch it fast enough, the hole will seal up without the G-tube in place. If we had caught it quicker (like within 30 minutes) we could have put the G-tube in without any issues. Problem was that he pulled the tube out in the middle of the night while he was sleeping.
Fortunately, Jared only needs the G-tube for supplemental feeding at night. The doctors want him to keep it because he’ll need another heart surgery in the next year or two.
As a side note, Jared started talking this month. He can say over a dozen words now. It’s cute to see him do the sign language and then say the word at the same time. He doesn’t realize that if he can say the word, he doesn't have to do the sign language any more. Most importantly, of course, is that he smiles and says “dada” every time I walk into the room.
Another side note: I've gotten past the 100-page mark of my book, which is around 1/3 of what the book will be. I've slowed down a bit in my writing because of Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sony, Kitabe, SpokenNetwork, and Audible. I love all those companies, but I've had to spend time working with them to get my audiobook and E-Book distributed. So much work! I'm very pleased with what I've written so far. It's like a large puzzle. Lots more mystery, romance, and suspense. What excites me is that I'm adding things that will be the base of future books.
CLICK HERE to see the new Amazon page for the audiobook.
This has been a crazy week. On Sunday morning, Jared, our almost-two-year-old “special needs” child pulled out his G-tube from his stomach, so my wife had to go to the emergency room for 8 hours. Evidently, the plastic bubble thing on the “mickey” (I call it his second belly button) that stays inside his body, ruptured, which allowed the tube to come out. The doctors couldn’t put the tube back in, but they were able to put a small catheter in. Then yesterday, the doctors put a larger catheter in because they still couldn’t get the G-tube in. My wife and I just tried to put the G-tube in ourselves (don’t worry, it’s legal!), but the hole in his stomach is still too small.
What happens is that the human body heals itself so quickly that if you don’t catch it fast enough, the hole will seal up without the G-tube in place. If we had caught it quicker (like within 30 minutes) we could have put the G-tube in without any issues. Problem was that he pulled the tube out in the middle of the night while he was sleeping.
Fortunately, Jared only needs the G-tube for supplemental feeding at night. The doctors want him to keep it because he’ll need another heart surgery in the next year or two.
As a side note, Jared started talking this month. He can say over a dozen words now. It’s cute to see him do the sign language and then say the word at the same time. He doesn’t realize that if he can say the word, he doesn't have to do the sign language any more. Most importantly, of course, is that he smiles and says “dada” every time I walk into the room.
Another side note: I've gotten past the 100-page mark of my book, which is around 1/3 of what the book will be. I've slowed down a bit in my writing because of Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sony, Kitabe, SpokenNetwork, and Audible. I love all those companies, but I've had to spend time working with them to get my audiobook and E-Book distributed. So much work! I'm very pleased with what I've written so far. It's like a large puzzle. Lots more mystery, romance, and suspense. What excites me is that I'm adding things that will be the base of future books.
CLICK HERE to see the new Amazon page for the audiobook.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards Semi-Finalist
Originally posted HERE
We'll today has been a good day. My boy got Student of the Month at his school and my audio book, Paraworld Zero, became a semi-finalist for the Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards. The contest had a total of 1,085 entries in 30 categories. I'll find out on Oct 24 if Paraworld Zero won. Listen to the first chapter HERE.
Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards -- October 2008
Semi-Finalist in the Audio Book Category
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1250
We'll today has been a good day. My boy got Student of the Month at his school and my audio book, Paraworld Zero, became a semi-finalist for the Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards. The contest had a total of 1,085 entries in 30 categories. I'll find out on Oct 24 if Paraworld Zero won. Listen to the first chapter HERE.
Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards -- October 2008
Semi-Finalist in the Audio Book Category
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1250
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Paraworld Zero on the Sony Reader (eBook)
I mentioned ages ago that Sony picked up the non-exclusive E-Book rights for Paraworld Zero. It's been a long time, but Paraworld Zero is finally available for the Sony Reader! The E-Book includes the same 30 pieces of chapter art that the physical book contains. Looks like Sony has it for $10.79 right now. Check it out at http://ebookstore.sony.com/.
The Sony Reader is much like the Amazon Kindle, in which you can read the E-Book on a large clear screen. The battery life lasts a really long time, since it only uses the battery when you flip to the next page. Sony has over 50,000 books on their site for the Sony Reader, so I'm glad that mine is one of them. I hope you'll take a look at it.
As a side note, SpokenNetwork.com now has the Paraworld Zero audiobook on their site. Check it out!
Also, my October newsletter is out. Go here to read it:
http://www.paraworlds.com/newsletter/2008-10.php
The Sony Reader is much like the Amazon Kindle, in which you can read the E-Book on a large clear screen. The battery life lasts a really long time, since it only uses the battery when you flip to the next page. Sony has over 50,000 books on their site for the Sony Reader, so I'm glad that mine is one of them. I hope you'll take a look at it.
As a side note, SpokenNetwork.com now has the Paraworld Zero audiobook on their site. Check it out!
Also, my October newsletter is out. Go here to read it:
http://www.paraworlds.com/newsletter/2008-10.php
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