Technology and Freedom

When I wrote the short story Shade to be included in the book Rambling I was playing with ideas that have been used before, but I wanted to give it a little different spin. In most stories with dystopian societies it is the Government that has all the best tech. What if the techs didn't like the idea of technology running everyone's life? Freedom has always offered the best chance for everyone to advance, so in my story it is the rebels who have the best tech. It was so much fun to write that I am working on the next episode in the lives of Shade, and Sieda. It will still be taking place in a world that is a cross between Demolition Man and 1984 but with a much more advanced and sophisticated underground, called the Sub-Gridders because they live just under the grid. They have access to the grid and all of the good things that technology brings when used to advance knowledge and freedom instead of being used to control the masses. This post was inspired by the story of a U.S. Senator who was the victim of technology this week at an airport. Some say that the machine was making a random pick to find the next person for extra scrutiny instead of relying on a human to do it. Now that is scary. Will we become slaves to our machines or will we be their masters?

First post of 2012

Wow! I can't believe that January is over half gone and I haven't posted here yet. Two back to back trips to Canada with no connection is part of the cause, but only part. There has been a lot going on just nothing really interesting. I am working on a sequel to my short story "Shade" and it is taking a while to get it really flowing.

Last year was tumultuous to say the least, and this year is off to a bit of a rough start, but usually that portends a good year. So hopefully I will be able to get two of my New Year's resolutions taken care of by finishing not only the sequel to "Shade" but also another piece I am working on off and on which will bring back the characters from "Christmas on the Mesa" which continues to sell even though the Christmas season is over.

New Years Eve.

The house is quite and it is just getting light in the east. Today is New Years Eve and I think that I am supposed to write something profound. Well nothing profound is trying to get out and find it's way on to the screen. So instead of profound let's try this.
It was 18 years ago tonight that I met the woman I have been married to since 1997. I never drive on New Years Eve or if possible New Years Day. Just too many accidents waiting to happen out there. I happened into a little out of the way bar near the truck stop to have a beer for the New Year. As the saying goes the rest is history.
At the moment I am working on a continuation of the "Shade" story from Rambling and doing some research for a story that will bring back the characters from Christmas on the Mesa only this one deals with a very real program in New Mexico that helps veterans who need it. A good deal of the money will be going to that charity when it comes in. I wrote about it earlier this year. The inside of a man, the outside of a horse.
Well that about does it for 2011. I hope all of you have a wonderful and prosperous New Year.

Christmas 2011

Not really sure what to write this year. Everyone has their own ideas about Christmas. I know that this year will be different for my wife and I. We will be in a cabin that is far from finished but cozy and warm against the weather. It will be a simple affair and dinner will be shared with my brother-in-law and his wife. This will be the beginning of a plan for the future. Hopefully the end result will be the land paid off and a new house where the one we were living in now stands. The cabin will then be our guest house where friends and family can stay when they come to visit. Somewhere in all of this will be an office where I can get away to write or just work on the computer. Together my wife and I are starting on a journey that hopefully will allow me the chance to stay home with her. Having the land is a dream that I never thought could happen to me. It is all thanks to my wife that I have the things I do, and that I took the chance to get my first work published. She deserves the home that we are working towards and to have a husband who is there more than once in a great while. That is the real gift I would love to give her. I will always be something of a vagabond, but I think she has earned my being there for her as she has always been there for me.
I hope that each and everyone of you who reads this has a wonderful and blessed holiday.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Gratitude.

This is the season of giving, or so they tell us. Well I have to say that I received a wonderful gift this week. It took some time to do, but it didn't cost the giver a dime, just some energy. After an exhilarating week of watching his book Hunter climb into the top ten selling books on Kindle, Robert Bidinotto took the time to write an outstanding review of my book Rambling. It seems that Robert is one of the rising stars in the independent author business, so it is nice that he would take the time to help other authors try to scale the ladder to success. Some gifts are worth more than money and this is one of those. You can see the review on Robert's web page. So drop by and give it a read, then maybe you can enjoy both books, Robert's and mine.

Remember it is not the birth of the Child that is important, it is the sacrifice of the Man that makes the difference.

Trying to repay a debt.

Twenty-five years ago this month I incurred a debt. It is for twenty dollars. It was the result of an act of generosity from a complete stranger. Let me share the story and hope that it helps in some small way to repay this kindness. Once before I told the story in a round about manner in the book A Tree for America now, I want to just tell the story as it happened in December of 1986.

Unable to find a job in Denver my wife at the time and I decided to accept the offer her sister and brother-in-law had extended to us. They would help us move to the Seattle area since the economy there was growing. We made the arrangements to store what we couldn't fit into the car we had at the time, a 1977 Malibu. With the help of a friend we replaced a faulty starter before packing the car with my wife two daughters, two cats and a full grown Alaskan Malamute. All went well until the car died alongside the Interstate just west of Baker Oregon. There was a storm coming in and it was very cold. A Department of Highways snow plow stopped to check on us. Not being really mechanically inclined I had NO idea what was wrong, and the cash was getting very low. Above my protestations he radioed in a asked for a tow truck. There wasn't any getting around it the car had to be towed. The truck arrived and hooked onto us then took us to a little town just south of the highway where the driver had a shop. Putting the car on the lift he found that the starter had come loose and within a few minutes he had us ready to go. My mouth went dry when I asked him how much we owed him. I almost passed out with relief when he told me, twenty bucks. I thanked him and explained that we were on our way to Seattle looking for work. That was when he told me to pay him after I got a job. Later on when my wife and her sister went back to Denver to get the rest of our belongings she was supposed to stop and pay him. She didn't and I have always felt bad about it. I have been by there a million times but always in a semi so I couldn't just go looking for this guy to pay him. I hope in some small way this will help repay that kindness.

Holiday Ramblings

Well Thanksgiving is over now and Christmas lies just ahead. It is a time to take stock of what is important in our lives and express our gratitude for those things. I find it amusing that everyone says that they are thankful for this or that in their lives but they fail to say who they are thankful to. Christians and people of other religions give thanks to God as they see Him, but who does the Atheist give thanks to? Well since I am a firm believer that I didn't survive my life to this point by accident, it was with God's help I will leave that question to those who believe in no god to answer that question.
The truck has been keeping me pretty busy but I have found time to get my first book up (as an independent since I am also the publisher) on Kindle and out in paperback after a few real screw ups on my part. That is what happens when I get in a hurry and don't check things out before hitting the approve button. The corrections have been made and everything is up and ready for sale. Use this link to find it, A Tree for America.
I also finished the edits for The Last Raid and published it on Amazon in Kindle format only. Since it is only a novella I was leery about publishing it as a full length book. Even though it is about the same length as A Tree for America since it is not a Christmas book I didn't think it would sell well. If you think differently please let me know.
Here is hoping that you get the things that will benefit you most over these holidays and that they may bring joy to your life no matter who you believe in.