Fuck Right?
Now You Can’t Drink…Water
Americans take so many mood-altering and addictive pills that water supplies are being contaminated. Just ask the fish. Do the drugs in your water pose a risk to your health—and even your sobriety?
I want to give a huge shout out to Thomas Harvey of Carolina Fly. He has inspired lots of my artwork and to be honest was one of the main reasons I truly realized the potential of fly tying as an art form. I started following him because he tied wicked bass flies. He mentioned my work in an interview with FrankenFly. Please check out the interview.
By
Jim F. Kukral
Ahh, the elusive signing bonus. That big check that your publisher sends you that probably validates your status as a “real author”. Well, at least it used to. Things have changed.
Traditional publishers aren’t handing out signing bonuses and contracts like they used to. As each day goes by, and as eBooks take a stronger hold on the system, traditional publishers are being squeezed. They no longer have the ability to take chances on new authors and pay them signing bonuses.
And the stigma of being a “real author” because you published a printed book through a publisher is thankfully fading away as well.
I got paid five figures to write my first traditionally published book called Attention! This Book Will Make You Money, and I was grateful for it. But as I ended my relationship with my publisher so I could self-publish, I realized that I was going to miss that signing bonus I was used to getting.
So I did something about it.
My Sister Paid Progressive Insurance to Defend Her Killer In Court
I’ve been sending out some impertinent tweets about Progressive Insurance lately, but I haven’t explained how they pissed me off. So I will do that here as succinctly as possible. There’s a general understanding that says, “insurance companies— oh they’re awful,” but since Progressive turned their shit hose on my late sister and my parents, I’ve learned some things that really surprised me.
I’ll try to cleave to the facts. On June 19, 2010, my sister was driving in Baltimore when her car was struck by another car and she was killed. The other driver had run a red light and hit my sister as she crossed the intersection on the green light.
The men’s desires and greed grow as they move farther and farther inland. Juan questions himself: he wonders what he has brought to this place he can only describe as paradise, perhaps the lost Eden, and it is me, he thinks, a man of God that brought the sickness of the modern world to it.
After two days of descending into the depths of the tower they enter a deep stone chamber. The explorers look out into the chamber and see a small wooden bridge. The bridge fades into darkness and the crew is crippled with fear. The native warriors kneel before the bridge and begin chanting. Their shadows flicker in the torchlight and the Conquistadors become anxious as the ceremony continues. The natives’ praying gets louder and faster, and the chamber is getting hotter and hotter. The captain is holding a rifle tightly in his hands and nervously close to his chest. He follows Juan to the bridge that leads into the nothingness of the tower. They cross the bridge and disappear into a dot of light. Juan steps off the bridge onto a small platform and raises his torch. It reveals a stone alter and he places the black map on it. In front of the alter is a gargoyle-like statue. To the captain the statue is like some demon or hellish creature described to him by the priests of his youth. Juan reaches into his pockets and dips his finger in a pouch of ashes and marks his forehead. A red mist rises from the abyss. The captain lowers his rifle and takes the torch from Juan, shining the light on the map never taking his eyes off the statue. All the navigation markings fade and new symbols begin to appear on the parchment. Juan begins to read the pagan symbols, and the chanting from the natives echoes louder and louder. The rising mist thickens, and Juan’s voice grows louder and deeper. His arms wave franticly as he nears the end of the symbols. The ground shakes, and the captain cautiously steps back. He looks to his side and sees a smaller alter. On the alter their is a black blade carved from a reflective stone. He stares at the blade, his breath disappears and his heart stops. He hears a voice speak to him in a language he does not understand. The words chill his spine and tears of black seep from his eyes. Corrupted with a dark and ancient malice the captain looks to Juan, to the statue, than back to the blade. The captain tosses the torch into the depths of the tower as Juan finishes his reading. The chamber goes quiet, and Juan looks back. A crimson light erupts from below, and through the chaos, Juan sees the captain with his black tears, holding the blade.
“No! You do not know what you are doing! You will release him!” he shouts.
The blade lunges into Juan’s belly and exits through his back. The small blade growing as the blood of the priest drips from its side. The captain grabs Juan by his shoulder, pulling the priest closer. Juan’s face convulses, and his veins contract as the blade sucks the life out of him. The captain looks at the marking on Juan’s forehead. It is the symbol of the Delar, and it ignites in flames burning into Juan’s flesh. The captain releases Juan, and he falls to the ground. He watches Juan’s blood begin filling grooves carved in the stone that lead to the statue. He looks down at the blade and he hears the voice again. He begins to laugh as a wind from the darkness circles around him and the grotesque statue crumbles to pieces. Two white eyes pierce the darkness and a roar echoes through the darkness.
Summary: More authors publishing directly on e-books instead of print to save costs and have greater editorial flexibility, but self-publicity needed to help increase visibility for their works.
Publishing directly on e-books helps authors bypass traditional publishing costs, increases their chances of publication and enables greater flexibility of content and structure. However, marketing efforts will be important for these authors, who can turn to Internet marketing and social media.
The advent of advanced and user-friendly e-readers in the market has grown immensely, enabling busy consumers who to read to buy, download and enjoy content anywhere they are, observed Sandra Laverde, senior international brand manager at self-publishing company, Author Solutions.
She added authors would be “crazy” not to leverage this trend.
For one, “Fifty Shades of Grey”, which owns the record as the fastest-selling paperback had started out as an e-book series posted on a fan site by E.L. James.
Other authors have experienced success with publishing directly to e-books, including Stephen Leather, author of “The Basement”; and Sarah Desforges, who writes under the penname Saffi Griffiths, and Mark Williams, who sold 100,000 copies of their e-book “Sugar and Spice”.
I know, I know. This is a column about cutting-edge electronics. So, apologies to gadget-heads as I take a brief sojourn into the land of self-publishing, which has become a lot more high-tech than a lot of people realize.
A few years ago I wrote a book. A novel. “Knife Music.” Contrary to what you might think based on my day job, it’s not a cyber-thriller, though it is a mystery/thriller with a medical/legal slant.
(Credit: Publishing Perspectives)Its short history is this: I worked on it for several years, acquired a high-powered agent, had some brushes with major publishers, then, crickets.
I could have tried to go for a small publisher, but I was told mine was “a bigger book” with more commercial aspirations and prestigious small publishers were interested in more literary tomes. I also learned that many small publishers were being wiped out by the “self-publishing revolution,” a movement that’s not so unlike the “citizen journalism” or bloggers’ revolt of recent years that’s had a major impact on mainstream media, including this publication. The basic premise is anyone can become a small publisher. You call the shots. You retain the rights to your book. And you take home a bigger royalty than you’d normally get from a traditional publisher—if you sell any books.
Against the advice of my agent, I began perusing the big self-publishing companies’ Web sites and evaluating what they had to offer. Then I started poking around blogs and message boards to get customer testimonials. What I found was a veritable minefield with roads that forked in every direction and very few clear answers.
lumoshappinesss-deactivated2012 asked: I don't know how did you find me but I would be willing to, though I am not sure how can you send it to me.
Through Tumblr. If you have a Kindle or other e-reader device I will send you copy through your email. If you do not have a e-reader I will mail you copy to your address.
