Good House Cleaning---and the Senate, too!

With the presidential election looming on the horizon, it will be a good time to do some serious House cleaning. The current small Republican majority there needs to be boosted so it can stymie any new initiatives of the Obama administration if, God forbid, he should be re-elected. The government of the United States has deviated from the principals of our Founding Fathers as can be imagined. It has become so corrupt that it needs to be re-set to undo the evil that it now embodies. It no longer represents the will of the people. The coalition that makes up the military/industrial complex dominates the Congress like a swarm of sharks does a school of sardines. Aided by a media that only tells the public what it wants them to know, they scratch each others backs with legislation that benefits them by expanding their power base. The problem, as I see it, is that we have professional politicians. They are not servants of the people, but self-serving power seekers. Once they have obtained a seat of power, they will do whatever it takes to hold on to it. It is the old adage being lived out in front of our eyes: "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." American needs to wake up to the truth. Unfortunately, most of the public would rather not get involved. Those who say they want change only want it if someone else is the one making it. Meanwhile, the professional politicians use every trick they can to hold on to what they have and squeeze the working middle class all the harder. Pretty soon, the taxpayers who uphold the government are going to react to what is being done to them. I only hope it is not too late to save what once was the greatest country on earth.

The Inmates Have Taken Over

I have decided to take a bit of a different tack. With all of the political wrangling currently going on, I feel compelled to put voice to some of my thoughts on the situation as it affects the writing I am currently doing for publication. The new book is a prediction of what would happen if the Islamic world decided to do an attack on Western Civilization, and the current political climate in the USA has a huge bearing on how we are perceived. I cannot believe the stupidity of the American people. They take everything said by the talking heads on the TV news as gospel. People don't seem to realize the networks only put on the side of the story they want you to see. They only tell the side that promotes their agenda and demonize any person or idea that differs. If you are a liberal, you are one of the blessed: if conservative, you are evil. God help America! The inmates have taken over the asylum. No wonder we are regarded so increduously by the rest of the world. The Obama administration and its effects on the economy and its refusal to enforce immigration laws is beyond my comprehension. Having lived 73 years through all sorts of government debacles, one would think I would have a better grasp of the situation than most, and I hope I do. A president who deliberately scoffs at the laws he has sworn to uphold is unconscionable. My father fought to have the USA be a free and safe country, but I see how our government has become the citizens of the country's worst enemy. This is not all Mr. Obama's fault, though he has compounded the problem. The blame goes to Congress and the Supreme Court as well as to the Presidency. I firmly believe we need to revamp the entire system so that can no longer happen. More on this later.

Passing on a Really Good One

Sarah of the Moon by Randy Mixter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Randy Mixter's tale, Sarah of the Moon, was nothing like what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised when I read the first chapter. When I found that much of it took place in an area and atmosphere of which I had no experience I began to get caught up in the story. Randy draws his characters well with broad brushstrokes without resorting to gimmicks or stereotypes except in the loosest way. The story of the boy from Baltimore and the enigmatic San Francisco Flower Child, Sarah, is as touching as any I have ever read. Moon Crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet, their story is well worth reading.



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My drum, my beat, my ego?

Is it egotism when a writer attempts to get media coverage of his work through whatever means is possible? I'll admit I have tried everything that isn't illegal. If you are a first time novelist and trying to become established as a writer, it is about the only way. Unless you have the moola to pay a publicist to do it for you. Having written what I believe is a better than average book, but not having the bucks to spend in paying someone else to promote it, I have had no other options. My only reason for writing is to MAKE MONEY! Isn't that the reason most of us write? There are some altruists who believe they should write only for the art of it, but they are probably unknown, and in a very small minority. I am not looking to be a famous author, only a successful one. I definitely want fortune ($$). If I have to be a self salesman to get people to buy my work, so be it! I do not apologize for what I have had to do to get some recognition. I blow my own horn, and march to my own beat. That is who I am. That is what I do. If anybody doesn't like my methods, they can suck it up and move on. It is not egotism, it is business, and writing is a business just like any other. You're in it to make money, or you are wasting your time.

Lost friendship

Probably my biggest regret is letting people who have been friends to me slip out of my life. Sadly, there have been too many of them, but the one I miss the most is Mike Blachowicz. From about the age of nine until he entered college and moved away, Mike, Al Ousborne, and I were like the Three Musketeers, almost joined at the hip. We did all kinds of things together, and mostly all were fun. We did occasionally help a bit at Al's grandparents Chesapeake Bay shorefront home, and, normally, followed that up with speedboat rides, swimming and water skiing. Mike and Al both went to college, but I didn't. I got married and worked at Sears in their Parts and Service Department. Gradually, we lost contact and went our separate ways. Al did a stint in the Navy as a dentist, his chosen career, and Mike became an engineer and worked for DuPont living in Delaware. When Albert moved back to Baltimore after the Navy, he once again became my dentist (he had worked on me while in dental school). Neither of us had any kind of contact with Mike until about two years ago when during a dental visit, Al and I discussed how much we would like to get together after all these years. When I called Mike to set up a meeting, he was not interested. I was desolate. Maybe it was because of the way I put it when I talked to him about it, but I never made a second attempt. All I know, now, is there is a hole in my heart where Mike used to live.

Telling a book by its cover

Ever wish you had two heads and four hands? Lately, that is how it has been for me. I am simultaneously trying to promote my novel, Double Trouble on Corned Beef Row, and write a new one for young adults. To promote the current one, I have had designed new covers to use at online vendors like Amazon and Barnes and Noble with their ebook versions. The hard copy version will retain its original cover that shows Attman's Deli's storefront. Marc Attman helped me a great deal with the launching of the novel with a book signing party at his deli. I believe I owe him that much. However, the existing cover does not show well when displayed at the postage stamp size used by the book sellers websites. Ergo, the new designs. They are more readable and use colors that attract the eye. Unless an author already has a large following, he/she needs visibility when their product pops up in an online search. Writers that already have a large fan base will only need name recognition for potential buyers to look at whatever it is they have written. Unknowns have to do anything they can to draw the prospect's eye. That includes changing the book's cover if necessary.
On my website, http://jamesbattee.books.officelive.com, I am doing a survey of several new cover options and have added sample chapters to read. A random respondent will receive a signed copy of the book. All will receive the author's gratitude.

Too long since my last post

Wow! Where has the time gone? I have been so wrapped up in trying to promote my book with book talks, book signings and such, and with craft fairs, promoting my handmade jewelry, and that I have not taken the time to keep up with my blog. Sorry about that. The experts tell me that blogging is a good way to promote the books that I write, but sometimes it just becomes a chore. I do a lot of my promoting on facebook, so the blog has suffered. The new book I started is for young adults, and I am eight chapters into it. The writing is not going as fast as I would like because I keep making changes in the plot. I guess this is not unusual for most writers even if, like me, they have a prepared outline to follow. It seems, every time I make a change I have to go back and make changes elsewhere. This, of course, means a lot of time spent on rewriting. It is making the going slower, but, hopefully, a better end product.
While looking for something altogether different on the Internet, I found something that makes writing e-books much easier. It is an extension to Openoffice.org's Writer. It is called Writer2ePub. Since I have not had a chance to fully assess it, I shall have to await doing so before making any comments as to its efficacy. On the surface, it appears to have all of the elements required to produce a finished ePub product. My first book, Double Trouble on Corned Beef Row, is done in several electronic versions including ePub. Since electronic publishing is rapidly gaining ground, and printed books are losing it, it makes sense to make sure that anything you write goes into electronic formats, ePub and Adobe's .pdf being the most popular. ePub is the format used on the Apple iPad, Sony, and many other popular readers. Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com both have proprietary formats, which the writer is compelled to use. With the proliferation of e-readers, it only makes sense to make your product available to this wide audience. Many people still value the printed page, but with the use of e-Readers, Smart Phones, the Kindle, and the Nook that can download a book from the Internet to be read while traveling on an airplane, waiting in line at a doctor's office or for an appointment with a client, this option is being used more frequently. My advice, do whatever it takes to get your writing into the hands of the largest audience possible, and it looks to me like electronic publishing should not be overlooked. I will experiment with Writer2ePub and will report my findings later.