Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Chapter 20 is posted

To our fans of "Quest for Nobility" Chapter 20 is posted over at Otharia.com. The plot thickens and Eclair tells the twins about the conspiracy to frame them for opening the death portal that killed the Dalcon team. Darius and Dyla don't want to believe it, but have no choice when they find out who Eclair overheard talking about their imminent arrest.

The twins have no choice and must flee if they want to stay alive long enough to find out who is ultimately behind the plot to destroy the House of Telkur. The question is, where can they go? Every portal opening on the planet can be tracked by its signature coordinates. Eclair suggests a bold plan - travel off-world.

“Where is this place?” Darius asked.
“It’s a planet called Earth,” Trinity replied. “Our ancestors had a colony there, but the place was officially quarantined after the exploration party was lost in some kind of disaster. No one really knows what actually happened.”

And the adventure begins.......

Monday, October 26, 2009

Real Writers

No nonsense agent, Janet Reid, has an excellent post today about what constitutes a "real writer." You can read it here. I want to give a big shout out to Janet, thank you for your blog. You tell it like it is, no sugar coating and I love that.

You must be a writer if:
  1. You've actually finished a novel.
  2. You post your finished novel online.
  3. You self-publish your finished novel.
I think you get the picture. You ARE a writer if you've actually sat down and written a complete novel. It doesn't matter if you receive a publishing contract for the novel, it only matters that you finished it. Many people talk about writing a book, but few have the dedication it takes to plot out and actually write the damn thing to the end.

Dave and I have written and finished two novels. We have a great time writing them. If they never get published by a "big publishing company" we'll be a little disappointed of course, but it won't take away anything that we find so enjoyable about writing them.

So, thank you Janet Reid for setting the record straight.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Sharing too much Information

Editorial Anonymous has a great post about authors sharing too much personal information with the audience at signing events. You can read the entire post here. Basically, she warns authors that any information you would share in your therapist's office or while wearing a hospital gown should not reach public ears.

I think this is also true for author blogs. I've posted about this before. It's sometimes difficult to remember what you post on your blog can be seen by the entire world. Do you want embarrassing personal information about yourself to live on the internet forever? If your funny stories can be told in mixed company at cocktail parties or other gatherings without horrifying people, then it's probably OK to share them on your blog.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Chapter 19 is up

Chapter 19 - Deception, has been posted at our author site Otharia.com. Darius, Dyla and Eclair have won the Grand Competition, but at what cost? There is a cloud of suspicion surrounding the twins regarding the origin of the death portal. Could a telepath and an empath combine powers to open a portal? It's never been done before.

Did they open the death portal because they were going to lose to the Dalcon team? Or is there a greater conspiracy to eliminate the House of Telkur once and for all. Who is behind it? Read on and gather the clues.


Monday, October 12, 2009

Chapter 18 is posted

For all those who are following the adventures of twins, Darius and Dyla, Chapter 18 is now posted. This chapter, Race to the Finish, is the last obstacle our trio have to face before crossing the finish line of the Grand Competition.

Do they have enough stamina to finish? What will happen to Eclair with the poison flowing through his system? Will the healers reach him in time to save his life? Head on over to the Otharia website and find out.

It's great seeing our visitor count tick up considerably on Sunday/Monday. Dave and I hope you're enjoying our story. We'd love to hear your comments so sign the Guestbook and let us know what you're thinking or feel free to leave a comment here.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

A Day in the Life of Dave

Here's my co-writer's first contribution to our blog. Remember he's a retired Marine. Enjoy walking in Dave's shoes.

How do you get rid of a pain-in-the-ass co-worker? Can't shoot ‘em, so what’s left? I can only recommend that you take a moment to reflect on my experience before you decide how you would handle your own situation.

Brief story – I had a nagging co-worker who seemed to love nothing more than hearing himself speak. One morning, he cornered me and started his nonsensical babble. I was already stressed out and had no time or patience to be ‘politically correct’ with him. So, in my typical ‘retired jarhead’ fashion, I told him to leave me alone. I suggested a place for him to go and even what he could do when he got there. He stopped talking and stared at me a moment, then turned around and left, just as I wanted him to. Problem solved.

So you can imagine my dilemma 2 weeks later when I needed his support for a job I had to do. I tried everything I could think NOT to go and ask him for help. I could just imagine what he would say, “Why don’t you go to ….”. In the end, I had no choice but to ask for his help. Imagine my surprise when he readily agreed to help, with no accompanying malice or ill will. In the end, after a successful job, I was thinking what I had said to him that fateful morning and that maybe, just maybe, I might have reacted too quickly and a little too harshly. So I thought about it for awhile and then said to myself…

“Aw, fuck him, the job’s finished.”



Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Red Sox Swing Doctor

MIT's Media Lab researchers will be helping the Red Sox players improve their swings by strapping sensors on the players to gauge the physical forces they exert when swinging a bat or throwing a ball. How cool is that?

To read the full story, go to the MIT News page here.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Chapter 16 and 17 are posted

Chapter 16 and 17 are now posted over at our author site, Otharia. Read about the harrowing adventures of Darius, Dyla and Eclair as they make their way through the obstacles in the Grand Competition.

Meanwhile, someone [no spoilers here!] is not very happy about their progress so far and plans to do something to slow them down. Will the sabotage work?

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Writing by Hand

Our street lost power today for a few hours and as I lay in bed thinking about what I could actually do without electricity, it made me wonder how many people write anything in long hand these days. When was the last time you wrote in a spiral notebook? When I was in school, we had spiral notebooks for every subject. Yes, I realize I'm dating myself here.

Most of us use computers or our phones for communication and between instant messaging, texting, facebook and twitter, I wonder when was the last time any of us wrote a full sentence without abbreviations? Is this the future for the next generation? What will inspire the next generation's writers?

Luckily, the power has been restored and I'm back on my computer posting and working on our current WIP. As much as I love the written word, I didn't relish the thought of writing out in long hand the next scene.

So what about you? When was the last time you wrote a letter, a journal entry or even a school paper in long hand?