Book Review: Memorial Day

Another Vince Flynn book! I know y’all are excited that I’m reviewing another in the Mitch Rapp series. This one is called Memorial Day.

Each book in this thriller series features superagent/assassin Mitch Rapp. He’s gone from being unknown and undercover, as he was in the first books, to being outed and semi-legit, as in, people know who he is and what he does. Some like him. Some hate him. Frankly, Rapp doesn’t care too much either way. He accepts what he is and sees himself as the good guy since he only kills those who deserve it.

This time, the enemy has taken the fight to American soil. Mitch and his crew must stop an attack planned for Memorial Day. If he doesn’t, thousands will die. With his rapid-fire mind, he’s able to analyze the situation and knows he must take care of it. He’ll bring in others to help, but he’s the man on-scene who can sort through all the facets, devise the plan, and make sure it’s followed.

One thing interesting about this book is that we spend considerable time in the antagonist’s POV. He’s definitely a bad guy, but he’s fully developed. And he’s every bit as committed as Rapp.

This is another testosterone filled book. It races along at a fast clip. I’m not sure I always agree with Rapp’s reasoning, but if the situation were real, I’d want him leading the team.

~~~~~
FTC Disclaimer: I know bloggers are not required, yet, to post a disclaimer on book reviews, but I’m trying to get in the habit. I received no compensation for reviewing Memorial Day. My husband bought the book. When he was finished, he left it sitting on the coffee table. He wasn’t leaving the book for me. He just assumes that when he finishes a book and leaves it on the coffee table, the fairies come and magically transport it to the bookshelf. I would lie and say Vince Flynn offered me $500 to review it, but I don’t believe the FTC has a sense of humor. I got nothing for this review, except a good read. And that’s the truth, fairies as my witnesses.

P.S.: Happy Halloween!

Should Books Make Sense?

Does an author have the obligation to write in a way that readers can read and understand?

I thought so. But, then, I’m apparently wrong. Michael Turner’s latest book, “8 X 10,” is written in what is described as an “esoteric” style. That seems to be a euphemism for, I don’t get a rat’s behind if you understand me.

The National Post interviews him and then writes up the interview in the style of the book. Just reading the interview will raise your hackles. Here’s his explanation of why he wrote the book the way he did:

"You have to, I think, disrupt the reader somewhat to get them to think. It's a risk, but it's something I feel I just have to do. And it's not my own self-indulgence. It's a considered upset."

In other words, he’s not a bad writer. He did it on purpose. Here’s the interviewers take on the book:

It is a collection of fragments, echoes, whispers. We don't know the time or place, the year is a rumour heard then forgotten. Characters lack names, but are given professions: they are soldiers and stand-up comics and tailors and artists. They weave in and out of each others stories like spectres. Each chapter - or is it a scene? An event? - is prefaced by an 8 x 10 grid, with one cell shaded in, a map that guides us through the novel. There are eight characters and 10 events, or is it 10 characters and eight events?

Turner says he didn’t want to write a book with “proper noun-age.” He also seems to dismiss anyone who doesn’t “get it.”

"Certain readers don't want a lot determined for them, just as I as a writer don't want my reader to be ... fixed in what they bring to the reading of my work. If the first thing they bring is, ‘I don't want to read it because...' well, f--- them."

In case you’re wondering what press allowed him to publish with them…he’s published by Doubleday Canada.

I could be wrong. It may be a fascinating book. Based on this interview, though, I’ll pass.

Guest Blogger: Mike Cox

Today, author Mike Cox is visiting. In 1993, he was elected to membership in the Texas Institute of Letters. For 20 years Mike was a newspaper reporter, and he’s also the author of 13 nonfiction books including a study of Texas disasters, three books on the Texas Rangers, one collection historical stories, one true crime story, a biography, a memoir and three local histories, as well as numerous magazine articles, essays and introductions for other books. You’ll find his byline in both state and national magazines.

Today, he’s talking about what you can learn from research.

Welcome, Mike Cox.

When I do the research for my books, including the second of my two-volume history of the Texas Rangers, Time of the Rangers, I like to visit as many of the places I write about as I can.

I’ve been to the remote Coal Mine Ranch in Presidio County, where Mexican bandits killed a Ranger in 1915. I’ve spent hours walking around Camp Mabry in Austin, where the Rangers officed before the Texas Department of Public Safety built its current headquarters in the early 1950s. I’ve been to the Walls prison unit in Huntsville, where narco kingpin Fred Gomez Carrasco tried to escape in 1974 only to be thwarted by Rangers and other officers.

But until recently I’d never visited Snake-den Tank.

As I explain in Time of the Rangers, the men (and now women) who wear the distinctive silver Ranger badge have always been welcome guests on the ranches they helped bring law and order to. Since at least the 1950s, the famous 6666 Ranch near Guthrie has hosted an annual get together for the Rangers at a large stock tank on one of its sections.

Rangers gather to shoot, compare notes with colleagues, eat well and, at least at the Snake-den Tank, work in a little off-duty fishing. It’s even possible they will play a few hands of poker or sip something stronger than iced tea.

Snake-den Tank is aptly named, being a great place to run across a rattlesnake – or several. Retired Senior Ranger Captain Lefty Block, an old friend, tells me the only accommodation at Snake-den used to be a drafty plank shack. Often, when Rangers first arrived to set up camp, they found it full of snakes.

One time, Block says, he and several other Rangers had broken for lunch after finishing a round of target practice. As Block enjoyed his grub he spotted a coiled rattler under the chair of the Ranger next to him.

“Don’t move,” Block whispered.

The Ranger, a rookie, wrongly sensed a gag and laughed.

“I said don’t move,” Block ordered in a voice normally reserved for uncooperative suspects.

About the time the young Ranger finally realized his precarious situation, the diamondback unwound itself and calmly slithered right through the Ranger camp.

“We’d all taken our guns off,” Block says. “All we could do was just sit there and watch it until it crawled off.”

The Snake-den is still a good place to find a rattler, but the amenities have vastly improved. Now it’s a complex of attractive new ranch buildings complete with bunk beds, kitchen, bathrooms, flat-screen TV, computer with internet connection and the remodeled original camp house, now home to the owner’s trophy game mounts.

According to retired Company C Captain Carl Weathers, the 6666 Ranch sold a chunk of land to Amarillo wheeler-dealer T. Boone Pickens, who divided the acreage and in turn sold it to various others. Max Williams, a Dallas businessman and avid hunter, bought 2,500 acres including Snake-den Tank and named it the 2-4-6 Ranch.

I visited the ranch for the first time when the Former Texas Ranger Association’s board met there Oct. 21. Happily, I encountered no snakes.

Thank you, Mike.

What about all of you? Do you venture away from the libraries and computers to do research? Have you found first-hand stories that have given you ideas and visual pictures of settings and events?

Texas Book Festival

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been introducing you to some of the artists and photographers who will be speaking at the Austin Museum of Art during the Texas Book Festival this weekend. I’d love to introduce you to all the authors coming to this year’s TBF, but there are about 200, so I’m sticking to the ones who will be appearing at the venue that I chair - the Austin Museum of Art. You can check out the website to see the entire list of authors and the schedule to see where and when they’ll be appearing.

Today, let me introduce two books:

First off, Collage by Lance Letscher. Letsher takes paper and transforms it into art. His art pieces vary from small pieces on paper to huge elaborate constructions. This book contains not only 118 examples of his pieces, but an introduction by Charles Dee Mitchell to Letshcer’s work and influences.

If you get a chance to look at Collage (or buy it and have him sign it), be sure you look at the inside of the cover. It’s a peek at how he works.

Lance Letscher will speak at the Austin Museum of Art on Sunday, November 1, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Next, even if you’re not a Texan, you’ll like thumbing through Ranch Gates of the Southwest. Photographers Daniel M. Olsen and Henk Van Assen show off more than 225 color photographs of ranch gates. In case you’re wondering, ranch gates are just what you might have guessed - the gates leading into ranches. Some gates are interesting all by themselves. Some are included because of the amazing vistas they lead to. Some are old; some are modern. They’re all fascinating.

I checked to see if my uncle’s was included. It wasn’t. His would have fit in with the others, though. His ranch is called The Lazy TP - the gate features a teepee sitting in a rocking chair drinking a mug of beer. Maybe in the next book.

Daniel M. Olsen and Henk Van Assen will speak at the Austin Museum of Art on Sunday, November 1, from 3:30 to 4:40 p.m.

If you come, be sure to say “hi” to me. I’ll be there all weekend.

An Ode to the Expresso

As I sit at my desk, sipping coffee, I’m reading an ode to the Expresso. No, not that kind of expresso. This “ode” is to the Expresso Book Machine. We haven’t heard much about that Expresso in a while. All the talk has been about e-readers and pricing wars. But Richard Griffin waxes poetic in the Allston-Brighton about the machine that can turn out a book in less than five minutes. “Almost four feet wide, three feet deep, and four and a half feet high, this new contraption prints, binds and trims in remarkably short order.”

Griffiin loves the Expresso. He’s astonished others don’t gaze on it in wonder, as he does at The Harvard Book Store. In the article, he says the inventors cite five benefits of the Expresso:

1) books can be produced and distributed on site;
2) books can be chosen from an almost limitless digital list and delivered more efficiently;
3) the work of self-published authors can be distributed instantly;
4) literacy can flourish more easily in undeveloped areas; and
5) fewer materials will be wasted.

Others may cherish their e-readers, but Griffin laments:

Surprisingly, no stores in New York City or Los Angeles have it yet. Nor does Barnes and Noble or any other large chain of booksellers.

Sure, the machine costs $100,000, and to make it pay, it has to print at least 20 books a day, but he believes it can be viable. People can request out of print books, or rare scholarly books, or even have their own manuscripts printed.

Considering the Expresso is fast, “green” and makes affordable copies, Griffin is surprised others don’t visit The Harvard Book Store just to gaze on this invention of the future.

He’s writing a memoir. I see him one day sitting at a small table, no books laid out, just a pen in hand and a smile on his face. Customers will order his book from the Expresso then bring it to him to sign. No remainders, no relegation to the 50cent table, and it’s always “in print.”

Another Viewpoint

Okay, we talked last week about the book price war going on between Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target. This week we kick off with another viewpoint. This one from Marion Maneker, who writes for a website called The Big Money who provides articles for The Washington Post and other newspapers.

Maneker believes

Book people are easily spooked. And their first line of defense is to hyperventilate.

He then goes on to lay out a twisted tale of how publishers should be operating, something he calls “a Dutch auction on a distribution fee.” Then he concludes by asking himself if he thinks publishers will embrace this new business model. His answer is: “No. They're too greedy.”

Here’s his formula:

If the publisher is going to sell the book to Amazon for $9, it should offer to take $3 per book as a distribution and marketing fee. A fat hardcover book costs $2 in paper, printing and binding. The author would keep $4, which is basically what he would earn in royalties on a $27.95 book. But since this is a competitive situation, the publisher might bid lower -- say, $2 per book and a pass-through on the marketing costs.

If the book succeeds, the author makes a boatload of money: $5 million on a million copies sold. If it fails, the publisher isn't crushed by the unearned advance.

To do that, he recommends publishers drastically cut their overhead and develop new authors via e-books.

I don’t see anything offered to those in-between the mega sellers and new e-authors. New authors apparently will work, as always, to establish themselves, although they’ll be rowing in e-form rather than the print book boat, and the mega authors will sail away on their boatload of money.

Some Fun News

All the business news lately has been about price wars and e-readers. So I decided that today I’d link you up to some fun news. Here are four that you might find interesting:

1. Over on GalleyCat - How to Break Up with an Agent
Just in case you were wondering the right way to do it!

2. In the Philadelphia Business Today - an article on video blogger Gary Vaynerchuk who blogs about wine and as a result welcomes his first book in a 10-book deal.

3. Another success story - Lisa Genova sent queries to 100 agents. Four asked for the manuscript. Three rejected. The fourth never got back to her. She self-published. She's also now on the NY Times Best Sellers list.

4. And, finally, The Wall Street Journal touts a new author from Australia and asks, Is she the next J.K. Rowling? She's got a background similar to Rowling. And, get this, her manuscript was pulled from the slush pile.

Have Fun and Have a Great Sunday.

Book Review: The Lost Symbol

What’s that I hear? Cheering? Hmm. Lots of you out there apparently are happy to hear I’m not reviewing the next in the Vince Flynn series. I could have. I’ve got the next one read, but I decided to take a break and, instead, review The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

The Lost Symbol is a thriller. Like most thrillers, it has a lot of information in it. This book isn’t about guns and assassins. It’s more of a puzzle or scavenger hunt. Most of you have probably either read the book or seen the movie of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. If you have, then you know what to expect of this book. Same protagonist, different story, different city, really tight timeframe (509 pages to tell what happens in one evening), overwhelming amount of information. Certainly worth reading, especially if you want to learn about the Freemasons.

As with The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol is presented with such authority, you can’t figure out what is real and what is fiction. With so much focus on the puzzle, the science, the information, the Freemasons, it was, for me, difficult to really care about the characters. But that could be because I tend to like character driven books. The Lost Symbol is more of a race against time, with an historical textbook added in.

I enjoyed the book and it was a fast read, primarily because I didn’t take time to ponder the theories put forth. I’ll definitely be going to the movie when it comes out.

~~~~~~~~~
To comply with the new FTC rules on bloggers who review books, I must tell you that I received no compensation for this review. I had to buy the book, at full price, mind you, then I had to wait for my husband to read it (it was his birthday present, after all) before I could start. Then I used my own business card as a bookmark, burned electricity, which I paid for, in the wee hours of the morning to read it, and then spent time out of my work day when I should have been working on the next book I’ve been assigned to write to instead write this review and this disclaimer or whatever it’s called. Sheesh.

A Big Name Speaks Up

Today, we continue the talk about the price slashing by the big block stores, Wal-Mart, Target and the online store Amazon. Only this time, a big name author weighs in. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Stephen King’s publisher is holding the release of the e-book edition of King’s novel, Under the Dome, until the day before Christmas, six weeks after the $35 hardcover hits the bookstores.

In an interview, Mr. King said that he wanted to delay the e-book edition in hopes of helping independent bookstores and the national bookstore chains sell the hardcover edition.

Well, it didn’t work. Wal-Mart, Target and Amazon are still going to slash the hardcover price, using it, along with the other best-sellers they’ve targeted, to act as loss leaders to get shoppers to buy online.

Walmart.com, for example, is taking preorders for "Under the Dome" for $8.98, a 74% discount off the cover price, while Target.com is charging $8.99 and Amazon.com has priced the hardcover at $9.

These prices even beat what will probably be the e-book price.

The e-book edition of "Under the Dome," which has a list price of $35, will probably retail for $9.99. Mr. King said that those who receive e-book readers for Christmas gifts will be able to download the book on Christmas day.

While King admits that the price cuts will probably sell more books, there is this:

[King] expressed concern for the impact the sharp discounting may have on other writers--established authors as well as up-and-comers--saying, "Who is going to buy a book for $25 when you can preorder a best seller for $9?" He noted that at $9, a new hardcover will be cheaper than the later fancy paperback edition.

"All the guys in ties want to talk about is whether a new delivery system is going to work," he added. "Nobody seems to care about the book.

Here Comes Another E-Reader

Can’t these guys just get together and make all their e-readers compatible? Is that too much for the reading public to ask?

Barnes & Noble is now unveiling their own electronic reader, the Nook, according to the New York Times.

The device features color touch-screen controls and a gray-and-white reading display. It will cost $259…

According to an advertisement in the New York Times, “the Nook will permit readers to lend their digital books to friends and download books wirelessly.”

The Nook will join other e-Readers, like the Kindle, one from Sony, the IRex and Plastic Logic, then, of course, there’s also the app so books can be read on the iPhone.

The advertisement for the Nook says that consumers will be able to “access over one million e-books, newspapers and magazines.” About 500,000 of the books available at BN.com can be downloaded free, through an agreement with Google to provide electronic versions of public domain books that Google has scanned from university libraries.

And, lastly, I found this piece of information in the New York Times article interesting:

According to the Codex Group, a consultant to the publishing industry, the number of people who own e-readers is expected to roughly double to about 3.8 million by the end of this year, from about 1.6 million in August.

Another Combatant

Day before yesterday (Monday), I blogged about the book price war going on between Amazon and Wal-Mart. Another party has entered into the fight. Target is now offering “seven highly anticipated hardcover books available for pre-order on its Web site” for $8.99, matching Wal-Mart’s Monday’s price. (On Tuesday, Wal-Mart dropped another penny to $8.98, but Target did not follow.) According to the New York Times, a spokesperson for Target said, “Right now, we’re sticking with $8.99.”

The Wall Street Journal seems to feel that the price war now dropping by pennies, instead of dollars indicates “no further cuts.” The Journal also said:

The publishing industry is also watching warily to see if the price war will have lasting impact on book pricing and the contracts that publisher sign with authors. What is still unclear is whether this is a short-term promotion on Walmart's part, or whether Walmart.com intends to use cheap books to challenge Amazon as the Web's leading retailer.

In case you’re wondering why publishers and booksellers don’t just lower their prices and go head to head with Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target, Michael Norris, a consultant with Simba Information, which provides research and advice to publishers, noted, (according to the New York Times)

the price war could be particularly damaging to the publishing industry and booksellers because the retailers who were currently slashing prices “don’t need to sell books in order to stay in business” and therefore can sell the books at a loss.

Browsing Online

According to LibreDigital and Internet News, “Online previews of e-books and digital texts lead to more sales -- with romance novels topping the list of the genres most perused online…. After romance comes books for tweens and teenagers, followed by business books.”

What the figures seem to indicate is that allowing online previews increases sales.

“As a result, leading publishers are increasing their use of online previews when planning promotional campaigns for both new and existing book titles." [LibreDigital CEO Russell Reeder]

Data indicates that women are spending 70 percent more time than men browsing books online.

LibreDigital has some very detailed statistics:

The average reader spends more than 15 minutes browsing a book, and previews an average of 46 pages of each book they browse …

For romance titles, [the most popular online browsing time] is 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., while teens do so mostly from 4 to 11 p.m. and business books follow the work schedule clocking in primarily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Adults are more likely to share links to content via e-mail, while younger readers prefer to share within social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.

What does this tell writers? Think about who your target reader is and then ask yourself, do I need to make sure online browsers can read sample pages or chapters? Where should I be promoting my book? Is my reader at the age where s/he’s likely to have an e-reader? Should I be in both digital and print?

At War

Did you know there’s a war going on in the publishing industry? No, it’s not between print book and e-books. (Finally! A bit of news not about e-books or e-readers!)

According to the Wall Street Journal, the war is between Amazon and Wal-Mart. It started last Thursday when Wal-Mart started selling its 10 most anticipated hardcovers for $10 each when pre-ordered online. Amazon promptly matched the offer. So Wal-Mart countered by slicing its price to $9. Amazon followed suit. Then Wal-Mart, determined to have the lowest online price, dropped theirs to $8.99.

David Young, chief executive of Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, said he and other publishers “feared the online pricing could hurt small independent book sellers and big retail chains.”

How could it do that?

If the industry's top books continue to be sold for $9 online in the future, Mr. Young said, it will be increasingly difficult for publishers to launch what he described as "the writers of tomorrow," because the book market may have narrowed significantly.

The veteran publisher said when major retailers are allowed to sell below cost, it represents an aggressive form of price deflation that creates "all sorts of disturbances in the market." He noted that in France it is illegal to sell a book below cost, adding, "I would welcome similar legislation here."

Barnes & Noble and Borders are not matching these online prices. For the most part, the big bookstore chains are not talking.

Most U.S. executives at the fair declined to speak publicly about the price war, for fear of offending either of the retailers.

My Maximous is Awesomous

About two weeks ago, the wonderful Stephen Tremp of Breakthrough Blogs for the Aspiring Author gave me the Awesomous Maximous Award. He not only passed on the award, he created the award “for those bloggers who not only post awesome content that help other writers, but also to those bloggers who significantly contribute to promoting aspiring authors.”

One wonderful thing about this award (other than that he deems Straight From Hel worthy [me blushing]) is that Stephen will be the one passing it on to those he feels deserve the Awesomous Maximous Award. If you keep up with his blog, you’ll get to link over and meet a lot of bloggers you may not have be familiar with.

So, to Stephen, I say, Thank You. Thank you for including me in your first group of awardees and thank you for thinking my maximous is awesomous.

Book Review: Executive Power

I believe Executive Power is the fifth in Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp thriller series. Like the others in the series, this one is set primarily in the back-stabbing, too many chiefs, political world of Washington D.C. Rapp, “America’s Assassin,” is the odd man out in this world. He’s smart, committed, and what he wants is to kill the bad guys behind the scene before they kill Americans. Unfortunately for him, he’s been outed. Now, instead of dealing only with either the President or his handler at the CIA, he comes out of the cold and has to deal with politicians, most of whom wouldn’t mind seeing him put out of commission.

Lots of people are in danger in this book, from an American family kidnapped by terrorists in the Philippines to all the UN representatives in New York. They may not know it, but their lives are in Rapp’s hands as much as they are in the terrorists’. It seems like no matter where Rapp turns, somebody’s out to stop him. He can’t let that happen, though, or a lot of people will die. Plus, he has to deal with his new wife, a television reporter, who wants him out of the “business” and also wants to know the details of what he’s doing.

Like the others in this series, Executive Power is fast-paced and chock full of details and info on weaponry, helicopters, and Washington politics. If you like thrillers, want to feel like you know about the maneuverings that go on in DC, and like to read an author who knows all the details, then you’ll most likely like Executive Power by Vince Flynn.

Surviving Books

One of the big topics at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany this week is online writing and the effect it has on the book publishing industry. According to EarthTimes,

The spectre haunting the industry is the discovery that today, everybody is a writer.

There are a lot of good writers out on the Internet and they’re putting their words online for free.

"Digital content is completely altering the publishing industry," said Eoin Purcell, a consultant and writer, warning that even the most respected names in publishing will not be able to claim any "right to survive" in the new book economy.

Not everyone believes free online content will destroy print publishing.

The other camp argues that publishers should stop whining, devise new and irresistible ways of selling information, and roll out digital books faster and better than the so-called pirates. …

Kassia Krozser, a respected New York blogger, urged the book industry to no longer regard paper books as their prime product. Her slogan is: "Digital first, print maybe."

Edward Nash, a consultant, perhaps summed it up best:

"We as publishers have to abandon the notion that our previous business model is permanent."

There are still plenty of readers out there. Some now do the majority of their reading online, but even the most avid bloggers or FridayFiction writers are also book readers. The industry can survive with both.

Two Fabulous Books

My goal is to let you all know about the great authors, photographers, and books coming to the Austin Museum of Art during the Texas Book Festival October 31 - November 1 this year. My ulterior motive is to get you all, at least those of you within driving distance of Austin, to come to AMOA to hear these writers and photographers speak and to say “hi” to me.

This past Saturday, I introduced you to Texas’ Big Bend: A Photographic Adventure from the Pecos to the Rio Grande by Michael H. Marvins. Today, I’ll tell you about two more books.

Calvin Littlejohn: Portrait of a Community in Black and White by Bob Ray Sanders.

Calvin Littlejohn was, at heart, a photographer. On his way to becoming one of the best, he worked in domestic service, taught industrial art, and eventually became the official photographer at the only black high school in Ft. Worth. He went on to take more than just pictures at the high school. He became the documentarian of Ft. Worth’s black community.

This book chronicles his work, from 1934 to 1991. The pictures are amazing. Everyday people doing everyday things. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. People who lived their lives and became a part of history on the pages of Calvin Littlejohn’s book.

Bob Ray Sanders will be at the Austin Museum of Art to speak on Saturday, October 31, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Texas BBQ, photographs by Wyatt McSpadden

I had to wait to get to look at this book. As soon as it arrived, my husband grabbed it up. It’s not a listing of all the fabulous BBQ joints in Texas and it doesn’t rate the places from best to worst. What it does is make your mouth water with some extraordinary pictures. You’ll also be astounded by what the professional BBQ cooks do to created the melt-in-your-mouth sausage, beef, pork and ribs.

McSpadden has photos of more than just the meat. In fact, there aren't that many picture of meat. He artistically captures the fires, the signs, torn stools, chopping blocks, menu signs, and the people. The faces, the cookers, the tools. Smokers taller than the man doing the cooking.

My husband suggested we go to each BBQ place, do a taste test and get autographs. Sounds like a mighty fine vacation to me.

Wyatt McSpadden will be at the Austin Museum of Art to speak on Saturday, October 31, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Cheerio! Books!

If you have young kids, then you’ll probably like a new campaign by Cheerios®. They’re putting six million children’s books inside boxes of cereal this Fall. Their aim is to provide bedtime storybooks for kids ages 3 to 8, and the books will be printed in both English and Spanish. They’ll also be making a financial donation to First Book, a children’s nonprofit that gets books to children from low-income families.

Here are the books included in this year’s campaign:

Junkyard Fort, by Jon Scieszka, and illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long and Dave Gordon.

Tea for Ruby, by The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.

Sleepyhead, by Karma Wilson and illustrated by John Segal.

Ballyhoo Bay, by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Derek Anderson.

What's Under the Bed?, written and illustrated by Joe Fenton.

The cereal boxes will have a cut-out window so you can select which book you want.

Here’s a snippet from the Reuters article:

This is the eighth year of the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories program, and over the past eight years, Cheerios has distributed more than 40 million books inside Cheerios boxes - and given $3.2 million to First Book.

I don’t have young kids, so I won’t be especially buying Cheerios for the books, but I already buy Cheerios, so I’ll probably end up with a book or two. I like the idea of giving books with cereal. How about you? Do you think it’s a good idea? Or just a scheme to get folks to buy the cereal? Or both?

Paging Apple

It looks like as early as January 2010, Apple may be entering the e-reader scene. They’ve been working on the iTablet -- a lot of that work has been happening behind closed doors. Rumor is they’ve been having secret talks with newspaper and textbook publishers to negotiate content.

Just this past Thursday, we were talking about e-readers for school kids. An article in MacNewsWorld addresses some of the comments that were made here on Straight From Hel. What would the iTablet have that other e-readers don’t?

Basically, multimedia books instead of simple text-based e-books, multimedia magazines instead of print mags, lush and rich electronic content rather than the cramped and stripped-down content you can currently get on an iPhone or iPod touch.

Besides taking a weight off kids’ backs, how would they benefit from the iTablet?

Meanwhile, students would have something more useful -- searchable text, handy-cut-and-paste snippet tools, multimedia, and up-to-date information.

What about magazines and newspapers? According to the Huffington Post,

Apple has been negotiating with major print media companies to acquire content for the new device, Gizmodo reports, including the New York Times, McGraw Hill, and Oberlin Press.

ComputerWorld seems to believe that this new iTablet, whenever it appears, will be more than just an e-reader.

"It's more than just an e-reader," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research who follows Apple's moves. "It's an application platform, it's a game and social gaming platform. It certainly will be an e-reader, that will be part of its ecosystem, but that won't be all it is."

With all this hype and speculation, you (and me, as well) may be wondering what the price will be. ComputerWorld is guessing between $500 and $800.

Pet Peeves

What are your pet peeves in writing? Not slips or error you yourself make in your writing, but, rather, what brings you up short when you’re reading a book?

Saturday a week ago, I fell. I wrenched my knee, sprained my ankle and broke a toe. Yep, that was me you saw sprawled out on the concrete in the rain. Someday I’ll write a post about the whole incident and the follow-up at the medical clinic. No, wait, I’ll save that for my comedy routine.

Since then, I’ve gone from my ankle getting better to hurting more. Which got me to thinking about pet peeves when reading.

Even before my own adventures into clumsiness, it would drive me a tad nuts when a character would get beaten up or shot or pushed down a flight of stairs, then the next morning be fine with nary a mention of pain or stiffness or changing bandages.

Kablam. He’s down. Voila. He’s up. Unless he’s James Bond, he can’t do that. He’s gonna limp or favor an arm or scream when his girlfriend rips off the old bandage and puts on a new one, then pass out when he glimpses the gangrene setting into the uncleaned knife wound. Or, at the least, like me, he’ll have to go down the stairs one at a time - step by step by step by step.

Think Before Your Write

Have you ever read about a book and thought to yourself, Okay, that guy did not engage his brain before he turned on his computer. Advice from Editor Helen to writers: Think before you write things you may someday regret.

Unfortunately, the author I’m talking about, more than likely, does not regret writing his memoir. And I know memoirs are supposed to be the truth of your life or a period of your life…But, please.

Frederic Mitterrand wrote his memoir, The Bad Life, and it was published four years ago. Everything was fine and good. His memoir was even praised by some literary critics. Then one year ago, he was appointed to office and became French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand. Now, some French politicians are demanding he explain some passages.

According to the press article I read, they want an explanation of passages:

where he describes paying for sexual relations with "young boys" in Thailand and Indonesia

Some of his critics are demanding he leave the ministry and accusing him of “endorsing the exploitation of young Asian sex workers.”

His publisher is backpedaling a bit, now describing his book as not a memoir but a “novel inspired by autobiography.” They’re also describing him as “courageous and talented.”

Although Mitterrand has confirmed frequenting brothels, he describes the critics as inspired by a far-right smear campaign.

Without speaking to Frederic Mitterrand’s mores, I would say to writers, think before you ink.

Having said that, I’ll ask those stopping by who write memoir or who have thought about writing one, should you censor what you think may get you arrested or what might not be acceptable to society?

Book Review: Texas’ Big Bend

It’s Fall and that means…the Texas Book Festival is near at hand. I chair the authors and artists who speak at the Austin Museum of Art. This year, as always, we have some great books to be presented. I thought I’d introduce you to Texas’ Big Bend: A Photographic Adventure from the Pecos to the Rio Grande by Michael H. Marvins.

Texas’ Big Bend is a beautiful book that covers, not just the Big Bend National Park, but cities like Marfa and Langtry. It’s a vast area: 800,000 acres of parkland and surrounding territory. Marvins doesn’t just take pictures. According to the foreward, he uses many different cameras and “the application of more than one technique or printing process.” On the publisher’s website, I found this:

All Of Mike Marvins’ royalties are being contributed to Friends of Big Bend National Park and Friends of the State Ranch State Park.

There are stark photos of crooked fences in front of grassland that stretches forever. Pictures that could be art on your wall, like the one of sandstone, millions of years old, that formed back when Big Bend was under the sea.

One that, to me, was both funny and sobering had a four word caption: “RV Park, Study Butte.” There are no RVs in the picture. The butte stands in the back ground. In the forefront is a sign that reads: “One Hour Parking.” My thought was, man if I drove that far, I’d stay more than one hour. Then I noticed the shadow the sign made on the ground - a cross.

I’ve never been to the Big Bend area. I’d love to go. Especially after seeing this book.

Mr. Marvins will be speaking at AMOA on Sunday, November 1, from 11:00 a.m. - Noon. He’ll be signing immediately afterward.

Naughty or Nice?

It’s Christmas! No, you didn’t fall asleep and just wake up from a two and a half month coma. It’s Christmas because Neiman Marcus says so. They said so by releasing their Neiman Marcus’ annual Christmas Book.

Scrooge the economy! Take a look at the NM Christmas Book. You can get pjs for your toddler for only $90. How about a Makers Mark Master Distiller Experience for a mere $7,500. Or, to keep this focused on books, you might want the Dior 60th anniversary book for $250. Or here’s an idea perfect for you: His & Hers Icon Sports Aircraft for $250,000. Don’t have $250,000? Then you’ll want to click on this link and see the picture of the Customized Cupcake Car for only $25,000.

Speaking of clicking, the Christmas book is available … in digital form. Go green with your Master Distiller in your Cupcake Car on your way to Italy in your Icon Sports Aircraft, where you can relax and review the catalog on your digital reader.

Save the planet, people!

Take a Load Off

We talked recently about kids carrying thirty pounds of books in their back packs. To save the backs of our kids, e-books may be the solution. I was reading an article in Tuesday’s NewsOK that says ebooks may be the solution to California’s money woes, as well.

Here’s a bit from the article:

In plugging a $20 million-plus budget hole, California lawmakers decided the state won’t go through the textbook-adoption process for four years. The state’s school superintendent said that means students won’t get new books until 2016 and that meantime, some students will have books older than they are.

On the other side, if California doesn’t buy books, it will drastically hurt the publishers of textbooks.

California is the nation’s largest textbook market, and some are worried the spending cutbacks will affect publishers’ ability to develop new textbooks — in print and digitally. That could be problematic for other states and even individual districts in California with plans to keep buying as many new textbooks as possible.

So, what’s the solution? Possibly ebooks, or digital textbooks. The digital revolution keeps charging forward.

Shades of Black and Light

I’ve mentioned our miniature Schnauzer, Ruffles, before. Well, she’s baaaacckk! To review for those who are new… Ruffles is 15 and a half years old, almost blind and mostly deaf. She can’t come down the stairs by herself and getting up is a struggle, so I’ll most likely soon be carrying her up, as well as down. She still has her internal clock, though it runs a bit fast. About an hour before dinnertime, she wakes and begins pacing. She sleeps either in my office or by my side of the bed. If I’m in my office and I see her even open her eyes, I grab her up and run her outside. You can guess why. At bedtime, I take her out then she gets three treats, one right away, one to entice her to climb the stairs by herself and one to get her to find her bed.

You’re probably wondering what all this has to do with writing. Well…I was watching her and thinking how like a little old lady she is - to tell you the truth, I hope I’m as spry when I get 15 in dog years - and that led me to imagining her as a character.

At her age, she’s a character in shades of black and light. If you write a character who’s not blind, but rather with very poor eyesight, then you are writing a character in shades of black and light. When I’m outside with Ruffles during the day, she can see me if I’m close, within a couple of feet from her. She can also see me if I’m three to maybe six feet if I’m moving. (I’ve learned to sway back and forth or wave my arms to catch her attention.) If we’re out at night, even with the floodlights, she doesn’t see nearly as well as when we’re in daylight. I have to stay right by her side. When we get through with business and walk to the porch, she sees even less. The porch lights are on, but they're dim. She sometimes will go round and round in circles as if she can’t see me or the door.

Keep Ruffles in mind when you write a sight impaired person. Such a person might totally miss something in the dark, but be able to see a bit in the bright daylight. They, too, live in shades of black and light.

And if your character is as small as Ruffles, you’d better keep your eyes open and watch your step. She wants to lead and stay close, so she weaves in and out of your feet and back and forth in front of you. She is, in this house, still the lead dog.