Where do you think I should try to farm out this gem?  And can you
suggest a new name?  I don't really like the name.  My husband doesn't
like this one, but I've had a lot of other people tell me WOW
(including my writing instructor).  So... I thought I could find a
market for it.  What do you think?  marketable or no?






How To Die
by Noelle Campbell


He was dying.

The class two spaceship was still creaking. It moaned and spat, then
creaked again, making unhappy sounds like a child who'd fallen from a
swing.

Electricity sparked and crackled. The air filled with the smells of
ozone and melting wire casing.

Sterling knew what the dying experienced in their last moments: The
first instant of alarm as someone realized that the end of life was
coming, the moment of acceptance when the mind became still, and
finally the whisper of passing as spirit separated from flesh. Even
animals felt it in their passing and essentially, humans were no more
than animals.

Black warmth was his first awareness that death beckoned.
Understanding that it was one possible outcome of his flight made it
no easier to accept. Death offered an emotionless, painless passing
into complete freedom but a familiar panic filled his body. It began
in the hollow of his throat. His pulse throbbed there, desperate and
quick. The noise of the wreckage filled his ears, drowning out
everything but his own heartbeat. Blood raced through his body. His
heart thumped harder in his chest as chemically enhanced energy surged
through him, bringing oxygen faster to each vital organ.

His body was telling him that he was dying.

Everything he felt he understood was merely a physiological response
to the chemicals pumping through his body: adrenaline, noradrenaline,
rennin-angiotensin and arginine vasopressin. He knew what each hormone
did and that it was a useless response in many cases.

His mind screamed that he wanted to live.

The dichotomy was enough to make him open his eyes. He could have kept
them closed and given into the black warmth of dying. His choice to
return to the cold chill of reality was met with a red-stained
confusion that colored his vision and a harsh, bitter aroma that
filled his nostrils. It became instantly unforgettable. He recognized
it as the scent of his own blood. He gasped and coughed, tasting the
iron in his mouth.

Blood. Everywhere.

My blood?

As he breathed in deeper, his nostrils cleared. He felt his blood
crusting over the membranes, drying and cracking like a thin watery
coat of paint.

His eyes closed against the pain and disorder in his mind. Taking a
deep breath of blood-tinged vapor, he opened his eyes again and
blinked at the white silky mass set against the deep blue of the seat
in front of him. Airbags had gone off. He didn't remember that. The
ship had settled hard on Mars. Feeling the natural light on his face,
he couldn't remember how the gaping hole in the side of the ship, the
one that took out all of the rows to the left of him, had occurred.
He had placed the O^2 breather over his face, as directed by the
automated voice, just before he clamped his hand over the woman's arm
beside him.

He remembered the crushing pressure of g-forces before he blacked out.
The mask was gone somewhere along with the debris of wreckage. It
hardly mattered. There were a million other factors that could end his
survival.

He turned his head to look over at the body next to him, already
sensing his neighbor was dead.

Gone.

Her arm was still there, severed, but resting safely under his hand. A
large piece of metal debris had torn through the cabin and his
neighbor. When he turned his head a little more to the left, he could
see where the fragment had finally rested. Somewhere beneath that, was
the owner of the arm.

Everyone, he believed, in the passenger section of the smuggler's ship
was, or had been a refugee from various forms of prison and servitude
before they were sucked out of the ship and deposited back on Mars: dead.

They were not like him. They were not manufactured. They were fragile
and human.
The muscles in his fingers were so tightly knotted that releasing his
grip on the severed arm in his grasp was painful. His fingers lifted
slowly, one by one, unable to straighten. When his body cooperated and
his fingers let go, the limb flopped like a lifeless fish to the empty
gashed space beside him, imprinted with marks from his closely trimmed
fingernails. He turned his body to follow and was stopped by a sharp
pain--the first pain he had felt since opening his eyes.
Something had him pinned to his seat.

Expecting to see his seatbelt ripping through his clothes, perhaps his
body, he was already moving his hands to unbuckle it when he saw the
shrapnel lodged in his middle.

Looking at his wound he knew exactly what his body was going through.
A mental picture of the medical textbook heading flashed in his mind:
Compensatory Shock. In a matter of minutes, maybe moments, he would
become hypovolemic: when the total volume of his blood became too low
to circulate efficiently. He would go into progressive shock, followed
by disorientation, while he bled to death. Internally or externally,
it hardly mattered. In the end, he'd be just as dead.

The textbooks on emergency aid had warned that panic would suck up
energy needed to pump his blood to all the parts of his body where he
was losing it. He couldn't afford to lose self-control but he didn't
have time to argue himself into composure. He would have to deal with
his situation in his present state of mind: desperate and unnerved.

I must live!

It was a promise the dying always made to themselves. Easily made, it
was just as easily broken.

Looking around again, his eye caught movement and his head followed
the motion. A female pulled herself along the aisle, clawing and
crawling as best she could with mangled legs.

Her hands were still beautiful and petite. Noting her manicure, he
watched her grab hold of the floor and pull herself a little further
along. Little lines of white acrylic nails, squared and perfect, stood
out against the deep red liquid dripping down between her fingers. The
same contrast shone in the luster of her blond hair, soaked in blood.
It could have been her blood. It could have been the blood of someone
she had clawed over in an effort to reach some exit. Focusing on her
nails, their white tips reflecting the light of a Martian morning, her
will to live struck him hard, but it would not alter his decision. She
was wasting her energy and he needed it.

His fingers, still painful and reluctant to respond, wrapped around
the shrapnel embedded in his middle. The slick sound of suction filled
his ears as his body protested the removal of the object, followed by
the soft cooperative noise of lubrication by the same bodily fluids.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, pressure building behind his eyes
until he could hardly see, his biceps trembled with effort as he
tossed the metal aside. Keeping his focus on the manicured nails of
his target, he pushed himself from his seat.

Legs wobbling, protesting with flaccid resistance to his commands to
move, he stumbled forward. Each jarring step shot more pain through
his body.

As he gasped for air, the edges of his vision began to darken.

Hyperventilation and progressive shock.

He couldn't stop the panic that made the blood pound loudly in his
ears. His entire being was focused on the white tipped nails as he
fell on the woman struggling toward the exit. The wind rushed from her
lungs as she grunted and struggled away from him. Groping for her
hand, his vision failed him but his hands were determined.

He felt the smooth hard edges of artificial nails, and breathed a sigh
of relief. Closing his hand around her wrist, feeling her pulse
beneath his fingers, the chill of his shock washed away.

Warmth flowed from the woman into his hand, up his arm and spread
slowly through his body. His own panic subsided, replaced by calm and
the sense of growing panic in the woman's mind.

She looked up and her eyes came into focus, his vision returning and
clearing. There was not enough energy in her to fight him. Her pulse
slowed. A surge of triumph flashed over him. He could feel her
reluctance to accept death, the desperate struggle inside her mind,
but he pushed past it. As the light faded from her eyes, her mind
stilled. Feeling nothing more from her but the strange whispering rush
of her spirit passing from this world to the next, he drew on the
body, willing more energy from it: warmth, the last firing electricity
of the synapses, blood, bone and sinew. It shriveled, skin tightening
around its frame. When it had no more to give he let go.

It fell, empty and dry as paper though the synthetic nails were still
flawless.
Sterling looked down at himself and the tear in his blood-soaked shirt
that covered the wound in his middle. Wiping at his abdomen with the
flat of his palm, he breathed in relief. The hole in his flesh was
gone. He was not dying.

Waiting, breathing, he listened for sounds of life over the spitting
of electrical wiring and creaking metal. Hearing a noise he shifted
his body toward the sound. He stood slowly, his legs still weak and
unsteady, and moved toward it.

He needed more energy. There were others dying around him.

And he wanted to live.

Very neat story. 

I think there might be a market, if you're willing to market it as a type of
vampire story.  Right now, vamps of all kinds are very popular.

Regarding the title, I haven't a clue what it should be, but I do agree that
"How to Die" isn't really a good one.

Dawn



http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SilverScreenDiscussion

http://www.myspace.com/circle_of_one



Witches are not by nature gregarious, at least with other witches, and they
certainly don't have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly regarded of
the leaders they didn't have. Terry Pratchett, "The Wyrd Sisters"

--- On Thu, 11/13/08, Swamp Faye <swampfaye@...> wrote:
From: Swamp Faye <swampfaye@...>
Subject: [Fantasy Fiction Dungeon] Trying to sell this:
To: fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008, 6:33 PM

Where do you think I should try to farm out this gem?  And can you
suggest a new name?  I don't really like the name.  My husband doesn't
like this one, but I've had a lot of other people tell me WOW
(including my writing instructor).  So... I thought I could find a
market for it.  What do you think?  marketable or no?






How To Die
by Noelle Campbell


He was dying.

The class two spaceship was still creaking. It moaned and spat, then
creaked again, making unhappy sounds like a child who'd fallen from a
swing.

Electricity sparked and crackled. The air filled with the smells of
ozone and melting wire casing.

Sterling knew what the dying experienced in their last moments: The
first instant of alarm as someone realized that the end of life was
coming, the moment of acceptance when the mind became still, and
finally the whisper of passing as spirit separated from flesh. Even
animals felt it in their passing and essentially, humans were no more
than animals.

Black warmth was his first awareness that death beckoned.
Understanding that it was one possible outcome of his flight made it
no easier to accept. Death offered an emotionless, painless passing
into complete freedom but a familiar panic filled his body. It began
in the hollow of his throat. His pulse throbbed there, desperate and
quick. The noise of the wreckage filled his ears, drowning out
everything but his own heartbeat. Blood raced through his body. His
heart thumped harder in his chest as chemically enhanced energy surged
through him, bringing oxygen faster to each vital organ.

His body was telling him that he was dying.

Everything he felt he understood was merely a physiological response
to the chemicals pumping through his body: adrenaline, noradrenaline,
rennin-angiotensin and arginine vasopressin. He knew what each hormone
did and that it was a useless response in many cases.

His mind screamed that he wanted to live.

The dichotomy was enough to make him open his eyes. He could have kept
them closed and given into the black warmth of dying. His choice to
return to the cold chill of reality was met with a red-stained
confusion that colored his vision and a harsh, bitter aroma that
filled his nostrils. It became instantly unforgettable. He recognized
it as the scent of his own blood. He gasped and coughed, tasting the
iron in his mouth.

Blood. Everywhere.

My blood?

As he breathed in deeper, his nostrils cleared. He felt his blood
crusting over the membranes, drying and cracking like a thin watery
coat of paint.

His eyes closed against the pain and disorder in his mind. Taking a
deep breath of blood-tinged vapor, he opened his eyes again and
blinked at the white silky mass set against the deep blue of the seat
in front of him. Airbags had gone off. He didn't remember that. The
ship had settled hard on Mars. Feeling the natural light on his face,
he couldn't remember how the gaping hole in the side of the ship, the
one that took out all of the rows to the left of him, had occurred.
He had placed the O^2 breather over his face, as directed by the
automated voice, just before he clamped his hand over the woman's arm
beside him.

He remembered the crushing pressure of g-forces before he blacked out.
The mask was gone somewhere along with the debris of wreckage. It
hardly mattered. There were a million other factors that could end his
survival.

He turned his head to look over at the body next to him, already
sensing his neighbor was dead.

Gone.

Her arm was still there, severed, but resting safely under his hand. A
large piece of metal debris had torn through the cabin and his
neighbor. When he turned his head a little more to the left, he could
see where the fragment had finally rested. Somewhere beneath that, was
the owner of the arm.

Everyone, he believed, in the passenger section of the smuggler's ship
was, or had been a refugee from various forms of prison and servitude
before they were sucked out of the ship and deposited back on Mars: dead.

They were not like him. They were not manufactured. They were fragile
and human.
The muscles in his fingers were so tightly knotted that releasing his
grip on the severed arm in his grasp was painful. His fingers lifted
slowly, one by one, unable to straighten. When his body cooperated and
his fingers let go, the limb flopped like a lifeless fish to the empty
gashed space beside him, imprinted with marks from his closely trimmed
fingernails. He turned his body to follow and was stopped by a sharp
pain--the first pain he had felt since opening his eyes.
Something had him pinned to his seat.

Expecting to see his seatbelt ripping through his clothes, perhaps his
body, he was already moving his hands to unbuckle it when he saw the
shrapnel lodged in his middle.

Looking at his wound he knew exactly what his body was going through.
A mental picture of the medical textbook heading flashed in his mind:
Compensatory Shock. In a matter of minutes, maybe moments, he would
become hypovolemic: when the total volume of his blood became too low
to circulate efficiently. He would go into progressive shock, followed
by disorientation, while he bled to death. Internally or externally,
it hardly mattered. In the end, he'd be just as dead.

The textbooks on emergency aid had warned that panic would suck up
energy needed to pump his blood to all the parts of his body where he
was losing it. He couldn't afford to lose self-control but he didn't
have time to argue himself into composure. He would have to deal with
his situation in his present state of mind: desperate and unnerved.

I must live!

It was a promise the dying always made to themselves. Easily made, it
was just as easily broken.

Looking around again, his eye caught movement and his head followed
the motion. A female pulled herself along the aisle, clawing and
crawling as best she could with mangled legs.

Her hands were still beautiful and petite. Noting her manicure, he
watched her grab hold of the floor and pull herself a little further
along. Little lines of white acrylic nails, squared and perfect, stood
out against the deep red liquid dripping down between her fingers. The
same contrast shone in the luster of her blond hair, soaked in blood.
It could have been her blood. It could have been the blood of someone
she had clawed over in an effort to reach some exit. Focusing on her
nails, their white tips reflecting the light of a Martian morning, her
will to live struck him hard, but it would not alter his decision. She
was wasting her energy and he needed it.

His fingers, still painful and reluctant to respond, wrapped around
the shrapnel embedded in his middle. The slick sound of suction filled
his ears as his body protested the removal of the object, followed by
the soft cooperative noise of lubrication by the same bodily fluids.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, pressure building behind his eyes
until he could hardly see, his biceps trembled with effort as he
tossed the metal aside. Keeping his focus on the manicured nails of
his target, he pushed himself from his seat.

Legs wobbling, protesting with flaccid resistance to his commands to
move, he stumbled forward. Each jarring step shot more pain through
his body.

As he gasped for air, the edges of his vision began to darken.

Hyperventilation and progressive shock.

He couldn't stop the panic that made the blood pound loudly in his
ears. His entire being was focused on the white tipped nails as he
fell on the woman struggling toward the exit. The wind rushed from her
lungs as she grunted and struggled away from him. Groping for her
hand, his vision failed him but his hands were determined.

He felt the smooth hard edges of artificial nails, and breathed a sigh
of relief. Closing his hand around her wrist, feeling her pulse
beneath his fingers, the chill of his shock washed away.

Warmth flowed from the woman into his hand, up his arm and spread
slowly through his body. His own panic subsided, replaced by calm and
the sense of growing panic in the woman's mind.

She looked up and her eyes came into focus, his vision returning and
clearing. There was not enough energy in her to fight him. Her pulse
slowed. A surge of triumph flashed over him. He could feel her
reluctance to accept death, the desperate struggle inside her mind,
but he pushed past it. As the light faded from her eyes, her mind
stilled. Feeling nothing more from her but the strange whispering rush
of her spirit passing from this world to the next, he drew on the
body, willing more energy from it: warmth, the last firing electricity
of the synapses, blood, bone and sinew. It shriveled, skin tightening
around its frame. When it had no more to give he let go.

It fell, empty and dry as paper though the synthetic nails were still
flawless.
Sterling looked down at himself and the tear in his blood-soaked shirt
that covered the wound in his middle. Wiping at his abdomen with the
flat of his palm, he breathed in relief. The hole in his flesh was
gone. He was not dying.

Waiting, breathing, he listened for sounds of life over the spitting
of electrical wiring and creaking metal. Hearing a noise he shifted
his body toward the sound. He stood slowly, his legs still weak and
unsteady, and moved toward it.

He needed more energy. There were others dying around him.

And he wanted to live.


------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links








[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I blogged today about the growing problem of ebook theft: sharing or
reselling ebooks. The blog entry includes a link to the
AuthorsAgainstE-BookTheft Yahoo group, for any readers who wish to
report a piracy site. Here's the url for the blog entry:


<http://tesserene.blogspot.com/2008/12/ebook-resales-good-or-bad-idea.ht\
ml>
<http://tesserene.blogspot.com/2008/12/ebook-resales-good-or-bad-idea.ht\
ml>
http://tesserene.blogspot.com/2008/12/ebook-resales-good-or-bad-idea.htm\
l
<http://tesserene.blogspot.com/2008/12/ebook-resales-good-or-bad-idea.ht\
ml>

Mark.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

If I buy an e-book, I should be able to do with it as I please.  Even if that
means reselling it, though I am not advocating piracy.  DRM is dying a slow
death, and it will actually be good for it to die.

--- On Wed, 12/31/08, Mark Terence Chapman <MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:
From: Mark Terence Chapman <MarkTerenceChapman@...>
Subject: [Fantasy Fiction Dungeon] Today's blog about ebook piracy
To: fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 10:56 AM











             I blogged today about the growing problem of ebook theft: sharing or

reselling ebooks. The blog entry includes a link to the

AuthorsAgainstE- BookTheft Yahoo group, for any readers who wish to

report a piracy site. Here's the url for the blog entry:



<http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good- or-bad-idea. ht\

ml>

<http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good- or-bad-idea. ht\

ml>

http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good- or-bad-idea. htm\

l

<http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good- or-bad-idea. ht\

ml>



Mark.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Happy New Year's to everyone!  Just a quick note to everyone to tell
you how my year went!

In May, Ben and I went on our honeymoon trip to Hawaii.  We enjoyed
the big Island and the Kona area.  Every day we where able to get up
early and enjoy the wildlife right outside our window. It rained a
couple of times in the morning or late at night, and it was so
peaceful.  The temperatures were warm but nothing over 90 any one
day.   One day, close to the end of our rime there, we took our
rental car around the south part of the island and explored Captain
Cook's Monument, a couple of good black sand beaches.  One in which
we saw lots of water wildlife, including a beautiful sea turtle.
Then we spent a few hours exploring the Kilauea Volcano and seeing
it flow into the sea.   The next night we went to a luau, in a
neighboring hotel and had a blast watching all the different hula
dances.  Most of our time was spent swimming at the hotels pool or
shopping, we actually had to buy another bag just to bring it all
home! He tells me I spend too much, Ha ha

The month of July was our busiest month all year.  On the Fourth of
July, Ben, Polly and I went on a road trip to Walla Walla, WA. I was
finally able to see where Ben spent his early years.  So we walked
in the park, exploring most of the town just by walking around.   I
enjoyed it and all the wonderful sights by coming home along the
Columbia River.

I was blessed with two wonderful things.  I received a job promotion
within the Holland America Line, working in Key Accounts. I love it,
very little phone work and a lot of administrative work to do
everyday. Plus, I have a wonderful group of people that I work
with.  They have me laughing when I need a good laugh with all the
jokes.

On the same week that I was promoted, I took my planned trip to
Fresno, California to visit friends and family. I spent most of time
with Andie and the kids, taking all of them to the Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk and then to the movies.  I was able to see a new addition
to the gang of friends, Shawn and his wife had a baby boy, Hayden.
Plus I got the chance to meet a member of the extended family on my
mother's side, Fred Wiest.  It was fun and exciting spending time
with all my friends that I miss everyday, since I moved here.  I did
miss seeing a few of them, and for that I'm truly sorry.  I will
come back again soon, as I have promised a few already, and
hopefully not fly down like last time.

July was also filled with some sorrow, for just about the time I
went to Fresno, we found out that my aunt Betty (mom's side) was
dying.  My mom flew back around the end of the month and in the
first week of August, Betty left us. She will be missed very much.
My father flew back as soon as he could and my parents tried to
enjoy a vacation that they had planned for awhile.

August brought us more then one sorrow this year and my father also
fell and broke his arm in Iowa at his brother's house. My cousin,
Patty on my dad's side also left us quite suddenly.  Plus, Ben left
the post office near the end of the month due to cutbacks within the
organization.  The family as a whole still misses these two
wonderful women.  My father is healing nicely and Ben is much
happier.

September looked up for us when Ben got a job offer to Ingersoll-
Rand working with winches and hoists, mostly hoists at the moment.
He loves it and is looking into going back to school to become a
machinist.  Basically following Rocky in becoming a tool & die
machinist, and we are very proud of him.

October, we celebrated our second year anniversary by going to Port
Townsend for the weekend.  We walked around the shops and took long
drives just to explore. We enjoyed a jazz dinner show and, as always
fine food.
Now here we are at the end of the year, and we have our first snow
on the ground with the promise of some more coming later this week.
Our Christmas tree is up and all decorated as well as the house. The
only thing I am behind in is this again as with every year.

I hope this letter finds everyone safe and well in both health and
spirit.  Have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Mousey!!!   Happy New year!!
I am so happy that you and Ben are both doing so well!  Congrats to
both of you on your new jobs/promotions.. :)

Chad and I are fine, we are still in Illinois. We have another year
and a half then we'll see where we will end up.

I was deployed last year this time and the year before that I was in
flight nursing school so chad was thrilled to have me home for
holidays this year.

I can't believe you have been married for 2 years!!  Time has really
flown.  I wish you best for this new year...

Yvette

--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, "mouseymouseim"
<mouseymouseim@...> wrote:
>
> Happy New Year's to everyone!  Just a quick note to everyone to
tell
> you how my year went!
>
> In May, Ben and I went on our honeymoon trip to Hawaii.  We
enjoyed
> the big Island and the Kona area.  Every day we where able to get
up
> early and enjoy the wildlife right outside our window. It rained a
> couple of times in the morning or late at night, and it was so
> peaceful.  The temperatures were warm but nothing over 90 any one
> day.   One day, close to the end of our rime there, we took our
> rental car around the south part of the island and explored
Captain
> Cook's Monument, a couple of good black sand beaches.  One in
which
> we saw lots of water wildlife, including a beautiful sea turtle.
> Then we spent a few hours exploring the Kilauea Volcano and seeing
> it flow into the sea.   The next night we went to a luau, in a
> neighboring hotel and had a blast watching all the different hula
> dances.  Most of our time was spent swimming at the hotels pool or
> shopping, we actually had to buy another bag just to bring it all
> home! He tells me I spend too much, Ha ha
>
> The month of July was our busiest month all year.  On the Fourth
of
> July, Ben, Polly and I went on a road trip to Walla Walla, WA. I
was
> finally able to see where Ben spent his early years.  So we walked
> in the park, exploring most of the town just by walking around.
I
> enjoyed it and all the wonderful sights by coming home along the
> Columbia River.
>
> I was blessed with two wonderful things.  I received a job
promotion
> within the Holland America Line, working in Key Accounts. I love
it,
> very little phone work and a lot of administrative work to do
> everyday. Plus, I have a wonderful group of people that I work
> with.  They have me laughing when I need a good laugh with all the
> jokes.
>
> On the same week that I was promoted, I took my planned trip to
> Fresno, California to visit friends and family. I spent most of
time
> with Andie and the kids, taking all of them to the Santa Cruz
Beach
> Boardwalk and then to the movies.  I was able to see a new
addition
> to the gang of friends, Shawn and his wife had a baby boy,
Hayden.
> Plus I got the chance to meet a member of the extended family on
my
> mother's side, Fred Wiest.  It was fun and exciting spending time
> with all my friends that I miss everyday, since I moved here.  I
did
> miss seeing a few of them, and for that I'm truly sorry.  I will
> come back again soon, as I have promised a few already, and
> hopefully not fly down like last time.
>
> July was also filled with some sorrow, for just about the time I
> went to Fresno, we found out that my aunt Betty (mom's side) was
> dying.  My mom flew back around the end of the month and in the
> first week of August, Betty left us. She will be missed very
much.
> My father flew back as soon as he could and my parents tried to
> enjoy a vacation that they had planned for awhile.
>
> August brought us more then one sorrow this year and my father
also
> fell and broke his arm in Iowa at his brother's house. My cousin,
> Patty on my dad's side also left us quite suddenly.  Plus, Ben
left
> the post office near the end of the month due to cutbacks within
the
> organization.  The family as a whole still misses these two
> wonderful women.  My father is healing nicely and Ben is much
> happier.
>
> September looked up for us when Ben got a job offer to Ingersoll-
> Rand working with winches and hoists, mostly hoists at the
moment.
> He loves it and is looking into going back to school to become a
> machinist.  Basically following Rocky in becoming a tool & die
> machinist, and we are very proud of him.
>
> October, we celebrated our second year anniversary by going to
Port
> Townsend for the weekend.  We walked around the shops and took
long
> drives just to explore. We enjoyed a jazz dinner show and, as
always
> fine food.
> Now here we are at the end of the year, and we have our first snow
> on the ground with the promise of some more coming later this
week.
> Our Christmas tree is up and all decorated as well as the house.
The
> only thing I am behind in is this again as with every year.
>
> I hope this letter finds everyone safe and well in both health and
> spirit.  Have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.
>

I have profoundly been offline for several years lately,Yes I am a
moderator here in the dungeon. Life does get in the way but to be true
I have found little fantasy writing lately to really sink my teeth
into without a nagging boredom setting in causing me to leave the
novels unfinished. A few glimpses at the latest selling titles
revealed a plethora of vampire novels plagueing the fantasy market. Do
not mistake me.. I am sure a few of these novels have more depth than
Count Chocula, I am just not yearning to read them. It is interesting
how books and TV shows cycle...common themes and a perpetual lack of
original premise.
    There are times I miss the old days here...Mark, Jeff, Mousey.. and
Matt, if you are still here, might know what I mean. Chats, flash
fictions and fun arguments or dissing of silly authors..
    Many of you new members deserve a note of thanks for keeping this
site up...I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year..  I hope soon
that I will have time beyond my MBA, Flying and Nursing to join the
rest of you here in the dungeon again more often. A faithful old
friend it remains.....  Yvette

I found my nostalgia growing,  I peeked back to my very first post, it
was #875.  Alan was the creator of this site. I joined the dungeon
back in April 1999, while I was stationed in Korea. It is truly fun to
look back at the old posts. I wonder where some of the originals are?
Notallwhowander?,Kaeolin?, Moorealan? Dwarf...

Mousey I am glad you stuck around...:)

While not fantasy, I have been reading John Scalzi's books.  Old Man's War,
Ghost Brigades, and The Last Colony.  They are pretty good Sci-Fi stuff.  Other
than that I have had a hard time finding anything fiction-wise worth reading of
late.

--- On Sat, 1/3/09, Yvette <yvette_n_chad@...> wrote:
From: Yvette <yvette_n_chad@...>
Subject: [Fantasy Fiction Dungeon] Interesting change in the fantasy
genre...vampires
To: fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, January 3, 2009, 1:27 PM











                I have profoundly been offline for several years lately,Yes I am
a

moderator here in the dungeon. Life does get in the way but to be true

I have found little fantasy writing lately to really sink my teeth

into without a nagging boredom setting in causing me to leave the

novels unfinished. A few glimpses at the latest selling titles

revealed a plethora of vampire novels plagueing the fantasy market. Do

not mistake me.. I am sure a few of these novels have more depth than

Count Chocula, I am just not yearning to read them. It is interesting

how books and TV shows cycle...common themes and a perpetual lack of

original premise.

    There are times I miss the old days here...Mark, Jeff, Mousey.. and

Matt, if you are still here, might know what I mean. Chats, flash

fictions and fun arguments or dissing of silly authors..

    Many of you new members deserve a note of thanks for keeping this

site up...I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year..  I hope soon

that I will have time beyond my MBA, Flying and Nursing to join the

rest of you here in the dungeon again more often. A faithful old

friend it remains.....  Yvette





























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>>>>If I buy an e-book, I should be able to do with it as I please.  Even if
that means reselling it, though I am not advocating piracy.

Jeff: Consider the following scenario: You've written a book. One day, you
notice that someone is selling 10 paperback copies on eBay. That's good
news, because it means they bought 10 copies from your publisher and they
have ten copies to sell.

Okay, so now change that scenario to ebooks. Hmm. Did he buy 10 copies, or
only 1? Or did he buy a copy at all? Maybe he got a copy from a friend. And
who say's he'll stop at selling 10 copies. Maybe he'll sell 500 over time.
Did you get royalties for ANY of those copies? Not if he didn't buy them
from the publisher.

I have no problem with readers making backup copies, or sharing a copy with
their immediate family. (After all, we all do that with print books.) But
when it comes to uploading a copy to a website for the enjoyment of hundreds
or thousands of other people, with no compensation to the author, that's
where I draw the line.)

I recently heard about a website that charges a "membership fee" to join and
download from a library of thousands of copyrighted books. So the website is
benefiting from the books, but the authors aren't. How is that fair? There's
a torrent site I came across that has over *15,000* books available for free
download. So this isn't a little problem we're talking about, with a few
people sharing books with their friends. It's systematic, large-scale
piracy.

Mark.

On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 8:53 PM, Jeff Cherpeski <jcherper@...> wrote:

>   If I buy an e-book, I should be able to do with it as I please.  Even if
> that means reselling it, though I am not advocating piracy.  DRM is dying a
> slow death, and it will actually be good for it to die.
>
> --- On Wed, 12/31/08, Mark Terence Chapman
<MarkTerenceChapman@...<MarkTerenceChapman%40gmail.com>>
> wrote:
> From: Mark Terence Chapman
<MarkTerenceChapman@...<MarkTerenceChapman%40gmail.com>
> >
> Subject: [Fantasy Fiction Dungeon] Today's blog about ebook piracy
> To:
fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com<fantasyfictiondungeon%40yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 10:56 AM
>
>
> I blogged today about the growing problem of ebook theft: sharing or
>
> reselling ebooks. The blog entry includes a link to the
>
> AuthorsAgainstE- BookTheft Yahoo group, for any readers who wish to
>
> report a piracy site. Here's the url for the blog entry:
>
> <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> or-bad-idea. ht\
>
> ml>
>
> <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> or-bad-idea. ht\
>
> ml>
>
> http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good- or-bad-idea.
> htm\
>
> l
>
> <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> or-bad-idea. ht\
>
> ml>
>
> Mark.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>



--
Mark Terence Chapman
- The Mars Imperative (2007)
- The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
- Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
- Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The simple solution is to not sell e-books.  If you think torrents are
bad check out IRC, easily more than any website.  E-books are easy to
copy and distribute, that is the problem with the media.  If you don't
want to see your hard work end up on the internet for free you need to
avoid the whole method of publishing.




--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Chapman"
arkTerenceChapman@...> wrote
>
> >>>>If I buy an e-book, I should be able to do with it as I please.
  Even if
> that means reselling it, though I am not advocating piracy.
>
> Jeff: Consider the following scenario: You've written a book. One
day, you
> notice that someone is selling 10 paperback copies on eBay. That's good
> news, because it means they bought 10 copies from your publisher and
they
> have ten copies to sell.
>
> Okay, so now change that scenario to ebooks. Hmm. Did he buy 10
copies, or
> only 1? Or did he buy a copy at all? Maybe he got a copy from a
friend. And
> who say's he'll stop at selling 10 copies. Maybe he'll sell 500 over
time.
> Did you get royalties for ANY of those copies? Not if he didn't buy them
> from the publisher.
>
> I have no problem with readers making backup copies, or sharing a
copy with
> their immediate family. (After all, we all do that with print
books.) But
> when it comes to uploading a copy to a website for the enjoyment of
hundreds
> or thousands of other people, with no compensation to the author, that's
> where I draw the line.)
>
> I recently heard about a website that charges a "membership fee" to
join and
> download from a library of thousands of copyrighted books. So the
website is
> benefiting from the books, but the authors aren't. How is that fair?
There's
> a torrent site I came across that has over *15,000* books available
for free
> download. So this isn't a little problem we're talking about, with a few
> people sharing books with their friends. It's systematic, large-scale
> piracy.
>
> Mark.
>
> On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 8:53 PM, Jeff Cherpeski <jcherper@...> wrote:
>
> >   If I buy an e-book, I should be able to do with it as I please.
  Even if
> > that means reselling it, though I am not advocating piracy.  DRM
is dying a
> > slow death, and it will actually be good for it to die.
> >
> > --- On Wed, 12/31/08, Mark Terence Chapman
<MarkTerenceChapman@...<MarkTerenceChapman%40gmail.com>>
> > wrote:
> > From: Mark Terence Chapman
<MarkTerenceChapman@...<MarkTerenceChapman%40gmail.com>
> > >
> > Subject: [Fantasy Fiction Dungeon] Today's blog about ebook piracy
> > To:
fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com<fantasyfictiondungeon%40yahoogroups.com>
> > Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 10:56 AM
> >
> >
> > I blogged today about the growing problem of ebook theft: sharing or
> >
> > reselling ebooks. The blog entry includes a link to the
> >
> > AuthorsAgainstE- BookTheft Yahoo group, for any readers who wish to
> >
> > report a piracy site. Here's the url for the blog entry:
> >
> > <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> > or-bad-idea. ht\
> >
> > ml>
> >
> > <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> > or-bad-idea. ht\
> >
> > ml>
> >
> > http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
or-bad-idea.
> > htm\
> >
> > l
> >
> > <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> > or-bad-idea. ht\
> >
> > ml>
> >
> > Mark.
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Mark Terence Chapman
> - The Mars Imperative (2007)
> - The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
> - Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> - Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

>>>>If you don't want to see your hard work end up on the internet for free
you need to avoid the whole method of publishing.

I suppose your advice to musicians is not to record music, because people
pirate CDs. And DVDs, and software, and video games.

eBooks aren't going away. On the contrary. Eventually, there won't be any
more printed books. They'll be too costly, and ebooks are just too
convenient. (An entire library can fit inside one ebook reader. You can't
get more convenient than that.)

The best solution is to educate the consumer, so that they don't think
sharing ebooks (or CDs, DVDs, etc.) with the world is okay and harmless.

Mark.

On Sat, Jan 3, 2009 at 10:18 PM, jcherper <jcherper@...> wrote:

>   The simple solution is to not sell e-books. If you think torrents are
> bad check out IRC, easily more than any website. E-books are easy to
> copy and distribute, that is the problem with the media. If you don't
> want to see your hard work end up on the internet for free you need to
> avoid the whole method of publishing.
>
> --- In
fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com<fantasyfictiondungeon%40yahoogroups.com>,
> "Mark Chapman"
> arkTerenceChapman@...> wrote
>
> >
> > >>>>If I buy an e-book, I should be able to do with it as I please.
> Even if
> > that means reselling it, though I am not advocating piracy.
> >
> > Jeff: Consider the following scenario: You've written a book. One
> day, you
> > notice that someone is selling 10 paperback copies on eBay. That's good
> > news, because it means they bought 10 copies from your publisher and
> they
> > have ten copies to sell.
> >
> > Okay, so now change that scenario to ebooks. Hmm. Did he buy 10
> copies, or
> > only 1? Or did he buy a copy at all? Maybe he got a copy from a
> friend. And
> > who say's he'll stop at selling 10 copies. Maybe he'll sell 500 over
> time.
> > Did you get royalties for ANY of those copies? Not if he didn't buy them
> > from the publisher.
> >
> > I have no problem with readers making backup copies, or sharing a
> copy with
> > their immediate family. (After all, we all do that with print
> books.) But
> > when it comes to uploading a copy to a website for the enjoyment of
> hundreds
> > or thousands of other people, with no compensation to the author, that's
> > where I draw the line.)
> >
> > I recently heard about a website that charges a "membership fee" to
> join and
> > download from a library of thousands of copyrighted books. So the
> website is
> > benefiting from the books, but the authors aren't. How is that fair?
> There's
> > a torrent site I came across that has over *15,000* books available
> for free
> > download. So this isn't a little problem we're talking about, with a few
> > people sharing books with their friends. It's systematic, large-scale
> > piracy.
> >
> > Mark.
> >
> > On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 8:53 PM, Jeff Cherpeski <jcherper@...> wrote:
> >
> > > If I buy an e-book, I should be able to do with it as I please.
> Even if
> > > that means reselling it, though I am not advocating piracy. DRM
> is dying a
> > > slow death, and it will actually be good for it to die.
> > >
> > > --- On Wed, 12/31/08, Mark Terence Chapman
> <MarkTerenceChapman@...<MarkTerenceChapman%40gmail.com>>
> > > wrote:
> > > From: Mark Terence Chapman
> <MarkTerenceChapman@...<MarkTerenceChapman%40gmail.com>
> > > >
> > > Subject: [Fantasy Fiction Dungeon] Today's blog about ebook piracy
> > > To:
> fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com<fantasyfictiondungeon%40yahoogroups.com>
> <fantasyfictiondungeon%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 10:56 AM
> > >
> > >
> > > I blogged today about the growing problem of ebook theft: sharing or
> > >
> > > reselling ebooks. The blog entry includes a link to the
> > >
> > > AuthorsAgainstE- BookTheft Yahoo group, for any readers who wish to
> > >
> > > report a piracy site. Here's the url for the blog entry:
> > >
> > > <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> > > or-bad-idea. ht\
> > >
> > > ml>
> > >
> > > <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> > > or-bad-idea. ht\
> > >
> > > ml>
> > >
> > > http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> or-bad-idea.
> > > htm\
> > >
> > > l
> > >
> > > <http://tesserene. blogspot. com/2008/ 12/ebook- resales-good-
> > > or-bad-idea. ht\
> > >
> > > ml>
> > >
> > > Mark.
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Mark Terence Chapman
> > - The Mars Imperative (2007)
> > - The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
> > - Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> > - Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> > Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>



--
Mark Terence Chapman
- The Mars Imperative (2007)
- The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
- Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
- Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Until there is an e-book reader that is actually convenient and
reasonable to use (Kindle is close, but who will pay $300.00?) e-books
are going to be a fringe market.  Right now I have a number of e-books
(most tech books come with a PDF version) but I don't use the e-book.
  Too much of a pain to make notes, or study with.  I might print out a
chapter or two, if I am going somewhere and don't want the whole book,
but otherwise it sits in the sleeve.

As for music, the RIAA is losing the battle.  Wal-mart.com, Amazon.com
and others (even iTunes on a limited basis) are no longer selling DRM
mp3s.  The mp3s you get from them have no rights management.  You can
put them on any number of devices or burn them to your hearts content,
there are no limits, unlike iTunes which limits you to a set number (5
I believe) of usages.  The non-DRM sales are surpassing the DRM sales.
  People want to do what they want with things they buy.

Educating people is never going to work as long as people believe they
have the right to the product they bought.  Microsoft found out that
people don't like intrusive activation, the public outcry made them
change how Windows Vista activates.  The music industry is finding out
that same lesson.

Publishing is still not there and may not get there as actual printing
will not go away too soon.  E-books are not going to make large
printing houses go away from still offering the book in actual paper.
The profit to cost is still great enough to warrant printing of books.
  It is for the small publishing houses, those are the ones that can't
make a go in the industry any more.

Will the loss of these small publishers impact most readers? Probably
not.  I don't know the last time that I bought something that I could
not find at Costco or Borders/Barnes and Noble.

--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Chapman"
<MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:
>
> >>>>If you don't want to see your hard work end up on the internet
for free
> you need to avoid the whole method of publishing.
>
> I suppose your advice to musicians is not to record music, because
people
> pirate CDs. And DVDs, and software, and video games.
>
> eBooks aren't going away. On the contrary. Eventually, there won't
be any
> more printed books. They'll be too costly, and ebooks are just too
> convenient. (An entire library can fit inside one ebook reader. You
can't
> get more convenient than that.)
>
> The best solution is to educate the consumer, so that they don't think
> sharing ebooks (or CDs, DVDs, etc.) with the world is okay and harmless.
>

I just finished the first book in my series: "Red Rayne" and could use some more
readers.  It's a fantasy novel with a female bend.  If anyone is interested,
please email me and I'll send you chapters.  I just need some feedback and
pointing out bad grammar, etc.

Noelle Campbell

I've combined my responses to a couple of different posts in this one
reply. (I hope you don't mind.)

Comment: Until there is an e-book reader that is actually convenient
and reasonable to use (Kindle is close, but who will pay $300.00?)
e-books are going to be a fringe market.

My response: I agree, but that's changing quickly. The quality of the
screen, the battery life, and the ease of use are already much better
than they were three years ago, and the prices will keep dropping.
(Probably under $50 in a few years. Look at DVD players, which were
over $500 a few years ago) I think within the next five years ebook
readers will reach the tipping point, where they're good enough and
cheap enough that people will buy them in droves for the convenience.
Look at iPhones. They're ridiculously expensive, but people buy them
because of what they can do. A few years ago, iPods were the same way.
But now there are lower-end models that are affordable, and everyone
seems to have one. eBook readers will be the same way.

Comment: People want to do what they want with things they buy.

My response: Of course. And they should be able to, within reason. But
I think being able to sell 500 copies of something they paid for one
copy of is unreasonable, yet some pirates are doing exactly that.

Comment: Educating people is never going to work as long as people
believe they
have the right to the product they bought

My response: That's exactly the point of the education, to open
people's eyes and get them to understand that what some people are
doing is wrong. The PETA ads and others of that type have opened
people's eyes to animal cruelty. Fur sales are down, and animal
testing of cosmetics has pretty much been abolished.

You know what they say about locks only keeping honest people honest.
If everyone thinks it's okay to share ebooks with everyone they know
(and some they don't), then the book industry is done for, because
eventually all books will be sold that way. The revenue stream will
dry up if books are routinely pirated. But if we can make readers
understand that they are hurting the book industry (authors and
publishers alike), most people (the honest ones) will stop posting
ebooks to websites for widespread distribution. The publishing
industry can take action against relatively few pirates, but not
against millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens who each upload a
few books.

Objection: I've seen e-books for $25, so they're not even cheap. I
guess the author and/or publisher figures people will pay $25 for a
hardcover, so why shouldn't they charge the same?

My response: I'm sure there are exceptions, but most ebooks are
significantly cheaper than the equivalent print book. Check out
fictionwise.com.

Comment: E-books are not going to make large printing houses go away
from still offering the book in actual paper. The profit to cost is
still great enough to warrant printing of books.

My response: I agree that ebooks aren't going to make large publishers
stop printing books. The cost of printing and shipping them will do
that. In the past year, many of these publishers had to lay off
employees, merge with other publishing houses, and even cut mid-list
authors, because they were losing money or barely getting by. The
picture isn't as rosy as you seem to think. The publishers can't keep
laying people off to save money, because a certain minimum number are
required to do the job effectively. (If you've read any books lately,
you've probably noticed that the editing quality of some of them is
aready suffering, with frequent grammatical and spelling errors that I
never used to see from the big houses.)

As a result, they'll start offering ebooks as a cost-saving
alternative to print. Oh, they'll bill it as a way for consumers to
save money, but it'll really be to save them money. Costs will be ower
and profits higher. And they'll start promoting the hell out of ebooks.

Consider the various costs incurred by publishers: editing, designing
covers, printing (printing machines, paper, and toner/ink), shipping,
advertising, etc. All of these are incurred by print books. But with
ebooks, you can eliminate the printing and shipping costs. Everything
else should remain the same. We all saw what happened to the cost of
food and almost everything else when fuel prices skyrocketed last
year. A large part of the price increases was due to the higher cost
of shipping. (After all, trucks, airplanes, and ships all use that
expensive fuel.)

Sure, fuel prices have dropped back to more reasonable levels, but for
how long? The next mid-East crisis or whatever can send them up again.
And fossil fuels will only get dearer as the supply diminishes. But
those are costs that go away entirely with ebooks (along with the
costs for paper and those multimillion-dollar high-speed printers).

The consumers won't be quick to switch--many of them won't unless
forced to. But eventually the only way they'll be able to find certain
books will be in electronic form, and they won't have any choice but
to do so. When that point is reached, it's just a matter of time until
all books are only offered that way.

And it's not a bad thing. All those back-list titles that are out of
print can be reissued, because with no printing costs (they've already
been edited and the covers designed), there's no reason not to offer
them if there's even minimal demand.

All this won't happen in five years, perhaps not ten. But I don't
think we'll see any more print books (except possibly special edition
hardbacks) 20 years from now. (Do you buy many albums on cassette tape
these days? I don't think video tapes will be sold much longer, either.)

Everything's going digital: TV, music, movies, cellphones, and now books.

Mark.

--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, "jcherper"
<jcherper@...> wrote:
>
> Until there is an e-book reader that is actually convenient and
> reasonable to use (Kindle is close, but who will pay $300.00?) e-books
> are going to be a fringe market.  Right now I have a number of e-books
> (most tech books come with a PDF version) but I don't use the e-book.
>  Too much of a pain to make notes, or study with.  I might print out a
> chapter or two, if I am going somewhere and don't want the whole book,
> but otherwise it sits in the sleeve.
>
[etc.....]

My short story (Fallen Star, Rising Star) is the lead in The World
Outside the Window anthology, coming in January 2009 from RJ Buckley
Publishing in both paperback and Amazon Kindle ebook format, but it's
already available for pre-ordering
<http://www.rjbuckleypublishing.com/amazonanthology.html> . The
anthology consists of 19 adult fiction stories by 19 authors, many of
them published novelists. The stories run the gamut of fiction, from
romance to horror, from suspense to sci-fi and fantasy. (My story is
about two adolescent boys who discover a meteorite that turns out to be
so much more.)

The collection has an interesting premise (which is well-illustrated by
the cover
<http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/TheWorldOutsidetheWindow-cove\
r2.jpg/TheWorldOutsidetheWindow-cover2-full;init:.jpg> ). From the
jacket blurb:

Imagine, if you will, a building of unknown origin. A building in which
there are many rooms, each with a window that looks out upon a courtyard
and a scene beyond.


In each room a person sits, staring out the window at the same people
and objects that everyone else sees from their windows. Yet, as we tell
our stories of what we see, we learn a basic truth of the universe. We
learn that even though our eyes survey identical scenes, our minds take
us to places that only we as individuals know and remind us of stories
that only we can tell.

Outside the window we see a winding country lane leading into the
distant countryside. We see two boys, perhaps 10 or 12 years old,
tossing a baseball to each other. A girl of maybe 7 or 8 swings on a
schoolyard swing set, while two lovers walk hand in hand along the side
of the road. A ramshackle old mailbox sits on a slanted post, and nearby
there is an old car, possibly from the `50s - appearing to be in
good running condition. We see a church steeple and an older woman
walking along the side of the road, seemingly headed for the church. A
young soldier stands still, his face is pensive, and it is plain to see
that he has much on his mind. Two men are in a heated discussion about
something, but from inside our window we can only guess at what is
causing their turmoil. Nearby a beautiful girl sits on a park bench,
weeping. An old dog lies on the grass, peaceful and serene, watching a
puppy frolicking through a flower bed. As day changes to evening and
then to night, we see a twinkle in the sky. A falling star, perhaps a
starship?

Yes, the characters are there for us, waiting, making no comments that
will give us any clue as to who they are or what they may be doing. They
are waiting for us to cast them in their roles, to give them direction.
We can use one or all of them. We can make them walk down the country
lane, drive the car, or follow along behind the woman as she heads for
the church. It is our world to create, and we have total control of
everything in it. Whatever happens, we make it happen. Loves, lies, war
or peace, death or life, shackled to earth or bound for the stars, it is
in our hands to decide their fate.

We sit at the window, taking in the complexity of the scene before us
and after a few hours of pondering, we sit back and relax as we use our
mind's eye to peer into a world that we will shape into anything we
wish it to be.

Slowly, we begin. We pick up our pens and write our stories of the world
outside the window.

So every story in some way ties to the characters we see in the
courtyard outside the window.

Here is the Table of Contents for the book (subject to change before
publication). There may be some other authors you know there:

FALLEN STAR, RISING STAR – Mark Terence Chapman
MISERY LOVES COMPANY – Pamela K. Kinney
ROSE'S QUESTION – D. K. Christi
SMILE – Anthony Waugh
THE SILVER LINING – Rebecca Buckley
THE BLACK ROSE – Woodrow Walker
SAYING GOODBYE TO MISS MOLLY – Morgan St. James
THE SPLIT MIND – Robert A. Meacham
NEAL'S NOEL – Jay Osman
THE MAILBOX – Larry L. Evans
STRANGE DREAMS – B.W. Philpot
ONLY THERE WAS NO WIND – Jim Wilsky
AUSTIN, MY HERO – Tory Lynn
ETUDE & SMOKE RINGS – Lana M. Ho-Shing
TWILIGHT – Matthew Alan Pierce
THIS TIME FOREVER – Erin Gordon
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY – Curtis M. Hendel
HOUSE ARREST – Richard Lord
KILLING FROST – E. Don Harpe

Noticing that my story comes first, I'd like to think that's because
it's the best and the publisher wants to put our collective best foot
forward. But who knows? Still, it's an honor to go first. I imagine a
number of prospective readers will pick up the book, read the first
page, and make a purchase decision based on that. So it'd better be
good.

Of course, the publisher would want the last story to be good too, to
leave a good taste in the reader's mind. And the middle stories need to
be good, so the reader doesn't get bored before the end. And...aw,
heck--they all have to be good. Just read 'em. You won't be
disappointed.

Mark.



Web: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>

Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com <http://tesserene.blogspot.com/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289851384133156786]
<http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dO8L6iafiYI/SWlTzpndf7I/AAAAAAAAAIc/Z5gft7_Jc\
hs/s1600-h/Savannah+Chase+Chat+logo.jpg>
I'll be chatting in the Yahoo group of author Savannah Chase tomorrow.
If you have some time, please drop by and join us. Feel free to ask
questions about the publishing industry, science fiction and fantasy, my
books, or anything else. (If I don't know the answers, I'll make
something up!) The url is  <../../../../savannahchase/>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savannahchase/
<../../../../savannahchase/> . (You'll need to join the group before you
can ask a question, so please allow a few minutes for approval.)

I'll be online from 7-9 p.m. (U.S. eastern time; GMT -5 hours), but if
you can't be there during those hours, you're welcome to leave a
question beforehand and I'll respond when I "get there". Or feel free to
follow the discussion later when you have time.

See you there!

Mark.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mouse: I'm sorry to hear about your losses. It sounds like your year
was full of adventure, joy and sorrow. It seems like there's always
some bad to go with the good.

It may not all have been pleasant, but at least it wasn't boring. My
year had its ups and downs, too. On the negative side of the ledger,
the year began with the publisher of my first two novels going
belly-up. And then over the summer my father had a stroke. He's had an
altered mental state ever since, and I'm not sure he'll be with us
much longer.

On the plus side, I sold my third novel and four short stories last
year (two stories were published already; the rest will be published
shortly).

I also received a big raise at mid year, but then my company issued an
across-the-board pay cut to everyone, which wiped out that raise. (But
I'm still better off than if I hadn't gotten the raise first.)

That's life for you--lots of ups and downs.

Mark.

--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, "mouseymouseim"
<mouseymouseim@...> wrote:
>
> Happy New Year's to everyone!  Just a quick note to everyone to tell
> you how my year went!
>
> In May, Ben and I went on our honeymoon trip to Hawaii.  We enjoyed
> the big Island and the Kona area.  Every day we where able to get up
> early and enjoy the wildlife right outside our window. It rained a
> couple of times in the morning or late at night, and it was so
> peaceful.  The temperatures were warm but nothing over 90 any one
> day.   One day, close to the end of our rime there, we took our
> rental car around the south part of the island and explored Captain
> Cook's Monument, a couple of good black sand beaches.  One in which
> we saw lots of water wildlife, including a beautiful sea turtle.
> Then we spent a few hours exploring the Kilauea Volcano and seeing
> it flow into the sea.   The next night we went to a luau, in a
> neighboring hotel and had a blast watching all the different hula
> dances.  Most of our time was spent swimming at the hotels pool or
> shopping, we actually had to buy another bag just to bring it all
> home! He tells me I spend too much, Ha ha
>
> The month of July was our busiest month all year.  On the Fourth of
> July, Ben, Polly and I went on a road trip to Walla Walla, WA. I was
> finally able to see where Ben spent his early years.  So we walked
> in the park, exploring most of the town just by walking around.   I
> enjoyed it and all the wonderful sights by coming home along the
> Columbia River.
>
> I was blessed with two wonderful things.  I received a job promotion
> within the Holland America Line, working in Key Accounts. I love it,
> very little phone work and a lot of administrative work to do
> everyday. Plus, I have a wonderful group of people that I work
> with.  They have me laughing when I need a good laugh with all the
> jokes.
>
> On the same week that I was promoted, I took my planned trip to
> Fresno, California to visit friends and family. I spent most of time
> with Andie and the kids, taking all of them to the Santa Cruz Beach
> Boardwalk and then to the movies.  I was able to see a new addition
> to the gang of friends, Shawn and his wife had a baby boy, Hayden.
> Plus I got the chance to meet a member of the extended family on my
> mother's side, Fred Wiest.  It was fun and exciting spending time
> with all my friends that I miss everyday, since I moved here.  I did
> miss seeing a few of them, and for that I'm truly sorry.  I will
> come back again soon, as I have promised a few already, and
> hopefully not fly down like last time.
>
> July was also filled with some sorrow, for just about the time I
> went to Fresno, we found out that my aunt Betty (mom's side) was
> dying.  My mom flew back around the end of the month and in the
> first week of August, Betty left us. She will be missed very much.
> My father flew back as soon as he could and my parents tried to
> enjoy a vacation that they had planned for awhile.
>
> August brought us more then one sorrow this year and my father also
> fell and broke his arm in Iowa at his brother's house. My cousin,
> Patty on my dad's side also left us quite suddenly.  Plus, Ben left
> the post office near the end of the month due to cutbacks within the
> organization.  The family as a whole still misses these two
> wonderful women.  My father is healing nicely and Ben is much
> happier.
>
> September looked up for us when Ben got a job offer to Ingersoll-
> Rand working with winches and hoists, mostly hoists at the moment.
> He loves it and is looking into going back to school to become a
> machinist.  Basically following Rocky in becoming a tool & die
> machinist, and we are very proud of him.
>
> October, we celebrated our second year anniversary by going to Port
> Townsend for the weekend.  We walked around the shops and took long
> drives just to explore. We enjoyed a jazz dinner show and, as always
> fine food.
> Now here we are at the end of the year, and we have our first snow
> on the ground with the promise of some more coming later this week.
> Our Christmas tree is up and all decorated as well as the house. The
> only thing I am behind in is this again as with every year.
>
> I hope this letter finds everyone safe and well in both health and
> spirit.  Have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.
>

I've been interviewed by author Alisha Paige. The interview will appear
in her blog  <http://alishapaige.blogspot.com> on Saturday, January  17,
2009.



Come find out everything you ever wanted to know about me: the six
people I'd want to spend a week with on a deserted island, the sexiest
thing ever done for me, and with whom--living or dead--I'd like to a
have a conversation (and seven other thrilling questions). Also, I
reveal some details about the characters in my upcoming sci-fi thriller,
Sunrise Destiny
<http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20> .



I hope you enjoy the interview.



Mark.



Website: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>

Blog: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I don't know why the second link doesn't work, but here it is again:
http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny

Mark.

--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Terence Chapman"
<MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:
>
>
> I've been interviewed by author Alisha Paige. The interview will appear
> in her blog  <http://alishapaige.blogspot.com> on Saturday, January  17,
> 2009.
>
>
>
> Come find out everything you ever wanted to know about me: the six
> people I'd want to spend a week with on a deserted island, the sexiest
> thing ever done for me, and with whom--living or dead--I'd like to a
> have a conversation (and seven other thrilling questions). Also, I
> reveal some details about the characters in my upcoming sci-fi thriller,
> Sunrise Destiny
> <http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20> .
>
>
>
> I hope you enjoy the interview.
>
>
>
> Mark.
>
>
>
> Website: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
>
> Blog: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Oops! I really messed up that post. The interview appears Sunday, January
18th, not today. Sheesh.... Sorry about that!

http://alishapaige.blogspot.com (interview)
http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny<http://markterencechapm\
an.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20>(excerpt)

Mark.

On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 12:33 AM, Mark Terence Chapman <
MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:

>
> I've been interviewed by author Alisha Paige. The interview will appear
> in her blog <http://alishapaige.blogspot.com> on Saturday, January 17,
> 2009.
>
> Come find out everything you ever wanted to know about me: the six
> people I'd want to spend a week with on a deserted island, the sexiest
> thing ever done for me, and with whom--living or dead--I'd like to a
> have a conversation (and seven other thrilling questions). Also, I
> reveal some details about the characters in my upcoming sci-fi thriller,
> Sunrise Destiny
> <http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20> .
>
> I hope you enjoy the interview.
>
> Mark.
>
> Website: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
>
> Blog: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>



--
Mark Terence Chapman
- The Mars Imperative (2007)
- The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
- Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
- Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mark congratulations on all of your successes... I haven't had a
chance to do anyreading but once I get done with school I hope to
read something you have written.  Yvette

--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, Mark Terence Chapman
<MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:
>
> Oops! I really messed up that post. The interview appears Sunday,
January
> 18th, not today. Sheesh.... Sorry about that!
>
> http://alishapaige.blogspot.com (interview)
>
http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny<http://markt
erencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20>(excerpt)
>
> Mark.
>
> On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 12:33 AM, Mark Terence Chapman <
> MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:
>
> >
> > I've been interviewed by author Alisha Paige. The interview will
appear
> > in her blog <http://alishapaige.blogspot.com> on Saturday,
January 17,
> > 2009.
> >
> > Come find out everything you ever wanted to know about me: the
six
> > people I'd want to spend a week with on a deserted island, the
sexiest
> > thing ever done for me, and with whom--living or dead--I'd like
to a
> > have a conversation (and seven other thrilling questions). Also,
I
> > reveal some details about the characters in my upcoming sci-fi
thriller,
> > Sunrise Destiny
> > <http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20> .
> >
> > I hope you enjoy the interview.
> >
> > Mark.
> >
> > Website: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
> >
> > Blog: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Mark Terence Chapman
> - The Mars Imperative (2007)
> - The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
> - Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> - Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Thanks a lot, Yvette!

I plan to post a few (free) published short stories to my website for anyone
who wants a taste of my writing. I'll post here when I get a chance to do
so.

Mark.

On Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 9:14 AM, Yvette <yvette_n_chad@...> wrote:

>   Mark congratulations on all of your successes... I haven't had a
> chance to do anyreading but once I get done with school I hope to
> read something you have written. Yvette
>
> --- In
fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com<fantasyfictiondungeon%40yahoogroups.com>,
> Mark Terence Chapman
> <MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:
> >
> > Oops! I really messed up that post. The interview appears Sunday,
> January
> > 18th, not today. Sheesh.... Sorry about that!
> >
> > http://alishapaige.blogspot.com (interview)
> >
> http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny<http://markt
> erencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20>(excerpt)
> >
> > Mark.
> >
> > On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 12:33 AM, Mark Terence Chapman <
> > MarkTerenceChapman@...> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > I've been interviewed by author Alisha Paige. The interview will
> appear
> > > in her blog <http://alishapaige.blogspot.com> on Saturday,
> January 17,
> > > 2009.
> > >
> > > Come find out everything you ever wanted to know about me: the
> six
> > > people I'd want to spend a week with on a deserted island, the
> sexiest
> > > thing ever done for me, and with whom--living or dead--I'd like
> to a
> > > have a conversation (and seven other thrilling questions). Also,
> I
> > > reveal some details about the characters in my upcoming sci-fi
> thriller,
> > > Sunrise Destiny
> > > <http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny%20> .
> > >
> > > I hope you enjoy the interview.
> > >
> > > Mark.
> > >
> > > Website: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
> > >
> > > Blog: http://tesserene.com <http://tesserene.com/>
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Mark Terence Chapman
> > - The Mars Imperative (2007)
> > - The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
> > - Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> > - Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
> > Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>



--
Mark Terence Chapman
- The Mars Imperative (2007)
- The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
- Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
- Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi guys. Has anybody here used the writing software, Writer's Cafe 2?
If so, how did you find the program? Was it useful? Do you know where
I can find a trial version just to try it before I buy?

Thanks for reading this.

Aidan

I have used it for three years now and it is a great product. You can
find a free trial version at http://www.writerscafe.co.uk

--- In fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com, "aidanlucid"
<aidanlucid@...> wrote:
>
> Hi guys. Has anybody here used the writing software, Writer's Cafe 2?
> If so, how did you find the program? Was it useful? Do you know where
> I can find a trial version just to try it before I buy?
>
> Thanks for reading this.
>
> Aidan
>

I haven't posted in a while though I read the messages. Just wanted to say that:
The fantasy
magazine Realms of Fantasy is shutting down after the April issue. The magazine
is a victim
of the slumping economy. A good magazine bites the dust.

On *Tuesday, February 3, 2009*, I'll be chatting on *Internet Voices
Radio*with several other authors. Beginning at 10:00
a.m. (eastern time, U.S.). The topic will be fantasy heroes. Please join us
at http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/CrazyTuesday.htm.

I'll be talking about my upcoming paranormal sci-fi novel, *Sunrise
Destiny*<http://markterencechapman.googlepages.com/sunrisedestiny>.


Joining me on the program will be fellow authors:

*Emily Bryan*, author of light-hearted, sexy historical romance romps:
http://www.emilybryan.com/

*Lillian Cauldwell,* author of paranormal young adult (YA) tales, including
the Anna Mae Mysteries, including *The Golden
Treasure*<http://www.amazon.com/Anna-Mae-Mysteries-Golden-Treasure/dp/1932993983\
/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233515353&sr=8-2>
.

*Rowena Cherry* author of "racy, wildly entertaining futuristic romance",
the most recent being *Knight's
Fork<http://www.amazon.com/Knights-Fork-Spell-Futuristic-Romance/dp/0505527405/r\
ef=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221763742&sr=1-1>
*, about a queen in need of a discreet sperm donor.

*Sara Taney Humphreys* author of paranormal romance novels, including the
Amoveo series: www.myspace.com/amoveoromanceseries

*Brenna Lyons*, author of milieu-heavy dark fiction, mainly science fiction,
fantasy and horror, straight genre, romance and erotic crosses, including *In
her Ladyship's
Service*<http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=In+Her+Ladyship%27s+Service/exac\
t_match=exact>
.

*Kellyann Zuzulo*, author of the award-winning supernatural thriller *A
Genie in the House of Saud: Zubis
Rises*<http://www.amazon.com/Genie-House-Saud-Zubis-Rises/dp/1419697390/ref=pd_b\
bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233347308&sr=8-1>
.
Mark.

--
Mark Terence Chapman
- The Mars Imperative (2007)
- The World Outside the Window anthology (RJ Buckley, January 2009)
- Sunrise Destiny (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
- Harvey-467 Makes a Bride (Red Rose, 1Q/2009)
Web: http://tesserene.com; Blog: http://tesserene.blogspot.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Have you recently finished your first manuscript or just completed a
business website? It's a well-known fact that a fresh pair of eyes
will often notice mistakes that you may have overlooked. This is where
I come in.

My name is Aidan Lucid and I'm a freelance proofreader, specialising
in proofing manuscripts and websites. I've a keen eye for detail,
poring over every word meticulously. My mantra is that there's a right
way to write and I always adhere to this.

Currently I'm a voluntary co-editor at "Bewildering Stories" e-zine. I
have been published widely in various magazines, books and e-zines.
Recently I completed, "Start Writing Plays" - an online course with
the Open University. In 2007, I was a movie critic for my local
newspaper, "The Kerryman". Later on this year, an American publisher,
WordTechs Press, will publish my young adult fantasy novel, "The
Zargothian Tales" (working title).

So if you'd like to know more about rates etc., please don't hesitate
to contact me at the following email address:
aidanlucid[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot}uk

Thank you for your time in reading this post. Have a nice day.

Yours truly,

Aidan Lucid

I am getting more and more disappointed how long standing authors are
barely mentionable in he media..

He died on wednesday I believe.  I had no idea he was as old as he was.  91 is
well seasoned.  He hadn't published anything new in a long time but Riverworld
was one of my alltime favorite books.  The concept in that series just blew me
away and still is a grand thesis on culture, time, and mortality and what it
means to be human.  I highly recommend reading to your scattered bodies go to
anyone wanting to write scifi or loves to read it.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: "Yvette" <yvette_n_chad@...>

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:33:39
To: <fantasyfictiondungeon@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [Fantasy Fiction Dungeon] When did Philip Jose Farmer pass away???


I am getting more and more disappointed how long standing authors are
barely mentionable in he media..






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]