Thursday, April 28, 2016

The post I seem to make every four years

Every time a presidential election comes along I post about the need to break the two party system and get a viable third, fourth, or even fifth party, and this year, that seems even more important!
When I look at the candidates the Dems and the Reps are giving us, I have to wonder what we've done wrong to deserve this.  And the truth is, We The People have done wrong.  We've allowed the two party system to take over America.  Although there are differences between the democrats and the republicans, the simple truth is that the one thing they most have in common is that they are owned by big business, and big business does not care about We The People.  And before you talk about feeling the Bern, let's face it, although Bernie Sanders may be the least "owned" of any candidate we've seen in a long time, he still belongs to the system that is continually screwing over the American people.
Whether you vote Democrat or Republican, you're voting for the continuation of the status quo, which continually funnels money into big business, wars, and the stripping of the American people of any real political power.
Everyone always says that voting third party is like throwing your vote away, and in some ways, this is true...but if people really are fed up with the Dems and the Reps, and all those people that are fed up vote third party, all of a sudden the status quo is broken.  This is, of course, assuming that presidential elections in the US are not rigged to some degree, and granted, this is a big assumption.
When you go to the polls this November, vote your conscience, don't vote because you have to be Red or Blue.  You can chose to be something else.  You can vote Green, or you can vote Libertarian, hell, you can even vote Communist if you really want to send a message.  My point is that voting Democrat or Republican when there are options will just continue to make this country worse.  As for myself, I will be voting third party at every opportunity on the ballot.  Granted, I am a Green, so I will vote Green wherever there is a candidate, but if there is a third party candidate running against the traditional candidates, I'm voting for them.  I don't care what party because I want to see an end to the stranglehold that these parties have on We The People.  If enough of us vote third party, we really can make a difference.
As Queensryche said, "there's a revolution calling," and that revolution is for the American people to throw the Democratic and Republican parties out on their asses!!!
Let's take back OUR country!

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

A few days left to save

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
There are only a few days left to save on a number of our titles (both print and e-book).  Go to http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/shop and click on any title with the Sale icon, and save some money.  There are no codes to enter at checkout, or anything like that.  Just buy the titles you want, and save immediately...but the sale ends at the end of March, so order soon!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Just a few days left

There are only a few days left to get 50% off of downloads of my e-books and e-stories.  This includes titles I've written and titles I've edited.  This ends on April 30th, so head over to http://www.jalanerwine.com/blog/shop and use the coupon code "new" at checkout.  This takes 50% off of your entire order...whether you order one title or all of them, and you know you want to read at least one of them!

Ecotastrophe II is still looking for submissions

Borrowed from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
In 2006, Sam’s Dot Publishing released an anthology about the effects of global climate change on humanity called Ecotastrophe.  Now that it’s been almost ten years since the release, and global climate change still seems a possible threat to humanity, Nomadic Delirium Press has decided to release Ecotastrophe II.  Like the original collection, this one will be edited by J Alan Erwine.
What we’re looking for: We want science fiction stories between 3,000 and 10,000 words that look at the effects of global climate change (preferably the extreme effects) on humanity and the other creatures of Earth.  We’re not looking for stories about the change, but rather the effects of the change.  Although we’d love to have a lot of stories that look at the hard science of climate change, we also want stories that look at the soft sciences.  It’s important that the stories focus on the people, rather than the science, but we still want the science to be plausible.
What we’re paying: We will pay $10 for first rights to any story.  We will also pay two contributor copies.  If possible, we will increase this payment…but we can’t guarantee that.
Poetry Submissions: We've decided that we will be accepting four, and only four, poems for this collection. They must meet the same criteria as story submissions, and we will pay $5 per poem for first rights, plus one contributor's copy. Please keep in mind that we will only accept one poem per poet.
Where to send your little gems: All submissions should be sent to editor (at) nomadicdeliriumpress (dot) com.  Your subject should be “Ecotastrophe Submission”.
Response times: We will respond to all submissions within two months.
Publication date: We are shooting for a mid-Summer 2016 release.
Other questions: If you have any other questions, please send them to the submission address.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Disharmony of the Spheres is still accepting submissions

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
Disharmony of the Spheres will be a science fiction anthology in which the main character must be battling some type of mental illness.  While we will consider stories where the character is dealing with an illness like schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder, what we really want to see is characters that are battling an illness like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, PTSD, etc.  This is meant to be an uplifting collection of stories, so the characters must overcome their illness to defeat whatever they’re up against.  They don’t necessarily have to overcome their illness completely, but they must show that even when suffering from a mental illness, a person can still achieve great things.
Story particulars: We want stories that are 2,000 words or longer.  All stories must be science fiction, and they must fit into the guidelines as outlined above.
What we’re paying: We will pay $5 per story for one time rights, and we will also pay two contributor copies.  This is less than we would normally pay for an anthology, but half of all of the profits from this book will be going to the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention organization, which helps to battle teen suicide.  We will consider reprints for this anthology.
Poetry Submissions: We've decided that we will be accepting four, and only four, poems for this collection. They must meet the same criteria as story submissions, and we will pay $5 per poem for one time rights, plus one contributor's copy. Please keep in mind that we will only accept one poem per poet.
Where to send your stories and poems: All stories and poems should be sent to editor (at) nomadicdeliriumpress (dot) com.  The subject line should include “Disharmony submission.”
Response times: We will respond to all submissions within two months.
Other questions: If you have any other questions, please feel free to send them to the address above.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Red Moon Rising on Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, and other than doing whatever you can to help preserve the planet, the best thing you can do is order a copy of my environmental novel, Red Moon Rising.  The book is available as both a print and e-book, and the print version is even on sale...
http://store.albanlake.com/product/red-moon-rising/
J Alan Erwine takes you into a future environmental nightmare that is not only all too possible, but is in fact well on the way there. The air and seas are filthy with pollution and oil spills, the U.S. Government is an effete and toothless replica of its former self, and business decides which rules they will allow to be enforced. Corporations lie, people die.
Including Erik Singer’s brother Jeromie, killed while seeking evidence against an oil company regarding their spills in the Gulf. After five years, Erik has had enough of wallowing in loss and self-pity. Emboldened by the words and visions of a Native American environmentalist, Erik is ready to act.
And he has colleagues. The reluctant mayor of Tampa. The daughter of the most egregious industrialist. And a tree-hugging terrorist. Can just four people make a difference?

Sunday, April 17, 2016

E-stories and e-books

This is just a reminder that most of my short stories that I've had published over the almost 20 years of my career, and most of the books I've written and edited are now available as e-books through my website at http://www.jalanerwine.com/blog/shop.  And if you use the coupon code "new" between now and the end of the month, you get 50% off of your entire order.
Most of these titles are also available through Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine and Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0035AMA0A.

Friday, April 15, 2016

A new novel from Tyree Campbell

The Butterfly and the Sea Dragon is now available for pre-order.
You can pre-order the print version from us for $1 off at http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-butterfly-and-the-sea-dragon-a-yoelin-thibbony-rescue/
You can pre-order the e-book version from Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/630127
You can pre-order the Kindle version at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EBA55E0
“The only records that delineate and authenticate Corporatia territories are on that Palmetto. We want it back.”
“What happened?” Yoelin asked.
“A records clerk bypassed security, recorded the information and then deleted it from our computers, and departed for Havelox Rest, outside our jurisdiction, where we believe she is now.”
After the words “Havelox Rest,” Yoelin heard only the pounding of her heart. A wave of dizziness passed. Why there? Why did it have to be there?
So who’s Yoelin Thibbony? That’s what she calls herself now. She endured a cruel and abusive childhood, when there was no one to rescue her. Now she performs Rescues of people or things—sometimes for hire, sometimes for free. She’s been hired to retrieve stolen archives. But to perform this Rescue, Yoelin has to return to Havelox Rest, the world of her childhood—a world that still holds dark and bleak terrors for her.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Get Over It

This song pretty much sums up my feelings about quite a few people in the world right now...

https://youtu.be/1H-Y7MAASkg

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Dealing with chronic pain

There are a large number of people dealing with chronic pain, myself included, and I think people who don't deal with it don't always understand what it's really like, so I'm going to try to put into words some of the things I deal with and some of the things I've heard and read from others.
When you're dealing with chronic pain, life becomes something like a jigsaw puzzle, with the pieces of the puzzle being different aspects of your life, and as the pain takes over, you can visually see the different pieces of your life puzzle disappearing.  For example, my little one will ask me to pick her up, but I know if I do, it will hurt...and a piece of my life disappears.
As the pain increases for anyone dealing with chronic pain, more things disappear from their lives, more puzzle pieces vanish, and you can never be sure if you'll get them back.  Eventually, the pain begins to effect everything and everyone in your life.  It begins to effect your relationships with your family, friends, co-workers, and even people you don't know, because the pain drains your energy and will often leave you angry and depressed.  Again, more and more pieces of the puzzle that is your life are gone, and sometimes there's no way of getting those pieces back.
As the pieces slowly disappear from your life, you're eventually left with only one puzzle piece, and the only thing that piece says is pain, and it says it in large bold letters.  The pain takes over your life and dominates everything.  It's at this point that many sufferers take the final way out, and if non-sufferers realized what they were going through, they might understand why they take this option.  It's not cowardice that causes people to take this option, but when personal strength is one of the puzzle pieces that disappears, sometimes this seems like the only option.  If you know you still have twenty, thirty, or forty years to live, and you know you'll suffer every day of those years, sometimes it seems like the option...but hopefully people that feel this way, can find something to hold on to.
For myself, I'm now to a point where a four hour shift leaves me almost doubled over in pain, and even sitting up at the computer for a couple of hours leaves me almost debilitated, but there is still hope.  We'll have new insurance in May and I can get back on the meds that work.  Granted, I can't stay on meds forever, but we also have a surgeon that we'll be meeting with, and hopefully he can fix things, and maybe I can pick my little girl up again, and I can be the person I was before pain become one of the few pieces left in the puzzle of my life.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Nomadic Delirium Press is having a sale

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
You can get a number of our books for 10% off now until the end of April.  There are short story collections, anthologies, magazines, games, and game supplements.  This even includes a couple of our most recent releases (Crisis Averted by Laura Givens and Quantum Women by Tyree Campbell.)
No coupon codes, just go to http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/shop and click on the titles with the "Sale" icons.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Save on my e-stories and e-books

Now through the end of April, you can save 50% off of your entire purchase of e-books and e-stories through my website at http://www.jalanerwine.com/blog/shop.  It doesn't matter how many, or how few titles your order, just use the coupon code "new" at checkout, and it will take 50% off of everything in your cart...and since they're e-books, there's never any shipping and handling.


Tuesday, March 15, 2016

The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galacitca: Sector Forty-Four (Lomisian Space)

From the Nomadic Delirium Press website:
The exploration of "Deep Space" continues.
Welcome to Sector Forty-Four, the home system of the Lomisians. Here you'll find their homeworld, and many of the worlds they've colonized.  You'll also find worlds that have been taken from the Lomisians.  Plus you'll find worlds that even the Lomisians avoid, and damaged systems that are a danger to all, but a challenge for the brave.
Available from us at: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/ephemeris-encyclopedia-galactica-sector-forty-four-lomisian-space/
Available from DriveThruRPG at: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177714/The-Ephemeris-Encyclopedia-Galactica-Sectors-FortyFour-Lomisian-Space
This title will also be available as a digital download from all of the usual distributors...

Order e-stories and e-books

It's taken me many months, but I finally have almost all of my short stories now available as e-book downloads.  Also, several of the books I've edited and written are also available.  There are three places you can order them from...
You can get them directly from me at http://www.jalanerwine.com/blog/shop
You can get them from Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine
And you can order them on Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0035AMA0A
I, of course, would prefer that you order them from my website, since I make more money that way, but please feel free to order them wherever you can find them...and if you like them, please feel free to leave a review.

Tuesday, March 08, 2016

F'ing health insurance

As I mentioned previously, we had to change health insurance companies recently, and as a result, the company forced me to change the meds I take for my chronic pain. Now that I've been on the meds for a couple of weeks, I can say that the health insurance company is completely wrong in their decision. I'm dealing with more side effects than I did on my previous med.  I'm much more tired and deal with dizziness quite often. More importantly, it doesn't do anything for my pain.
On the old meds, I almost always had dull aching pain, but rarely did I have days where I was in intense pain, and I even had days where I was painless.  With these meds, I'm always in pain, and it's almost the same as if I wasn't on meds. The pain is often almost debilitating. It's hard for me to sit in this hard chair that I sit in to work from home, and when I have to go to work, I almost always come home in intense pain.
The unfortunate thing about this is that the insurance requires that I be on this med for three months before I can go back to my old meds.  Someone needs to explain to me why insurance companies are allowed to make health decisions for people that overrule the decisions of their doctors. That's beyond insane, but since they pretty much own both political parties, there's not much any of us can do...

Sunday, March 06, 2016

GM's Day Sale

Taken from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
For the next week and a half, you can pick up all of the Ephemeris titles for 30% off from DriveThruRPG at http://www.drivethrurpg.com/rpg_gmsday.php?manufacturers_id=2805&filters=0_0_0_0_0_31817#selectpub.  It's a great time to add to your game, or for you to start playing the game...

Monday, February 29, 2016

The March 2016 issue of The Fifth Di... is here

The Fifth Di… returns to print in 2016!
The first print issue in many years features the fiction of Robert N. Stephenson, Ian Brazee-Cannon, Robert P. Hansen and John Grey.
A man is driven to desperation in his effort to find his father. An immortal finds himself among mortals seeking his secret, a secret he can’t give them. Another man has been taking advantage of the misfortunes of others after an asteroid impacts Earth, and now he must face the consequences. And a mission to find life on another planet has failed again and again…now what will happen when they are forced to go to yet another planet?
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-fifth-di-march-2016/
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/615060
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BPSQXVK