I've been reading all of the posts from people who have seen the new movie, and if you don't know what movie I'm talking about, then move along, this is not the blog you're looking for.
I can't wait to see the movie, but we will be waiting anyway. Rebecca deals with PTSD, and we're coming up on the anniversary of the day she was held up at gun point, so needless to say, a large crowd would not be good for her right now. In addition, we haven't been to a movie since that lunatic decided to massacre a bunch of people at the theater down the street from us...the theater where we had our first date. So, that aggravates her PTSD even more, and I won't do that to her...not even for Star Wars. Yeah, folks, I love her that much!
Some people have asked why don't I just go by myself, but that's not what we do as a family. We actually enjoy spending time together, so I will wait...probably not patiently...but I will wait nevertheless.
So, please, DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Two weeks to go
There are only two weeks left in this miserable year, and I would certainly say that I'm very happy about that. This year has been awful for our family. We've had three ER visits, one surgery, and one extended hospital stay, which have all added up to a lot of medical bills, and even with the lower rates we got as a result of the Affordable Care Act, we still owe a lot of people a lot of money. Add to this the fact that we racked up a lot of legal bills in Rebecca's recent custody battle, and things only get worse.
Even though I only work part time, my hours have fluctuated greatly throughout the year, and even though Rebecca has been putting in an insane number of hours, her company is merging and she could be out of a job by the end of next year.
At the beginning of 2015, we had talked about this being our year. We were going to finish up taking care of outstanding debts, and start putting aside money so that we could get a house in 2016, or maybe 2017, depending on the housing market. We now find ourselves deeper in debt, and that dream of a house is now on the distant horizon.
So, 2015, you can get out of here as soon as you'd like. We're done with you...
Even though I only work part time, my hours have fluctuated greatly throughout the year, and even though Rebecca has been putting in an insane number of hours, her company is merging and she could be out of a job by the end of next year.
At the beginning of 2015, we had talked about this being our year. We were going to finish up taking care of outstanding debts, and start putting aside money so that we could get a house in 2016, or maybe 2017, depending on the housing market. We now find ourselves deeper in debt, and that dream of a house is now on the distant horizon.
So, 2015, you can get out of here as soon as you'd like. We're done with you...
Sunday, December 13, 2015
The NDP fiction bundle
Borrowed from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
DriveThruFiction has a bundle of our fiction titles in PDF format that you can download for just $12. You get two novels, two anthologies, and four short story collections. That's more than 300,000 words of fiction for just $12. Reading through all of this would be a great way to spend your holiday vacations!
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/65749/The-NDP-Fiction-Bundle-BUNDLE
DriveThruFiction has a bundle of our fiction titles in PDF format that you can download for just $12. You get two novels, two anthologies, and four short story collections. That's more than 300,000 words of fiction for just $12. Reading through all of this would be a great way to spend your holiday vacations!
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/65749/The-NDP-Fiction-Bundle-BUNDLE
Friday, December 11, 2015
Exciting changes coming to The Fifth Di... in 2016
Borrowed from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
We're very excited to announce some changes that will be coming to our long-running zine The Fifth Di... in 2016.
First of all, the zine will still be available as an electronic zine, but it will also be available as a 6X9 print magazine. Contributors will receive one copy of each. It's our hope that adding the print format will allow us to eventually add more stories, bring poetry back, and increase our payments for contributors.
Second of all, we've changed our pay rates slightly. We've lowered them for shorter stories, but increased them for longer stories.
For complete guidelines, please visit http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/fifthguidelines.htm
We're very excited to announce some changes that will be coming to our long-running zine The Fifth Di... in 2016.
First of all, the zine will still be available as an electronic zine, but it will also be available as a 6X9 print magazine. Contributors will receive one copy of each. It's our hope that adding the print format will allow us to eventually add more stories, bring poetry back, and increase our payments for contributors.
Second of all, we've changed our pay rates slightly. We've lowered them for shorter stories, but increased them for longer stories.
For complete guidelines, please visit http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/fifthguidelines.htm
Thursday, December 10, 2015
The Fifth Di... 2015 bundle is now available from the Nomadic Delirium Press bookstore
All four 2015 issues of The Fifth Di... can be yours for just $3.
That's more than 40,000 words of fiction for less than the price of most
novels...
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-fifth-di-2015-bundle/
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-fifth-di-2015-bundle/
Wednesday, December 09, 2015
The Fifth Di... 2015 bundle
Borrowed from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
You can now pick up the PDF version of all four 2015 issues of The Fifth Di... for just $3 from DriveThruFiction at http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/167843/The-Fifth-Di-2015-BUNDLE
You can now pick up the PDF version of all four 2015 issues of The Fifth Di... for just $3 from DriveThruFiction at http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/167843/The-Fifth-Di-2015-BUNDLE
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
The Fifth Di... December 2015
The December issue of The Fifth Di... is now available...
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/597019
The Fifth Di..., one of the longest running on-line zines continues on with four new stories. This month we feature fantasy and science fiction stories from Kate Runnels, James Van Pelt, Matthew Spence, and Robert J. Mendenhall.
Read a sample at http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/tfdsample.htm.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/597019
The Fifth Di..., one of the longest running on-line zines continues on with four new stories. This month we feature fantasy and science fiction stories from Kate Runnels, James Van Pelt, Matthew Spence, and Robert J. Mendenhall.
Read a sample at http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/tfdsample.htm.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Amazon author's page
While doing some "housecleaning" on a variety of websites yesterday, I realized that I hadn't updated my Amazon author's page in a very long time. The page said that we have one cat, when we now have three, and it also only had 12 titles listed, which is a long way from being true.
So, I went through and updated everything. Now most of the books I've been involved with should be on there...this includes my novels, short story collections (including the new one), Ephemeris supplements, books and magazines I've edited, and all of my individual short stories that I've released for Kindle, which now brings the title count to 99. I guess I should put another short story up, just so that I'll have 100 titles.
Feel free to check it out at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0035AMA0A
So, I went through and updated everything. Now most of the books I've been involved with should be on there...this includes my novels, short story collections (including the new one), Ephemeris supplements, books and magazines I've edited, and all of my individual short stories that I've released for Kindle, which now brings the title count to 99. I guess I should put another short story up, just so that I'll have 100 titles.
Feel free to check it out at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0035AMA0A
Are you ready to play?
From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
The Ephemeris Science Fiction Role Playing Game has been around for a while, but there are still more supplements coming out in the future, and we have BIG plans for the game in the years to come...
http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/ephemeris/main.htm
The year is 2185. The human race has gone to the stars, and found that they’re not alone. Local space is teeming with civilizations, some hostile, some friendly, and some indifferent. This is the universe of Ephemeris.
Ephemeris is a game of galactic trade and galactic conquest; of inter-species conflict and cooperation. Ephemeris is a science fiction role playing game. Here you will be able to take on the role of your favorite alien species and your favorite class. You will be able to trade, fight, negotiate, conquer, whatever you’d like to do with your fellow players. You can play the role of an Althani Trader, or maybe an Arbonix Cyber Wizard, or maybe even a Human Nanist. You can create a party made up entirely of one species and set out to upset the trade routes of a rival species. Or maybe you want to create a party with a variety of races that preys upon the trading routes of the various civilizations. Or maybe you want to explore the ancient ruins on long dead planets, ruins that clearly show that there were other species roaming the spaceways in the past…but where are they now? You can fight in great wars, negotiate grand peace treaties, and explore sections of the galaxy that no sentient has ever explored. Or maybe your party has joined with one of the interplanetary corporations; corporations whose motives are never entirely clear. These are just some of the possibilities open to you. The universe of Ephemeris is yours to do with as you please. What you now hold in your hands are the basic guidelines for the games. Here you’ll find the races, classes, abilities, skills, weapons, and ships that allow you to create your own Ephemeris universe.
Now, step inside for the greatest science fiction adventure you’ve ever been on…
The Ephemeris Science Fiction Role Playing Game has been around for a while, but there are still more supplements coming out in the future, and we have BIG plans for the game in the years to come...
http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/ephemeris/main.htm
The year is 2185. The human race has gone to the stars, and found that they’re not alone. Local space is teeming with civilizations, some hostile, some friendly, and some indifferent. This is the universe of Ephemeris.
Ephemeris is a game of galactic trade and galactic conquest; of inter-species conflict and cooperation. Ephemeris is a science fiction role playing game. Here you will be able to take on the role of your favorite alien species and your favorite class. You will be able to trade, fight, negotiate, conquer, whatever you’d like to do with your fellow players. You can play the role of an Althani Trader, or maybe an Arbonix Cyber Wizard, or maybe even a Human Nanist. You can create a party made up entirely of one species and set out to upset the trade routes of a rival species. Or maybe you want to create a party with a variety of races that preys upon the trading routes of the various civilizations. Or maybe you want to explore the ancient ruins on long dead planets, ruins that clearly show that there were other species roaming the spaceways in the past…but where are they now? You can fight in great wars, negotiate grand peace treaties, and explore sections of the galaxy that no sentient has ever explored. Or maybe your party has joined with one of the interplanetary corporations; corporations whose motives are never entirely clear. These are just some of the possibilities open to you. The universe of Ephemeris is yours to do with as you please. What you now hold in your hands are the basic guidelines for the games. Here you’ll find the races, classes, abilities, skills, weapons, and ships that allow you to create your own Ephemeris universe.
Now, step inside for the greatest science fiction adventure you’ve ever been on…
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Ephemeris Black Friday weekend sale
Taken from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
Starting today, and going through Cyber Monday, you can get all Ephemeris titles for 25% off at DriveThruRPG at http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press. It's time to stock up on the products you need to complete your game, or if you've ever wanted to start playing...now's the time!
Starting today, and going through Cyber Monday, you can get all Ephemeris titles for 25% off at DriveThruRPG at http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press. It's time to stock up on the products you need to complete your game, or if you've ever wanted to start playing...now's the time!
Friday, November 20, 2015
My thoughts on NaNoWriMo
As an author, I've always thought that NaNoWriMo would be an interesting challenge. I'd love to write a novel in a month, but the simple truth is that I just don't have enough writing time in my life now to really take on such a challenge. I don't get to write every day like I would like to because of responsibility or overwhelming noise. It's my hope that when the little one starts school next year, I'll have more opportunities to write, but that's still a long way off.
As an editor, I dread NaNoWriMo. Many authors seem to believe that writing the novel is all they have to do. A lot of authors don't realize that writing is as much about rewriting as it is about writing. When I've written a novel, I've spent about the same amount of time rewriting the book as I did writing it in the first place. Many novice authors finish their NaNoWriMo project and then immediately begin to submit it. There aren't many authors that can pull off a masterpiece with their rough draft, but come December, January, and February, I start seeing a lot of submissions that are obviously rough drafts. Even worse, many authors self-publish these rough drafts, watering down the market with works that don't deserve publication...yet...
So, basically I have very mixed feelings about NaNoWriMo, but I think I would like to try it some year...
As an editor, I dread NaNoWriMo. Many authors seem to believe that writing the novel is all they have to do. A lot of authors don't realize that writing is as much about rewriting as it is about writing. When I've written a novel, I've spent about the same amount of time rewriting the book as I did writing it in the first place. Many novice authors finish their NaNoWriMo project and then immediately begin to submit it. There aren't many authors that can pull off a masterpiece with their rough draft, but come December, January, and February, I start seeing a lot of submissions that are obviously rough drafts. Even worse, many authors self-publish these rough drafts, watering down the market with works that don't deserve publication...yet...
So, basically I have very mixed feelings about NaNoWriMo, but I think I would like to try it some year...
Saturday, November 14, 2015
A reminder about Disharmony of the Spheres
This is a project that's very important to me for a number of reasons, and I'd love to see submissions from a lot of the writers I know...
Nomadic Delirium Press is pleased to announce that we are reading for a new anthology...
Disharmony of the Spheres
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.
Where to send your stories: All stories 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.
Nomadic Delirium Press is pleased to announce that we are reading for a new anthology...
Disharmony of the Spheres
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.
Where to send your stories: All stories 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.
Sunday, November 08, 2015
Happy 5th birthday
It's hard to believe, but today is Alexis' 5th birthday. It seems like only yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital, and now here she is, a young lady. Time goes by far too fast when it comes to kids. Eryn's only a few years away from graduating from high school, Jul's about to start middle school, and if Lex had been born a few weeks earlier, she'd already be in school. I really don't know where the time goes.
She's become such a unique little girl. She loves her dresses, but at the same time she loves her Ninja Turtles. When she's playing with dolls, they might be having a tea party, or they might be getting eaten by her big T-rex, you can never be too sure. She has enough energy to power the sun, and she wears us all down just watching her, but she loves to sit and learn at the same time.
It's hard to say what she will be as she gets older, but something tells me it will be a unique adventure...
She's become such a unique little girl. She loves her dresses, but at the same time she loves her Ninja Turtles. When she's playing with dolls, they might be having a tea party, or they might be getting eaten by her big T-rex, you can never be too sure. She has enough energy to power the sun, and she wears us all down just watching her, but she loves to sit and learn at the same time.
It's hard to say what she will be as she gets older, but something tells me it will be a unique adventure...
Wednesday, November 04, 2015
A new short story
I finished the rough draft for a new short story today. Several years ago, this wouldn't have been that big of a deal, as I was writing stories all the time, but now I don't write anywhere near as much as I'd like to. The simple reason for this is that editing and game design pay better, and they pay in a more timely manner, and simply put, we always need the money, so now finishing a story is a big deal.
I've really missed writing, and even though mounting medical and legal bills are sucking us deeper into our hole, the simple truth is that I'm a writer first, and an editor and a game designer second. As such, I need to write. As human beings, we can't deny the passions in our life. If we do, what's the point of living, and writing is one of my greatest passions, so I will be doing more in the months and years to come.
Is this story going to make us rich? Of course not. My skills are rusty, and it clearly shows in the story, but with some work, I'm confident it will sell. It may only make me enough to buy myself lunch somewhere, but in many ways, it feels like I'm starting over in my career, and that's ok. I love writing, and I'm still confident that it will all pay off sometime in the future...
I've really missed writing, and even though mounting medical and legal bills are sucking us deeper into our hole, the simple truth is that I'm a writer first, and an editor and a game designer second. As such, I need to write. As human beings, we can't deny the passions in our life. If we do, what's the point of living, and writing is one of my greatest passions, so I will be doing more in the months and years to come.
Is this story going to make us rich? Of course not. My skills are rusty, and it clearly shows in the story, but with some work, I'm confident it will sell. It may only make me enough to buy myself lunch somewhere, but in many ways, it feels like I'm starting over in my career, and that's ok. I love writing, and I'm still confident that it will all pay off sometime in the future...
Sunday, November 01, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
Ephemeris sale
Borrowed from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
It's time to stock up on all of the products you need for your Ephemeris game. Through Nov. 13th, get all Ephemeris titles for 30% off!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press
It's time to stock up on all of the products you need for your Ephemeris game. Through Nov. 13th, get all Ephemeris titles for 30% off!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
10% off sale
Borrowed from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
For the next two weeks, you can get several of our most recent e-books for 10% off at Smashwords.
Quantum Women by Tyree Campbell https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/575947. Use coupon code GJ82U.
The Martian Wave: 2015 https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/561565. Use coupon code QQ84T.
A Robot, a Cyborg, and a Martian Walk into a Space Bar https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/499752. Use coupon code LA97H.
Taurin Tales https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/472428. Use coupon code WG32B.
For the next two weeks, you can get several of our most recent e-books for 10% off at Smashwords.
Quantum Women by Tyree Campbell https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/575947. Use coupon code GJ82U.
The Martian Wave: 2015 https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/561565. Use coupon code QQ84T.
A Robot, a Cyborg, and a Martian Walk into a Space Bar https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/499752. Use coupon code LA97H.
Taurin Tales https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/472428. Use coupon code WG32B.
Monday, October 26, 2015
MileHiCon 47 recap
Another year of MileHiCon has come and gone. This year seemed to fly by even faster. We think it was mostly because we didn't stay at the hotel this year because we just couldn't afford it. It was great seeing a lot of our old con friends, but there were several people that we somehow never ran into.
This year I had three panels and a signing, but for Friday night, I didn't have anything. We showed up a bit later than usual because there were other things going on. We went to the opening ceremonies and Jul and I were recruited into getting crowd members to be part of the opening ceremonies, which were based on "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Saturday was a busy day for me. I started out with a panel on the similarities and differences between game and book publishing, which went well, which I think was true of all of the panels I did this year. We kind of got away from the main topic on this one, but we still gave out a lot of great info on game design and publishing.
Immediately after the panel, I had a signing. Unfortunately, the signing table was not in the greatest place, and there was very little foot traffic in the area, so the signing didn't go well. In the future, we're talking about trying to get a Nomadic Delirium Press table in either the dealers room or on Author's Row. That might be a bit more than we can immediately afford, but maybe we can start selling a lot more NDP books in the near future.
Immediately after the signing, I was on a panel about what got us into science fiction and fantasy. This was one of those fun panels, and there was a fairly large crowd. We all seemed to have a great time, but once we got on the topic of YA books to get kids into reading sf and fantasy, I was pretty much left out, as I never have read many YA books. I got into the field with some of the adult material. Still, it was a fun panel.
Saturday night concluded with the mask parade, which the two younger kids participated in and the masquerade.
I only had one panel on Sunday, which was about trends in publishing. This one was standing room only, and it was a great panel, although we certainly didn't agree on everything.
During the Con, I was able to talk to one person about a secret project that we're going to start working on next year. It will be a long term project, and I can't discuss it yet, but I think it will be fun. I was also able to talk to Laura Givens about doing a cover for "Disharmony of the Spheres." We have a great concept, and we have the perfect model for the cover, a beautiful teenage girl who is a brave crusader for everyone suffering from depression. I think it will be truly awesome!
This year I had three panels and a signing, but for Friday night, I didn't have anything. We showed up a bit later than usual because there were other things going on. We went to the opening ceremonies and Jul and I were recruited into getting crowd members to be part of the opening ceremonies, which were based on "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Saturday was a busy day for me. I started out with a panel on the similarities and differences between game and book publishing, which went well, which I think was true of all of the panels I did this year. We kind of got away from the main topic on this one, but we still gave out a lot of great info on game design and publishing.
Immediately after the panel, I had a signing. Unfortunately, the signing table was not in the greatest place, and there was very little foot traffic in the area, so the signing didn't go well. In the future, we're talking about trying to get a Nomadic Delirium Press table in either the dealers room or on Author's Row. That might be a bit more than we can immediately afford, but maybe we can start selling a lot more NDP books in the near future.
Immediately after the signing, I was on a panel about what got us into science fiction and fantasy. This was one of those fun panels, and there was a fairly large crowd. We all seemed to have a great time, but once we got on the topic of YA books to get kids into reading sf and fantasy, I was pretty much left out, as I never have read many YA books. I got into the field with some of the adult material. Still, it was a fun panel.
Saturday night concluded with the mask parade, which the two younger kids participated in and the masquerade.
I only had one panel on Sunday, which was about trends in publishing. This one was standing room only, and it was a great panel, although we certainly didn't agree on everything.
During the Con, I was able to talk to one person about a secret project that we're going to start working on next year. It will be a long term project, and I can't discuss it yet, but I think it will be fun. I was also able to talk to Laura Givens about doing a cover for "Disharmony of the Spheres." We have a great concept, and we have the perfect model for the cover, a beautiful teenage girl who is a brave crusader for everyone suffering from depression. I think it will be truly awesome!
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Martian Wave bundle
Taken from the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
DriveThruFiction is currently carrying a bundle of all three issues of The Martian Wave. You can get PDF versions of the 2013, 2014, and 2015 issues for just $7.50. That's over 100,000 words about the exploration and colonization of space. It's a deal you can't afford to pass up.
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/117289/The-Martian-Wave-2013
DriveThruFiction is currently carrying a bundle of all three issues of The Martian Wave. You can get PDF versions of the 2013, 2014, and 2015 issues for just $7.50. That's over 100,000 words about the exploration and colonization of space. It's a deal you can't afford to pass up.
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/117289/The-Martian-Wave-2013
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