tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130027492012-01-25T20:35:56.681-05:00Pamela J. Dodd is the author of The Gift Horse and Trinity on Tylos. On Pam's Pages, she posts musings about reading, writing, and whatever else comes to mind. Thanks so much for stopping by, and please return for her regular entries.Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.comBlogger2661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-13691691297404407522011-11-23T19:49:00.000-05:002011-11-23T19:49:07.965-05:00

Each generation will pass, of course, but I am sad to know that another great fantasy and science fiction writer has died. Anne McCaffrey is best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. However, she wrote far more than those, and her influence has helped shape modern science fiction. McCaffrey was the first woman to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards, which are the most prestigious in science

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-65216145050408439152011-11-09T17:50:00.000-05:002011-11-09T17:50:50.229-05:00

While exploring the science fiction archives of Netflix, I noticed Star Trek Voyager among the offerings. Not only did I watch most of those Star Trek episodes first run, I've seen the original series (TOS) and the next generation (TNG) many times since those now venerable shows went into syndicated re-run status. But I had not seen much of Voyager since it originally aired on the now defunct

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-89871973397963847022011-10-20T20:49:00.000-04:002011-10-20T20:49:23.637-04:00

Ah, don't cha love Netflix? I do, and one reason I love it so much is that I can revisit past favorites. Lately, I have been watching Linda Hamilton's Beauty opposite the impeccable Ron Perlman's Beast. While the short-lived television series made each of them famous, Perlman's career has been more varied and probably more lucrative. In a recent interview, he stated he had been in 15 films this

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-85727648930373026322011-10-05T21:00:00.000-04:002011-10-05T21:00:45.981-04:00

Once, at a family gathering, my nephew the IT dude told me that he would not hire me, because I am not technologically proficient. He is a Microsoft guy, and I am a Mac user. Thankful that I wasn't looking for a job, I just smiled and changed the subject. Steve Jobs, co-founder and visionary at Apple, has been behind so many technical devices and concepts that I and countless others use every

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-6449615375295723182011-09-23T21:22:00.000-04:002011-09-23T21:22:31.896-04:00

My iPad is a fun way to read books, and I like the Kindle app better than iBooks. In part, that is due to the wider selection of titles, but it is also the actual reading experience of the Kindle that I enjoy. After I read a few books by Amazon published author D. A. Boulter, I sought another science fiction author who is not published by a "big" publisher. I began a series by Thomas DePrima,

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-14244384645952834962011-09-09T19:29:00.001-04:002011-09-09T19:31:47.840-04:00

Most sources of information are having some sort of commemoration of the ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. And, like many people, I have thought about where I was as I heard the news. I'd been at a Bible study, and had no idea that there had been an attack until I heard my sister's voice on my answering machine, telling me to turn on my television. Even after

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-88447850974266948432011-08-19T20:09:00.000-04:002011-08-19T20:09:13.978-04:00

Last week, I needed to recycle a television. Our local government sponsors recycling, and they'll take old paint and motor oil, but they won't take a television. Knowing that e-waste is a huge problem for our planet, I got hubby and son to put the malfunctioning behemoth in my van, to the only local spot for television recycling— Best Buy. It took talking to five different people to get the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-63922089047269191802011-08-10T11:51:00.000-04:002011-08-10T11:51:14.006-04:00

Readers of science fiction grand master Robert A. Heinlein's Friday just might remember the term "semiballistic" in reference to aircraft. The title's namesake heroine, Friday Jones, is on vacation, after having recovered from a near-death on-the-job experience, and she decides to visit Auckland. She leaves Winnipeg via ANZAC's SB service, for a ride which will take forty minutes. As the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-88787696777342790912011-07-22T21:34:00.000-04:002011-07-22T21:34:43.322-04:00

  Once again, it is time to say goodbye to a bookstore, and if one of the "big guys" had to go away, I am sorry that it is Borders. Their store in Athens, Georgia, was one of my favorites. The customer service was always good, and the store was in a great location. As I have noted in previous posts, the new way to read is the ebook. I am actually surprised that it took this long for the ebook to

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-24843178690494062192011-07-10T14:48:00.001-04:002011-07-10T14:49:54.875-04:00

The last space shuttle launch occurred last week. Although NASA claims to be working on a new vehicle, it is years (or decades) away from launching, if it does launch at all. Having grown up during the space program's heyday, I see this as just another symptom of America's declining health. A Democrat president declared that America would not be left behind in the conquest of space, and through

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-63886630788749256782011-06-15T13:40:00.000-04:002011-06-15T13:40:20.861-04:00

This is a tough review to write, but it needs to be told. A decade ago, I was serving as a parent representative on a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools committee to evaluate the local elementary school. I was a "plant" because I had been a classroom teacher for some twenty years, as well as being the mother of two students in the school. Despite what I knew about education, I learned a

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-14087538830993667712011-06-04T12:51:00.000-04:002011-06-04T12:51:46.256-04:00

Publishing has made a significant change in the past couple of years. I've long loved the convenience of ebooks, and I have touted them to folks in person and online. A decade ago, I read books from now defunct publishers, on computers which have been recycled. I listened to my CDs on my computer, too. And, yes, I have watched a few DVDs on my laptop. Some would call me an "early adopter" but I

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-54810659079722259542011-05-31T09:30:00.001-04:002011-05-31T09:31:45.312-04:00

While I have made most of the money I have ever made (or ever hope to) in public education, I genuinely enjoyed and appreciated the expose of public education called Waiting for Superman. The film is captivating, and somewhat suspenseful for a documentary. As it opens, viewers meet five young people, of different ages, genders, and ethnicities. Each one has hopes and dreams which can only be

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-67897703027781329682011-05-24T12:36:00.000-04:002011-05-24T12:36:37.086-04:00

Three years ago, a post a entitled "Graduating and Graduating Some More" was written on the day that our daughter graduated from the local high school. Only a few months after that, our son, who has never found education to his liking for more than a few minutes at a time, was so unhappy that he began to rebel against education and his parents. Not good. Over his years in public school, both

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-33955003755895696042011-05-08T14:40:00.002-04:002011-05-08T14:43:33.864-04:00

This is an odd post for Mother's Day, but it is tough to discuss it without writing about my mom, myself, or other family members. But, as one who appreciates gadgets, I am grateful to science fiction authors for dreaming up some of the useful objects that we take for granted. Like other science fiction yarns, Star Trek is a mother of invention. The original series of Star Trek was telecast in

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-65291519613830651162011-04-30T22:04:00.000-04:002011-04-30T22:04:22.926-04:00

My iPad does many things, and it has become my reader of choice. After playing with it for a day or two, I began downloading eBook reading "apps" and right now, Kindle for iPad is beating out iBooks. In part, that is due to the vast selection of books at Amazon, but in part, it is due to the way Amazon can zero in on what I enjoy reading. Within the last couple of weeks I have read two novels by

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-85484600757884342242011-04-15T09:07:00.001-04:002011-04-15T11:32:38.070-04:00

Last Christmas, one of my sisters gave me an autographed copy of Kristin Swinson's latest book, Bible Babel, Making Sense of the Most Talked About Book of All Time. Professor Swinson's goal is to make some sense of what the Bible says, and what people say about it. That's an almost impossible task, but the author makes a good effort, and the result is a highly readable book with a really

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-55927070302976238832011-04-07T09:18:00.000-04:002011-04-07T09:18:32.183-04:00

Since my last post, I have been reading, reading, reading. First there were research papers, and while that is work, it is work I mostly enjoy. Over the four going on five years I have taught at the post secondary level, I have read papers on welding, auto repair, hair coloring, the history of perfumes, heat pumps, dirigibles, the physics of guitars, and even drag racing. There is much to learn

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-30007337815045110482011-03-15T08:58:00.001-04:002011-03-16T12:10:45.185-04:00

One of my sisters is a journalism major, and when discussing television news, she often laughs and says, "Oh, if it bleeds, it leads!" Television is such a visual medium that, by its very nature, can't objectively report news. As a journalism major, who has dabbled in the field but seldom actually made a living in it, my sister once told me that she records the evening local news, two hours per

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-2124435024448336852011-03-10T17:11:00.001-05:002011-03-10T17:15:25.521-05:00

I have lived for most of my life in or near the same small town in northeastern Georgia. As I write this entry, there are big holes in what used to be parking lots and sidewalks "on the square." The most common sign in the windows reads "For Lease" and the second most common one reads, "We are Still Open." Oh, there will no doubt be pictures in the paper and even online when the project, which

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-59332956821702519552011-03-03T16:52:00.000-05:002011-03-03T16:52:57.482-05:00

Wow, I had forgotten just how many days have passed since my last entry. Nothing's wrong, but I have had a busy quarter at school, so I my reading has been rather limited. Soon, I will have another book review, but in the mean time, I will share one of my activities.  Since I know that good health requires exercise, I have been going outside in our early spring weather. The daffodils are

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-43786575962152545422011-01-28T08:56:00.000-05:002011-01-28T08:56:43.736-05:00

Where were you when __________? There are some events so powerful that we remember exactly where we were when we heard the news. As youngster, I was in my seat in Mrs. Spratlin's second grade class when our principal, Mr. Ash, told us that the president, Mr. Kennedy, had been killed in Dallas. My parents were feverishly working on renovations to our new (very old) home, and I rode the bus there

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-45489579084192300172011-01-12T22:37:00.000-05:002011-01-12T22:37:20.767-05:00

We have had a bout of bad (or good) weather, depending on one's point of view. This week, we have had a snow followed by freezing rain, followed by enough cold to keep refreezing the roadways. I really can't recall missing an entire week of classes over a weather event, but that is what we have had. So, in addition to some organizing at home, I have been watching the telly a bit more. I've seen

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-88999351664374344612011-01-05T11:07:00.000-05:002011-01-05T11:07:24.506-05:00

When I was finishing my master's degree, the head of the English Department at North Georgia College related to me that some of my professors were concerned that I was just as apt to quote Star Trek as Shakespeare. To this day, and it is has been more than a score of years since I finished that degree, that complaint brings a half-smile to my face. While it was a matter of concern for the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-23774912841962640212010-12-27T19:41:00.000-05:002010-12-27T19:41:42.424-05:00

Tanya Huff's Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr is a real kick-butt heroine, and in Valor's Trial, she begins with some serious action. For the next three hundred pages, the story seldom lags. The plot is basic: Kerr is involved in a hopeless battle with a faceless enemy known for taking no prisoners. In the blink of an eye, her position, and all of the personnel are simply gone. Obliterated. The Corps

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-14456090096845280172010-12-21T08:22:00.000-05:002010-12-21T08:22:39.365-05:00

The second stanza of Poe's magnificent poem, The Raven, describes the weather of this month: "Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December." But our modern celebration of Christmas often defies the bleakness with a show of light. As a youngster, my family would go on a "light tour" during the month, and for the past few Christmas Eves, I have gone to church and then taken a long light

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-48174481723327076382010-12-14T05:42:00.000-05:002010-12-14T05:42:10.555-05:00

There are two rough drafts for this month, and they will more than likely remain in the drafts section of this blog. As I try to come up with something new for Christmas, I realize how hard it is to add to the message of Christmas. For some, this time of year is all about material things, and that is truly sad. No human gift can compare, and certainly not replace, the gift of God to man.

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-53263246929864349892010-11-26T23:36:00.000-05:002010-11-26T23:36:53.226-05:00

Tanya Huff's "Confederation" series has a fabulous heroine, Torin Kerr. As the series begins, in Valor's Choice, Kerr is a Staff Sergeant in some futuristic Marine Corps. In this opening yarn, Huff demonstrates good character development, better world building, and a wonderful flair for dialogue. While I really like other heroines of military sci-fi yarns such as David Weber's Honor Harrington

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-82866192552072605892010-11-19T09:01:00.000-05:002010-11-19T09:01:33.494-05:00

Last Christmas, the movie version of The Blind Side opened in theatres. Although I seldom watch television, hubby and I were in Charleston for our anniversary (what a great place for a romantic trip!) and he had turned on the telly one evening while we were getting ready for dinner. A reviewer proclaimed that Sandra Bullock should get an Oscar for her role in this movie, and the movie poster shot

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-2325400202092711512010-11-14T17:02:00.001-05:002010-11-14T17:04:38.577-05:00

Someone once commented on my YouTube video, entitled A Brief History of Science Fiction, with this profundity, "Nerds." Actually, I don't think I am quite smart enough to be a nerd or a geek, but I viewed it as a compliment never-the-less. As Christmas approaches, I have begun making my list, and I sometimes get shopping information and sales pitches which appeal to the wee bit of N/G in me. For

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-23009945049752352322010-11-02T12:58:00.000-04:002010-11-02T12:58:38.805-04:00

My son recently observed that political ads are just boring. In particular, the "race" for governor in Georgia has been quite annoying. I don't care which one of the major candidates my readers supported, that campaign devolved into just plain nasty. Hopefully, now that the day of mid-term elections has finally arrived, the robo calls and mailers will cease. This morning I spent a few minutes

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-38522582860890618442010-10-21T11:42:00.000-04:002010-10-21T11:42:11.270-04:00

News sources report "invasion of privacy" situations quite frequently these days. Ironically, their reporting exacerbates the situation. A firefighter in my home state is under the gun for distributing a video, made by his personal cell phone, of an accident victim who was deceased. She won't see the footage, of course, but her family did, because the person who shot it used electronic means to

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-61502083255443600072010-10-09T22:29:00.002-04:002010-10-09T22:30:38.998-04:00

There are two holidays in October, but Christopher Columbus (rightly or wrongly) has become just another reason for government employees to have a long weekend. Halloween, on the other hand, seems to become more popular year after year. In my youth, a few of us youngsters managed to get up a mask and a paper sack and went around to neighbors begging for treats. A typical Halloween yielded a bit

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-49547382414392137972010-10-02T06:42:00.000-04:002010-10-02T06:42:10.810-04:00

Elizabeth Bear is a powerful writer, and her Jenny Casey trilogy is entertaining, if a bit complicated for pleasure reading. The first novel, Hammered, got my attention. I do wish I had read this mid-trilogy yarn earlier, because I had to review some of Hammered to get reoriented for Scardown. The politics and "who's who" backstory is not rehashed, for the most part, in this second novel, which

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-54831348891933768222010-09-17T09:28:00.000-04:002010-09-17T09:28:50.309-04:00

Recently, during a session of blog and website housecleaning, where I was looking for dead links, a trend emerged. Some of my fellow authors, especially the younger ones, have deleted their blogs. Christina Barber's "The Writer's Crypt" seems to be history. Susan Grant ended her "Come Fly with Me" blog in favor of a news section on her website. A particularly good one, "Faster Than Kudzu"has also

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-9586476452561640782010-09-11T10:27:00.000-04:002010-09-11T10:27:34.432-04:00

One of my favorite eBook authors is Darrell Bain. I think of him as the master of plots. Oh, there are some problems with his writing, primarily in the "show don't tell" category, but this guy writes the most amazing yarns. In the dedication of The Long Way Home, Bain recognizes three important Baen Books authors— David Weber, John Ringo, and Travis Taylor. And fans of their brand of science

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-38136863418817991212010-09-04T21:32:00.001-04:002010-09-05T15:39:38.195-04:00

I really like David Weber's military science fiction. A few thousand fans of this sub-genre seem to like it as well; his books, even the ones which are ridiculously swollen with unnecessary and/or undesirable content, sell well. He has also partnered with other authors, including Eric Flint and Steve White, which helps lengthen his list of published novels. My introduction to his work was a

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-85604141208961393142010-08-29T21:17:00.000-04:002010-08-29T21:17:07.711-04:00

One thing I have learned in my time in adult education is that teaching in mass does not work as well for adults as it does with children and teens. Actually, I don't know that it works too well with youngsters, but most of them have not formed a persona that they do not intend to change. Adults have, and therein lies the difference. A group of kids can be whipped into a frenzy (think pep rally)

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-86922888512125115262010-08-19T15:46:00.000-04:002010-08-19T15:46:52.603-04:00

Recently, I was reading a bit about science fiction movie poster art from yesteryear. I rather like those cheesy posters, actually. Some people don't like retro, but artwork for such films have become part of the culture for my generation. However, one of the folks who purchased my suspense book, The Gift Horse, said that the cover to Trinity on Tylos kept him from buying it. Others have

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-69161996091482758532010-08-07T23:23:00.005-04:002010-08-07T23:30:53.651-04:00

I've been an English teacher for more than thirty years. That's scary. And, during most of those years, I have tried to help students make their writing better. Or, as my current supervisor says of her own career, "For years I thought I was combating ignorance; then I realized I was just documenting it." Yes, we English teachers spend a great deal of time looking for mistakes. Whenever I do

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-23393426541718325062010-07-31T21:28:00.001-04:002010-08-01T13:41:24.207-04:00

I recently read a post on SFReader/SFWatcher stating that there are only 20,000 regular readers of science fiction. That's fewer folks than live in my home county here in Georgia, making this a really astonishing statistic. The webmaster at SFR/SFW is now paying for movie reviews, in hopes of growing the website. No compensation is offered to reviewers of novels, of course. When I was taking

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-5743735529989499472010-07-15T21:42:00.001-04:002010-07-15T21:43:48.508-04:00

When many people view an author as just fabulous, that writer sells boatloads of books. Remember when everyone was reading the latest Stephen King? Other authors write memorable books, but they only do it once— Margaret Mitchell and Harper Lee come to mind. Some writers are prolific, but it seems impossible to remember the plot of any specific book. Numerous such authors are still writing, but I

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-35546903953470084912010-07-10T12:13:00.000-04:002010-07-10T12:13:35.826-04:00

When I was in the sixth grade, I sat near a Currier and Ives print of two horses pulling sulkies. Since I was as much a victim of education as a beneficiary of it, I can now admit that I spent much more time gazing at the lithograph than doing my schoolwork. One day, instead of berating me for being inattentive, my teacher informed me that she placed the print there because all girls like horses.

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-16638543669968963962010-07-01T21:48:00.000-04:002010-07-01T21:48:04.218-04:00

Since I read Pauline Baird Jones' The Key, I have been waiting for this book. One reason I read eBooks is that I enjoy stories which are more "novel" than the novels published by the big guys. I happened upon The Key when it was atop the list of science fiction books at Fictionwise, and I read it and re-read it. One of the more charming aspects of The Key is the POV character, Sara Donovan, a "

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-16141989242873858112010-06-24T16:01:00.000-04:002010-06-24T16:01:58.122-04:00

Some years back, I purchased a Palm device as an eBook reader. Oh, I might not have chosen it if the only thing it could do was display books, but it does more than act as a reading device. For half a decade, I have read scores of eBooks and used the Palm for my calendar, quick notes, and as a portable phone/address book. At the time, I thought spending a hundred and fifty bucks was a bit much

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-22222258497307961012010-06-19T17:49:00.000-04:002010-06-19T17:49:20.383-04:00

Seventy-five years ago, in a time of deep economic troubles, the federal government decided to put some people to work. The leaders of those days noted that there were beautiful national parks in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and the Great Smokies National Forest in North Carolina and Tennessee, so they decided to build a roadway to link them. This road, initially known as the "Appalachian

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-38622153598704143382010-06-03T21:08:00.000-04:002010-06-03T21:08:02.405-04:00

My high school biology teacher spoke with some derision about my generation, because he said we didn't know how to cut up a chicken. I have long forgotten his exact words, but the gist was that we thought meat originated a supermarket, all wrapped up in shiny packaging. My own children think that meat from a grocery store is "kinda gross" and prefer to think that it comes from the kitchen of a

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-43668989463592489942010-05-29T19:15:00.000-04:002010-05-29T19:15:26.548-04:00

The Lanierland Old Car Club's twenty-ninth show was a genuine trip down memory lane. Psychologists talk about "imprinting," and while the cars at the show were better looking than the ones I remember from my childhood, there were quite a few iconic motor vehicles from the era of my childhood. I was glad to see several cars which were similar to cars from my past. One '57 Chevy and two '56 Chevies

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-48354369663805684102010-05-20T19:45:00.002-04:002010-05-21T09:17:32.700-04:00

Those who read the news, and I love to read the news— the odder, the better— have probably already seen this story. A ten-year-old student in a public school in Texas has been punished for possessing a dangerous substance— a Jolly Rancher candy. News headlines have touted her weeklong detention, but careful readers will note that she was also assigned "an essay" which is a punishment, rather than

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-70017596009517442032010-05-09T17:31:00.000-04:002010-05-09T17:31:11.115-04:00

Sometimes I miss the best stuff online. I guess it is a talent, sorta like my uncanny ability to choose the slowest checkout line, and this talent often shines when I am in a hurry. Today, I want to mention The Galaxy Express, a blog by Heather Massey, which apparently began a couple of years ago. While researching the works of a favorite author who writes science fiction romance, I happened

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-56919393994449046642010-05-05T14:45:00.000-04:002010-05-05T14:45:48.752-04:00

Recently, I was driving into my hometown, across a structure known as the "White Bridge" although it isn't white anymore. This quaint, historic bridge crosses Curry Creek and is a bit more narrow than the rest of the roadway. Anyone on the sidewalk is in close proximity to drivers, and there were two teenaged boys, walking along, spitting over the side. Neither boy was remarkable, just two guys

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-20138381019911286102010-04-24T21:13:00.000-04:002010-04-24T21:13:15.006-04:00

Recent headlines point out what I have long suspected— authors do trash the competition via websites which accept anonymous reviews. However, since Amazon is the big site for sales and reviews, and since Amazon does not require that readers actually even purchase the book, much less use a real name, Amazon is a fabulous place to trash the competition. Apparently that happened to some scholarly

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-16392460759853009942010-04-16T10:37:00.001-04:002010-04-24T21:14:10.433-04:00

Nowadays, I try to find organic foods, organic household products, even organic shampoo! Having heard multiple reports by cosmetology students, warning that putting chemicals in me or on me might upset the natural balance of things, and perhaps cause disease, has changed my shopping habits. But more than three decades back, as a college student, I was warned by a professor at Piedmont College

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-57624069596220655032010-04-09T10:51:00.000-04:002010-04-09T10:51:43.720-04:00

More and more, researchers say that a child's personality is formed by early influences. Once, I asked hubby why he is so organized, and he mentioned that his grandmother, who was the most influential person in his early life, made him put up anything he finished playing with, so he is ultra-organized. My early life was also ruled by the elderly. Initially, mom had a lady come stay with me in

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-21696366227279173862010-03-30T20:47:00.000-04:002010-03-30T20:47:56.580-04:00

Just a few days ago, I finished re-reading a favorite story, Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction novel, Friday. Although it was one of the first books by the grand master that I read, it was actually written quite late in his career. My sister read a paperback copy, while holding down a chair in a hospital waiting room, and passed it along to me.  It earned a spot on my keeper shelf. For a while

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-22747694645103131332010-03-21T20:49:00.000-04:002010-03-21T20:49:06.838-04:00

I've seen a couple of plays recently, and each one was humorous and well acted. On the stage of the Colleen Williams Theatre in Winder, Georgia, I saw "Harvey" performed by the Winder Barrow Community Theatre. Although it was my idea, hubby, son, and friend all enjoyed the play. This was the first production I've seen by this group, but I hope it isn't my last. While the entire cast did a good

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-30516971251919195032010-03-05T17:30:00.002-05:002010-05-21T09:20:01.267-04:00

As an English instructor, even an adjunct as I am nowadays, I have times when I am busy, and this is such a time. However, I am re-reading Robert A. Heinlein's Friday, which is one of my all time favorite novels, and is on my top-ten in science fiction. There are many gems of wisdom within the pages, since this novel was written when Mr. Heinlein was an older and wiser man. One of his

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-63535663632167298412010-02-25T22:16:00.000-05:002010-02-25T22:16:58.622-05:00

As a leading actor on Broadway, the Priceline.com pitchman, police sergeant T. J. Hooker, a "B" movie actor, Alexander the Great, a recording artist, a husband of four wives, a frequent guest star on 50s and 60s television shows, a motorcyclist, a voice over artist, a father of three daughters, the star of a reality show, a horse lover, science fiction author, and a "has been" who won a couple of

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-56242093970338803842010-02-19T12:50:00.003-05:002010-05-21T09:20:39.300-04:00

For some, it is fingernails on a chalk board. For others, it is the cry of a hungry baby. I am partial to hating horns. Not musical instruments, of course, but car horns, truck horns, and train horns. That is perfectly normal, I suppose, since the horn is a warning sound. Before there were horns to warn people of danger, there were bells. Poe’s wonderful sound poem, The Bells, devotes a section

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-57697527120136017662010-02-09T07:08:00.000-05:002010-02-09T07:08:00.206-05:00

Why is it that authorities, in school or out, never assign equations or accounting problems as punishment? Nope, when a student is "bad" then authorities assign an essay, a book report, or just random writing, such as "I will not disrupt bus duty" for 500 times. That last example stems from a misguided special ed teacher assigning my then five-year-old son writing as punishment, during the first

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-73766285138595334822010-02-02T19:19:00.001-05:002010-02-02T19:40:00.371-05:00

Last weekend I should have been grading papers, but I was pleasantly interrupted by an eBook, Darrell Bain's Starship Down. When I buy eBooks, I usually wait for a sale, then I load up a group of them onto my elderly PDA. Often, I read such books when I have a few minutes, since it is so easy to carry a number of them in my purse. Sometime on Friday, I began this recent science fiction release,

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-67425888585147256542010-01-27T15:00:00.001-05:002010-01-27T15:02:41.987-05:00

My introduction to Apple Computers was not dramatic. I returned to teaching in 1983, and there was a classroom in the basement of our high school, with a lab of Apple II computers. A class was taught in that room, "Computer Math," and since I have no gift for math, I shrugged and went back to teaching literature and grammar. Later, as computers began to replace other office machines, I took a

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-39487829756322713042010-01-19T21:01:00.001-05:002010-01-19T21:02:04.729-05:00

I have been on panels with ghost-writers; these are folks who write a book, knowing they will never be acknowledged as the "author," but they do the writing strictly for money. Hubby and I were in a bookstore recently, and he picked up a "new" book by an author who is deceased. Long deceased, actually, and I told him that he might want to move on, because the volume he held had probably been

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-34996212750144377842010-01-14T14:29:00.001-05:002010-01-14T14:31:09.387-05:00

I like book reviews; from time to time I read them, and I often base my book buying on the recommendations. But, I am somewhat selective about the places I read book reviews. Recently, I read an entertaining article on the publishing biz, and the author points out that some book reviewers are paid for those reviews, and that does present a conflict of interest. Some review websites make

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-56540429599866300062010-01-04T09:59:00.004-05:002010-01-05T10:52:24.586-05:00

As 2010 opens not only a new year, but a new decade, it is time to do the Janus bit and look both backwards and forwards. Like most people, I have done this with my life, my career (largely sacrificed on the alter of motherhood, but still...) and with my reading. Since Pam’s Pages (my version at least) isn’t about quilts or time management, but is actually about reading and writing, here are

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-32068119144948690982009-12-20T08:40:00.000-05:002009-12-20T08:40:42.077-05:00

As I write this, many people are making out a shopping list on this last weekend before Christmas. Oh, we've done some shopping, but there is more to do than spend money, and we are grateful for the opportunities to remember the blessings of this season. The Yargo Community Band gave a free concert in my hometown, and we received a couple of invitations, so we attended the performance. Since

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-70948092795237598732009-12-09T21:46:00.000-05:002009-12-09T21:46:23.858-05:00

I accompanied my son and some other homeschool folks to A Christmas Carol, performed at the New American Shakespeare Tavern, on Peachtree Street in Atlanta on Tuesday. As the cast took the stage of this “reader’s version” they began with some impressive accapello caroling. The story is familiar to most people, of course, but the swiftly changing corps of narrators also brings Dicken’s prose into

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-23446862490148463142009-11-30T21:09:00.000-05:002009-11-30T21:09:11.246-05:00

As the Christmas season approaches, there are myriad visual cues, including a rather large display with many, many lights, across from my house, but as a former band member and choir singer, music means Christmas as well. My church used to do an annual program at Christmas called "From the Cradle to the Cross" and the choir marched in singing, Hail to the Lord's Annointed from memory. I

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-66978959315646235382009-11-20T12:25:00.000-05:002009-11-20T12:25:51.985-05:00

They usually do. Even when the verdict is for $100,000.00, a sum that was once a princely annual salary. Those six figures are the amount awarded to Vicki Stewart by a jury in the State Court of Hall County, Georgia. Instead of the usual auto accident, business fraud, or divorce case, the award was made in a defamation of character suit, wherein a “friend” sought legal damages against another

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-83460085617895746032009-11-08T22:07:00.003-05:002009-11-09T07:58:16.546-05:00

When I parked at church, someone said to me, "What is the meaning of that HOMERS on your car?" This is question I hear from time to time, because my license plate reads HOMERS, so I explained why it is a bit of an English teacher joke to drive Homer's Odyssey. Sometimes people chuckle at the explanation, but more often, they are baffled. Perhaps that is because in modern society, even in the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-69763873030704493042009-11-02T18:57:00.008-05:002009-11-03T08:35:13.085-05:00

My education began in the northeast Georgia mountains, in Demorest, which is on the old U.S. Highway 441. Mom went there for a couple of years on a basketball scholarship, some sixty years ago, and I followed her to Piedmont College. Each of my undergraduate years began in September, as the temperatures began to cool down, and before long, Mother Nature put on a heck of a good show. When I lived

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-34237949125494139862009-10-23T13:41:00.004-04:002009-10-23T14:52:31.312-04:00

My neighbor loves holidays, and the Halloween decorations have been up for a couple of weeks. There are more tombstones, ghosts and goblins than I can count across the road. My own children are inordinately fond of Halloween, and their favorite way to celebrate is to find a really good "haunted house" or see a movie with a horror theme. They recently asked hubby to order something about zombies

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-22525805449293220922009-10-13T07:06:00.003-04:002009-10-13T07:42:15.039-04:00

Somewhere along the way I went from being a reader to being a collector. Oh, I still read rather a lot, but much of my pleasure reading is from electronic sources— online articles and news, posts on internet forums, even eBooks downloaded to my aging Palm Tungsten E. But, I still enjoy books, and I especially love prowling used books at some of the vendors in my area. A couple of weeks ago, I

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-33407052660957572542009-10-06T12:02:00.005-04:002009-10-06T13:10:42.588-04:00

Maysville, Georgia, is a quaint little town, sitting astride a railroad and the Banks County, Jackson County line. I know a few folks there, and I've dined at The Fat Finch and The Burns-Telford House. From time to time, I have traveled through, the town on my way to Homer, Lula, and Commerce, and the Victorian architecture stands out. Like many small towns, it has a library branch, and I am

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-51079894829149718932009-09-26T10:08:00.011-04:002009-09-26T11:12:08.890-04:00

Fall is festival time in Georgia, and Hoschton, once again decorated with scarecrows, is welcoming guests this weekend. Since we are experiencing some unusual bouts with rain, I am not sure we'll head out this weekend, but the list of events over in Hoschton looks like fun. There are plenty of things to do in our area, including the corn maze at Jaemor Farms, the upcoming Gold Rush Days in

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-1466115917088223372009-09-13T12:39:00.005-04:002009-09-13T17:51:31.741-04:00

One of my friends, a long time instructor of high school English and an avid reader, has her students replicate an idea from the past, the Commonplace Book. For her class, the assignment is to copy, in longhand, a quote from daily reading that the student wishes to remember, or some brief excerpt which is worthy of further contemplation. As illustrated by the link associated with the title, the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-9537890611246079282009-09-08T07:29:00.008-04:002009-09-08T08:24:03.598-04:00

Gotta be very careful here. After all, this is a blog, which means "web log," and it is online. Lest this seem like a diatribe against the internet or any one online community, let me offer some reasons I like the internet. I buy books online, both eBooks and print books. Online, I check the weather, read the news, and I am one of the few folks who still likes email. Well, most of the time, I

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-66930732471510110282009-08-22T21:31:00.005-04:002009-08-22T22:25:17.587-04:00

Recently, I pulled my copy of Emily Post’s Etiquette off the shelf and thumbed through it. Having grown up in the South, mama taught me quite a few rules and customs covered under the broad topic of etiquette. When I was just entering my teens, Mama helped me with invitations, thank you notes, and even guided me through giving a shower for a cousin. As a young woman, I just picked up the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-64479521458263667642009-08-16T17:03:00.003-04:002009-08-16T17:14:56.535-04:00

Yes, the newest thing in college textbooks is Chegg.com, and it is modeled on the wildly popular video rental service, Netflix. Basically, for a quarter or a semester, you can rent a textbook. If you like it, you can pay a bit more and keep it, but if you don't want it, just return it. This is easier than fighting for a used book in the local bookstore, and with college texts being ridiculously

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-40031088179031182562009-08-02T21:20:00.000-04:002009-08-02T13:27:52.167-04:00

Recently, hubby and I saw the fourth film in the Terminator series, and I was reminded that the original film was more horror than science fiction. We both agree that the second film, a/k/a Judgment Day is the best of the series, and that the third movie was forgettable. So much so, that we did not plan to see Terminator, Salvation, until daughter recommended it. When this action packed, tense,

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-80574766341214245422009-07-22T07:20:00.005-04:002009-07-24T14:48:08.933-04:00

As the title (and link) state, my science fiction adventure, Trinity on Tylos, is now at available at Barnes and Noble online. This is not really "news" in my mind, because BN bought eBook vendor Fictionwise a while back. For the moment, both are still operating independently, but I have noticed that Fictionwise now gets eBook versions of the good stuff early on, and that has to be due to the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-45217649987696082832009-07-19T20:15:00.006-04:002009-07-19T23:01:12.199-04:00

Google Alerts let me know that another writer has recently published a book entitled The Gift Horse. When I chose the title, I looked at Amazon and a few online used bookstores to see if the title was in print, and I noted that an autobiography by Hildegard Knef was the only use of the title in works intended for an adult audience, and even that had a subtitle, "A Report on a Life." The book had

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-39525239201886685552009-07-15T13:02:00.004-04:002009-07-15T13:10:53.504-04:00

I'm used to having my words used against me. (You guessed it; I have a family.)But the link above will take readers of Pam's Pages to something called "Cyberpunk Review" and a blog entry which is based upon my brief review of Elizabeth Bear's Hammered. I enjoyed Hammered, but I am not certain that anyone reading this blog would know that. The internet can be weird.Really, really, weird.

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-48671659673635428122009-07-13T19:49:00.004-04:002009-07-13T20:10:30.833-04:00

One of the eBooks I purchased recently is a debut novel by Elizabeth Bear. She isn't related to Greg Bear, but I wasn't sure when I chose to put this science fiction action/thriller on my TBR stack. (One doesn't actually stack eBooks, of course.) After I read a couple of mediocre novels by writers who used to be favorites, I turned to Hammered. At first, it seemed to gritty and urban, the

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-64862891927166320032009-07-10T07:47:00.002-04:002009-07-10T07:51:02.562-04:00

The Harriette Austin Writer's Conference in Athens, Georgia, is a great place to seek information and inspiration, and it is coming up next weekend. I've attended it a couple of times, and I really enjoyed the sessions and speakers. Writers and wannabe writers in the area should put this one at the top of their "to do" list.

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-72339811059851284392009-07-01T19:08:00.004-04:002009-07-01T20:38:40.402-04:00

As a bored student in a high school Spanish class, I remember looking at anything and everything other than my classwork and/or my teacher. One day my eyes strayed to a glossy bound library book on a desk in front of me. The cover was standard issue gothic romance, but the title didn’t sound particularly romantic or suspenseful. Still, Michael’s Wife, by Marlys Millhiser, seemed much more

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-21113286281108993452009-06-23T12:09:00.002-04:002009-06-23T12:21:09.990-04:00

A few years ago, one of my dad's good friends called, wanting some advice about getting a book published. At the time, he was wanting to get it done quickly, because he had lymphoma and the future was uncertain.Frank Gilbert's Chasing the Wind was the book, and not only did he get it published in a hurry, he gave it away. When we originally talked, he said he might want as many as a hundred

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-27488280981749361282009-06-21T12:12:00.005-04:002009-06-21T12:20:49.120-04:00

As an eBook fan, and as the owner of a Palm devise, I was doubly pleased when a "Google Alert" let me know that my science fiction novel, Trinity on Tylos is now available at the Palm eBook store. The book is formatted for Palm's eReader software, which is one of the programs I use on my own pda.Readers of Pam's Pages no doubt realize that this novel has garnered several good reviews from sources

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-31895065776366279822009-06-19T09:09:00.004-04:002009-06-19T09:41:52.232-04:00

Readers love series fiction. Writer's love it even more— because when writing a series, an author doesn't have to create a new world or many new characters. Instead, the author can pick up a minor character from a previous tale and follow him or her for a bit. Or the author continues the story of a beloved hero or heroine, and some of the story is already written and is retold via the "backstory.

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-19531363981101303452009-06-03T07:41:00.011-04:002009-06-03T08:34:05.701-04:00

When I was about twelve, I made the jump from juvenile to adult fiction, with my mother's able assistance. One of her first recommendations was Mary Stewart, who wrote what mom termed "mysteries." The usual label on the cover of a Stewart novel was "romantic suspense," a more apt description for her work. Unlike many of the hack authors of that era, Stewart's prose is beautiful and her

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-75935003413269934782009-05-26T09:50:00.005-04:002009-05-26T10:55:42.633-04:00

Managing an online presence is sometimes difficult, but not having one is fatal for anyone who wants to market products or services these days. So, any number of websites, blogs, and applications are available to help webmasters and others manage an online presence. Perhaps the most basic way to manage an online presence is to create one. The bare minimum is a website or a blog. Some people

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-38700555496883366132009-05-18T07:57:00.005-04:002009-05-18T13:08:26.065-04:00

I blogged about Galaxy Quest recently, and now I get an update from Sci Fi Dimensions touting their most recent post, which discusses Galaxy Quest. Great minds think alike, right? Maybe, maybe not. You'll have to hop over there to read their discussion about this film, which won a Hugo Award in 2000. For those of you who are not science fiction fans, the Hugo is the big one. It's the Oscar of

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-57066068806963592512009-05-12T07:40:00.003-04:002009-05-12T07:49:48.903-04:00

Over at the Sci Fi Dimensions ezine, which is now a blog, I read some of the recent reviews. While watching the reboot of Star Trek, I kept noticing that the writers borrowed some concepts, and Bill Ritch has pointed those out in this post. Hop on over and enjoy his "Name that Movie" entry.

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-11161519020687897322009-05-10T11:57:00.003-04:002009-05-10T12:07:42.597-04:00

I happened upon the link (just click the title of this post) to a photo gallery which answers that question, in pretty much the same order that I would have put the films in the Star Trek series.However, perhaps the best Star Trek film is not a Star Trek film at all. The first time I saw Galaxy Quest, I was amazed and laughed so hard that I could not believe anyone could pack that many gags into

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-64871877359779396692009-05-04T07:22:00.005-04:002009-05-04T20:21:49.598-04:00

I have devoted several blog posts to technology, especially eBooks and devices which read them, because I really do believe that is the future of publishing. Around the country, newspaper subscriptions are falling, indeed in some cases, plummeting. A variety of factors have contributed to the demise of newspapers, but the bottom line is that they have an old-fashioned business model, and without

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-2122863453068605282009-04-26T08:17:00.003-04:002009-04-26T08:27:22.751-04:00

One of the first books I read when I decided to abandon the best seller lists, the books perched on those little display stands at the library, and recommendations from well meaning friends and family was Lois McMaster Bujold's Shards of Honor. I have devoted an earlier entry to it, and have mentioned it in other posts as well. Still, it is difficult for me to explain how good this novel is, both

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-6255684205401696202009-04-18T14:52:00.004-04:002009-04-18T15:08:01.227-04:00

One of my favorite collections of stories, from my youth, is entitled The Heart of a Dog. Albert Payson Terhune authored the collection, first published in 1924, along with many other works, some of which are still in print. I read those dog stories, written by a dog lover extraordinaire, and reread them, along with other classics, at an impressionable time, so some of the author’s ideas are

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-9304816301175972902009-04-11T16:09:00.004-04:002009-04-11T16:37:49.623-04:00

All of my life, I have enjoyed spring, but I've never loved it the way Mama did. Perhaps it was growing up on a farm, watching crops go in, as well as watching nature wake up from winter hibernation. Maybe it was that she did not have allergies, not the way hubby and I do. Mama was not much of gardener, not until her empty nest years, which were cut short by cancer. She did have beautiful azaleas

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-25667245966902029122009-04-06T21:33:00.003-04:002009-04-06T21:55:34.926-04:00

The stigma still exists, but CNN just published an article on the continuing rise in self publishing. One of my author-friends has mentioned that very little fiction is being accepted by publishers (large or small) due to economic woes. That just makes print on demand and e-publishing more attractive than ever. As this article points out, conventional publishing wastes resources and frustrates

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13002749.post-56730699660191345282009-04-03T17:02:00.006-04:002009-04-03T17:39:52.634-04:00

I'm still wading through my latest "big book," The Complete Ivory, as Theodora mulls over becoming married to her love interest, Ran Cormelleon. The world of Ivory is well thought out, the plot moves, but there is not enough suspense to make me stay up at night; however, I am enjoying the trilogy. Unfortunately, I have not had a lot of time to read of late.This afternoon, I spent about three

Pamela J. Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16159966453962548789noreply@blogger.com0