Goin’ on a Book Safari

There are many topics I could have written about this week, except I have pledged to keep most of my personal life, good and bad, out of this blog. So I am not going to write about my frustration with a student who seems to blame me for her academic woes; I am not going to write about how much my son is loving JROTC, and I am not going to write about how hot it is in northeastern Georgia, but the triple digits keep appearing on the outside thermometer.

Instead, I’ll point internet readers to a fun resource: Shelfari, which is a word coined from "shelf" and "safari." There are other book info sharing sites, such as LibraryThing, which I did join, but I have spent little time there. That site is more like the law library at UGA; it has a lot of stuff, but it is boring. On the other hand, Shelfari has a visually appealing interface, easy to use tools for rating, reviewing, or just commenting on books. Like "my space," it has a friend feature, wherein you can invite like minded readers to be listed on your site. You can leave notes on other members’ shelves, and you can browse their shelves to find new reads on the shelves of folks whose taste is somewhat similar to yours.

I shared this site with my teen-aged daughter, who just loved it. She is now my friend, and she invited one of her book loving friends to join. If you want to see my shelf and read the comments I’ve posted, here is the link to my shelf at Shelfari.

Rather than list all of the books I’ve read and enjoyed (a Herculean task!) I have listed two or three titles by favorite authors. I’ve been making an effort to share my love of eBooks as well, so I have a higher percentage of those on my shelf than I might otherwise.

Of course, I listed my own books, with brief comments, but I didn’t copy reviews to expand the listings. Admittedly I joined after being prompted by a fellow WCP author, but I have enjoyed my visits to this site.

Some time when you’d like to browse for new books or old favorites, go on a Shelfari from the comfort of your home, and you’ll no doubt find it entertaining. I certainly have enjoyed it, and I have put some more titles in my shopping cart at Fictionwise based on the comments and reviews I’ve read via Shelfari. Now, if I could just get FW to have another store-wide 20% off sale!

Best of the web for Geek wannabes:

I’m not a geek, not really, but I’d like to be one. Really. As an independent person with more than a slight tendency to be a control freak, I enjoy solving problems on my own. Sometimes, it is even more fun to solve them for other folks. During my career as a high school journalism teacher, I had to teach myself quite a lot of tech, and I learned via the tutorials that came with software, (yes, they used to have those) from books, or from magazines such as MacWorld or Dynamic Graphics. Oh, the internet existed, but it was in its infancy, and the online resources that many of us take for granted were not yet available.

From time to time, I have taken classes at the UGAETTC, but I do prefer teaching myself, so the internet is often my textbook. Often, I learn about new products and what users think of them from Amazon.com. Yes, it is a great bookstore, but they sell so much more. I have purchased cameras, printers, and even tea from Amazon. I always read the posted reviews, because I think it is one of the better sites for getting real world opinions of the value of the items I am thinking of buying.

For even more geeky learning sessions, I have three other suggestions:
TWiT, which is This Week in Tech, features many former on air personalities from the now defunct Tech TV. The site has both video and podcasts, and is a good way to increase your knowledge of many areas of technology. Once before I mentioned CNet on this blog, and I continue to really enjoy this site. Their short videos (click on CNet TV) are very helpful to anyone who wants to keep up with the latest products. Finally, you can learn quite a bit about How Stuff Works at the site which bears that name. I did research on Tasers while I was writing The Gift Horse at that site, and I based a few concepts which I used in Trinity on Tylos on my reading about space exploration at HSW as well.

These sites can help your geeky skills, and the pocket protector is optional.

In good company, but sold out?

Like many authors these days, I have a “google alert.” This is a nifty service which sends me an email when someone does a search for either Pamela J. Dodd or Trinity on Tylos, and lets me know what that person clicked on after doing the search. My latest alert apprised me that Trinity is now available from The Dungeon Bookstore. Okay, I admit, my first thought was, “Say what? There’s not any BDSM in Trinity!” I touched on that in The Gift Horse, but not in Trinity. However, a visit to the site states: Science Fiction, fantasy, horror, and witch craft/magic books are our main categories, we've also begun to add science fiction dvd's and comic graphic novels.

Some of The Dungeon Bookstore’s other offerings are books I like quite a lot, including the series by Elizabeth Vaughan which begins with Warprize. Indeed, they have titles from Tor, Baen, and Eos, which is top notch content, and I am really glad to be included. Another great aspect of this site is that they offer free shipping, without up-pricing the books. The printer, Pawprints, sells it via Amazon, and they raised the price a dollar, which along with Amazon’s standard shipping price of 3.49 yields a purchase price of $18.48. Ouch.

Unfortunately, the product page lists the book as being sold out. I clicked on a couple of my fellow Whiskey Creek Press author’s titles, they were “sold out” as well. I asked over at the WCP author group, and the webmaster replied that this page just links to the WCP site, and customers are supposed to buy there. That's too bad, huh? I guess I'll always be "sold out" in the Dungeon.

Best Websites for News Junkies

I’ve been interviewed a couple of times about my writing, and when asked where I get some of the weird ideas for my fiction, I often cite the news. Universally, folks seem to think that’s a weird answer, but I really do read a good bit of news, and I don’t always read it at the usual spots. Here are some of my favorites, with links for anyone interested.

Wired.com is quite an interesting site. Instead of dangling a few free stories and trying to sell a subscription for the real content, Wired has up-to-date information regarding our more and more interconnected world, and articles from the current issue are available online. This is one of the best free sites available for those who are interested in keeping up with technology as it affects our lives.

Boortz.com is the site of talk radio host Neal Boortz. This guy is amazing, and since I don’t listen every day, I like the way he has comprehensive notes on his website for each day he is on the air (and that’s most weekdays) and his staff posts some really interesting “reading assignments” which are links to current information on a variety of subjects. Neal is a somewhat conservative libertarian, so if you have strong liberal leanings, you might not like this site, but even when I disagree, this dude makes me think, and that’s something I like quite a lot.

The Buzz at AZCentral is a section devoted to offbeat news from around the country. Other sites have such stories, of course, but this one is the most comprehensive. Some of these stories are a real hoot, and others just leave you shaking your head. “Truth is stranger that fiction” is a cliché for a reason!

CNet Future Tech Blog is one part of the giant CNet site, which is one of my favorite spots. However, for anyone interested in writing science fiction, there is a real necessity to keep up with what pieces of technology are likely to become part of our lives. This site will keep you informed regarding tech, with a more practical slant than that of Wired.

I always read Peggy Noonan’s column in the Wall Street Journal online. The WSJ has a subscription they want to sell, but you can get a certain amount of content for free, and right now, Noonan’s column is part of that. She is one of the most thoughtful, best writers in journalism, so her Friday columns are a treat.

Apart from those, I often read local news, just to stay informed about local politics and so forth.

What a great promo idea!

I’ve struggled with getting my books onto shelves— in homes and in stores. But if any of you has a book on the shelves in a bookstore or other retailer, here is a nifty new promo idea: Shelf Talkers.

Most independent book retailers achieve success because they can “hand sell” books to their clients. However, even small stores have moments when the staff is busy, or the shy clerk is holding down the fort. That’s where shelf talkers come into play. These can be as simple as an index card, or booksellers can download fancy ones from Ingram’s marketing blog, ready for printing. Either way, this little sign can direct traffic to a special book— like mine!

Interested? Take a look and follow the links, and soon your book might just be making the move from store shelves to home shelves.

Check out this promo blog, and this article by romance writer Stephanie Bond.

Bein’ a Groupie

While I was growing up, I would have avoided any activity which resulting in that label. However, nowadays I enjoy participating in some of the internet groups that I’ve found. In particular, Whiskey Creek Press has a author’s group which can be helpful to new authors who are learning that publisher’s system.

My WCP editor, Gina, also has a small group for writers which concentrates on writing, editing, and marketing. I’ve learned a lot hanging out there. On the other hand, there are a few groups I’ve joined to promote my writings, and these have been a mixed bag— some have interesting posts, and one is just plain weird.

It’s my understanding that most groupies are “lurkers”— they read the posts but seldom contribute anything. Sometimes I do that, especially when the groupies have bad manners, and I can think of a couple of folks who should read Ronda Rich’s book on What Southern Women Know That Everyone Should Know. In general, southern women can get their way without being pushy or rude, and Rich has an entire chapter on the subject.

In the past couple of weeks, I began my own, private, group at Yahoo. The reason I am restricting membership is to thwart spam and to protect the privacy of those who do choose to join. To begin, I sent invitations to people who have contacted me about the books I’ve written or about writing in general. Thus far, I have sent 24 invitations and now have three (other) members for my group.

While that’s not much of a fan club, I will try to write some things there that I can’t put on my website or this blog, and maybe those few faithful friends and fans will enjoy visiting enough to encourage a few others to join my group.

This is a hoot!

Usually, I write my posts off site, doing a spell check and some reasonable editing. In fact, I have my next post already written, but I came across something I wanted to share.

Over at the side, I have some links for folks interested in self-publishing, which I don't consider to be the fate worse than death that some people do. One of those is to the PODdy Mouth blog, an anonymous writer who has a hobby— searching for good books which were produced via POD.

One of her recent entries was just great. If you want a laugh, take a look at her random notes....

More Q and A

Trinity on Tylos was officially released on February 1, and already it is on the "hot title" list at WCP. For the locals, it will be a few weeks before I have printed books on hand to do any promotions in this area. While I'm getting those plans together (and I really am working on doing those) I'll fall back on some of my "prepared" questions and answers. Prior to doing my stint as Love Romances Author of the Day, I made a list of common questions and had ready answers. Most of these weren't asked by the moderator or guests, so I'll use them here.

What is your ideal hero/heroine?

I like to write about people who are realistic, but I often place them in surreal situations. I’ve noticed that many other writers do the opposite— that is, they create larger than life characters and have them interact with boring and mundane situations. Either way, conflicts are bound to ensue, and most people read fiction to see how those conflicts are resolved.

What is your perception of romance genre today rather than 10 years ago?

Over the years, I’ve read romance sporadically, but it would seem that ever more sensual characters and situations are the most remarkable trend, and one which continues to change the genre.

Do you prefer writing in 1st person or 3rd person?

I like both. One of my favorite sci-fi novels uses them alternately, but when I tried it in an early effort, my editor said to stick to 3rd person b/c it is easier to write well. By and large, that is true, but I think 1st person is better for creating memorable main characters.

Do any of your characters have any of your personality quirks or other people's quirks?

All fiction writers base their characters on something. Mine are most often composites of people I have known. Most of my characters have flaws, sometimes a lot of them, and that’s because real people are like that. I’ve based characters on people I knew in college and people I have worked with, but so loosely, that I don’t think anyone would recognize them.

Do you find it difficult to write love/sex scenes?

Somewhat, but I do have two children, neither of whom are adopted. I don’t usually write graphic sex scenes, but I don’t have any problem with reading them, or with those who choose to write that way. Actually, I’m glad that with so many books and writers, there is something for every person’s taste.

Redesign!

I like that word. Re means to do again, which sounds like I didn’t do it right the first time, but that’s not precisely true. Okay, my first pamelajdodd.com lacked something, but version two, which just bit cyberdust was “pretty good”, as we say here in the South. So version three, which just went up, owes quite a lot to that previous version. Design is a magical word. Carpenters drive nails and make a house, but it is an architect who designs it, and there is so much vision in design-- even if it is just a small website like mine.

That said, here’s what I like most about the new site: First, is the color scheme. I’m fond of dark colors and reverse type, even on the web, so I went back to that. Some experts say that black on white is easier on the eyes, but why have a computer screen that can produce all those snazzy colors, and only use it for black on white? Second, I enjoy the energy in the header graphic. You know something big is coming from behind that planetscape. Third, I think that sans serif type looks more modern, so that’s appropriate for beginning the promotion of a futuristic novel. Finally, this site is considerably smaller than my previous one, because with each update, a site gets larger, and mine needed to slim down again.

I hope readers will find the excerpt and back cover blurb for Trinity on Tylos interesting, and I’m sure other writers will find some good links and a bit of advice in the articles. No doubt I’ll find more to put on the events page and be able to add some ordering info for the new book when the release date nears, but I hope everyone enjoys the new look and content.