SpiritsofIdaho @SpiritsofIdaho

I think you are exactly right. I bought your books and one of them has stuck with me: Mark of the Demon Your poetry gave me insight into your personality Your posts revealed what was behind the face All that built up trust... Which is why I took a chance and had you do work on my first book. Then there was a break But you came back just in time for another book I am so glad to see you back, and I trust your work.

I think you are exactly right. I bought your books and one of them has stuck with me: Mark of the Demon Your poetry gave me insight into your personality Your posts revealed what was behind the face All that built up trust... Which is why I took a chance and had you do work on my first book. Then there was a break But you came back just in time for another book I am so glad to see you back, and I trust your work.

@realevelyncross Sometimes we don't choose to be a decent human being - it chooses us

@AuthorGoodwin Okay, you got me as a new subscriber on substack. See you over there (or over here or wherever)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if, with all the celebrations, tomorrow, politicians decided that "This country is greater than I am. Instead of tearing the other party down to lift me up, maybe I should think about making this country better." Well, I can dream, can't I?

Back when I was querying In The Shadow of Spirit Mountain, I remember being discouraged by all the agents looking for 'specific' stories. With my sense of humor, I decided to alter my query and instead of the main character being a Comanche Spirit Talker looking for her heritage, she was trying to deal with her gender. With only a few queries, I found out what I needed to know about the major agencies.

@SObooknerd Hold him close. We found out today that my wife's youngest nephew has stage 4 prostrate cancer.

I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I dug this up from years ago: These are the Times In December of 1776, Thomas Paine began a series of sixteen crisis papers. Those papers so moved General George Washington, at a time when his army was disintegrating, that he read one to his troops to rally their spirits. The paper he read starts out with the now-famous line, "These are the times that try men's souls." For the first time since the great civil war, I see not only the souls of men, but the soul of our country itself in peril. The United States of America has seen troubled times in the past. Certainly, in the 60's and 70s, the country was in turmoil, but it was ill-defined and incongruent. People marched for peace one day, and the next threw stones at police officers. Shouts of free love were followed by unwed mothers. Race riots destroyed the very neighborhoods where black people lived and instead of renewal, charred ruins were left behind with people destroying their own businesses and homes. In reality, no one major group had a plan or sometimes not even a well defined goal. Today there are two main forces aligning against one another and they are organized. Call it liberals versus conservative, democrat versus republican, futurist versus traditionalist. The label doesn't matter, but the ideals are clear; one side sees the future as the ultimate goal - the shining star on the hill of the future where everyone takes an equal part and everyone gets an equal share and everyone is equal. The other group sees the shining star as what makes America what it is today, the freedom that was fought for, the independence of one nation and the individuality of the human species - and they want that preserved. The preservation group may not agree, but they accept the transgressions of the past; the future group despises and emphasizes them as a reason to change. The preservation group points at all the failed attempts at what the future group see as a goal. The future group believes that they are smarter than those who came before and the human race may have evolved enough to achieve their goal. There is no middle ground, although many sit on the sidelines in a fog of apathy. But there is also no compromise and soon those on sidelines will have to choose which star they will follow. The progressive group will not give up; the preservation group will not give in. Our government leaders, who are supposed to be at the forefront of bringing the country together, seem determined to rend it apart. It may, someday in the not-too-distant future, be up to the people of this country to decide if they want to undertake another run at a "Brave New World" or decide that a "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

@MayorNovel Yes

Thank you! In a social media raging ocean, I took some advice and created a TikTok account. It is like being dumped into the middle of a 1970's disco party (or rave or whatever they call people jammed in together trying to gyrate). I went to Book Tok and it is a little better. I hate to admit it, but I don't think my books appeal to the TikTok crowd.

Every marketing account tells indie authors the same thing: you have to be on TikTok. For many of the authors I work with (people writing their first book in their fifties, telling a story they've carried for thirty years) that advice is worse than useless. It makes them feel like the problem. You don't need to perform. You need a handful of images and a few videos that make the right reader stop and feel something. If you want to make longer videos, try YouTube. Got lots of visuals you can share daily? Instagram/Pinterest. The platforms you can use are endless and each one of them has a different audience. Choose the platform that suits your book, not the one built for someone a third of your age.

@MayorNovel I have a couple in the works. Spirit Chasers is a recount of my time as a ghost hunter. I have been doing a final edit before turning it over to publisher. Later this year or early next year I have a second in the Spirit Talker series. Not contracted yet, but there is interest.

Thank the hell out of you Microsoft!

If you look at it logically, however, it is true. Worrying about things you have no control over is rediculas. Why keep people around you that cannot change. Ultimately, YOU are the one that has to take care of yourself. A meteor could fall from the sky. I am sitting on a super volcano. I can give you a long list. Are you going to worry about them all? I learned a very long time ago that the only person that really gives a tinker's damn about me is me. When I came to that realization, my whole world changed. I was no longer controlled by my life but was in control. Worry about the things you CAN change and then change them. That will be $100 please.

@love_walk_life I don't know, I haven't read it yet.

I look for a partner, not an employer/employee relationship. I want someone who will communicate with me, good or bad. I want someone I can talk with and feel comfortable, even when the topics are not. I want someone to be honest with me as I would hope to be with them. I am not a go by the rules, get it all down in writing kind of guy. I'm good with a handshake, but I realize that is not how it works these days - I just want them to understand that I am that way. Most of all, I want them to believe in me and my work.

When I was a child my dad would go out early in the morning and set water on field crops. He would check it a couple times a day, but I usually went out with him for the night check. I remember trying to keep up with him. As we both got older, I remember slowing down so I wouldn't get too far ahead of him. I can still feel the evening cool, smell the new-mown hay and hear the pheasants call.

Loosen your Belt I had one of those moments the other day where an action I was doing triggered a long-lost memory.  Seems to be happening more frequently.  My doctor said it was a sign of some disease old people get, but I can't remember the name.  I was putting a new notch on my belt, one of those inbetweeners.  Having trouble mowing my lawn and keeping from doing a plumber’s fashion faux pas.  Not that I have lost weight, it has just moved around a bit.  Anyway, a flashback memory when my dad told me I looked angry.  I told him my stomach hurt.  He said Loosen your belt.  I did, and it was instant relief. I think there are a lot of people out there who need to loosen their belts.  Riots on the news every night (or peaceful protests, depending on your political views).  Video of angry people.  Angry about police, angry about racism, angry that some fat lady beat them to the biggest flat screens while looting a local store.  Maybe this country would be a lot less angry if people would just loosen their belts.  It might be worth a try.  Instead of riots, we would see footage of people with their pants around their ankles.  Might give everyone a smile.

@pensandpoison I do vent my anger at actors. I don't remember ever wanting to be one of those... Now a writer...