This is a serious proposal.

I propose that one day a month be designated as worldwide Update Day.  On that day, every software for every program for every gadget will do their updates for the month.

This includes operating systems, internet providers, web browsers, apps, mobile phone networks, cable systems, firewalls, spyware protectors, adware protectors, anti-virus, anti-phishing, internet banking, all internet shopping, all online information for all governmental entities, and anyone else who updates any material that the rest of us have to deal with. What the heck, throw in the monthly emergency alert system tests on that day, too.

We’ll pick one day — let’s say the 19th, because it should interfere with few other holidays (the floating holidays are on their own), and it’s over the hump of all months.

On that day, the Updaters have from midnight to midnight (in a time zone to be determined later) to make our computers, phones, cable, and other equipment as inoperable as suits their little grabby souls while they insert updates that no one really wants.

On that day, the rest of us will walk our dogs, work in the garden, paint a room, wash the car, sip coffee in a cafe, read a book or two, write a letter, talk to our neighbors … and not Tweet or Facebook about any of it (at least not until the 19th.)

However, the Updaters must — I repeat MUST — Read more…

I can hardly believe it’s finally happening but starting today, my grandfather’s creativity is leaving the boxes in my office and entering the electronic age. Instead of blithering through an explanation, I’m letting the following press release from Musa Publishing www.MusaPublishing.com tell the tale.

Vella Munn aka Vonna Harper

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 The Mystery Of Homer Eon Flint’s Death Still Relevant After Nine Decades

 In 1924, a young writer with a growing career, Homer Eon Flint, was found dead, at the bottom of a canyon, pinned beneath an allegedly stolen taxi with a gun beside him.  His death was sensationalized by the media.  Some sources averred that he’d participated in a bank robbery. Others that he committed suicide because of his interest in the occult. A convicted gangster who died in prison a few years later testified that Flint had hijacked his car at gunpoint and driven away, presumably to die in an accident later.  And, finally, there’s been a growing opinion over the past nine decades that Homer Eon Flint was a victim—in the wrong place at the wrong time and killed as a result—and that opinion has created an aura of mystery around his name.

Homer Eon Flint is commonly considered one of the early twentieth century American pioneers in science fiction.  His popular science fiction books (like The Devolutionist or The Emancipatrix) have remained as pillars of the speculative fiction genre throughout the ninety plus years since their release.  The Blind Spot, co-written with fellow pioneer Austin Hall, has been reprinted seven times.  Aside from those successes, Flint was a well-known writer of pulp fiction—some of his stories garnering payments of hundreds of dollars in the booming post World War I economy.

But no matter how you approach Homer Eon Flint, somehow you always end up back with his death. Read more…

As I did this morning’s Tarot meditation, a habit I’ve revived with the new year to regain some balance in my life, I asked the question “How shall I focus myself today?” This strong, positive card came up at the center of my spread.

I love the DruidCraft Tarot deck (and this image is used with permission of artist Will Worthington) for its earthy colors and the fascinating personalities it presents, and this Princess of Swords not only answered my soul’s question today–she provided me with the topic for this blog post!

Basically, this Princess was telling me to remember who holds the sword when it comes to prioritizing my time: my exercise time (because a YMCA membership is one of my revived habits, and because I still have a border collie to walk), the time I spend driving my sister to work, cooking, and generally holding this household together–not to mention my writing time.

I started a new Amish book yesterday, the fifth book I contracted in this genre, and while it was a gratifying accomplishment to write and write and write so I have four books coming out this year, this prolific pattern has taken its toll in other areas of my life.

While nothing treacherous or tragic happened because I spent that much time with my butt in a chair, I forfeited a lot of Real Life time doing ordinary, everyday things I enjoy.

Well, enough of that!

Read more…

A chat with Lindsay Ribar, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates agent and upcoming Dial author.

• Tell us a little about yourself personally and professionally—where you went to school, where you’ve worked, favorite or unusual hobbies.

Well, I went to school at NYU.  I actually started out as an acting major, in the musical theatre program at the Tisch School of the Arts.  But after a few years of that, I realized that acting was a better hobby than a career, at least for me, so I scrambled to complete an English Lit double-major before I graduated.  But while that was fun, those English courses weren’t what got me interested in publishing.

I discovered fanfiction while I was in school, and the vast online community that comes along with it.  I started beta-reading for other fanfic authors (beta-reading is like editing, except you don’t get paid, and neither does the author), and that’s when I realized that I really loved helping other people tell stories.  And correcting other people’s grammar.  So I started taking steps to acquire the skills to do it professionally.

Fanfiction is still a hobby of mine (does that count as unusual?), even though I’m not really involved in that community anymore.   As far as other hobbies go, well, I am a giant music nut.  I have a CD collection that spans an entire wall of my bedroom, and I spend way too much time going to concerts.  I also write my own books, although that’s less of a hobby these days, and more of a burgeoning second career. Eek.

Read more…