As an author, my experience with Hollywood has been almost completely the opposite of what I’d been warned it would be. I suppose it is understandable and probably necessary that their be ample warnings.
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SAMIZDAT: Thoughtcrime and Traditional Publishing
How one kneejerk act of bigoted censorship highlights where we are… and the dangerous places to which we are headed
Before I get into my commentary. Here are the shorthand notes about what happened…
Popular trad-pubbed author Nick Cole’s latest Sci-Fi novel was dropped by his publisher (Harper Collins Voyager,) and his contract was torn up, because of a minor plot point he used to show the motivation of the books antagonist. A plot-point that Nick’s young editor found “deeply offensive” to her political and social worldview.
Osage Two Diamonds: Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle, and Ice-9
Maybe Vonnegut is something you only really “get” once you’ve gone around the sun enough times to have some historical context. But when I finally read Cat’s Cradle as a middle-aged man, I loved it. So, as you can imagine, I jumped at the chance when I was asked by Amazon to write the first (and only) commissioned sequel to Cat’s Cradle.
OSAGE TWO DIAMONDS, A Sequel to Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle
Hey Everybody! Amazon just let me know that they have marked my novel Osage Two Diamonds down from $3.99 to a very special Cyber price of $1.99 for the month of December. This novel was commissioned through a special arrangement between Kindle Serials and Kindle Worlds, and is the first (and only) commisioned and sanctioned […]
Bringing the Amish to Hollywood, or Selling a Film Option 101.
It’s a fun thing to have happen… even when you’re on the road and can’t really celebrate or respond to the massive number of messages, well-wishes, and congratulations flooding in. It started as a short, single paragraph article that came out in the print version of Variety. Variety is the trade magazine for the Hollywood film […]
How To Make Coffee After The World Ends
Mesquite Coffee became very popular in Texas during the war years 1861-1865 when coffee made from coffee beans became unavailable. And the thing is, Mesquite Coffee is not a “sacrifice.” It is actually a fantastic coffee beverage, and doesn’t at all taste like a coffee substitute…
Demystifying Cigars: Busting Cigar Myths
There are a LOT of myths about cigars. Most of you know I roll my own cigars. There are a ton of reasons for me to roll my own. The first reason is that rolling my own cigars fits into my DIY lifestyle. As plain people living off-grid, we try our best to forego as many mass industrial processes as possible in just about every area of our lives.
Demystifying Prickly-Pear Cactus Fruit
Homesteading in Central Texas, or in any very arid area, isn’t easy. We try to grow peaches (we do alright,) apples (we fail,) and other fruit, but it is a real hit and miss proposition when you live off-grid and have limited ability to pump an unlimited amount of water to your trees. Industrial farming […]
Book Review: The End of the World as We Knew It, by Nick Cole
I just finished reading Nick Cole’s “surprise launch” novel The End of the World as We Knew It. This won’t be a long review, because the full novel is only .99 right now and I would prefer you would just go and get it and read it rather than you reading me talking about it. […]
Book Review: Armada, by Ernest Cline
All-in-all, Armada was a fun read and I recommend it… unless you are the kind of person who orders enchiladas in a Mexican restaurant and is appalled to receive enchiladas instead of something else.
How We Do Stuff: Staying Cool Beyond Off-Grid
“I find your lifestyle very compelling, but I could never live without air-conditioning.” This is probably the statement I have heard the most over the last ten years from people who cannot believe that we are able to live, and thrive, without most of the modern conveniences that 1st world humans take for granted. I […]
Book Review: Control Alt Revolt, by Nick Cole
I finished reading Nick Cole‘s brilliant CONTROL ALT REVOLT earlier this week. C/A/R is the prequel to Cole’s fantastic gamer noir novel Soda Pop Soldier, easily the best fiction book I read in 2014 (well… right up there with The Martian,) and one of the best sci-fi books I’ve ever read. Period. CONTROL ALT REVOLT is currently only available for […]
