Under The Training Book: Step Up! Step Up! Step Up!

      If you received some money for Christmas I offer up a few things to check out.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

$1.00

     Someone is zombifying athletes at Clear Cut High School in Utah. Lucky the school has its own young superhero in the person of Mildred Betbeze to try and figure out what's going on. Pep rallies, cheerleaders, new kids in the neighborhood are just some of things our hero and her sidekick slash best friend Aisha have to deal with in the first book in Tin Universe's new middle grade series.

     There are a lot of Tin Universe materials in our Zazzle store, many featuring the cover to the new book and if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

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     A word from my friend Nancy. A really talented photographer.

     "If you are looking for something to fill some empty space on your walls, check out my artwork...you can purchase everything you see here on canvas, or with a black or white frame, as a solid glass prism, or as a greeting card. I also create personal projects by request."

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     To celebrate the launch of the monthly Godmark website series on January 3rd comes this trucker hat.

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     Also in January on the 22nd comes the relaunch of the Tin Universe monthly story series and you can celebrate the release with this nice logo mug.

Under The Training Book: Step Up! Step Up! Step Up!

RELEASE DAY AND MY BIRTHDAY

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

$1.00

     Someone is zombifying athletes at Clear Cut High School in Utah. Lucky the school has its own young superhero in the person of Mildred Betbeze to try and figure out what's going on. Pep rallies, cheerleaders, new kids in the neighborhood are just some of things our hero and her sidekick slash best friend Aisha have to deal with in the first book in Tin Universe's new middle grade series.

     There are a lot of Tin Universe materials in our Zazzle store, many featuring the cover to the new book and if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

When talking about this middle grade series with friends, they threw some questions my way that I’ll try to address here because they were good questions that long time Tin Universe readers or new readers might have also have.

-If you’re a reader of the regular line of Tin Universe stories, which is geared for a more adult reader, you might be asking how this middle grade series fits into everything that has come before? The stories of the Tin Universe Middle Grade Series are as much a part of the Tin Universe as anything else. They are canon, they are not any kind of alternate take on things, and any differences between things that may have happen and will happen in this series with the regular line of stories, well, there are reasons for those differences which will slowly come to light in later stories about Mildred and her friends.

-Story guide wise, if you wish, as readers tend to like to create story guides for the stories they enjoy, because they are fun to create, each of these stories takes place during the same time as the corresponding number in the regular series. For example, this book takes place at the same time as Tin Universe #1; which means the middle grade series will be running behind in continuity with the main stories but that’s just for the lovers of fanwank like myself. You don’t need to  read any of the regular series to enjoy the middle grade stories.

-You might also have a question asking if I will also be doing a separate YA line? The answer to that is no. This middle grade series is an early middle grade spinoff line. With any future YA stores my thinking is they are a lot closer to adult than this middle grade series is to YA. I may in the future do a YA separate series but right now it’s not something I want to do. Hope that clears that up.

-Will there be any crossovers in characters from one series to the other? Yes, but not in a comic book crossover way of doing it. A story will not start in the middle grade series and then finish in the adult series or the other way round. But some of the characters will appear from one series to the other but they also will appear slightly different and that isn’t just because one series is adult and the other middle grade, there are actual reasons for the differences as I stated above.

-How often will middle grade stories be published? Right now I’m thinking one per year but that will change if there is a demand for a lot more stories and depending on that demand they could go anywhere from one per year to two or three per year and they will be written by different writers.

-Will each book be the same length as this one? Each will be a minimum of 5,000 and a maximum of 15,000 words. These books are meant to be quick reads for younger readers so I decided keeping the word count down would be the best choice.

RELEASE DAY AND MY BIRTHDAY

Under The Training Book: Freeman, PR, and Day Before BDay

     After reading this about Martin Freeman making a rape joke myself and Mar had a discussion on Facebook:
     Mar: First of all, it's not cool to be making jokes about raping someone. Like seriously, why should someone have to tell you this? Second of all, I do not understand celebrities not having enough PR sense to NOT make these kind of comments when, you know, promoting things that they would like us to spend money on. Do they not have handlers or anything?
     Me: Like the article said this isn't the first time he has let his mouth run too much. Your right, almost all big actors have agents and PR people who remind them before interviews to stick to topic or if they are the type to offend, try to keep things at a happy level.
     Mar: I seriously just do not get it. Ok, I get that are people that do not (apparently) find rape humor to be offensive. It's fucking abhorrent, but these people do exist. But I honestly do not get how someone can be so stupid as to actually say this stuff while promoting work. That level of dipshittery just flabbergasts me.
     Me: Me too. Every time it happens I'm thinking to myself, how stupid are these people. They play being fake for a living. Just do it in interviews too. And I know because I've been right beside people before interviews, people with loose lips and handlers and agents will remind them to Keep On Topic. Don't let the interviewer or yourself stray away from what you are there for. I've also been backstage when said handlers and agents end up banging their heads against the wall because of something that was said.
     Mar: Quoting Effie from Hunger Games, "Stick to the cards!"

     Now for some shameless self-promotion because its the day before my birthday, I'm watching Doctor Who: Sea Devil{a gift}, and writing, and also the day before my new book Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 comes out. But first, some merch.

From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 menstee 1

     I already ordered one of these notebooks for myself for writing future books in the middle grade series. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com
     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Under The Training Book: Freeman, PR, and Day Before BDay

Under The Training Book: Depression, Religion, and Smashwords Changes

     Just some thoughts on a couple things that entered my brain this morning,

     I hate it when people say "But they were successful?" when a talented person commits suicide. Like success takes away depression like a cure all pill. And it really pisses me off when they say "They had so much" as if the feelings that drove them to suicide aren't valid if the person wasn't a down and out failure living in a gutter.

     I could pull out The Book of the Law, The Book Of The Still, or The Crime Bible and then try to get society to follow it as the law of the land. But that would be silly wouldn't it. See, that's how I feel and a good deal of a lot of other people feel when others pull out Christian Bibles or other like text and try to dictate my life, excuse bigotry, and oppress others. Don't impose your fiction on me please and I'll try not to do the same.

     Unto something completely different.

     I'm going to get into some new updates at Smashwords; which is where you will find all of my published works. I need to start doing this on my blog. When I find out new information about what the service offers I need to pass that along to my readers and also possible readers or those who might be sitting on the fence about using Smashwords. The details in italics I'm about to talk about come from the Smashwords newsletter. My comments are after.
     SMASHWORDS DISTRIBUTION TO SCRIBD
     A new global distribution agreement with Scribd, an online reading community that boasts 10 million readers visiting their site each month. Smashwords will distribute books to their subscription ebook service, where readers pay $8.99 to read an unlimited number of books
     I don't know much about SCRIBD but the idea of a Netflix like service for books I think is a good one and I'm glade my projects have the chance to be part of something like this.
     NEW WEBSITE DESIGN AT SMASHWORDS
     Smashwords unveiled first major web site redesign since founding nearly six years ago.  Hundreds of updates, large and small, all designed to make books more discoverable and more desirable to customers.  Best of all, we've laid the groundwork to add many new features in 2014.

     Notable Highlights:

     * The Smashwords home page – We doubled the number of books listed on the Smashwords home page from ten to 20, added 27 new book category filters to increase discoverability, added live stats for the number of books published and the number of free books, and organized the navigation elements around logical categories.
     * Responsive design – We adopted what’s called a “responsive design,” which among web designer circles refers to a design approach that optimizes the user’s experience across different browsers, devices and screen sizes.  View the site on your desktop computer and then resize your browser to see how every page’s content resizes and reorients as you make the width narrower or wider.
     * Dramatically enhanced mobile support – Our previous mobile version of the site was, to put it kindly, limited.  The new mobile experience – whether you’re accessing the site from a smart phone or tablet – is darn near beautiful.  Our improved mobile support is enabled by our responsive design.  It preserves user access to nearly all the same features you’d expect from a large browser on a desktop computer, making it easy for mobile users to browse and discover books without pining for a larger screen.
    * Redesigned book pages – The new book pages make it faster and easier for readers to discover, sample and purchase books.  The download links have been moved to the top section of the page to minimize scrolling.  New slider bars display book covers of other books in the same series, other books by the author, and other books by the publisher.
    * Updated Dashboard – The Dashboard features that once occupied the vertical left navigation column have now been moved into grids at the top of the page, organized under categorizes of Sales Reporting, Metadata Management and Marketing & Distribution Tools.
     One of the few things I didn't like about Smashwords was the sites website design. I think this is a good first step into making it more in line with other modern sites. While I think there are more they should do to improve it, I do also hope they always keep in mind making it a simple shopping and publishing experiences.
      LEARN HOW TO ADD BACKMATTER AND ENHANCED NAVIGATION TO YOUR EBOOKS
      Among the many great benefits of ebooks compared to print books is that ebooks can contain clickable intra-book navigation links and enhanced back matter. The intra-book navigation helps make your book's content more accessible to readers, and can help you direct the reader's attention to important sections.  Your back matter, which you can evolve and update over time, helps you sell more books, engage deeper with the reader, and build your author platform.
     Even if you write fiction, your book can and should take advantage of a linked Table of Contents that points to your enhanced back matter. Every book should have enhanced backmatter organized under separate section headings.  At a minimum, recommended backmatter sections include "About the Author," "Other books by this Author," and "Connect with the author."  If you want to go the extra mile, you can also add sections with sample chapters of other books or even develop and add a reading group guide.
     I'm really looking forward to books in the future being more multi-media creative. Sure there will be over whistle and buzz crap but like with websites the creative ones will see moderation and skill is better.

     Speaking of which. Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 notebook 2

     I already ordered one of these notebooks for myself for writing future books in the middle grade series. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Under The Training Book: Depression, Religion, and Smashwords Changes

Under The Training Book: Reality TV, Netflix Watching, and WRITER FREAK OUT!

     Reality TV has the most one dimensional characters on TV. It happens because the networks hide unfriendly characteristics or complex characteristics unless its part of the script. We buy into a fantasy of a not even well crafted "reality" and ignore the truth. We do the same thing with the news and politics and that is way more dangerous but just as much of a judgment on us as a society.
     If people stopped for a second and judged these shows as fiction, which is what they are, as fictional as pro-wrestling, if people did that they would see how crappy these shows really are. Unlike pro-wrestling most reality shows couldn't tell a decent story as judged by the ways fiction stories are judged.
     Reality TV is suppose to give us a look into other peoples lives but in fact all it does it push stereotypes, hump popular culture, and put us against each other when those false walls fall and we see true reality from the people on these shows.
     One of the things that always amazed me about the success of Duck Dynasty is how many people I know who wouldn't watch a show about rich people and buy their products putting further money into already rich pockets to save their lives but they bought into every aspect of this show because, hey, these rich character had on hunting clothes and Wal-Mart sold their stuff. Talk about good marketing pointed perfectly at the right shells willing to be shucked out of their money.
     Oh, and one more comment. Look up what censorship is people. Someone having problems with something someone else said isn't censorship. Neither is your bosses suspending you for something you said.

     How many times can a writer hit delete and then undo with the same chapter? Took me a week to delete something in a story yesterday story that just was not working, and that not working was holding things up and today I'm back in the race.

     Yesterday after a dinner of BBQ baked beer chicken with cherry tomatoes and pearl onions I started watching Lilyhammer on Netflix. Lilyhammer looks like it might be interesting show though I don't think I like the led much but with the subtitles I'll have to watch more later when I'm not writing every chance I get.
     From there I finished Ripper Street, also on Netflix. I hope Netflix gets season 2 of Ripper Script. I liked it a lot. Some actors I really like on it too.
     Now as I'm writing this I'm watching The Inspector Lynley Mysteries while writing. Though its a pain that Netflix has them all listed separate and not as a series. One of the episodes I watched yesterday had a really young Henry Cavill in it. He was Head Boy! And Bill Nighy was the head of the school. That's Superman and Rufus Scrimgeour in one story.

     Right now I'm in panic mode as the release of Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 is coming in a few days and every time I look it over to try and spot any errors I've made since the last edit I FREAK FREAK FREAK. This book means a lot to me because its the most fun I've ever had writing anything. Well, until now :)

     Speaking of which. Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 notebook

     I already ordered one of these notebooks for myself for writing future books in the middle grade series. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Under The Training Book: Reality TV, Netflix Watching, and WRITER FREAK OUT!

Under The Training Book: Why Does The Delete Key Scream Fail To Me?

     Why does the delete key look like it actually says fail as my finger goes to press it. These thoughts have been plaguing me the past week as I stare at a paragraph in my current WIP that I just can't get right, or even close to right, or even in a state of understanding as is the way of the top of my talent level. What needs to be said in this paragraph is really important to the story but I'm at the point of just deleting it because I can't wrap my fingers around it properly in any fashion that works.
     And so is the life of a writer.
     Even a mediocre one such as myself.

     The 15 Best Book Covers of 2013:
     I might piss off some photographer and design friends, and maybe a writer friend or two, with what I'm about to say but if these are the best prose book covers of 2013 its just another example of what I've always said about how bad a lot of prose covers, especially YA prose covers really are.
     I could grab you a 500 comic book covers from books released this year that put these to shame but publishers are lazy and cheap and that's why they go with photo covers or just fonted covers as I call them.
     And if you want photo covers, if that is your preference, there are tons of very talented and creative photographers out there but that would mean the publishers would have to, you know, think a little.
     Plus, I'd like to add, as a self-publisher I hate that this puts a bad image in the heads of self-publishers in regards to what is a good cover for their books.

     Nancy Drew and the Case of the Politically Incorrect Children’s Books:
     Should children still be reading these books? Yes yes and yes because not only would your child be reading but it would be a good teaching moment between parent and child. People seem to run from those situations like they are on fire.
     Enjoying and reading books which contain.... well, anything from the past or present that shows the times we live or lived in is a good thing. Otherwise we would be cutting huge chunks out of the history of the great story and white washing a past in the hidden disguise of FOR THE CHILDREN.
     Though to be honest,are kids reading Nancy Drew unless their parents are pushing them to?
     After I posted that on Facebook the following exchange happen between me and Mar,
     Mar: My favorite thing ever is when people want kids to read these great, wholesome CLASSICS. Because children will learn good, moral VALUES from them. As opposed to that filth that's out today.
     Me: Like when people want their kids to read Sherlock Holmes instead of modern books. You mean the books where the lead character is a drug addict?
     Mar: "THAT'S NOT HOW WE'RE REMEMBERING IT"
     Mar: "Won't someone please think of the children"
     Me: "Those delicious chidens"
     Me: When I was a kid no one was abused, kidnapped, bullied, or hurt. Everyone walked around whistling jingle tunes and had rainbows shooting out of their asses. You could see the cross on the hill in every eye and people only had sex really fast and then didn't ever think of it again. It's this modern world. It's so bad, So very very bad.
     Mar: Did you also walk 10 miles in the snow for these joyous books?
     Me: No, through tornadoes of Hell's birds and floods of Satan's teeth.
     Mar: Your weird has no shame.

     Speaking of no shame. Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 postcard

     There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Under The Training Book: Why Does The Delete Key Scream Fail To Me?

Under The Training Book: Condoms, Small Businesses, and Beverly Hills Cop

     Reading what politicians say and push to be law is like the real word version of internet comments and the moderation of said comments on websites. Such as in Louisiana, carrying condoms can be enough for a prostitution arrest? I got this one. So people should just not buy condoms, issue solved. Wait, what, you say that might cause problems????

     I grow smarter on a curve every single day because the world is growing stupider.

    And speaking of stupid.

     I'm all for supporting local businesses and small businesses but I don't do it blindly. The same way I don't boycott any business blindly when shopping at other places and ignoring what they are doing. Support and non-support of any business shouldn't be based off some kind of cheerleader to our ears trend.
     A lot of small and local businesses suck. I'm sorry but they do.
    And before anyone says anything, yes I do include self-publishers; which are small businesses, in this.
     Don't tell me a business is better just because its local or small. Fuck that. Big doesn't mean better or worse and neither does small or local. Oh, and local doesn't really mean small, it could be local and huge company that does nothing for the local area.
     A good business is a good business no matter its size or location by operating with good costumer service which stretches to good interaction with costumers, good trouble shooting questions, a good store atmosphere, and a willingness to admit you have been a dumbfuck.
     See that last one up there is the big one. If you want to stand out from a big businesses, be willing to be a fucking human being in the way you operate.
     Since I mentioned bad local and small businesses, here are a couple GREAT local small businesses I love: Famous Faces & Funnies, Mustard's Last Stand, and Julie’s British Shoppe. I have no shame in promoting things I like and do so every chance I get.

     Speaking of no shame. Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Rule #5 Personal Writing Inspiration Poster

     Above is the 5th poster I made for myself as inspiration. I created these and printed them out and had them around my desk while writing this year. A lot of it is puffing up my own chest but that's needed sometimes. I decided to also make them available in the store because you never know, they might inspire someone else also.
     There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Under The Training Book: Condoms, Small Businesses, and Beverly Hills Cop

Under The Training Book: Smaug, Faux documentation, and Delusions Of Grandeur

      I have a couple of things to say about The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and almost all of them contain the words "really" and "long."
      I enjoyed the movie but it was really long. I would have normally needed two pee breaks and a snack break because these days every fucking movie is really long but there is a big difference between other director's films being really long and Peter Jackson's films being really long but since my bladder was empty and we just ate brownies before heading to the theater I sat through the whole thing uninterrupted, and again, it was long.
     Though, BLADDER ACCOMPLISHMENT ACHIEVED!
     It was also a movie that very much felt like the middle movie of three and that isn't a good thing. The things I spotted that suffered from the stretching into three movies was the town stuff and the dragon stuff.
     And that's the talkingish dragon ever in the ever of ever.

     Today To-Do List will be dishes, putting stuff in the slow cookers for slow cooked bbq chicken and slow cooked Rosemary beef stew, do a bunch of laundry, clean out vacuum, vacuum up all the glitter from Sundays gifts giving, and write some shit.

     Yesterday morning with a Special Christmas Sunday Movie Night ahead of us; while I should have been cleaning, I watched a lot of movie trailers online. Here's some quick short comments after viewing them:

     The Godzilla trailer was blah but I'm interested because its Godzilla. A dvd from the library watch.
     The Interstellar trailer was stock footage, boring voice over, and two seconds of film, and on my don't see list already. I would rant about not liking Nolan and how he's full of himself as a film maker but I've done that enough in the past so I wont even mention it.
     BUSTED! Mar was caught crafting when we were suppose to be cleaning.
     The Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer was ok, but whats this about and whats going on? *Note they had this trailer before the Hobbit and it looked better on the big screen and I spotted more things I missed watching it on the Nook but it still looks like it might be a mess of trying to weave everything together. I didn't see the first movie on the screen but not because I didn't want to. If I have the cash at the time I will see this one at the theater.
     Then I got something thrown at me. Mar-"Where's your cleaning, off interneting trailers and you talk about  me."
     The Jupiter Ascending trailer is pretty, very pretty. A very pretty that will be another dvd from the library viewing.
     The only trailer I watched yesterday morning that was more cringe worthy than Noah was I, Frankenstein. Both seemed to be over thinking all over the place.

Evidence of the crafting and not cleaning.

      There pics of my not cleaning. More stuff thrown at me. Mar-"Your Tweets are the evidence dumbass"

      Out of context quote: Mar-"I like the faux primary source documentation on that tweet you favorited." Me"*stares blankly*"

      Random Twitter Thought:
      I have like five friends in nursing school. I hope they know I might be sending them pictures of moles when they graduate... because I will.
     
     Since my next book is coming out on my birthday I'm telling the hundreds of friends I have to buy it in lieu of a gift. #delusionsofgrandeur

      Speaking of which. Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Rule #4 inspiration Poster

      Above is the 4th poster I made for myself as inspiration. I created these and printed them out and had them around my desk while writing this year. A lot of it is puffing up my own chest but that's needed sometimes. I decided to also make them available in the store because you never know, they might inspire someone else also.
     There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Under The Training Book: Smaug, Faux documentation, and Delusions Of Grandeur

Under The Training Book: The Avengers, A Triumvirate Christmas, and Random Poop

     Sample of random stuff I send to friends in Facebook in private messages: If I could type as fast on a phone as I do on a keyboard {as I'm doing now} I would send a personalized message on the half hour of every hour to everyone I know just say NAME, POOP. For example: Queen, Poop. It's a good thing I can't.
     And that's one of many reasons I only have 69 people on my Facebook.

     Watched a bunch of The Avengers the other day while Mar was off to pick up one of her sisters at college and someone asked me a question a lot of The Avengers fans get asked. Which is better the Cathy Gale- Don't Look Behind You or the Emma Peel- The Joker? I say The Joker. Rigg shows fear and strength together from moment to moment.
     I wish they would get all of The Avengers on Netflix because every time I watch my DVDs I think what if they mess up because you can't buy them anymore. I only have a couple Cathy Gale episodes and the 68 set of Tara King and one of The New Avengers, matter of fact I've never seen The New Avengers.
    The Avengers is in my Top-Ten TV Shows Of ALL TIME!!!! Love this show and it had a great influence on my humor and the way I approach some stories I write.

     While Mar was in Orlando they stopped off at a British store there. We have one near us, which is much better, but why not try to see what this one has? Mar's mom bought groupons for the place for everyone but we will never go back there because they were such jerks.
     Everything her family tried to get the people said the groupons wouldn't cover because the items are seasonal. They considered all cookies seasonal, all Doctor Who stuff seasonal, just about everything seasonal. They also said you had to spend over the groupon amount; which is bullshit. In the case of these types of groupons if you don't spend the groupon full amount you just loose the rest, you don't get anything back.
     Ok, one business that will never get another dime from us.

     Our first Sunday Night Movie night in a few weeks. It was gift exchange day for the Triumvirate as we watched Harry Potter movies, went to see the new Hobbit, and ate breakfast for lunch.

Someone at Mar's job got her this Dalek ornament but Mar isn't much for Doctor Who really. This will go to further building my Dalek army.

Queen got me this Mr. Potato Head Dalek.

Mar made this Effie ipad cover for Queen.

We found this plushie Jesse from Breaking Bad for Queen at our local comic book store, Famous Faces And Funnies.

Queen got this game, Last Night On Earth, for Mar.

      Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

RULE #3 Tin Universe Inspiration Poster

     Above is the third poster I made for myself as inspiration. I decided to also make them avaliable in the store because you never know, they might inspire someone else also. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Under The Training Book: The Avengers, A Triumvirate Christmas, and Random Poop

No My Blood Pressure Is High Enough, Last Nights Dinner, and Revisions

     Wait, that noise that sounded out yesterday was excited and happy news people? Is it another political scandal or the latest blockbuster movie? No, I guess not, it's another school shooting. Well, good for them. Now they can get out their spreadsheets and bring on there guests and have a good rip roaring fun time of it all with flashy graphics and somber music. They can bring on guests on both sides of gun issues to talk stupid. The world can fuck itself for its own agendas and points of view until we'll all gone.

     And that's all I have to say on that.

     I've stayed away from getting angry with the news the past few months and it has not only pushed up my creative output but also lowered my blood pressure considerably and it was in very dangerous levels, levels where if I had health insurance or money I'd have been in a hospital. Now the holidays has upped it once again, and this fun time of year tends to do, but I'm not falling back into that trap. I don't have much but I do have better things to do than die in a rage.

     Last night I made bacon wrapped chicken breasts and twice cooked baked potatoes for dinner. Good food. After cutting back on news type stress, my next health step is trying to eat better. That's one of my big steps for the new year.
   
     Today while Mar goes off with her family to pick up another of their member for Christmas I'm going to watch episodes from two of my The Avengers sets, The Avengers: 68 and The Best Of The Original Avengers and I suppose I'm going eat something big and fancy like Roman Noodles....yes, I did say Roman Noodles on purpose. Screw you they will always be Roman Noodles to me just the same as it will always be smashed tators or potatoes to me.

     After posting this while watching The Avengers I'm going to work on some revisions.

     This entry is really short because I need to work on revisions and also being online will just make me angry today.

     But short or not...

     Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe Poster Rule #2 Don't Be Afraid To Use It To Say Fuck You

     Above is the second poster in a series of inspiration posters I made for myself but also have available for sale. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

     If you are interested in being part of the street team to get the word out go here and learn more.

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

No My Blood Pressure Is High Enough, Last Nights Dinner, and Revisions

Doctor Who, Boobies, and Beer

     Early yesterday I went into a Doctor Who rant on Facebook; which can be a dangerous thing for me when it comes to Doctor Who. It's like a crackhead visiting an old friends house that just so happens to moonlight as a crack house.
     When talking with my friend Touch about the whole spill of what number regeneration and number body is the Doctor currently on I hit rant point and paragraphs came out of me.
     And more now.
     The fucking body and regeneration thing being different numbers is just stupid. If that's the case what number is The Watcher that helped the 4th Doctor regenerate or The Valeyard? It's taking a concept that's complicated to a lot of people to begin with and making it even more completed by trying to explain away things perfectly. There's a difference between creator and fan games, that's a fan game.
     Every time anyone connected with the show tries to explain it they just make it more convoluted. They should of just said when time was changed in regards to the Time War John Hurt's Doctor became a paradox and that's why he regenerated right away into the 9th Doctor, it was time correcting itself. Because that's basically what the story said but NOOOO Moffat and everybody has to feed into fans bullshit and try to please everyone while actually pleasing no one.
     Over and over again people seem to forget fan stands for fanatic. Fans are like a spoiled child by nature. You don't give them candy because they are crying or being good for once, you do sparingly but without a pattern they can take advantage of.
     My problem isn't with people talking about this whole, that's a lot of the fun in any fandom, my problem is with the people working with the show talking about something instead of showing it in a story. Either show it like you want to be in a story{which I had thought they had done} or just say that's for everyone to have a view on.
     Because in the end the internet has this irrational hate on for Moffat and he isn't doing himself any favors by feeding the beast.
     This is the third thing I read him say about this since the special and other people with the show have made comments. Just show with the stories, that's all.

     Later while helping a relative troubleshoot a website problem{You know you don't know shit about something technology based when I'm helping you with tech stuff.}I watched a few episodes of my favorite web series, I'm so behind but I only made a comment on one of them. Sorry to disagree with one of my Gods in John Green but American beer isn't the best. It's only function isn't one of taste but to allow idiots to drink as much beer as possible with other idiots cheering them on because its mainly piss water or around here Brevard County water. Maybe they brew all American beer secretly in this area?

     Another of my Gods is David Lubar. Speaking of him, David Lubar on Twitter is one of the best things about Twitter. Such as = "Fox's Megyn Kelly tells viewers that Jesus was white. I guess it's just a matter of semantics. Or Semitics. Jesus wasn't white. Everyone knows Jesus is an Hispanic name."

     We went out after Mar got home to find some last minute gifts and craft stuff. While Mar was looking for something at the Dollar Store I was talking to someone in an exchange on Facebook about the issue of students being allowed to wear Support The Boobies type stuff at schools.
     My opinion is a lot of people only wear that stuff as an excuse to wear something that says boobies on it and act like its for charity or activism. In this case I stand with these students because boys have had Big Johnson shirts for years and no one goes after them but mention a womens breasts in any way and its STOP THE SMUT!

     When we were out looking for a gift, just before coming home, I ran into someone handing out pamphlets. As someone who has been on that side of things I know its not easy but there is a proper way to do it. You ask, you be polite, and you don't bug people. The following is what I tweeted after this encounter: No PETA person I don't want your pamphlet and you being an asshole when I politely said "No thank you" is one example why your group is shit.
     To say I don't like PETA is an understatement. They only care about publicity and do as much to help save animals, if not less, as your average slaughter house. Egocentric assholes who hide behind supposed activism to play club house party.

     Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe Poster Rule #1 Never Shoot For Safety

     That's the first poster in a series of inspiration posters I made for myself but also have available for sale. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Doctor Who, Boobies, and Beer

Self-Publishing, Dialogue Tags, and Refacing A Story

     Yesterday I saw that Ultimate Spider-Man season 2 was on Netflix. It was something good to watch while working on some digital photo stuff for a friend until Mar got home. Since I think I've finally gotten all of whatever was making me sick out of my system we made Famous Bowls last night with homemade smashed tators, corn fresh off the cob, and shredded baked chicken. During the process Mar dropped her phone in the smashed potatoes. She pulled it out and gave me a sad look as a goo burp slid off it.
     Its her special Famous Bowl recipe of potatoes and smart phone. I think that completes her list of dropping her phone into just about everything. The good thing about having a Wal-Mart special crap flip-phone, like I do, is I don't really care when and where I drop it, it bricks back still working well for what limiting functions it has.

     After eating we watched South Park as the continuation of our December marathon. You know, because of the holiday season and all that. While watching the subject of book bloggers came up and that's why I posted the following on Twitter and Facebook and probably elsewhere as I tend to do when a rant hits me.
     I love when some independent book bloggers put down book self-publishers. Not only saying they will not review self-published book, that's their choice, but also degrading them like book self-publishers are doing something against the rest of humanity. But you're self-publishing too. Me not understand? Do you? Independent book bloggers, mommy blogger, web comics, vlogers, web video series creators, websites, it's all part of the same marching line as book self-publishers. It's very easy to point a finger at one of these not of your own house and say, "That's not professional." "That's full of mistakes." "That spits water like a hole poked plastic bag."
     I find this type of independent self-publishing infighting stupid and boring and it does nothing to advance the independence and choices of artists when it comes to choosing their own paths with their work.
     On another line since I'm here, I also hate the douche ass attitude some self-publishing people have when other peoples views on the subject doesn't match their own. Disagree, comment, but as Wil Wheaton says, "Don't be a dick." You are not helping yourself, self-publishing, or the advancement of the human race for that matter.

     Later after Mar went to bed I started working on my current WIP dialogue while Endeavour played in the background and a mini rant sprang from me on Twitter. I hate dialogue tags. Really good writers can use them well, most can't, I can't yet, but I'm learning and until I can learn that lesson I'd rather just put the name after the dialogue myself.
     My editor on my next book, we had this discussion for a couple hours when I handed in a draft. She found the way I was doing dialogue totally bizarre. I agree it's unusual but its my style and I do think there is room for different styles out there in the mist of storytelling.
     "He said" "She said" over and over again in a story drives me nuts or stupid stuff like "he said with hardly a word" are just worthless in my opinion in moving along a story. To me its the exact opposite of moving the flow of story and most of the time it confuses or totally stagnates the reading experience.
     My way of presenting dialogue is influenced by my original writing training in film scripts and I wrote nothing but for years. Not saying I was great at those either but I made some pennies here and there, but that's why my stories are sparse in description and heavy in small chapters. The description isn't a ton because I was taught pages equal shooting time and money, and small chapters are like scenes sometimes with me. I say sometimes because I think I'm starting to come past that now but its still there in my writing.

     Just before heading to bed the subject of refacing a story came up online. Refacing is a hard lesson to learn. I struggled a long time thinking the initial idea or 1st draft had to make it to the end. I thought I was failing somehow. The past couple years I've had a book be rewritten three times from top to bottom before I just had to put it away for maybe a future revisit to see if it has anything within it at all. Also during that time three years worth of Tin Universe monthly stories turned into one years worth after I tossed out a bunch of things that just were not fitting right in the overall story I'm wanting to tell.
     I got so depressed for a few months because I thought I was just failing over and over again. A good friend, also a writer, a very good writer, helped me get through this with some good words. Also seeing more skilled writers struggle with this helped. Their pain is my learning too in a way.
     Stories change over time. That's how they live, and sometimes by the time you get to the end you might just have to turn around and come back down that road again over and over in search of where you need to be. If this journey totally changes your initial idea, changes the face of those things that inspired you in the beginning you aren't bastardizing the muses or betraying the words. I've come to see that what you are doing is being a writer. Simple ant it? Fuck right, it isn't.

     Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 totebag 1

     That's a nice little totebag, good for trips to the beach or the pool or for a bit of light shopping or to put over your head when being an ass at a party and too drunk for your own good.... or anyone elses for that matter.
     There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Self-Publishing, Dialogue Tags, and Refacing A Story

Cross Posting, Tumblr, And Getting Behind

     Something I said on Twitter recently: "Twitter is my brain puking information. You don't put punctuation on puke. Well maybe lots of !!!!!!!!!"
     Someone asked me the other day about making blog entries made up of stuff I wrote on Twitter and Facebook, asking like it was a bad thing. It's cross posting but also because the space is limited in those places I've always (when blogging regularly) put the things here in my blog to see if I have anything else to say about them or if I can make the points or random information dumps I puked out more clear but usually the last is just a lost cause.

     I was also asked in an email{hangofwednesday@gmail.com} if I was no longer posting on my Tumblr? I am, just haven't had time to do it in a while. When I restarted my Tumblr I decided to make it a place where I don't really talk politics or writing much, use it mainly for talking about TV shows, fun events I attended, movies, and video games. It's a escape location but I haven't had the chance to escape there of late. Been too busy to play games or watch stuff that I need to focus on and then write about. I'll be back soon writing about my made up team on Madden and my viewings of Supernatural and other shows soon, probably after the New Year.

     The bad things about being sick the past couple days wasn't the puking and such but knowing I was getting behind in things and when I got better I would have to work quick to catch. Though my stomach is still a little ache itch today I needed to catch up on apartment cleaning and also start catching up on my writing schedule. I've found that I can draft write while sick but can't revise or edit in any sort of way.
     So after finally getting a good chunk of sleep today I woke up late have my To Do List for today in: sweep, vacuum, clean surfaces in kitchen, clean cat boxes, do dishes, take out garbage, laundry, write up a quick senseless worthless blog entry, watch a couple online videos, make dinner, and write.

     Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 womenstee 1

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 womenstee 2

     These are two simple t-shirt designs using both covers for my next book. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Cross Posting, Tumblr, And Getting Behind

Scott's Maze, Cornhole Games, and my Top Ten Book Influences

     Excuse me *clears throat* WHAT TIME IS IT!!!
     We went to Scott's Maze Adventures on Sunday adventuring. It was a lot of fun, sunshine, and exercise. I did my usual of getting a patch, Mar got a sticker that said "GET LOST", and some corn because she loves corn on the cob.
     I Tweeted this while on the drive home from the maze. Me-"That sign said Cornhole Games Next Exit?" Mar-"No."Me-"But?" Mar-"No." Me-"Butt."
     For the past few days I'm been sick, sick, and sick, but that has nothing to do with the trip and is because I ate a large ice cream on our way home. My stomach is like a rusted out old bucket and I need to learn there are some things I just can't eat any more.

     Even though me and Mar like a lot of the same things we also don't like some the main things the other loved. Some people have told us we should some how fake like the other persons interests. That sounds just stupid and plain imbecilic to me. Also if we had did that we would get moments like the following conversation from the other night. Mar-"How can you not know Orcs and uruk-hai are different?" Me-"How can you not know Daleks were mutated from Kaleds?" That is our relationship in a nutshell.
    Or should I have said Thals?
    I fail at my fandom.
    I'm sick. Praise Davros I recover soon.
   After going through that and looking up to see I was right also I looked up Dalek history online and started reading and it gave me a headache.
   At least I didn't look up Cybermen history, that will make your ears bleed.

     Got the idea for this from Nova Ren Suma, My Top Ten Book Influences...
- Uncanny X-Men {the Claremont years}
- Sandman by Neil Gaiman
- Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis
- Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle {the complete collection}
- Maus by Art Spiegelman
- Strangers In Paradise by Terry Moore
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
- Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
     *What are yours?

    Now for some shameless self-promotion.

 From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 cover poster 1

Tin Universe, Middle Grade Series #1 cover poster 2

     I like both of the covers so I'm putting both on merchandise. The first will be the actual cover to the book and the second will be used as interior art. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

Scott's Maze, Cornhole Games, and my Top Ten Book Influences

The Dreams Of Kings, Chili Slow Cooking, And Blackadder

     When its comes to the internet I feel like Ralph Hinkley from Greatest American Hero. I keep doing the internet wrong. I need a manual but mine must have fallen on the ground somewhere. The experts have this "doing the internet" thing down. I wish I had that skillset but you know day to day, day to day for those of us not gifted with the knowledge of doing the internet the right way.
     But I do want to change up things on how I'm promoting stuff here. It wont be the "right way" of doing things but I'm trying, I'm trying and maybe some day I will get the holy stamp of approval from The Overlords Of The Internet.
     If I'm going to use my blogger daily to promote the upcoming release of my new book- Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1, I'm going to make these entries more blog entry like and less just pimp daddy like.
     Maybe doing this will get me back into blogging daily.
     It probably wont.
     Also reading my boring rambles might make people request I return to just merch. and book pushing.
     Speaking of my boring meaningless rambles, lets get with it. I started today by getting a chili going in the slow cooker; which should be done by the time Mar gets home from work. We love chili and make it at least once a month. We do the slow cooking so much we have two of them, a large one and a small one. We could probably even use a third because sometimes I like to cook a weeks worth of meals at once but then again we don't really have the room in the kitchen living in a small apartment for much of anything else.
     Though if I could wish for anything in the world right now, at this moment, I would wish for my own washer and dryer. This to me is the dream of kings.
     Watching Blackadder as my background noise as I write today. Every so often I like to rewatch these but I always binge on them when I do it so its a all or nothing thing for me with the adders. I find it works really great for background noise while doing other things. Comedies are good that way. Dramas or anything I haven't seen before are too distracting to use while working on anything.
     Off to stir the chili.
     Every time I open the chili to stir it, it makes me cry.
     Maybe I should blame Obama.
     No, I should blame ObamaCare.
     That's how things work isn't it? You don't discuss specific points you just say OBAMA! or OBAMACARE! or it's illegal or unconstitutional?
     If your answer to everything is OBAMACARE! Yes, you are playing the role of the dumbass. I'm sorry but someone had to tell you and your family and friends like you too much to do it, so I'm here for you :)
     Global Warming "But ObamaCare"
     Gas prices "But ObamaCare"
     Ben Affleck as Batman "But ObamaCare"
     ObamaCare has its good and bad points and as I have said before I think it just a political distraction to keep people from demanding universal healthcare and until we stop being puppeted against each other and go after the puppeteers of power the drug and medical companies who control the politicians we all lose and will continue to lose worse than the Braves during the rotten years.
     Poor Dale Murphy :(
     Now to get off my high horse standing on a soap box and try to end this blog entry. I still have to finish today's writing, clean out the refrigerator, and vacuum. I also date a librarian *finger point, wink* Don't be jealous.
     And before people start sending me hate mail for talking politics,
     "I'M NOT A FAT TURD, I'M A STOCKY TURD." That South Park quote is now my auto response to assholes no matter what they say.

From the Tin Universe Store:

Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 ring binder

   
     I want to get one of those ring binders and use it for organizing my notes for future stories in the series. There are also a lot more Tin Universe materials in that store, many featuring the covers to my new book coming out on the 22nd of this month. It will be available for download on my Smashwords store for $1.00 per download. Like I've said before if you buy something from one of my stories I'll email you a PDF of Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1 for free. All you need to do is put STORE ORDER RECEIPT in the subject box of an email with a copy of your order confirmation attached and send to hangofwednesday@gmail.com

Mildred Betbeze, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #1

“Zombified people make me itch so I’d rather not touch.”

The Dreams Of Kings, Chili Slow Cooking, And Blackadder