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Showing posts from October, 2024

LitCityBlues: The 2024 Endorsements

PRESIDENT/VP: Harris/Walz: I keep meaning to respond to a tweet that floats up in our pre-election nausea/anxiety phase. It's something like, "Tell me why you're voting for Harris without using Trump as a reason." Well, okay, then random Twitter person, as the kids say: Bet. Leaving aside the fact that she's excellent on reproductive rights, and housing, has actual policies on her website, and doesn't just verbally diarrhea her way to half a dozen different policy positions a week, I have a couple of very simple reasons I'm back Harris/Walz this time around that have absolutely nothing to do with Trump.  First, it's a hammer blow to our current primary system. As currently constructed, the primary system rewards and encourages partisanship. To a certain degree, that's to be expected, but it's metastatized beyond the point of lunacy now. Candidates who run for either party's nomination are forced into positions that are wildly out of sync wi...

10 for 2024: Third Quarter Check-In

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Almost forgot about this, but here's the Third Quarter Check-In: 10 For 2024 1. Book 4: Get this book into draft form (close to, if not ready to launch-- fingers crossed!) by the end of the year. I have some other writing goals as well, but this is going to be my big, main focus for the year. I'm still grinding with Book 4. (Currently on a draft of Chapter 7) after getting some eyes on what I have, I'm fairly sure that the final draft is going to be structured differently than the current story I have in mind, but for now, the big picture goal here is to get it all down on paper and then see what I've got to work with and go from there. In big, genuine, real-life news: Paid Posts are live on Substack. I don't think I did the best job with the first two rounds, but I'm getting better at this (always the goal) and should have them nicely packaged with free previews moving forward. Speaking of: my first novella launches over there today! (I'm planning on wide-r...

Bookshot #182: The Count of Monte Cristo

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I have had this book lurking on my bookshelf for years and I've made an attempt or two at actually reading it, but have never made it all the way through- at least until now. It is, I will confess, an abridged version, which some purists may have an issue with, but I didn't.  The story begins with Edmond Dantes who is returning to the port of Marseilles after being at sea and his future is looking very bright indeed He is on the verge of becoming the master of his own ship. He has a young lady that he loves (Mercedes the Catalan) who accepts his offer of marriage. Good fortune, stable finances, and a prosperous life seem to be ahead of him.  However, not everyone is happy with Edmond Dantes. His crewmate, Danglars wants the job that Dantes is on the verge of getting. He's also got a rival for the affections of Mercedes: Fernand Mondego. Together, they plot to undo him and in this, they are helped by an unusual fact. On the way back home, at the behest of the Captain (now d...