Proofing Time

As most of you bakers know, proofing time is when you let your dough rise in a warm, dark place. Well, for writers, it means the same thing. I just received a proof copy of the Red Cross of Gold II:. the King of Terrors in the mail and it's time to go through it one more time before I push the publish button and make it available in paperback on Amazon.

This book has certainly lived up to its name 'King of Terrors' when it comes to proofing. I practically know the thing by heart by now and yet, every time I go through it, I find errors that drive me up the wall. They aren't big errors as far as some things I've paid money for and read in spite of the typos, but they are to me. First of all, when I first published it on Kindle, I somehow uploaded an older version that had only been proofread a dozen times and not the copy that had been edited six dozen times. Then I had to painfully extract it and make some corrections that might have cause some readers to back off and think that I just threw it together, which is as far from the truth as could be. The second book in the series was by far the most intense writing exercise I've performed to date and maybe that is why it seemed to need more post-operative care. But now, I think I have the thing ready for that shiney new cover. I'm hoping against hope that it will sell as a paperback even though the prices are going through the roof and the economy is going down the drain. It is still a wonderful yarn, a good read and something to take the reader away for at least a little while. Wish me luck on this last reading and happy reading to all. Brendan

Just Another Manic Monday

Don't tell anyone, but I loved that little song 'Manic Monday' simply because she says she was kissing Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream. I have a partiality for all things Tuscan and I think that probably one of the most romantic scenes I can imagine is taking a big picnic basket out to some fabulous pastoral scene in Tuscany. Sharing a good, sweet wine and a few kisses... ahhhh. But strangely enough, in my first book in the Red Cross of Gold series, one of the main female characters that you just love to hate is named Valentino. I wonder if I took her name from that song? Don't get me wrong, she's not the type of girl one would dream of taking on a romantic picnic, nay, nay, not at all! But back on topic. I hate Mondays simply because I hate dragging myself away from my keyboard for almost ten hours (including driving time). The drive, I enjoy... cruising through the Texas hill country for about twenty-five miles each way. There's always some new cow or goat to see and some fresh road kill to admire and wonder "Wow! I wonder how much damage that sucker did?!" I have deer whistles installed on my car and so far, so good. I did, however, kill a raccoon one day before sunup, but he was just suddenly there. I'm not one of those fellas who swerves to hit turtles. In fact, when no one is looking, I might actually stop and help one of them across the road (another secret you should keep about me).

But today was not your average Monday. It started out normally enough, but soon I realized that not only was the day passing at a rapid pace, I was actually getting work done even though I had been gone all last week. By 4:00 PM, I had accomplished all my goals, fiddled around in everyone else's business and was out the door at exactly 4:01 PM without even making one person mad. It's always a good thing to walk along the sidewalk toward the parking lot without a lot of jeering, curse flinging, and insult shouting following me. Ha! Ha! And best of all, I didn't bring any work home with me.

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Today has been both enjoyable and frustrating as I continue to work on getting my second and third books in the series into DTB versions on Amazon. I worked all morning on cover designs and when I finally got them perfect, I received all sorts of warnings in big red letters. It was like deja vu all over again! Warning, warning, Will Robinson! But then the robot shuts down and fails to explain what is needed to correct the issues at hand. I suppose I'll have to go off for a while and then come back in a better frame of mind.

On the upside, 4th of July grilling was a huge success, grilled chicken breast and pork steaks with 'tater' salad, beans and sweet buttered bread! Mmmmm, mmmmm, made everything worthwhile. About to go and get an after lunch aperitif. Ha! Ha! Some spiced rum ought to do it. Can't go outside though. Flying that flag in the 102 degree heat. Looks nice out the window.

Thanks to all the readers who've commented favorably on my books, I can't say the day has not been good in spite of the WARNING! ERROR! ERROR! Got to go and take a break. Happy Birthday, USA!!

Home for the 4th of July... I hope

I'm afraid that my weekly hobby takes me away into places where there are no computers and makes me extremely antsy. Glad to be home and wanted to say thank you to everyone who has purchased my books on Kindle and DTB at Amazon.com. I really, really appreciate the opportunity to come into your life and perhaps bring a little entertainment and maybe a few daydreams or, at least, a few nightmares. One of my readers wrote that she finally finished the book and was hooked on the story. I'm sincerely grateful to hear this bit of news. She said that the story had given her frights and kept her up to all hours of the night. I'd say that is a grand compliment. If a story doesn't move you somehow, someway, then it is a total waste of time. Thank you all again and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO ALL!!!

Tattoos

A very close friend of mine is contemplating having a tattoo engraved upon her body. The only problem is that she can't decide what she wants. She has settled on a couple of things including a gecko, but she can't find a good enough pattern, apparently in the shops to suit her fancy. (She'd very fancy, BTW.) Here is the story of my tattoo.
In the third or fourth book of the Series, my lead character goes off on hiatus to Rome and ends up in a very bad situation, locked in a mental ward with two very fancy, very new tattoos. Of course, these tattoos were of my own imagining and fit his personality perfectly. So with my birthday approaching last year, a friend asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said "I want a tatoo." This was step one.
Step two: Friend says OK, but I'm going with you to get it so I can watch. (A little sadistic? No, just contemplating the process prior to trying)
Step three: Looking for the perfect tattoo. Went on line. Checked a couple of sites, found the perfect tat.
Step three: Said to friend "Found tat."
Step four: Friend arrives and takes me to the parlor.
Step five: Tattoo guy says "Hey I like that one."
Step six: Lots of pain.
Step seven: Voila! Tattoo done.
So I think that my friend should just get on with it. And it makes me wonder when she accuses me of being a whiner and a complainer and unable to endure pain. But hey, there's pain and then there's PAIN.

I would compare a tattoo to a scrape and burn that kind of oozes onto your skin over a period of time. It's not like getting your leg chewed off by an alligator! So keep it in mind, the next time you hear me 'whining' and 'moaning', I've probably had my hand caught in the blender while making margaritas and keep in mind as well that I'm not complaining about the pain, I'm complaining about losing the rita!

Reflections Playlist by Mark+Ramsay on MySpace Music - Play Playlist Songs & Download Tracks

Reflections Playlist by Mark+Ramsay on MySpace Music - Play Playlist Songs & Download Tracks

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Life and Death

I used to fear death a great deal. It all started a long time ago, right after I was born, but my first real memories of thinking about death come around age twelve when I learned that that the turn of a new millennium was going to occur in my lifetime and that this was something that only happened every 1000 years. I planned on being there for it, but not too long afterward because I thought that my age in the year 1999 was so ancient of days that I would not be living much longer than that. Now its almost ten years gone now and I'm older than ever. When I was 16, I was half as old as my mother and by the time I was 32, I was catching up with her and now... I am older than my mother by about 20 years!!! I only know that, after having several close calls with Death, I will avoid it for a while longer. Live long and prosper. (BTW that's a little fairy cake made by favorite little fairy)