My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recognition – Ionia Martin

January 20, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 12 Comments

Have you ever run across someone who must be an angel because of all the good things they do for others? If you know Ionia Marin then you can answer yes to this question. She is dedicated to filling her days with more activities than is reasonable to expect from one person. Her energy appears to be endless as she takes on project after project which have as an objective to make whatever world Ionia has chosen to support, better off as a result of her presence. Want details?

How about the blogging world? Ionia not only has a very successful blog Readfulthings, but she has also established the critically acclaimed and Freshly Pressed Community Storyboard. Not content to start a literary juggernaut she turned to a fun project called The Year Long Story – line by line. This is a place where loads like me can take a swing at contributing to a story which is developing one line at a time. Talk about laugh out loud. The comments section is like grabbing the Sunday funnies and forgetting troubles for a while.

How about the caring for other author’s world? Ionia is one of the most well read and learned reviewers on the planet. She is very serious about this aspect of her life , but not to the point of wanting to hurt an author or cause them to become discouraged. Her reviews point out the good and bad without false optimism or degrading scorn. She is the consummate (I have always wanted to use the word) professional and demonstrates with every review her care for the author community.

How about the step up and take care of those who need help world? Ionia is a safe haven for an orphan, lost puppy, or emotional human needing support. She continues to open her heart and in many cases, her home to those who simply need a friend and one who cares. She has an immense store house of love available to all who can benefit from a kind word, gesture, hug or even a roof. Her offer of taking care of others has no strings and is freely offered.

How about the love for her family and friends world? Her children, her pets, her fiancé all benefit from the overwhelming love that Ionia showers on each of them. There seems to be no limitation to where she will go or what she will do to make certain they feel and are comforted by her love. Her friends have the same benefit and all of them know if there was one person to call in times of trouble it would be Ionia.

Thank you Ionia so much for helping Launch My GRL and I will always be grateful for the support you have given not only on this one, but all the others writings as well.

My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recognition – Kevin Brennan

January 20, 2014January 20, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 4 Comments

The name Kevin Brennan certainly must ring a bell. It really should since he has one of the hottest books on the market today. His Yesterday Road is a story of an older man who has witnessed tragedy in his life. In fact, his own mind is trying to help him cope by forgetting almost everything as the day moves on. This is a piece of literary fiction which any author would give a piece of the left brain to have written. It is a story calculated to be kind, warm and restore your faith in mankind. It will make you cry in the end, but what the hell we all could use a little crying now and then to take the edge off.

Speaking of What the Hell; this is the name of Kevin’s blog. It is a place where you need to make a visit each time he posts since what he puts on there is really worth the time to read. Kevin explores, researches, and then lays the damnest spin on a subject causing one to ask, “where the hell did that come from?”

Kevin’s other books have to be, by association, a must read.

Our Children are Not Our Children – Poet Kahlil Gibran has said, Your children are not your children. In this collection of short-shorts, Kevin Brennan (Parts Unknown) turns that simple idea on its head with five case studies in bad parenting. From a father who won’t pull over to let his boy pee on the roadside to a couple who unwisely lock their twin toddlers in a closet all day while they’re at work, these parents embody the adage that it takes a village — to save innocent kids from idiots like them!

Parts Unknown – This novel is about a photographer, Bill Argus, a kind of desert Ansel Adams. He has a late mid-life crisis and decides to return to the small town and family that he had abruptly left forty years before. He left behind a young wife and four or five-year-old son. Just up and left them with no warning. And then, with almost the same lack of warning, he decides to go back. And he brings his current wife along, Nora, who’s roughly the same age as his son.

Kevin also has a newsletter which might be an interesting thing to sign up for. You can do that by clicking HERE

As you can see Kevin brings a lot to the party. You would do well to pay him a visit. Thanks for your help on the tour Kevin

Top Ten No Nos is as Top Ten No Nos Does

January 20, 2014August 8, 2022 ~ John W. Howell ~ 2 Comments

Here is the 29th installment of Ten Top Lists of What Not to Do by Marie Ann Bailey of 1WriteWay at http://1writeway.com and John W. Howell of Fiction Favorites at http://johnwhowell.com. These lists are simu-published on our blogs each Monday. We hope you enjoy.

Top Ten Things Not To Do If You Go Into a Car Dealer

10. If you go into a car dealer, make sure you really want to buy a car. If you don’t, at best you may walk away from a car that you fell in love with but can’t afford. At worst you might end up paying for that car the rest of your life.

9. If you go into a car dealer, do not say anything regarding your like or dislike of a car. If you do, at best you will tip your hand. At worst, you may end up with the one you dislike since it is priced so well.

8. If you go into a car dealer, do not drink a big gulp prior to arriving. If you do, at best you may need to interrupt your negotiations at a bad time. At worst, the sales rep may detect your uneasiness, interpret it as a sign of weakness, and hammer the negotiations until you agree to everything just so you can make a break for the bathroom.

7. If you go into a car dealer, do not wear any clothing with designer labels. If you do, at best you will impress all the people in the show room. At worst, you may pay thousands more for a car than the people at JCP.

6. If you go into a car dealer, do not bring the children. If you do, at best they will get hyped up on the sugary donuts the salespeople will feed them. At worst, the kids will want to sit in your lap just as you try to negotiate a good deal and tell the salesperson that you are just kidding.

5. If you go into a car dealer, do not park your car where it can be seen. If you do, at best the condition will tip-off the salesperson as to your trade-in before the deal. At worst, the sales person will get a heads-up as to how badly you need transportation.

4. If you go into a car dealer, do not accept anything to eat or drink if offered. If you do, at best you’ll take on extra calories you don’t need. At worst, you may feel you owe the dealership something and you don’t want to get talked into a thousand-dollar cup of coffee.

3. If you go into a car dealer, do not sign anything before you read it. If you do, at best you may have some expensive surprises when the car is delivered. At worst you may have sold your home for a dollar.

2. If you go into a car dealer, do not demand to see the manager if you’re unhappy with the deal the sales person is offering. If you do, at best you may be embarrassed to learn that the sales person is the manager. At worst, the employees will use the video tape of you ranting at the company party as the main entertainment.

1. If you go into a car dealer, do not even think of special ordering a car. If you do, at best you may pay too much. At worst, you may be riding around in something that lost fifty percent of its value the minute you drove it off the lot since Habanero Orange is not everyone’s favorite color.

My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recognition – Devorah Fox

January 19, 2014January 20, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 6 Comments

Devorah Fox is helping spread the message of the launch of My GRL. Visit her at http://devorahfox.com

Devorah is an author of critically acclaimed novels. She is unique in the fact she is capable of writing in both the literary fantasy and thriller fiction genres. Her books The Lost King and The King’s Ransom are acclaimed literary fantasy novels whose time and place carry the reader into a land where all things are magical and still practical at the same time. The reader can follow the story of King Robin Bewilliam as he tries to sort out the details of circumstances causing him to lose his kingdom. Book One, The Lost King, Robin awakens one morning to find himself mysteriously transformed from a beloved and respected ruler to a homeless vagabond. His quest to uncover and break the bewitching spell that plagues him and regain his kingdom sets him on a journey of adventure, romance, and self-discovery. Book Two, The Kings Ransom finds Robin at sea both literally and figuratively. At first directionless and purposeless, he determines to reunite with his sons and with them restore his shattered kingdom but Fate has different plans for the lost king. Driven far from his home in the Chalklands, Robin pits his will against a dragon, a fortress’ duplicitous and deadly guards, high winds on the open water, and a horrifying sea monster only to meet his most formidable opponent.

Devorah with Jed Donellie also wrote the contemporary thriller Naked Came the Sharks which tells the story of murder and mayhem in the Texas Costal Bend. Chasing her dream of becoming an investigative reporter in San Francisco. Holly Rivera Berry returns to her hometown of Bonafides on the Texas Coastal Bend to settle her recently deceased father’s estate. She comes to doubt that her father died of natural causes. The more she investigates, the more things don’t add up.

Devorah has also written for television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and various blogs. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and wrote her first novel in the third grade. She now lives in Port Aransas, Texas, where she writes the “Dee-Scoveries” blog at http://devorahfox.com and columns of the same name for The Island Moon newspaper and TexasNOW magazine. On the rare occasions when she’s not writing, she dabbles in glass painting and etching and enjoys relaxing with her Significant Other and a trio of gray tabby cats.

Her three books can be found by clicking on the covers or HERE, HERE and HERE

Book Arrival and Kindle is as Book Arrival and Kindle Does

January 17, 2014January 25, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 36 Comments

This was a big day. My GRL is now on Kindle. The book cover is some how screwed (I have asked the publisher to look into it), but the content of the book and the ability to order is there. Go to my author site on Amazon and take a look. (You might even be tempted to download)

The day continued normally, but then went out of control when the dogs started barking at the UPS driver. He was standing on the porch at sundown with a thirty-two pound box pictured here.

Yeah I would say it was heavy and I did lift with care. I got out my trusty snap blade (you call that a knife?) and opened it to find inside my baby. I wanted to light the candles , but my wife would have killed me

And if that wasn’t enough, another box was on the porch (which in my excitement I didn’t notice). Inside were some display pieces that when loaded look this way:

You have to ignore the fish and the Sea Urchin and trust there are books in a display.

My GRL blog tour begins on Sunday so look for the posts. Have a wonderful weekend and for the next two weeks I will be publishing the recognition posts of a group of really great bloggers. Take a minute and go see them and say hello for me.

Hump Day Story is as Hump Day Story Does

January 15, 2014January 13, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 15 Comments

Wednesday again and time to celebrate the fact the hump will be crossed come close of work and the weekend is in sight. I thought I would tell a story as I normally do on hump day. This one is about an author who is not satisfied with his sales rank on Amazon so he tries to do something about it. I hope you enjoy.

Hacker by John W. Howell

“So you are saying you fixed my sales numbers?”

“Yup went into the system and jigged them a little.”

“Are you sure it won’t be suspicious?”

“Nope I took plenty of precautions and for added measure I boosted some of your author friends as well.”

“Boosted? What do you mean?”

‘You know. Add some sales. Go into the royalty file and make it synch with the sales file. The biggest deal was getting the rank file to come out right.”

“What do you mean come out right?”

“Well you now rank number one on Amazon and that took a lot of cross programming.”

“Number one. Are you crazy?”

“Had to knock that Robert Gates fella down to twenty-five to accommodate.”

“Number one. I said low profile. A little help. Not number one.”

“Shoot, If I was an author I would want to be number one.”

“Oh my god.”

Ten No Nos is as Ten No Nos Does

January 13, 2014January 10, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

Here is the 28th installment of Ten Top Lists of What Not to Do by Marie Ann Bailey of 1WriteWay at http://1writeway.com and John W. Howell of Fiction Favorites at http://johnwhowell.com. These lists are simu-published on our blogs each Monday. We hope you enjoy.

Top Ten Things Not to Do as You Return to Work after a Long Holiday Hiatus

10. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not expect your coworkers who did not take any time off to appreciate hearing how wonderful your vacation was. At best they will smile absently as you regale them with stories of all the reading you got done. At worst, they will regale you with stories of all the work that’s piled up on your desk, waiting for you and the fact you would be fired if it were not for them.

9. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not try to incur sympathy by complaining that you had to spend most of it with your in-laws. At best your coworkers will simply try to one-up your story of how your mother-in-law found fault with how you decorated your Christmas tree as usual. At worst, your complaints will be passed to your spouse at the next opportunity.

8. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not pretend to have been gone so long that you forgot your boss’s name. At best, your boss will play along and pretend to forget your name and your salary grade. At worst, your boss, who got called into work on Christmas Eve for an emergency that came up in your area, will purposely forget who you are and have security escort you from the building.

7. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not expect to find your office or cubicle in the same condition as you last saw it. At best, it might be cleaner since the cleaning crew actually had a chance to clean it while you were gone since most surfaces were uncovered. At worst, you will find things missing (like your favorite Lord of the Rings post-up notes) because your coworkers took advantage of your absence and treated your office like a come-help-yourself supply depot.

6. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, don’t expect you can spend most of your first day back getting “reacquainted” with your job. At best, your boss will grudgingly give you permission to spend the day reviewing stuff rather than doing stuff, but in the end it will cost you. At worst, your boss will offer you the opportunity to get “acquainted” with the new unemployment policies if you don’t step up.

5. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not try to make it sound like your break was more fun than it was. At best, you’ll only be competing with your cubicle-mate who, like you, basically stayed home and read all day. At worst, you’ll find yourself making up stories about scuba diving off the Florida Keys just because your supervisor hung out at a nude beach in Pensacola.

4. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, be sure to leave your house at least a half-hour earlier than usual. At best, you’ll get to work earlier and have some “quiet time” before the reality of being back hits you. At worst, you’ll need that extra half-hour because you’ve forgotten where you work and you get lost along the way. (You did drop crumbs didn’t you?)

3. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not bring with you all the cookies and cakes left over from your holiday parties. At best, your coworkers will just give you the evil eye since they had resolved to stop eating sweets after the holidays. At worst, the three-week old sweets that you left out for everyone else will mysteriously wind up on your office chair, in the shape of a horse’s head.

2. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not be surprised if the work you thought your coworker would do on your behalf didn’t get done. At best, you’ll find a neat stack of reports that need to be reviewed by close of business the day you return and the coworker who had offered to review the reports out on sick leave. At worst, you’ll find piles of documents strewn across your desk with no clue when they are due or who left them for you, and your boss standing outside impatiently tapping a foot waiting for your report.

1. When returning to work after a long holiday hiatus, do not expect everyone, including you, to be in a cheery, ready-to-get-to-work mood. At best, you all will just be experiencing temporary post-holiday depression that will lift after a few days. At worst, the reality that there are no more holidays until May will hit you like a sledgehammer and you’ll have a four-month long headache to show for it.

TGIF is as TGIF Does – A HAIKU

January 10, 2014June 26, 2024 ~ John W. Howell ~ 19 Comments

As you know last week brought my book launch and a call for volunteers. I am very happy to report the volunteer docket is filled. I have thirty really nice people who are kind enough to help me out. (I know. . . which way did you come in? *drum bump-de-bump and symbol crash*) I am going to officially close the request, but if you really want to sign-up you can still do it at johnhowell.wave@gmail.com. I want to thank all of you who signed up to help with the launch of My GRL. I think we are going to have some fun. As a reminder the tour starts on Sunday January 19^th and runs until February 1. For all the volunteers, look for the material on the 16^th or it really could be a little before. The e-book go live confirmation will govern the material.

Since it is Friday, I think a Haiku is in order to more or less move us into the weekend. This is a Haiku I composed while waiting for my e-book to go live which seems to be my sole focus these days. The print version has been available since January 2 and the e-version is in some kind of holding pattern. Like a new father waiting in the hall for the birth of a child I pace the floor like a wounded animal checking and re checking the Amazon site for signs of my e-book’s birth. So here it goes:

Launch by John W. Howell

Launch child of paper,

Come on out digital kid…

I need to meet you.

Technology is as Technology Does

January 8, 2014January 7, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 20 Comments

Wednesday is upon us again. It seems like life is running quicker than I can keep up. I was minding my own business last Wednesday, enjoying a peaceful New Year’s day and I began to ruminate. (my wife says I do that a lot and no it’s not chewing grass) I was thinking on how life seems to change quickly and some of these changes go unnoticed until they smack you in the face. It’s sort of like going up to the McDonald’s counter expecting to order a quarter pounder with cheese only to see a full half pounder on the menu board instead. I’m not saying MacDonald’s has done this, but as you can imagine it would be a surprise. I guess I am trying to explain the surprises of life that catch you with your feet flat. Let me go to some real examples. Here are some of the break through items for 2014. These are taken from MIT Technology Review publication. You can go there for a lot more detail, but let me summarize:

Giant touch screens made possible by new films that will allow large size and flexibility of the screen. This will allow touch screens to be built with lighter more flexible plastic instead of glass
A deep learning chip which will help computers understand images. This could lead to cell phones being able to be able to interpret what is on the screen
Google Glass will expand apps to make the head mounted camera more functional. (This one will leave me in the dust. Don’t need to be accused of being more ugly)
Solar powered cars. Okay I can see the advantage, but even if the techies work out a way to have the car in the sun enough to charge, what happens at night on a lonely road?
Nanosponges that act like red blood cells to fight infections. The sponge carries the medicine to the site. This could allow concentrated therapy for infections
3D camera which brings 3D to the laptop and iPad with a built-in camera from Intel. This was introduced at the CES show this past week

So if you are like me, as of ten o’clock last night I had never heard of this stuff and now it is upon us. If you want more information go HERE.

Paperbook Collective is as the Paperbook Collective Does

January 7, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 6 Comments

The Paperbook collective Issue number six is hot off the press.

The nice part about issue six is a couple of my cohorts have some interesting pieces in it. Marie Ann Bailey and Pam Beckford have each contributed to this issue. Their work can be found inside:

Marie Ann Bailey’s story What Lies Underneath begins on Page 17

Pam Beckford’s poem I Saw You yesterday begins on Page 32

Jayde-Ashe has done her usual fine job of editing and we all appreciate her dedication to the Paperback Collective.

Oh yes, I have a story in here as well, of The Day After New Year’ Day starting on Page 5.