Signalling a penalty in Sept. 2011.

At the end of the 2012 football season, I retired as a high school football official after sixteen seasons. In retrospect, it was a good decision.

The stars of tomorrow. Do they have to start so young?

As a spectator, I lost interest in professional sports almost twenty years ago. Now I’m concerned about the state of college level sports and the influence it has on high school sports. How far does the influence reach?  Is there a level of sports, especially football, that is unblemished?

Acting on the premise that others may share my concerns, I turned to long time coach and official, Joe Sturniolo. We met online in a forum for officials. His comments and opinions have inspired, consoled, and entertained the members of our group for several years.

I didn’t realize just how much the uniforms had changed!

This weekend, I begin a series of blogs to work out my thoughts on football, sports, and their places in my life. My interview with Coach Sturniolo is presented in two parts. Today is part one, conclusion is tomorrow.

Here’s a preview of one of the questions. Coach Sturno’s answer is thought provoking.

FCEtier: Overheard last week in a sports bar, “I lost interest in basketball when the men’s shorts got longer than the women’s.”

Your reaction?

For part one of the interview, including his answer to the above question, please click HERE.

February 20 of next month will mark the fortieth anniversary of my liscensure as a pharmacist. I’ve been counting tablets and capsules by fives, for four decades.

I earned a B.S. in pharmacy at Northeast Louisiana University [now known as the University of Louisiana–Monroe] and graduated in December of 1974.

It’s been an interesting forty years, including a seven year hiatus in which I left pharmacy for Dale Carnegie Training and New York Life. I returned to pharmacy in 1992.  For “About Me” descriptions in the social media, this is what I list: “Husband, father, grandfather, pharmacist, photographer, and published author.”

Over the next twelve months I’ll post a few blogs with reflections on my career along with some guest blogs by other pharmacists and health care folks I’ve met along the way. In addition, there will be a few blogs to chronicle the my evolution from small town farm boy to small town pharmacist.

Maybe someone will find them of interest.

How did I go from self-published to full-time writer in six months?

Sacrifice and commitment.

Before publishing Warrior’s Scar, I researched my target audience and the market. What I found after crunching the numbers, was that the Kindle market has access to more than 95% of my prospective readers. Kindle also dominates the eReader market. As much as 75% of all eBook purchases are through Amazon. So I drank their Kool-aid and published using the KDP Select program, making my books exclusive to Amazon, but doubling my royalties to 70%.

Next, I trimmed nearly every ounce of fat from my budget. I went from cable, to streaming and an HD antenna. I cut back my phone data plan since I am now at home full time and have more wifi access. I went down one tier on my ISP speed. Driving fewer miles meant lower car insurance and a lower gasoline bill. That was a huge savings. I went from filling my truck twice a week to filling it twice every three months. I quit paying a yard guy. Date night was cut back to once a month.

The remaining expenses made up my bare minimum income requirement for each month. I added 25% to that number to cover taxes, and to put a little in savings. That number was how much I have to make each month to be a successful writer.

The only thing left was selling books. I push them in reading communities. I blog. I peddle them on Twitter, G+, and now both Ello and Tsu. I talk about them at the grocery store checkout. I have t-shirts with my covers printed on them. I toot my own horn. Because here’s the thing, I am the greatest writer since Homer, and if you don’t realize that, buy another one of my books and it will change your mind.

The point is, you have to want it, and you have to believe in yourself. You have to overcome shyness and tell people you write. You have to show off your new cover to your friends. You have to shout to the world that you are a writer. As indies, we don’t have a marketing department doing that for us. We have to do it ourselves.

Finally, get paid. You can have ten million readers, and if you don’t get paid by them, you aren’t a professional writer. Some people say you have to give your work away to get noticed. That’s great if writing is just a hobby. If it’s no different than crocheting a doily for a friend, then by all means, give the blood you write with to anyone who will take it. But I’m a professional writer. If you want to read my work, you have to pay me for it. This is the most important thing I can say to anyone who wants to write. Get paid. If you don’t get paid, you are not a professional writer. I could repeat that sentence twenty times.

Now, go out there and buy my books. It’s the best decision you will make all day.

Shawn Jones and I became acquainted in an authors’ group on Google Plus.

Our first online conversation went something like this:

Jones: Beware. I’m a first class SOB.

Etier: There are those who think of me the same way. We can see eye to eye, one SOB to another.

We hit it off real good.

His first book hit Amazon in December of 2013. Now, it’s November 2014 and he has three books out and a fourth, Warrior’s Wrath releases on the 17th. Just six months after the release of Warrior’s Scar, his first book, he posted, “I closed my business today…as of this post I am a full-time author. A full-time author who is scared shitless. A successful, full-time author who is scared shitless. Oh, what the hell have I just done?”

How many independent (self-published) authors do you know that can say that? Next week, in a guest blog Jones tells us how he did it. Shawn’s “How I Did It” blog is live, and can be found HERE.

Jones is the product of a poor family from Oklahoma. He met his future wife online and now they live in California. We caught up with him recently and he agreed to answer a few questions. Let’s see what makes Shawn Jones tick.

FCE: Why do you write?

Jones: To get the story out of my head. I daydream constantly. To the point that I have trouble falling asleep because I cannot turn my brain off. By putting words on paper, or screen, since I write on a Chromebook, it clears my mind. Of course the next day it fills back up, but that’s the curse, right?

FCE: Whose writing inspires you?

Jones: That’s a two prong question. There are the writers like Tolkien, Burroughs, Verne, and Wells. They inspired my imagination. I can build worlds, even universes, because they taught me how to paint a story. There are also writers like Hugo and Cervantes who taught me how to express deeper truths and make my own personal voice heard, rather than just those of my characters.

FCE: Describe your genre, then why, and how you chose that for your books.

Jones: Most of my writing is hard science fiction. As a reader, I always feel cheated when I read, “The ship jumped to warp speed.” I want to know how it jumped. I don’t need to know the theoretical physics, but I do need more than just because. When I decided to write, I chose to write a story that I would like and appreciate. That means keeping it real.

I write sci-fi because I want to look ahead, not behind. We must learn from past experiences, but we cannot learn more from the past. That knowledge is already here. It’s happened. But the future! That is where we learn what happens next.  I want to be in that world.

FCE: If someone who was not an aficionado of your genre read one of your books, what aspects would encourage them to pursue it further?

Jones: I had to ask someone else this question, because I don’t think I can answer it objectively. My friend who is a quilter said the following.

“Action, natural touches of humor and sadness. Strong, flawed, main characters, and supporting characters that have personality and depth. It’s science fiction that is heavy on science.”

FCE: Tell us about any published works in other genres?

Jones: The Warrior Chronicles is my first published work. I have ideas for horror stories, military fiction, westerns, and historical fiction rattling around in my brain, but until I wrap up Cort Addison’s adventures, they will have to wait.

FCE: Have you had any short stories published? If so, tell us about them.

Jones: No. Until a small group of friends encouraged me to participate in National Novel Writing Month a year ago, I had only written shorts and a little poetry. One of my favorite things was to write a scene based on a single image, usually a screenshot from a video game or a piece of fantasy art. The game Skyrim gave me a lot of fodder in those days.

FCE: What do you see as the advantages of being an indie author as opposed to what we used to refer to as “traditional publishing?”

Jones: We control our own destinies. We are not beholden to the whim of a single reader at a traditional publishing house. We as readers will never know how many great books, and how many great authors, were never read because someone at one of the big houses had a bad day or didn’t get their morning coffee. And if you don’t have an agent, forget about it. Amazon gave us an opportunity to reach for the stars.

FCE: Audio books seem to be all the rage. What is your opinion, will you have any of your books in an audio version?

Jones: I like audio books. I don’t listen to them much, but they are a great venue. Like it or not, we live in a world where some people don’t have the time, or choose not to make the time to read. There are also many would-be readers who are visually impaired. Audio books are a great way to reach those people. I am in the process of putting together a little sound studio in my home to begin recording them myself. Because a listener cannot immerse themselves in a book the way a reader can, I think it’s important for a writer to tell the story in his or her own voice. By using the intended inflection at the right time, we are able to make up for part of what is lost when a listener has to devote some of their attention to the road or their workout.

FCE: How do you come up with names for your characters and settings?

Jones: It varies. If it is a key character, I think about what that person looks like and how they carry themselves. When I have them pictured in my head, I ask what I would guess their name to be. Sometimes it is simple because a character is reminiscent of someone I know. It was more difficult in the first two books of The Warrior Chronicles, because the naming conventions of that future allow for only one syllable names. Over the course of the series, that changes as a feeling of nostalgia overtakes society when a man from our time arrives there. For secondary characters, sometimes it is as simple as seeing a name on the TV screen. Other species are the hardest, because I have to think about the speech patterns of alien life forms.

FCE: What is your favorite word, and why?

Jones: How does a writer answer that? I guess lexicon. I subscribe to dictionary.com’s word of the day, and try to incorporate that word into each day somehow. In speech, an email, social media, or my writing, that word will usually show up. I also keep a book called “The Word Museum” next to my workspace. I love finding a way to put an archaic term into my work. One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was when a very well read friend told me they had to look up a word I had used.

FCE: What is your goal with your blog? How often do you post a new article and how important is blogging to sales?

Jones: I don’t blog enough. I try to keep my posts about my daily life as a writer, and less about the craft itself. There are a lot of bloggers out there who are much more adept at talking about writing than I am. I’m good at telling you about my fears, my achievements, and the little things that affect my writing. Blogging can definitely help sales. But you have to make sure people know about it. That means social media. I plus, I tweet, and ultimately I am going to have to Facebook. I have avoided that last one, but I recognize that it is important.

FCE: We just read your blog about the Memorial Sea and fracking in Oklahoma. Something about it reminded me of Author C. Clarke’s three laws. Have you had other validations of your work?

Jones: That was a proud day for me. I have a physicist-friend in Canada that I run my science by regularly. I love the moments when he writes back, “That’s totally reasonable. Go with it.” I have to read a lot of science papers to keep up with the latest theories, and more than once I have had to change something to keep my science accurate. But it’s worth it in the end.

In my opinion, Clarke’s “Hazards of Prophecy” essay should be required reading for sci-fi writers. I like to keep my science plausible, and if I ever decide anything is impossible I will start writing in another genre.

FCE: What are your preferred social media outlets and how much time do you invest in them weekly?

Jones: Google Plus is far and away my favorite social media outlet. The level and depth of interaction and debate there is orders of magnitude ahead of anything else. Twitter allows you to get a quick point across, but the others are all less than engaging in my opinion. I have high hopes for Ello. Its manifesto expresses exactly what I believe social media interaction should be.

I devote about two hours a day to social media on average. When a book is about to release, or I am engaged in a discussion about current events, that number can rise dramatically.

FCE: Thanks for joining us, Shawn, do you have some closing comments or thoughts for us today?

Jones: Buy my books! Buy them all! I appreciate the opportunity you have given me to reach out to your followers. It’s been a pleasure to take them on a tour of my mind, and I hope the interview has been as thought provoking for them as it has for me. But really, buy my books.

Shawn’s next book, Warrior’s Wrath, is due out tomorrow, November 17, 2014 on Amazon.

In the mean time, here’s how to connect with him:

Google- https://www.google.com/+SkeptiKSwine

Twitter- http://twitter.com/captainducttape

Ello- https://ello.co/shawnjones

Blogger- http://shawnjonesscifi.blogspot.com/

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7796646.Shawn_Jones

And his author’s page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shawn-Jones/e/B00I3JJFYW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

A sunset made more beautiful by clouds. Cape Cod 2014

The Eight Sentences:

[NOTE: Outrageous punctuation in effect to trim this down to 8 sentences from nineteen!]

“You remember what I told you about sunsets, don’t you?” Lilly had asked.
“Yes, ma’am, I do, I’ll never forget it,” Claudia replied.

“Well, Dr. Thibaut’s passing was a beautiful clear sunset, no clouds to be seen, but a beautiful afterglow,” Lillie put her coffee cup on the table, raised her glasses and wiped her eyes with the ever-present white lace handkerchief.
Claudia thought a moment and at the risk of sounding like a challenge, pressed ahead with her question, “Do you think that people can have a cloudy life — one that would have beautiful clouds at sunset, but, aaah, still have had troubles?”

Joe Btfsplk

“Honey, no life goes by without problems–we all have our clouds. Remember that man in Lil’ Abner?” They shared a laugh and Lilly continued, “I’m sure Dr. Thibaut had his concerns, but they would have been those wispy little clouds that the wind carries away with ease. Sure wouldn’t have been anything like a mushroom cloud,” she winked at Claudia, reached out, and hugged her tight.

The Back Story:

The late Dr. Thibaut had been Claudia’s adviser/supervisor in her quest for a master’s degree. Claudia had visited his residence often enough to get acquainted with “Miss Lil,” his housekeeper. In this scene, they discuss Dr. Thibaut’s life and Claudia finds a moment for introspection with an analogy involving clouds and sunsets.

We’re looking for more writers:

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors.The  same link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.

For a treat, please check out their work, too.

Here’s the Facebook link for the Sunday Snippett group.

Throughout the entire month of November, Kindle’s e-book version of  The Tourist Killer will be on sale for 99 cents.

Why? Two reasons:

1. The Tourist Killer is a great Christmas gift and consistently receives four and five star reviews. in fact, all reviews have been three stars or better.

2. The sequel to, A Year Without Killing, debuts in December as a serial at Venture Galleries.

Download a copy today, or gift a copy to a friend, and get ready to read for the holidays.

The Eight Sentences:

Dr. Thibaut, “Like I said earlier, this project has made me work more than usual on a candidate’s masters. Where did you find out about the work of Bandler and Grinder?”

Claudia answered, “I met a [Dale Carnegie] instructor trainer from California and he told me about their work. What they[ Bandler and Grinder] do involves therapy using a person’s choice of words and body language so it’s closely associated with group dynamics. Sometimes, the group only has two people. He’s been a great help with locating resources. Have you ever noticed that I never sit directly in front of you? If you’re somewhat to my right, you are more likely to agree with me. He taught me that — and introduced me to the study of group dynamics.”

The Back Story:

This part of Claudia’s past is autobiographical for me. I taught and sold Dale Carnegie Courses for several years in the mid 1980’s. A fine introduction to NLP is Frog’s Into Princes by Bandler and Grinder. I recommend it for anyone interested in pursuing the topic.

A related snippet prompted this blog article about Claudia’s master thesis: “What the Assassin Already Knows.”

I’ve been a member since the beginning — over two years ago.

We’re looking for more writers:

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors.

Here’s the Facebook link for the Sunday Snippett group.

Our guest blogger today is Julie Medina of Garland, Texas. 

She designed the cover for my third novel, A Year Without Killing, and I thought

it would be interesting to hear about her work and how she views book marketing.

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YOU DO WHAT FOR A LIVING?

Ever get that question?

I do, sometimes, when people ask me what I “do” and I say I do book covers (and book interior layout).

Sometimes I get a half-blank look with the question: “What kind of book covers?”

Then I like to say: the kind that jumps on you in a bookstore, the kind that stands out from the crowd and  makes you want to pick it up and read it.

It’s the weirdest thing. You see, I believe that for most people their first interest in a book is sparked by looking at its cover. Have you ever been in a bookstore, looking for a book on architecture, for example, and out of the corner of your eye a book in the Thriller section gets you to look twice?

Something in the combination of Look and Title on that cover jumped straight past your eyes and into your brain. A face, a landmark, a flower, a mood, something someone is doing –  yes, even a color.

And now you want to know what this is all about.

Someone is shooting holes into a calendar?? Who does such a thing?

Is this some kind of a countdown to off your Husband or your Wife?

Why does someone not kill for a year? Why have they killed before, and who?

Can’t speak for other people but that is pretty much what happens to me when a book cover jumps past my eyes and into my brain. That is how I like to design covers, with that extra little burst that takes them straight there.

When I begin a project, I like to learn a little about the story, the people that live in it — perhaps some pivotal moment in their lives.

Andre Le Gallo was very specific with what he wanted on the cover of his Red Cell.

In this case I tried to accommodate pretty much what the described.

Other authors are wide open and I have only the title and a brief synopsis on the story.  I think those are actually my favorite covers. Those give me complete creative freedom and I love that. Of course sending those covers to the author for viewing is a nail-biter every time. High stakes gambling in Las Vegas couldn’t be anymore exciting when the dice roll.

I drew four aces with Heartsongs From a Washboard Road by Roger Summers and won the Jackpot with CrissCross by Dale Fowler.

Designing a book cover (or an entire book) is a little like having a baby. You worry, You want it to be beautiful and perfect and you want everyone to love it. It has to be romantic, scary, funny, dramatic, melancholy, dark and brooding or the conveyor of hope and love, all depending on the story, and it has to almost tell the entire story in one picture.

On most projects I sift through thousands of photos until just the right one grabs my attention.  The mood, colors, and themes combine into an image or images that I think will work.

Playing around with pictures in Photoshop produces crazy good effects sometimes and can change everything about any photo and give it an entirely new “feel.” A good example for this is the Compost Pile by Stephen Woodfin. [The two photos on the left were combined to make up the final cover image.]

And then, when I think the cover is what I had in mind, I send it off to the “Parent”, the author, and wait.

No problem, I check e-mail only like every 20 minutes or so! No, I do not pace!

My clients report success with every project. We work together. We don’t stop until the author is as pleased with the cover. Until then the motto is: nothing is chiseled in stone, everything and anything can be tweaked and changed.

How did I get into this crazy, exciting world of book publishing?

Thanks to my friend and former boss, Caleb Pirtle of Venture Galleries, who kept telling me that I could forget about commercial advertising now and dig deeper to find that artist he knew was in there somewhere. I hope I have succeeded.

When I was young, I dreamed of being the one who wrote the books. Well that plan did not work out. But I found something equally great. I am the one who puts a story into a picture for all the world to see.

It does not get any better than that.

The Eight Sentences:

Claudia replied with a note of authority, “Your phone calls put you into the same light as the person who squeezed the trigger. Your finger did the damage before the cross hairs were set and the shooter probably never realized when the round was fired.”

Claudia is a bit older and blonde, although she IS a master of disguise… (I love this image though!)

“You’re into Zen aren’t you? So ‘into the moment’ you don’t realize the target is falling and it’s because of you,”

“Does it bother you so much you want revenge?” Claudia asked.

“I don’t consider solving a problem for the world as being revenge,” answered Star. “How do you view your work?”

“Sometimes I’m not sure if  I’m a do-gooder ridding society of undesirables or just a psychopath taking out the trash.”

The Set Up:

Claudia met someone she did not expect to meet (Star Braun.) Their encounter was the subject of a previous Sunday Snippet and can be found HERE. This week’s eight sentences are from the tete a tete the two had after they both survived their initial meeting. Star has just confessed that she had made phone calls to engage Claudia’s services and now has regrets.

NOTE: My confession is….I got that last line, Claudia’s comment about taking out the trash from one of the reviews of my book. It was in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Open Call for Writers:

Attention all writers, published or not.

Do you have what it takes to write a book?

Want some feedback on your work, eight sentences at a time?

Join us at Weekend Writing Warriors and also on FaceBook, at the Sunday Snippet group.