Twitter was a source of frustration today.
As most of you know, I maintain a long list of writers, (over 6500) and each morning I tweet out intro-promos for a portion of those writers. Once a week, (typically Sunday evenings), as part of the process of maintaining the list, I remove those that have un-followed me during the week. Before I remove them, however, I check on Twitter to make sure that my list software "TweetGreet2" didn't erroneously identify them as having un-followed me. A while ago I started seeing a warning on several of these accounts that advised that it was “temporarily suspended for suspicious activity.” Twitter allowed me to click through to see the account profile and it showed that they were no longer following me, so I went ahead and removed them.
Last night, one of those accounts belonged to Carl Ashmore, aka @CarlAshmore, a good friend whose books I also promote. (His “The Time Hunters” series is awesome!) It seemed unlikely that Carl would have deliberately un-followed me so I contacted him directly before removing him from the list. As I suspected, Carl had not knowingly un-followed me. He had received a notice from Twitter that his account had “suspicious activity” and he was forced to change his password, but wasn’t really aware of the suspension or what it entailed. When he checked his account after I contacted him, he said it appeared that he was no longer following anyone, although when he checked my account specifically, it showed he was following me. He un-followed and followed again, just to be sure, but I suspect Twitter would have (or may have) restored the follow when the suspension was over (his account no longer displays the warning).
So it seems that during one of these temporary suspensions, Twitter removes the list of who they’re following - I assume so as to block direct messages (DMs) during the suspension - but that gives the impression that they have un-followed. So it appears that I have unwittingly removed and un-followed several writers that I shouldn’t have. Unfortunately, I don’t have a way of identifying those accounts to restore them. If your account was under one of these temporary suspensions and you find that I’m no longer following you, make sure you’re following me then tweet me and let me know and I’ll get you back on the list.
 
      

I received the final edits from my editors and I'm currently in the formatting stage. I think I've got the print edition formatted and I've uploaded the required documents. Createspace says they meet their technical criteria for publication and I've ordered a printed proof so I can give a physical copy a good going-through before releasing it into the wild. In the meantime, I will work on formatting the electronic editions for distribution through Amazon and Smashwords. These are the final stages for release, so I really mean it when I say - Coming Soon...

I continue to work on my new website, trying to include as many features from the old site as I can, but I've discovered that having members is only available with a paid service. The primary reason I'm using Weebly is because my book sales don't yet justify paying for hosting. At the time I built my original site, my former host allowed members as part of the free service so I set it up. I enjoyed reading the profiles of the few members that bothered to fill them in, and it was useful in building an "affirmative" email list. But I did not have "members only" content or a forum where the members could interact socially, so there really wasn't much point to being a member. Therefore, I've decided not having that service shouldn't keep me from using Weebly. Instead, I've added options to be added to the email list on my "Contact" page.
Note to members of the old site: I was able to retain your email addresses, so you don't need to sign up again to continue to receive notification of new releases.

Welcome to my new website now hosted by Weebly. It's still a work in progress as I make the transition. Without going into great detail, I was placed in the position of having to completely rebuild, and could not retain my former template. Therefore, it seemed logical to explore other options. My research led me to use either Wix or Weebly. I'm led to believe Wix has a more flexible site-builder tool, but I have had problems viewing some Wix sites in the past with my preferred browser (Firefox). The browser showed the site as loaded, but the screen was blank. I'm not saying Wix is the cause of the problem. It could easily be something on my end, but it made me hesitant to use their services. So, I went with Weebly.
So far, it's been fairly straightforward and easy to work with. I think I spent more time deciding on a template than I did building the first page.  My book page took more time and I discovered in the process that several of the links to reviews of my books are no longer valid. Sad, since they had some really nice things to say, but such is life on the internet.
I have been able to preserve the content from my old site and will transition as much as I can to this new site. While building my book page, I discovered that some of the tools/widgets I used on the old site were no longer functional (changes in the provider's policy made them expire) so I won't be including them anymore. But I'll do my best to find other ways to make the site interesting.
I have imported most of my old blog posts, (and will work on importing the rest) but unfortunately, I couldn't preserve any of the comments.

I have finished writing my latest novel in the SEAMS16 series and it is now in the editing stages. I’ve been using DAYS OF SORROW as the title, but as the story unfolded, and now that it’s complete, I feel that title no longer fits. I chose the title originally because of a reference to it during the Eclosion ceremony in book 4, SEAMS16: FRIENDS AND FOES
The "Days of Sorrow" refers to a time in the history of Prime that occurs after the fall of their civilization. I had every intention of telling a  story about those times, but while attempting to research it, I discovered there are no records from that time. A character from the book best summed it up like this: “Much of what happened during those years is lost to eternity as record keeping fell away to the more important tasks of just finding ways to stay alive, but there are stories of sorrow as well as great bravery told around campfires and dinner tables. Of course, these stories are impossible to prove or disprove. The heroes and villains often go unnamed, or if named, are already dead. And long gone is any evidence that might have supported the claims made by the storytellers. Because of this, most are relegated  to the fantasy genre of children’s stories, not as a means to preserve a  history, but simply to convey a moral or universal truth."
While  I do write children's stories, that was not the intention for this book, so I concentrated on a time immediately following the Days of Sorrow, when civilization was starting to re-emerge. The story of first contact with their nearest planetary neighbor.
The story of THE KLINDORAN WAR.

Coming soon…

In October 2014, after several years of hiatus, one of my favorite comic strips returned to the internet with an all new storyline. Melonpool, by Steve Troop http://www.melonpool.com
I was first introduced to the adventures of Melonpool many years ago by my niece and instantly fell in love with the characters and storylines. The story of an alien whose obsession with Earth pop-culture, especially  Star Trek, Star Wars, The Andy Griffith Show, and Gilligan’s Island, leads him and his crew into unique situations that offered satire, parody, and homage all at the same time. Troop’s humor and artwork struck a chord with me and I was saddened a few years ago when he announced that he was retiring the strip. But now it’s returned and taking a hint from the Star Trek franchise, has rebooted the story in an alternate universe where things happen in different, but still fun and exciting ways.
Today, 1/14/15, marks the 100th strip since the reboot and I’m in love with it all over again. There are some unfamiliar characters, and characters missing from the original storyline, (although this new universe has jumped back in time, so we may yet see them), but the storytelling is as strong or stronger than before, and the artwork is better than ever. Following the newspaper format of black and white panel strip dailies, and a full color expanded  Sundays, it’s worth checking out. Who knows, perhaps you’ll enjoy it as  much as I do.
http://melonpool.com/

At long last, I have finally released the fourth book in the SEAMS16 series,
SEAMS16: Friends and Foes
Strange things are happening on Space Equipment Authority's Maintenance Station  16 (SEAMS16). The new bay supervisor comes with an exemplary record, but he can’t get along with anyone. An abduction where the victims are left unbound and unguarded, no perpetrators claim responsibility, and no  demands are made. The discovery of a bomb with the only evidence
incriminating the most unlikely of perpetrators. These confusing events and more blur the line between good and bad...right and wrong...friend and foe...
Join Charlie and Susan in their search for answers in SEAMS16: Friends and Foes
Now available at the following on-line retailers:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Print
Smashwords - multiple ebook formats
Barnes & Noble Nook
CreateSpace Print
Apple iTunes iPad/iPhone

I'm pleased to announce a new website dedicated to my children's books. When I created my original website, I had not yet written any children's stories, so naturally I designed it around my Sci-Fi novels. It still serves that purpose well and for now I intend to keep it as it is, however it is not exactly kid friendly. Not that there is inappropriate content, it's just not attractive to kids or parents looking for children’s books. The new site is designed with kids in mind. The colors are bright and cheery, the layout is simple to navigate and the focus is primarily on my guiding aphorism: Read To Your  Children Awaken Their Imagination. You'll find fun activities for the
kids to download and enjoy, on-line samples of the books, links to retailers where the books can be purchased, and more. Visit the new site at http://rtycati.com/.
 Take a look around, peruse a book sample, download a coloring page,
check out the Books in the Wild photos, and most importantly, have fun.

The KART Foundation has released its Kids Books List for 2013. I'm told they had over 2000 entries that they whittled down to just 27 titles. I'm pleased and honored to say that The Wizards of the Body Shop was one of those selected. This is the second time that one of my books has been honored with this award, (the first being Sam and the Dragon in the 2011/2012 list). The Kids Are Readers Too (KART) Foundation is the philanthropy division of PediNatural®, dedicated to promoting children's literacy. They also host an internet radio station broadcasting family friendly programming 24 hours a day. You can learn more about them at www.kartfoundation.org

A  little girl tries to climb into her father’s lap as he sits reading in his favorite chair. It’s a big, overstuffed chair with a wide seat, high back, and cushy arms. He pretends to ignore her as she makes the attempt first on one side, then on the other. On many past occasions she has made the climb without hesitation or difficulty, but this day her attempts are thwarted by the book she holds in her hands. Unwilling to let go, and after several attempts, she looks up with pleading eyes.
No longer able to keep up his pretense, he sets his book aside, reaches down and lifts her easily, placing her comfortably on his lap. He takes the book from her hands and examines the cover. Is it an old favorite, read a hundred times? Or something new, as yet unexplored? It matters little, for the importance is in the experience. A bond forms between them, a bond of shared learning, shared exploration, and shared adventure. The kind of bond that lasts a lifetime. He opens the book and  begins the adventure. The two of them gaze intently at the open book, the room around them soon lost to the world contained within the pages.
And yet, not contained. For while each page may contain a static picture and a few sentences, the picture is but a skin, and the words, bone. It is the sights unseen and the words unsaid that are the real meat of the story. The mind fills in the details, enriching the experience, bringing  the story to life in ways sometimes unforeseen by an author and illustrator. This is the real magic of reading to a child. You’re not just spending time, you’re sharing an experience and awakening their imagination.
So, read to your children, and awaken their imagination.
A good start is with my newly released children's book, Yeti In The Freezer. Available in both print and ebook formats.

My brother and I have been working hard putting the finishing touches on our latest children’s book, Yeti In The Freezer, and I had hoped to release it on Black Friday. That’s not going to happen now. On Friday, just after uploading the source documents for the print edition, I attempted to delete one of the many sub folders of
illustrations from my hard drive, but ended up accidentally deleting the  main project folder. Everything I’d prepared for both print and ebook versions...gone! Everything for adverts, my website, the Facebook page...wiped out!
No, it was not in the recycle bin. I did a hard delete. Now, this is not the first time I’ve done something like this and I typically keep backups on a thumb drive that I carry with me. However, in this case I didn’t. You see, there wasn’t enough space left on the thumb drive to hold this project, so I put it off, figuring I’d get a new, larger thumb drive. But, of course, when I’m at the store I’m thinking of other things and keep forgetting to get  one. So I had no backups.
Like I said, I’ve done this kind of thing before, so I also have recovery software and as soon as I realized what I’d done, I pulled the battery and power cord from my  laptop to keep anything else from being written to the drive. I pulled the hard drive from the laptop and hooked it up as an external drive on one of my other computers and started a recovery scan. I don't know if you've ever run a recovery scan, but it takes a long time, so I let it run overnight. I checked the next morning and it looked like most of my files could be recovered, so I went through the process to do just that.  I was able to recover a few things, but much of what the software said was recovered, wasn’t. At least not completely. Most of the documents were corrupted enough to be unusable. Some wouldn’t open at all, some would open, but much of the data was missing. It was really depressing how little data was actually recovered.
So I was left with the process of rebuilding. Fortunately, I was able to re-download the last set of illustrations, and some of the conversion software I’d used left copies of the working documents in other folders on the drive, so I was able to piece together all of the items necessary to recreate what I’d done before, and I’ll be working feverishly to get  that done.
But more importantly, I have now installed software that automatically backs up my data to a network drive on a daily basis. No longer will I rely on remembering to manually backup to a thumb drive. (Much less remembering to buy a new thumb drive for it to fit on.) The software I’m using is called SyncBack. It’s a freeware package from 2BrightSparks. I’ve only been using it a couple of days, but I’m quite happy with the results. It was straightforward to set up, and the execution has been
flawless. It’s nice, each morning, to be greeted with a status report that assures me that my data has been safely stored away, in case I pull another boneheaded stunt like I did Friday.
And with that process in place, I’d best get back to work getting Yeti In The Freezer out. Watch for it soon.

They don’t come around here anymore.
There was a time when we had to prepare. To stock up on provisions and clear the area of potential obstacles and dangers. A time to make repairs, replace burned out light bulbs, and lay out welcoming decorations. A time to let the world know that this is the place to come to find what you’re looking for. And we welcomed them all. All sizes, all shapes, male, female, even different species. All were welcome at our door. But alas, that time has passed.

It’s been many years since we’ve seen so much as a single traveler, when we used to get so many. They used to come alone, in pairs, but most often in small groups. We donned appropriate accouterments, exchanged the traditional greetings, heeded the dire warnings, and ultimately made friends of the potential adversaries.

But time has moved on and the neighborhood has changed. What was once a young and vibrant place, has aged. With grace, of course, as the landscape has evolved into a
comfortable, living, and lived-in state, with a beauty worthy of quiet contemplation. But in this world of sound bites, videogames, increased internet use, and diminished attention spans, what once was thought a comfortable distance, is now considered too far to travel, at too great a risk, for limited reward.

Where the travelers of old had a wanderlust, and the greatest of prizes went to those with the highest endurance and drive, today they gather together in appointed places at appointed times, and willingly accept the portions of generosity in equal measure. It’s a safer option, different, but still fun.

I’m told there are places where the old ways are still practiced. Where the quest is still paramount and the rewards are gained all along the journey.

But not here.

No, they don’t come around here anymore.

First let me say thank you to all 264 people that entered to receive one of only two copies of my children's book, The Wizards of the Body Shop. Through Goodreads magical selection process the winners are:
Shana from Bronsen, MO and Sunny from Chesapeake, VA
Congratulations to you both! I mailed out your books a little under an hour ago, so you  should receive them sometime next week. I hope you enjoy the story.

My birthday is coming up and I've decided that the best way to celebrate is a book giveaway! So, from July 1st until my birthday (July 6) you can enter to win one of two print copies of my latest children's book, The Wizards of the Body Shop. Full details are available at Goodreads (Click Here)

The terms of service for the Amazon reader forums forbid authors from promoting their books anywhere but their "Meet The Author" <strike>corral</strike> forum. Unfortunately, many new authors either don't read the terms of service or ignore them. In almost every category, there is one or more discussion threads devoted to reminding authors not to promote their books, yet everyday, self-promotion occurs. This has led to an extreme prejudice against self-published authors, and a hyper-vigilance among the forum members. Even if you’ve never engaged in self-promotion activities, you are still tainted by the actions of others, so following are the Additional Rules for Self-Published Authors who wish to post on Amazon reader forums.

1. You are not a reader, regardless of how many books you've read and plan to read, once you publish a book, you are no longer a reader. Your opinion of someone else's writing is not enhanced by understanding the process. On the contrary, your opinion is now biased by jealousy, hero-worship, or association with other authors and cannot be trusted.

2. Never ever recommend a book by a contemporary author. (See rule 1.) If you want to recommend a book in a reader forum, make sure the book is at  least as old as you are, or that the author is dead, thereby reducing the impression that you have a personal relationship with said author.

3. Your book never, I repeat never, meets the criteria for anyone requesting a suggestion on a book to read. It doesn't matter if your book fits a point-by-point description of what they're looking for, it still doesn't meet the criteria. Don’t mention it.

4. "Recently Published" does not include your book, regardless of when it was released. As an author, you cannot make recommendations in a "recently released" discussion. (See rule 2.)

5. Never mention that you are an author in any discussion. You may only have that information in your profile for anyone interested enough to check.

You may think these additional rules will make it next to impossible to get your book discovered, and you’d be right. Even though Amazon’s KDP Tips For Merchandising  include “post on message boards, join user communities,and promote your  book on sites across the Web”, that doesn’t include their own forums.

All files have been uploaded, converted, and released for publication. My latest children's book, The Wizards of the Body Shop, is immediately available at Smashwords for ebook formats and CreateSpace for print. It should become available at Amazon by the end of the week for both Kindle and Print, and available in other online ebook bookstores in  the coming weeks.
The Wizards of the Body Shop
Repairing a crumpled fender is pure magic. So when Cindy's Daddy's car gets damaged, she goes along as Daddy takes it to...
The Wizards of the Body Shop
CreateSpace - Print
Smashwords - Multiple Ebook Formats
Amazon - Print
Amazon - Kindle

I have the illustrations from my brother and I've been working on formatting my new children's book, The Wizards of the Body Shop. I shared one of the illustrations on Facebook today, and thought I should share a few of them here.

I have to say, I'm really pleased with these and all of the illustrations that Lanin has come up with for this story and the others before it. They really help bring my stories to life.