Our Lovely Tree

Happy New Year.

Have been thinking about what to say, but I’m so late I’m afraid all the good topics have already been written. And it’s already the 4^th; folks are probably DONE hearing about how bad the ending of LOST was, how sad it was when so-and-so passed away, how shocking it was to see Miley sucking on a bong. Okay, maybe not so shocking, that.

And the year to come? My plans? I have plenty. In the writing arena, I’ve made some decisions concerning my backlist, which has been just sort of sitting without much support from me. These three books are going to get a minor makeover and be re-released under my own publishing byline by this spring. New edits, new covers, new prices. I mean, why not?

Becoming a publisher means I can publish some other things, too, experimental works and some shorts for a couple of

Great Room Ready for Drywall

new authors just wanting to dip a toe in the water. I’ll need an editor or two, and some help with the cover art. Cover art must be first rate, it’s the very first impression and if it’s shoddy or amateur, no level of quality in the book will make a difference.

That being said, my books with Echelon (CAPE SEDUCTION, POINT SURRENDER) will stay with Echelon. I have no desire to move them, and will continue to promote them alongside my newly released backlist work. If I’m right, all will benefit. I will focus heavily on ebooks this year (as if I haven’t for twelve years already!), although with the help of sites like Amazon’s CreateSpace I can re-release my older books in paperback as well. I’m glad for that, for those people still digging in about paper.

Once I reach a level of completion with this project, I’ll be able to resume work on my next lighthouse mystery. ANGEL’S GATE is started, but I felt it was heading toward a proverbial cul-de-sac and I need to back up and take a turn. I’m hoping to be able to convince the PTB to let me inside the real Angel’s Gate Lighthouse in Los Angeles Harbor. I just need to meet the right person!

Upcoming:

On January 22^nd, I’ll be speaking at the Blanchard Community Library in Santa Paula, California. The topic? Lighthouses, of course! Specifically, California’s lighthouses, and how they helped shape our history (it is California history month, after all.) I will focus on a few specific beacons, then segue into those that inspired my work. Really looking forward to this event.

Considering Romantic Times Convention on April 8 at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. Pricy, but lots of fun. Will advise.

April 30/May 1, in addition to my yearly stint signing with Sisters in Crime/LA, I’m joining a small consortium of authors in a booth at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, this year being held at the University of Southern California. I hope UCLA fans won’t stay away!

The cabin in the mountains is coming along nicely! Should be done late February. I can’t wait to hunker down with my books and hot toddy before a roaring fire…

Outgoing:

Over the holidays, my niece and I took a day off and drove up to Santa Barbara for lunch. To our astonishment, both Barnes and Noble and Border’s were selling out their inventories, both closing their doors on December 31^st. These stores are across the street from each other. I guess Santa Barbara book buyers will have to turn to the web. And ebooks?

Speaking of those minute miracles, I am rapidly filling up the new COLOR NOOK my husband bought me for Christmas! Man, do I love this device. I’ve always been somewhat of a gadget person, but this thing is fab. Does almost all that an iPad does – for half the money. I’ve loaded it up with songs, photos, books – I can do a crossword puzzle, check Facebook, write an email and edit my latest manuscript – and I can do it in the dark!

Follow up:

Further to my “Long Lost Relatives” post, I was contacted by my newly discovered cousin’s ex-wife. I wrote her back, giving her all the info I had and the one photo from my website. She has yet to respond, but I can wait. It’s been my whole life, after all.

These blustery autumn days are blowing in something new. Winds of change. Life it taking another turn, as someone very close to me is about to give birth to a precious new baby boy, a blessing, a grandson. As she waits, anxious and uncomfortably round, I muse–thinking back to those days almost 29 years ago when I carried her husband inside of me…waiting, anxious and uncomfortably round.

Am enjoying my history class more than I thought possible. I think it’s a crime when a child (me, many moons ago) has a teacher that makes a could-be worthwhile class about as exciting as a box of starch. Mr. “L”, my high school history teacher, was also the school detention teacher, which I think he preferred to history. The most interesting thing about Mr. L was his summer vocation. When school was out, he drove an ice cream truck by day, and tended bar at night. Think on that for a moment.

People who bought my books at my two wonderful launch parties are beginning to write with their thoughts. Everyone loves the stories, complete with the editing hiccups that slipped into the first release copies. Oops. Perhaps my books are like Native American blankets. Not allowed to be perfect, for only the Great Spirit can be perfect. As humble humans, we–and our creations [books and blankets?]–cannot be without some flaw. Do I stick with that story?

I found a book on eBay about HOT TODDY: The Mysterious Death of Thelma Todd. Except for the cigarette smell, the book is nearly new and I am enjoying the unfolding of a mystery I’ve thought about for many years. We all know how it ends, but the how/whodunit will forever remain a secret.

One more bit of news. I cooked parsnips for the first time in my life. Along with carrots, butternut squash (another first) and brussel sprouts, these made up my roasted vegetable platter, served along side some garlic mashed potatoes with crumbled bacon and chives. I’m actually cooking again. I’ve discovered I can do this, if I remove myself from the keyboard long enough.

It’s been less than a year since I paid $259 for my nook. Next month, the color-touchscreen-backlit model debuts for $249. Am just a bit peeved. Will talk about that at length in the future.

This time of  year always brings to mind the late Dan Fogelberg, who sang of the “end of October, the sleepy brown woods seems to nod down their  heads, to the winter…” — from “Old Tennessee.”

Thank you, Dan. Rest in peace, troubadour.

My Planets?

So what’s going on in the world?

I’m feeling good. Like some positive vibes are at work, downloading in the background. Can’t really explain it. Planets aligning or some such malarkey. When I feel this way, I want to share it. So here, have a slice!

Been hard at work making decisions about my career, and am going to be delving into some new areas this year. Will be posting more about that later.

I’d love to hear from any newly converted ebook readers. The news this morning that Apple’s half million or so brand-new iPad owners downloaded a whopping 250,000 ebooks was exciting, especially to us 12 year plus veteran e-authors. What a showdown this is becoming! Devices and formats are facing off in a “High Noon” scenario, and I’m confused but loving it. Making darned sure all my books are offered in those most popular formats. I’ve always been pretty technologically sound, but even my head is doing the Linda Blair trick right now.

My website wants a new face. I really like the template/theme I’m currently using, but it doesn’t provide for some of the things I want to do in the future, so I’m prowling for a new one. Dreading and yet looking forward to the customization process. It will be my forth Word Press customized site, and I learn a lot more every time.

When I was in high school, our French teacher made us all get “pen pals” in France. The French students were far better at English, I’m afraid, than we were at their language, but it was lots of fun. Today, I have a new on-line pen pal in Wales. This delights me to no end. There is something incredibly special about sharing news with others so far away. Fortunately, my new friend speaks English, otherwise I might have trouble. Anybody know Welsh? LOL.

Will I buy an iPad? No, not now. Too expensive for me. Plus, you know that old advice about never buying a first-run anything. My niece is loving her nook, which is a whole lot more affordable, but of course, it’s “just” a reader. Thoughts?

It’s taken me awhile to get a round tuit, but I’ve been wanting to comment on the recent go-round of forwarded emails describing a planned gang initiation that was to take place a local big box store. Three females, the message read, would be murdered at the site, and recipients of the email would be wise to stay away.

While I, personally, did not receive the warning, by afternoon, my 13 year old daughter had read it on her cell phone, my girlfriend had it on her Blackberry and my adult son mentioned he’d seen it on his own phone. That evening, our local high school district had released a statement, phoned to each subscribing household, that the message was indeed a hoax, one that had been forging a nasty path through several other states since 2005.

The whole incident got my back up. My daughter was upset, my friend was justifiably concerned. Both struggled with what to do. Do we call the Sheriff? Do you think they know? I assured them both that the missive was a malicious attempt to stir up fear and possibly even launch a “denial of service”-like scheme as an attack on Wal-Mart, the store mentioned. I don’t know the legal term, but I do know you cannot attempt to prevent patronage of a business based on a fraudulent claim. Whether you like or dislike Wal-Mart, the point is that this could just as easily have been aimed at Mom & Pop’s Bakery on the corner.

My parents used to tell me, when I was a young, impressionable child, “Don’t believe everything you see on TV.” Because we did, back then. Yeah, people joke about it now, would never admit to it, but we did think that if we saw it on TV, it must be true.

Just after 9/11, I received an email warning me to stay away from our local Mall, because it was targeted to be blown up by terrorists. In the nightmarish atmosphere that pervaded following the attacks, I was ripe to believe anything. I immediately forwarded the email to everyone in my address book. I was quickly and gently reprimanded for falling prey to an internet hoax, and I have since refrained from sending anything to anyone without first checking with Snopes (which I consider to be the best online source for debunking urban myths and hoaxes.)

The case of the gang-initiation-at-Wal-Mart email is no different. I took the opportunity to use the incident as a learning experience for my daughter. Just because someone you like or know from school sends you (what they kids call)“forwards” doesn’t mean that it’s (a) true or, God forbid, (b), you should perpetuate the “forward” and add to the needless hysteria intended by some sick mind.

Pam Ripling is the author of middle-grade mystery, LOCKER SHOCK! Buy it at Quake, Fictionwise or Amazon today! E-book version now available for your Kindle! Visit Pam at www.BeaconStreetBooks.com.

It’s a ploy to get people to recognize that ebooks really are a viable format for reading good–and bad–books. Although I am thrilled that my books are available in paperback, as a reader, I prefer electronic versions for myself.

I’m sort of a pioneer. My first published novel, IN TOO DEEP, was published in ebook format first, and available on CD. I can’t count the number of times people asked me if they could listen to it in their car. “Read My Lips: Not-An-Audio-Book!!” I got weary explaining to others that yes, it was a REAL book. Edited, even! Copyrighted! ISBN!

But read a book on a computer? Bah. Humbug. Mind you, this was over ten years ago, when lots of folks didn’t even have CD drives in their computers. Then, enter the Rocket eBook by Nuvomedia. A device, 22 oz., about the size of a trade paperback, dedicated solely to reading ebooks. Wow! I bought one. I bought two (and they both still work) and took them everywhere with me. Oh, the first one was pretty complicated: you loaded by putting it into a “cradle”, then connecting the cradle to your computer, via–get this–a serial connection. You semi-data-geeks will be jeering at that. A later version came with a super-futuristic-modernistic-high-speed (right) doodad called a USB connector.

The Rocket was just terrific. Built-in dictionary, ability to make notes and annotations, sounds, backlit, kept your place, held tons of books (4000 pages), went a week on a single charge. The first version read HTML, which MS Word conveniently allowed you to save your own work to. But as the DRM (digital rights management) biz began to rear its heads (and yes, it has two), the Rocket suffered over formats it didn’t understand. Later versions read Rocket’s own format, “*.rb”, which likely sounded its death knell. What followed was a host of other devices, each better than the last, and each with its own proprietary format.

I gave it all up in favor of reading on a Pocket PC – the powerful little competitor of the Palm series devices. The PPC comes with Microsoft Reader, which became my new favorite format. I’ve been content with reading on this small screen, mainly because I read at night and like the brightness and the color and the adjustable type (which, by the way, the Rocket also pioneered.)

So now we have two forerunners in the new age of reading devices. Amazon’s Kindle, and the Sony Reader Digital Book. These fantastic gems make ebook reading a delightful experience. I’m out of space for today so will talk about them another time; suffice to say here that the only thing keeping me from buying one of each is the price–these industry giants are bringing $300 – $400 each.

Oh, and the Rocket? Sold for around $110.00 with case. That’s inflation for you.

Pam Ripling also writes as Anne Carter. Website: BeaconStreetBooks Add’l Blog: The Word From Beacon Street

I haven’t tried the Kindle yet. I have held the Sony reader in my hands, loved the shape and feel and weight of it, which I believe is similar to the Kindle. I’m still not completely sold, however, since I read in the dark and rely on my Pocket PC’s backlight feature. With either of these upper end e-readers, you’ll need a clamp on booklight to read in bed.

So what’s on my wish list? Along with the aforementioned readers, I’m thinking hard about the web-and-email enabled Samsung Instinct phone, and I’m also in the market for a hands-free Bluetooth device for my car. I can’t stand the fussiness of the ear-pod thing.

Would love to hear what devices you all have!