tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14644542743496268072024-03-13T14:51:05.952-07:00Rowena-Cherry PickingBlog by Rowena Cherry, regarding her occasional radio show on http://internetvoicesradio.comRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-8704358240269838122010-06-27T07:07:00.000-07:002010-06-27T07:07:31.932-07:00We need a central clearing house for copyright complaints<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>My letter to the Presidents of RWA, SFWA, and Authors' Guild concerning copyright infringement.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Dear Scott Turow, Allison Kelley, John Scalzi,<br />
<br />
Thank you very much for everything you do to defend authors' copyrights against copyright infringement. We very much appreciate having an address to which to send our complaints, and the comfort of knowing that you compile a database of the most egregious "pirates" and pirate sites.<br />
<br />
Despite small triumphs, ignorance persists among honest readers; lies about the legality of "sharing" go unchallenged, and the problem is getting much worse.<br />
<br />
Please Scott Turow, Allison Kelley, John Scalzi will you talk to one another, set up one powerhouse task force, meet regularly, share resources, engage your members, give authors one central "Go To" address where we can submit complaints, report piracy sites, blogs and yahoogroups, cc our individual take-down notices.<br />
<br />
One forceful industry voice could shut down an entire account and insist on a hosting site complying with their own TOS where their TOS has been repeatedly violated, instead of individual authors taking down one file at a time.<br />
<br />
Thank you.<br />
<br />
<br />
Rowena Cherry <br />
<div style="color: #ea9999;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="color: #ea9999;"><b>Permission granted to forward, share, repost, or use as a template for other open letters.</b></div>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-33923954436298565902009-12-03T11:08:00.000-08:002009-12-03T11:08:19.072-08:00The best ever multi-author sampler (apart from the other one)Authors in this sampler include:<br />
<br />
Joy Nash, Jade Lee, Deborah Macgillivray, Beth Caudill, Rowena Cherry, Susan Grant, Linnea Sinclair, Dawn Thompson, Cindy Spencer Pape, Charlotte Boyett Compo, Robin T Popp, C L Wilson, Nina Bangs ... and more.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNTk4NjU2OTAxMDgmcHQ9MTI1OTg2NTgyOTAxMiZwPTU*OTI4MiZkPSZnPTImbz*4NjQ5N2FhMmRmMGY*YTI3OTVlN2NmZGEzNTMzZWRmMyZvZj*w.gif" /><object id='bookwidget' name='bookwidget' width='328' height='220'><param name='book' value='http://www.freado.com/bookwidget.swf?document_Id=4645_2844_123'></param><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'></param><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true'></param><param name='allownetworking' value='all'></param><embed src='http://www.freado.com/bookwidget.swf?document_Id=4645_2844_123' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' allowfullscreen='true' width='328' height='220'></embed></object>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-22520521917657746842009-05-21T17:10:00.001-07:002009-05-21T17:10:58.509-07:00Space Pirates by David Lee Summer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheA9zd1aBKNtY_zclSovKP128ZHSAAQHrqVi959vHcfmR3yHAQwGffhxLclLTDZNpKPTHlTi867N5mTfCQCEFTyizo-TQkvMgJlvVR-RjAXoig1f-evkQq3yswKXEjSXLAFndstLXj9NY/s1600-h/pirates.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 144px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheA9zd1aBKNtY_zclSovKP128ZHSAAQHrqVi959vHcfmR3yHAQwGffhxLclLTDZNpKPTHlTi867N5mTfCQCEFTyizo-TQkvMgJlvVR-RjAXoig1f-evkQq3yswKXEjSXLAFndstLXj9NY/s400/pirates.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338397507598167938" /></a><br /><br />Greetings! My name is David Lee Summers and I want to start off by thanking Rowena Cherry for this opportunity to talk a little bit about space pirates and, in particular, how I created my space pirate characters and the world they inhabit.<br /><br />To give you some background, I am the author of five novels. The first of my novels is The Pirates of Sufiro, which starts off as the story of a band of space pirates that are marooned on a distant world they name Sufiro. Over the course of the novel, the pirates who were stranded have to battle corporate pirates who try to take over the planet. Thus the book explores the idea of "piracy" from multiple angles. I have recently explored my space pirate characters even more in stories appearing in the anthologies Space Pirates and Space Sirens published by Flying Pen Press. Another of my novels, Vampires of the Scarlet Order, is a supernatural thriller, but it features a cameo by the real life pirate, Grace O'Malley.<br /><br />The phrase "space pirates" conjures up images of marauding bands cruising the galaxy in space ships. Perhaps the blaster-wielding captain has a robot parrot on his shoulder and some kind of high-tech eye-patch with a heads-up display. Movies and television have invoked this image numerous times and I think such pirates can be a lot of fun, even though they're often extremely campy.<br /><br />Look a little harder at the idea of space pirates, though, and an interesting picture emerges. To summarize the United Nations definition of piracy, it is a criminal act of violence, detention or depredation committed by the crew or passengers of a ship or aircraft directed against another ship or aircraft – or directed against a ship, aircraft, persons or property outside the jurisdiction of a country. Apply that idea to any vessel that is either in space or operating on a distant world, and you open up tremendous story potential.<br /><br />My own love of pirates started at an early age. I grew up in Southern California and was lucky enough to visit Disneyland a few times as a kid. One of my favorite rides from the time I was about six years old was The Pirates of the Caribbean. I was also a Star Trek fan from a very young age. Though a bit too young to remember the original series when it first ran, I was exactly the right age to watch Star Trek: The Animated Series when it ran on Saturday mornings. One of those episodes was "The Pirates of Orion" written by Howard Weinstein. I already was a fan of pirates and I just fell in love with the idea of pirates in space. <br /><br />In the years after that, though, most depictions of space pirates that I came across grew painful. I saw far too many actors with robot parrots on their shoulders hamming it up for the camera. As I mentioned earlier, they could be fun to watch, but they did get old. I probably would never have even tried to write a story about space pirates if I hadn't come across the Bio of a Space Tyrant novels by Piers Anthony. In the first novel, Anthony introduced space pirates that were colorful and fun, but at the same time very dangerous. These were the kinds of space pirates I was looking for.<br /><br />In 1988, I set out to write my first story of space piracy for a writing workshop in Socorro, New Mexico. I wanted to create pirates that were larger than life, fun, but yet a bit dangerous, much like the good space pirates I had encountered before. That's when Ellison Firebrandt and the crew of the Legacy who appear in The Pirates of Sufiro, Space Pirates and Space Sirens were born.<br /><br />As I worked to create my pirates, I spent time in the library reading historical accounts, trying to get some idea for the motivations of historical pirates and how they operated. As I read, I found the stories of Henry Avery, Bartholomew Roberts, William Kidd, Anne Bonny and Mary Read particularly captivating. <br /><br />Now, I believe it's important that a writer create a world where it's believable that space pirates exist. That said, if we postulate a universe where humans are colonizing other planets in the galaxy it's reasonable to expect that pirates will exist. In my "day" job I operate telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory. It's actually hard to imagine a star empire or galactic alliance with so much money that they could patrol every possible planetary system imaginable. Likewise, it's hard to imagine a future where everyone is so well off that someone won't be motivated to try to take what someone else has. Just recently, we had the incident of Somali pirates taking an American ship not far from American warships. Even with only a small boat and a few guns, they created a very difficult situation for this country. The galaxy is a much bigger place.<br /><br />In my universe, Earth recognizes that it simply cannot patrol much of its territory at all with warships of any sort. It becomes much more practical for humans to issue Letters of Marque to pirate crews and allow them to harass ships from competing systems and colony worlds.<br /><br />My pirate captain, Ellison Firebrandt, comes from a poor family. His father was a miner in the asteroid belt and it looked like Ellison's fate would either be to follow in his father's footsteps or go into some other hard labor for the rest of his life. As with the pirates of old, life aboard a pirate ship seemed to offer more freedom and opportunity for young Firebrandt than a life wasting away as a miner or a laborer for one of the giant corporations of Earth. Because Firebrandt is the protagonist of the stories in which he appears, I felt it necessary to give him a moral compass. He is loyal to Earth because the government provided his Letter of Marque. He kills and robs, but he does so with the intention of aiding Earth.<br /><br />In the story "For a Job Well Done", which appears in the anthology Space Pirates, Firebrandt tries to fence stolen items through a gang that secretly pulls the strings on one of Earth's colony worlds. The gang maintains control through the torture of the planet's populace. In the process of discovering this, Firebrandt meets a woman named Suki Mori and a romance is born. Though Firebrandt is, himself, a criminal, his moral compass can't abide the self-serving interests of the gang he encounters and he feels compelled to stop them. Even though the story is science fiction, it was heavily influenced by contemporary headlines.<br /><br />In the follow-up story entitled "Hijacking the Legacy" that appears in the anthology Space Sirens, Suki Mori discovers the cold hard reality that her new-found "friends" really are bloodthirsty pirates. She tries to escape but throws herself and the pirate crew right into the hands of a military captain that doesn't recognize Firebrandt's Letter of Marque. This puts Suki into a crisis of conscience. She recognizes that the crew of the Legacy is composed of criminals, but she also realizes that they're the ones who saved her from an even worse criminal gang. Can she simply let the pirates be killed?<br /><br />Historically, not all pirates were clear-cut villains. They often came to piracy through a series of circumstances and choices. Often times there were no good choices for these people. Sometimes it was live as a slave or live as a pirate. Sometimes being a pirate seemed less horrible than being a crewman for a ship of the "legitimate" military. In creating my space pirates, I worked to create a universe that presented my characters with many of those kinds of difficult choices from history. I worked to create characters with enough of a moral compass that those choices were interesting ones to explore. Hopefully the stories are an exciting, fun ride as well! <br /><br />If you would care to learn more about my novels and the anthologies where my stories appear, please visit <a href="http://www.davidleesummers.com">davidleesummers.com</a> and click on the links for "Books and Audio Books" and "Short Stories and Poems."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PMRFYcm3z7O4mhbOkwp0yiQaY3JGBIs5i1ul0EIkvviI1lTM3nkmcS5M-AZfIr7hFUMdTbmNH8u9yVzUAzmz2m9iG_bgr94DEtheYc62mjlFG_1Cp88CNOYnzrquIqXHBFIjYs6J3-8/s1600-h/Space_Pirates.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 144px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PMRFYcm3z7O4mhbOkwp0yiQaY3JGBIs5i1ul0EIkvviI1lTM3nkmcS5M-AZfIr7hFUMdTbmNH8u9yVzUAzmz2m9iG_bgr94DEtheYc62mjlFG_1Cp88CNOYnzrquIqXHBFIjYs6J3-8/s400/Space_Pirates.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338397335896920338" /></a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-86149232807628603322009-05-04T15:11:00.000-07:002009-05-04T15:12:57.215-07:00Magical Beings<span style="font-weight:bold;">MAGICAL BEINGS</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Courting the Craft of Paranormal Romance</span><br /><br />We’re a multi-cultural society, a global community of varying histories and legends. And yet, somehow, we all share a fascination with the supernatural … with the idea that the things unseen are not inactive. The concept of myths and legends shared through storytelling is as old as the spoken word. Among the cultures of the world, there is no shortage of fantastic tales and captivating creatures that haunt the psyches and dreams of a village’s or nation’s inhabitants. A further binding feature in every culture is the pursuit of romance and love. Combine the two, and you have a formula for a riveting story. It is not unexpected, therefore, that tales of magical beings in paranormal romance continue to explode as a popular fiction genre.<br /><br />The area of romance fiction generated $1.375 billion in U.S. sales in 2007, a five percent increase over 2006, making it the biggest fiction publishing category for that year, according to Business of Consumer Book Publishing. The next largest market is sci-fi & fantasy, generating $495 million in revenue for the same year. A recent article in The New York Times reported that Harlequin Enterprises had fourth-quarter earnings in 2008 that were up 32 percent over the same period a year ago.<br /><br />The paranormal romance formula seems simple: magical being meets normal, or latently magical, potential mate →withholding of secrets or self →conflict → third party interference → challenge of skills →new awareness → resolution. Or something along those lines. However, there are certain standards of storytelling that must be in place for the concept to work. The most successful paranormal authors have figured out certain aspects of the storytelling that ring most true with readers.<br /><br />Following are some general guidelines as to why some supernatural romances work so well:<br /><br />• The magical skills and idiosyncracies of the hero or heroine are established early on and closely followed. This is sometimes called world building, but it’s also personality building. A reader wants to get the sense that the character could be a real person, someone they can understand. The only way for that to happen would be if the author knows their character as well as or better than she knows herself. So if, for instance, our hero Shazam has a fiery temper that can erupt without warning, the reader needs to be given glimpses of that before the actual eruption. It builds tension, as well as an affinity for what Shazam is thinking and feeling.<br /><br />• Supernatural skills have to be super. A reader doesn’t want a hero who can read really fast or jog backward. Exceptional abilities make for exceptional characters. One single ability that is carried out with unusual panache and an understanding that very few can do what he or she can do makes for riveting reading. As an example, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series focused on a family of vampires, unusual in itself. Yet, additionally, each vampire had a unique gift that gave him increased value to his family, and to the story: e.g. the ability to read minds; the ability to influence thought; the ability to heal; the gift of foresight. <br /><br />• Despite characters being in possession of such tremendous skills, the reader wants to be able to identify in some way with those characters. These are the all-too-human traits. Does she love dogs? Does he notice the way she never wants to be alone? Does an abiding anger or vengeance keep him from recognizing the feelings another has for him? Does she want to break free from her tribe or pack or past to forge a new life, but doesn’t know how? These very human dilemmas will make even a superstrong, shapeshifting vampire sympathetic in some way. Without it, the reader won’t care and won’t read on. <br /><br />• Finally, the atmosphere of the story sets the tone for the story itself. Yes, this is world building; it is also world decorating. Whether it’s regency time travel or urban fantasy, the reader wants to be submerged in the very air that surrounds the characters. What are the smells and temperature of the wind that blows in from the past, or the breeze that shuffles over the ripe fruits of the souk? The successful paranormal author structures an environment that, though supernatural, is believable because it is consistently on display through the use of vivid description. This is where research on the author’s part is most apparent. A story told among the sidhe (shee) of Ireland must convey the essence of Ireland like a well-written travel article would. Travels among the djinn of the Middle East must evoke the exotic scents and textures of locales that most Western readers will never have visited. Research, imagination, and lush narrative combine for the successful setting.<br /><br />Once these building blocks are in place, it’s up to the author to carry the story through. An unpredictable plot is a sure way to hold the attention of the reader, and that really does depend upon the skill of the author. In today’s rapidly evolving storytelling industry, one thing that is predictable, however, is that romance fiction is here to stay. <br /><br /><br /> K. F. Zuzulo<br />Author of A Genie in the House of Saud: Zubis Rises, from Mystical Publishing<br />and The Third Wish, from Sapphire Blue Publishing<br /><a href="http://www.zubisrises.com">www.zubisrises.com</a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-1464036413826653482009-04-03T10:56:00.000-07:002009-04-03T10:56:30.013-07:00Bryl's Blog: Honor National Humor Month!<a href="http://brylrtyne.blogspot.com/2009/04/honor-national-humor-month.html">Bryl's Blog: Honor National Humor Month!</a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-51020327372796314982009-03-23T08:38:00.000-07:002009-03-23T08:39:14.794-07:00Afraid, by Jack Kilborn : A horrifying book. I ate it upAfraid by Jack Kilborn is a horrifying book with a particularly satisfying ending. <br /><br />I like cozies. I might as well be honest about that. Also happy ever afters. Further, in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that I read AFRAID by <a href="http://www.JackKilborn.com">Jack Kilborn </a>(with a view to a review) because <a href="http://www.JAKonrath.com">Joe Konrath</a> dared me to do so. He has a thick skin, and a strong stomach... and anyone who reads AFRAID needs both.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwojhd4UcLmhEbjtzFxxjMUTFLrJn4GC_oEZn1E6EmtwNZK9aLNeqthB9rCN9l8fOhvji6qvIrZr8xQC-GYvTaH0Lq1APIZHFXch4LtNaZTxFyt1aITJFfFqWcNoMrg78vYn9qhbjZaqz1/s1600-h/AfraidUS_sm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 193px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwojhd4UcLmhEbjtzFxxjMUTFLrJn4GC_oEZn1E6EmtwNZK9aLNeqthB9rCN9l8fOhvji6qvIrZr8xQC-GYvTaH0Lq1APIZHFXch4LtNaZTxFyt1aITJFfFqWcNoMrg78vYn9qhbjZaqz1/s400/AfraidUS_sm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315670307634636514" /></a><br />This is not a book to take on a fishing trip, especially if you've left your loved ones at home, alone. In fact, this book ought to come with a free membership of the NRA. You'll want your Brinks alarm turned on, and a loaded shotgun under your mattress if you read AFRAID in bed at night. You might want one of those panic button pendants, too.<br /><br />Be warned. It is gruesome. AFRAID is the sort of book to be read aloud, in a large group. Maybe journalists who need to be kept up all night --for a slow-to-break story on Airforce One, for instance-- or secret types on a stakeout, would get a bang out of AFRAID.<br /><br />The villains are seriously, SERIOUSLY, nasty. My own most horrible villain (Insufficient Mating Material) rendered his victims insensible, had his wicked way, then took a small plug of pubic hair for a souvenir. Jack Kilborn's baddies do a great deal more than that. You get a sense of the horrors to come when a faceless bad guy sits on his first victim's bed, and when she asks what he's going to do to her, he says "Everything."<br /><br />And that's just page 7.<br /><br />This book contains some sick stuff. Nothing is off limits. Think Hannibal Lecter times five --or six by my count-- with the absolute might and force of the US government backing them up...or at least covering them up.<br /><br />The pace is relentless, the characterization --unfortunately-- is excellent. You will care about these people. No one deserves to die the way so many do. The writing is crystal clear, like carved coal, dark, sparkling, with more than an evil glint. There's no silliness, no messing about, and nothing strikes you as implausible at the time, even if some of the violence is over the top.<br /> <br />You won't want to put down this book until you reach the last line. It's a good last line. Really good. <br /><br />Afraid is a horrifying book with a particularly satisfying ending. I thoroughly recommend it.<br /><br />best wishes,<br /><br />Rowena Cherry<br />SPACE SNARK™<br /><br />Scroll down the playlist for Knight's Fork related interview<br /><a href="http://www.theauthorsshow.com">http://www.theauthorsshow.com/</a><br /><br />Then sign up to apply for your own interview!Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-58554870548612742442009-03-01T10:49:00.000-08:002009-03-01T10:50:53.640-08:00JA KonrathS.A. begins with a most unhappy --but healthy-- gentleman crossing a snowy parking lot, carrying a semi-see-through, blue plastic box containing a large stool sample. In fact, it's not a sample. It's the whole enchilada.<br /><br />He's taking this vigorous specimen to his doctor because there's something unusual about it. There are buttons and coins embedded in it. Now, it's nothing like that health insurance advert where the patient has money coming out of the wazoo, as the western oriental ER surgeon explained when making one of those predetermination phone calls.<br /><br />The coins are small change. The doctor's advice about unhealthy midnight snacks is... priceless.<br /><br />After a thorough rectal exam which brings to light many strange things and leads to some unpalatable conclusions in the mind of our hero, he waddles off to search the internet for clues as to whom he's been eating when the moon is full.<br />Just when I thought I'd read every dragonish permutation of bad people tasting good (or bad), or good people tasting bad (or good), JA Konrath comes up with a fresh twist. <br /><br />This story is a riot. I laughed out loud three times in the first three pages. Of course, there are certain bathroom words that will make me laugh out loud. One of them is poop.<br /><br />The would-be sci-fi writer in me appreciated the elegance of JA Konrath's solution as regards mass. The hero has a mind-boggling telephone conversation with a were-squirrel... who collects nuts... and he asks both questions that spring to mind, much to this reader's delight.<br /><br />I'm not going to tell you what 'S.A.' means, because I enjoyed guessing. <br />Poop is a very good place to start, when one is creating a convincing werewolf. Done right, starting with the scat is an excellent short cut to world-building.<br />Jacqueline Lichtenberg advises world-builders to start with the sun. But for a short story about a magical being, why not start where the sun don't shine? I'm not a gentle reader. I don't suspend disbelief easily. I'm not programmed to trust my author, no matter how outrageous. Not at first, anyway.<br /><br />I can give a turd the benefit of the doubt for several reasons. For a start, the narrator is embarrassed about it. That's believable. He's also frightened. He's not Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs), so he's probably not inclined to put it through a sieve.<br />If there are bits of teeth, chips of bone, coins, buttons, a crucifix, a clump of dead man's beard... I get the picture. I don't worry about the force of a werewolf's bite, or his stomach capacity, or the inhuman speed of his digestive processes whereby the indigestible evidence of his midnight feast ends up in his morning toilet bowl.<br /><br />I found SA hugely entertaining, although the short tale did plunge into farce, horror, sweet romance, and heart pounding action. Perhaps a little too much was packed into 50 pages, but it was great fun.Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-4575005423490276232009-01-11T06:53:00.000-08:002009-01-11T06:59:58.004-08:00Knight's Fork wins AmazonClicks.com Award<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LggwG-DVokaVkrSt5AFwz4FYA5P1alyA4-AlJGCqhnTVFmn3W9iywVy2wO2E-Asc2HpE7eFWMIkhbVtFJZyEun-SsDb_O7xxSHvToq5_B8DrWk2M6IM07RMAZa2BgPp_YKJ-8IyH94Yo/s1600-h/DecemberAuthors-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LggwG-DVokaVkrSt5AFwz4FYA5P1alyA4-AlJGCqhnTVFmn3W9iywVy2wO2E-Asc2HpE7eFWMIkhbVtFJZyEun-SsDb_O7xxSHvToq5_B8DrWk2M6IM07RMAZa2BgPp_YKJ-8IyH94Yo/s400/DecemberAuthors-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290047656787828914" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazonclicks.com/Allwinners.html">http://www.amazonclicks.com/Allwinners.html</a> <br /><br />I am absolutely thrilled that Knight's Fork received enough votes to win the award, and I'd like to thank all the authors who voted.Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-40585257959654095262008-11-16T12:41:00.000-08:002008-11-16T12:43:09.840-08:00You couldn't make this up. GM, Mad Max and 1984I'm a Science-fiction Romance writer. I look at History (which repeats itself) also current events, and I wonder What If...?<br /><br />Not that I write it, yet, but Steampunk is where the writer changes one invention from the time of the industrial revolution, such as H.G. Wells's "The Time Machine". That was the "age of steam", hence steam punk.<br /><br />More recently, there is "cyber punk" which I suppose relates to choices made in Silicon Valley in the 1980s. One of the hallmarks of punk writing is that it explores the road not traveled and the consequences of a different decision whether made by a scientist, a businessman, or a politician (I assume).<br /><br />I'm using "gunk" punk because if steam is what the Nineteenth Century machines are remembered for, then gunk might be what petroleum-driven cars leave behind. Or maybe I've been watching too many STP commercials.<br /><br />Gratuitous decoration<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCALyAu6lTyblozGo14Oh9kVat9-a4Ze9a7c1jS2mvP_c6P3WJyCWisSK0y9YBTnR03wNFiegfasxVwdfuq8YEV31M3szeM6WwwS8xQisD8PgJV7N0hj8kA0EfWWybBb2cr9pk-tMPXs/s1600-h/03_hel_cad_vrs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCALyAu6lTyblozGo14Oh9kVat9-a4Ze9a7c1jS2mvP_c6P3WJyCWisSK0y9YBTnR03wNFiegfasxVwdfuq8YEV31M3szeM6WwwS8xQisD8PgJV7N0hj8kA0EfWWybBb2cr9pk-tMPXs/s400/03_hel_cad_vrs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269271096365148418" /></a><br /><br />This is a car made by my husband, with his own hands and the help of a few people he contracted with privately. He burned his hands on hot clay, he came home with his eyebrows covered in dust from sanding... he lost 10lbs from all the exercise. This photo was taken at SEMA by Jonathon Ramsey for Autoblog.com <a href="http://tinyurl.com/5kv9jf">http://tinyurl.com/5kv9jf</a><br /><br /><br />So, what if... in the 1940s American didn't have a manufacturing industry and depended on Germany and Japan? I'd probably be blogging in German, right?<br /><br />History is being made right now, that's why I'm laying claim to "gunk punk" (unless someone has already thought of it, or someone has a better name). Peter M DeLorenzo of autoextremist.com <br /><a href="http://www.autoextremist.com/current/">http://www.autoextremist.com/current/</a> may have done so, but he doesn't write fiction as far as I know. He has a jaw dropping rant going on.<br /><br />Peter is also selling an alarming book (non-fiction) titled <a href="http://www.unitedstatesoftoyota.com">"The United States of Toyota."</a><br /><br />Alarming cover art.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RxFqmVSWDXsLt5li8wsHFxnEie9Gve__UO64yf4UxzWz-vpfN-0JfLWi_A4Dcb8NHI5SBAFraM33xpjfF8QCMJuifaoBc1CnGECb9uEp2szHkRrmNYVxjh7qCQhUao_1VwYJo5fJPYg/s1600-h/51-8VSo0ujL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RxFqmVSWDXsLt5li8wsHFxnEie9Gve__UO64yf4UxzWz-vpfN-0JfLWi_A4Dcb8NHI5SBAFraM33xpjfF8QCMJuifaoBc1CnGECb9uEp2szHkRrmNYVxjh7qCQhUao_1VwYJo5fJPYg/s400/51-8VSo0ujL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269275532309743538" /></a><br /><br />I am now imagining myself as a writer in, say 2020 (hindsight pun!) looking back on the third week of November 2008 when Congress made a catastrophic vote NOT to make a loan to the last American car companies.<br /><br />It's a "Mad Max" world now. Or perhaps it's Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow" world with a touch of "1984". The Jesuits and the Japanese rule. We have an Emperor. And a Pope. And a third Minister of some sort, because good things come in threes.<br /><br />Onstar speaks to us in Japanese in our cars. We cannot turn it off. They got Murdoch, too. And Comcast. All our Direct TV has Japanese subtitles. We cannot turn it off. Big Brother looks a lot like Vladimir Putin with Botox to get rid of the ugly Western crease in his eyelids. He tells us what to think.<br /><br />America is bankrupt. When the world bank foreclosed, one of the creditors took Hawaii, another took the island of Manhattan, another took the Great Lakes for the water. No one wanted Detroit... I could go on. In a grim way, this is rather fun.<br /><br />Maybe my imagination is overactive. I hope so! I was having trouble fitting any kind of Romance into my budding novel of milieu.<br /><br />My point is, pay attention to the information that is available, and store it up for future reference. (Thank goodness for flashdrive!). There's a massive dissonance right now between the truth and what people are saying in the media. <br /><br />If interested in GM's version of car myth vs fact visit <a href="http://gmfactsandfiction.com/">http://gmfactsandfiction.com/</a><br /><br />Best wishes,<br />Rowena CherryRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-91477162349541178442008-10-10T08:54:00.000-07:002008-10-14T23:12:47.566-07:00Poverty: Topic for Blog Action DayInterview on Poverty for October 15th (Global Blog Action Day)<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />I'm embarrassed, but I'm not familiar with the correct way to address a member of the Capuchin order (or any other monk). Are you Father, Frater, Brother….? And is it polite to call you a monk?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />The vision of our founder, St. Francis of Assisi, was that we would be brothers to the world—first of all, to other human beings, of course, but also to all of creation—the birds, the animals, the fish of the sea. He spoke of “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon”, and taught us that we must deal respectfully with all of creation. This was eight hundred years ago—he was “into” ecology way back then! I say all this to arrive at the point that since we strive to be brothers to the world, it is never incorrect to address any Capuchin as “brother”, even if he happens to be a priest. (Some of us are priests and some are not, but the bottom line is that we are all brothers.) And technically we are not monks, as monks are “attached” to a certain monastery for a lifetime whereas we are much more mobile. So it is more correct to call Capuchins “friars” (which comes from the Latin word for “brother”, though we are similar to monks and even call some of our residences monasteries. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />I've seen The Sound of Music, and I've read some of Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael mysteries, and I saw Richard Chamberlain in The Thorn Birds.<br /><br />What is the difference between a monk and a Catholic priest, in terms of job description, career expectations, pecking order, contact with members of the public?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />As I stated above, a monk is attached to a particular monastery for a life time; that does not mean that he can never leave the premises, but that he is “connected” to that monastery for his entire life. Most priests in this country are diocesan priests, meaning that they are “attached” to a particular diocese for a lifetime. A diocese is a geographic area of the country, of which a bishop is the leader or shepherd. He is the leader of all the Catholics in that area, and the diocese is organized into local parishes or churches. Those churches are served by priests who in most cases have been ordained to serve within that diocese.<br /><br />However, within the Catholic Church there are also religious orders, such as the Capuchins, who are groups of men or women who feel called to live the vowed life (poverty, chastity and obedience) in the spirit of their founder. In our case, that was St. Francis of Assisi; in the case of the Dominicans, it was St. Dominic; in the case of the Jesuits, it was St. Ignatius of Loyola. The bottom line for us in religious life is that we feel called to live that vowed life within a community of like-minded individuals. Thus, living that life faithfully and authentically is our bottom line. Now, within those religious orders of men, some members are priests and some are not priests. Our common life; our charism and spirituality are the same; it is just that the way we live it out is different: the priests do so as administrators of the sacraments and by celebrating the mass, those who are not priests work as teachers or social workers or nurses, etc. Those who are priests “report” to the leaders of their order, whereas priests of the diocese are under the leadership of the bishop.<br /><br />This is getting to be a very long answer, but in response to another part of the question, within the Capuchin Order we try to live without a “pecking order.” We proclaim ourselves a fraternity of equals, with no special privileges for anyone, whether ordained or not ordained. Members of some monastic orders live quite contemplatively without much contact with the world beyond the monastery walls., we Capuchins are very involved in the world. However, although we Capuchins try to be contemplative as well, (spending a significant portion of each day in prayer and contemplation), we are very involved in the world. In fact, our mission is no less than to “transform the world through reverence!” <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Rowena</span><br />Is it true that nuns, monks, and Catholic priests all take vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience? If not, who takes what vow? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />Men and women members of religious orders (ordained and non-ordained) take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Some take a vow of stability as well, meaning that they are attached to a particular monastery for life. Diocesan priests take vows of chastity and obedience.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />I'm sure that there's a very good reason why there are three vows, and they are "Poverty". "Chastity" and "Obedience"? Would you liken those three vows to the three legs on a stool?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />My understanding of the vows is that all people are called to live poverty, chastity and obedience, but that vowed religious are called to live them more intently. To me the vow of poverty means to use respectfully the goods of the earth, to share those goods with others, and to use no more than we need. Chastity means that I view others as magnificent creations of God, who are to always be treated respectfully. And obedience means “careful listening”—to God, to life, to others, to those in authority. And it seems to me that living poorly, respectfully and with a “listening spirit” is fundamental for anyone--vowed religious or not--to living life fully and harmoniously with others and with all creation.<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />What is it like to take a vow of poverty, and to live a life of poverty within a monastic order?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />Once again, I do not technically belong to a “monastic order”—but I did take a vow of poverty. Throughout the centuries (and the vowed religious life goes back for centuries and centuries) there has been great discussion and debate about what the vow of poverty “means.” My understanding is that the vow calls us to a respectful use of all things material, to hold in common what we have, and to share what we have. On a practical level that means that the car I drive belongs to the community, not to me personally. It means that I have no bank or checking account in my name, and that the salary I earn is turned over to the community and placed in the general fund to cover the needs of all. It means that I must respond to those in need and share what I have with a wider world. And it means that I live simply, without accumulating a lot of “things,” or chasing after a lot of money. <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />Could you compare and contrast monastic poverty with the poverty you see in Detroit? (Or any other inner city)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />The most obvious difference is the fact that those of us who have taken a vow of poverty almost always have what we need in order to live with dignity and comfort, whereas many others who live in Detroit do not. Again, my understanding of the vow of poverty does not mean that I am to live in destitution—there is nothing blessed about that. Rather, it means that I live simply, using only what I need, and sharing what I have with others. The difference is that while most of us who have taken a vow of poverty do not have a great deal of “things”, drive modest cars, dress and eat simply, we do it out of choice and conviction. Many others, however, are forced to do so—there is no choice about it. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />Is it true that in Brother Cadfael's time, impoverished and unwanted young people were sent to a convent or monastery? If so, why wouldn't that work in modern times?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />I am not certain about the social conditions specifically during Brother Cadfael’s time, but I do know that throughout the centuries entrance into a convent or monastery was sometimes a viable option to a life of poverty when there were few other escape routes. I guess the key thing here is choice—a choice to enter the vowed life must be made freely, without coercion. The life style must fit one’s temperament and “spirit”; otherwise, I suspect the person involved would not enjoy much happiness in trying to live a lifestyle that does not “fit.” <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />How is a Capuchin Soup Kitchen different from a Salvation Army soup kitchen?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />Although I have had little experience with a Salvation Army soup kitchen, I suspect that we would have much in common. I believe that our motivators are basically the same—the idea that we are all sons and daughters of a common God, and that we must care for each other. I am certain that we share a belief in the goodness and dignity of all human beings. One possible difference is that –and I’m not sure about this—is that the Salvation Army perhaps uses their facilities as places to proselytize—preach—whereas we do not. Our founder, St. Francis of Assisi, said, “Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words.” In other words, we try to preach by the way we live our lives. We feed hungry people because it is the right thing to do, not because we want to preach to and convert them.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />Why is there so much poverty in Detroit? Would there be less poverty if there was more chastity and obedience in our society?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br /><br />Another Capuchin brother once said to me that what we have in Detroit is ”economic apartheid”, that when most of the white people moved out beyond Eight Mile Road, they took with them most of the jobs and the financial resources of the city. While I believe that that analysis is somewhat simplistic, I do believe that there is a great correlation between racism and poverty. But the decline of manufacturing in these cities is also a huge factor, as well as limited educational opportunities and poor transportation systems for the people left in the city. And while I have not thought a whole lot about this, I suppose a case could be made that if everyone treated everyone else respectfully (chastity), and everyone really listened to their inner voice and the voice of God speaking to us (obedience), there would be less poverty in the world because we would conclude that it is unconscionable that some of us enjoy such excess, while millions have not the basic necessities of life. And we would do something about it. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />I was very impressed with your organic vegetable gardens on the abandoned lots of Detroit. I've also heard that lots in Detroit are unsold (owing to the debts and back taxes) for $1 each.<br /><br />I also hear the saying "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish…" What would happen if the Capuchin monks taught Detroiters to grow their own vegetables?<br /><br />What would happen if the Capuchins organized allotments (tiny communal market gardens) ? Like Habitat for Humanity, only for vegetable gardens instead of dwellings?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br /><br />There is a strong movement underway in the city right now to encourage people to grow a portion of their own food. The Greening of Detroit is very active in this endeavor, and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen works in collaboration with that organization. In fact, the Soup Kitchen has a greenhouse where each year approximately 100,000 vegetable seedlings are grown for distribution to individual gardeners and community gardens throughout the city. Each year the program grows in number of participants and levels of enthusiasm, and some of the gardeners are now selling some of their produce. Here at the Soup Kitchen some of our guests have tiny plots where they grow vegetables of their choice, and it is gratifying to observe the care with which the gardens are tended. Working with the earth is also very calming and healing, and I really believe that gardening can help heal the wounds so prevalent among the people of our city. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena </span><br /><br />I see you do "Teach a Man to bake…" Tell me why the Capuchins chose baking as a new career for men who have been incarcerated. Can a man "bake" his way out of poverty and destitution? <br /><br />Or, is the baking a way of providing the bread to accompany the vegetable soups?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Jerry</span><br />Our ROPE program (Reaching Our Potential Every day) teaches baking techniques and life skills to formerly homeless or incarcerated men. The idea is not simply to learn a skill or trade, but to simultaneously address the issues that brought the men to homelessness or incarceration in the first place. Thus, participants do receive training in baking, but at the same time deal with their addiction problems, or work on obtaining their GED or other educational pursuits, or receive professional counseling to come to peace with issues that have caused them turmoil in their lives up until now. The hope is that after they have been in the program a year they will have saved enough money and resolved enough of their personal issues that they can successfully “re-enter” society and become assets to their community. Some might choose to continue working in the field of baking; others may pursue truck driving or whatever other career might interest them. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />How does donating clothing, furniture, and appliances to the Capuchins for distribution differ (if at all) from donating to the Red Cross or Salvation Army, or Purple Heart? <br /><br />I've never received a postcard or a phone call from the Capuchins telling me that their truck will be in my neighborhood, and asking if I have anything to donate. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br /><br />I’m not sure about all the other organizations named, but one possible difference is that items that are donated to us are distributed free of charge to people in need—we do not sell them. And while in the past we were able to send trucks out into the neighborhoods to pick up donations, the costs of fuel and labor now make that prohibitive. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />What have I not asked about Poverty that I ought to have asked?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br />Entire books have been written about poverty. I could go on and on—but I think we have a good overview here at least.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rowena</span><br />Are the Capuchins only in Detroit? If not, where else are your Soup Kitchens, Gardens, Art Therapy Programs, Food package donation outlets, and shower facilities?<br /><br />What have I not asked about The Capuchin Order and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen service sites that you'd like to mention?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jerry</span><br /><br />The Capuchins are an international order of brothers, found all over the world. In the United States (and internationally as well) we are divided into geographic provinces. There are six provinces in this country, and this Province of St. Joseph is headquartered here in Detroit. We are about two hundred members, and are separate from the other provinces in terms of finances and personnel. The Province of St. Joseph sponsors a similar food program in Milwaukee, though not of this magnitude. I am not familiar with much of the work of other provinces, although I do know that the friars in Denver operate a homeless shelter, as do friars of the Pittsburg province stationed in Washington, DC. Traditionally throughout the world we have been known to minister among the very poor. <br /><br />I would like to close this by acknowledging that the work we do is made possible only through the generosity of the people of this community. Our annual budget is seven million dollars, and most of that money comes from fundraising activities and donations from generous benefactors. It is very humbling to me that people trust us so. I also extend to anyone interested, an invitation to come and visit us. We are very proud of what we do, and love to show it off! <br /><br /><br />Useful Contact Information for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit<br />Website<br /><a href="http://www.cskdetroit.org">www.cskdetroit.org</a><br /><br />To volunteer<br /><a href="http://volunteer@cskdetroit.org">volunteer@cskdetroit.org</a><br />313-822-8606 ext 10<br /><br />To donate<br />313-579-2100 ext 173<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIeMk_IcpgcCxjT6mlxNm5NI2pG_jQsd6cAd_LODIF98J-UZWmtbtR8l9dqCon4c9sdtBDrW3OtLvqOPnZt-sSySijK9fmFu5EU8qojfSjtEBcUeGj0h01XkJJemnorUVtjnSp7DNIZ32t/s1600-h/blog_publish.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIeMk_IcpgcCxjT6mlxNm5NI2pG_jQsd6cAd_LODIF98J-UZWmtbtR8l9dqCon4c9sdtBDrW3OtLvqOPnZt-sSySijK9fmFu5EU8qojfSjtEBcUeGj0h01XkJJemnorUVtjnSp7DNIZ32t/s400/blog_publish.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255547296558185474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-t66HPyrggMl5MEFx02SmOQWDA_JkZoXeCURP0scTrhcwK3as3u2YvsPtl-mg-Sd4cREq29aNiHORQLvq1mkE25jApGoh8uavuJBrSDGmTEiJuNhv4L97iGOcm_wSRhTLfrz8Mf62ZWn/s1600-h/blog_promote.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-t66HPyrggMl5MEFx02SmOQWDA_JkZoXeCURP0scTrhcwK3as3u2YvsPtl-mg-Sd4cREq29aNiHORQLvq1mkE25jApGoh8uavuJBrSDGmTEiJuNhv4L97iGOcm_wSRhTLfrz8Mf62ZWn/s400/blog_promote.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255547150650890610" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit83D5VEcl1zsJhyla1qUF5KNZg5CP0ca0kr02zQbS_QgjUjDtLEDxuTaSDRob3eDiczmPymBPN2vgxeS_58SrrIoNiJ-OrFgvr6nXtbExrb_swLf9x-MPxipR0HoYbQ3Card7FrBLgKfb/s1600-h/blog_donate.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit83D5VEcl1zsJhyla1qUF5KNZg5CP0ca0kr02zQbS_QgjUjDtLEDxuTaSDRob3eDiczmPymBPN2vgxeS_58SrrIoNiJ-OrFgvr6nXtbExrb_swLf9x-MPxipR0HoYbQ3Card7FrBLgKfb/s400/blog_donate.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255547050890844498" /></a><br /><br /><br />Thank you very much!<br />Rowena Cherry<br /><br /><a href="http://blogactionday.org/js/d36c82f64f9d18ccbaf02723a96e02a7b5276306">http://blogactionday.org/js/d36c82f64f9d18ccbaf02723a96e02a7b5276306</a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-801970875737676712008-10-06T07:35:00.000-07:002008-10-06T07:37:14.739-07:00Truth in advertising (my god-Princes of Tigron series)Here's a bit of fun. I'm trying out what I call "Contrarian Marketing". I've been on a blog tour (I'll report back on the success of that, too) and I noticed that Savannah had a list, and she said she'd got the idea from someone else.<br /><br />Those of us who are trying what might be a new trend of truth in advertising are tweaking the idea of a list in different ways. I find it the perfect compliment to my mission statement.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote>My goal as an author is to give good value. I expect to provide my readers with six to eight hours of amusement, a couple of really good laughs, a romantic frisson or two from the sensual scenes, a thoroughly satisfying Happy Ever After, and something to think--or talk-- about when the book is finished. And possibly some useful information</blockquote><br /></span><br /><br />ELEVEN REASONS NOT TO READ KNIGHT'S FORK<br /><br />11. Disrespectful words such as tallywacker and joystick are used with reference to male body parts<br /><br />10. It's long. (Not the tallywacker... well, it is, but I meant the book). Knight's Fork has 340 pages, and most new Chapters do not begin on a fresh page.<br /><br />9. It has a Prologue and an Epilogue. That's two beginnings, and two endings!<br /><br />8. It's going to take about eight hours to read.<br /><br />7. The hero is a 28 year old virgin and proud of it. (He's also ruthless with a weapon of a different sort).<br /><br />6. The heroine is locked in a chastity belt, and she doesn't have a key.<br /><br />5. The family tree is so complicated they needed to spread it over two pages.<br /><br />4. If you read in bed, your significant other might be disturbed by your giggles and snorts.<br /><br />3. The F- word is used, but only by villains, and only in conversation.<br /><br />2. If you read it in public, someone may ask why the naked man on the cover is lying in a puddle<br /><br />1. If you don't read every paragraph, you may ask yourself why the naked man is lying in a puddle<br /><br /><br />If the above list has not deterred you, please look for Knight's Fork at this convenient location<br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/KnightsFork">http://tinyurl.com/KnightsFork</a><br /><br />Knight's Fork was awarded a PNR Reviewer's "Top Pick" <br />also a LASR readers' choice for Best Book of the Week<br /><br />It's predecessor, Insufficient Mating Material recently won the 2008 Hollywood Book Festival's Romance category.<br /><br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/Backlist-reviews">http://tinyurl.com/Backlist-reviews</a><br /><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=Rowena+Cherry">http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=Rowena+Cherry</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">TEN (AND A HALF) REASONS NOT TO READ INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL</span><br /><br /><br />10. <span style="font-style:italic;">Insufficient Mating Material</span> are not words I feel comfortable waving about in front of gentlemen on the bus or train, for instance.<br /><br />9. If it's about a man with a small penis, I don't want to read that... I see enough of that at home/at the office/on TV.<br /><br />8. It's going to take about eight hours to read.<br /><br />7b. I find it totally implausible that a male could have a tattoo on his male body parts... and as for one that flashes in the dark, I'm not interested in the slightest.<br /><br />7. The hero is a loser. I don't like books that take the antagonist from a previous book and give him a happy ending.<br /><br />6. I don't identify with a heroine who is a little bit overweight, and who wears a corset (or any other tummy taming garment).<br /><br />5. The family tree is at the back of the book. I'll be furious when I find that I wasted all that energy trying to memorize the characters' names and relationships.<br /><br />4. I've heard that if I read Insufficient Mating Material in bed, my giggles and guffaws will annoy my significant other.<br /><br />3. The F- word is used by the hero both as an expletive and as a verb.<br /><br />2. If "Survivorman" Les Stroud loved it, there's probably too much information about hunting, fishing, camping, and surviving in the wilderness.<br /><br />1. Apparently, it contains "<span style="font-style:italic;">a sizzling passion hot enough to singe</span>" my "<span style="font-style:italic;">fingers as I turn the pages</span>".... That sounds uncomfortable.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">TEN REASONS NOT TO BUY FORCED MATE</span><br /><br />10. I'm told that it's not a bodice ripper, but it sounds like one.<br /><br />9. PS. I like bodice rippers.<br /><br />8. It's going to take about eight hours to read.<br /><br />7. The hero is an alpha male. I don't like books that give male chauvinist pigs a happy ending.<br /><br />6. I don't identify with beautiful, spirited, young, virginal heroines who have some funny ideas about sex.<br /><br />5. I can't get my tongue around the Dj- names. I know that I simply pronouce them as if the D isn't there, but all the Ds bother me.<br /><br />4. I've heard that if I read Forced Mate in bed, my giggles and guffaws will annoy my significant other.<br /><br />3. The alien hero uses alien swear words. Moreover, his command of English grammar isn't perfect. He says unsense instead of nonsense. I hate that!<br /><br />2. The spirited heroine uses her wits and her tongue. I can never have enough of heroines who kick the heroes in the goolies.<br /><br />1. I don't like fantasy books set in England. Or in outer space.<br /><br /><br /><br />Rowena Cherry<br /><a href="http://www.rowenacherry.com">http://www.rowenacherry.com</a><br /><br /><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=Rowena+Cherry"><br />http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=Rowena+Cherry</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I think Rowena's true skill is that she weaves this intricate world of aliens and sex just the same way J.K. Rowling weaves the world of Wizards.</span><br />~Des DiFabio, bookclubqueenRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-39284552550406038692008-09-29T14:09:00.000-07:002008-09-29T14:09:00.762-07:00Star-Crossed Romance: Guest - Rowena Cherry<a href="http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2008/09/guest-rowena-cherry.html#links">Star-Crossed Romance: Guest - Rowena Cherry</a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-11653832389054931832008-09-21T12:26:00.001-07:002008-09-21T12:27:50.681-07:00Knight's Fork is shipping from Amazon<span style="font-weight:bold;">KNIGHT'S FORK is a page-turner from the very first one to the very last. I enjoyed it so much, after I reached the last page I started right from the beginning again. KNIGHT’S FORK has it all! If you only have time to read one book this season, I highly recommend you run out and grab a copy today.</span><br /><br />~Kimberly Leslie<br /><a href="http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/paranormal/Knight_s_Fork.shtml"><br />http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/paranormal/Knight_s_Fork.shtml</a><br /><br />Three other reviews have been posted on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/KnightsFork">Amazon</a>, and the book is in stock, as are <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Backlist-reviews">Forced Mate</a> and <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Backlist-reviews">Insufficient Mating Material </a><br /> <br /><br />Blurb:<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">What is a queen to do when the sperm donor of her dreams says no?</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">Carpe Scrotum. Seize Life by the Testicles! </span>The Queen Consort of the Volnoth needs a sperm donor and only one green-eyed god has the right stuff. Little does she know that she has pinned all her hopes on the crown jewels of the fabled Royal Saurian Djinn. Not only is he the son of her greatest enemy, but he has taken a vow of chastity.<br /><br />Knight's Fork continues the alien romance series of the god-Princes of Tigron, begun with Forced Mate. It takes up right after the grand downfall of my most heinous villain in Insufficient Mating Material, and this time the hero is 'Rhett. <br /><br />'Rhett has incurred the resentment of his elder brothers/cousins for his more-virtuous-than-thou attitude, his spoilsport interference when they want irresponsible sex with unsuitable partners, and simply because he is his father's only son. They decide that he must be hiding a sordid secret, and they set out to find out who she is.<br /> <br /><br /><br />Rowena Cherry <br />http://www.rowenacherry.com <br />http://tinyurl.com/Buy-KnightsForkRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-59857437413020024522008-06-11T11:59:00.000-07:002008-06-11T12:51:19.059-07:00The Book Club Queen interviewExcerpt from an interview with the Book Club Queen<br /><br />"....with my family tree. My two biggest mistakes were getting my arithmetic wrong, and in giving every character at least one (out of seven) royal "Djinn" name beginning with Dj---.<br /><br />The D is silent.<br /><br />In my ignorance, I thought that a Dj- would be a convenient signal to my reader that this was another Djinn Prince or Princess. Not everyone agrees with me.<br /><br />As for the arithmetic, that left me with the choice of being nasty or inconsistent. I chose to be consistent, and rely on Egyptian and European history where royal marriages --even between infants-- was accepted, puberty was earlier, and fifteen year old Princes led armies into battle.<br /><br />Thus, my family tree has given me intellectual challenges, but has also supplied a structure... and plenty of skeletons in the Royal closet."<br /><br /><br />To find out what Des DiFabio asked about bodily functions, curses, and the use of toilets in Romance, and what Rowena Cherry said, check out the interview:<br /><br /><br />Interview: <a href="http://www.book-club-queen.com/book-club-questions-6.html">http://www.book-club-queen.com/book-club-questions-6.html</a><br /><br /><br />Review of FORCED MATE: <a href="http://www.book-club-queen.com/free-book-review-6.html">http://www.book-club-queen.com/free-book-review-6.html<br /> </a><br />SNIP<br /><br />"I found Forced Mate a breath of fresh air in the romance arena. Sure it had it's love scenes (which actually were written with surprising intimacy and class), and definitely more than one allusion to various phallic symbols, but it was also unique, witty, and very clever."<br /><br /> ~ Des DiFabio, bookclubqueen<br /> <br />"I think Rowena's true skill is that she weaves this intricate world of aliens and sex just the same way J.K. Rowling weaves the world of Wizards."<br />~Des DiFabio, bookclubqueen <br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzLFcURmorRe9fgm0LOND6j6N1gZdF9t84hv8SljMsnGwXAfdBkXVF4SlWa8mJoMK_70upGl4ZryVSvmUL50g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-66047219651168005902008-05-11T10:43:00.000-07:002008-11-18T17:06:25.220-08:00Bear Awareness Show tonight on PIVTR<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlblnaKNODsSRrqDwEA4E_fyKqprqwewCgvx4E9UaFaEakivTPOvNJY-DlvyRSNKa4Nib3zKW0wEsr6JwL_k0SzsWIERtGWDvxvIHF2kG9pqWqwn-2KLASit_i96q8Ynm-ELlDAVSj6s/s1600-h/Rock.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlblnaKNODsSRrqDwEA4E_fyKqprqwewCgvx4E9UaFaEakivTPOvNJY-DlvyRSNKa4Nib3zKW0wEsr6JwL_k0SzsWIERtGWDvxvIHF2kG9pqWqwn-2KLASit_i96q8Ynm-ELlDAVSj6s/s320/Rock.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199106637464298210" /></a><br /><br /><br />I can't resist a totally --well, not <span style="font-style:italic;">totally</span>-- gratuitous hunk to start the day. Look out for further news from me about how this manly pose was transformed into a poster representing 'Rhett (Prince Djarrhett) the hero of the sequel to <a href="http://www.rowenacherry.com/excerpts/">Forced Mate</a> and <a href="http://www.rowenacherry.com/excerpts/">Insufficient Mating Material</a>. Or maybe you've seen the ad with the temporary cover?<br /><br />He could give me a Bear Hug any day!<br /><br />Anyway... Not only is today (Sunday) Mother's Day, but it is also the start of<br />Bear Awareness Week.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.angiefox.com">Angie Fox</a>, <a href="http://www.masek.net">Carrie Masek</a>, <a href="http://todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com">Sandy Lender</a>, <a href="http://www.cynthiaeden.com">Cynthia Eden</a> and <a href="http://windlegends.org">Charlee Boyett-<br />Compo</a> are joining me on internet voices radio tonight between 9pm<br />Eastern and eleven pm to give a whole new depth of meaning to Bear men and Romance.<br /><br />We'd love some listeners, even for a little while.<br /><br />FOR CRAZY TUESDAY: In the last program, <a href="http://www.jadeleeauthor.com">Jade Lee </a>and <a href="http://www.emilybryan.com">Emily Bryan</a> (aka<br />Diana Groe) talked about everything below the belt in honor of Earth<br />Day... from Brazilian waxes for courtesans, to castration, to foot<br />binding.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/CrazyTuesday.htm">http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/CrazyTuesday.htm</a><br /><br /><br />FOR CHERRY PICKING SPECIALS, which is the irreverent and irregular<br />Sunday night-time show about Romance heroes and the animals they shift<br />into being when the right female comes along.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/rowena.htm">http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/rowena.htm</a><br /><br /><br />Best wishes,<br />Rowena Cherry<br /><a href="http://www.rowenacherry.com">http://www.rowenacherry.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.internetvoicesradio.com">http://www.internetvoicesradio.com</a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-29099896714658315092008-05-07T13:20:00.000-07:002008-05-07T13:20:44.361-07:00Bears and RomanceRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-30590616437451153352008-04-08T15:02:00.000-07:002008-04-08T15:02:57.613-07:00In Bed With Books: The Gods of Tigron Trilogy<a href="http://inbedwithbooks.blogspot.com/2008/04/gods-of-tigron-trilogy.html">In Bed With Books: The Gods of Tigron Trilogy</a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-23517602378968129742008-03-28T04:58:00.000-07:002008-03-28T04:59:29.238-07:00April Fools Day "Crazy Tuesday"We'll be Fools in Boots, with Jade Lee, Marianne Mancusi, and Julie Kenner.Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-67877114173089143952008-03-28T04:54:00.000-07:002008-11-18T17:06:25.359-08:00Rowena Cherry website wins Award of Excellence<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvd0BiyDK3Lwq4TFLWrDHQpXwOuX65U1SzsntFtXtIL9AgZbY00cwbRg7UZmFNW4KMsmDlyuq5UMZTJG3BS18tJ5aO-uUmjatQ64dMW7jpzIEZRQEIf_Ceb722tserVeZfvFZ6uDrZbD6h/s1600-h/preditors.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvd0BiyDK3Lwq4TFLWrDHQpXwOuX65U1SzsntFtXtIL9AgZbY00cwbRg7UZmFNW4KMsmDlyuq5UMZTJG3BS18tJ5aO-uUmjatQ64dMW7jpzIEZRQEIf_Ceb722tserVeZfvFZ6uDrZbD6h/s400/preditors.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182747873582520242" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Thursday, I began the morning by responding to a surprise email from Dave at <a href="http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/">preditors and editors</a> asking me to contact him.<br /><br />Early in the evening, I received a notification that <a href="http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubaw.htm">Preditors and Editors</a> had awarded <a href="http://www.rowenacherry.com">my site</a> the Author's Site Of Excellence Award.<br /><br />Needless to say, I am thrilled!Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-56778597087909041152008-02-15T14:36:00.001-08:002008-11-18T17:06:25.472-08:00Insufficient Mating Material wins CAPA award<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeKX-NUuK3znkP7nqcZVCZoR-yZY76D1LfWx44XiDQ5MBChCTGq9kBIrZ8bOmiDVUkmXbUJKqxVcfVfASyg6P5TyZAcCIVS7ncj0mkxuw7QDxngudt7YYazFDxwST1T4fLjqklSVL_szD/s1600-h/fantasy2007capa.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeKX-NUuK3znkP7nqcZVCZoR-yZY76D1LfWx44XiDQ5MBChCTGq9kBIrZ8bOmiDVUkmXbUJKqxVcfVfASyg6P5TyZAcCIVS7ncj0mkxuw7QDxngudt7YYazFDxwST1T4fLjqklSVL_szD/s400/fantasy2007capa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167339566376949954" /></a>Rowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464454274349626807.post-78889726638530694492007-10-02T10:49:00.000-07:002007-12-23T00:51:10.346-08:00Cherry Picking the book videos<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RNnX5dyfzmQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RNnX5dyfzmQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Insufficient Mating Material<br />Rowena Cherry<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ekth8ne8H4Q"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ekth8ne8H4Q" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Rapture<br />Renee Field<br /><br /><br /><embed width="430" height="389" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://vid100.photobucket.com/flash/player.swf?file=http://vid100.photobucket.com/albums/m23/jadirogers/Video/FSRvideo.flv"></embed><br /><br />Faery Special Romance<br />Jacquie Rogers<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pF1DLC81KqA"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pF1DLC81KqA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Kiss Me Deadly<br />Susan Kearney<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cqrP5KtxJvc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cqrP5KtxJvc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />New Moon<br />Rebecca York<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CJKu3l3cagg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CJKu3l3cagg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />One Night With A Goddess<br />Judi McCoy<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/67CqBmXE2zI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/67CqBmXE2zI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Pearl Jinx<br />Sandra Hill<br /><br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" data="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=298500&server=vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF"> <param name="quality" value="best" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="scale" value="showAll" /> <param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=298500&server=vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF" /></object><br /><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/298500/l:embed_298500">Riding the Thunder (Remix version)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user195815/l:embed_298500">D Macgillivray</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/l:embed_298500">Vimeo</a>.<br /><br /><br />Riding The Thunder<br />Deborah MacGillivray<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V0_4RQoYyKc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V0_4RQoYyKc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Mating Net<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/rowena+cherry" rel="tag"><img style="border:0;vertical-align:middle;margin-left:.4em" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=rowena+cherry" alt=" " />Rowena Cherrry</a><br /><br /><a href="http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17740700">Lessons of Desire - Madeline Hunter - Book Trailer</a><br><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" flashvars="m=17740700&v=2&type=video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="346"></embed><br><a href="http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.addToProfileConfirm&videoid=17740700&title=Lessons of Desire - Madeline Hunter - Book Trailer">Add to My Profile</a> | <a href="http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.home">More Videos</a><br /><br />Lessons of Desire<br />Madeline HunterRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.com0