June 06, 2008
Fair Warning
My host is updating to MTOS 4 this weekend, so I am apologizing ahead for any blog breakage. I swear it ain't my fault. I'll fix it a soon as I can, should it happen. Please do let me know if you find any breakage. Thanks.
May 20, 2008
Author Links
Looking for something new to read? Try one of these good folks:
Fantasy Authors of Note
Forgotten Realms
Mystery Authors of Note
Nonfiction Authors of Note
Other Authors of Note
Book Publishers
Comic Publishers
May 16, 2008
Proof that Technorati is worthless
I was checking on my blog stats today. I am listed on Technorati and use W3 counter to see how many folks are visiting this blog. In the past week or so, my readership has jumped up, even to the point where I had over 300 unique visitors in one day - a record for me.
At the same time my Technorati search ranking has dropped! Now I know this is not entirely a fair comparison, as the way the two things track is very different, one based only on linkage and the other on all visits from anywhere. But I find it ironic that Technorati is slowly lowering me in the rankings as more and more people come by to visit.
All I can say is, thanks to those people coming to visit, and poo-poo on Technorati for being utterly useless in understanding how popular your blog is. And even then, only popular with other blogs listed on Technorati.
Makes me wonder if there are any ranking sites out there that I could submit to that might actually help me understand my linkage popularity, without being limited to those people who are on their system, Google Search notwithstanding?
May 15, 2008
MT 4! MT 4!
Just found out from my host provider that we will be upgrading from clunky MT 2.6 to MT 4 on June 6th! My site may be down for a day or so on that weekend.
But the beauty of it is, I will have all kinds of new features to help make reading this blog easier, including comment subscriptions when it comes back up! Woohoo!
May 09, 2008
LinkedIn - Oops, Sorry
Some of you may have received and invitation from me to join LinkedIn. I was attempting to integrate my gmail account into my profile and get some of my business contacts from there to be LinkedIn with me. Something went wrong however, so many of you received an invitation to join even though you are not already on there at the moment. It was NOT my intent to invite you, although I don't mind it if you do want to connect of course.
I always try to be intentional about that kind of thing, and NEVER send out blanket requests to everybody on my email list. I find that offensive when people do that, so I would NEVER choose to do so on purpose.
I apologize to any authors, publishers, or commenters on this blog that mistakenly received an invitation. I am very sorry for my mistake.
May 08, 2008
Links
Essential Fantasy Reviewers
Book Bloggers
Forums
Looking for something new to read? Try one of these good folks:
Fantasy Authors of Note
Forgotten Realms
Mystery Authors of Note
Nonfiction Authors of Note
Other Authors of Note
Book Publishers
Comic Publishers
Friends who Blog
March 20, 2008
Blog Temporarily Suspended
I'm headed out of the country tomorrow to take a bunch of teenagers to Germany to learn about art history, so this blog will be on a ten day hiatus. I'll be back in April with lots more stuff. I'll tell you all about the trip when I get back, and will have lots of pictures to share!
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March 13, 2008
Robin Hobb on Author Blogging
Robin Hobb, whose books we all know and love, wrote this essay/story about authors who blog.
I'm with her mostly. I do think that writers should be measured and careful should they chose to begin blogging.
Although I enjoy the blog posts of many of my favorite authors like Jim C. Hines, Bruce Cordell, Paul S. Kemp, Tobias Buckell, GRRM, Joe Abercrombie, and others, I would much rather have more books out of them than blog posts. Yet I look for there thoughts in my RSS reader everyday, and enjoy them.
If they can do both, as a fan, I'm grateful. But should they choose to agree with Hobb, than I support that. I would rather they use their energies on their writing and raising their families than in pleasing me.
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February 18, 2008
New SF/Fantasy Review Blog: Jumpdrives and Cantrips
Just came across a new fantasy/scifi review blog folks might want to check out. Jumpdrives and Cantrips is very young, having only begun this year. Beyond that, the author wants to be a catch-all reviewer, not focusing on one subgenre of speculative fiction more than most. It's an admirable goal, I look forward to seeing how the writer does.
Since she was kind enough to link to me in her list of recommended reviewers, I thought I might do her a favor and showcase her here. Do me a favor and visit her here.
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February 08, 2008
Which Discworld Character Are You?
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Which Discworld Character are you like (with pics) created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Lord Havelock Vetinari You are Lord Vetinari! Supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork! Cool, calculated, and always in control. You graduated from the assassins guild, but failed a course on stealth and camouflage, because the professor never saw you there (even though you attended every class). You always seem to know what everyone is thinking, and after a conversation with you, people feel that they have just escaped certain death.
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January 31, 2008
Grasping for the Wind has Gone Mobile!
Thanks to my friend at Provocative Church, I now have a mobile feed ready for you to subscribe to. No more waiting to see Grasping for the Wind on your computer at home, you can now see it on any cell phone, Blackberry, or iPhone able to read a feed.
Click here to get the mobile feed for Grasping for the Wind. Place this url in your mobile browser and you get a simple, stripped down version of this blog.
The original instructions are at Google Tutor. So if you use Google Reader, this would be a cinch for you to set up.
January 04, 2008
I've been nominated. Twice!
I've been nominated for the Preditors and Editors Poll review site award. Twice. For some reason my blog is on there twice. Either way, if you enjoy my blog, do me a favor and go place a vote for me. You have until January 15th to vote. Thanks in advance!
The results are posted here.
January 01, 2008
A Year of Reading 2008
This is a continually updated list of all the books I have read in the year 2008. Links are to reviews I have written for some of these books. You can also look at my list for 2007.
January February March April May June
July August September October November December
January
Series 65: Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam Manual by Kaplan Financial
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay
Instant Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
In The Beginning by the editors at mental_floss
Eberron: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham
A Bit of Madness by Emmanuel Civiello and Thomas Mosdi
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley
Dragon Outcast by E. E. Knight
February
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
Breach the Hull edited by Mike McPhail
Confessor by Terry Goodkind
Blood Ties by Pamela Freeman
Sojourn Volume 6: The Bezerker's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Forgotten Realms: Neversfall by Ed Gentry
Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
March
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Madhouse by Rob Thurman
The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser
The Hidden City by Michelle West
Klassic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings by Lee Barwood
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
Growingold with B. C. by Johnny Hart
April
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
Misspelled edited by Jule E. Czerneda
Flash Fiction Online, April 2008 edited by Jake Freivald
Rolling Thunder by John Varley
Empress by Karen Miller
Phytosphere by Scott Mackay
Goblin War by Jim C. Hines
Return of the Sword edited by Jason M. Waltz
May
Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Forgotten Realms: Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow
Iron Man: Beneath the Armor by Andy Mangels
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley
The Martian General's Daughter by Theodore Judson
The Four Forges by Jenna Rhodes
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan
June
A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans
Wizards edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
July
August
September
October
November
December
January February March April May June
July August September October November December
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December 20, 2007
How much is GFTW worth?
This can either make you feel really good or really bad. I'm middling, especially since two days ago I went from a Technorati authority of 141 to 124. Dang six month rule!
My blog is worth $70,002.96.
How much is your blog worth?
HT: Fantasy Debut
December 13, 2007
New Feature: Social Networking and Sharing (Your opinion needed)
I finally figured it out. After a lot of sweat and tears, I finally figured out how to add an easy to use social networking and sharing gadget. If you look at the bottom of this post you will see the word "Share" followed by a bunch of little icons. These icons will allow you to add the post you are viewing to delicious, stumbleupon, reddit, magnolia, google bookmarks, digg, spurl, andeven add the blog itself to your technorati favorites. (at the post permalink, you can also add it to facebook) I think it is pretty cool. It was a lot of work to put together, but I think it will be a useful tool for you readers.
I would like your opinion on placement in the post. I have it placed before the posted by and other information about the post, but I feel that it is not quite in the order it should be. Any suggestions on how the post reference elements should be arranged?
December 05, 2007
So apparently this blog is easy to read
Cash Advance Loans
As in, you only need a junior high level of education to understand my book reviews. That's a good thing, it makes for a wider audience, as well as allowing those who must change the language to their native tongue have an easier time of it. Guess I'm doing a-okay.
November 11, 2007
Cory Doctorow on Creative Commons Licenses
Cory Doctorow, science fiction writer and commentator, wrote an article for the November 2007 issue of Locus on creative commons licenses and what they really mean. I use a creative commons license for my work, but I have not always understood all the nuances of it, since the site where they are created doesn't explain it very well. Doctorow gives a history of copyright law, explains the intent of creative commons and describes how the two interact in simple terms.
Any conscientious blogger should take time out to read this article.
October 31, 2007
Are You on Facebook? I'd love to be your friend.
I've recently become a member of the Facebook revolution. If you would like to join me and be my friend, just use the badge below to get to my profile.
October 30, 2007
My Name in mental_floss Magazine
Back in August, mental_floss magazine asked a question on their blog. They were beginning a series on issues affecting the 2008 election, and were planning to begin the series with an article on immigration policy.
Well, I sent in a question.
Surprise, surprise, they used my question (see below or number 24 in the blog post) to create a sidebar in the current issue ("The Golden Lobe Awards" and Einstein's picture grace the cover), detailing immigration policy from 1882 to the present day. I was flabbergasted, and happily surprised!
#24 John Says: August 23rd, 2007 at 6:53 amWhat quota’s still exist for whom we allow to enter legally? I know that in the great wave, only certain numbers of people from certain countries were allowed in. (i.e.) for every 3 Irish, one Russian.) Do ethnic or national quota’s still exist and what are they? Are there other quota’s used now?
This was so cool! And as a special reward, my name appeared on page 8 of volume 6, issue 6 of mental_floss: Where Knowledge Junkies get their fix. The picture below is a scan of the mention.
I may not be an author, but I can ask good questions! It was kind of a neat little thing, I wanted to share this little piece of personal joy with all of you, my faithful readers! And I thank mental_floss for being so kind in printing my name at the top of the list.
Such fun!
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October 26, 2007
Georgia Carnival #21 is up
I'm a blogger from Georgia, USA (for those who didn't know) and am part of the Georgia Carnival. The carnival is a smorgasbord of all kinds of stuff. Think of it as a newspaper written by Georgia Bloggers. This month's carnival is hosted over at Radical Georgia Moderate. He says "What never ceases to amaze me is how many great things are happening in this state that I don’t hear of seemingly until everyone else has heard of them. Luckily for me, people are blogging about many of them."
So enjoy the work of smart Southeasterners!
October 24, 2007
New Feature: Google Reader Shared Items
Rather than go through the hassle of putting together a list of reading items that appear in my Google Reader (i.e. the previous three Cup O'Links posts) I have used the nice feature they have for putting automatic updates on your blog of items you would like to share. Underneath the Recent Comments section in the right hand column, you will find a bubble entitled "Elsewhere on the Web" (javascript is required to see it). It should look like this (except skinnier):
Each time I find something interesting I want to share with you folks, I only have to click a share button in my Google Reader, and it will appear in the bubble. Only five items are shown, but if you click the "Read more" link, you will see all the items I have tagged this way.
This will help me spend less time sharing with you all, and allow me to share more items. You can also see my shared items as a web page or as a feed.
I will still spend time scouring the web for interesting stuff, so not everything will appear here. Cup O'Links will appear less often and will not contain things that appear in "Elsewhere on the Web".
I hope everyone find this useful. If you have any suggestions on placement in the right hand column, I'm happy to hear it. Let me know by leaving a comment below.
October 18, 2007
7 Reasons I Write Book Reviews
Criticism, that fine flower of personal expression in the garden of letters. ~ Joseph Conrad
I felt that with the growing (an apprecia