Friday's Odds and Ends

Some thoughts about events in Ferguson:

Ronnie Smith of Garland, Texas asked these questions in a letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News. "Will burning the very buildings they shop at change the verdict? Will looting... improve police relations?"

Good questions. Smith went on to say that the violent actions by some only creates more of a barrier between citizens and police officers. I agree.


A writer friend posted a comment on Facebook to the effect that non-violent protests never achieved justice. Wasn't it Martin Luther King Jr. who espoused non-violence during the Civil Rights Movement? And what about Mahatmas Gandhi who led the fight for independence for India through peaceful protests? Despite all the cruelty imposed on him and his followers, he never once gave in to the urge to fight back.

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to resist the temptation to let anger rule reason. 

 Obviously violent responses to injustice has not even dented the prejudice and bigotry from both sides of the color line. The only way we will end it once and for all is to step across that line and embrace each other and stop standing on either side throwing stones at each other.

That takes courage, too.
 
Now on to something much more fun. I want to thank everyone who downloaded copies of Doubletake last weekend and Monday. For one day it made it to the #1 spot on police procedural mysteries, and made it to number 15 overall at Amazon for free books. Since there are hundreds and hundreds of free books, getting so high on the list was quite a thrill. The book is no longer free, but is still a good buy at $3.99 And I have paperback copies that I can ship in time for Holiday gift giving if you have readers on your list. Just e-mail me at maryann (at) maryannwrites.com to make arrangements.

The cast of the Holiday Revue at the Winnsboro Center For the Arts has been working hard for several weeks of rehearsals. As with all the theatre productions, this one has consumed my time for those several weeks, and I am glad that intense time commitment will end this weekend. However, I will miss all the fun we had learning the songs, decorating the stage, and teasing each other. I have such a terrific group of young players and adults, and sometimes it is hard to tell who is more young at heart. 

A very generous lady donated a grand piano to the art center, so we will gather around that this evening for an old-fashioned sing-along following the annual Christmas Parade, and then we will have the show on Saturday. 

What are some of your plans to Herald in the holiday season? Share in the comments if you'd like.

Cyber Monday

Well, we got past the turkey and the pumpkin pie. Those who shopped on Black Friday seemed to fare well. I didn't hear any reports of mayhem, which is the first time that Saturday's news casts didn't lead with a report of injuries at a mall.

Shopping online has more appeal to me, other than what I buy locally at our small businesses in town, but I am a little concerned about credit card safety. A report on 60 Minutes last night was not encouraging. The story was about how vulnerable credit cards have become to hackers who get into the systems of major stores like Target, Home Depot and others and steal credit card information. Cybercrime has become quite lucrative for criminals and scary for consumers.

The good news is that the major credit card companies will start suppyling customers with credit cards that have computer chip technology, and they believe that will make counterfeiting cards almost impossible. For online shopping safety, Apple and Google are creating their own payment systems to protect account information and there is always PayPal.

For consumers it is important to protect bank accounts with strong passwords that are not easily hacked. The security changes that credit card companies and retailers are making will take several years to complete, so we have to be security conscious on our end.

If you are going to be shopping online today, you might want to go over to Amazon and pick up a free book while you are there. This is the last day that my police procedural mystery, Doubletake, is free for Kindle and Kindle APPS. Here's what one reviewer had to say, "Wow - so much packed into this story. And then such a surprise ending! Seriously well paced. I am pleased to recommend this to my mystery reading friends. The main character was up to the task and the dialogue snappy. More please."

As part of a CyberMonday special Untreed Reads is offering hundreds of titles at 40% off. That includes my romance novel, Play it Again, Sam that was published by Uncial Press. Here is what one reader said, "Without being melodramatic as so often happens, Miller tells the story that so many women have lived... going through an unexpected divorce and rebuilding thereafter. It's realistic and believable as Sam works her way through the many conflicts she experiences... altogether, a most enjoyable read"

And now your joke for the day. This one is from JokerZ.com I couldn't resist steal...er, borrowing it when I saw it. Fair warning, some might find the punch line a little raunchy.

In the men's bathroom, an accountant, a lawyer, and a cowboy were standing side by side using the urinal. The accountant finished, zipped up, and started washing and literally scrubbing his hands, clear up to his elbows. He used 20 paper towels before he finished. He turned to the other two men and commented, "I graduated from the University of Michigan, and they taught us to be clean."

The lawyer finished, zipped up, and quickly wet the tips of his fingers, grabbed one paper towel and commented, "I graduated from the University of California, and they taught us to be environmentally conscious."

The cowboy zipped up, and as he was walking out the door, he said, "I graduated from Texas Tech University, and they taught us not to piss on our hands."

Hope you have a good week. 

Free Book for Black Friday

Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a pleasant thing that some people liked to do the day after Thanksgiving - go to the mall and do a bit of shopping, look at all the holiday displays, and listen to the Christmas Carols being piped over the sound system.

 

Image Courtesy of Black Friday Predictions

  Then something awful happened. Marketing people came up with the idea of calling the shopping day "Black Friday" and encouraged the retailers to compete for the shoppers' money by having huge sales. And while you're at it, why don't you open earlier than your competition?

 

"But Sears is opening at eight in the morning."

 

"So, open at seven."

 

And thus the war over opening times started, resulting in earlier and earlier opening times until Thanksgiving day was lost for anyone who works in retail.

 

The fun also stopped when the desire for a bargain became a compulsion, and people started camping out in front of stores days before the sales started. I didn't realize how bad that compulsion had gotten until I read about two women who have been camping out since November 7th in Louisiana. To get a television. They are willing to go through all that to save a hundred dollars or so? Weird.

The actual day - Black Friday - shoppers are almost manic, and those who have not already lined up to enter the store, push their way in, desperate to not miss a deal. Maybe there is still one more TV left that is on sale, but, oops, that other lady wanted the TV. No problem, we'll just push her aside. After all, we probably deserve that TV more than she does.

"Oops, sorry about that. Need help with that bloody nose?"

As you've probably guessed by now, I am not at a shopping mall today. I stopped going to the stores the day after Thanksgiving many years ago after being jostled by a crowd when a store announced a special sale on sweaters for the next fifteen minutes. I happened to be next to the table, so I turned and picked up a sweater, only to have a woman snatch it right out of my hand. I was so shocked that she would actually do that, I let go, and I let go of the desire to be any where near a store on Black Friday. 

I'm spending more time with my kids and eating more pumpkin pie. What about you? Are you out fighting the crowds? Do you enjoy the experience?

And now about that free book. I didn't forget, honest. Starting today I am offering my latest mystery, Doubletake, free for Kindle and Kindle apps through December 1st. The book normally retails for $3.99, so this is a bargain. This is the last time the book will be free, so grab your copy while you have a chance, and if you do get the book and read it, I'd love for you to leave a review on Amazon. Those reviews help authors so much.

Monday Morning Musings

First I want to invite you to visit the Bookbrowsing blog by PJ Nunn, where I am a guest today. I wrote about my experience collaborating on the mystery, Doubletake - the challenges and the fun. 

Next, I'm excited to share some news from Terry Odell, author of several mystery series. I especially like her Blackthorne, Inc. series and her latest, Windswept Danger, is available for preorder. To celebrate, she's offering Windswept Danger at a low introductory price of 99 cents. When it goes "live" on October 26th, it'll be $3.99. But if you'd like to have the book ready and waiting on your Kobo, Kindle, iPad or other compatible device, you can order it now.  You can read a sample chapter on her Website, and then decide if you want to order the book.

Buy at Kobo * Buy at Amazon * Buy at Apple

In case you missed my announcement last week, the revised edition of my YA  novel Friends Forever  is also available for preorder. Preording helps improve the book's ranking on Amazon, which is so important as we try to gain visibility for our work.

What I'm Reading: A fascinating book about the oil industry in South America. Law of the Jungle will be published on Sept 23 by Crown, and I was sent an ARC for review. It, too, is available for preorder. The book is about the 20-year legal war between indigenous tribe members in the rain forest in Ecuador and the multinational oil company Chevron. At the center of the tale is Steven Donziger, an American lawyer whose campaign on behalf of the Ecuadorians and the Amazonian environment went horribly awry.

I will be doing a review late in October, and so far I am finding the history and the facts quite intriguing.

What I'm Dismayed About: We hear a lot about the Keystone XL Pipeline and the dangers it poses in pushing Tar Sands Oil through pipes across the middle of America, but we don't hear enough about other pipelines that have already been approved, such as one by Enbridge that will go across Illinois. According to Doug Hayes, an attorney with the Sierra Club, “There’s been a pretty deliberate attempt to try and avoid the permitting process and public involvement. While everyone was paying attention to Keystone, there were all these other projects being approved behind closed doors.”

What I'm Happy About: We are only into our second week of full rehearsals for the original play "Bonnie & Clyde in Winnsboro" that I adapted and am directing, and already the cast is starting to get into character. Here is the Barrow Gang.

Clyde in front, Bonnie to his R. Brother Buck behind on R, Hank on L and Blanche on Hank's L

Now the Joke For the Day
A young man goes into a drug store to buy condoms. The pharmacist tells him that the condoms come in packs of three, nine, or 12, and asks which ones the young man wants. "Well," he says, "Ive been seeing this girl for a while and she's really hot. I want the condoms because I think tonight's the night. We're having dinner with her parents and then we're going out. Once she's had me, she'll want me all the time, so you'd better give me the 12 pack!"

The young man makes his purchase and leaves.

Later that evening, he sits down to dinner with his girlfriend and her parents. He asks if he may give the blessing and they agree. He begins the prayer, but continues praying for several minutes. The girl leans over and says, "You never told me that you were such a religious person."

He leans over to her and says, "You never told me that your father is a pharmacist."

Say "no" to the TransCanada XL Pipeline

Those of you who have been following my blog for some time know that I am against the TransCanada XL Pipeline that is scheduled to open soon. Many of us in Texas fought to keep the pipeline from coming through, but alas, the pipes are already in, just waiting for the green light from Washington to open them up. A decision on the rest of the pipeline is expected soon, and I don't know if it is too late to stop it - just like it was too late to stop the pipe being laid here - but I hate the fact that Big Oil has the power to make this happen and is so indifferent to the danger the pipeline poses.

In Texas, where the pipeline would end, toxic pollution in the air and water is already dangerous. But introducing tar sands oil to an area already saturated with oil refineries and chemical plants would make a bad situation much, much worse.

Tar sands oil and Keystone XL would increase emissions of benzene, heavy metals, and other carcinogens into the air that residents near the pipeline breathe every day. Not to mention what will happen to the groundwater when there is a leak and all those toxins are released.


Something else I did not know is that the tar-sands mining in Canada also threatens habitats for wildlife, especially wolves in the Boreal Forest. In some areas where mining is already happening, wolves are being killed by people riding in helicopters and hunting the wolves down.


In my heart of hearts, I think President Obama doesn't want to approve the last leg of the pipeline that is supposed to go through the heartland of the U.S., but he is pressured by the power that Big Oil has in Washington. I pray that Obama can do the right thing.

I have also been a long-time fan of Kristen Lamb, a writer who lives in the Dallas area who shares advice and tips and inspiration for writers on Kristen Lamb's Blog. Here is just a bit from her latest offering about the rise and fall of social media and the influence of coffee. One of the things I like most about her blog posts is that they are written with a fine edge of humor, and I have such a good time reading them. Here is just a sampling from her latest offering:

Many of you are old enough to remember the dot.com boom (then bust) of the 1990s. The Internet was growing in popularity. More people were owning PCs and commerce was shifting on-line. The Old Guard yelled “WITCHCRAFT!”, threw holy water and shorted out their keyboards. The New Guard dived in with the enthusiasm of a kid at Chuck E. Cheese hopped up on sugar.

Creativity abounded. What products or services could be offered on-line? How could we improve the on-line experience? How could we make purchasing faster, safer, more appealing?

Early Adopters jumped all over this because that’s what Early Adopters do. Hey, someone had to be the first to eat an oyster, right?

How Coffee Transformed the Publishing Paradigm

Coffee not only fueled the Industrial Revolution, but apparently staying up all night unable to sleep led to the invention of the “computer,” “the Internet,” and later “iTunes.” The shift from “going to a physical store” commerce to more “e-commerce” set the stage for a number of unanticipated revolutions in the arts. If we think about it, when did the mega-bookstore enjoy its Golden Years?

Hint: Right about the time of the movie You’ve Got Mail, clearly marking the brief historical epoch when we actually enjoyed getting e-mails.

I think I'll grab a cup of coffee and go check my mail. Don't forget to grab a copy of Doubletake while it is still free. I am so thrilled that one reader has already taken the time to do a short review. She called the story "Spellbinding." This is the last day for the free offering to celebrate the book's release, so take advantage while you can.

Friday's Odds and Ends

States such as Michigan and New Jersey and New York are going to extremes to collect state income taxes. For instance some trucks hauling goods have actually been stopped in those states and held until the corporation pays income taxes on what is being carried through the state. Local revenue agents have seized out-of-state trucks that are simply passing through and sometimes refuse to release them until the businesses that sent the trucks pay corporate income taxes. In some states, finance departments have sent out-of-state businesses bills for thousands of dollars in corporate taxes just because one worker may have visited the state sometime during that year, perhaps for a convention.

Normally, state income taxes are not levied against a company from another state unless they have branch offices in the other state, so this seems to be quite a stretch to grab some more money.

I read recently where the 2016 GOP national convention is going to be held in Las Vegas. It could've been held in Dallas but I guess the Republicans really wanted to party big.

Anybody but me think this is a colossal waste of money?

Freelance writer Jonathan Look Junior wrote an op/ed piece for the Dallas Morning News about the constitutional phrase "the pursuit of happiness" and made it clear that the Constitution does not guarantee happiness for everyone but it does give everyone the right to pursue happiness. He found a quote that was popular in that 1800s that says, "The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it your self." For Jonathan Look that means that "happiness is not something the government can ensure; rather, government can help create a habitat for happiness and fertilize the ground in which it grows."

Amen to that.

I had to agree with the writer of a recent letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News about the Academy of country music awards last Sunday. The letter writer, Ronnie Smith, said he's not normally a country music fan but decided to watch the show anyway, and he thought that it was a good show, "It moved quickly, the humor was funny, and it was done without any profanity in the music and the performances were enjoyable." But what he really noticed was that the ladies were all able to sing very well - and with all their clothes on. He wished other award shows would take notice of how to produce a family friendly show.

Can I hear another, "Amen?"

 And now some fun from the comic strip B.C. by John Hart. In the first frame we see B.C. painting a very large Easter egg. Peter walks up and asks, "What in the world is that?"

B.C. says, "Easter's almost here. I'm decorating and egg."

"That's an egg?!"

B.C. answers, "Yepper."

Peter says, "Where on earth did you find it?"

"Would you believe the world's biggest bunny? Just kidding. It was in the woods over there."

Suddenly Peter's eyes get real big, and B.C. says, "What?"

In the last frame, Peter says, "Don't look. Just run!" Behind B.C. we see at dinosaur - a very angry dinosaur.

Finally, just a quick note of advertising. My police procedural mystery, Doubletake, is free for the next four days for Kindle and Kindle apps. Grab a copy if you are so inclined, and, as always, I would be ever so grateful for a review.

Friday's Odds and Ends

I'm so excited. I received my first ever written review for a performance for my role as Big Mama in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." The entire review is by Terry Mathews, the Arts Editor of the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram, has some wonderful things to say about the entire cast, especially the actress who played Maggie the Cat and the man who played Big Daddy.

The headline read: Cast brings life to ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ - Leah Conner and John D’Avignon lead with brilliant performances

And the section about me:  Maryann Miller as “Big Mama” is to be commended, too, as the wife of a rich and powerful man. The play was written in the mid-1950s, so Big Mama is drawn as a woman who ran the house and her family with little concern for the rest of the world. She fusses, stews and frets about Big Daddy's health and fawns over Brick, to the dismay of Gooper and “Sister Woman,” who have their eyes set on the future – when they'll be running things, along with their six children. Miller brought just the right balance of confusion, devotion and denial to the part.

This is the scene in which I get the "news" about Big Daddy

I know I'm supposed to be humble and all that, but I just love reading the last line of the review, especially since Mathews, who rumor has it is very hard to impress, came to last Sunday's performance when I did the last two acts so sick I wasn't sure I was going to make it through the play. 

This  wouldn't be Friday without a bit of a rant, so.... I'm wondering if the rising gas prices are a result of the oil companies pressuring President Obama to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. "Of course not," the spokesman for EXXON Mobil might say, but we all know the power of the oil industry.

Since I am still sick, I will keep this post short and end with a joke, courtesy of Funniest Clean Jokes :

One evening I went to visit my elderly grandparents. When it started getting late I asked my grandfather if he had the time, as I didn’t have my watch with me. “I don’t have a watch or clock around here he tells me.”

“Then how do you tell the time?” I asked.

“You see that trumpet in the corner? That’s how!” He picks it up, and thirty seconds later an angry neighbor shouts, “2:30 in the morning and your playing the trumpet!”

Finally, I'm pleased to announce that Doubletake, the first mystery I wrote years ago with a collaborator, Margaret Sutton, has been updated and re-released. It is now available in paperback and as an e-book. It was first released by a small publisher who did no marketing and the book languished until I got the rights back.

Monday Morning Musings

First off some book news. I'm about to re-release a mystery, Doubletake, that I wrote with a co-author a number of years ago. It's another police procedural, but not part of the Seasons Series. It was published by a small publisher, and maybe sold ten copies, other than those I sold at signing events or out of the trunk of my car. Hey, didn't Grisham start that way? I think he did, but he put a lot more miles on his car than I did.

Not the finished cover, but close. What do you think?

Anyway, I did all the formatting myself, and gained a great appreciation for those folks who do that for a living. It is the most tedious, eye-straining work I have ever done, and there is no way I am going to do the formatting for the ebook version. I will gladly pay Untreed Reads their nominal fee to do that for me and get the book into all the outlets for ebook reading.

An article in Sunday's Dallas Morning News written by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld was titled What Drives Success. In it, the authors of  the new book The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America talk about the ethnic groups in America that are currently experiencing the most upward mobility. While doing the research for their book they discovered that some of the most successful ethnic groups in terms of earning power come from India, Iran, Lebanon and Chinese.

The couple noted that it is usually first-generation immigrants who have the most success, perhaps because of the three traits Chua and Rubenfeld identified:

It turns out that for all their diversity, the strikingly successful groups in America today share three traits that, together, propel success. The first is a superiority complex — a deep-seated belief in their exceptionality. The second appears to be the opposite — insecurity, a feeling that you or what you’ve done is not good enough. The third is impulse control.

In the article the authors explain the seemingly contradictory "superiority" and "insecurity" and how the two traits work together to motivate hard work, which is another ingredient of success. The authors believe that anyone can develop these traits:

It requires turning the ability to work hard, to persevere and to overcome adversity into a source of personal superiority. This kind of superiority complex isn’t ethnically or religiously exclusive. It’s the pride a person takes in his own strength of will.

The article is quite interesting and worth a read if you have a moment. Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld are professors at Yale Law School. Chua, one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, is the author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which unleashed a firestorm debate about the cultural value of self-discipline, as well as the bestselling World on Fire. Rubenfeld examined the political dangers of “living in the moment” in Freedom and Time; he is also the author of the international bestseller The Interpretation of Murder. (I'm tempted to buy this one as the write-up on Amazon intrigued me, but I really hate to pay almost $9 for an ebook. I do hope major publishers soon realize that prices should be a bit lower. I'm not the only consumer who does not buy an e-book priced over $5.)

Now a reminder about the special sale at Untreed Reads through Valentine's Day. All romance titles are on sale for 30% off. All categories of romance from sweet to sexy are offered, including my romance novel, Play It Again, Sam.  One of my favorites from Laura Parker, Rose of the Mists, is also part of this sale.

It is still so cold here that my hands don't always want to work. I'm tempted to get some of these gloves:

Available from Japan Trend Shop

Hope you are warm and toasty wherever you live.