MARCH 4 2014: THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE HUNGRY CHARACTER AND THE COMPLEMENTARY QUARTET

If you hear a voice within you say, 'You cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

-- Vincent Van Gogh,
Dutch artist

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Yesterday, I worked for 14 hours sustained only by two mugs of tea. I’ve come to the conclusion I work better when somewhat hungry—though I don’t notice that I’m hungry when I’m writing (more or less true). Also, I seem to have more energy—not less—when I eat less.

Counter-intuitive? Very much so. Downright unscientific.

In fact, I’m not quite sure what lessons to draw from all this—because we all have different metabolisms—but I’m certainly of the view that we eat too much, eat the wrong things all too often, and are conditioned into truly terrible habits.

I say ‘conditioned’ because even if you think you are a rugged individualist—who is entirely his or her own person—you are wrong. Even the mentally strongest of us is affected to some extent by the barrage of commercial and political propaganda that surrounds us from birth to death—and there is substantial research to support that statement. Are there exceptions? I doubt there are—except in degree. Some of us are undoubtedly more influenced than others.

It strikes me that it is about time we admitted that the tools of marketing work—and I say that as someone who used to be in marketing (among other things) before I became a writer—and reined them in somewhat. Freedom of choice is an illusion if someone else is pulling your strings—and our strings are pulled much more than we are willing to concede. Europe constrains the excesses of commercialism to some extent—and is, in my opinion, much the better for it. We do not.

Do I normally work such long days? No—I haven’t gone completely loopy—and normally work ten to twelve hour days. However, in this case, I had had something of a breakthrough—and just wanted to stay with it.

Why have I changed my eating habits? Fundamentally, as an exercise in willpower. True, I wanted to lose some weight as well—but what I really wanted to do was see if I could. Call it an exercise in character building. Insert the words ‘much-needed’ in front of ‘exercise.’

Can one improve one’s character? Being of a curious disposition, that’s what I’m trying to find out. My sense is that it is extremely difficult—rather like writing—but worth the effort. Currently, I’m six months in—and intrigued by the results. They are not what I expected; but—hunger apart—they are nothing but good.

After a walk, I finished the day by watching Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut, the movie QUARTET. All I can say is that even if Hoffman did not have an impressive body of work to his credit already, he would have more than justified his existence by way of this magnificent movie. It’s a masterpiece directed with sensitivity—and a light touch. It’s also vastly entertaining and moving. Beautifully written too. Funny? Extremely so. It’s also a movie about human decency—a quality that it is good to be reminded of every now and then.

My normal type of movie? No—but I love Maggie Smith in just about anything—and you’d be a sad sack if Billy Connolly didn’t brighten your day.

What’s it about? You’ll find the details on Wiki. I’m trying to make my blogs shorter—which is a great deal harder than making them longer.

All in all, it was an exceptionally good day. I truly love what I do.

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WHAT MY READERS THINK

Hello Victor, I happened upon your blog at BLOGSPOT.COM and remembered that you were once my favorite read!  Last I heard from you was an email after you had moved  to VA and your daughter was off on her life adventure.  How are things all these years later?  I always expect a new book and would welcome it with readers lust!!  Hope all is well with you and that you are having lots of smiles and fun in your world!  

Teri Lambert

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MARCH 3 2014: READING ROCKS!

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”

William Styron, Conversations with William Styron

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I found the above quote on Lu Anne Worley’s excellent book review site—Rockin’ Book Reviews –-which is great fun.

Book reviewing in traditional media has declined so we authors owe a great deal to the bloggers who have stepped up to the plate—and who feel so passionate about books and reading.

Book reviewing is much more difficult than you might think because you have got to convey the essence of a book, and your opinion of it, in a limited space—and in a fresh and entertaining manner  every time.

These largely unpaid book review bloggers do an amazing job.

Thank you.

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I have been trying to work out whether my books conform to William Styron’s quote (see above).

• Many experiences? Yes—I certainly qualify on that account.
• Leave you slightly exhausted at the end? I write pretty good endings but have never thought in terms of leaving my readers exhausted—more satisfied. But I understand what he means.
• You live several lives while reading. What a marvelous sentence—and so true.

All in all, it’s not for me to say whether my books are great—or not. All I can say is that my readers have been very kind. The following is an example.

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WHAT MY READERS THINK

I have just discovered your books through my local library and would just like to compliment you on your storylines and the humanizing of your characters. It is a true joy to sit down with one of your novels after a tough day at the office and immerse myself in a Victor O'Reilly masterpiece. Thank you so much for your courage in writing and the impact you have had on your fan's lives.    Best wishes in all you do, Debbie 

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MARCH 2 2014: A SERIES OF BOOKS SET IN THE GREEK ISLANDS—WHAT A TERRIFIC IDEA. LET ME INTRODUCE BESTSELLING AUTHOR ANGEL SEFER

“Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.”

― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

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Currently, Greece is best known for its economic problems. That’s a great pity. Greece is a stunningly beautiful country which has provided the basis for the fairest system of government we have evolved so far. We don’t always implement it very well—the current U.S. political gridlock illustrates this—but even imperfect democracies are superior to the alternatives.

We owe Greece a great deal (and, frankly, we should treat it a great deal better). Go visit—you’ll love it. Great food and wine too. And yes, I do like retsina.

If the Greek mainland is impressive, the Greek islands raise the bar even higher. They are a series of gems—each island different, each its own very special world.

Author Angel Sefer has come up with the brilliant idea of writing a series of books set is the Greek islands. This is what is said on her LinkedIn site.

Angel Sefer was born in Athens, Greece. She has studied and worked on both sides of the Atlantic. She holds a degree in Economics and divides her time between the corporate world and her true passion: reading and writing romantic mystery & suspense novels. She lives in Athens, Greece, with the two loves of her life — her son and her husband. Angel is a member of several writers groups.

"This book LITERALLY sucked me in with the very first paragraph. I had a very hard time putting this book down because it is so action packed!" - Joe Cool Review
"I would summarize 'Spellbound in His Arms' in one word: exciting! This was a fun easy read that had it all; romance, excitement and mystery with Corfu for the backdrop of the story." - The Masquerade Crew

Her award-winning, romantic mystery & suspense, #1 bestseller, “Spellbound in His Arms” — published by Booktrope — is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It’s the first novel in “The Greek Isles Series”, taking place on the alluring island of Corfu.
“The Greek Isles Series” is a series of six novels, each taking place on a different island. In this series, while sharing with the readers the development of the romance and the unfolding of the mystery, Angel also takes the opportunity to share with them the unbelievable experience of visiting some of the most enchanting Greek islands. These islands are places of impeccable beauty, where nature exists lavishly in hundreds of shades of green and blue, and in which centuries of Greek tradition coexist harmoniously with cosmopolitan activity.

“Deadly Secrets” — the second novel in this series — blends mystery, romance, and adventure on Mykonos, one of the most beautiful islands in the Aegean Sea. The picturesque setting on one hand and the unique way of life on a Greek island, which reflects the values and traditions of the people, on the other, set the background for this intriguing story.

“Deadly Secrets” will be published soon by Booktrope.

MARCH 1 2014: THE TROUBLE WITH OUR DEFENSE BUDGET IS THAT IT DOESN’T SHOW NEARLY EVERYTHING WE SPEND ON DEFENSE—OR EVEN CLOSE

The Defense Budget is the budget of the Department of Defense—but everything we spend on defense is NOT included in it. If we were remotely honest, we would feature a National Security budget instead—and then we would have a much better fix on what we spend to defend ourselves.

Well, theoretically we would have a better idea. It’s hard to know the truth of the matter though because the Pentagon has made itself impossible to audit. Yes, I know it’s the law; but the Pentagon is—in effect—above the law, or beyond it, or something. Either way, the place has so many incompatible accounting systems that auditing has become ‘mission impossible.’ You’ve heard of ‘too big to fail?’ Well, we also have ‘too big to audit.’ So much for checks and balances. And, by the way, this situation has gone on for years.

But doesn’t Congress have oversight? Why don’t they do something?

You can’t oversee what you can’t audit. Currently, we shovel money in—but have no way of checking where it all goes. In fact, we don’t really know what the Pentagon owns. We have ‘official figures,’ but such figures are unverifiable claims.

Only in America.

What is missing from the DOD budget?

• Veterans Administration
• Homeland Security
• Intelligence
• Nuclear Weapons
• DARPA
• Various Black Programs
• Supplementaries.
• A lot of other stuff I have forgotten.

What does the total come to? Something well over $1 trillion. So we say we’re spending about 4.5% of GDP but the real total is more like 6.25%.

Weirdly, just about everyone takes the Pentagon budget at face value—even the international institutions who should know better like SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). Thus, when we compare our Defense Budget to that of others, we are not comparing like with like.

Is anything being done about all this?

To quote a good friend of mine—he was talking about Congress: “Watch what they do—not what they say.”

 

FEB 28 2014: I’M CONSTANTLY STRUCK BY THE POWER AND BEAUTY OF CREATIVITY—BY THE SHEER RIGHTNESS OF IT—AND BY OUR MANIFEST NEGLECT OF IT

The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.

Pablo Picasso

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When we talk about job creation—not that we do nearly as much as should—I’m constantly struck by our general neglect of creativity in terms of enhancing the human condition.

Yes, I know it’s important to do practical things—like repairing our aging sewerage systems or doing something about our flaky power grid—but I think we might be absolutely amazed if we invested serious money into the creative arts—without a precise objective in mind except to bring more beauty into our lives.

The aesthetic is—in my opinion—much more important than we generally acknowledge. It uplifts the quality of lives in so many ways and has a profound effect on how we look at life. It enhances our moods and puts a spring into our steps. It makes us want to sing in the rain—which is very useful if you live in Seattle (as I do).

Instead, we let our cities deteriorate, our industries pollute, and focus virtually entirely on the practical and what we can count, measure, and monetize. It’s as if we are in the grip of some sort of greed pandemic. And it is certainly madness because we humans have never been logical, sensible, or practical—though we pretend otherwise. Instead we are a mass of emotions, delusions, insecurities, fears and needs—all mixed with with sexual desires of just about every shade, flavor, and peculiarity.

I wish we’d face up to the fact that to be normal is to be weird—and to be normal in the sense that we pretend is impossible. But what I do know is that virtually all of us respond positively to beauty. We all become better people if the aesthetic is innate to our lives.

Images are from a Shutterstock mailer. Top is from  agsandrew’s portfolio  and the bottom is by LolaTsvetaeva.

They stopped me in my tracks.

THE SUPERBLY SWISS ENGINEERED SKYe SH09 FROM MARENCO SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE—BUT HERE IT IS

Only those who attempt the absurd, will achieve the impossible.

M.C. Escher

I found this on the fridge door of a friend I helped to look after as she was dying of cancer. She lived up to it.

V.

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There are some truly excellent companies in the helicopter business—Boeing, Sikorski, Bell, Airbus Helicopters (Eurocopter renamed) and Augusta Westland being examples. Yet a Swiss startup called MARENCO is attracting a great deal of attention with its SKYe SH09. In fact, it has already attracted 51 orders even though it hasn’t flown yet.

Why is it making such an impact? Essentially, it is an example of refining a product in such a way that although nothing, in itself, seems drastically new—yet the totality is exceptional. The Swiss do this kind of thing rather well; and, what is more—even though they are a high wage economy—the sticker price of $3.25 million is highly competitive.

This is a perfect example of how high-wage Northern Europe companies can—and do—out-export us. Maybe instead of squeezing the wages of American workers down—U.S. management should try working with them. It’s called ‘codetermination’—and it works. That is another word for working cooperatively. Union bashing is management by oppression and people work best when they buy into something. As Winston Churchill so rightly remarked: “Jaw, jaw, jaw is better than war, war, war.”

Commonsense, one might think.

• 2.5 metric ton class
• Carbon fiber body
• Exceptional visibility
• Exceptional hot and high performance
• Shrouded tail rotor
• Low noise signature
• Seats 5-8
• Two sliding side doors and clamshell door at rear.
• Fast cruise speed of 270 km/h (145 knots)
• Excellent range of over 800 (430 nautical miles)

Deliveries are expected to begin in 2017.

FEB 27 2014: IT TAKES MORE THAN YOU’D THINK TO WRITE AND FINISH A GOOD BOOK—AND VASTLY MORE STILL TO STAY WITH WRITING, YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT FOR DECADES. FORTITUDE IS ONE TERM FOR IT—BUT YOU NEED SOMETHING BEYOND THAT—PASSION (AND A SENSE OF HUMOR)

 “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Thomas A. Edison.

Trust me—I can identify with this.

V.

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I subscribe to quite a number of blogs in order to try and have some understanding of the book market. In truth, I’m  not sure anyone fully appreciates what is going on—the pace of change is so frenetic—but you could make a good case that the people making the most money are the mass of consultants who are advising us creative types how to sell our books. A writer to day is expected to be author, blogger, social media expert, and all round marketeer—and to build his or her platform before agents and traditional publishers take their cut. And it doesn’t hurt if you can do web design as well— and shoot the shirt buttons off an editor at 100 paces.

There was a time when I used to shoot shirt buttons off a monkey—not a real one (real monkeys don’t wear shirts) though not at that distance. But that is another story.

What do agents and traditional publishers do? Well, lunch can be extraordinarily time-consuming—but to be fair, they recognize and bring on talent. Or so they say... Some of us are not quite so sure.

Be that as it may, today I read a rather nice story on BookMarketingBuzzBlog. It was written by guest blogger, SAM MOFFIE, and says a great deal about traditional book publishing.

There is so much to love and so much to hate about the world of book publishing, writing, and the world of books.  In reality, just growing thick skin and shrugging off the rejection letters and bad reviews is all there is to hate about the world of books. You can't sit there and bemoan not becoming instantly rich and famous after you have banged out a novel or two or three. It just doesn't happen that way... never did. Oh, of course there is always the exception to the rule, but that happens anytime, anyplace, anywhere. In our instant good/bad news culture we always hear about it. So, don't obsess that IT hasn't happened to you, because it just might if:

You don't give up. You work at your craft. You listen to those who offer constructive critiques. You don't waste your hard earned money on frivolous investments in contests, promotions, and reviews that make YOU ante up AND make YOU do all the work.

A few years ago, I took the first chapter to one of all-time favorite novels Vonneguts Breakfast of Champions.  I re titled it The Perfect Martini  and sent it out to a zillion top literary agents and publishing houses. I didn't change one letter from Kurt's original first chapter. All but one rejected it. The one that caught it was a young literary agent who had just read the novel a few months ago and busted me. I wrote a piece about this that was widely circulated by The Onion on-line edition. I called it God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut.

Why am I telling you this? Because Kurt's son Mark (an award winning author and now doctor) himself read the story and contacted me and told me that his father once worked up a nice buzz with fellow author Jerzy Kosinski (The Painted Bird). Kosinski was as buzzed as Kurt and they did the same thing that I had done with Kurt's book to one of Jerzy's novels and that novel was only a few years old! Naturally every publisher house turned it down. I used this tid-bit in my fourth novel The Book of Eli.

In other words (pun intended), it takes a lot -- I mean A LOT to make it in this business. That's the beauty and the beast of it. If it was easy, everyone who has a novel in their desk would be doing what we do.

And they are not.