The "But" Of Criticism

The “But” Of Criticism




Have you noticed that when someone is about to relate a misdeed, bad situation, or sometimes outright tragic occurrence, they’ll often preface it by saying, “It’s funny, but . . . “.

I heard it twice yesterday and there was absolutely nothing funny about either account; one dealt with friends drifting apart to never reconnect and the other was someone dying before realizing a lifelong dream. Is this simply a way of softening a distasteful topic, yet compelled to speak of it anyhow?

I found myself thinking about this for a time, but as is usually the case, my thoughts on the subject rabbit-trailed. It reminded me of a long held belief developed a couple of decades ago.

I spent about ten years as a junior account executive in small market television. From the get-go a pattern developed during regular sales meetings that, at first, were quite demoralizing. The manager would stand at the end of a long conference table, put on a serious face and begin by saying something like, “You guys have been doing a really good job, but . . . “. The rest of that sentence was of course the truth, according to management. After a time, it became less unsettling and more amusing because I began noticing how often it is used in conversations of all types by all people. At some point along the way, it became downright hilarious and I developed a standard comeback whenever I hear versions of the comment: “It’s all bullshit until you get past the ‘but’.”

The balance of my television advertising career was as a manager. On many occasions, salespeople likely thought I had taken a side trip to catatonia listening to their sad stories of life, jealousies, lost loves and poor sales. I’d stare at them expressionless when a sentence began with, “I’m working hard and doing the best I can, but . . . “ or “She’s really a lovely girl, but . . . “ or “He’s a super nice man, but . . . “ Actually, they simply were not aware of how hard I was working at not laughing at their seriousness; you know, the “bullshit” factor.

So, I just want each and every one of you to know that, from the bottom of my heart, I love you all deeply and dearly, but . . . “

Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/mainstream/print & ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/action-adventure/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ historical drama/ ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only
“Dancing Away”/ short story/romance/Untreed Reads/ebook only

“Phobia”/Booktrope/2011/suspense-thriller/print & ebook
“Helping Hand For Ethan/Rogue Phoenix Press/2011/young adult/ebook only
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012/young adult/print & ebook
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”/ATTM Press/2012/soft science fiction/print & ebook

COMING SOON
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934”
“Life, Love, and Lubbock”

Search Daniel Lance Wright on Amazon.com

One Thing At A Time Or Not At All

“Multi-tasking” is a term that sprang onto the scene over a decade ago to describe anyone doing more than one thing at a time while going about a daily routine; like talking on the phone, writing a letter, and drinking a cup of coffee at the same time to cram more things done into a day. Multi-tasking quickly became proudly hailed as the way to be, the thing everyone should aspire to and the style of most successful business people.


Poppycock!

Sticking with my example, if a person talks on the phone, writes a letter and drinks coffee at the same time, what that person will end up with is a hesitating conversation, a piece of paper with dropped words and coffee stains on it. Each one in need of a re-do.

Although at times necessary, proficiency declines proportionally to the number of tasks undertaken. Nothing gets done well. That’s my assertion and I’m sticking with it.

I was driving home yesterday from Waco behind a woman talking on the phone, she weaved from center stripe to shoulder repeatedly. It was easy to tell the second she ended the conversation, Her car suddenly accelerated and whooshed straight as a string up the highway.

After she turned, I found myself behind a young man in a very big pickup truck holding his phone in both hands atop the steering wheel and texting. That phone was getting much more attention than the steering wheel beneath it. Besides crossing the line and jerking back into his lane a time or two, his speed surged from fifty to seventy then began backing off again. Perturbed and a little concerned for his safety I honked at him. The response was anger and a one-fingered salute.

I thought, “There goes the quintessential multi-tasker.” And, then, I went on to analyze my own opinion of those who dare attempt multi-tasking and how I despise being forced into situations that it’s necessary.

I will admit that taking care of multiple responsibilities simultaneously does, indeed, bring out one’s character and then shines a spotlight on it. The young man in the pickup was clearly having a bad day before I ever pulled up behind him. But, don’t you think, if he’d pulled off the highway and focused on only the text that his bad day could’ve been made just a little better, a tiny bit less stressful? I think . . . yes. Do I believe one should ever be forced into such a lifestyle? I think . . . no. And, after years of forced servitude in such a style, am I ever going to succumb to it again? I think . . . no way in hell.

Now, I must go about closing the sale on a house purchased, getting a house ready to sell, prime my mind for a new job to begin soon, edit four novels to be released in the coming months, write a short story I’ve committed to for an anthology, and finish a novel currently in the works.

But, God as my witness, I’ll do these things one at a time.
Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/mainstream/print & ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/action-adventure/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ historical drama/ ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only
“Dancing Away”/ short story/romance/Untreed Reads/ebook only

“Phobia”/Booktrope/2011/suspense-thriller/print & ebook
“Helping Hand For Ethan/Rogue Phoenix Press/2011/young adult/ebook only
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012/young adult/print & ebook
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”/ATTM Press/2012/soft science fiction/print & ebook

COMING SOON
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934”
“Life, Love, and Lubbock”

Search Daniel Lance Wright on Amazon.com

One Thing At A Time Or Not At All

“Multi-tasking” is a term that sprang onto the scene over a decade ago to describe anyone doing more than one thing at a time while going about a daily routine; like talking on the phone, writing a letter, and drinking a cup of coffee at the same time to cram more things done into a day. Multi-tasking quickly became proudly hailed as the way to be, the thing everyone should aspire to and the style of most successful business people.


Poppycock!

Sticking with my example, if a person talks on the phone, writes a letter and drinks coffee at the same time, what that person will end up with is a hesitating conversation, a piece of paper with dropped words and coffee stains on it. Each one in need of a re-do.

Although at times necessary, proficiency declines proportionally to the number of tasks undertaken. Nothing gets done well. That’s my assertion and I’m sticking with it.

I was driving home yesterday from Waco behind a woman talking on the phone, she weaved from center stripe to shoulder repeatedly. It was easy to tell the second she ended the conversation, Her car suddenly accelerated and whooshed straight as a string up the highway.

After she turned, I found myself behind a young man in a very big pickup truck holding his phone in both hands atop the steering wheel and texting. That phone was getting much more attention than the steering wheel beneath it. Besides crossing the line and jerking back into his lane a time or two, his speed surged from fifty to seventy then began backing off again. Perturbed and a little concerned for his safety I honked at him. The response was anger and a one-fingered salute.

I thought, “There goes the quintessential multi-tasker.” And, then, I went on to analyze my own opinion of those who dare attempt multi-tasking and how I despise being forced into situations that it’s necessary.

I will admit that taking care of multiple responsibilities simultaneously does, indeed, bring out one’s character and then shines a spotlight on it. The young man in the pickup was clearly having a bad day before I ever pulled up behind him. But, don’t you think, if he’d pulled off the highway and focused on only the text that his bad day could’ve been made just a little better, a tiny bit less stressful? I think . . . yes. Do I believe one should ever be forced into such a lifestyle? I think . . . no. And, after years of forced servitude in such a style, am I ever going to succumb to it again? I think . . . no way in hell.

Now, I must go about closing the sale on a house purchased, getting a house ready to sell, prime my mind for a new job to begin soon, edit four novels to be released in the coming months, write a short story I’ve committed to for an anthology, and finish a novel currently in the works.

But, God as my witness, I’ll do these things one at a time.

Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/mainstream/print & ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/action-adventure/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ historical drama/ ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only
“Dancing Away”/ short story/romance/Untreed Reads/ebook only

“Phobia”/Booktrope/2011/suspense-thriller/print & ebook
“Helping Hand For Ethan/Rogue Phoenix Press/2011/young adult/ebook only
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012/young adult/print & ebook
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”/ATTM Press/2012/soft science fiction/print & ebook

COMING SOON
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934”
“Life, Love, and Lubbock”

Search Daniel Lance Wright on Amazon.com

YEP, IT STILL FLOWS DOWNHILL

Do you think of yourself as “detail oriented” or a “big picture” person? Maybe you fancy yourself a master of both; I’ll not judge, although I consider the two incompatible if confined between only one set of ears. But, one thing is for darn sure; the world must have both.


Recently, I considered the concept when an annoying person bragged about being a big picture guy. I have always thought of myself as a person that could foresee an end result at the beginning because I didn’t bog down messin’ with minutiae—yes, a big picture guy. But, on that day, I argued the case for being detail oriented just because Mister Annoying boasted the other. In the process, I learned something of myself that needed changing.

As I artfully (my opinion) debated the finer points and benefits of sweating the small stuff, it occurred to me that I was actually building a micro case for the macro mess this country is in the beginning stages of miring in.

Now, this is where I’d expect to hear my first rebuttal with a, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Okay, here it is: I don’t see much, if any, difference in this concept and the cliché of “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians”. Think about it; big picture people lead board room discussions, surrounded by other big picture people who are desperately seeking detail-oriented people to fulfill numero uno big pic guy’s wishes.

And, guess what? Countries like China, India, Pakistan, etc. are masters of sweating small stuff and they parlayed it into a massive defection of talented detail people right out of this country. Those countries, over a period of years, have surreptitiously drawn away a critical number of our technical geniuses, people who have mastered the art of sweating the small stuff, craftspeople of all sorts, electronics, medical research, inventors, and on and on and on. In the meantime, every good boy and girl in the good ol’ US of A has aspired to be that person leading conference room discussions with grandiose ideas for the direction of companies and countries. No one these days seems to care anything about being the person that takes the ideas and brings them to fruition.

Now, we have a government of big pic people tossing out ideas on what needs to be done but their thoughts are falling into an empty well that, once upon a time, was filled with people who implemented all these ideas. Bottom line: A big picture person can’t tell another big picture person what to do and get anything done. Yet, Congress, the Executive Branch and every bureaucracy is doing just that and then collectively scratching heads wondering why nothing changes (ie FEMA and Hurricane Katrina as but one example).

Sorry folks, but any plumber will tell you that crap flows downhill but if there’s no one at the bottom to pick it up, it just pools into a smelly mess. Sound familiar? My hat is off to plumbers and all others in the technical trades that are the ones getting things done these days.

Here’s my lesson to me: Start paying attention to details. I may get bogged down occasionally enroute to the end result, but when all that crap starts pooling, there may be no one around to clean it up except me. And, I’d better know how it’s done because our government sure as hell isn’t going to do it for me. They don't have the expertise and know only a shrinking number of people that does.

Have a great day, y’all.

Daniel Lance Wright, Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007/print & ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads/ebook only

COMING SOON
“Phobia”/Booktrope/2011/print & ebook
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012/print & ebook
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934”
“Helping Hand For Ethan”
“The Lost Decades”

I remember you

We are born. We live. We die.


Okay, now that I’ve reduced our existence to the most basic definition; it sort of makes our lives seem inconsequential. I’ve often thought of ants in mounds, thousands of them, bringing food to the queen so she can lay eggs and make more ants and that is the only purpose of a worker ant over its entire lifecycle, to perpetuate the colony. As humans, we track our time on earth better than insects but, in the end, our only true function is to “make more ants”.

By saying this . . . awful thing, do I have you’re sensibilities abraded? Are you ready to poke a stick in my eye and start an argument over it? If so, good! Because, that just means you’re thinking about it in a provocative way.

Now that I have your attention let’s discuss legacy building; when you’ve drawn your last breath, how do you want the world to remember you? Or, do you even care?

Although only an opinion, I believe, and deeply so, that every human that lives, have lived, or ever will live will at some point in life think about this—some less, some obsessed. To parents, a baby is their legacy; to a wood smith, a piece of furniture is a legacy; to a writer, a book is a legacy and on and on and on; simply stated, something tangible that extends beyond a single lifetime. I would argue that, regardless how conscious of it you are, this has a permanent comfortable place in your head, albeit the subconscious for some. And, that makes me wonder if it’s genetically embedded. What do you think? I think . . . maybe.

To some, how they are remembered is not as important as the fact they are; Charles Manson as example. I believe he very much wants to be remembered for what he did, as reprehensible as it was. The same logic would hold true for many criminals, warlords and the like. But, for the greater number, it makes sense to me that people just want to believe and take comfort in knowing they’ve left this world a slightly better place and that someone will care enough to say so after they’re gone.

What about politicians? Think about this; most people in public office are from wealth, often multiple generations of it. They have already experienced the material side of life and are looking for something more, something that money cannot buy, although public offices can be bought and are on a regular basis in this country. People with the most money win elections. Period! But, that’s an argument for a different day. I’m referring to power, admiration of the masses, the ability to manipulate people and situations—thus, leave their name(s) attached to something for future generations to remember them by. All we can hope for is that, while trying desperately to build a legacy, they actually do leave the world better than they found it. Nonetheless, I say it’s a huge reason they run for office in the first place; to become known for something and then remembered for it. Is this a bad thing, a bad reason? I don’t think necessarily so. There are many motivations; this is just one, but a big one . . . or, so I believe.

This blog began as the result of something I saw recently on a sit-com. Not a place you’d expect to find thought provoking material, right? Well, sometimes we just have to turn over a few rocks, no matter how unassuming those rocks may be, before we discover something profound. Here’s the scenario: A home is broken in to and a pre-teen boy is accused and arrested. The real criminal plants a stolen item on a dead homeless man found by a dumpster in the alley and that man is accused, thereby clearing the boy. As a small group of residents stand around the body and discuss it, they come to the conclusion that he will be just another John Doe, living an unremarkable life and dying the same way. But, the real thief with some remorse says, “At least he’ll be remembered for something.” And that’s all it took for my head to start whirling out these thoughts.

So, as you go about your business today, give a little thought to how you believe the world will remember you. Afterwards, ask yourself: Is this how I want to be remembered? You have the power to make it anything you like but you really need to get started on it.

Now, if I can only follow my own advice. . .


Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007/print & ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads/ebook only

COMING SOON
“Phobia”/Booktrope/2011/print & ebook
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012/print & ebook
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934”
“Helping Hand For Ethan”
“The Lost Decades”

Let's Talk Weather

I know I’ve mentioned in previous posts my hesitance to put political and/or religious views out there and use them as a platform for debate. I prefer, instead to keep social discourse neutral; light and fluffy, if you prefer. I consider myself the Switzerland of party chat. I have no desire to change your opinion, nor the patience for you to attempt changing mine. But yesterday, as sweat trickled in rivulets down my face, baking under unfettered brilliance of another Texas summer afternoon, it occurred to me how a subject as universally benign as the weather, or used to be, has become a political football. I suppose it’s just one more marker of the age in which we live.


I’m certainly no meteorologist (although I played one on television for eighteen years back in the day), so starting an argument over the validity of global warming is not my goal. I just want to talk about the weather. I’ll leave the debate for the likes of Exxon-Mobil to tell us it’s all poppycock and for environmentalists to counter with a huffy, “No it’s not!”

To me, the casual observer, the weather extremes we’ve noticed around the world don’t seem all that unusual when the focus remains at each location, most having suffered the same fates before, and in some cases worse, from a historical perspective. As examples; Indonesia and Japan have experienced tsunamis before, Joplin, Missouri (or the area) has suffered damaging tornadoes previously and will again, I’m sure. Hurricanes will hit the Gulf Coast, snows will fall in the north and floods will happen along rivers. Even my wonderful home state of Texas has suffered droughts before, many times. Although devastating to livelihoods and lives, there is nothing terribly unusual about any of these events.

But, let’s change the point of view ever so slightly; consider the frequency of occurrences. Doesn’t it seem that weather extremes are becoming the norm from season to season and not simply sensational aberrations?

I suppose the argument might be made that this is just the price of inhabiting a “living” planet. The earth is in a constant state of flux, after all, therefore extremes are cyclical in nature. Right? You know, like the seasons, only over a much broader period of time. Point of fact: The Ice Age certainly didn’t happen as a result of man pumping harmful and toxic emissions into the atmosphere. The earth, itself, did that with volcanic eruptions so numerous as to create a winter seemingly without end.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: This guy is siding with Exxon-Mobil and just doesn’t want to admit it, but . . . not necessarily.

Have you ever wondered if an animal from the age of dinosaurs could even breathe the air in today’s world? I’ve wondered many times and I have serious doubts. Consider the amount of cancer and respiratory problems among people today. There seems to be toxicity in our atmosphere that is not naturally occurring but we, as adaptive beings, may have developed a level of immunity to most toxins we breathe. Unfortunately, just not good enough to prevent diseases from rampant airborne particles tossed willy-nilly into the air in our modern world.

Who do we blame? Do we blame anyone? Would any one of us give up our collective addiction to life simplifying technology just so we might breathe a little easier? What if that global warming thing is true and byproducts of manufacturing to satiate these addictions is changing our climate negatively? Would we then change our ways to preserve the earth? I think not.

I, for one, know the depths of my addiction. I love cars, central heat and air, computers, time saving appliances and on and on and on. Oh well . . .

Whether you believe it or not, this really was a post about the weather.


Daniel Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009/print & ebook
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads/ebook only

COMING SOON
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012/print & ebook
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934”
“Phobia”
“Helping Hand For Ethan”
“The Lost Decades”

These Dreams

Okay, if dreams are supposed to be the windows to the soul then what in bizzaro world (otherwise known as my mind) have I been looking out on? Lately the slumber-time movies have been thought provoking and, yes, even a bit unsettling. One thing is certain; the whole experience is brought into question. What is it, exactly, that is firing the ol’ neuron transmitters lately. It must be one hell of a light show between these ears in the middle of the night.


I haven’t had a nightmare that could be described as frightening since I was a very young child. But, the dreams I’ve been having lately should throw me into a cold sweat. They don’t. And, that, unto itself, should be scary. Good heavens, am I just that jaded to surreal gruesomeness?

I must assume, for sanity’s sake, that my dreams are a convoluted mix of everyday events combined with potential novel plots that race through my head on a daily basis, sometimes hour to hour, depending on how active those creative juices happen to be on a given day. I fear that if a psychiatrist crawled inside my head and looked around, I’d be drugged and restrained drooling in a padded room.

Quick example: I am approached by a midget with cotton blond hair and huge anime baby blue eyes. I am sure this tiny creature wants to kill me and proceeds sizing me up for that purpose. I’m then compelled to shake his hand and introduce myself, all the while realizing he is raising a pistol in the other hand to shoot me as I look over to see bloody corpses of previous victims. I am calm . . . too calm . . . ridiculously calm.

Any dream interpreters out there?

This is no more, but no less, odd than any of the dreams I’ve had lately. They’re all strange. I wonder if this is a sign of diminishing mental capacity. Is it possible my resting mind cannot differentiate real from fantasy any longer? Maybe fantasy is preferable to reality and my head is simply in transition. If so, when that transition is complete, will I lose the link with the here and now in favor of what might be, or could be?

Like anyone else, I’ve always had the occasional strange dream, of course. But, there was a time when those dreams made no sense whatsoever, just images and flash scenarios; other times dreams dealt directly with reality and usually created a story, of sorts. Back then, they were always separate dreams. Now, my head has apparently become a stew pot of the real, could be real, might happen someday and the out-and-out fantasy of mythic proportions. Not only that, they all have a beginning, middle and end.

One thing I do know without question; all these dreams provoke endless hours of thought and contemplation. But why, and is it worth it?

Maybe, I should stop questioning and start taking notes.


Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads

Coming Soon
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Helping Hand for Ethan”
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934
“Phobia”

Too Stupid To Know

The more I learn, the brighter the spotlight is on my stupidity. At least once a day, but usually many times, I say, “I didn’t know that.” I read and try to keep up with the world around me, but it’s a losing battle. The fact I learn today has no relevance tomorrow, or so it seems most days.


Life was so easy during the teen years; I had many of the privileges of adulthood, yet possessed the wisdom of a gnat. You know the age, when we’re the most intelligent beings on the planet. During those years, we simply don’t know how much we don’t know. It’s such a blissful time.

The first giant step towards realizing the depth of our stupidity begins the day we commit to learning; for some that might be college; for others maybe later, much later. Unfortunately, I slipped into that latter category. And, I don’t believe we can include those years through twelfth grade at all. It’s the rare child indeed that consciously wants to know things about the world beyond personal purview; so rare, in fact, not worth mentioning (my apologies to the few true prodigies out there).

During my final year in high school, the only things worth knowing were what everyone was doing Saturday night, who would be doing them, and how I might fit into that scenario. For heaven’s sake; what else did I need to know? That’s why, that year, I was the most intelligent person on earth. I was convinced.

Some exceptional people discover early during the college years that learning is really sort of fun and not just a chore to be endured to pass the next exam. I wasn’t one of them. Therefore, I continued to be quite intelligent and smugly so.

The genuine slide into stupidity began with landing the job of a television news reporter. I quickly discovered that I wasn’t even smart enough to know what questions to ask during interviews. The day I tanked an important interview with Barefoot Sanders in 1972, during his campaign bid for the U-S Senate, was the very day I thought it might be beneficial to know a bit more about the world around me. Don’t try to find out what questions I asked the man, just believe they weren’t relevant to anything that had to do with the political landscape of the day. Suffice it to say, it put a huge crack in that self-imposed intelligence quotient I bestowed upon myself.

By the way, I lucked out on that fiasco. That was in the day we used 16mm film and I just told everyone that the interview was “lost in the soup”; in other words, the film processor ate it. I should have gotten an Oscar for my performance on how frustrated and disgusted I was over losing that jewel of television journalism.

From that day till now, 38 years later, I still cram like I’m expecting a pop quiz, yet I find myself saying, “Gee, I didn’t know that,” far too often anyhow. For every new thing I learn, it only creates a dozen questions in need of answers. So, you can see that the learning curve only gets steeper.

The day is fast approaching that I’ll stop trying to learn all there is to know and go back to being the most intelligent person on the planet.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads

Coming Soon
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/2012
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Helping Hand for Ethan”
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934
“Phobia”

Proud Participant

Father to adult son: “When you get home I’ll have a trophy waiting for you with “Participant” engraved on it.”


This was a line from a television show last week and intended to be funny. It was. I laughed out loud. But, it also has been circling my thoughts since. Allow me to explain what led to that comment in the program. A girl leaves her boyfriend because he never does anything. He counters by telling her that he most certainly does; he buys very expensive tickets to watch his favorite baseball team at least once every week during the season. She, in the end, put the brakes on his argument when she said, “Exactly. You spend your time watching life lived, not participating.”

After a short time, the humor vanished. It, in my mind, became a valid indictment of our culture. This is nothing new though. We can watch any newscast, read any newspaper and see at least one article or hear one story concerning obesity in America and the number of hours spent with television, electronic games, the internet and many other diversions, some absolutely mind-numbing. It’s just that it’s the first time I’ve devoted a few of my remaining active brain cells to the subject.

In no way can I sit in judgment of anyone in this discussion. I love movies and I love reading. I’ll watch a fair share of televised sporting events, hours of standard television fare plus numerous news broadcasts. And, let’s not forget the internet and wonderful social networking at sites like Facebook; ergo, the few remaining active brain cells comment. The point is; this is all sideline stuff, viewing life from the comfort of a chair, not living it—a fat fostering feeble fun-fest, so to speak. I don’t think I want to calculate the hours each week spent observing life lived by someone else. I might cry. And, that would put a damaging dent in my declining and jealously guarded machismo.

I think I’ll take a leap, a short one I believe, and tie in the dumbing down of America in this billowing scenario. We have all seen very recent examples of, so-called, leaders in Washington and wannabe leaders who get confused on what the constitution actually says or know American history very well. Do you suppose these people were raised on a steady diet of allowing someone else to think for them while eating potato chips and watching life lived elsewhere? I think so.

With each new age come challenges to be met and overcome. Could it be that the era in which we now live has provided us with too many conveniences, too much contradictory information, too many sources that occupy the mind but never challenge it? I think so.

The first step, I believe, in correcting this is a tiny one indeed, but important; make a point to approach someone today you don’t know. Shake their hand. Introduce yourself. Get to know someone new and find out about them; not because you have to for business reasons but because you want to. And, I don’t mean in a text, email, phone call or any other modern detached way. I’m talking old school, face to face. These days, it may actually seem like a new approach, a novel new way to learn about the world around us.

Before becoming housebound due to age-related problems, my eighty-seven-year-old father used to make daily trips to have coffee. It really didn’t matter where as long as it was in public. It had little to do with the drink and everything to do with participating in life. He would talk to anyone on any subject. In this way, he developed healthy opinions on living, politics and many other subjects. I’ve noticed that since he is at home all the time now that his opinions reflect that and are no longer his own but parroted from favorite news shows. I think his case is a microcosm of the greater problem today.

Am I shouting down televised news shows? No. I’m advocating balance. Do we really have healthy ways of forming opinions these days; or do we adopt others’ opinions and we really have no logical basis for believing what we do and could not explain a stand if called to do so? Is it possible that we just hear something ad nauseam from well-paid opinion editors, religious leaders, etc., until it becomes truth? I think so.

Does this mean that I’m giving up reading, watching movies and television, using the internet and all those other wonderful ways to be entertained and get information? Nope. I just need to get out amongst them more often. I’ll have to make a daily thing of it. After a time, maybe someone will present me with a trophy that is engraved with “Participant” on it.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads
Coming Soon
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)
“Helping Hand for Ethan”
“Hackberry Corners, Texas 1934
“Phobia”
"The Lost Decades"

More Than Just Words

Every novelist has unique ways of making a story more interesting to readers. There are many plot devices to use and, as strict as grammatical standards are for sentence structure and punctuation, it still leaves myriads of ways to combine things to create memorable reading experiences. That said, I am constantly in the hunt for better ways of saying things.


Before I actively became engrossed in building novels, I was always a fan of the well-turned and well-timed phrase; often sticking with me for years, maybe even a lifetime. What once had been pastimes have, long since, become research missions. These days, watching movies, reading, or even mundane conversations are potential sources of things said that may, in the moment and context in which they are spoken, be absolutely profound. Yet, the words used are of little import.

Arnold Schwartzenegger stands on a multi-million-dollar legacy that sure wasn’t built on his acting talent or, possibly, his governing ability either. One thing he did do, and very well, was to leave behind a string of phrases that have, over time, become iconic: “I’ll be back”, “Asta la Vista, Baby” and on and on. The point is; never underestimate the power of the written or spoken word. Of course, Arnold was clearly into well-timed irony. I bet everyone can visualize exactly what he looked like as he said these lines.

Another example of a phrase that has stuck with me that may, or may not, be memorable to you was during the original “Road Warrior” movie when Mel Gibson was just a sprout developing his acting wings. Near the end of the movie, he stood battered and beaten before Tina Turner and her filthy band of n’er-do-wells. She looked him up and down and said, “We do make a raggedy pair, don’t we?” The line follows me to this day. I can’t even put into words why, but it does.

A few years back, at a family reunion, an uncle I hadn’t seen in many years walked up to me and stood very close looking up at me. I assumed his vision was poor and wanted to see if he recognized me. I became uneasy because he just stared without saying anything. So, I answered the unasked question, “I’m Bettye and Kenneth’s youngest. Zane is my older brother, but I’m the better looking one.” After another few seconds he squinted and simply said, “So you say.” Suddenly, I had another well-timed line that has followed me and shows up occasionally in my stories. That uncle is gone now, but I remember him fondly for those three simple words.

More recently, in the movie “Avatar”, Sam Worthington’s character, Jake Sully, said several times, varying it only slightly, “Sooner or later we all have to wake up.” When I first heard it, I think I missed the next several minutes of dialogue because that line went round and round in my head as a profound statement applicable to so many different situations. But, there’s nothing exceptional about it as a stand-alone comment. The reason I’ve chosen to write about this today is because yesterday morning, I woke mouthing the line, “Sooner or later we all have to wake up.” I don’t know why I was saying it and can’t be sure it wasn’t aloud.

It would be nice to know, though, what my avatar was doing all night.


Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads

COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)

What A Fox!

For many years, I’ve chosen to start my day about 4 a.m. It started many years ago when I had no choice but to begin early or lose my job. I had to learn the hard way about consequences of oversleeping. That’s a story for another day.


I’ve never cared for breakfast foods, so that naturally led to lunch before noon, usually long before. Sundays, I take it to extremes and have brunch about nine. I could call it breakfast, I suppose. But, my food choices just don’t coincide. They are, by anyone’s definition, appropriate to later in the day. For example, this morning I stir-fried a Chinese dish, garlic almond chicken.

I’m sure by now you think this is about food and the appropriate times it should be eaten; not at all. I just didn’t want you thinking me weird because I had Chinese food so early on a Sunday morning.

What this is really about, are those times when my thinking is as clear as it gets—when problem solving is easy (or as easy as it ever will be)—when secrets of the universe tease me just beyond my fingertips—near enough that it encourages me to reach farther and, at least, attempt to pick that lock and see what’s behind that door I can’t quite put my hand on.

This morning, soy sauce in hand, listening to Enya and staring through the dining room window to the woods beyond, I determined that if the world could see what I did at that moment, there’d be no wars, no hostilities and, maybe, we could all just get along.

A rabbit came flagging that cotton-tail across the yard followed closely by a fox. Apparently the fox favored an early brunch, too. Foxes have a permanent den beneath a large cedar tree on the backside of the wooded acre behind our home. So, it was no surprise. I’ve seen them often—lots of rabbits, too—no surprise there either. Now, for the shocker, that fox put on the brakes and reversed. It ran the other way. The rabbit came out of the woods chasing it.

I set my fork on the edge of my plate and leaned far forward, just to make sure of what I was witnessing, mind you. At first, I thought the rabbit might be rabid and the fox realized it figuring he’d search for a meal elsewhere.

The fox began running in a wide circle, the rabbit followed until the circle tightened to a point that I couldn’t determine who chased whom. The fox stopped and the rabbit leaped at it. The fox jumped back. Then the fox leaped over the rabbit.

It occurred to me those two unlikely candidates were playing, just playing. I could only assume that the fox had a full belly from some other source and the rabbit sensed that. There was absolutely no animosity between them. They were at peace. I could fill a few fat chapters with the thoughts that episode spawned, but the end message was simple and concise.

What I witnessed, I wished for the world.

My garlic almond chicken suddenly tasted a little better.

Have a great week.


Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads

COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)

Just a Trip To The Mailbox

It has long been known that extended walks can kick-start thinking and creativity; no secret there—increased blood flow stimulates it—simple as that. But, I’m amazed how many ponderous thoughts circle my brain on a simple jaunt to and from the mailbox, about a hundred yards from the house. Usually those thoughts deal with things I see—birds, trees, sun, clouds—those sorts of things. But, yesterday it was all about the mail in the box that sent thoughts reeling.


If you’re thinking that it must have been something wonderful at one extreme or awful at the other then you would be pretty far off base on both assumptions; the fact is I can’t remember what it was specifically; three separate pieces, I think. But, that’s exactly the reason thoughts were spawned. As I looked at the credit card offers, satellite tv promotional material, AARP insurance offer, or whatever the waste of paper and postage happened to be, I tried remembering the last time I’d received mail that wasn’t an attempt to make it through the eye of a needle into my bank account; which, I must say, is dusty, musty and covered in cobwebs. Fact is: I couldn’t remember the last time I had received welcomed mail of any kind.

As I sighed frustration at having wasted another trip to the box and began walking back to the house, I remembered that I’d heard, once upon a time, the Postal Service whined about unfair competition because email was not charged for and pressed for laws that it should be. I laughed aloud.

I kept right on chuckling when it occurred to me that the Postal Service’s mindset on how to become more competitive is to cut services and raise rates, not become creative and offer unique services and better ways of doing old things to attract business away from email, Federal Express, United Parcel Service and all the others. Why shouldn’t they think that way? That’s how the government taught them to think; competition is for everyone else, not us.

“We should not have to compete; we’re the freakin’ Post Service!” or so they would likely bellow and probably have.

If you think not, then just take a hard look at the current budget crisis in Congress. That’s exactly what our lawmakers are arguing about now. And, in the end, both parties will be responsible for cutting services and raising taxes—not one or the other. But, that’s a rant for a different time.

It’s amazing how the mind rabbit trails over not seeing interesting stuff in the box. By the way, yesterday’s mail was not opened or even made it inside the house. Instead, it was dropped into the trash can on the way. Still, I suppose it’s that tenuous lure of getting one piece of mail that will make all those worthless round trips worthwhile that keeps me going out there and checking. Besides, it’s an opportunity for synapse to fire a little faster and come up with stuff like I’ve written here.

I wonder if this thought is any more important than the mail I received yesterday; probably not.


Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads
COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”

Who We Are and How We Got To Where We Are

There have been countless songs, poems and stories written about people that come into our lives and then move on like smoke in a breeze. I think about that often. Do you?


In each of our lives, from the moment of self-awareness as a young child, infant maybe, people begin passing through and leaving impressions beginning early and then afterwards for a lifetime. The person that leaves that indelible print on our psyche may never personally reappear in our lives but, that individual shares responsibility for who we were, become, are, and will be. We are undeniably products of that presence, no matter how brief.

Of course there are parents, siblings, first loves, classmates and friends but that’s not necessarily who I’m referring to. It’s all those others; doctors, neighbors, teachers, friends of friends, people met in passing at dances, restaurants, church and other public functions—people on the periphery that touch us and move on.

How many events, situations, faces, or verbal exchanges have you had, good or bad, that is burned so deeply that you’ll never forget them? Interestingly, I’ll wager there are many you can think of, that, to this very day, affect your opinions, how you feel about certain things, or maybe just a cozy feeling you want to hang on to for a lifetime?

There are many I claim as Facebook friends that my personal association with can literally be measured in mere seconds over four decades ago, yet, are crystal in my memory and have left their mark on my mind and in my heart. I would even go as far as to say that some do not remember me at all ... doesn’t matter, because they effected me profoundly in some way.

Of course, we should never forget our friends and family, but what about all the others?

Allow me to set a scenario, a true example of what I say here: It is 1986, Carnival Cruise ship, port of call-San Juan, Puerto Rico; passengers and crew with shore leave are disembarking. I find myself in a slow moving line and a young man with cottony blond hair turns to me with a smile and says, “Hi, I’m Afrikaaner. Are you American?”

I loved his accent and was touched that he took the initiative to strike up a conversation. “Yeah,” I replied, “I am. Are you on vacation?”

“Oh, no, I’m your cabin steward.”

Of course I was immediately embarrassed I didn’t recognize him out of his white uniform. In fact he had on a plain white t-shirt, beltless Levis and flipflops with a rolled-up Playboy magazine in his hip pocket. I’m sure I flushed red; my face was hot. “I’m sorry I didn’t—“

“Oh no, don’t apologize. You have no reason to remember me but I’ll always remember you.”

“Huh?”

“You’re the only person in my section that shook my hand when I showed you your cabin. I’ll always remember that small kindness. Some bad things have happened to me lately and I wasn’t having a great day. But your smile and handshake changed that. I hope our paths cross again after this cruise.”

This was the first time in my life that it penetrated my thick skull that what we say and do, even the smallest things, can have a profound impact at times.

Now, I think of all the mental snapshots I carry from a lifetime of similar encounters and realize that not a single one can be discounted as unimportant.

This is my way of saying thanks for strolling into and then out of my life because you left your mark, and it is good.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads
COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”

Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth

You know, it’s not supposed to be the geek that shall inherit the earth.


Something I think about often, and worry about a little, too, is that our entire functioning world hinges on those things that can be plugged in to a power source. As tech toys flood world markets at an alarming rate, we as humans, and supposedly sentient beings, are actually losing our humanity at the same speed. We are but a collection of numbers and symbols in a database somewhere and, therefore, living and existing at the pleasure of people who know how to manipulate those numbers and symbols.

I think, though, I want to take this discussion in a slightly different direction. Let me set a hypothetical scenario for you. Let’s say it’s the year 2012 and Osama bin Laden’s replacement is much savvier about technology than his predecessor—not how to use it, but what ceases to happen without it. Politicians and power moguls can argue all they like that we have too many redundancies in our grid system to worry much about terrorism on electricity production. I’ll only buy into that premise to a point. For the most part, I choose to believe that such talk is self-serving to maintain central control even as many different companies distribute power. The reason is simple, distributors distribute, they don’t produce.

How many remember the northeastern power outage of 1965; how about the one in 2003? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Blackout_of_2003 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Blackout_of_1965

It’s not worth boring you with technical jargon or excuses for the outages. I’m not intelligent enough for that anyhow. But, what is fascinating to note, is how little it took to take down a huge chunk of the northeastern United States in an instant. And both times it stayed down for a frighteningly long period. Now, multiply that by two or three other central power producing locations.

I think you know where I’m going with this; the U-S, with the possible exception of the military, would be blind, deaf and dumb. How long do you think it would take for panic and mayhem to set in, sides chosen and warring tribes to emerge battling over scraps of food?

I challenge each one reading this to look around and count the number of young people you personally know that have no clue how a loaf of bread is made or what from, where ham comes from or how to make it, how to make cheese or butter, have never gathered eggs from a coop, have no idea how to spin yarn, sew, weave, build a chair from tree branches, or even something as simple as walking into an open pasture and knowing what is edible and what is poison. This list could go on and on. Unfortunately, these are the people that now rule the world and are currently breeding offspring that think their futures hinge on new products from Apple and Microsoft or how well the stock of one investment company does versus another, or what political party will best serve them.

I think I’ll get to work writing a novel of catastrophe and call it, “The Geek That Inherited The Earth” or maybe, “The United States Unplugged”. Of course neither have much hope of a happy ending if I insist on too many truisms. I would have to go whole hog and create a fantasy world because, really, who’d believe society could collapse just because someone pulled the power plug. Absurd. Right?

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads
COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”

Are Print Books in Danger Of Extinction?

The following is a partial reprint from the May 19th edition of Business Wire. It is a fascinating sign of the times in the publishing industry. I wonder where it will go next.  -dlw

(NASDAQ:AMZN)--Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995. Twelve years later in November 2007, Amazon introduced the revolutionary Kindle and began selling Kindle books. By July 2010, Kindle book sales had surpassed hardcover book sales, and six months later, Kindle books overtook paperback books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Today, less than four years after introducing Kindle books, Amazon.com customers are now purchasing more Kindle books than all print books - hardcover and paperback - combined.

"Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books. We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly - we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years," said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com. "In addition, we're excited by the response to Kindle with Special Offers for only $114, which has quickly become the bestselling member of the Kindle family. We continue to receive positive comments from customers on the low $114 price and the money-saving special offers. We're grateful to our customers for continuing to make Kindle the bestselling e-reader in the world and the Kindle Store the most popular e-bookstore in the world."

Recent milestones for Kindle include:

Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the number even higher.

So far in 2011, the tremendous growth of Kindle book sales, combined with the continued growth in Amazon's print book sales, have resulted in the fastest year-over-year growth rate for Amazon's U.S. books business, in both units and dollars, in over 10 years. This includes books in all formats, print and digital. Free books are excluded in the calculation of growth rates.

In the five weeks since its introduction, Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the U.S.

Amazon sold more than 3x as many Kindle books so far in 2011 as it did during the same period in 2010.

Less than one year after introducing the UK Kindle Store, Amazon.co.uk is now selling more Kindle books than hardcover books, even as hardcover sales continue to grow. Since April 1, Amazon.co.uk customers are purchasing Kindle books over hardcover books at a rate of more than 2 to 1.

Politics and Religion

It is said that if one wants to keep a party light and happy then avoid the topics of politics and religion, and rightfully so I believe. It shouldn’t take a genius to realize that every war ever fought since the beginning of time had one or the other as root justification for mayhem and death.

One possible argument against this notion might be disputes over real estate. Maybe. But, even then, I think if one backtracks from the geographic boundary disagreements a contentious argument over politics and/or religion will be discovered that set the territorial dispute in motion.

I am of the mind that no one on this planet can change my beliefs when it comes to either of these topics. So, when a friend or acquaintance broaches the subject of either, I don’t just avoid it, I run. If I know they can’t change my mind; what would make me believe I could alter their opinion? These are not things that can be discussed when stands differ. It will quickly escalate into a debate, then into an argument and then, voila, the seeds of another war have just been planted.

Consider this: When a friendly discussion of politics or religion begins, the first to speak will open by saying, “In my opinion...” But, what the discussion partner really means is, “And, now, listen to my undeniable, indisputable fact...”

Yep, if I find myself in that scenario, I smile, listen to the, so-called, opinion and usually say something tremendously clever like, “Really?” I’ll quickly wrap with, “Nice talking to you”, and then walk away—no harm no foul and that person remains a friend.

Now, if you take this micro example and apply it to the macro, respect for other nation’s views on politics and religions would be a giant step toward elusive world peace. Everyone says they want it. Do they really? Or, do people just want a planet filled with clones of themselves? The clone thing makes sense to me. And, as far as world peace goes, I'll quote my daddy. “Ain’t gonna happen ... just ain’t.”

So, reeling back this world view to a personal one, my wife will just have to suffer through my political and religious rants whenever I feel the need to give opinions a voice. I guess this means there’ll be no peace in my world either.

"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads
COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”

Wandering Mojo

It seems as though I must reinforce my mojo with increasing frequency. The mojo I speak of is my work as a novelist.

Prior to beginning this blog post, I found myself looking at a blinking cursor on my computer monitor while glancing to chapter notes of the current manuscript I’m working on. Yet, fingers lay idle upon the keyboard. At one point during these few minutes the irony of what I was in the midst of occurred to me: I had no intention of typing a single word, just blankly attempting to fulfill some vague commitment to the cosmos to write some everyday which isn’t happening. For most of a month, I’ve engaged in this inane ritual repeatedly. Why?

It’s tantamount to a sprinter donning running clothes, putting on spikes, hammering in the starting blocks, getting into them and setting up for the big race, posing in a start posture, waiting for the crack of the gun, but it never goes off. Like this hapless track star, I don’t seem to have control of the starter pistol, yet desperately need to be in the running.

At some point near the end of March, I joyfully finished a draft on chapter seven. Since then, chapter eight only has that title centered across the top of the page, nothing else, nary a single word. Every morning, I open MS Word, find that page and stare at it for a time, eventually moving on to something else.

I know what you must be thinking: “Writer’s block, huh?”

In my humble opinion, it can be safely said this is not the case, not in the strictest definition anyhow. Writer’s block, to me, indicates a writer’s sudden inability to determine the direction a story should take. This is definitely not my problem. I know exactly where I want the story to go over the next twenty chapters (plus or minus). I even have chapter eight mentally mapped. I just can’t convince myself (or, should I say, I can’t kick myself in the butt hard enough) to make it happen.

If anyone should see my wandering mojo, please send him home. He’s lost, cold, under-nourished and can’t seem to find his own way back—poor little guy.



Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads
"Prank" and "Tornado: Wichita Falls 1979"/Canis Latran Anthology

COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”

Books 'n' Authors 'n' All That Jazz

It was a nice surprise that I discovered in the mailbox today; notification by Weatherford College in Weatherford, Texas that I’d won two literary awards in the Sixth Annual Canis Latran Writing Contest. It’s held annually in conjunction with a major literary and musical arts affair called “Books ‘n’ Authors ‘n’ All That Jazz”. The event draws authors from all over this big state of Texas. It was designed, and continues to be, a spotlight on Texas authors.

I won the fiction short story category and also creative non-fiction in Canis Latran. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 2:15, Saturday, April 30th in the Alkek Fine Arts Center on the campus of Weatherford College.

The umbrella event, “Books ‘n’ Authors ‘n’ All That Jazz”, is a daylong affair from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m.

It’s my greatest desire that everyone, new friends and old, will drop by for a handshake or a hug and a book. See you there!

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright

Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press 2010/ ebook available
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011
“Dancing Away”/short story/Untreed Reads

COMING IN 2012
“Defining Family”
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”

Books Authors 'N' All That Jazz

Once again, I'll be participating in an event in Weatherford, Texas and Weatherford College that's developing strong legs called Books Authors 'N' All That Jazz. I'd like to invite all reading this blog to drop by for a hug, handshake, and a few signed books of your choosing from a large contingent of authors. The event is fun and festive.

For all Texas authors I've posted the entire announcement, just in case there are some who aren't aware. There's still time.


Books 'n Authors 'n All that Jazz IX‏

Authors: Five weeks and counting, and we’ll all be gathered at the Alkek Fine Arts Center, ready for the 9th edition of Books ‘n Authors ‘n All That Jazz. It’s amazing that this is our 9th year, and I, personally, am so pleased to be a part of an event that has become a much-anticipated cultural event on our Weatherford campus. We have YOU to thank for that. BAJ is all about you, our Texas authors, and we will work hard to make this a great day for you.
I have attached the overall agenda for the day, including the schedule of workshops that will be presented throughout the day. Also, below, I’ve outlined information that will be helpful to you who have not participated before.

Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty of Saturday, April 30th:

· Doors will open by 7:30 a.m. for you to come in and set up. Directions can be found on our College Web site (www.wc.edu - "About WC" link on the left). Texas Hall, inside the Alkek Center, is a very nice venue for our event - easy in and out, and handicapped accessible, of course. Restrooms are at each end of the building. Classrooms, where we will hold the workshops, and the theatre are within a few feet walking distance. Anyone who comes into the Center for one activity or the other will have easy access to you Authors in Texas Hall.
· Some of you have asked about near-by motels since you are not within a short driving distance. There are many to choose from, but two most convenient would be the Super 8, 817-598-0852, or the La Quinta Inn,817- 594-4481. Two other choices nearby are the Hampton Inn, 817-599-4800, or the Holiday Inn Express, 817-599-3700. Rates are reasonable. There are other hotels, as well, and a couple of B&Bs. Check out our Chamber of Commerce website for more information about our little town. We have a lot of to offer – antique shops, good restaurants, the beautiful parks - especially Chandor Gardens – all kinds of things for you to check out while you’re here in Weatherford, Texas!
· When you arrive at the Alkek Fine Arts Center, please check in at the Registration Table. A volunteer will greet you, hand you your name badge, and will show you where you are to be seated. You have been assigned a table space with one other author. Some of you have requested seating next to or near a particular colleague, and we have accommodated those requests. Student volunteers from our Phi Theta Kappa (honor society) will be on-hand to help you fetch and tote your books, if you'd like assistance.
· This will be a good time for you to turn in your “fee” for participating: the two books – one for our College library and one for the door-prize drawing. This year, in order for the attendees to be eligible for the door-prize drawing, which will be a basket of all your books, they must get at least 10 autographs from you authors. The autograph sheet will be on the back of the program, so please remind the attendees about that if they forget to ask you for your autograph.
· You should have approximately 4 feet of space for your books display. Tables will be covered with a white tablecloth, though, you may, of course, bring a covering or "accent" of your own to best display your work. One chair per author will be provided, and those of you bringing a second person to assist with sales need to let me or Evelyn know that, so we'll be sure to have plenty of chairs. Please know that space is limited, and while we certainly welcome your guests and space usually can be arranged, I cannot guarantee their seating at the table with you. The Author is the featured participant at each table.
· If you need or would like to request special arrangements for seating, please let us know that.
· You will need to bring whatever else you need to conduct your sales. We are not set up for electronic charge cards, sorry; however, many of you, I know, have those small, "sliders" for credit cards.
· Also, for your comfort, small portable fans will be plugged in behind the tables. Even on a cool day or with the best of air conditioning on a warm day, it can get a little stuffy with all those tables arranged in one area and, we hope, hundreds of people coming in and out!
· The Authors' Hospitality Room will be located in the service kitchen, just down the hallway from Texas Hall. We'll point the way. Coffee, tea, juice and water, along with breakfast pastries, will be available from about 7:30 a.m. - 10 ish. Then additional snacks and fruit will be set out, until lunch time at Noon, when fresh hot pizza of various kinds will be delivered for you. This is complimentary. If you have special dietary needs, you will need to bring your own food, but everything in the Hospitality Room is free for you.
· The attendees will have the opportunity to have a free lunch as well, sponsored by the editor and publisher of our local popular magazine, Parker County Today. Their sack lunch picnic area will be on the west side of the building, outside. Most of them will be coming from the workshops on the east side of the building and will walk right through Texas Hall where you will be. So be prepared to see a lot of people around 11:45 or so. We’ll hold off on serving YOUR lunch until all the attendees who have reserved a sack lunch have a chance to talk with you.
· We have advertised that Authors will be present in Texas Hall from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. It is impossible to tell you how many books you will need to bring with you. Last year, some authors sold out and left early; some sold few or none, but MOST authors, on average, sold at least 8-12 books, some as many as 20 or 25, and one sold 42, nearly all he brought. There is just no way for me to advise you on this. Most authors told me last year that our event was their best-selling event yet, but I had one author vow never to come back because he didn't sell one book.( He was the one sitting there with his arms folded and looking down at a book in his lap most of the day – NOT engaging the attendees in any way…’nuff said…)
· There's no way to predict what the public is buying on any given day, but we are doing everything we can to GET people there for you! Last year's attendance was over 350. (Check out our Web site at www.wc.edu/calendar click on the BAJ link on the right and you'll see the kind of info that our public is seeing. I have placed ads in several papers (all of the ones in our five-county service area) - scheduled right up to the day of the event; radio spots, and, of course, I talk about it on my radio show all the time (Books 'n Authors on Saturday mornings, 10 a.m., KYQX-FM, 89.5). Posters are going up all over town, as well as event info on electronic marquees. Fliers will be distributed at numerous club meetings in the next weeks.)
· If you'd like some of the posters or fliers, then let me know, and Evelyn and I can arrange to get them to you. You might have a writing group, or a library nearby or a restaurant that would allow a poster in their window, especially if you live within our area...
· You’ll notice on the agenda that at 2 p.m., we have scheduled the annual Canis Latran ("The Coyote,") Writing Contest awards program. This is when we will present the winners of the contest and allow them to read a portion of their work to the audience. You are welcome to join us at that, if you’d like. The program begins with the "....'n All That Jazz" performance by our Jazz combo, and they’re good!
· And, of course, we have several workshops going on throughout the day. You may want to attend one of those. Attending the workshops and/or theatre activities is strictly up to you; we realize, of course, that you are attending Books 'n Authors 'n All That Jazz to sell your books and meet 'n greet your readers! If you choose to leave your tables, we will have volunteers in Texas Hall to ensure your belongings' safe-keeping. Last year, volunteers even finalized a few sales for our Authors while they were in the theatre!
I have had the privilege of meeting most of you at our event or at another book festival. I want to make sure I talk with each and every one of you sometime during the day. Please find me during the day if we should miss connections early on. I will have a few details to attend to through the day, especially early in the day and may be seen scurrying about a bit, but I'll be easy to find. Just look for the lady whose gray hair is going grayer by the minute, right before your eyes! :-) Also, my assistant, Evelyn Payne (a lot less grayer than I...) will be available, as well. We'll both have on great big name tags. You can't miss us!

Seriously, we will do everything we can to make this a wonderful day for you. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you need anything or if you have suggestion on how we can do anything better for you next year. There will be an evaluation form in your Author's Welcome Packet that will be at your table.

I think this covers several details of the day. I am very excited about Books 'n Authors 'n All That Jazz IX; in fact, it is my favorite event of the year! We want it to be the very best we can make it and make it a great day for you! If you have additional questions or know of something I have left out in this informational e-mail, please let me know.

See you on April 30th!

Linda Brooks Bagwell
Director, Communications & Public Relations
Weatherford College
225 College Park Ave.
Weatherford, Texas 76086
817-598-6274, office

"The Last Radiant Heart" Review

I received a nice review on my latest novel, "The Last Radiant Heart" from Galand Nuchols of the LoneStar Nightwriters and also the author of "Dragon Hatchling". I'm tremendously pleased to share it:

"The Last Radiant Heart will capture the imagination of those who dare to examine the possibility of parallel universes and what could happen if a man were gifted with the ability to travel between them. A must read for science fiction lovers. Before the end of the tale, however, the reader may ask, 'Is it really fiction? Could it happen?' ”

Coming in 2011

It’s with great pleasure that I announced my latest novels are now in contract and tentatively scheduled to be published later in 2011 through Virtual Tales. Below are blurbs about each. I hope your appetites for good stories are whetted.

(“Defining Family”)
It began as an innocent prank by four Texas teens to get out of the North Texas Children’s Home for a short while on a Saturday night. The plan goes terribly wrong. Samantha, Rebecca, Amanda and Aaron suddenly find themselves on the run from the law. Convinced blame of a horrendous crime will be on their heads, eluding the law is the only way. As the week passes, each comes to realize that running away from that problem wasn’t the ultimate reason. Flight from the law transforms into an October odyssey of discovery for four teens searching.

(“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”)
Two centuries have elapsed since global economies collapsed with little hope of resurrection. Jake Henderson, a loner, wanders the former state of Texas foraging for food and seeking shelter anywhere he can find it. He happens upon, and witnesses, the murder of a young woman. A ten-year-old girl traveling with the woman is traumatized and left speechless by the heinous crime and left orphaned. From that day, she begins changing Jake’s life in ways in he could never have imagined. Annabelle, as he chooses to call her, descends from failed genetically manufactured prototypes in the early part of the twenty-first century. This delicate appearing child is anything but, destined to become a savior to many in a world out of control.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007—paperback, ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009—paperback, ebook
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010-paperback, ebook, eSerialization
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ 2010—ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011
“Defining Family”/Virtual Tales
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”/Virtual Tales

Not So Private Thoughts

WARNING: The following is a piece I wrote a decade ago and recently re-discovered it. It is absolutely politically incorrect, but I laughed out loud upon re-reading it. Whether you choose to laugh with me or chastise me is entirely up to you.    -dlw


The number of ways a single notion can be interpreted is cause for my never-ending fascination with how the human mind latches on to a myth then repeats it ad nauseam until one day it becomes the truth. We say it aloud so often it eventually hardens into irrefutable fact.

No getting around it. We’re all guilty of it. Even if we just think it, same thing. Once given life, that cute little notion will grow into a strong, healthy truism.

You know what I mean, like standing before the mirror and staring until the reflection looks good. The longer I stare, the better I look. “Oh yeah. I’m the man!”

Sometimes it’s dangerous to think aloud. Even worse, to put those thoughts in print so it can’t be denied later. But, I’m going in head-first anyhow.

It bears mentioning that I’m semi-retired; meaning I can’t afford not to work after walking away from a 32-year career in television. To fill that financial void and get motivation to stay fit, I became a personal trainer at a local health club. So, my mind was in that particular channel one Friday evening, not so long ago.

The wife and I searched out the best restaurant deal and followed that with a walk through the mall, taking in a sale or two and, of course, some good old-fashioned people watching. The latter was more to my liking. The sales I left to her. Circling a rack of clothes like buzzards over road-kill wasn’t my style. The eye-popping iridescent “75% OFF” sign just wasn’t enough to hold my attention—never has and, likely, never will.

Hearing a nearby conversation, I was unable to resist eavesdropping, just to understand another’s point of view about the mall experience, mind you. With hands stuffed deep inside my pockets, I nonchalantly looked and found more interesting action than the melee-in-the-making at the sale rack.

Like the Kilroy figure, popular among World War II vets, I peered over a pile of sweaters. I saw an attractive woman, maybe a tiny bit overweight, talking to a clerk about a dress she held up. She fondled the fabric. I thought she did that in a strangely seductive way. But, that’s probably a whole other story.

“Do you think this dress will have a slimming effect on me?” she asked.

With the media covering obesity in America almost daily, I couldn’t help myself. My mind took that question and ran with it. In six months will she be back buying another garment? The question becoming, “Will this dress camouflage my widening hips?” Let’s round this timeframe out to a year. Will she then be asking, “Does this dress hang loose enough over my ballooning thighs and butt?”

I’m not saying we shouldn’t attempt to dress attractively, but people like that drop-dead gorgeous woman carrying a few extra pounds…with an obvious fabric fetish…consulted the wrong person. That clerk would have told her anything to ring up a sale, like sale prices are real discounts, for example, and, “Oh yes ma’am, that dress makes you look like a 98-pound super model.”

That’s the clerk’s job. No sale—no revenue, no revenue—no job. What would we expect a store clerk to say? “Oh, sweet heavenly Jesus! You look like a sausage in a microwave about to explode.”

I don’t think so.

She should be asking a personal fitness trainer at the local health club how to mold her body back into what she had obviously been a short time before. Listening to others opinions concerning appearance is a slippery slope. In fact, mothers aside, I can’t think of anyone capable of that level of honesty.

Listening to gushing store clerks will doom her. She will metamorphose into a jewelry laden, perfume reeking, makeup encrusted delusional woman waddling into an ice cream shop, clearly seeing something different in that mirror beyond the double fudge ripple barrel than the world sees.

What good are toe rings and ankle bracelets if she can’t look down and see them?

Of course, if I said anything remotely resembling this thought, I would have ended up with her handprint on the side of my face, not to mention my wife’s embarrassed and emphatic denial of knowing who I am—and, rightfully so.

Instead, I stood quietly and admired her physical attributes for the way she appeared at that moment. I feared she stood at a fork in the road (yes, I chose the word ‘fork’ purposely), taking baby steps down the wrong one. My over-active imagination created an image of her fifty or more pounds overweight, attempting the equivalent of putting racing stripes on a pig.

You may be thinking I’m crass and rude…that I’m the pig. Maybe I am. Don’t know. But, thoughts like this are common, I dare say.

As I turned away to, again, mind my own business, I conjured a happier twist and chose to believe she dropped by to check out the sale, but was actually on her way to pick up a diet book before going on to the gym.

I have the personal training thing down pretty well. At some point, though, I may need to address my people skills.

Nah. I’m good.



Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ ebook available now 2010
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011
“Defining Family”/Virtual Tales
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy/Virtual Tales