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
Novelist
Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright, Author
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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
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
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Movies Versus Novels
I’ve concluded that I’m a closet romantic. I hide it well though, below layers and layers of testosterone-laden attitude.
Although I call it research, I watch chick-flicks frequently. Lately, thanks to Hulu, I’ve seen a series of formulaic romantic Christmas stories, too. They all end the same with a happy turn that dampens my eyes (don’t tell anyone). I thought it was worth a few moments of analytical thought on the subject.
The first question I asked myself was: Why will I watch a romantic movie but wouldn’t consider reading a romantic novel? I think it’s a valid question since I write novels and really want people to read my work. I don’t believe the answer is a difficult one at all.
A movie, you see, is over in less than two hours with little attachment to the characters, just a brief emotional moment near the end and, voila! It’s history, whereas, a novel is a true investment in the lives of the characters by the reader. Readers become attached to, or repelled by, the characters of a book and memorably so, if written well. These characters will live on and stay with the reader long after the book is finished. Not so with a movie, as a rule. In fact, I’ve watched many movies that I thoroughly enjoyed but a year later remembered only snippets of it, if at all.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that on a scale of how well a story is remembered would put a great movie, a blockbuster, on par with a mediocre novel. And, this is not a slam at the movie industry. It’s a simple matter of producers and directors not having adequate time to delve into the depths of each character. So, we, as viewers, don’t ever develop true emotional attachments to them.
In a novel, personalities are so well developed that we begin to identify with characters because they remind us of ourselves, spouses, siblings, children, or others in our lives and we actually put recognizable faces on them as we read. That’s just not so in movies.
If a movie attempted such depth of character, it would be a twenty-four hour movie, and that’s just not going to happen; no one would watch it. It would also cost as much to produce as the entire annual budget of some third-world countries.
So, I might be comfortable enough in my own skin to watch a romantic movie and enjoy it, but to read romance novels... well, that just might shatter a few self-imposed boundaries. To become attached to the characters of a romantic novel (and I certainly would) might cause my romantic side to come out, totally out. It wouldn’t be pretty.
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
Although I call it research, I watch chick-flicks frequently. Lately, thanks to Hulu, I’ve seen a series of formulaic romantic Christmas stories, too. They all end the same with a happy turn that dampens my eyes (don’t tell anyone). I thought it was worth a few moments of analytical thought on the subject.
The first question I asked myself was: Why will I watch a romantic movie but wouldn’t consider reading a romantic novel? I think it’s a valid question since I write novels and really want people to read my work. I don’t believe the answer is a difficult one at all.
A movie, you see, is over in less than two hours with little attachment to the characters, just a brief emotional moment near the end and, voila! It’s history, whereas, a novel is a true investment in the lives of the characters by the reader. Readers become attached to, or repelled by, the characters of a book and memorably so, if written well. These characters will live on and stay with the reader long after the book is finished. Not so with a movie, as a rule. In fact, I’ve watched many movies that I thoroughly enjoyed but a year later remembered only snippets of it, if at all.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that on a scale of how well a story is remembered would put a great movie, a blockbuster, on par with a mediocre novel. And, this is not a slam at the movie industry. It’s a simple matter of producers and directors not having adequate time to delve into the depths of each character. So, we, as viewers, don’t ever develop true emotional attachments to them.
In a novel, personalities are so well developed that we begin to identify with characters because they remind us of ourselves, spouses, siblings, children, or others in our lives and we actually put recognizable faces on them as we read. That’s just not so in movies.
If a movie attempted such depth of character, it would be a twenty-four hour movie, and that’s just not going to happen; no one would watch it. It would also cost as much to produce as the entire annual budget of some third-world countries.
So, I might be comfortable enough in my own skin to watch a romantic movie and enjoy it, but to read romance novels... well, that just might shatter a few self-imposed boundaries. To become attached to the characters of a romantic novel (and I certainly would) might cause my romantic side to come out, totally out. It wouldn’t be pretty.
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
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Taking Care of Business
The infamous “They” say that the only two sure things in this life are death and taxes. I’d like to add to this list the certainty that people will always exist that want to take what is not theirs to take and they don’t care whom they harm in the process.
If anyone receives an email from my hotmail account (that begins with wrightthing), please disregard it. That email account has been hijacked and I no longer have control or even access to it. And, unfortunately, I don’t have enough information that is different from the hijacker’s to prove that it is indeed my email account. If the wrightthing email happens to be in your email contact list, eliminate it. And, I apologize if you get an email asking for $500 to finance my trip home from west Africa. I don’t need the money and I’m not in west Africa. I can’t say for sure if I’ll ever need $500 but I can say definitively I’ll never be in west Africa.
Now, on to happier things; I have a book signing scheduled for Saturday, November 13th, 10a till 2p at Hastings in Waco at Bosque Blvd and Valley Mills Drive. It will feature my latest novel, “The Last Radiant Heart” but I’ll also have available the popular earlier novel, “Paradise Flawed”.
If you’re within driving distance, please drop by so I can shake your hand.
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
If anyone receives an email from my hotmail account (that begins with wrightthing), please disregard it. That email account has been hijacked and I no longer have control or even access to it. And, unfortunately, I don’t have enough information that is different from the hijacker’s to prove that it is indeed my email account. If the wrightthing email happens to be in your email contact list, eliminate it. And, I apologize if you get an email asking for $500 to finance my trip home from west Africa. I don’t need the money and I’m not in west Africa. I can’t say for sure if I’ll ever need $500 but I can say definitively I’ll never be in west Africa.
Now, on to happier things; I have a book signing scheduled for Saturday, November 13th, 10a till 2p at Hastings in Waco at Bosque Blvd and Valley Mills Drive. It will feature my latest novel, “The Last Radiant Heart” but I’ll also have available the popular earlier novel, “Paradise Flawed”.
If you’re within driving distance, please drop by so I can shake your hand.
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
Monday, October 25, 2010
Just A Rant
Making a living, generating an income, is and always has been man’s foremost consideration. In the beginning it was simply bringing meat back to the cave (or wherever).
In modern times, little has changed except how that meat gets to be in the cave. These days, we beg the guy with the keys to where the meat is stored to allow us to serve him in some capacity so we might be sliced off a hunk each week (or month, or year) to take home to the hungry mate and offspring.
Now, for the point of this rambling; has anyone noticed lately what’s happening to the guy holding the key? He seems to be having as much trouble as the rest of us. That key he so jealously guarded now opens an empty locker. Small business is hurting because of the gross favoritism to the behemoths, those “too big to fail”. This is a disgusting and totally false premise. “Too big to fail” is simply catering to contributors and, maybe even, an excuse to begin the nationalization process. Smaller competitors would pick up the slack in a matter of months, if not weeks or days. “Too big to fail” is pure bunk and absolutely anti-American.
With unemployment at, or near, 10% means 1 out of every 10 Americans is without access to someone holding the keys.
I realize this may sound like a statement in favor of one political party or the other, but it goes far beyond that. While Washington, Democrats and Republicans, battle it out in a popularity contest for their “entitlement” to lifelong luxury at our expense, they seem blind to the fact that the well they so liberally dip from is drying up. The only difference between the parties is what they spend money on. They both spend huge amounts to fund a bloated system, most of which need not exist at all. A huge portion of the bureaucracy could collapse and go away; no would miss it.
Does anyone remember the MMS (Mineral Management Services)? Who even knew it existed before the BP spill in the Gulf? Lo and behold, come to find out, they regulated or controlled nothing and did only what the oil companies expected of them. They rubber stamped everything oil companies sent their way. Congress was up in arms and incensed over that news, like it was some kind of revelation and they had no idea oil companies had that much influence.
We need to wake up. Of course they knew! They, too, are recipients of that very same money machine. The puffing up with indignation was for show to the American public, and only occurred because the word got out that MMS controlled or supervised nothing. All the hearings lambasting BP and TransOceanic and even all the banks and car companies before those, were purely for show. Nothing... absolutely nothing of substance came from any of those hearings. The final chapter of this little drama is the simple fact that no one is talking about it any longer and MMS is back to drawing their government paychecks and doing whatever it is that bureaucrats do that have no impact on the business of government. How many other bureaucracies exist that are blips on the landscape, yet cost hundreds of millions of dollar each year?
As crass as it may sound, all (yes, I said all) decisions are first and foremost made to garner favor from those in control of the big coin purses, and it begins with the thought, “Now, what can I get out of this for myself?”
If some benefit is inadvertently bestowed upon the masses for the greater good, it’s an unexpected side effect and not the reason. But, it will be utilized by our, so-called, leaders come next election so they might use it as campaign fodder to extend their “entitlement” one more term.
No, this is not at all an issue of which party should be in power; it’s an issue of the people exerting influence over the parties because both are much more interested in preserving a power base than the health and future of this country. The machine is broken and those in charge are deaf to its grinding gears.
Everyone is aware that Congress votes itself pay raises with no discussion. Anyone care? Everyone knows that they have the best and cheapest health care in the country. Anyone care? Everyone knows that they retire with pensions that will keep them in the top ten percent of “wage” earners in this country. Anyone care?
And, here’s one I wasn’t even aware of until this week. If you or I have advance knowledge of a company’s good fortune through employees of that company and invest money on that information then we’ll be thrown in jail for insider trading. But, if a congressman or senator learns of things through the course of government business about such future things and they invest then they are immune to prosecution. Why?
It’s simple; those that make the laws, make them to protect themselves not us.
The only way to begin changing things is to abandon all party affiliations and vote out incumbents. It doesn’t matter who fills the seat. They need to learn, again, this country is all about the will of people and their jobs in government are public service and not any form of entitlement meant to enrich them personally. After serving, they should go home, get jobs and live under the laws that they passed. But, if the people give up their right, then this corruption will continue. Corruption is a dirty word, but I can’t think of a better one. And, we the people, allow it. Shame on us.
You may not agree with any of this. But, you have to admit, it’s a pretty good collective poke to get us all out to the polls and start voting for real leaders and stop voting for people just because we recognize their names. It’s not a popularity contest! It’s our future!
Now, I need a job. Any suggestions?
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
In modern times, little has changed except how that meat gets to be in the cave. These days, we beg the guy with the keys to where the meat is stored to allow us to serve him in some capacity so we might be sliced off a hunk each week (or month, or year) to take home to the hungry mate and offspring.
Now, for the point of this rambling; has anyone noticed lately what’s happening to the guy holding the key? He seems to be having as much trouble as the rest of us. That key he so jealously guarded now opens an empty locker. Small business is hurting because of the gross favoritism to the behemoths, those “too big to fail”. This is a disgusting and totally false premise. “Too big to fail” is simply catering to contributors and, maybe even, an excuse to begin the nationalization process. Smaller competitors would pick up the slack in a matter of months, if not weeks or days. “Too big to fail” is pure bunk and absolutely anti-American.
With unemployment at, or near, 10% means 1 out of every 10 Americans is without access to someone holding the keys.
I realize this may sound like a statement in favor of one political party or the other, but it goes far beyond that. While Washington, Democrats and Republicans, battle it out in a popularity contest for their “entitlement” to lifelong luxury at our expense, they seem blind to the fact that the well they so liberally dip from is drying up. The only difference between the parties is what they spend money on. They both spend huge amounts to fund a bloated system, most of which need not exist at all. A huge portion of the bureaucracy could collapse and go away; no would miss it.
Does anyone remember the MMS (Mineral Management Services)? Who even knew it existed before the BP spill in the Gulf? Lo and behold, come to find out, they regulated or controlled nothing and did only what the oil companies expected of them. They rubber stamped everything oil companies sent their way. Congress was up in arms and incensed over that news, like it was some kind of revelation and they had no idea oil companies had that much influence.
We need to wake up. Of course they knew! They, too, are recipients of that very same money machine. The puffing up with indignation was for show to the American public, and only occurred because the word got out that MMS controlled or supervised nothing. All the hearings lambasting BP and TransOceanic and even all the banks and car companies before those, were purely for show. Nothing... absolutely nothing of substance came from any of those hearings. The final chapter of this little drama is the simple fact that no one is talking about it any longer and MMS is back to drawing their government paychecks and doing whatever it is that bureaucrats do that have no impact on the business of government. How many other bureaucracies exist that are blips on the landscape, yet cost hundreds of millions of dollar each year?
As crass as it may sound, all (yes, I said all) decisions are first and foremost made to garner favor from those in control of the big coin purses, and it begins with the thought, “Now, what can I get out of this for myself?”
If some benefit is inadvertently bestowed upon the masses for the greater good, it’s an unexpected side effect and not the reason. But, it will be utilized by our, so-called, leaders come next election so they might use it as campaign fodder to extend their “entitlement” one more term.
No, this is not at all an issue of which party should be in power; it’s an issue of the people exerting influence over the parties because both are much more interested in preserving a power base than the health and future of this country. The machine is broken and those in charge are deaf to its grinding gears.
Everyone is aware that Congress votes itself pay raises with no discussion. Anyone care? Everyone knows that they have the best and cheapest health care in the country. Anyone care? Everyone knows that they retire with pensions that will keep them in the top ten percent of “wage” earners in this country. Anyone care?
And, here’s one I wasn’t even aware of until this week. If you or I have advance knowledge of a company’s good fortune through employees of that company and invest money on that information then we’ll be thrown in jail for insider trading. But, if a congressman or senator learns of things through the course of government business about such future things and they invest then they are immune to prosecution. Why?
It’s simple; those that make the laws, make them to protect themselves not us.
The only way to begin changing things is to abandon all party affiliations and vote out incumbents. It doesn’t matter who fills the seat. They need to learn, again, this country is all about the will of people and their jobs in government are public service and not any form of entitlement meant to enrich them personally. After serving, they should go home, get jobs and live under the laws that they passed. But, if the people give up their right, then this corruption will continue. Corruption is a dirty word, but I can’t think of a better one. And, we the people, allow it. Shame on us.
You may not agree with any of this. But, you have to admit, it’s a pretty good collective poke to get us all out to the polls and start voting for real leaders and stop voting for people just because we recognize their names. It’s not a popularity contest! It’s our future!
Now, I need a job. Any suggestions?
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
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Just Wanted To Share
I received an email this morning from a person I haven't seen in several decades and she commented on my latest novel, "The Last Radiant Heart". I wanted to share it:
I just have to tell you that I am sitting in my patio room, listening to my Blue Lacys bark at a a 'possum and to flamenco guitar playing on the stereo....and I just read the first chapter of The Last Radiant Heart. I could read no further without telling you how brilliant it is. I mean it and I can't wait to read the next chapter and this email in interrupting me so goodbye! Talk to you later, my re-discovered friend. -Brenda
If you haven't bought my latest novel, "The Last Radiant Heart", please do. I promise it's a great read. While you're thinking about it check out my other titles. http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002NKB2PC
I just have to tell you that I am sitting in my patio room, listening to my Blue Lacys bark at a a 'possum and to flamenco guitar playing on the stereo....and I just read the first chapter of The Last Radiant Heart. I could read no further without telling you how brilliant it is. I mean it and I can't wait to read the next chapter and this email in interrupting me so goodbye! Talk to you later, my re-discovered friend. -Brenda
If you haven't bought my latest novel, "The Last Radiant Heart", please do. I promise it's a great read. While you're thinking about it check out my other titles. http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002NKB2PC
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Contrarian
I’ve always been one and never realized it, until I received the latest publisher rejection letter. And, I’m not sure whether I need to hang my head in shame or stand proudly and wear it like a badge of honor.
Okay, that’s enough set-up suspense. I’m referring to the fact that I am a contrarian.
Reflection on it began when a Houston publisher sent me a very nice rejection letter on a manuscript I’d queried him on. He complimented the writing, the structure and the style and then he let the bomb fall by stating he didn’t think it would sell. That began a rampant flow of analytical juices flowing through my brain.
I’ve always been told to write what I know about. I’ve been doing that; and did on that particular manuscript, too. But, if it won’t sell, what’s the point... personal satisfaction? Here’s where my drummer splits from the parade and heads out alone; you know, that different drummer we always hear about.
When I first began writing novels, working with things I had knowledge of actually never crossed my mind as the intelligent choice. I just did it, but for a totally different reason than you might imagine. It was a conscious choice to not write another military, detective, cop, espionage, or medical thriller. There are many fine authors that are all over those genres and, at any given time, half or more are on the New York Times Best Seller List. Smart money said do it. But, I had to be the contrarian and take my chances in less plowed fields.
Once I figured out that that choice would likely keep me on the verge of destitution, it became clear that I’ve always had a penchant for going against the norm. That was not an isolated case.
If everyone is cheering one team, I’m quietly rooting for the other. If market advisers are saying some stock is the buy of the century, I’m looking at a little known competitor struggling to stay in business (I’ve lost lots of money thinking that way). At a party, when all the guys were buzzing around some blonde chick like green flies on a manure heap, I drifted over to the girl standing alone and appearing amazed by the pattern on the wallpaper. I could go on but I think you get the point.
So, you see, this behavior is nothing new. It’s just that I’ve finally realized it and in the process of accepting it. I, honestly, have risked too much in my life harboring opposing views and, sometimes for no good reason. Still, I’ve come to believe it’s not what I am but who I am. Is that so bad?
I do realize now that if I’d chosen to go along with popular beliefs more frequently in my life, I may have been driving a luxury car and living in an expensive loft somewhere by now. I suppose though, if I’m going to be a contrarian, I might as well be the best one I can be.
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
Okay, that’s enough set-up suspense. I’m referring to the fact that I am a contrarian.
Reflection on it began when a Houston publisher sent me a very nice rejection letter on a manuscript I’d queried him on. He complimented the writing, the structure and the style and then he let the bomb fall by stating he didn’t think it would sell. That began a rampant flow of analytical juices flowing through my brain.
I’ve always been told to write what I know about. I’ve been doing that; and did on that particular manuscript, too. But, if it won’t sell, what’s the point... personal satisfaction? Here’s where my drummer splits from the parade and heads out alone; you know, that different drummer we always hear about.
When I first began writing novels, working with things I had knowledge of actually never crossed my mind as the intelligent choice. I just did it, but for a totally different reason than you might imagine. It was a conscious choice to not write another military, detective, cop, espionage, or medical thriller. There are many fine authors that are all over those genres and, at any given time, half or more are on the New York Times Best Seller List. Smart money said do it. But, I had to be the contrarian and take my chances in less plowed fields.
Once I figured out that that choice would likely keep me on the verge of destitution, it became clear that I’ve always had a penchant for going against the norm. That was not an isolated case.
If everyone is cheering one team, I’m quietly rooting for the other. If market advisers are saying some stock is the buy of the century, I’m looking at a little known competitor struggling to stay in business (I’ve lost lots of money thinking that way). At a party, when all the guys were buzzing around some blonde chick like green flies on a manure heap, I drifted over to the girl standing alone and appearing amazed by the pattern on the wallpaper. I could go on but I think you get the point.
So, you see, this behavior is nothing new. It’s just that I’ve finally realized it and in the process of accepting it. I, honestly, have risked too much in my life harboring opposing views and, sometimes for no good reason. Still, I’ve come to believe it’s not what I am but who I am. Is that so bad?
I do realize now that if I’d chosen to go along with popular beliefs more frequently in my life, I may have been driving a luxury car and living in an expensive loft somewhere by now. I suppose though, if I’m going to be a contrarian, I might as well be the best one I can be.
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
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