time travel | Jennette Marie Powell

by Jennette, June 30, 2011

I’m talking about word count, or length of a story. If you’re an author trying to sell to a traditional publisher, then yes, it matters quite a bit. Traditional publishers have guidelines, and most include a word-count range. Too short, and you’re not giving readers enough story for their money. Too long, and your book’s going to cost the publisher more to print and ship, and fewer will fit on the rack at the grocery store (or space allotted on a bookstore’s shelf).

image of books & ebook reader With ebooks, printing, shipping and shelf space are no longer applicable. A longer book may take up a few more bytes of disk space, and a couple more seconds for the reader to download, but disk space is continually becoming cheaper, to the point that it’s negligible. With increasing bandwidth and cell phone network capacity and speeds, download speeds don’t matter so much either. Where most publishers of genre fiction hesitate to take on books much longer than 100,000 words (epic fantasy and historical fiction being the main exceptions), publishers and sellers of ebooks aren’t operating under the same constraints. Likewise, few readers will plunk down enough cash for it to be worthwhile for a publisher to print a single novella or short story, but with production and shipping not part of the equation, ebooks are a viable medium for short fiction. So does word count matter?

I say it does, but for different reasons. When a reader buys a book from a physical bookstore, s/he can pick it up, flip through the pages, and judge by the thickness of the book, the size of the print, and the amount of white space on the pages how long this book will take to read – or more importantly, how good an entertainment (or informational) value the book is for the asking price.

The reader has no way of telling this for ebooks, unless the online retailer or publisher includes it in the book’s product description. Often, a reader shops with a goal in mind – not necessarily of a specific book, but for something to read while waiting at the kids’ sports practice, or while walking on the treadmill, on vacation, etc. – and might want a story to fit the amount of time available to read. If the reader was expecting a novella she could read in an hour, only to find when the hour’s up that she’s only halfway through it, that could be a bit jarring. Or worse, when the reader’s looking to be entertained during a long flight, only to have the story run out halfway through it, with nothing new to read and no wifi/cell connection with which to download something else.

The main situation where this is a problem is when the reader feels s/he hasn’t gotten a good value for his/her money – for example, many readers consider $2.99 a fair price for a novella, but would feel ripped off if they expected a full novel or novella, only to get a short story a fraction. In fact, I’ve read of many an ebook author getting dinged with 1-star reviews for this very reason – the reader expected a full novel, but got a novella. Sadly, in some cases, this was clearly spelled out in the book’s description, and either the reader failed to notice, or didn’t even read the description. In other cases, it wasn’t noted – and IMO the reader is justified for feeling cheated.

So what do you think – does size matter with ebooks? Or does it only matter in relation to price and value? I normally prefer longer books, but lately I’ve been enjoying some darned good novellas while on the treadmill. What about you?

by Jennette, June 23, 2011

Considering that I write time travel romances, I also like to read them. Same goes for other types of paranormal romance – shifters, fae, vampires, witches, other worlds, psychic powers, etc. My favorites almost always involve a main character who is initially unaware of his/her paranormal abilities or nature, or who comes into these abilities in the beginning of the book and must learn how to use this special nature or power. But one problem I have with many of these books is that these characters believe too easily. They learn something about themselves that no reasonable person would easily accept, then boom! Hey, I’m a vampire, that’s great (or sucks), and off the story goes, no problem.

I can suspend disbelief to accept, for the time I’m reading, that there are such things as vampies, werewolves, fairies, or time travel. But when a character with no previous experience, no reason to believe, suddenly finds he/she is one of the above and is almost immediately accepting of that fact – well, that’s a little harder to swallow.

The characters believe too easily, and in doing so, are less believable to me.

Grave New Day Cover One book I recently read where this was handled well was Grave New Day, an urban fantasy by Lina Gardiner. Jess, the main character, is a vampire – but she’s been one for a long time, so it makes sense that she’s with the program. What she finds unbelievable is meeting her human partner, John – who’d died in the previous installment of the series. He’s not a vampire – in Gardiner’s world, vampires can sense each other – but he seems to have some superhuman abilities he lacked before. Add to this the fact that he can’t remember who he is or how he came to wake in a mysterious, underground crypt, and the only understandable course is for Jess to be suspicious. John gradually discovers who he is, but the harder one to convince is Jess, and it takes her over halfway through the book before she believes.

In my upcoming time travel book, Time’s Enemy, main character Tony gains the ability to psychically travel in time after nearly dying in an accident. For the first few chapters, he’s convinced his trip to ancient Mayan times and being sacrificed was nothing more than a hallucination or a bad dream. Even when he travels back two years within his own life, he has trouble believing. Not until he finds the Saturn Society, a group of other time-travelers, does he begin to believe, as he develops the ability to control his travels.

If you read paranormal romance, fantasy or science fictions books dealing with the unbelievable, do you find that many characters believe too easily, and does it bother you? Or is it okay, as long as the story’s otherwise believable and entertaining?

Photo ©Igor Prole via Istockphoto.com

by Jennette, June 9, 2011

I’ll admit it, I’m not a big fan of short stories, and I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if not for the fact that (disclosure) Sheri McGathy is my cousin. Or maybe I would have, if I saw past the length and read the book description:

Shay, a Blade Whisperer, has made a promise. A promise she is determined to keep, no matter the consequences or the pain that promise might cause. She has searched long, following the countless whispers of forgotten blades, until one quiet whisper reveals the blade she seeks. And now that she’s found the bewitched dagger, she must fulfill her promise to set her lover free…by killing him.

Kill her lover to keep her promise to him? I’m so there! A buck-fifty on Smashwords, and “Promises” is on my netbook, ready to keep me from getting bored on the treadmill.

Probably the main reason I’m not big on short stories is because I prefer longer works, that can pull me into a complex plot with well-drawn characters I have plenty of time to get to know and love. So often, there just isn’t room in a short story to dig deep enough, and the conflicts stay small out of necessity to fit the length. Worldbuilding is often sparse.

“Promises” proved to be a great exception. Although there isn’t room to really plumb the depths of the main character, a swordswoman named Shay, we do get a full sense of her motivation and what compels her to go places, and do things, few women would in her world. Her emotions are well-drawn, and we quickly care about her and want to see her succeed, while making a terrible choice. McGathy excels at worldbuilding – despite the short space, the reader can easily get a picture of her world that’s torn apart by magic and continues to decay. Background information is dropped into the story in small bits, just enough to build on that picture and enhance the experience.

Best of all, the conflict, while simple, is not small (see story description), and the end ties in nicely with the worldbuilding, its background, and Shay’s past.

As a bonus, the ebook download includes another short story: “The Gift,” a very short (almost flash fiction), sleeping-beauty-esque tale.

So if you’re looking for something to occupy twenty minutes or so, and you enjoy a good fantasy story, check out “Promises,” available on Smashwords and B&N, and coming to Amazon’s Kindle soon.

Do you like short stories, or do you prefer longer works? I read mostly romance novels, but when it comes to shorts, I find the format works better – for me, at least – for fantasy, mainstream, or crime fic. Do you enjoy reading some genres more than others in short form? And would you recommend any specific stories for my next workout?

by Jennette, June 6, 2011

Dayton, Ohio is not the place to go for fine dining. Don’t get me wrong – we have four-star restaurants here (I think – LOL), but the vast majority of our local eateries are chains. Marion’s Piazza is no exception – it too, is a chain, but it’s a local chain, and one of the few food things unique to our area. As such, it’s one of my go-to places to take out-of-town visitors.

Marion’s is a thin crust pizza, but not what I’d call New York style – the crust is crispy. Its other distinction is one that a college friend from the Cleveland area immediately noticed, that until then, I had no idea was unusual (and maybe it isn’t, now). Because when I brought the pizza to our table, he looked at it with an utterly baffled expression. “It’s cut in squares.”

Me: “Um, yeah?”

My friend: “I’ve never seen a pizza cut in little, bitty squares.”

Me: “They don’t do that in Cleveland?”

My friend: “No!”

Must be a Dayton thing, because our other local pizza chain, Cassano’s, also does thin crust pizza cut in little, bitty squares.

Marion's Supreme Flavor-wise, Marion’s is like no other. There’s not a lot of sauce. While there are plenty of toppings, they’re not piled on. It’s not spicy – even the sausage is very mild. And that’s one of the best things about Marion’s. The sausage has a really good flavor, and it’s crumbled over the entire pizza – no big chunks. Many of my out-of-town friends I’ve brought to Marion’s insisted on making it a regular stop on subsequent visits, and one friend from Cincinnati even used to get a whole, large pizza to take home for later whenever she came up here. Marion’s pizza microwaves very well and tastes great, even though the crust is no longer crisp.

They have other stuff too, but I like the pizza so much I never order anything else. I usually get pepperoni, sausage and mushroom, although once in a while, I get ham and sauerkraut, which I thought sounded gross until a coworker gave me a piece to try. Awesome! Soft drinks are Pepsi products, a big plus for me (Mountain Dew!), but they also have Coke and Diet Coke. They have a great lunch special – half of a 9″ pizza with two ingredients, and a 24 oz. drink for $4.50.

View Larger Map

I can’t remember when I first ate a Marion’s pizza, but it was when I was a little kid. They’ve been around since 1965, according to their website, and their first location was at the corner of Shroyer and Patterson Rd. near the border of Dayton, Kettering, and Oakwood. By the eighties, they had seven locations, which are all still around. At the original location (and some of the others, I think) they have photos of famous people all over the walls. Most of these are performers who visited our area to perform with the Kenley Players, a now-defunct local theater group. Many of these people were from before my time, but I always recognized a few.

Marion’s doesn’t deliver – it’s mainly an eat-in place, although a lot of people call in and get stuff to go. All locations are spacious, good places for a large party or gathering. If you go, take cash – they don’t accept checks or credit/debit cards.

And my friend from Cleveland? He ate the pizza and loved it – and yes, he’s been back.

Read more at the My Town Monday blog

If you’re from the Dayton area – or have been there, and tried Marion’s – do you like it? If you’ve never been there, what are some of your favorite, unique hometown eateries?

Pizza photo via Wikipedia, Creative Commons license. Restaurant photo via Google Street View.

by Jennette, June 2, 2011

A few weeks ago, I installed a front license plate on my Camaro.

I’ve been driving this car for almost two years without a front plate, and considering that Ohio requires a front plate and I drive my Camaro almost every day, I figured I was pushing my luck with each day I went without. So, I finally broke down and put it on.

Now, if you’re not into cars, you probably don’t see why this is a big deal. Or if you are into cars, but this is your “winter beater” or practical transportation, work truck, etc. it also isn’t a big deal – for those vehicles. But for people who are into cars, and care about the aesthetics, it’s a major annoyance.

Some cars- even some sports and collectible cars – look fine with front plates. My brother’s ’69 Camaro, is one, for instance, looks fine with a front plate because it was designed with a place for one.

There's a reason car manufacturers never show their vehicles with front plates

That’s not the case with the new Camaros, or really, any car with a front bumper that’s pointed, or curved more than minimally. And people who are into new Camaros HATE front plates. Most enthusiasts who live in states where they’re required, if they buy a new car, ask the dealership NOT to install the front plate bracket. These look especially crappy on the new Camaro because it totally takes away from the aggressive, pointed profile. The other big reason Camaro owners hate the front plate is that mounting it requires drilling into the front bumper fascia. So even if you move, or lightning strikes and your state ditches the front plate requirement, your car is screwed – literally. Many of us just can’t stomach the thought of drilling into our beautiful babies.

In Ohio, the ticket for no front plate is over $100, I’ve heard. I don’t know of anyone in my area (Dayton) who’s been ticketed for it. One of my Camaro forum friends has, but he lives in a small town in southern Ohio. From what I’ve read on the forum, law enforcement is more aggressive other states.

There are several reasons states with front plate laws give for requiring them. The number one reason given is safety. Sorry, but I am skeptical – if it really made a difference, wouldn’t front plates be required in all fifty states?

Another reason – and one I believe – is to help law enforcement (Duh!). One, so they can more easily bust you speeding/running a red light by camera, but also to aid in recognizing cars with a BOLO (Be On the Look Out), whether this is an Amber Alert situation, a stolen car, or being driven by someone who’s a fugitive for some other reason.

There are probably petitions for the abolishment of the front plate requirement circulating in every state that has one. They have been in Ohio for years. And finally, it’s having some affect: HB 107 has been introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives, and hopefully will come up for a vote soon. Given our current economic situation, it may even pass this time – estimates say it will save the state $165 million a year. Granted, that’s not much when you’re facing ann $8 billion budget shortfall, but every little bit helps, and this is a cut that wouldn’t take away from another program or funding need.

If you agree, I’d encourage you to email your congress(wo)man. Find his/her email address at the Ohio House of Representatives web site.

Camaro photo via www.chevrolet.com

by Jennette, May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day! To those in the U.S., before you head out for cookouts, games, parties or whatever, please take a moment to remember and be thankful for the men and women of our armed forces, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

A lot of people don’t know it, but we have our own war memorial statue in Dayton, Ohio. Well, okay, maybe if one really looks, it’s obvious the man atop the 85-foot column is a soldier, but I’m guessing that the vast majority of the people who pass by have no idea who he was, or why he’s been immortalized in stone.

Soldiers' Monument in Dayton, Ohio, circa 1902

The statue was erected in 1884, as a memorial to the many men from Dayton and Montgomery County who served in the U.S. Civil War. The original plan was to place a Lady Liberty statue atop the 85-foot column, but the veterans’ organization who started the fundraising and legal efforts to have the statue built, wanted a Union private instead, someone who symbolized the rank and file who fought in the war. After a lengthy search, they selected lifelong Dayton resident George Washington Fair, in part because he was tall and good-looking. A modest man, his wife had to talk him into modeling for the sculpture.

The column was built in Dayton, with a base of local limestone, but the statue was commissioned from an Italian sculptor. It arrived in the U.S. On May 27 , 1884, two weeks ahead of schedule, and was shipped by rail and arrived in Dayton on June 1^st. The statue was assembled at the corner of Main and Water Street (now Monument Avenue) and was dedicated as part of a big celebration and parade on July 31.

By the end of World War II, the streets had become congested and the city commission decided to relocate the statue to Riverview Park. It was replaced in its original location in 1993.

If you’re from the Dayton area, did you know the story behind the statue? Or if you’re from somewhere else, does your town have a war memorial, and do you know its story?

Check out other My Town Monday posts at the My Town Monday Blog

Soldiers’ Monument photo – Library of Congress, ca. 1902, via Dayton History Books Online

by Jennette, May 26, 2011

For once, it wasn’t raining, I didn’t have a migraine, and I didn’t have tons of other stuff to do yesterday. And, it was the Blessing of the Bikes , rescheduled from last week due to – surprise! – rain. I finally got out my Harley for the first time this year (see above as to why) and took off with DH and a bunch of our AMVETS friends.

This was the 11^th year for the Blessing in Dayton, and the third time I’ve gone since I got my motorcycle five years ago (last year, it rained, and the year before that I wasn’t feeling well). My husband has been going almost since it began.

Every year, there are thousands of motorcycles there. It seems to get bigger each year. In addition, there are food apparel, and accessories vendors, live entertainment, and a custom bike show. This year, there was a Shriners group with historic Shriners bikes and an antique paddy wagon on display – very cool! I tried to get them to arrest my husband, but they wouldn’t take him.

The main component to the event is, of course, the blessing. It begins with a series of prayers, asking for divine protection and a safe riding season. They’re Christian, but people of all faiths are welcome at the event and no one seems to mind. Then, priests walk up and down the aisles of motorcycles and toss holy water on them and the riders. My husband asked for – and got – an extra splash – appropriate, considering his often crazy job of leading funeral processions.

All they ask for this is a $2 donation. Here in the Dayton area, that goes to two worthy charities: Ambucs, which provides scooters and trikes to people with mobility impairments, and A Special Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to terminally-ill children.

Afterward, a lot of people head out to after-blessing parties. DH and I went shopping for yard stuff, then home. Curious, I looked up the blessing. It turns out that the first Blessing of the Bikes happened in New York City in 1999, and was for bicycles. (It was held in a cathedral, so that might have been a problem for motorcycles.) Like our current version in Dayton, the blessing was conducted by Catholic priests, but the event was open to riders of all faiths. There are now blessings held world.

Do they hold the Blessing of the Bikes in your home town – and is it for motorcycles, or bicycles? Or if you live in the Dayton area, did you attend? Or if you don’t have a motorcycle, would you if you did? Got any info on other fun motorcycle events DH & I should check out this summer?

by Jennette, May 23, 2011

Last week I took a wonderful class on social media taught by Kristen Lamb, which included discussion on blogging.

At one point, I asked a question about RSS feeds, and discovered that a lot of people have no idea what they are. And of those who do, some say RSS is on its way out. (Not sure I agree, but that’s another blog post.)

Simply put, RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” An RSS feed is basically a dump of recently-posted blogs (or other content) in a specific format that’s easily readable by software or web applications called feed readers. If you are on someone’s blog and you see a link to “Subscribe,” chances are it links to an RSS feed. On many blogs and sites with frequently updated content, you can identify an RSS feed. RSS feeds are often identified by the standard RSS image:

What’s great about RSS is it’s an easy way to keep up with multiple blogs or other content that’s frequently updated by collecting all the new content in one place (and only the new content, unless you specify otherwise).Typically, they let you categorize your blogs as well, and provide links to save clips, email, Like on Facebook, Tweet, etc. A popular feed reader is Google Reader.

Google Reader

You can keep track of, and read, all your blogs here. If you want to read your blogs on a tablet or phone, there are probably a variety of apps available, for free or low cost. An RSS Feed Reader has been built in to the Internet Explorer web browser since version 7.

So why is RSS important?

The main reason is, it’s a convenience for your reader, and you want to make your blog as easy to get as possible for your audience.
It helps you get the word out when you have new content. RSS feeds are indexed by search engines, and readers who subscribe to your feed know about your updates as soon as they open their feed readers.
Readers who otherwise might not be able to view your blog, can often read it in a feed reader. Where I work, anything slightly resembling a personal page or entertainment is blocked. But Google Reader is not. OK, I admit it – I read blogs at work. Hey! I’m not goofing off – I read them during break and while I’m waiting for slow software scripts to run. And thanks to Google Reader’s email feature, if I see a blog I need to comment on (or read other readers’ comments), I email it to myself so I remember to do that later.

What can you do

First, make sure your blog is set to generate an RSS feed. Most (if not all) blogging software automatically generates an RSS feed by default. Some programs let you choose whether or not to generate a feed (sometimes called “publish” or “syndicate”). I can’t see why anyone would choose not to do this, since most of us write blogs to be read!
Make sure there’s a link to your feed on your blog’s home page, preferably on your blog post template too. This makes it easy for readers to subscribe by adding it to the IE reader simply by clicking on it. Many other readers like Google provide a bookmarklet you can add to your Favorites or Links bar. In most WordPress blogs, the RSS feed link is part of the standard META sidebar widget. Most Blogger templates include an RSS link (sometimes called Atom feed) either in a sidebar or a footer.
Please, publish entire articles! WordPress blogs give you the choice to offer either Full Text (the default) or Summary. Other blog software may offer something similar. See reasons to do this under “Why is RSS Important,” above. I find it a real bummer to run across an interesting/useful/funny blog I want to follow, only to find only short excerpts in its feed. Sometimes I’ll subscribe anyway, but I don’t read all the articles, since I can’t do it from work. Oh, and if your reason for only publishing excerpts is that you hope to entice more people to click through and comment? Doesn’t work. Once in a while, I’ll save one to read later at home, but more often, I just skip them altogether.

So if you were confused or unsure about what that “Subscribe” is on blogs, now you know – and you may have found a more convenient way to keep up with them!

If you have more questions about RSS feeds, feel free to ask in the comments. I’m not an expert, but I’m a technical person – if nothing else, I can probably find you some links.

Do you use RSS feeds? If not, why? If so, what feed reader do you use, and what do you like about it? Do you follow blogs by some other technology/means? If so, please share! I’m always interested in learning about new tech.

Life and Love in Four Dimensions

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