Every tattoo tells a story (Continued)

Almost three years ago, I had a chain and cross tattooed around my neck.  I was inspired by an old cross I once had which had become worn over time, but it was my niece's baptism that put it into motion.  One of my pet peeves is seeing people with crosses made of gold and diamonds around their neck.  The cross, or crucifix, was a method of execution two thousand years ago.  I'm rarely caught entering a church, but I do know that Christ was not all about the bling.  About ten years ago, I bought a cross made of leather and pear wood.  It was simple and plain.  My son use to chew on it when I held him, as a baby.  I could think of nothing better than to have it tattooed around my neck once it had become broken beyond compare.

It was almost 100' F, on a sunny July morning.  I was a walk-in and was lucky enough to be seated right away.  It lead to some very interesting conversation.  Other Christians wonder why I don't go to church.  Atheist's wonder why I even bother.  I'm not hear to change anyone's mind, but I wear my tattoo proudly and never mention a word of it to anyone curious enough to ask.  "It's between me and God", I'd generally be caught saying.

My tattoo is finally finished.  Mike Bee (from Bound for Glory) put in the final touches and added color.  It's amazing!

I think this would be a good marketing tool for selling my book mainly because, I'm not the type of guy who likes to bring up the fact that I'm an author in regular conversation.  I feel very awkward even trying to say nice things about myself, so my "Elevator Pitch" has always been lacking.  I've spent the entire 30 seconds stammering before ever saying anything about my book.  My logic (which may be way off) is that people always comment on tattoos.  Another fact of life (like it or not), is that people do judge a book by it's cover.  I'm thinking that if they like the tattoo, then they'll like the book cover.  At that point, the awkwardness may be alleviated and I'll just be able to tell them that the book is a Sci-Fi\Fantasy that reads like a movie script.  It's a story about a magical fantasy planet in which wizard's dominance is about to fall to the high-tech might of cyborgs and robots.  Who knows?  Maybe they'll even buy it?

Taking the Good from the Bad

My summer of travel is over. In June, I was telling everyone that I would be heading off to London for a bit, followed by a trip out to India for a bit longer. A little over a month ago, I returned from India and concluded what may be a recurring theme for my summers, in that I keep referring to them as "The worst summer ever" each year. I was to be in London for a few weeks training employees from my day job on our software product. Once complete, I was to travel out to India for an extended visit of about six weeks for training activities as well. I ended up being in each location for a couple weeks, while the mid-summer activities included being prepared for my impending India trip and tending to a project on fire. We use that term for projects which either have severe loss of resources unexpectedly or otherwise a deliverable date we would need a TARDIS to hit.

My day job had consumed my summer and my ambition of completing my book by now is a complete failure.

Out of the Bad, comes the good...

I actually started writing this blog the week of my return from India and I was a bit miffed, to say the least. When returning to this site, I also saw a blog in my drafts from June titled "What if you're a part-time writer?" The theme is the same, although my frustration is a bit greater these days. My dream job does not pay me enough money to live my current life. On the other hand, I really like my career in the software field. I guess the question is, 'How do I balance these careers?'.

I'm on vacation this week and so far, I've been able to write a chapter, return to my blog and sleep in a little bit. As any writer knows, you can't be a vacation writer because inspiration does not happen on schedule. I've been toying around with the idea of a Sorcerer who can travel through time in Alorya, but I can tell you that I've had at least three moments in which I had the biggest and brightest idea completely die in my head since I wasn't focused on writing at that moment. Oh well...

Keeping a positive mindset, I have not given up. I haven't picked up my bass in years. I haven't played sports in years. There are so many things that I love to do, but instead of doing them, I focus on my top priorities in life. Career, family and enough relaxation to survive. AND, I haven't given up on my writing either. Like an old friend, I can go to my computer and type a few pages without much effort. Conversations picked up midway from where we left off months ago. There's such a comfort in knowing that it's always there waiting for me whenever I can spare a few moments.

Kindle Fire - A week in the life

First, please understand that I'm not here to push a product. I do not own any stock in Amazon or Apple. I happen to own a Kindle Fire, which I also happen to really like.

I was at a meeting with fellow writers from Staten Island and the discussion about eReader's became a topic with the most teeth for that day. Taking place in the Huguenot Library, surrounded by books, the Library manager had asked us what we thought of the future of libraries. He was referring to the hurricane of eReader's in the current market. eBooks will be outselling traditional books for eternity, but the question is, will traditional books go extinct?

This past week, my son played hours and hours of Angry Bird's on the Kindle Fire. I watch a TV show from the 90's called Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman). Regina was able to get caught up on Tudors, which is also a TV program. On an eReader!!! I have read a total of 1 book on that eReader and I think Regina has read a couple. In the meantime, I'm also reading Snuff, by Terry Pratchett (Hardcover). That is all I'm able to do with the book, so when I'm done reading it, I'll just put it on the shelf and may re-read it in a few years when my curiosity strikes.

It is because of that scenario that I rest my case. But, I digress...

You can cut down a tree, turn it into a bunch of books and after they are read (hopefully), and then they'll be put on a shelf taking up real estate. Not all eReader's can do everything described above, to be honest. If you were to be lucky enough to have an iPad 2, you'd be able to do that and more. The versatility of the eReader is causing many trees to breathe a sigh of relief.

The nail in the coffin comes down to economics. I have hundreds of hardcover and softcover books in my library. My shelves are no longer organized. Books have filled up the shelf to the point where other books sit on top of those books, as well as in front of them.

At an average of $20 per book, I must have spent around $4,000 dollars.

An eReader can cost about $300 - $500. An eBook can go anywhere from 99 cents to $20. At a greater up front cost, over time the eReader will save you money. And that is just from a book perspective. Try reading your favorite cancelled TV Show on a hardcover. Try playing your most addictive mobile game on a paperback or a magazine. Try ordering a pizza from your telephone book.

Above all, enjoy reading. It's just something to think about.