Why Washington Needs Change

No, I am not talking about the President...I mean change in general. Perhaps if they had to live like everyday americans things be different. Let's take for instance that they are guaranteed a pension after so many years of service, they don't have out of pocket expenses for medical care. They weren't required to pay into Social Security until 1984. They are considered vested after 5 years. They can turn down pay raises if they so choose, but often don't. The average salary is $193,000 a year. We pay that salary yet few members of the House of Representatives, Congress, or the Senate is acting in the best interest of the people. Case in point, what is Roy Blunt worried about in Missouri, what lane people are driving in between St. Louis and KC. He wants to increase the fine for driving in the left hand lane other than to pass. Hmm has he ever driven HIMSELF between St. Louis and KC, probably not. It is two lanes if you reduce travelers to driving in the right hand lane only it will take 6 hours to get to St. Louis instead of 3. Newt Gingrich thinks we should stop unemployment compensation to encourage the unemployed to move where the jobs are; umm if you can't pay your bills on unemployment how the hell are you going to relocate to another state? The general stupidity is amazing. The division of Homeland Security and the President slipped a nice little bill through during the holidays season while all the attention was focused on the tax extension that allows the military to now be used as a police force. Here is what was done.....President Obama and our congressmen had the illustrious insight to put into law that the military may now be used to enforce the law which means the government now has the right to supercede the power of both state and local government and the right of due process in the Bill of Rights no longer has to be followed...we are now embracing a militia style government...the more rights we lose the closer to socialism;communisim we become....is this what you voted your representative into to do? Bill of Rights first, then Constitutional Rights second...think about it. We are the only ones who can make a change in 2012. If you don't like what is happening you are the only one who can change it. Just saying...

ebooks are up

WOW! Ebooks are up, well all but one. That is really hard work. Kudos to those who do formatting as I have learned it is not an easy process when you are a one woman show and doing it all one\ your own. So now they are everywhere. Search my name and my ebooks are like little bity flies infesting the internet...LOL...who knew... Busy working on the sequel to the first wolves book. Already at nearly 250 pages...and only halfway through. Some fantastic reviews have been posted, some of which left me breathless including the one posted on lulu.com with a reference of comparing me to the likes of Saberhagen and King. I barely could remember to breathe. What an outstanding honor. Still working on several other books including my serial killer and one I started about a weird virus, don't know where the inspiration came from for that one, okay yes I do, it came from a weird dream about yellow fluff that turned people into zombies but that is a whole other story...CHEERS!

Ebooks soon to be available

This is a very exciting announcement for me. All my books will be available as ebooks at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Apple, Diesel, and Kobo as well as several other sites by the end of August. I have been busy formatting them for ebooks and distribution through Smashwords, where they are all currently available for download right now. This is a big step since the world of ereaders is quickly becoming the new media of novels. A preview of each book is also available at Smashwords and all books are priced at the low price of $3.99 or less.....

Fighting for the write to be read....

No, it's not a typo. I meant it that way. Finding an agent is tough these days. Getting your novel out of the slush pile is even worse. It can be really disparaging. The advent of self publishing releases thousands upon thousands of authors on the world, some of which would not have had the opportunity to be in print. The question arises whether or not this was a good thing for the publishing world or a bad thing. Many authors who truly deserved to be published are but to the wayside. I am sure many of you have seen some of those who cause you to wonder 'how did this get published?' Perseverance is the key....

Absent

Wow, I have been so immersed in writing I completely lost track of time. I am getting ready to release a new novel in a week or so entitled the Wolves of Dullahan. I am really excited about it. It marks the first time I got to collaborate a story with my father, Tim Blackburn. Stop by Lulu.com or my website soon to check it out. Hope you all are well and blessed...

Collecting Stories

I am collecting life experience stories from anyone who would like to participate for the book "Letters from the Abyss" which will be a collection of shared experiences by the family, friends, and loved ones who live with someone who has depression or anxiety and how it impacts their lives. All published information will be listed as first name and location only. You can also chose to use your middle name or an alias if you feel uncomfortable. I think it is important to show the world how this horrible illness impacts not only the affected person but everyone around them. If you are interested, please email at sumeriandragon@yahoo.com. Thank you

Surviving Self-Published

Surviving in the world of so many other authors who are self published can be daunting. The continuous search for an agent can be so disheartening you want to give up. Sometimes you wonder if you want to continue, is it really that important to have an agent...the truth unfortunately is yes, if you want to make any money at it. I find it not only fascinating, but also extremely amusing, that many of the 'large and well known authors' do not even write their own works. What! you say, oh yes I said it and it is the truth. There are many top selling authors who have huge contracts and make nice six figure salaries that do not even write their books any more. They come up with the idea, outline the chapters, and hand it over to a professional team of writers who write the book for them. Then they proof read it, approve or disapprove, and it goes on its way to the bookshelves of thousands of stores nationwide where the unsuspecting reader purchases it believing they are reading that author's hard work when it is really the work of ten to twenty other people. So yeah, I don't have an agent, and yes I am not well known or a household word, but at night when I go to bed I can say, "I wrote every single word, and I am pleased with what I accomplished." Too bad they can't do that.... So when I get discouraged or start feeling that my work is not what the world wants to read, I say to myself, "I am a great writer. I am original, and one day when the world discovers who I am, the only people I will have to thank for my success is my fans and myself."