Writing News

by Michael Seese

It's been a while since I've had news on the "Author Front." I've been working to get, you know, some writing done. But I now have two newsbits to share.

This Saturday, November 14, I will be at Appletree Books in Cleveland Heights from 6 - 8, writing in the window.

Why? you might ask. 

November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, for short. To celebrate, Appletree is inviting Cleveland-area writers of all ages, formats, and genres to come write in their front windows.

So I will be there. 

Perhaps I'll work on the sequel to The Extraordinary eTab Of Julian Newcomber. Speaking of which...

On Saturday, December 7, I will be signing The Extraordinary eTab Of Julian Newcomber at the Fireside Book Shop in Chagrin Falls. 

I'll be there from 1:30 to 3:30.

So if you're available either date, please come out and show your support / love!

PS: With regard to the latter, I plan to bring cookies and milk (for the kiddos) and cookies and wine (for the adults). If that helps....
 

Janet Flash: One Hour

by Michael Seese

Who couldn't use an extra hour in the day? This past weekend, I sure could have. I spent Saturday morning and half the afternoon working with the Jaycees to decorate Chagrin Falls for the holidays. Then on Sunday I spent the early afternoon with my son's Cub Scout pack raking leaves for some elderly folks in the area. And when I got home, we took care of our leaves.

Yes, we could use an extra hour.

Agent Janet Reid so wanted an extra hour that she posted the "The Extra Hour Flash Fiction contest!"

We're getting an extra hour this weekend!
Finally, tormenting writers 25 hours a day.

She soon realized her mistake.

Nonetheless, she went ahead with the contest to use 

extra
hour
early
light
dark 

in a story. I tried to think of some esoteric combinations -- extra becoming my ex traipsing -- but in the end decided to use the words as is, since they were so wide open as to allow me to write about most anything. 

The end result was "One Hour."

I prayed for an extra hour. He must have heard me.

Starting.

The smell of purity hovered with me in the aether, enveloping me in peace.

Bag.

She always said not to jog in the dark. But the virgin air of early morning cleanses my soul.

Anything?

The car never saw me. The driver never stopped.

Resuming.

Her voice broke through the veil, her light piercing the fog.

I saw the path home.

My new home.

What should we do, Mrs. Nash? said the voice I’d been hearing, assuming it was God.

“Nothing,” my wife said. “He has a DNR.”


What would you do with an extra hour each day?

Funny Foto #76

by Michael Seese

Spotted in the window of Chagrin Falls Hardware & Supply.

I love my town.

And GO TRIBE!

Quick baseball joke...

Q: What do the Chicago Cubs and the Joker have in common?
A: Neither knows how to handle a bat.

Thank you, I'll be here all week.

Funny Foto #73

by Michael Seese

Spotted in a story window in town.

 































There's a joke in there somewhere, but I don't know what it is.

And Happy 4th of July everyone.

Summer Eiffel Update

By Michael Seese

First, the commercial. 

I will be signing copies of The Secret World Of Gustave Eiffel this weekend. Of course, I'll gladly sign any copy of any of my books. Heck, I'll sign your copy of Harry Potter, if you want. The signing will be Saturday, July 27 from noon - 2:00 at the Fireside Bookshop in Chagrin Falls. If you're in the Cleveland area, and free, please stop by.

 

















On to the contest...

I visited the website of the American Library in Paris. According to a PDF you can download, there are 45 books in the competition. The document also notes that "two have already won a Pulitzer Prize this year."

Hmmm.

Let's just say that, while winning remains the goal, placing or showing won't be bad.

Come see "Eiffel" in Chagrin Falls. Click to tweet.

Hurricane Sandy In Chagrin Falls

By Michael Seese 

First, let me state that I absolutely recognize what we in Chagrin Falls experienced was nothing compared to what the folks along the East Coast went through. In fact, we didn't even lose power, which is amazing; our power grid is so old and temperamental that if three kids fly kites in the park, it creates enough breeze to down some electrical wires.

Anyway, here is what the Falls normally look like:

Here are some photos I took today.

This is the water running over the dam just upstream from the Falls, which the "cone-lickers" often mistake for the Falls.

 




How was your Sandy experience? Do you have any stories to share?

Funny Foto #33

By Michael Seese

This one is not so much ha-ha funny as it is amusing to me.

One of the daily e-newsletters that I receive comes from the ABA which, in this case, is the American Bankers' Association.

Wednesday, as I paged down, I saw this:

I thought, Hey, that looks like Chagrin Falls, which is where I live. Only it's not quite right.

You see, if you were walking from our house and through town, the buildings on Main Street are on your left, while those on South Franklin are on the right. And, the last building on South Franklin doesn't look like the last building shown above. But that building does look like the Key Bank, which is on the opposite...

Hey!

I clicked on the link, and saw the full image. 













If you look at the way the cars are parked and driving, either this is England, or a flopped picture.

It is flopped. And it is Chagrin Falls.

Udopia Sample

In previous posts, I've offered snippets of my novella, Udopia. I had wanted to share more. But what was I going to do...paste 30 pages into a blog entry? I don't think so.

Then my friend Jim, owner of the Fireside Bookshop in beautiful Chagrin Falls, graciously offered to host a sample on their server. It's not a web page you can navigate to from their website. But here is a link to the first 30 pages.

Read, and enjoy. Comment if you wish.

Election Day Funny

A sign, in my neighborhood:

Who says we in Chagrin Falls don't have a sense of humor?

Actually, it's kind of ironic since in conversation--as well as in my infosec book--I compare Chagrin Falls to Mayberry.

Anyway, like they used to say in old Chicago: "Vote early, and vote often."