Boogity, Boogity, Boo!

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Linda Andrews

Yes, today’s topic is about the boogieman/bogeyman/bogieman/boogeyman. You know the hideously horrible creature that wears a leisure suit and has a gold medallion tucked into its pelt of chest hair. Often accompanied by the syncopated beat of Disco, this monster lives in the darkness and prepares to snatch up the unsuspecting and force them to Hustle all night.

I don’t care who you are, that’s scary.

What? Um, I’ve just been informed that contrary to logic the boogieman is not a cross between a zombie and John Travolta (but that hair made such a nice target).

Apparently, the real boogieman is  a made up creature that parents use to get their children to behave. He can come scratching at your window or in a green fog. He is known to inhabit closets or cohabitate with the dust bunnies under the bed. I, of course, use the he loosely as the boogieman could be a boogiewoman.

No one knows where the boogieman really came from. In parts of the world, he is mostly harmless–sneaking into rooms to tickle feet (sometimes leaving a wart behind). In other places, he carries a sack in which he puts the bad children and carries them off. This kiddie-harvest is sometimes sold, murdered, or eaten.

Here are three of my favorite boogieman stories:

Darkness Falls

Monsters

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Contagious Behavior

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Linda Andrews

Surprise! This isn’t about how disease is spread from one person to another. This is about how what we do effects others.

I don’t think anyone would argue that panic is contagious. But experts agree that for panic to set in there has to be a distinct set of cirmcumstances associated with it.

The rest I guess is just mob mentality. To view this kind of thing live just turn on the TV and watch the anti-American craziness going on over an obscure film. I suppose looting is a symptom of this communal misbehavior.

And while the evidence doesn’t back it up, I’m pretty sure sneezing is catchy (and not just through the germs). Because anytime someone sneezes around me, I start to sneeze or maybe the velocity of their sneezes kicks up dust?

Scientists know that groups of females living/working together will eventually start to cycle together. And certainly there seems to be a rash of pregnancies all happening around me.

But what about smiling?

According to the TED program I watched smiling is contagious, but not in the way you’d think. We mimic a smile because we’re testing to see if it is real. A real smile releases endorphines equivalent to 10K chocolate bars. Yeah, I didn’t believe that either, but a smile can change your mood for the better and add years to your lifespan.

While I’m not willing to give up my chocolate, I do like to smile and now that it’s good for me, I’ll do it more often. And as a bonus, people will wonder what I’m up to:-)

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See a penny, pick it up…

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Linda Andrews

On our walk this morning, I happened to spy a shiny object in my path. I managed to slow Mr. Bear to a sedate pace (his normal pace being a run or a dead stop and sniff)and checked the sparkly bit again. Lo and behold, there indeed was a penny in the street waiting for me to pick it up.

I’m used to finding pennies. Apparently, since they no longer possess gumball buying power there is the urge among a certain set to toss them aside as worthless.

I do not belong to that group of people.

A found penny is even better than a penny saved or a penny earned–unless you found said penny on a person you just rolled or killed (Can’t you tell I’m a writer?) then that would be a bad penny (and you would be a bad person).

Which is kinda in keeping with the idiom, a bad penny always turns up–meaning a person you don’t want to see manages to appear at just the right moment to screw up something you were looking forward to.

Of course, the saying also refers to an actual bad penny, read counterfeit penny. Because once upon a time when unicorns and giants roamed the Earth, pennies were actually worth something. Your only recourse when stuck with a bad penny was to try to spend it on some unsuspecting merchant as quickly as possible. Given that most folks were born, lived and died in the same village meant they were very likely to encounter said bad penny again. (I wonder if this was before fruitcake was invented?)

Before the penny became completely worthless, a bad one was the one you couldn’t put in the gumball machine because it was bent. Now, does anyone think it matters if it’s heads-up or tails up?

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Knock, knock. Who’s There? Tommy.

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Linda Andrews

Like a lot of people, I first heard of Tommyknockers from Stephen King’s book and the miniseries based on it.

Then I promptly forgot about it until we went on a hard-rock mine tour at the old Hundred Gold Mine tour.

The tag on my jacket said 'sweet pea'

Although first referenced by the Germans in the Middle Ages, the Tommyknockers were brought to the US (along with Cousin Jack) by the Welsh and Cornish miners. These little men (women are considered bad luck in the mines, hence all Tommyknockers are male–ergo no Tammyknockers allowed) stand about 2 feet tall, wear miner’s garb, and have beards. Originally, they were related to elves, but evolved over time to be the spirits of miners who were killed in cave-ins (Being crushed explained their short stature).

Like most otherworldly beings, Tommyknockers could be helpful or malicious. They are credited with saving miners by knocking on the walls before cave-in, giving everyone ample time to escape, and leading some to good veins of ore. They also liked to steal tools, shake ladders and blow out miner’s lamps.

A tool fell off this table, apparently cluing the guide in that he was supposed to make the introductions.

Lunchboxes and headlamps

Have you ever been 1/4 mile inside a mountain? It’s very, very dark with strings of electric lights and the stuff of nightmares without it.

To keep on the good side of these little creatures, miners would make clay statues of them and toss the crust of their sandwiches or pasties to them at then end of mealtime. The miners also discouraged whistling as the Tommyknockers hated it.  And if the Tommyknockers got mad enough, a cave-in was sure to follow.

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Like a Virgin-Not

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Linda Andrews

I love Madonna, but this is not a blog about her music (although she is on my MP3 player).

So what exactly is this blog about? Well, I went to my thoughtful spot and thought and thought and thought… You get the idea. Well, I didn’t come up with anything interesting, so you get a boring blog (you’ve been warned).

Last week at the bimonthly meeting of critiquers, over a bottle of wine (and whine), two kinds of cheese and some crackers, we’d finished catching each other up on our glamorous lives (bon-bons, cruises to exotic locales and royalty checks with lots of zeroes before the decimal point–what can I say, I live a rich fantasy life).

Then we started on the business at hand–looking objectively at each other’s work and offering advice on where to improve the story. Normally, this is the shortest portion of our meeting. Why? Well, we’ve been writing for a while and my two critique partners are published with big NY publishers. We know what we’re doing.

Except when we don’t.

Each of us is starting a new novel, or in my case, was working on the business end such as a back cover blurb for my publisher. As veteran writers, this should be easy. Apparently, no one told us or our easy button is broken. Either way. Somehow we managed to get bogged down in the craft, floundered in the conflict and just plain ignored characterization.

How can this be? This isn’t our first time.

So I began to think of my first manuscript (which none of you will EVER see. NEVER.) Oh what folly is youth and ignorance when I thought writing was easy  and I just sat down and wrote. And wrote.

Now, I stare at that blank page with its taunting cursor and think, Spider Solitaire would help get me motivated to write. Or bejeweled blitz. Or Monntezuma’s   Revenge (not the one that involves pants around the ankles and a porcelien throne, thank you very much). Because while there is only Chapter One in my book, I have 7 beginning thanks to multiple characters.

I know why I am reluctant to write. Part of me worries, this one won’t be as good as the last one. And the other part of me doesn’t like the possession as I allow the characters to take over my thoughts and hands while they literally show me their world complete with scratch and sniff sensory engagement.

And so the beginnings of the book are always a tug of war between me the writer stupidly thinking I actually tell the story and the characters who think I should just shut up and transcribe their story as they show it to me.

The characters win every time.

Ah well, the story is the better for it and that’s what matters. Just don’t tell the voices in my head I said so:-)

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How Deviant Are You?

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Linda Andrews

I watched TedTalks this weekend and one of the lectures was on the Psychology of Evil by Philip Zimbardo.

I’d seen a program Dr. Zimbardo had done some months ago on a ground-breaking study about human behavior done in the 1970s. In the study, normal average college students were put in the role of prisoner and guard. Within 3 days, the level that these students generated to was disturbing.

Dr. Zimbardo makes reference to the study in his lecture and shows disturbing photos of the abuse at Abu Grahib prison in Iraq.

In his work, he postulates the 7 steps to the rise of Evil (among every day folks)

1-Taking that first small step.

It’s really easy to think that little things don’t matter. To me, this is the equivalent of breaking a window at an empty warehouse or tagging a wall. Really, is it a big crime? Does it really hurt anyone? Honestly, this is where reality TV comes in. It’s just a game, right? Let’s vote so and so off the show. But look at the comments directed at these people. This isn’t innocent fun. How many of you watch TMZ? THere’s a slippery slope–all in the name of entertainment.

2-Dehumanization of others.

I’ll admit to this one. Those idiots who leave me bad reviews are less than human and deserve me cyberstaking them, locating their home on Google maps, Getting a streetlevel view of their vehicle and possible modes of entry into their house… Er, where was I? Oh, right. Who doesn’t think the person who disagrees with their brilliance is less than them? (Be honest) Read the editorials responses of any paper–look how many are personal attacks not about the issues. These things should not be printed.

3–Anonymity

Again, search the reviews of your favorite authors the number of folks who leave bad reviews (and I’m not talking about those who state their case) but the one or two lines that are repeated often. You know what I’m talking about. These trolls visit the boards and social media as well. After all, doesn’t cyberspace offer this?

4-Diffusion of personal responsibility.

This is a blend of if “I’m not caught did I do something wrong,” the “I won’t tell’ and the outright “it’s okay, I’ll take the blame.”

5-Blind Obedience to Authority.

Fairly self-explanatory. And this is a very real danger especially in this shakey economy where you need to keep your job. What are you willing to over look to put food on the table?

6-Uncritical Conformity to group norms

 

I hate to say it, but this is the ‘if everyone jumped off the bridge’ scenario. As social beings we crave acceptance and inclusion, what better way to fit in than to go along? Is it bad if everyone is doing it?

7-Inaction or indifference

The truth is Evil happens when good men do nothing. When you turn a blind eye to something you know is wrong, you are responsible for it happening. Despite what most of us would say 90% of us go along with evil or good.

90%.

Yet only 1% of us are the ‘bad apples’.

What is wrong with this picture? Can it be fixed?

Everything can be fixed, but the cost goes higher with each person jumping on the evil bandwagon.

The key: Deviant behavior.

Heroes are every day, normal people who act against the social norm (in this case doing something that is morally wrong, when everyone else is going along)

Act.

A three letter word that is very powerful. Because just knowing and acknowledging something is wrong, isn’t enough. You must act on that knowledge.

Does that mean deviants are heroes in training? Maybe so:-)

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Researching Redaction

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Linda Andrews

In many an author interview, I get asked how I research my novels. The short answer is that I do it wrong. I’ve been to enough lectures, workshops and classes to know this. But I’m stubborn and refuse to change.
Why?
Because my method works for me.
And I like it.
For lack of a better description, I immerse myself in my subject. Since the Redaction books have been about science and I’m a scientist, this was good and didn’t make me don the freak hat and stand on stage. Not so the case when I was researching the Victorian era.
Those weird words crept into my speech, my writing (which is good) and into my mannerisms.
Not cool.
But they were fun books to write and I’ll be returning to the past next year.
Whoops, off topic.
Okay, so since my friends, family and coworks have been wondering about my reading choices, I thought I’d share some of the novels that went into researching the Redaction novels. (And no one will wonder why our head of security wants me on a terrorists watch list)


Voices from Chernobyl–first hand accounts of radiation sickness and why people are moving back in, plus the social implications assigned to the people who survived this disaster.


The Truth about Chernobyl–more of a technical look at the meltdown, touching on 3 mile island and eeriely almost predicting Fukushima.


The Last Train from Hiroshima-survivors look back–where I learned that burning human flesh smells like charred squid


How to Survive the End of the World as we know it–not really as good as it sounds but I love the title so much I bought 2 copies. DOH!


Natural&Herbal remedies–interesting but so far I haven’t used anything in it.


MiniFarming on 1/4 acre–Some of which will be used in December’s release


The Unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes and Why–I love this book. Lots of examples and rational explanations of human behavior.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Deep survival: Who lives, who dies, and why–More about the author and his ego but has some interesting stories smooshed in.


The Survival Game: How Game Theory Explains Cooperation and Competition. Soulless but interesting (if superficial) view of our species.


When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff you need to survive when disaster strikes. Love, love, love this book. It’s easy to understand and to read.


Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook–Lots of good information in here.


SAS Survival Handbook and SAS Urban Survival Handbook–If you are completely clueless this will help you. If you have any common sense, these will be a duh kind of moment and make you hide them from folks you don’t like:-)

The last group raised some eyebrows, but I needed to know how people who are forced to give up everything they’ve know and live in close proximity will act. Who in all of human history has done that? Prisoners of war (minus the torture), refugees from war torn countries, and lastly the Chilean Mine works who were just trapped for 66 days. While they may seem like a disparate group, they had the same behaviors.


German Boy: A Refugee’s Story–An amazing journey of a 10 year old at the end of WWII and what his family did to survive. Kudos to Muttie for her sacrifice and determination.


Miracle in the Mines: One man’s story of strength and survival in the Chilean Mines. Although a little preachy at times, the faith and belief in a higher power is consistent with all the other survivor’s stories.


Faith of My Fathers–Despite wanting to vomit every time I even think of John McCain (yes, I am a naturalized Arizona native and grew up with this man representing my state–hence the vomiting part), Senator McCain was a part of the POW cultures during his imprisonment in the Hanoi Hilton. And I’ll admit it was a good book, especially about military culture.


Voices of the Vietnam POWs: Witnesses to their Flight–more of an overview on how the ‘Return with Honor’ culture developed than on one particular POW (although several have whole chapters about them)

So that’s just some of the stuff floating inside my head. A rather scary place indeed:-)

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Button, Button, my kingdom for a frickin button!

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Linda Andrews

Yes,  I sew–by hand and by machine. Sewing is one of those freaky things I do to relax, until I’m doing it, then I find it aggravating.

So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I would have buttons. In fact, I have hundreds of buttons. And one day in a fit of organization, I actually separated the white and black buttons from the rest of them. Because, let’s face it–there’s always a need for white and black buttons, more than any other color.

The problem arose a couple of days ago because my daughter found out her lab coat from last year needed buttons. Easy, peasy– one inch round buttons coming up. They’re in a blue and green tin in my office.

A hour later my daughter stomps out of my office shoving damp hair out of her eyes. “Where are the buttons?”

“Blue and green tin. The brown tin has the colored buttons.”

“Yeah, but where is the tin?”

Apparently that was not the appropriate answer. So I followed her into my office. Now, my office is somewhat organized. Books and things on the two big shelves. Books and things on the four long wall shelves. Bins (25) shoe box sized ones with crafty things on the shelves in the closet. 9 24-gallon totes of fabric and kids papers stacked on the floor of the closet. Sewing and scrapbooking items on the four black shelves on the open black shelves.

And not a button tin to be found.

I found monkey buttons and flower buttons that I set aside for my scrapbook pages but no plain white buttons. None.

How could this be?

What the heck happened to my tins of buttons? My daughter thought I might have gotten rid of them in a cleaning fit. Um, I should mention I still have my Barbies from when I was young (in a 24 gallon tote in my office) and the first outfits my kids wore 22 years ago. They take up far more space than two small tins of buttons.

For now the location of the button tins remains a mystery. But for the record, I’m pretty sure the house stole them.

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A Scavenger Hunt all September Long

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Linda Andrews

Zumaya Publications (where I am an author) is having a month long scavenger hunt. It’s easy and fun to play, so put on your thinking caps and limber up your typing fingers. ;)

There are prizes to be won, and winning them is easy. At the bottom of this post is a list of Zumaya authors. On each of their websites you’ll find the answer to a question. Collect the answers to those questions, then go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M7C7DFG and fill in the answers. Now, a contest wouldn’t be any fun if it was too easy, so we’ve added some book and author-related trivia questions just to challenge you.

There will also be daily and weekly trivia contests, so keep an eye on Twitter and the Zumaya page on Facebook, or visit our company blog Zumaya Tales at http://zumayatales.wordpress.com/.

We had so much fun last year with a smaller version of this contest in conjunction with a chat we decided to expand it, gather some terrific prizes and give lots of people a chance to win them by running the event through the month of September.

A number of our authors have donated those prizes, and they are all related somehow to their books. How they’re related, we aren’t going to tell, beyond maybe a hint or two. We don’t want to give away all our secrets.

Once again, the way the contest works is that a group of Zumaya authors are hosting a collection of links on their blogs. The answers to the questions about my books can be found here. Visit all the blogs, collect the answers to all the questions, then go here, and complete the contest form.

Take your time—the Zumaya Trivia Scavenger Hunt will run through the entire month of September. You can see photos of some of the great prizes we’re giving away at http://pinterest.com/ekburton/what-do-these-have-in-common/ and http://on.fb.me/RAZ0e9. Who knows—there might even be a few books and ebooks tossed into the mix before we’re done. We’ll definitely be giving away at least one ereader, but we’re waiting for all the new models to come out before we pick those.

And remember, there will also be daily and weekly trivia contests, so keep an eye on Twitter and the Zumaya page on Facebook, or visit our company blog Zumaya Tales at http://zumayatales.wordpress.com/. If you haven’t liked the Zumaya page on Facebook, now would be a good time. We’ll also have a chat at Coffee Time Romance and more on 4 September to launch, and a couple of hangouts on Google+ over the next four weeks.

There is, of course, no purchase required, and your private information will remain between you and Zumaya. Unless we’re authorized to do otherwise, it will all be deleted when the contest ends. While we’d love it if you sampled our wares, our goal with this contest is to get to know as many people as we can, and to let them get to know us. So, welcome and have fun!

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Redaction: The Meltdown is finally out!

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Linda Andrews

Just a reminder that there aren’t going to be any new chapters of Meltdown as the book is out and currently on sale for 99 cents (until the 10th).

And for those who are wondering, Mavis, David, Manny, Sunnie, Audra, and Papa Rose (as well as their sidekicks) will be back in December and share with you their life in the mines.

Just like this book, I’ll start posting chapters of the new book sometime in October!

 

Smashwords: It’s listed as 2.99 but use coupon code PJ49P at checkout and it’ll be 0.99USD until the 10th of September.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble–Finally live!

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