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Which Websites Do I Frequent Daily?

Introduction

There are six websites that I frequent daily. I detail why I have picked these six and what information I am looking for on each site.

Daily Break

DailyBreak

https://www.dailybreak.com/

The reason that I check out daily break every day is that it is a place where I can get what’s happening currently in a fun fashion. A half dozen or so posts are created every day. The posts can be a quiz on weekly events, matching puzzles, interesting pictures, or lists about some topics. You can earn points by reading a whole post, you can earn points by spinning for points up to five times a day, and you can also earn points by completing breaker badges.

The points are used in sweepstakes for prizes or for items in the daily break store. I have used points on sweepstakes but have not won any. I have also received an Amazon gift card. The breaker badge that I have not received, but really want is the 15000 points for the grand slam, which is earned by coming back to the site for 365 straight days. I have missed only a few days since the site went to this format a year and a half ago. I’m at 97 days right now and 41417 total points earned.

The Plain Dealer

Image result for the plain dealer logo

http://www.cleveland.com/

I subscribe to The Plain Dealer and read the paper daily online. It is the only paper for Cleveland, Ohio and covers the sports teams in town. I get my Cavs, Indians, and Browns news from the paper. My favorite column is written by Terry Pluto in the Sunday Paper called Terry’s Talking… He goes over the latest news of the sports teams in his column.

Eleven Warriors

Image result for eleven warriors logo

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/

Eleven Warriors covers all sports at the Ohio State University. I especially like their coverage of the football team. They write about recruiting (the daily Hurry Up feature is impressive), game day features, and commentary about the team.

The Wertzone

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/

The Wertzone is the blog of Adam Whitehead. He covers Science Fiction and Fantasy in Print and on Screen. Adam posts on current SF and F news as it happens. He comments on upcoming SF and F books, movies, and TV shows. There is also a large backlist of his reviews available on the site. I respect his opinions and have picked books and shows based on his recommendations.

Winter is Coming

Winter is Coming

Winter is coming is my go to site for news about Game of Thrones books and the HBO Show.

Blizzard Watch

http://blizzardwatch.com/category/world-of-warcraft/

I go to Blizzard watch for my World of Warcraft news.

Conclusion

This was my post on which websites do I frequent daily? My next post in this series will be: Which websites do I frequent weekly?

Links

This is the link to my Goodreads page.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58365344-gary-gillen

This is a link to my review of The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which is a fun quickly-paced science fiction/fantasy adventure story. It has the lost world theme and an interesting method of alternative evolution included in this world. It is just the perfect story for that pre-teen boy to read.

Writing Progress Report February 2017

Writing Progress Report February 2017

This is my Writing Progress Report February 2017.

Writing Progress from January 2017

I wrote four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for January 2017 linked below.

Polished and submitted the stories 4 Humours and Space Station Sunyata to two different short fiction magazines. Grognard is still in review at another magazine.

Worked on polishing and readying the stories Time Traveller One and Prisoner of Tarnal for submission to short fiction magazines. Not ready yet.

I had also planned on polishing and readying the stories White Bracer, Mage Squad, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines, but did not do so.

I wrote a scene from my proposed Torso novel as a proof of concept. Interesting but way down on my list of projects.

Events from January 2017

Created a Twitter account.

Created a Facebook Account.

https://www.facebook.com/gary.gillen.568

Changed my wordpress theme to Twenty Sixteen. It’s better than Twenty Fifteen, but I need to find something better.

Started a Fiveer account. Looking for a map and an e-book cover for A Gathering in New Marl. I’m thinking of re-titling the novel because I know what a gathering means in the context of the novel, but a potential reader would not know what it means. An Assassin in New Marl would fit the plot of the novel better.

The story Grognard is still in review at another magazine.

Writing Goals for February 2017

A Gathering in New Marl (An Assassin in New Marl) is a 55000 word short novel I wrote many years ago. I want to expand the novel from 20 chapters to 36 chapters (100000 words total). I intend to follow the method described in Sarah Domet’s book called 90 Days to Your Novel.

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This is a link to Goodreads page for the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11650970-the-90-day-novel

The book starts with 21 exercises that I plan to complete in the month of February. After that I will write the 16 new chapters of the novel in an additional 20 weeks.

Polish and submit the stories White Bracer, Mage Squad, Time Traveller One, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Submit 4 Humours to another short fiction magazine.

Planned Events for February 2017

Order a map from Fiveer.

Work on completing a Query letter to use to find an agent for An Assassin in New Marl.

I will attend the Winter Fiction Fest on February 18th that is being held at Loganberry Books at 13015 Larchmere Blvd. Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120 and is sponsored by Literary Cleveland. There will be four panels presented which will feature Mary Doria Russell, Casey Daniels and Shelly Costa, DM Pulley, Geoffrey Landis and Mary Turzillo.

https://www.litcleveland.org/

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, Book #1 of The Mars Trilogy

Introduction

Red Mars begins as the story of the first hundred people who make a permanent home on Mars. Among the first hundred is the first man who had set foot on Mars on an earlier mission, John Boone, the leader of the American group, Frank Chalmers, the leader of the Russian group, Maya Toitavna, the leading engineer Nadia Chernyshevski, the leader of the outpost made on the moon of Phobos, Arkady Bogdanov, a physicist and a proponent of immediately terraforming Mars, Sax Russell, a geologist and a proponent of leaving Mars in its original state, Ann Clayborne, and the leader of the farm team, Ai Hiroko. They face the challenges and dangers of Mars and of themselves to begin to transform the face of Mars so it can be inhabited for generations to come.

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Summary

The first hundred come to Mars on the spaceship Ares after a long journey. They settle in a group of bunkers which they called Underhill. The beginning of the novel focuses on a love triangle between Maya, John, and Frank. Ann’s position is referred to as the Red position and Sax’s position is referred to as the Green position. The United Nations Organization Mars Authority (UNOMA) holds the final decision and favors exploiting the raw materials found on Mars to the benefit of the people of Earth.

Many outposts are built with the direction of Nadia and a mass emigration is enacted. A space elevator is constructed, the water at the north pole is mined, an ice meteorite is broken up in the Martian atmosphere, and large holes called moholes are drilled into the surface of Mars. Not everyone is happy with the current conditions and this leads to revolution.

Recommendation

The world-building in this trilogy is impressive. It details a rational and likely method for the terraforming of Mars. The author writes a wonderful description and creates interesting characters. The only problem that I have with the novel is that the author relies heavily on the narrative summary. While the technique of narrative summary can help tell a story that takes place over many years, it limits the connection the reader feels with the characters. The story continues in Green Mars and concludes in Blue Mars. Another book of short fiction contained within the Trilogy’s timeframe was also released and called The Martians.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77507.Red_Mars

This is the link to my review of Lock In by John Scalzi. It is also a near future science fiction novel.

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron, Book #1 of the Empire of Storms

Introduction

Hope begins the novel as the lone survivor of her village. The village was exterminated by the order of biomancers. Biomancers serve the emperor and can manipulate any living thing. Their power is a mix of science and magic. She is taken in by the Vinchen warriors, who practice a variation of kung-fu training and philosophy. She vows vengeance on the biomancers. Red begins the novel as a young boy, is taken in by Sadie the Goat, and they become notorious pirates. After some adventures, he takes to the streets of New Laven and learns the trade of a thief.

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Summary

Hope learns the ways of the Vinchen warriors as the only female ever so trained. She must leave the island of the Vinchen warriors and sets to sail with Captain Carmichael on the trading ship Lady’s Gambit as a fighter. Red is helped in his thieving exploits by his friends Filler and Nettles in the New Laven slum of Paradise Circle. New Laven is the largest and most populated island of the Empire of Storms.

The Empire is ruled by the emperor from the island of Stonepeak. Red’s crew become embroiled in the plans of the gangster overlord Deadface Drem. Deadface Drem has made a sinister pact with the biomancers, which has threatened all of people of Paradise Circle. The third viewpoint character in the novel is the biomancer, Brigga Lin. Brigga Lin is searching for the long guarded secrets of biomancers. Those secrets have a big payoff at the end of the novel.

Hope heads to New Laven after witnessing other atrocities committed by the biomancers. When Hope and Red meet halfway through the novel, the novel takes off showing their vengeance on the biomancers, the gangsters, and the empire.

Recommendation

The author describes this novel as a kung-fu, pirate, and gangster adventure. I heartily agree. This is a fun and fast-paced novel, which includes many twists and turns. The twists at the end set up the next volume called Bane and Shadow, which is due to be released on February 28, 2017. I have preordered it and look forward to reading it then.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Hope and Red by Jon Skovron.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25804214-hope-and-red

This is the link to my review of Black Prism by Brent Weeks. The Black Prism is book one of the Lightbringer series. The Lightbringer series is like the Empire of Storms series because they are series with both fantasy and magic.

Book Review: The Best Novels That I Read in 2016

Introduction

Book Review: The Best Novels That I Read in 2016. I read twenty novels in 2016 and will detail my favorites in this post.

Top Five Novels That I Read in 2016

  1. The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss

I had read great reviews of this novel in the past and finally read it last year. The praise is well-founded. The framing story is about an innkeeper called Kote. He reveals himself to be the legendary wizard Kvothe and then details his life of adventure and magic to the Chronicler who transcribes the tales. How much of his tales is the truth or an elaboration has yet to be determined?

  1. The Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle #2) by Patrick Rothfuss

Sequels do not always match the wonder of the first novel, but this one does. It works as an extension of the first novel. It’s been a long wait for the third novel, The Doors of Stone, but I see why it must be this way. It must be very difficult to maintain the quality of the narrative considering that all the threads must be completed to have a finished series. The three parts should read like one long novel. It is the story of Kvothe from apprentice to master.

  1. Words of Radiance (Stormlight #2) by Brandon Sanderson

This is the second book in the Stormlight Archive. While the first book is mainly focused on Kaladin’s story, this novel expands on Shallan’s story. Many events occur by the end of this long novel and set up the third book, called Oathbringer due to be released in 2017, which features the story of Dalinar.

  1. The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) by Brent Weeks

The magic system in this fantasy, called chromaturgy, involves the magician turning various colors of light into a substance called luxin. The luxin can be manipulated into items depending upon which color of light is used. This novel focuses on the struggles of Gavin Guile as he tries to preserve the balance of light in chromaturgy and tries to rule the peoples of the Seven Satrapies as the Prism. Gavin may be the ruler, but he has many problems that plague him, including interacting with Kip, Dazen, Karris, Corvan, Liv, and the mysterious Lord Omnichrome.

  1. Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) by James S. A. Corey

This book was adapted for television by the SyFy Channel as the first season of The Expanse. That is why I initially chose to read this novel. I enjoy examining the comparisons from book to screen. Some examples are The Man in the High Castle, Games of Thrones, and the Harry Potter series. The Expanse is set in the future in the solar system, where the Terrans, the Martians, and the Belters (people who live beyond Mars) all vie for materials and power. The main characters are captain Holden and Detective Miller. They must unravel who has released an alien virus called the protomolecule and why it was released.

Novels Six to Ten of the Novels That I Read in 2016

  1. Hope and Red (Empire of Storms #1) by Jon Skovron

The author describes this novel as a mix of kung-fu, pirate, and gangster adventure. I heartily agree. This is a fun and fast-paced novel, which includes many twists and turns. Hope begins the novel as the lone survivor of her village. The village was exterminated by the order of biomancers. Biomancers serve the emperor and can manipulate any living thing. Their power is a mix of science and magic. She is taken in by the Vinchen warriors, who practice a variation of kung-fu training and philosophy. She vows vengeance on the biomancers.

Red begins the novel as a young boy, who falls into becoming a pirate. After some adventures, he takes to the streets of New Laven and learns the trade of a thief. When Hope and Red meet halfway through the novel, the novel takes off showing their vengeance on the biomancers and the empire.  The twists at the end set up the next volume called Bane and Shadow, which is due to be released on February 28, 2017. I have preordered it and look forward to reading it then.

  1. Promise of Blood (Powder Mage #1) by Brian McClellan

This series mixes muskets and magic. The magic system uses gunpowder as its base. The protagonists can use gunpowder to enhance their stamina, accuracy in shooting, and self-healing ability. The exploits of Field Marshall Tamas, his son Taniel, and Inspector Adamat can be followed in the trilogy. A second trilogy starts when Sins of Empire is due to be released on March 7, 2017.

  1. Caliban’s War (The Expanse #2) by James S. A. Corey

The sequel to Leviathan Wakes expands the conflict in the Expanse series. Captain Holden of the ship called Rocinante is back. The crew chooses to help Prax, whose daughter has been kidnapped from the moon of Ganymede. Ganymede has been attacked by enemies unknown as witnessed by Martian Marine Bobbie Draper. United Nations Under-Secretary Avasarala also becomes involved in the plot as the four characters unravel what has transpired between Earth, Mars, the Belt, and the kidnappers. Most of these events will be covered in the second season of the SyFy Channel program called The Expanse. The first episode is scheduled to air on February 1, 2017.

  1. Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin

I have always enjoyed the author’s science fiction and the Song of Ice and Fire series. This novel was written in between the two. I had steered away from it because it included vampires because it felt like there was no place interesting to go with that trope. I decided to try it anyway and was pleasantly surprised. The novel is set in the 1850s on the Mississippi River. The story is about riverboat captain Abner Marsh and his mysterious benefactor, Joshua York. They build a big and fast boat and sail down the Mississippi toward New Orleans. York’s past catches up to him and secrets are revealed. These vampires have a well thought out history and biology. It is a science fiction type retelling of the vampire and werewolf superstitions.

  1. The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6) by Brandon Sanderson

This novel is the third book featuring the characters of Wax and Wayne. The Mistborn trilogy featured a different cast of characters and was set in a semi medieval world. There are three magic systems that exist in all of the books; allomancy, feruchemy, and hemalurgy. The technology level of the Wax and Wayne series is roughly Western with guns and trains mixing with the magic systems. In this novel, Wax searches for the legendary bands of mourning and tries to discover the intentions of a secretive group called The Set. The stage is set for a climactic final novel featuring these characters. The seventh Mistborn novel is called The Lost Metal and will be released in 2018.

The Other Ten Novels I Read in 2016

The other novels I read last year were The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick (This was a reread prepping me for the first season of the Amazon Instant Video series), Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin (This was a reread so I could follow the you tube video series by Preston Jacobs on the Thousand World Stories by Martin), The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss, The Atlantis Gene (The Origin Mystery #1) by A. G. Riddle, Murder at the Kinnen Hotel by Brian McClellan (background short story in the Powder Mage series labeled #0.3).

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King, A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought #1) by Vernor Vinge, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter #8) by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers, and Song of the Sea Spirit (The Mindstream Chronicles #1) by K. C. May.

Upcoming Books I Want to Read

Books that I’m looking forward to reading this year that are scheduled to be released this year:
-Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson on November 22, 2016
-Oathbringer (Stormlight #3) by Brandon Sanderson sometime in 2017
-The Heart of What was Lost (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn #4) by Tad Williams on January 3, 2017
-Bane and Shadow (Empire of Storms #2) by Jon Skovron on February 28, 2017
-New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson on March 14, 2017

Series that I want to continue reading:
-Powder Mage Series by Brian McClellan
-Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks
-The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey
-Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson

Books I will wait for as long as it takes:
-The Winds of Winter (Song of Ice and Fire #6) by George R. R. Martin
-Doors of Stone (The Kingkiller Chronicle #3) by Patrick Rothfuss

Links

This is the link to my Goodreads page.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58365344-gary-gillen

This is a link to my review of The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which is a fun quickly-paced science fiction/fantasy adventure story. It has the lost world theme and an interesting method of alternative evolution included in this world. It is just the perfect story for that pre-teen boy to read.

Writing Progress Report January 2017

Writing Progress Report January 2017

This is my Writing Progress Report January 2017.

Writing Progress from December 2016

I wrote five blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for December 2016 linked below.

Polished and submitted the stories 4 Humours and Grognard to two different short fiction magazines.

Polished and readied the stories Space Station Sunyata, White Bracer, and Mage Squad for submission to short fiction magazines.

I planned on polishing and readying the stories Time Traveller One, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines, but did not do so.

Events from December 2016

I chose and uploaded a single photo to use for my website, goodreads page, and meet-up profile. I will also use this photo for future Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Postponed setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts until January 2017, due to completing other tasks.

The story 4 Humours was not accepted.

Writing Goals for January 2017

Polish and submit the stories Space Station Sunyata, White Bracer, Mage Squad to three different short fiction magazines.

Polish and ready the stories Time Traveller One, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Submit 4 Humours to another short fiction magazine.

Planned Events for January 2017

Create Facebook and Twitter pages.

Update Website to the Himmelan WordPress Theme.

Research professional photographers to take an author’s photograph for all of my social media accounts.

I will attend the Winter Fiction Fest on February 18, 2017. They are holding the conference at Loganberry Books at 13015 Larchmere Blvd in Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120 The conference is sponsored by Literary Cleveland. They will present four panels that feature Mary Doria Russell, Casey Daniels and Shelly Costa, DM Pulley, Geoffrey Landis, and Mary Turzillo.

Literary Cleveland

This is a link to the Literary Cleveland Website.

https://www.litcleveland.org/

Song of the Sea Spirit by K. C. May

Song of the Sea Spirit by KC May

Song of the Sea Spirit by KC May, Book #1 of The Mindstream Chronicles

Introduction

Jora and Boden live in the fishing village of Kaild. They have grown up together like brother and sister. They both face momentous changes in their lives. Boden must take a wife before he joins the Legion and fights to protect the Tree of the Fallen God. Jora is expected to become a wife and produce sons to send to the Legion, but she has the talent of Mindstreaming. Her talent lets her follow the timeline of anyone see meets and then observe the past as they saw it, so no one in her village wants to marry her and risk her seeing everything about their lives. Boden must decide who to marry and Jora must decide what she wants to do with her life.

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Summary

Boden decides to marry someone other than Jora and Jora remains a maiden. Boden gives Jora a flute as a present before he leaves for the Legion. She does not know how to play, so she decides to practice by the sea where no one can hear her play. She tries to play her favorite song called song of the sea spirit, but is visited by a friendly dolphin who whistles the song back to her. These are the best moments in the novel. They are Jora’s discovery of the dolphin’s language and her communications with the dolphin called Sundancer. Boden’s travels to the Legion and his experiences there comprise the other half of the novel’s story. The weaker half. He joins the Legion, bonds with his comrades, and discovers a secret that jeopardizes his safety.

Someone is stealing the godfruit that is dropped by the Tree of the Fallen God. If the men of the Legion eat one godfruit in the morning and die that day, then they will live again. This can only happen once per person. Who is stealing the godfruit and why they steal it are the questions Boden must answer. Meanwhile, Jora has been discovered by other Mindstreamers. Mindstreamers are recruited and trained by the Order of Justice Officials. The order supports the Legion and novices are trained in Serocia’s capitol of Jolver. Jora is drafted into the order, she is taken to Jolver, her training begins, and she bonds with the other novices. She views Boden through the Mindstream and discovers the mystery of the godfruit. This forbidden knowledge leads to many complications and ultimately the novel’s climax.

Recommendation

My struggles with this book are one of matching expectations. I thought that this book was going to be a sweet playful jaunt about dolphins and flutes. That changed about halfway through the novel starting with the fate of Gilon. This book had a much darker message about the nature of death and what Jora would do when her power became unlimited. Did she becomes that which she fought so hard against? The answer may be in book #2: The Call of the Colossus. This wasn’t the story that I expected, but the story that the author told still intrigues me enough to read the next novel in the series.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Song of the Sea Spirit by KC May

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22042084-song-of-the-sea-spirit

My review of The Kinshield Legacy by KC May. In this fantasy, Gavin Kinshield is a warrant knight. He must solve a riddle of runes to save the kingdom.

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

The Black Prism is Book #1 of The Lightbringer series

Introduction

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the spiritual, military, and political leader of the Seven Satrapies. He rules from the Chromeria using the magical system called chromaturgy. Kip is a teenager from the small town of Rekton. Corvan Danavis is Kip’s mentor and has a secret past. Liv Davavis, Corvan’s daughter, is a member of the Chromeria under Gavin. Karris White Oak, Gavin’s former fiancé, is a member of the Blackguards, an elite force of bodyguards who protect the rulers of the Chromeria. The prisoner is trapped by Gavin in a blue cell. Past secrets and current intrigues pull these characters together and apart. Gavin must keep his secrets hidden or risk losing his position as ruler.

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Summary

There is a lot to like in this novel and a lot to unpack. Chromaturgy, the role of the Prism, and the False Prism’s war are the three biggest issues. Chromaturgy is the magical system of the Seven Satrapies. Magicians who use Chromaturgy are called drafters. Drafters are able to take part of the spectrum of light and make a substance called luxin. Luxin can be shaped into many things, with the color of the luxin determining the properties of the item. The colors that can be drafted are super-violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red and sub-red. Monochrome drafters only draft in one color. Drafters who can draft two color are called Bichromes and multiple colors are called Polychromes.  Only one person per generation can draft all the colors and that person is the Prism. The Prism’s main job is to keep the colors drafted by all drafters in balance. The problem was that a second Prism was also born, Gavin’s brother Dazen. Dazen went to war with his brother in the False Prism’s War. He lost. Sixteen years later, the choices that Gavin made back then start to come unraveled. A woman from Rekton sends a message to Gavin that he has a son called Kip. Trying to solve that mystery creates many more for Gavin.

Recommendation

The Black Prism is an amazing book. Gavin is all powerful, handsome, smarter than anyone else, and women love him. He should have no conflicts; he should solve all his problems easily; he should be boring, and I should hate him. The author defies my expectations and makes me want this man to succeed. In another story, he would be the villain. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Blinding Knife.

What’s in a Name? Picking a Website Title.

What’s in a Name? Picking a Website Title.

Introduction

What’s in a Name? Picking a Website Title. The title that I chose for my website has come a long way from conception to execution. In this post, I will examine the way that I arrived at my website title. Originally, in 2012, I was debating if I wanted to start a blog. I began to think about what topics I would cover in this proposed blog.

The topics that I most wanted to blog about were writing, reading, listening to music, and watching movies. I made a note of what I wanted to call the blog on 05-24-12. It read, “A weekly blog called Watch (movies), Listen (music), and Write (reading); a play on the phrase watch, listen and learn.”  I will break down that initial blog idea and lead up to my final choice for a website name.

Watch, Listen, and Learn

Watch, Listen, and Write is most similar to Watch, Listen, and Learn.  This youtube video teaches children their alphabet by using phonics.  (Note: They do not use the Oxford Comma in the video.)

Stop, Look, and Listen

I was also inspired by the phrase Stop, Look, and Listen. I remember that as a kid, learning about road safety. We used it for crossing the road.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

Another phrase is Stop, Drop, and Roll. This phrase is used in fire safety drills. If you are on fire, stop, drop, and roll to put it out.

Duck and Cover

As crazy as it may seem now, back in the cold war, we used the drill Duck and Cover. In the case of a nuclear attack, we were supposed to hide under our desks at school. I remember the drill when I was a kid. Like we wouldn’t be killed by the radiation after the explosion. We did it anyway.  There is a Civil Defense film from 1951 called Duck and Cover with Bret the Turtle which I have added below.

Stop, Wait, and Listen

Being from the Cleveland, Ohio area there is another short phrase that reminds me of my proposed blog title. That is the song by the band named Circus called Stop, Wait, and Listen. Check it out below.

So, there are five phrases that might have inspired me to make a blog title called Watch, Listen, and Write. I revisited the idea of creating a blog when I decided to start a website featuring a blog in August of 2016. There was the phrase Read, Watch, Listen Makes Write on 08-10-16, but that seemed too silly. I decided that this blog would feature only book reviews, my writing progress reports, and other writing-related posts.

Conclusion

What’s in a Name? Picking a Website Title. The final answer is Gary David Gillen: Writer of Adventures in SF and Fantasy. I think that sums up what I am trying to do here perfectly. The only change I will make is that I will change the word writer to the author after I have published one of my stories. That would be my motivation for the accomplishment of publishing a story.

Links

This is the link to my Goodreads page.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58365344-gary-gillen

This is a link to my review of The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which is a fun quickly-paced science fiction/fantasy adventure story. It has the lost world theme and an interesting method of alternative evolution included in this world. It is just the perfect story for that pre-teen boy to read.

Writing Progress Report December 2016

Writing Progress Report December 2016

This is my Writing Progress Report December 2016.

Writing Progress from November 2016

I wrote seven blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for November 2016 linked below.

My original plan was to write a story called Dogman, but I decided to postpone that story because revising Kay-Eye took more time than I expected.

Complete a rewrite of Kay-Eye, it took much longer than anticipated, two weeks. I wrote the first half of the story in 2012. It was set on Catalina Island in California. I wrote the second half of the story in 2015. It was set on Kelly’s Island in Ohio. I combined the story parts from 2012 and from 2015 and add four pages interweaved into the story. I chose to increase the story sections from six to eight by splitting two of the original story sections into four-story sections. Much easier said than done. After that, I revised and typed it to submit to my writing workshop.

Revised and typed White Bracer.

Revised and typed Mage Squad.

Polish and submit Kay-Eye to my writer’s workshop.

Events from November 2016

I attended the Indy Author Conference at the Parma-Snow Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library on 11-12. I wrote a separate post on the conference.

Updated website banner on garydavidgillen.com, I used the program GIMP to add the website title on top of a picture.

Wrote posts on five book reviews to get the book review posts up to current reading.

Postponed setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts until December 2016, due to completing other tasks.

Writing Goals for December 2016

Polish and submit the stories 4 Humours, Grognard, and Space Station Sunyata to three different short fiction magazines.

Polish and ready the stories White Bracer, Mage Squad, Time Traveller One, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Planned Events for December 2016

Create Facebook and Twitter pages.

Update Website to the Himmelan WordPress Theme.

I will attend the Winter Fiction Fest on February 18, 2017. They will hold the conference at Loganberry Books at 13015 Larchmere Blvd, Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120. The conference is sponsored by Literary Cleveland. They will present four panels featuring Mary Doria Russell, Casey Daniels and Shelly Costa, DM Pulley, Geoffrey Landis, and Mary Turzillo.

This is a link to the Literary Cleveland Website.

https://www.litcleveland.org/