Which Posts Archives - Gary David Gillen

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection Update #2

Here is the last issue purchased for my collection which was received on 06-23-18.

Introduction

I made a post on the status of my Asimov’s Science Fiction Collection on February 22, 2018. At that time, I had collected 363 issues of the 420 issues released from Spring 1977 to March 2014. I have read 331 of the 363 issues. Unread issues are from February 2011 to March 2014. I decided to purchase the 57 issues that I missed and then read them all.

The first update post was made on March 24, 2014. From February 22 to March 24, I purchased a total of 35 issues for $108.43, averaging $3.10 per issue. In February, I bought 19 issues; 10 from Amazon.com for $25.00, 5 from mycomicshop.com for $21.25, and 4 from ebay.com for $15.74. In March, I bought 16 issues; 2 from Amazon.com for $11.88, and 14 from ebay.com for $34.56. There were 22 issues remaining to be purchased.

Update

This second update covers March 24 to July 4. I purchased 21 issues in April including 18 issues from mycomicshop.com for $43.05, one issue from ebay for $5.99, and two issues from Amazon for $14.49. The last issue to purchase was the June 1998 issue. I ordered the issue from ebay in April but it never arrived and I was refunded the purchase price. It was difficult to find the issue. I searched for the issue but only found it at backissues.com. I purchased it from backissues.com for $15.99 and received it on June 23, 2018.

The total cost for 57 issues was $187.95, $3.30 average per issue.

In the rest of this post, I will make notes for each year from 1977 to 2014.

Notes 1970’s

1977: 4 issues printed with 3 issues at start labeled summer, fall, and winter. 1 issue purchased in April: Spring 1977 (issue #1).

1978: 6 issues printed with 0 issues at start. Purchased 5 issues in February and 1 issue in March. None remaining to be purchased.

1979: 12 issues printed with 0 issues at start. I purchased 4 issues in February. 8 issues purchased in April.

Notes 1980’s

1980: 12 printed and 12 issues at start.

1981: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1982: 13 printed and 7 issues at start. I purchased 1 issue in February. 5 issues purchased in April.

1983: 13 printed and 0 issues at start. Purchased 13 issues in March. None remaining to be purchased.

1984: 13 printed and 0 issues at start. Purchased 10 issues in February. 3 issues purchased in April.

1985: 13 issues printed and 10 issues at start. Purchased 1 issue in March. 2 issues purchased in April.

1986: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1987: 13 printed and 12 issues at start. 1 issue purchased in April, currently reading.

1988: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1989: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

Notes 1990’s

1990: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1991: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1993: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1994: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1995: 13 printed and 13 issues at start.

1996: 11 printed and 11 issues at start.

1997: 11 printed and 11 issues at start.

1998: 11 printed and 10 issues at start. 1 issue purchased in June.

1999: 11 printed and 11 issues at start.

Notes 2000’s

2000: 11 printed and 11 issues at start.

2001: 11 printed and 11 issues at start.

2002: 11 printed and 11 issues at start.

2003: 11 printed and 11 issues at start.

2004: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

2005: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

2006: 10 printed and 9 issues at start. 1 issue purchased in April.

2007: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

2008: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

2009: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

Notes 2010’s

2010: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

2011: 10 printed and 10 issues at start. The January issue is the last I have read so far.

2012: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

2013: 10 printed and 10 issues at start.

2014: 3 issues, March 2014 was the last issue in my subscription.

Conclusion

That ends my collection. I enjoyed reading the stories for many years. And now I have copies of the first 420 issues of the magazine. I have read 331 issues and am currently reading the September 1987 issue. Later, I plan to write another post about my favorite stories that I have read in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

Links

This is the link to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

https://www.asimovs.com/

This is the link to my first post about my Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine collection.

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection

This is the link to my second post about my Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine collection.

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection Update

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection Update

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection Update.

Here is my updated collection on 03-24-18.

Introduction

From February 22 to March 24, I purchased a total of 35 issues for $108.43, averaging $3.10 per issue. There are 22 issues remaining to be purchased.

In February, I bought 19 issues; 10 from Amazon.com for $25.00, 5 from mycomicshop.com for $21.25, and 4 from ebay.com for $15.74. In March, I bought 16 issues; 2 from Amazon.com for $11.88, and 14 from ebay.com for $34.56.

In the rest of this post, I will make notes for each year from 1977 to 2014.

Issues in the 1970s

1977: 4 issues printed with 3 issues at start labeled summer, fall, and winter. 1 issue remaining to purchase: Spring 1977 (issue #1).

1978: 6 issues printed with 0 issues at the start. Purchased 5 issues in February and 1 issue in March. None remaining to be purchased.

1979: 12 issues printed with 0 issues at the start. I purchased 4 issues in February. 8 issues remaining to purchase.

Issues in the 1980s

1980: 12 printed and 12 issues at the start.

1981: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1982: 13 printed and 7 issues at the start. I purchased 1 issue in February. 5 issues remaining to purchase.

1983: 13 printed and 0 issues at the start. Purchased 13 issues in March. None remaining to be purchased.

1984: 13 printed and 0 issues at the start. Purchased 10 issues in February. 3 issues remaining to be purchased.

1985: 13 issues printed and 10 issues at the start. Purchased 1 issue in March. 2 issues remaining to be purchased.

1986: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1987: 13 printed and 12 issues at the start. 1 issue remaining to be purchased.

1988: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1989: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

Issues in the 1990s

1990: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1991: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1993: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1994: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1995: 13 printed and 13 issues at the start.

1996: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

1997: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

1998: 11 printed and 10 issues at the start. 1 issue remaining to be purchased.

1999: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

Issues in the 2000s

2000: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2001: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2002: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2003: 11 printed and 11 issues at the start.

2004: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2005: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2006: 10 printed and 9 issues at the start. 1 issue remaining to be purchased.

2007: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2008: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2009: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

Issues in the 2000s

2010: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2011: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2012: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2013: 10 printed and 10 issues at the start.

2014: 3 issues, March 2014 was the last issue in my subscription.

Conclusion

That ends my collection. I enjoyed reading the stories for many years. I will update my progress in purchasing the rest of the 420 issues in April. Later, I plan to write another post about my favorite stories that I have read in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

Links

This is the link to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

https://www.asimovs.com/

This is the link to my first post about my Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine collection.

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection.

Here is my collection.

Introduction

I made a post on my first science fiction book on 07-28-17. That book was The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I believe that I received the book in 1977. I either joined the Science Fiction Book Club first and then bought the January 1980 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine or bought the magazine first and then joined the club from the offer that was printed on the back of each issue of the magazine. This post is about my 35-year history with the magazine covering from 1980 to 2014.

The summary of my experience is as follows. I purchased the January 1980 issue and started a new subscription in April 1980 that lasted until July of 1982. I did not like the direction that the new editor was taking the magazine, so I did not renew my subscription at that time. At some point, I purchased five back issues at a used bookstore. The store had back issues for 1978 and 1979 but I did not purchase them because I did not have the money at that time. I intended to go back at a later date, but when I returned the issues were gone. I wish that I had gone back earlier and had added them to my collection.

Asimov’s subscription renewal

In April 1985 I started a subscription that I continued to renew until it expired in March 2014. There were three issues that I had not received in the mail and did not obtain a copy. In 2014, I had not read the magazine for three years and didn’t intend to do so in the future so I did not renew my subscription. It was also too expensive to buy if I was not reading the issues. It took me five or six hours to read each issue and I felt like I did not have the time to read them anymore.

Now that I have made the time to read at least an hour a day, I will have the time to read the issues I have not read yet. Getting involved with goodreads.com changed my perspective on reading, but that is another post that I wrote on 06-30-17. My collection totals 363 issues of which I have read 331 issues. There were 420 issues released from Spring 1977 to March 2014, so I do not have 57 issues in that time frame. Having researched this post, I think that I will attempt to read the 32 remaining issues that I own but have not read.

Stories I have Liked

I wrote down the stories that I liked and in the order that I liked them from the first issue to the February 2003 issue. After that, I put sticky notes on each issue with my ratings from the March 2003 issue to the January 2011 issue. The unread issues are from February 2011 to March 2014.

The size of the issues changed over the years. From the first issue to the May 1998 issue the magazine was the small digest size of 5 by 7 3/8. From the June 1998 issue to the October/November 2008 issue the size was increased to 5 3/8 by 8 1/2. In the December 2008 issue, the size increased again to 5 7/8 by 8 5/8.

In the rest of this post, I will make notes for each year from 1977 to 2014.

Issues in the 1970’s

1977: 3 issues labeled summer, fall, and winter. I bought these issues for 39 cents each at a used bookstore in Parma, Ohio (I do not recall the name). The store did not have a copy of Issue #1 which would have been labeled spring. 4 issues were printed this year.

1978: 0 issues, I wish I have bought the issues I found at that used bookstore. 6 issues were printed this year

1979: 0 issues, I wish I have bought the issues I found at that used bookstore. 12 issues were printed this year.

Issues in the 1980’s

1980: 12 issues, I bought the January issue at a newsstand and started a subscription which began with the April issue. I bought the February and March issues from the Parma bookstore for 39 cents each. 12 issues were printed this year.

1981: 13 issues, the issues were dated with the day so there were two issues in August.

1982: 7 issues, the July issue was where the subscription lapsed.

1983: 0 issues

1984: 0 issues

1985: 10 issues, subscription renewed with April issue to November 1985, then renewed in December to August 1986. All the issues were labeled as having 192 pages.

1986: 13 issues, in March, renewed to August 1988.

1987: 12 issues, because I did not receive the September issue with the story by Orson Scott Card called “Carthage City”.

1988: 13 issues, May renewed to June 1990, June renewed to May 1991, and November renewed to May 1993

1989: 13 issues.

Issues in the 1990’s

1990: 13 issues, February adjustment to January 1993, August adjustment to February 1991, and November adjustment to Winter 1992. November was the first double issue with 320 pages.

1991: 13 issues, April and November were both double issues. The March issue was the last issue that was labeled 192 pages.

1992: 13 issues, August adjustment to August 1994

1993: 13 issues, I received the cover of the mid-December issue without the inside so they shipped me a copy of the issue.

1994: 13 issues, June renewal to March 1996

1995: 13 issues, December renewal to November 1997

1996: 11 issues, the mid-December issue was discontinued and the October/November issue was a double issue, so only 11 total issues were released starting in 1996.

1997: 11 issues

1998: 10 issues, the June issue was missing, which was the first issue that the size of the magazine was increased. March renewal to March 2000

1999: 11 issues

Issues in the 2000’s

2000: 11 issues, January renewal to March 2002

2001: 11 issues

2002: 11 issues, January renewal to March 2005

2003: 11 issues

2004: 10 issues, now the April/May and October/November issues are doubles which means there are only 10 total issues per year.

2005: 10 issues, February renewal to March 2008

2006: 9 issues, the September issue was missing.

2007: 10 issues

2008: 10 issues, January renewal to March 2011, The December 2008 issue was increased in size again.

2009: 10 issues

Issues in the 2010’s

2010: 10 issues, December renewal to March 2014

2011: 10 issues

2012: 10 issues

2013: 10 issues

2014: 3 issues, March 2014 was my last issue.

Conclusion

That ends my collection. I enjoyed reading the stories for many years. I plan to write another post about my favorite stories that I have read in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

Links

My Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine Collection

This is the link to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

https://www.asimovs.com/

This is the link to my post about The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the first science fiction book that I owned. I believe that I received the book in 1977. I either joined the Science Fiction Book Club first and then bought the January 1980 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine or bought the magazine first and then joined the club from the offer that was printed on the back of each issue of the magazine.

My First SF Book

My First SF Book

Introduction

My first SF book that I owned and read was The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Summary

My book is a reprint that promoted the 1975 movie of the same name. Burroughs wrote three short novels that were published in Blue Book Magazine in 1918. The stories were The Land That Time Forgot, The People That Time Forget, and Out of Time’s Abyss. All three are included in this edition and added up to a total of 249 pages. I believe that I got it sometime in 1977, about 40 years ago. This was the first novel that I had ever read for fun and it started me on the path to making reading a part of my daily routine. Soon after that, I subscribed to Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, as it was known back then. Then, I enrolled in the Science Fiction Book Club and had all the books that I wanted.

Recommendation

My First SF Book 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 pick up.

I watched the movie many years later. There are six black and white stills from the movie included in this edition. I remember the plesiosaur and the pterodactyl the most, pictured below.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13552142-the-land-that-time-forgot

Goodreads is a website where you can review books that you have read and you can also put books on a to-read list. Using Goodreads has changed how and what I read. Using Goodreads got me thinking about My first SF book that I owned, The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This is the link to a post I made about using Goodreads.

How Goodreads changed my reading habits.

How Goodreads changed my reading habits.

https://www.goodreads.com/

Introduction

Goodreads is a website where you can review books that you have read and you can also put books on a to-read list. The website will suggest books to read based on the list of the books that you have read, are reading, and want to read. The best part of the website for me is the groups. You can join groups that are based on the type of books that you like. Each group has a discussion page covering many topics, polls used to determine a book of the month, and a book of the month for the group to read and comment upon.

Summary

I update my reading progress daily on Goodreads, but there are tasks that I also do once a week or once a month. I check on new topics, vote in polls, and comment on the book of the month. Using Goodreads has changed how and what I read. My goal for this year is to read 24 novels. I have read 12 novels in less than 6 months so far.

This is the link to my goodreads page.

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

Statistics

Here are some statistics. The best that I can remember, I read 9 books in 2015. I would read maybe 20 pages a day at lunch five days a week. Five of those books were rereading the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I wanted to reread them anticipating the next book’s release. I’m still waiting for book six. In the first six months of 2016, I read six books. So, 2015 was 0.75 books a month and the first half of 2016 was 1 book per month. I discovered Goodreads and I started to enter my books into the system in June 2016. From July 2016 to June 2017 I have read 29 books, which is 2.4 books per month. That is a significant increase. I have 613 books on my read list, which translates to about 12 books per year for my lifetime.

How Goodreads changed my reading habits.

Two things changed in June of 2016. I started reading 30 pages every day, making it a point to complete the reading every day. The other thing that changed my habits was setting a goal. I planned to read two books per month in 2017. My to-read list went over 100 books. There are some great books on that list. At 24 books per year, that list will take me four years to complete. Seeing the list focused me on what I wanted to read. I’m glad that I have put in the time to use Goodreads to help me in my search for books. Participating in group reads of books on my list has increased my enjoyment of the books that I have read. Using Goodreads has changed my reading habits.

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.

My First SF Book

Witch Post: Which Websites Do I Frequent Weekly?

Introduction

Witch Post: Which Websites Do I Frequent Weekly? There are six websites that I frequent weekly. I detail why I have picked these six and what information I am looking for on each site.

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/

Race for The Iron Throne

https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/

Race for the Iron Throne is Steven Attewell’s website devoted to his commentary of George R. R, Martin’s Game of Thrones including all media sources. The main topic and longest-running series of articles are a chapter by chapter analysis of each chapter of the Song of Ice and Fire books. The articles are posted approximately once per week. The current chapter was posted on May 30, 2017, on Jon II of A Storm of Swords (Book Three).

Each article covers the political analysis, what-ifs, historical analysis, and comparisons from book to show. This series inspired me to re-read the series. Reading the articles increased my enjoyment of the novels. At the author’s current pace, his reviews may get to A Dream of Spring (Book Seven) before Martin completes it. Other current articles are a weekly tumbler roundup of his comments on tumbler, Politics of the Seven Kingdoms with a series on each kingdom (The Reach is the current Kingdom), and links to podcasts as a guest on other websites.

Extra Credits Extra History

https://www.patreon.com/ExtraCredits

The makers of Extra History post a weekly video of about ten minutes once a week. The videos are animated and present history in a fun and educational format. The topics cover all types of world history before about 1950. I enjoy watching their series about historical topics that I know little about. Each series are about five videos long, but they also make shorter series about subjects covering less material. I know that I will always be entertained and enlightened.

There have been 157 videos posted so far. The current series completed was about the Articles of Confederation. Other recent topics were on Hunting the Bismark, Ned Kelly, Catherine the Great, and Simon Bolivar. I enjoy Roman history the most and what got me into this series was the first series posted, Rome in the Punic Wars. My favorite series are The Punic Wars, Justinian, The Brothers Gracchi, and the First Crusade.

Helping Writers Become Authors

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/

K. M. Weiland is an author of historical speculative fiction and writing craft. She posts bi-weekly on topics of interest to beginning writers. Her website is informative, interesting, and helpful. I like her positive attitude and her mission to help writers become authors. She writes like she’s your best friend just trying to help you out. Recent posts were titled 5 ways to write a perfect first draft (or nearly), 5 misconceptions about writing that I used to believe, and how to take advantage of your 4 most important characters. I recommend this site for any budding writers out there.

Writing Excuses

http://www.writingexcuses.com/

Writing Excuses is a weekly fifteen-minute podcast. Their tagline is fifteen minutes long because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart. The podcast is in its twelfth season and is hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Taylor, and Dan Wells. They also have co-hosts and guests as well. Each podcast has a theme about a specific aspect of writing. Recent podcast topics were on Creating Great Outlines; Proposals, Pitches, and Queries; and Retrofitting structure into a First Draft. The podcast is always engaging, informative, and interesting. I began listening to this podcast because Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors and I wanted to hear what he had to say. I am glad that I did and remain a fan of this podcast.

Doux Reviews

http://www.douxreviews.com/

Doux Reviews is a website that reviews mainly sci-fi and horror TV shows. It was created by Billie Doux and features many reviewers. There are thousands of reviews on the site. I started reading this site as I was watching Lost. The reviewer helped me understand that complicated show. I have also read the reviews as I watched the shows for Breaking Bad, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Firefly, Rome, Sherlock, Person of Interest, and Orphan Black. I would also like to use the site when I watch The 100 and Westworld.

Conclusion

Witch Post: Which Websites Do I Frequent Weekly? I frequent these six websites every week looking for information about writing, reading, and watching Science Fiction and Fantasy. I hope to continue to frequent them for years to come.

Links

This is the link to my Goodreads page.

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

My First SF Book

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

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

Home

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

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 – A Game of Thrones News & Rumors Site

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

My First SF Book

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

My First SF Book

Welcome to my Website

Welcome to my Website post

Introduction

This is my first post on my blog for my new website. You might ask why you should read this blog or visit my new website. Well, I’ll tell you. I have something to say as a reader and as a writer.

Summary

I have been a reader for as long as I can remember. It started as I read the World Book Encyclopedia as a child. There was no internet back then in the dark ages and the library was far away for a young kid, so I read the encyclopedia and I learned.

When I was ten, I read The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs and that changed how I thought about reading. The world opened up and I read as much fiction as I could. I will create another post about my influences, but the short version is that I was inspired by Science Fiction and Fantasy. Shortly afterward I started to write about the stories that were swirling in my mind.

Link to Goodreads page of The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13552142-the-land-that-time-forgot

That’s what this blog and website is about. I need to get those stories out of my mind and onto the page. I hope that you will follow me on my journey because reading and writing is what I was meant to do. Here’s the thing. I am a great procrastinator. I have found that I need to make a plan, write it down, and hold myself accountable. This is my statement to myself. I will do it. It has taken me many years to get to the point where writing is at a high enough priority that I can start to complete that tasks I have set down for myself.

New Year’s Resolution

It started with this year’s, 2016’s, new year’s resolution to progress in my writing career and set out a series of tasks at that time. It took until April to come up with a plan that worked. Since then, I have achieved what I have set out to do.

My next task is this one. Start a website and a blog. You are reading that accomplishment. It has taken me a while to realize that I cannot compare my accomplishments to anyone else. My journey is unique to me and it will progress at the pace that I choose and can maintain. I will do it and here is my plan for the rest of the year.

Posts

My posts will consist of book reviews, aspects of my writing journey, and thoughts on conferences that I have attended. I plan to make a least one post per week. I will re-post three book reviews from my Goodreads page. Since I read about two books a month, I will add at least eight more posts by the end of the year.

On the other hand, I will start with giving my observations of attending the conventions of Ohio Expos 2016 and Confluence 2016. My regular next eight posts for 2016 are proposed to be:

Read, Write, Listen, and Watch
The Land That Time Forgot and Other Influences
How Goodreads changed my reading life
What websites do I visit every day?
The Background for the Gahrn Series
The Background to the Future Space Series
Observations of the Western Reserve Writers Conference 2016
Observations of Capclave 2016

Conclusion

Thank you for being with me at the start of my journey.

Sincerely,

Gary David Gillen

September 7, 2016

Links

Welcome to my Website

My first writing progress report is linked below.

My writing progress report for October 2016. Worked on a short story. Plan to attend Capclave from 10-7 to 10-9 in Washington, D.C. Plan to take Website live.

October 2016 Writing Progress Report