John Levitt

Hey everyone who loves Urban Fantasy. If you have not you need to read "Dog Days" by John Levitt.  Jon is the Hurry Dresden type of UF hero. And Levitt knows how to write. He's good at descriptions, adding humor and coming up with adventures and danger for Jon and companion.

RIP Encyclopedia Brown author

This one is a bit late, took me a while to get it posted here.

When I was knee nigh high to a grass hopper and all that I loved these books. They were one of the set of books that got me to love reading so much. I read everyone I could get.  Looks like there may have been some I missed. And it almost makes me want to read them again.  He will be missed. 
Along with what was at that time known as Alfred Hitchcock presents the Three Investigators . And a few others. 

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My reading July 22

I read "Singularity" by Ian Douglas. The last book in a trilogy.

If anyone has noticed my comments it's the book I said was both hard SF and Space Opera. I think Ian fuses them in an entertaining way. He is great at action scenes, emotional turmoil and setting events up. But one thing though he tends to repeat things more than necessary. If it's been a while since he described how a law of physics effects a ship under a certain condition maybe he could give a short reminded but he goes back and restates the whole reasoning. I wanted to shout I know that already after the third time. 

But that is my only main problem with his writing. There are a couple of points in the story I wasn't too thrilled with but most readers may not care. The futuristic world he developed is pretty much a liberal's dream for society when it comes to sexual morals, marriage, health care, and one or two smaller expects but not in war...but it's possible society could develop along these lines the way things are going at the moment. Which doesn't mean I expect it to. 


Anyway, good reading and and exciting adventure.

A Dream July21

I haven't put up many of my dreams--sleeping dreaming that is--usually I can't recall enough to put up but heres one I do:

All the strange happenings with the WotF contest and my writing time being hijacked--take too long to explain right now--got my subconscious in an uproar. Had at least two dreams that could be on the strange side. One was a fusion of the old “Above and Beyond” TV show with “Starship Troopers” movie. 

I seemed to be part of the A&B group even though it was larger than in the TV show.

We watched ranks and ranks of Bugs flying by in formation in the sky above some planet. The war was over so no fighting. We just watched the Bugs march by. I may have been one of the A&B group watching them all. Suddenly two ranks of Bugs went to pieces. Like in disintegrate. A sergeant ordered everyone to put away their grenades the war was over. The Bugs ignored the destruction of their fellows. Time went by and I saw the ships they came in. Really big flat starships, as the “camera” panned around. I thought one could be like an aircraft carrier but it would at least ten of them together.  The group I was in took off in a ship with a large lounge control room. Someone who had been on the team appeared. I think someone asked her about her pregnancy or she brought it up. She wasn’t pregnant anymore, the baby disappeared, no one knew how but suspicions were on the Bugs somehow doing it when she was blacked out. Another of the group knew someone who else had the something happen. Members of the team started to speculate that we may not be disbanding after all and that we would have a new assignment. Find the missing babies.  

July 9 update and Cat.

First of all we got our cat back. Someone had been looking after her for two of the many weeks she was gone and must have taken her to a certain cat hospital. I don't know the full story but she's back. Praise God and Thank Him too.  :)


I sent five chapters of Two Struggles to four readers. That feels good. now to run the other six chapters through spell checker and proofreader.

I sent out 12 stories. Was 13 but got one back from Lightspeed already. Not surprising. I keep thinking I will refrain from sending JJA anymore stories until I get another sell but the way things are going that could a looong time. I had a to resend one story because that market wants stories of 3,500 or less words. The one I sent was 3,800 and some. Oops. But I found another one that fits what they want for this month. Ran it through the proofreader. That makes the writing a touch better, but with my writing a touch doesn't do much.


Haven't worked on my work novels, actually I haven't worked on anything new for a while I need to do something new. But it's been too hot to take my laptop to work.

Yes, no more vacation for a year. I was able to finish the revising of Two Struggles but only did one chapter and a part of Two of my space opera. I was hoping to get half of it revised. I sent out a couple of stories...critted four stories for Critters.org. Wanted 14 but I can still do one more this week--if I remember maybe two. Revised a couple of stories too. One is my Q4 WotF story but evidently it still has a lot of nitpicks I just can't find them.

They have started sending out Rejects for Q2 so far nothing for me but we shall see later and tomorrow. I say started evidently it's a tidal wave more than they have sent out at once before it sounds like. But with the delay caused by Wentworth's death they are late and are still catching up.

Another June 26 PS

 Turns out I did think of something to add, 2 somethings I forgot and something I found I needed to add to. Two conversations between the MC and her best friend I forgot. One was to show that the best friend isn't prefect, I'm afraid I made her a little too good. While I was searching for a place to add them I found something else I had forgotten.  So total words are closer to 84,000 maybe a tad over now.


I am about to start revising this year's NaNo move. For those who don't know NaNoWriMo is a Novel writing group. November is Novel writing month and they want everyone to write a 50,000-at least-word novel in that month. I have done three.  For more info go here.
http://www.nanowrimo.org

Anyway, the Novel is space opera and I need to get to it.

But I want to add that I did a bit of work on one of my WIP novels and wrote a letter to the editor and addressed it this morning. If they print it I will put in a link if they don't I will post the whole letter. It's not easy getting it all said in 200 words but I did today...well most of what I wanted said.

I also need to crit one story for Critters.org today. That would be four so far. Not as many as I wanted to do but better than usual. And I still have six days.