Wikipedia Series

My series on writing for Wikipedia has been accepted for publication on The Blood-red Pencil Blog!

Articles in this series include:

• January 15 – Wikipedia Registration
• January 22 – Background on Biographies
• February 05 - Writing the Lead
• February 12 – The Rest of the Story
• February 19 – Creating an Article in Draft
• February 26 – Benefits, Odd and Ends

Do you have a favorite author who does not yet have a Wikipedia page? Why not create one? This series walks you through the process step-by-step. Come join the fun.

What Do You Think?

I found this comment on another blog yesterday, and with the author's permission, repeated it here. If you have any thoughts on the subject, please click the comments link below to share.


Why is publishing of science fiction in such doldrums? Science fiction movies still do well. Fantasy fiction still seems to be doing reasonably well. In an age when everyone spends a fortune on cell phones, i-pods, and high speed Internet, it seems that books pondering the impact of new technologies would be a positive boon, helping us to mediate future shock.

One of my students voiced a theory I hope isn't true. She said that readers today are overwhelmingly female and these readers, by percentage, prefer relationship literature. Males are still into tech and science, but simply do not read. Science fiction as a written genre is thus fading away leaving film and TV science fiction undisturbed.

What do you think?

What are you favorite 2009 science fiction books?

Are you a member of any science fiction fan community such as Amazon or Good Reads?

Recommeded Reading

Just a quick post this morning for some BSP - Mark's book, The Resqueth Revolution, is featured today as a recommended read at The Blood-Red Pencil. Please hop on over there for a visit. While there, check out all the November recommendations. I've found some great books from the editor's picks.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

And the winner is...

So, does the new kitty have a name? Not exactly. But the rescuers have excuses - some are even good.


We've been trying to find a better home the little guy. Our other cat, Psychokitty, is not fond of other animals. In fact, she prefers to eat interlopers, rather than co-exist on the same planet. This is not a healthy environment for an innocent kitten. We didn't want to name him (we're pretty sure now), as that privilege should be reserved for the adopter.


Twice last week, we thought our search had succeeded, but both times our hopes were dashed. In the mean time, kitty's collection of potential names grows daily. We (Mark and Charlotte Phillips - not kitty and me) love too many of the suggestions and can't agree. Little guy is getting stronger and developing a personality as well. New behaviors suggest new names (e.g. Purr Monster, Wiggle Worm), but those change daily.


In the interest of ending the name the kitty contest before the next millennium, we've decided to put all the names in a hat and pull one out to see who will receive a copy of A Box of Texas Chocolates.


And the winner is Mark Rosendorf who suggested "Trouble."

Thanks to Mark and all the other commenters who offered amazingly creative names. We wish we could send copies of A Box of Texas Chocolates to all of you.

Challenge and Contest

You may have noticed a looooonnnnnnnggggg break in posts between July and November. This was not planned, but the result of a number of external influences. I'm back now and signed up for a November blog-a-day challenge to help get myself back into the swing of things.

Plan A for the challenge was:
1) Get blog associated with website (not done)
2) Give blog a facelift (not done)
3) Gather books read July-October and write reviews (books are gathered)
4) Post one review per day in November

Hmmm.

Plan B:
1) Put off figuring out how to make blog a part of the website
2) Put off facelift
3) Gather the books and think about writing reviews
4) Rush to submit short story before deadline
5) Rescue Kitty, try to find home, take to vet
6) Set up contest on blog to name the kitty

Plan B is going well. And, Kitty does need a name. What do think of Johnny Depp? I guess that's already taken.

Scroll down to yesterday's post to join in the fun. Winner will receive a signed copy of A Box of Texas Chocolates (signed by 12 of the 13 authors).

Name that Cat!

We had a Halloween addition at Casa Phillips. Check out the trick-or-treater who came to stay.

This little guy cried at our front door until we let him (or her) in. We trekked door to door trying to find the right house, but were not successful. He/She (The vet said male, but then gave us paperwork that said female. We're thinking 'sexually confused' might be the correct label.) weighed in at a pitiful 1.8 lbs, but otherwise is in good health.


Our Halloween trickster needs a name, so we're holding a contest. If you'd like a chance to win a copy of A Box of Texas Chocolates - a mixed genre short story collection - please use the comments like below to suggest a name for the little black kitty.


I'm a great Halloween trick!

In Celebration of Freedom

July 4, 2009 - a great time to take a few minutes to reflect on the freedoms we still have and those we recently sacrificed to the need to feel safe. I was looking for a quote about how freedom isn't free. I didn't find that quote, but at Proverbia.net, I found a number of thought provoking quotes on the topic of freedom. This is just a sample. Check out Proverbia for more.

The law will never make men free, it is men that have to make the law free.
- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist, poet and philosopher.

The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.
- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Third president of the United States.

There can be no real freedom without the freedom to fail.
- Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American philosopher and author.

You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other man's freedom. You can be free only if I am free.
- Clarence S. Darrow (1857-1938) American lawyer