tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37853471736036444292024-03-12T21:01:39.496-05:00Bibo MadnessRead. It makes your brain juicy.Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-7923901542727848652015-08-17T21:50:00.000-05:002015-08-17T21:50:06.063-05:00I WON!<div class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Let's get right to it. The following was released by Mash Stories on Facebook on Saturday.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Mashers, the results are finally here! We are so excited to announce that the 1st place winner of the 7th Mash Stories Competition is...</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<b>"The Last Perfect Word" by Bill Bibo!!!</b></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<b></b>Bill has submitted to EVERY Mash Stories competition since its inception, so we’re extra pleased to call him our new winner <i class="_4-k1 img sp_fM-mz8spZ1b sx_5371b4" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yx/r/pimRBh7B6ER.png); background-position: 0px -340px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">smile emoticon</u></i></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Second best is “Spin, Baby, Spin" by Georgene Smith Goodin</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Third best is “Wichita" by David Antrobus</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<a href="http://mashstories.com/competition/current-shortlist/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://mashstories.com/competition/current-shortlist/</a></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<a href="http://mashstories.com/competition/current-shortlist/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"></a>CONGRATULATIONS from all the MASH team and massive THANK YOU to all Mashers who participated and sent us their amazing stories! Our jury had to work really hard because your stories are getting better and better every term! Thank you all so much and keep MASHING!</blockquote>
<br />
And on Twitter they said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="stream-item-header" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.25px;">
<a class="account-group js-account-group js-action-profile js-user-profile-link js-nav" data-user-id="2148155804" href="https://twitter.com/mashstories" style="background: transparent; color: #8899a6; text-decoration: none;"><strong class="fullname js-action-profile-name show-popup-with-id" data-aria-label-part="" style="color: #292f33;">MashStories.com</strong> <span class="username js-action-profile-name" data-aria-label-part="" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 13px; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: #b1bbc3;">@</span>mashstories</span> </a><small class="time" style="color: #8899a6; font-size: 13px; margin-right: 5px;"> <a class="tweet-timestamp js-permalink js-nav js-tooltip" href="https://twitter.com/mashstories/status/632495451825139712" style="background: transparent; color: #8899a6; text-decoration: none;" title="3:14 AM - 15 Aug 2015"><span class="_timestamp js-short-timestamp " data-aria-label-part="last" data-long-form="true" data-time-ms="1439633641000" data-time="1439633641">Aug 15</span></a></small></div>
<div class="TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--26px js-tweet-text tweet-text" data-aria-label-part="0" lang="en" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.01em; line-height: 32px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">
We are very happy to announce the 1st place winner of the 7th MASH Competition - “The Last Perfect Word" by Bill Bibo <a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link js-nav" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/bbibojr" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #f0b309; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #f6d16b;">@</span>bbibojr</a> !!!</div>
</blockquote>
Can you believe it? I actually won. I actually won! There were so many great stories in the not-so-short shortlist. I had already braced myself by thinking a Top Three finish would have been awesome. And it would have. But don't let anyone tell you differently, winning is so much more better. Gosh I write good. :-)<br />
<br />
I have entered every competition at Mash Stories having been lucky to find them at the beginning about a year and a half ago. I don't even remember where I read about them. I have been so fortunate to be involved with them as they grow.<br />
<br />
At this writing they haven't updated the webpage yet. Until then you can find my "winning" Story at the above link. Look to page 3.<br />
<br />
This is so cool!<br />
<br />
I'll give this a better try. Please be patient with me. But most importantly"<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for reading me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I won. Can you believe it? I know. It is amazing. Such success and good fortune. And good looking too!</span>Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-65693157863615211672015-04-13T22:01:00.000-05:002015-04-13T22:02:20.932-05:00One Mythical AfternoonGreetings and salutary exclamations, kind readers.<br />
I'm back and this time with a new story. Unfortunately I learned today that the following story did not make the cut at Mash Stories this quarter. Sigh. The words we needed to use this time were <u>Criminal, Fashion, and Ankle</u> in a story of no longer than 500 words.<br />
I think I had something clever. But perhaps it works best as a comedy sketch and not as written word. As I wrote it I saw two women, a la Monty Python, meeting on the sidewalk, One just happened to be Thetis the mother of Achilles and the other Hecuba the mother of Paris who kills Achilles in the Trojan War. I heard them say every word. Perhaps I mentally filled in too much in my knowledge. It just didn't translate to the judges. Oh well. You move on.<br />
No judges comments yet. I'll post those when I get them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>One
Mythical Afternoon</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">by
Bill Bibo Jr</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It
was a beautiful day for a Thursday. Apollo had set the sun high in
the afternoon sky. Still it was unable to completely burn away the
morning fog and a slight mist swam through the air. Thetis took a
deep breath. Perfect, thought the sea goddess. After days of
tasteless offerings and flavorless tributes she felt the need to get
away. Why did no one ever think to bring her chocolate? So she
bundled up her infant son, placed him in his carriage, and walked
into town.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">She
paused at the display window for Toga Barn. A petrified slave wore
the latest fashion, a gaudy knee length gown adorned with painted
over-sized flowers. Thetis wondered what was more depressing, knowing
the smallest movement by the slave would have her killed immediately
or wondering what the guests at the next dinner party might wear. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Yoohoo,
Thetis!"</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">A
woman ran towards her dragging a reluctant child across the street,
dodging chariots from either direction. Gathering her face into the
biggest smile she could manage Thetis said, "Hecuba, what a
delight."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Thetis,
imagine running into to you here," Hecuba said.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Yes,
imagine that." Thetis scanned the street unable to find an
escape route.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"I
told Priam since he saddled me with nineteen kids, he could just get
off his high horse occasionally and spend some quality time with
them. I need a day off. Is this your son?"</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Yes,
this is Achilles."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"My,
he's a strong looking young man. Though it is shame, you being a
goddess and all, forced into marrying a mortal. That has to be hard.
Especially for your son. Is he mortal too?"</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Oh
no, I took care of that.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">"</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Really?"</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Yes,
I had him dipped. In the River Styx. We held him by the ankle and
dipped him seven times in the waters surrounding Hades. Now he is
immortal and invincible in battle."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Isn't
that nice."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Yes,
isn't it."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Now
he can care for you in your old age."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Thetis
ignored the insult and peered at the quiet child beside Hecuba
clutching a toy bow. "What a beautiful little girl." </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Boy."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Pardon?"</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"He's
a boy. His name is Paris."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Like
that Hilton girl?"</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Yes,
but that's hundreds of years from now."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Still
he might even be prettier."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As
they spoke Paris snatched a lollipop from Achilles' tiny hands.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Paris,
you little criminal," Hecuba said. "Give that back this
minute. Don't make me tell your father."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Reluctantly
Paris held the lollipop out to Achilles who had since fallen asleep.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Why
doesn't he just keep it," Thetis said.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Then
I must give Achilles something in exchange." Hecuba reached in
her bag and removed a small wooden horse. "Here. It's the latest
design from Troy."</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"That's
very kind.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes,
it is. I'd love to stay but I must be off. I have eighteen other
children waiting."</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="__DdeLink__44_200624452"></a>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hecuba
and Paris walked away. As Thetis placed the toy beside Achilles a
small door in the underbelly of the horse swung open.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">THE END</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">So what did you think? Thumbs up, thumbs down, or off with his thumbs</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> then he can't type such tripe. Boy I hope no one picks that last one. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">If you liked it please leave a comment on this page</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Arrivederci, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I miei amici. And as always, Thanks for Reading ME</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 0;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bill</span></span></div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-63380894692703157862015-03-23T21:06:00.004-05:002015-03-23T21:06:59.965-05:00Time, the Mortal Enemy of the Procrastinator<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Okay, remember me? I did have good intentions. Every Monday my calendar alarm goes off at 8pm and it says "Blog/Tweet". And every Monday when my calendar alarm chides me I say "But I'm working on this" or "I'm fine tuning that. Maybe next week." A lot of things did happen including the birth of grandbaby #2 and me turning 60. Wow, that went fast.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So to make it up to you and hopefully win you back I am going to present to you my entries in NYC Midnight 2014 Flash Fiction Challenge. If you remember I entered this before and did quite well finishing 8th overall in the money round. This year I just fell a little short. Strong stories, one even won my group, but just missed the money by the smallest of fractions.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
At NYC Midnight the concept is simple. You get divided into groups. Then you are given a genre, a setting, and an object. You now have 2 days and 1000 words to tell them the greatest story in the world. The first 2 rounds are guaranteed, then the top 5 writers advance to the next round. Again the top 5 advance this time to the money round. One of the nicest things about this competition is the fact that they do give you what the judges liked and what they felt didn't quite work as well. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Feedback is invaluable to writer. Our stories live n our head. What sounds great to us, may not be translating well yet. We need your comments. Never be afraid to tell a writer what you really think. If we wanted to hear "That story was the greatest thing in the world, the best thing I've ever read" we'd give it to our moms. We don't want that. We want "This part worked great, this one could be better." Don't be afraid to tell us what you really think. If it sucks, I want to know why so I can decide if I should correct it or trash it. If it sucks, don't say you like it. Don't make me waste my time thinking I have something great. It's only words on a page. You aren't insulting me personally. If you are then I probably haven't given you my story to read in the first place. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So here is my entry for ROUND 1. It is followed immediately by the judges' comments.</div>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Images</b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>synopsis:</i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>A man runs to meet his
wife at Images, the trendiest new restaurant in town.
</i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>There she waits to decide
the fate of their relationship.</i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Required setting: an upscale restaurant</i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Required object: a photo album</i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Required genre: Comedy</i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; page-break-before: always; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo ran, his red shoes slapping the pavement. He turned the corner
and hit a strong headwind. One gust nearly pulled the wig from his
head. He placed one gloved hand on top holding it down. The bright,
overly large flower on his lapel flapped dangerously. He leaned
forward into the wind, fighting for every step. This was so much
easier at work, he thought.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Images was the
hippest newest restaurant in town. Looking at the line to get in
Jimbo decided it must be very good. At least he should get a good
meal.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
When he reached
the door he paused. His hands dropped to his knees as he struggled to
get his breath.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Can I
assist you , sir?" The maitre d' bent down looking into his pale
face.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo raised his
hand signaling he was fine, took a few more slow breaths, stood up
straight, adjusted his flower and his wig, took a few more breaths
and stepped toward the door.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"I'm sorry,
sir. We have a strict dress code. I'm afraid what you are wearing is
not acceptable," the maitre d' said.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo looked in
the mirror behind the reception podium at the baggy pants 3 sizes too
large, the striped red shirt, the large flower on his chest, the
stark white face and bulbous red nose culminating in a bright blue
wig.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Beth had wanted
to meet him here tonight. It was important, she had said. He left
straight after the last show at Cirque d' Ole and hadn't thought to
change.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
The maitre d'
reached into a small coat closet behind the podium and pulled out a
black sport coat so large that two Jimbos could have fit inside.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"You'll have
to wear this" he said as he handed it to Jimbo.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
The only way he
could keep it from falling off of his shoulders was to borrow a hat
pin from a woman in line. He bowed low with an exaggerated flourish
to thank her.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
The dining room
became very quiet as the maitre d' lead Jimbo to a very central and
very visible table. The slap of his shoes echoed as everyone stopped
eating to stare. Beth was waiting for them in a fashionable little
black dress which could have been made solely from the material in
one arm of the sport coat Jimbo now sulked in. Once Jimbo sat
everyone looked away and resumed their meal.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"How could
you wear that? Didn't you know this was a nice place?" Beth said
her anger growing. "I suppose the shows ran late. God, that
jacket is hideous."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo shrugged.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Their waiter came
over and presented them with menus.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"You'll like
this. There are no words in the menu just pictures of the food,"
Beth said and pointed at a steak, mixed salad, and banana cream pie.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo nodded and
tried to point at a salmon with fresh vegetables but the coat sleeve
covered the entire menu. He pulled up the sleeve with his other hand
and with his gloved fingers pointed at the image.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
When the waiter
left Jimbo sat quietly watching Beth. She refused to look at him but
kept tapping her fingers rhythmically on a small photo album by her
plate. Jimbo wondered what was so important.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Fortunately the
waiter returned with a large serving tray. Three silver domed plates
were on the tray. The waiter removed the cover from the first plate
and presented it to Beth. Alone in the center of the white china
plate was a photograph, the exact image of the meal she had selected
from the menu.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Thank you.
It looks delicious," she said.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
The waiter then
removed the cover from the second plate presenting it to Jimbo. Jimbo
nodded and the waiter left.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo looked at
the photo on his plate. Perhaps the food was under it. He picked it
up. Nothing. Without the photograph the plate was completely empty.
Jimbo looked at the photo. He sniffed it. He took at bite of the
corner.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Stop,"
Beth said. "You're embarrassing me. This is why I can't take you
anywhere."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo put the
photograph back on the plate, looked at Beth, and shrugged.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Now is as
good a time as any." She slid the photo album across the table
to Jimbo.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
He looked at,
poked it carefully as if it might bite him. He looked up at Beth. She
sat, her arms crossed. He poked it again and picked it up.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Inside was page
after page of photographs all of him. They were candid shots taken by
a photographer obviously hidden. There were photos taken during his
act, backstage putting on his make up then taking it off, in
Sparkle's car along with twelve others, in restaurants and hotel
rooms when the troupe had been on the road. He flipped each page,
faster and faster until they blurred together like a moving image.
The one thing common in each picture was that next to Jimbo either
standing, laughing, eating, or sleeping, was Daisy the trapeze
artist. He had been found out.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo looked up
at Beth. His eyes were wide and sad. He hadn't wanted this to happen.
He shrugged and slid the photo album back to her.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Beth stood and
moved to the serving tray and the last plate still covered with the
silver dome.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"This was
against the restaurant's policy but they made an exception."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
She remove the
cover exposing a large banana cream pie. She picked it up, turned,
and slapped Jimbo in the face with it.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Mother
warned my about mimes. I want a divorce!" Beth said and left the
restaurant.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
As the waiter
slipped Jimbo the bill, the other customers ran over to his table
with their phones to take pictures of Jimbo's finale.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Jimbo shrugged.
At least the sport coat kept the whipped cream topping off of his
work clothes. He raised one cream covered arm to his face and decided
it tasted much better than its picture.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /><br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; page-break-before: always; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>FEEDBACK </b></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">WHAT THE JUDGES LIKED ABOUT YOUR STORY - .............................................The concept of giving a
clown a suit jacket to meet the dress code of a fancy restaurant is
good. Using a banana crème pie is also a nice touch.......I like
this one. Fresh....Incorporates the photo album and restaurant well
into the story. Lots of entries circled around cheating, but this was
the only cheating clown!..................... </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">WHAT THE
JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK - </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">............................................The story has a couple
of typos. Read the story out loud (or have someone read it to you) to
help pick these out. Is the character a clown or a mime. He's dressed
like a clown but acts like a mime.…...I wouId think about cutting
the final paragraph--end with finale?...There's not much tension
after Jimbo arrives - his wife is mad at him the whole time, so of
course she's going to ask for divorce. The twist, therefore, isn't
much of a twist...................</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
So what did you think? Leave me a comment and let me know. Go ahead, hit me with a verbal cream pie.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Next week I'll present my Round 2 entry which actually placed 1st in my group.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
As always thank you for reading me.</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-77349710308669498592014-11-03T20:57:00.000-06:002014-11-03T20:57:31.066-06:00Bitter Apple MashGood evening, campers!<br />
<br />
Hey, I know it's been a good while since my last post and I have 1001 excuses. Would you believe....? Nope, I don't either so let's just move past that, shall we.<br />
<br />
Today I submitted my fifth attempt to grab the golden ring at mashstories.com. You might remember my first two were shortlisted, "Begin the Countdown" aka "The First Cosmonaut" and "My Big Fat Mythical Greek Wedding". If you haven't read them, and may I say I am very disappointed in you, check them out at mashstories.com or look for the past posts here. I still laugh when I think about the audio reading they did for "MBFMGW". It is hysterical.<br />
<br />
To celebrate my latest endeavor I am posting my last attempt. The words we had to use exactly as shown were: OXIDATION LOVE ALPHABET. Immediately following I'll post the judges's comments.<br />
<br />
That is one of the best things about this contest (other than it's free and they do such a great job if you get shortlisted and that they are all really nice people and care about helping you better your talents) is the honest feedback. I gathered split the judges on this one. That's okay. Sometimes a judge may miss the point I am trying to make but that is my fault. I read what they say and take it to heart. And then make it better next time. (Oh, wait until you read the newest one. It just clicked. It feels so perfect. Hopefully I'll be directing you to their website for viewing.)<br />
<br />
So without furthering the boring preamble I present to you....<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>BITTER
APPLES</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>by
Bill Bibo Jr</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"You
understand, Eli, it's not my fault. It's the alphabet's."</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I
watched him walk across the room, direct and with purpose. He threw
open the closet door with a force that cracked the wall. Great, not
only do I have a broken heart but now I have to fix the wall. I got
off the floor and went to the kitchen. A can of gypsum putty was
under the sink. Taking a butter knife from the drawer I returned to
the wall. I'll fix what I can. Best not let it wait.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"I
warned you. Thirty-one days is all we'd have together. Then I had to
move on. It's more than a rule, it's a promise I made to myself. It
can't be broken."</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;">I
looked over at him through tearing eyes as he grabbed a handful of
shirts and shoved them carelessly into his suitcase. The bitter salt
stung the cut on my face. It didn't have to be this way. We belonged
together. I turned to the wall and stabbed the butter knife into the
putty.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"Life
is too short. And it is filled with too many beautiful women. I can't
limit myself. It wouldn't be fair to them or to me."</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">There
was too much of the creamy paste on the knife and a glob slipped to
the floor mixing into the carpet. Wonderful. This couldn't be going
better. I set the can down and went for a paper towel. The last thing
I needed was a ruined carpet too.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"Love
is like an apple. When you first see it at the store it's shiny,
beautiful, perfect. You hold it up and admire it. You want it, you
have to have it."</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;">He
took t-shirts and underwear from a drawer and stuffed them deep into
the suitcase as well.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"But
that shine comes from a waxy coating protecting the apple from
oxidation. When you take a bite, when you taste it, that coating is
broken exposing the delicate flesh to the air."</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The
paper towel, dampened by my tears, worked well on the carpet. Most of
the putty cleaned up except for a slight white residue.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;">"Now
you have two choices. You eat the apple entirely leaving only the
core which is of no good use to anyone, or you save it only to watch
it turn brown with decay."</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">He
zipped the suitcase shut.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"After
31 days I move on before that love starts to rot. The alphabet is the
only way to be fair. It's too hard to choose. So I find a girl whose
name begins with the next letter and move on. You see that, don't
you, Eli? It's the only fair way."</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I
wiped my face.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"I
guess when I get to the end I'll decide what to do then."</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">My
hand tightened on the butter knife. Maybe I should tell him my full
name is Elisheva but my family has always called me Ziva. Maybe I
should decide for him.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
So what did you think? Here's what the judges said....<br />
<br />
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Here are some of their comments - you'll see you've produced quite some polarized views from them! </i><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- The strongest element of this story is its characters. We learn much about Eli's personality through her internal dialogue (and are left to wonder why she never says anything aloud). Eli's observations and the lover's own dialogue give us a sense of his personality, too. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- While I liked that the story begins at the end of a relationship, I felt Eli's reaction didn't make sense. If he had warned her in advance that they would only have 31 days together, why was she so upset? Had something happened to make Eli think she was different? If so, a reader needs to see it in the story to understand her reaction. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- It's not often that I feel like a male writer accurately captures the interiority of a female narrator, but this conflict feels very realistic. I like how she focuses on fixing the wall, instead of addressing the more pressing issue of this man leaving. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- I think there are a few moments where the action falls a bit flat. "I set the can down and went for a paper towel," doesn't really leap off the page. As opposed to "He zipped the suitcase shut." In zipping the suitcase, we're getting action and sound. Less setting, more zipping? </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- I think this has a good idea behind it, but the characterization is all over the place. I think that the bits of character action that Eli does while having the argument are interesting, however, and I think that's the strongest writing in the piece. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- You may want to work on your dialog, try reading aloud when you write it as it can help you create natural-sounding speech.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- I am a Bibo fan, and there is some great stuff in this story. The detail of the paper towel helping the carpet, awesome. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- This has a huge plot hole. Why is she so surprised and angry when he "warned" her that it would only be 31 days? I get her outrage at his ego as he makes himself look more and more like an ass and less like the Adonis he claims to be, but come on, woman. Her glib tone seems at odds with her tears as well. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- I look forward to reading this author again next quarter. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- Very difficult to write about love in the face of such misogyny; even more difficult to justify why the girl must be weak and pathetic. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- I liked the way a terrible event was interspersed with focus on a menial task - but it's not a new device, by any means. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">- Otherwise, the narrative wasn't varied enough in terms of sentence structure or length to keep me interested. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Now it's your turn. Please post your comments below. I'd love to know what you thought of it.</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
My newest story "The Invasion of Summerview Lane" had to use the words BLOW-DRYER, HONESTY, COCKPIT. I think you might be surprised what I came up with. Fingers crossed that the polarization is lessened.<br />
<br />
If you want to read see what the winners came up with head over to mashstories.com. It's a great variety and always a great read. Here's a little secret too. 500 words takes a hell of a longer to write than to read. Enjoy yourself. The writers did.<br />
<br />
That's it for now<br />
As always thank you for reading me.Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-85537017157272433822014-08-19T20:56:00.001-05:002014-08-19T20:56:10.423-05:00Location, Location, LocationGreetings, y'all.<br />
<br />
Sorry about that. I've been spending too much time in Gainesville, FL for this summer. What's in Gainesville? Not much except for the University of Florida. And a few really excellent restaurants.<br />
<br />
One great way to keep your writing fresh is obvious. Keep writing. Write every day, write whenever you can. But how do you find the motivation to write at night after taking notes in 12 hours of meetings?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.neconebooks.com/flash.htm">Necon Ebooks</a> has a contest each month. They give a topic, a theme, and you give them a story in 100 words. You might remember I've mentioned them before. I've won this little contest a few times and received Honorable Mention a few times more. It's a great exercise. It's short, it's sweet. You can do it over a lunch break, or before you drop off to sleep in a lonely hotel room in Gainesville, FL.<br />
<br />
Last month the theme was Location, Location, Location. I diligently and in the nick of time sent off a couple of my best for consideration. Alas (you know you're a writer when you can use the word "alas" and not blink an eye) I didn't place this month. I still think they were good, so I will present them to you. They follow immediately. Let me know what you think.<br />
<br />
If you'd like to try it yourself, follow the link. <a href="http://www.neconebooks.com/flash.htm">Necon Ebooks</a><br />
And always, thanks for reading me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Roommate wanted. No Cats.</b><br />
<br />
Sunday morning he noticed the small door in the baseboard of the guest room. Just the day before the baseboard had been clear and uninterrupted. Now, a little off from the corner, a door was carefully cut into the wood. It was so expertly crafted that it looked as if it might open at any time. The door knob even turned in his hand but the door refused to move.<br />
<br />
"It's a fairy door," his friends said. "It's good luck."<br />
<br />
He liked the idea and so did nothing about it. When the cat disappeared he began to wonder.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Keeping With The Exercise Program</b><br />
<br />
Bob watched from his window, a cup of lukewarm tea in one hand and a piece of half-burnt toast in the other, as his car ever so slowly slipped into a sink hole at the foot of the driveway. The mailbox was next. The light post hesitated, unsure if it should follow the mailbox but relented and jumped in. The front garden disappeared followed by twelve bags of mulch Bob no longer needed. As the front walk fell in, paver by paver, Bob headed to the back door. At least he lived close enough he could walk to work.Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-38191164500497773742014-06-27T21:36:00.002-05:002014-06-27T21:41:17.806-05:00Learning to Write With Michael Jordan<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
"Wait a minute? Did I read that
right? What has Michael Jordan to do with writing anything?"</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
Great questions. And in response,
here's your first lesson. <i>Create a title that grabs the reader's
interest.</i> If you're here, it worked. If you're not, then you
don't know what you're missing. I might have called this article "Learning the Hard Way" but what fun is that. This way I got to hang out with Michael Jordan, if only figuratively. So here goes...</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
Recently I received a slap in my
authorial face and it woke me up. It wasn't hard slap. It was more
like gentle pat on my cheek, more out of thoughtful concern than
malice. Still like the title of this piece, it got my attention.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
But let's get down to it. Michael,
why don't you make your first point.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
"I've missed more than 9000
shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been
trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over
and over and over again in my life."</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
In other words <i><b>three-peats are
tough</b></i><i>.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
Many of you have followed my recent
successes on a fun new website <a href="http://mashstories.com/">mashstories.com</a>. The concept is
remarkably easy. They give you 3 unrelated words and you give them
500 in return in the form of a comprehensive short story utilizing
those three words. I was fortunate to make the shortlist for their
first two competitions with my stories "Begin the Countdown"
and "My Big Fat Mythical Greek Wedding." If you haven't
read them yet, go to <a href="http://mashstories.com/">mashstories.com</a> right now and read them. It's
okay, we'll wait right here for you.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
***</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
Back? What did you think? Pretty
great, right? I thought you'd like it. I'm very proud of what they
did.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
I didn't win the big money but just
making the shortlist was awesome, twice. First, they published both
stories on their website. Then they created a very professional audio
podcast each week featuring a different shortlisted story. Both are
excellent but I love what they did with "My Big Fat Mythical
Greek Wedding." When I first heard it I was laughing out loud
and I already knew all of the jokes because I wrote them. (Be warned
they do mispronounce my last name in both stories. It's "bye-bo",
not "bee-bo". I let them know both times and we've had a
good laugh over it.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
For a long time I had signed up for a
twitter account but I never really used it. Then I read an article on
how writers need to brand themselves through social media and how
publishers actually look to see how many followers you have when
considering your book. Really? Okay I'd better get with it. I thought
this would be the perfect time to begin. So I tweeted my successes
and retweeted many of the kind words by mashstories. And a funny
thing happened. People read my tweets. Now I actually had followers,
new ones every day, people I don't even know.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
Then a couple of other successes came
through. I can tell you I was feeling pretty good. So I sent off my
entry, "Brother Robert's Discovery", for Mash Stories #3.
Third time's the charm, right, this was going to be it, big money.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
What was that, Michael? You have
something to say again?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Sometimes
you need to get hit in the head to realize that you're in a fight."</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ah, yes. Then came slap. It came in the
form of an email from my good friends at Mash Stories. Though kindly,
it was short and to the point.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.4in;">
<i>Dear Bill,<br />Thank
you for sending us "Brother Robert's Discovery". We
appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, we won’t be able
to shortlist it this time. Don't be disappointed, but do try us again
for the next quarter’s competition.<br />Thanks again. <br />All the
best</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
Whoa! What? I mean, I thought we had a good
thing going here. Now you don't want me? Are we breaking up? I was crushed. I sat in the corner and put on some John Mayer.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yes, Michael, stop waving your overly
long arm. I see it. You have something else to say?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Be true to the game, because
the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then
the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things
will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game, and in some
ways that's about life too."</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
I hate it when you're right,
Michael. I rushed it. In my defense I could fill a basketball stadium
with excuses. I had so much work at the office in the next month,
having to travel to Gainesville twice in the weeks to come, then
family commitments, friends visiting, the summer was booking up. When
was I going to write it? Best do it now and send it off quick. They'll love
it and post it early and I'll get tons of votes and win the big
prize! Great plan. Hooray! Let's do it!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
I came up with a
brilliant concept and wrote a fine story, but I didn't let it sit and
gel and mature. I wrote it, read it over, and sent it off just a few
days later, a full month or more before the due date. I went on with
my daily chores knowing full well that soon First Place would be mine. It was
inevitable, I mean, they love me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
A few days later
at lunch I read my story over. That was when I saw the first typo.
Dang it. (trying to keep it family friendly). But I still had a
chance, maybe they'd love the story so much that they'd overlook it
and let me fix it before they publish it. Just to be safe I didn't reread the story again.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Slap time. Wake
up, Bill. You've got mail. Whack!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
So what do you
take away from all this? What are the lessons learned?
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
The big one, the easy one is
don't rush it. It's fine to write your story in a few short days, but
let it sit, do something else, come back later and read it over.
You'll find ways to make it better. You know you will, you always do.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Don't be
overconfident. Everything you write isn't golden. You're not perfect.
No one is, even your idol. Vonnegut had stories he kept in his drawer
that he or his publisher felt weren't up to his standards. They only got published after he was dead, and then he had no say in the matter.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Don't get lazy.
Spellcheck will not find the wrong word if it still is a word and not just the
wrong word. Someone once told me to accurately check your writing read
the story backwards. Start with the last sentence, then read the next
to last sentence, then the one before that. When you write a piece
you spend hours hunched over it, delving deep into it. You get to
know it, and anticipate it. You see words as you think they should be,
not as you have actually written them. Reading the sentences out of
sequence lets you focus on each sentence independently.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Finally, don't
take it personally. You write words on paper, electronic or real.
Readers, especially judges, react to those words. (Note: misspelled,
wrong, or left out words judges react to a lot.) Just remember they
aren't reacting to you as a person, just words on paper. They
probably still think you're pretty cool. I still like them. (Hey, I did get a shout out today in their newsletter.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
So finally, yes I am ending this
entry someday soon, here's what you've been patiently waiting for. I
present to you my story "Brother Robert's Discovery". The
words we needed to use were <i>cathedral, monkey, relativity</i>. The
story is exactly as I sent it to <a href="http://mashstories.com/">mashstories.com</a>. Nothing has been
changed, nothing has been altered. I leave it naked before you, typos
and all. Immediately following the story are the judge's comments.
(That is one of the best things about Mash Stories. Feedback. They will tell
you what they thought, giving you the chance to grow and get better.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
<b>Brother Robert's
Discovery</b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0.1in;">
by Bill Bibo Jr</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Brother Robert
ran through the cloister, a stack of papers clutched tightly against
his chest. He didn't stop when Prior Matthew called to him from the
garden. He didn't stop when he ran into the cathedral, his footsteps
echoing in the vast chamber. He only paused as he crossed the nave
and passed in front of the altar, to genuflect in thanks to his Lord.
He must speak to the Abbot. Something glorious has happened.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
When he reached
the door to the Abbot's office he looked down at the papers in his
hand. A tear fell from his cheek striking the top sheet. He cried out
and quickly used the fabric from his sleeve to blot it up. Summoning
his courage and his joy he entered.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
William the
123rd, the Abbot of the Monastery of the Immortal Bard, sat hunched
over an ancient manuscript, a large ornate magnifying glass in his
hand. Two candles on either side illuminated the manuscript and very
little else in the room.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Who doth
interrupt my study? Who stills my contemplation?" the Abbot said
not looking up from his table.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Brother Robert
leaned gently forward and said, "Father, please excuse this
intrusion. I have glorious news."
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
The Abbott looked
up to see his young student rocking side to side and all but bouncing
before him. He saw the papers in the young man's arms. He nodded to
continue.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Father,
it's my cellmate. He just finished this. I brought it right away,"
Brother Robert said. He placed the stack of papers in front of the
Abbott and retreated to safety by the door.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Abbott William
grunted and poked at the papers with his magnifying glass lest they
bite him. They didn't. He picked up the top page and began to read.
He took the next page and then the next and the next.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Father,
what does it mean?" Brother Robert asked.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
The abbot glanced
at a few more pages before replacing all of them on the stack. He sat
back in his chair staring blankly before him.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"I no not,"
said Abbot William. "For these centuries following the Great War
our order was tasked to retrieve all knowledge that was lost. Some
doubted our methods, but we persevere. Given enough time, and our
eternal patience, the writings of our Lord will be recreated."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"But this
manuscript entitled "Relativity: The Special and the General
Theory", I make no sense of it. It has no rhyme and little
reason. Tis worthless, I fear." he said dropping the papers into
the basket by his desk.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
"Brother
Robert, return to your cell. Wait by the side of your monkey. Tend to
his needs. Keep his typewriter clean and his ribbon dark. Tis
'Hamlet' we want. Tis 'Hamlet' we need. Not this, this dribble. Go
now and waste not my time."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
His heart heavy
Brother Robert walked back toward his cell. At the cloister he
paused, looked up to the open sky, and wondered what was out there.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the end</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The jury's comments:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- The narrative drive is strong and
with more thought and attention it could have been a contender.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- I was gripped by this story, deciding
at the opening paragraph that I was going to like it. The idea(s)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
behind it are sharp and entertaining,
as well as thoughtful and thought provoking. However - and</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
unfortunately there is a 'however' - as
I read on, the quality of the writing seemed to go downhill. There
are a few typographical errors, and there is even an error of verb
form in the opening paragraph ('has</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
happened' should be 'had happened'
because the story's written in the past tense). There is also a lot
of</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
punctuation missing - something that is
probably vital in helping the writing flow.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- I love the pace of this and the build
up to the revelation at the end.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- My main problem however is the
dialogue between the brother and the Abbot towards the end. It seemed
to come apart. And there was a typo: "I no not" should be
"I know not". There is plenty that is good in this story;
but that piece of dialogue is bothering me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
- The idea of the monkey at the
typewriter eventually producing Hamlet is a nice touch. A good joke
to slip in.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There you go. My writing soul laid bare
before you. The good, the bad, and the lazy. Sure I have my excuses.
We all do. But readers don't care. They want to read your story, not
your excuses. Live and learn. Correct my mistakes, look back but don't dwell, and move on.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And, Mash Stories, look out. You haven't
seen the last of me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Okay Michael, just one more. What do you want to say?</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
"In
reality, I never want to grow up."</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Well played, Mr
Jordan, well played.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
For more quotes
by Michael Jordan, go to <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/">http://www.brainyquote.com</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
And as always,
thanks for reading me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-11392207429581903122014-05-29T21:00:00.001-05:002014-05-30T19:09:29.751-05:00Still Walking and now hard copies!"Monster Hunter:Blood Trails" is now out in paperback and hardcover versions. This is very exciting to me. My work is in hardcover. I'm feeling like it's Christmas. One day I hope this won't be a biog deal. Naw, I hope I'm always excited like this.<br />
I'll probably spend my check on extra copies for the family.<br />
If you like a good monster story, you might like this. Check it out.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KDPPTE4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00KDPPTE4&linkCode=as2&tag=biboland-20&linkId=IJ26PKXPVQVCB42T">Monster Hunter Blood Trails (Legends of the Monster Hunter)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=biboland-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00KDPPTE4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Then spread the word!!!!!<br />
And as always thanks for reading me.Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-77825067456551698842014-05-19T21:57:00.001-05:002014-05-19T21:59:36.441-05:00A Long Walk From WinterMy latest short story "A Long Walk From Winter" is featured in the anthology Monster Hunter Blood Trails by Emby Press. It tells the tale of Adam, Victor Frankenstein's creation, who, long after Victor has died, searches for something to believe in. Could he find it in an Alaskan mining town called Redemption?<br />
<br />
<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=biboland-20&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=B00KDPPTE4&asins=B00KDPPTE4&linkId=MHZUB2FYEAVKQIPZ&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true">
</iframe>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Check it out. You might like it. But be warned, it is not a comedy.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The ebook is out now, paperback and hardcover versions coming soon. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As always, thanks for reading me.</div>Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-11530711799911034252014-05-05T21:36:00.001-05:002014-05-06T20:11:28.154-05:00Monster Mash (Stories) A few months ago I discovered a new website called mashstories.com. Billed as a place where writers can gather, grow, and maybe even get a story published. The main challenge is the quarterly competition where you are given three seemingly unrelated words and then you have to give them meaning depth and a soul and all in 500 words or less.<br />
<br />
I love this!<br />
<br />
There is nothing more creative than being given such exact restrictions and finding the connection. It's fun, challenging, and it's such great practice.<br />
<br />
Their first competition used the words, animal rights, bunker, tennis ball. What? How do you make sense of that?<br />
<br />
You take the words inside, let them sit there in the back of your mind, rolling around with the dust, the muck, the zombies, the devils, the angels, all your problems, all your answers, and then it happens. Something clicks and from those three words comes a life, a story starts to grow. You write a sentence or two, that becomes three or four, and before you know it where you needed 500 words you suddenly have 700.<br />
<br />
Oh, crap! Too much, now you have to cut, edit, another aspect of the writer's journey.<br />
<br />
I was lucky. My story clicked early. I called it "The First Cosmonaut". It felt perfect. I loved it. And then the judges did too! It was shortlisted and published on their website mashstories.com <i>but </i>they wanted to change the name to "Begin the Countdown". I still like mine better but I didn't hesitate. It was a flash fiction story they loved. Go, do it, put it up, let people read it, call it whatever you want.<br />
<br />
Okay, it didn't win but the founder of Mash Stories wrote me and told me she liked it and thought it should have been in the top three, but alas (only writers use the word "alas") she wasn't a judge. When you take the challenge in the spirit of fun, never expecting to win, and then you get shortlisted and published on their site, hey, that's a win any way you look at it.<br />
<br />
Encouraged I tried again. This time the words were Andromeda, dentist, democracy. Really? Are you kidding me?<br />
<br />
So things are gelling in the muck in my mind and something comes out that I <u>did</u> expect. My first story was bittersweet. And with this new story came a staple in my repertoire. Comedy. "My Big Fat Mythical Greek Wedding" was shortlisted. <i>And is currently in the midst of voting. hint, hint, hint again. GO NOW! I'll wait here...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Then Mash Stories creates a magazine and now my first story is in print form. Download, keep it, send it to me I'll sign it too.<br />
<br />
And then Mash Stories does a podcast and I'm featured this week.<br />
Whoa! Hold on! This is too cool. My story is being read aloud and in a very professional sounding production. Was that my story? Hey, it was pretty good. This is too cool.<br />
<br />
Mashstories.com. What a great site. I'm loving this.<br />
I've already sent in my third story for their competition. The words: cathedral, monkey, relativity. Fingers crossed. I'll be sure to let you know the progress.<br />
<br />
In the meantime this is really fun.<br />
<br />
I should get back to that novel........<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-6419190921178036892014-03-17T21:32:00.002-05:002014-03-17T21:32:42.813-05:00The Writing Place"This.. is you."<br />
Those words Laurie spoke when she walked into the finished room. For weeks she was wondering what I was doing in there. Now she knows. And she liked it.<br />
It's the first time I had a space totally mine, from top to bottom.<br />
It used to be Shaun's room but living in Minneapolis, now with his fiance Hannah (Yay, Hannah!), he's not going to need it anymore. It's mine now. [evil diabolical laughter]<br />
Now how about a short tour.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3785347173603644429" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sG18sIaS9nIuEPk3vuPJPmmxDyC0fx8fHlkyvAeQ5vaJT68wXBZ8MBZyZD0HDrPdfylkfrIQbVFww_IOE9ksuSKkenkrVuy-xozwHQWWNPFxoe5myHgPw6qKCm6qfI0SIMCIxg06-UA/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sG18sIaS9nIuEPk3vuPJPmmxDyC0fx8fHlkyvAeQ5vaJT68wXBZ8MBZyZD0HDrPdfylkfrIQbVFww_IOE9ksuSKkenkrVuy-xozwHQWWNPFxoe5myHgPw6qKCm6qfI0SIMCIxg06-UA/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a> the entry, welcome to my world, don't be scared, I already am</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEnToA8uHaGB7WTVbCsHF0GENhOn4lCy7wAJFGYotjLMi6Jsbb2PiGXEw6F9KxmbKGl89dWkJYgfFeHmBpsNq4WaYS2udvt4qcyXZcQKBn_YsXbbF3NNpIjxdRrYVX41a6f82L8WpvFA/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEnToA8uHaGB7WTVbCsHF0GENhOn4lCy7wAJFGYotjLMi6Jsbb2PiGXEw6F9KxmbKGl89dWkJYgfFeHmBpsNq4WaYS2udvt4qcyXZcQKBn_YsXbbF3NNpIjxdRrYVX41a6f82L8WpvFA/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a> from the door, note the mirror I trimmed with little 1" tall monsters painted gold, above that is an autographed photo of The Supremes I got as a kid at The Heart of Illinois Fair in Peoria</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXVQdBT_76aAtB1Vj-lgBJ-So5t8_BeRAGFoZjWV_bzUDPCLVgIk5BD1i55N4PdYFJhCeX7uwyId1M3tWvKgfLL1dCmji-Y4aap5mvNLx8VOZIt2ZaCRybGoXn8l-6MdY0TmAIbdPkOo/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXVQdBT_76aAtB1Vj-lgBJ-So5t8_BeRAGFoZjWV_bzUDPCLVgIk5BD1i55N4PdYFJhCeX7uwyId1M3tWvKgfLL1dCmji-Y4aap5mvNLx8VOZIt2ZaCRybGoXn8l-6MdY0TmAIbdPkOo/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a> my desk, that's as clean as you'll ever see it, the cardboard tubes are my wire management system</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad3pUfuaBgDiOv5Alx39fHKdrpnURV8jgcCNNoVMO4VwEZ7k1tjsYkZMxjd8ztNfP9OPQGYouHXPIJk_KsEJFbWOV0qNi5hzbRJBbn6Ktl4EVTOX8uKojSmu0atMsYQUe5Gau3QXQiic/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad3pUfuaBgDiOv5Alx39fHKdrpnURV8jgcCNNoVMO4VwEZ7k1tjsYkZMxjd8ztNfP9OPQGYouHXPIJk_KsEJFbWOV0qNi5hzbRJBbn6Ktl4EVTOX8uKojSmu0atMsYQUe5Gau3QXQiic/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a> the shelves are made from spindles of a chair I found on the side of the street, the shelving boards are leftover discards that were being thrown out and given to me by my carpenter son-in-law Justin</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAitZZ0ARqbHUn3vFg6I7oO6SOLfHfZrsq3Wg7i60tiZw3WqgxmABBpmxkQ99sdHxiTp3oahw-X3rWsQFaxATSIebMg5Sk9P-wRN-QIF_wha9hfueAkKZ4lrH2Ot7mmnZB2fuddK7fuTM/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAitZZ0ARqbHUn3vFg6I7oO6SOLfHfZrsq3Wg7i60tiZw3WqgxmABBpmxkQ99sdHxiTp3oahw-X3rWsQFaxATSIebMg5Sk9P-wRN-QIF_wha9hfueAkKZ4lrH2Ot7mmnZB2fuddK7fuTM/s1600/photo+5.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a> the crowning glory, my desks faces an entire wall covered with chalkboard paint, at the top is an inspirational quote "You have your dream office, now make your dreams live." by me to me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now excuse me, I have to get busy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As always, thanks for reading me. Keep it up.</div>
<br />Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-24837059646034327912014-03-17T21:00:00.001-05:002014-03-17T21:01:29.954-05:00Ramses and Bernie vs Ninja Leprechauns!Hello, everyone. I'm still at it. I know, it's been way too long. But all that changes now.<br />
The second story in The Wrong Side of the Rainbow series, "Death Bites", is live and featured today in Showcase #17 at <a href="http://stupefyingstories.com/">StupefyingStories.com</a>. Originally slated for a part in the anthology <em style="font-weight: bold;">Noir: High Crimes and Lowlifes</em> the publisher pulled it to be featured in the Showcase today. I'll let him tell you why.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to release SHOWCASE #17 on March 17th, and I definitely could not let St. Patrick’s Day go by without publishing <a href="http://www.stupefyingstoriesshowcase.com/0140317/0140317-10.xhtml" target="_blank"><strong>“Death Bites”</strong></a> by <strong>Bill Bibo, Jr.</strong>. If you’ve read “The Wrong Side of the Rainbow” in the <a href="http://www.stupefyingstoriesshowcase.com/rlp_catalog.html#20121000" target="_blank">October 2012</a> issue of <em>Stupefying Stories</em> you’ve already met Ramses and Bernie, the <em>oddest</em> odd couple buddy-cop pair on the entire MCSI squad. If you haven’t—well, picture this: ninja leprechauns.<br />
And that’s all the warning you’re going to get.</blockquote>
I think he likes it.<br />
And I hope you will too. If you did, please pass it on and tell your friends, heck, TELL THE WORLD!<br />
<br />
Now the work on the novel continues.<br />
<br />
If you missed episode One, you can find the October 2012 issue on sale at Amazon for Kindle at $1.99. Just click the cover.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009JWHG2U/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009JWHG2U&linkCode=as2&tag=biboland-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B009JWHG2U&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=biboland-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=biboland-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009JWHG2U" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Century Schoolbook', Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">Also available for the </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-bruce-bethke/1113083822?ean=2940015513899" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Century Schoolbook', Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble Nook</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Century Schoolbook', Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;"> and in the </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/stupefying-stories/id580905076?mt=11" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Century Schoolbook', Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" target="_blank">Apple iTunes Store</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Century Schoolbook', Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Century Schoolbook', Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Century Schoolbook', Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">As always thanks for reading me. And stay tuned it gets better from here on out.</span>Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-25582253420341548232013-09-24T21:53:00.001-05:002013-09-24T21:53:29.519-05:00When Editors Overreach<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Welcome back my friends to the show
that never ends</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>We're so glad you could attend<br />Come inside!
Come inside!</i></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"> From
Karn Evil 9 by Emerson Lake and Palmer</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Well
I’m back. How have you been? I’ve been busy. We rebuilt our patio
and I rebuilt the fence. We also have a new puppy, EMD Watson. But
that, as they say, is a tail for another day.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">What
brings me here today is that I’ve recently had the dust shaken from
my gilded view point of the publishing community. I had to do
something last weekend that it never occurred to me that I would ever
do. I asked a publisher to pull my story from publication in their
anthology.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">I’ve
worked with many publishers, so far all very small press
unfortunately, and everyone has been courteous, kind, and reasonably
intelligent. Once you receive the coveted acceptance email from the
publisher the next item you will receive is the contract. In it there
is usually a line that states “The Publisher reserves the right to
make minor edits to the body of text, which will then be presented to
the Author for approval prior to Publication.” The key words in
this sentence are “minor edits”. Herein lies the problem.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">I
received a copy edited by the publisher. The email attached implied
that the edits were very minor and few except for removing all of the
interview portions from my story. Immediately I was on guard. The
interview portions were transition segments I was using to let the
reader know more about MIS Disposal and the man who created it. I
liked these sections and felt they made an interesting switch between
scenes, not unlike a relevant quotation before a chapter which you
see in many books. </span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">I
opened the file not without some trepidation. I wasn’t prepared for
what I found.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">The
first few pages contained many revisions I felt were a bit arbitrary.
</span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Example:
revising a minor character from saying “A minute only” to now
become “Only a minute”. Okay, fine, not what I wanted, but no big
deal. I liked the more formality of the voice of the first one
feeling that is the way I thought the character would speak. But in
the end, no big deal. I could let him have this one.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">In
the next paragraph he began to change verb tense and to actually make
the action more passive. Example: I wrote “The army pulled in.”
He changed it to “The army had been pulled in.” Now why do this?
First, it took an action that was happening right at that moment and
made it happen in the past. Second, the addition of “had been”
also made the action more passive. It didn’t fit with the rest of
the paragraph.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">So
far not too bad. Then I went a few pages on. That is where the
editing stopped and the rewrite began.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">It
started with a paragraph scratched out entirely and replaced with
nearly the same wording but different order. Another “have been”
was added in along with a “that was”. Much of what was done did
not affect the writing for the better. On the contrary it weakened
it. </span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">The
next page was worse. The entire page was red, the entire next three
pages were red. He had rewritten everything and even added in imagery
that did not exist in my original story. “A line of soldier moved
in tandem like a monstrous centipede.” Huh? No, that’s awful.
There was an entire new paragraph about the monster attacking a
hospital. What? Nothing even close to this was in my story. WTF?</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">After
9 pages I stopped writing comments and gave up. It was no longer my
story. He had changed the voice of the story, taking me away and
putting in himself in my place. I looked ahead a few pages. Page
after page had been crossed out and redone. He was making himself
co-author and what’s worse, making it a really schlocky story as
well. </span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">I
saved what I had done and sent the editor an email saying I’d be
happy to look at edits to my story but what was sent to me was a
rewrite. In the past an editor might say, make this part more
exciting or this sentence is missing some color. Then they would
allow me the opportunity to revise it. Not take it upon themselves to
do it. I told him that if this is the story he wanted to publish I
couldn’t allow it and asked it be withdrawn.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">He
replied stating that due to time constraints on the publication he
was sorry but would pull my story. He was totally surprised that I
had reacted in such a way. No one else had done so. Many of his
comments had come from suggestions by a number of “beta readers”.
No wonder it sounded so disjointed now. It had been rewritten by a
committee.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Obviously
there are authors out there that will let someone else totally
rewrite their story and still feel fine with putting their name on
it. There are a couple dozen in that anthology it seems. I’m not
one of those. For $11 and a free copy it just wasn’t worth it. I
want to be able to point to a story, say this is my work, and be
proud of it where ever it is published.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">I
never thought I would do this, it never occurred to me I would ever
want to do this, but it’s done. The story has been pulled. I never
want to do this again. </span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Did
I do right? Did I overreact? Does this make me a prima donna? </span>
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Let
me know in the comments.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Don’t
forget I still have 3 more stories being published this Fall. I’ll
keep you posted.</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">And
as always, thanks for reading me.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-83311424638015996172013-06-13T20:47:00.000-05:002013-06-13T20:47:41.234-05:00What's "The Binnacle"?"What is a Binnacle?"<br />
<br />
If you're a sailor you'd know that a binnacle is<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">a waist-high case or stand on the </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">deck</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"> of a </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">ship</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">, generally mounted in front of the </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">helmsman</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional purpose was to hold the ship's </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">magnetic compass</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">, mounted in </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">gimbals</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"> to keep it level while the ship pitched and rolled. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(thanks Wikipedia)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">"Okay, that's pretty cool ," you say, "but really why should I care?"</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span>It is also The Literary and Arts Journal of Coastal Maine at The University of Maine at Machias.<br />
<br />
"Okay, cool again, but... where's Machais?"<br />
<br />
Machais is on the northern coast of Maine. Go a step farther and you're in Canada. Now will you stop a minute and let me tell you my news?<br />
<br />
"Oh, sorry. Go right ahead."<br />
<br />
Thank you.<br />
<br />
Every year UMM holds a writing contest for the Fall edition. 150 words, any theme, any topic. I seem to be pretty good at flash fiction (see the Best of 2011 and 2012 anthologies at NECON ebooks) so I entered a story. It is called "What Scares Him" and you'll have to wait to read it because out of 925 entries it was selected as an Honorable Mention. So I didn't hit the money, but my little story will be published in their anthology as a print edition and ebook.<br />
<br />
It will also be made into an audio file available on the website. That happened with my short story "Charlie Decker and the Last Zombie" as part of the zombie humor anthology "Zombies Ain't Funny". It's pretty fun to hear your words being read aloud by someone else, someone you've never met.<br />
<br />
"I remember reading that. Very funny. And I see that I could just click on the picture of the zombie jester on the right if I needed a copy."<br />
<br />
True, and thanks for the plug.<br />
<br />
But that's not it. They will also enter my story along with the others selected into an awesome literary lottery. They are sending them all to Garrison Keillor for possible inclusion in his daily radio feature The Writer's Almanac. Now that would be too exciting to even consider as being real. But I am, at least for a few days.<br />
<br />
It's a good little story, sad, but moving. It turned out to be a bit too prophetic, but that then is a story for another day.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">To view the list of finalists and winners in the UMM 2013 Ultra-Short Competition, visit the UMM website at </span><a href="http://www.umm.maine.edu/binnacle" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.umm.maine.edu/<wbr></wbr>binnacle</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> or their Facebook page at </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheBinnacle" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>TheBinnacle</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> on July 1</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> and follow the Update or Ultra-Short links. Or just watch for it here. I'll keep you posted.</span></span><br />
<br />
As always, thanks for reading me.<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-44126507871768093852013-05-25T14:55:00.000-05:002013-05-25T14:56:05.470-05:00Back in Action With Good NewsHowdy.<br />
<br />
I know, a lot of time has passed and a lot of things have happened, and not all for the good. But we don't need to go into all of that. I'm back and will attempt to keep this up and loaded on a regular basis. Life is crazy and I think I may be getting a little crazier. So let's go onto the good news.<br />
<br />
+ "Pacific Rim" opens this summer. Have you seen the trailer yet? If not head over here: <a href="http://www.pacificrimmovie.net/">http://www.pacificrimmovie.net/</a>. It looks fantastic. A great summer movie to keep me excited for the main event NEXT summer, the release of "Godzilla".<br />
<br />
+ Have you ever wondered what happens after the giant monster has been defeated? My short story "Clean Up On Seventh Avenue" tells you exactly what happens. And soon you'll be able to read it all as part of a new anthology by Grinning Skull Press. <a href="http://www.grinningskullpress.com/default.html">http://www.grinningskullpress.com/default.html</a> More news to follow soon.<br />
<br />
+ Do you need some fun summer reading? Some already has. I just received my first royalties deposit for my ebook, "Doctor Zombie Lives Next Door." Try it this weekend. Let's build up my retirement fund!<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B0059Y4I0A" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
+ Bernie Clayberg, the golem detective in my Wrong Side of the Rainbow stories, now in Stupefying Stories, has his own twitter account. Follow him @BernieClayberg or #RamsesBernie. Their second adventure is soon to be published. You can also read their first adventure here:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B009JWHG2U" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
That's it for today, kiddies. But stay tuned for more fun and insightful musings here on Bibo Madness.<br />
Thanks for reading me.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-46805290403513278392013-03-11T11:50:00.001-05:002013-03-11T11:50:54.438-05:00Another winner at NECON Ebooks - Horror HaikuThis just in! My entry into NECON Ebooks Horror Haiku contest was picked as a winner this month! Go to <a href="http://www.neconebooks.com/flash.htm">http://www.neconebooks.com/flash.htm</a> to read my entry "Just Another Kaiju Sunday" and others. This make the third haiku contest I've won, one other for NECON last year and then for Talk Like a Pirate Day.<br />
<br />
Have you ever written a haiku? Try it. It's all in the syllable count. Five in the first line, seven in the second, five in the last. Try it. Leave yours in the comments.<br />
<br />
Be sure to check out my earlier post with my short story "The League of Intergalactic Grandpas" and my plea for other interested grandpas to help me make The League a reality.<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for reading me.Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-47272196319055844572013-03-09T10:00:00.000-06:002013-03-09T10:00:32.356-06:00Calling All Intergalactic Grandpas!Are you a grandpa? Do you have an insane knowledge or interest in something that you'd like to share? Have you ever wanted to be part of a blog? Read on....<br />
<br />
As you probably know, if you read any of these posts, I enjoy writing some odd and occasionally published fiction. Last Saturday night I hit "Send" on my entry into the NYC Midnight's 2013 Short Story Competition. I had entered with them before. A few years ago I took 8th place out of nearly 500 entrants, fortunately still placing in the money.<br />
<br />
I really enjoy the concept for their contests. It's an elimination format. In the first round everyone is divided into 25 groups. Each group then gets a different genre, subject, and character. The judges review the entries and then the top 5 from each group advance to the next round. There are three rounds in this contest with the top 4 receiving from $1500 to $100. You never know what parameters you will receive. That's the fun part. It stretches you as a writer by drop kicking you out of you comfort zone.<br />
<br />
My requirements for round 1 were an action/adventure, an alter ego, a grandfather. When I told my wife she just started laughing. Then I did to. I guess that's why I took a chance and decided to do something light-hearted, something fun.<br />
<br />
So here's what I came up with?<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>The League of Intergalactic Grandpas</i></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>A trio of
grandfatherly pop culture specialists attempt to defuse the theft of a prize
artifact, prevent the explosive death of hundreds of innocents, and still not
miss dinner. Well, two out of three is still pretty good.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Crazy, right? We'll see how the judges feel about it on April 9th, decision day. Round 2 starts April 10.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">You can read my story in the previous post for this blog. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">My story got me thinking. What if I actually created "The League of Intergalactic Grandpas"? What if the blog featured in the story became real?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Grandpas, I need your help</span></h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">A regular blog is a vast complicated time consuming monster. You can see how regularly I post here. Sure, my intentions are great but... well, you know how it is. I am looking for other Grandpas to write a fun family oriented pop culture/ activity/ just about anything under the sun blog for grandfathers and their grandkids. We'll talk about anything and everything, movies, books, fun things to do or see, you help me come up with it, we'll write it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">To make it work, I mean really really work well I need a Divide and Conquer strategy. I'll never do it myself. I'm looking for other Grandpas to write articles for it with me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Are you interested in sci fi? fantasy? horror? movies? books? the outdoors? fun activities to do and make? Do you want to make sure your grandchild turns into a nerd or a geek just like you? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Join me. Let's give our grandchildren the best of our fun, crazy, ridiculous knowledge. Leave me a post, drop me a line. If you aren't a grandpa, pass it on to one you know. That is the only requirement to be a part of "The League of Intergalactic Grandpas".</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Let's do this thing.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-56640558587546745192013-03-08T20:34:00.000-06:002013-03-09T09:23:35.274-06:00The League of Intergalactic Grandpas<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">As some of you know I entered the 2013 NYC Midnight Short Story Competition. It is an </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">elimination</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> contest. In each round the writers are divided into heats and given a genre, an object, and a character. The top stories from each heat advance to the next round. One of the nicest things about this contest is that those entered can post their stories for the others to read, review, and comment. I post my story here for you, them, and and anyone. </span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">GENRE: Action/Adventure</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">OBJECT: an alter ego</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">CHARACTER: a grandfather</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">So sit back. Disconnect your reality switch. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope you enjoy my little adventure. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present...</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"The League of Intergalactic Grandpas"</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">by</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bill Bibo Jr</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Assemble the League in fifteen minutes.
We'll make them pay for this insolence!"
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Paul
threw back his black hood and laughed the laugh of evil revenge just as the
door opened and his wife tiptoed in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Sorry,
dear, you go on with what you're doing. I don't mean to interrupt," she
whispered and handed Paul a small piece of paper. "Just in case you're
going out."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Paul
waited until she tiptoed out before scanning the note.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Captain,
make that thirty minutes. I have to put some gas in the Imperial Cruiser. And
remind me to pick up some milk and eggs on the way home."<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The League of
Intergalactic Grandpas in “The Scone Wars”</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
The Grand
Ballroom of the Hotel du Saint Pierre was filled to capacity plus a little bit
more around the sides if anyone actually counted. At a table near the stage a
group of young wizards waved their wands chanting every spell they knew in the
hope that their diet sodas would change into something more profound for the
evening’s festivities. A troop of armored soldiers sat on either side of their
dark lord looking disappointed their weapons weren't allowed in the ballroom.
Nearby a table of trolls pounded their table calling loudly for their meal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Paul couldn’t
take it anymore. The pounding was making him even more nervous. He had to ask
them to be a little quieter. He slid his chair back clipping the heel of a very
large and very muscular man dressed only in fur trunks and a feathered
headband. His body was tinted a deep orange with intricate patterns painted on
both arms indicating he was a barbarian mercenary from the planet Blombar. Paul
looked up into the warrior's face and he wasn't smiling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Amazing
costume," Paul said quickly. "My colleagues and I run a blog, 'The
League of Intergalactic Grandpas'. Perhaps you've heard of us? We're covering
the convention. I'd love to interview you later about your influences."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The barbarian's
growl turned immediately into a thin crooked smile.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
"I'd love
to," he said. "You know I try to base my costume on the books of…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Paul quickly
lost interest. He scanned the room. Kooks and crazies every one of them, but
they were his kind of people. Infinite-Con was the largest gathering of sci-fi
fantasy and pop culture devotees in North America. Tonight was the Annual Award
Ceremony. Paul and his two best friends were nominated for Blog of the Year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Paul swirled
his black cape and held up a hand. The barbarian went silent. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Excellent.
Can I tweet you when I have some free time?” Paul asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
The barbarian
nodded and walked away smiling.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Nicely
deflected, Overlord,” said Roger. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Roger's
specialty on the blog was super heroes, in the movies, comics, wherever you
found them. Paul felt sometimes he went a little too deep into the genre.
Tonight he was dressed in blood red tights, mask, and obligatory cape depicting
his online persona, Captain Redheart. He'd recently taken to wearing his
costume more days than not. Then again the ladies, especially those in
attendance this weekend, seemed to go for it as proven by the gorgeous young mermaid
at his side. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Paul looked
over to his companion for the weekend. Charlie, like most young kids his age,
was nose to his cell phone. Paul wished that Charlie would pay a little more
attention to what was going on. It wasn't every day that his grandfather was
nominated for a national award. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
The third
member of The League was late. Terry covered the world of horror from blood
sucking vampires to brain eating zombies. He was also a conspiracy buff and
amateur ghost hunter. He told Paul that he had to check some equipment he had
placed last night. He promised he would not miss the award ceremony.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Three others
filled out the table. Dressed identically in white polo shirts, khaki shorts,
and something that looked like a camera around their necks, Paul could not
figure out what characters their waxy complexions were portraying. He tried
asking them but they wouldn't leave character. They smiled, nodded, and
whispered rapidly to each other. The middle one finally said, “You may call us
Bob.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Paul spotted
Terry by the doors in the corner and waved. When Terry saw him he came running,
nearly knocking the tentacle off of a green octopod. He was out of breath when
he reached their table. He was clutching one of his recorders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Guys, you have to listen to this. I think
I've discovered something,” he whispered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Can it wait,
Terry? They're about to serve dinner,” Roger said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“No, it
can't,” Terry said. He glanced around and bent down lower. “Something is going
on. You have to listen to this. Come with me. Now.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
He turned and
ran out the door. Roger shrugged, kissed his young mermaid on her gill, and
followed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Charlie, will
you be okay here?” Paul asked looking over to their table mates.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
They all
smiled, nodded, and whispered rapidly to each other. The middle one said, “You
may call us Bob.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Why don’t you
come with me,” Paul said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Out in the
hallway Terry waved them to a small alcove. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Last night I
set this recorder in the exhibition hall near The Star of Oblivion. I checked
it a few minutes ago,” he said looking each direction. Determining it was clear
he pushed “Play”.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>Silence. Static. A guttural noise, low and
dark.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Now if you
think that is some ghost talking, I have a mermaid waiting…” Roger began to
move back to the ballroom. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Terry cut him
off with a look that hurt more than a slap. “Just listen,” he said.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>More static.
Silence. A male voice. “The Star of Oblivion. Beautiful, isn’t it?” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>A second voice, younger, also male. “Yeah, I
guess. But what is it?”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>“Who cares? I just know it’s worth a lot of
money to a certain collector.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>“So what are we waiting for? Let’s grab it
and leave this freak show.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>“Not now. There are too many people about.
We’ll do it tomorrow night, during the awards. Everyone will be in the
ballroom. We’ll have it all to ourselves.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>“And then we blow this place?”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i>“Then we blow this place.” Static. Silence.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Terry shut off
his recorder. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“What do we
do? They're planning to steal The Star and kill everyone in the process,” Roger
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“I don't
know,” said Paul.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“The Award
Ceremony is going on now. By the time the police got here, it might be too
late,” Terry said. The recorder rattled in his hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Charlie looked
up from his phone. “Why don't you steal it yourself?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“What?” said
the grandpas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“If you take
it and hide it, the thieves can't get it. Maybe they’ll just leave and not blow
up the convention.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“I like it!”
said Roger and started toward the exhibit room.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Paul grabbed
him by the cape and pulled him back.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“We need a
plan,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Roger pulled
his cape free and ran.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“We don't have
time for a plan,” he shouted over his shoulder. “We have to save the day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
When the
others caught up Roger was standing behind a large palm tree. He motioned the
others to hide around the corner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
There was only
one guard, a chubby volunteer who had drawn the unlucky short straw to stay
behind watching over the entrance to the Star of Oblivion exhibit. A smattering
of applause bled through the doors of the ballroom and the guard looked over in
that direction. So did Paul. Both wondered what they were missing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Roger gave the
others a thumbs up and ran for the guard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Captain
Redheart!” he shouted and hit the guard on the neck with what one might guess
was a karate chop.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Ouch!” said
the guard, jumping to his feet. “What'd you do that for?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Roger paced in
circles, clearly disappointed that his feat of physical strength had not
worked. Paul saw he was getting ready to attack again so he casually walked up
to the stunned volunteer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Sorry about
my friend. He gets a little wound up. He forgets his medication at these things.
I hope he didn't hurt you,” Paul said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“No, I guess
not. But the exhibit's closed.” the guard said rubbing his neck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“I know. We're
your replacements. You get to go in. There’s a spot at a side table being held
for you. Look for three guys dressed alike with cameras.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“That's great.
I've never been to one of these conventions before.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“New guy gets
the worst job. Happens all the time. Go on. We'll take it from here.” Paul said
dismissing the young man with a wave of his hand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
The guard
barely had “Thank you” out before he was across the corridor and into the
ballroom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“He forgot to
leave us the keys,” Roger said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“No problem.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Terry took out
a credit card, slid one side to reveal a compact set of lock picking tools. In
seconds they were in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
The exhibit room
was dark with one spotlight in the center of the room illuminating The Star of
Oblivion. It was round, smooth, and entirely black with three stunted
projections. The official story stated that a Siberian farmer found the Star in
his field. He claimed it fell from outer space. When local authorities tried to
discredit him, the internet legend grew. Now here it was, inches from Paul's
out stretched hand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“So we meet
again,” said a voice by the door. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was the
orange-tinted barbarian mercenary from the planet Blombar and once again he
wasn't smiling. His partner, badly dressed as an ogre, or at least that’s what
Paul thought it was supposed to be, pointed a gun at Charlie's forehead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sorry,
Grandpa,” Charlie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Let's make this
quick. You give us The Star, we give you the boy.” said the barbarian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Paul looked at
his grandson and then at The Star in his hands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Can I ask one
thing? Why blow up the convention?” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The ogre looked
over at the barbarian. “What’s he talking about?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I have no idea.
We just want The Star. We have no intention of blowing up anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No, that would
be our intention.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stepping out
from the shadows were the Bobs. Each held their cameras out in front of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The ogre turned
his gun toward them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Stop right
there,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Arcs of orange
light leapt from the cameras striking the ogre. He crumpled to the floor. The
barbarian ran to his side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Terry made a run
for the door but one of the Bobs blocked his way. He motioned Terry back toward
the others. Another Bob grabbed hold of Charlie pointing his camera at him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Now it is our
turn. Give us The Star and we shall give you this small human child,” said the
Bob.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Paul handed it
over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Now give me
back my grandson,” he demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Bob said
nothing but peeled back his hand as if he was removing a glove. Beneath the
disguise was a green tentacle. It rolled it around examining The Star and
pushed one of the projections. The Star attached perfectly to his camera.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Bob set The
Star back in its display case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Now what?”
asked Paul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Now in fifteen
of your minutes The Star of Oblivion will ignite sending everyone in the
Ballroom to their own personal oblivion. I love it when a weapon truly does
what it says it will do,” the Bob said.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“But why?”
asked Roger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Tentacled Bob
nodded to the others who removed their disguises as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Half the
people in that room are not from this planet. They are visitors using your
convention as a cover. What better place for a large number of aliens to gather
undetected?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I knew it,”
said Terry.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Everyone
stared at him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“We intend to
send a signal to the Intergalactic Alliance that we will not tolerate their
intervention.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“You’re
nothing but space terrorists,” said Roger. His eyes narrowed and his fists
clenched. “Well, not on my watch. This is my planet, Mister. Captain Redheart!”
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
He threw
himself at the Bob knocking him to the floor. Terry and the barbarian jumped
the Bob by the door. Charlie bit the tentacle of the Bob holding him. It
screamed in pain and released him. Paul grabbed Charlie and they ran from the
room.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Paul threw
open the doors to the ballroom. The audience turned and seeing him began to
applaud.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
A ninja next
to Paul said, “Wow, man, great entrance. Congrats on winning Blog of the Year.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Paul and
Charlie wove through tables and well-wishers to the stage. Paul wondered how
they could get everyone out of the ballroom. He might have won the award but
how can you celebrate when across the hallway there were three aliens with a
bomb.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Thanking the
MC he took the microphone. “Thank you, everyone. We, The League of
Intergalactic Grandpas, are much honored. I’m sorry I’m late but I have to tell
you…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Charlie
grabbed the microphone from his grandfather. “We just saw Joss Whedon and Neil
Gaimann in the bar across the street.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
In seconds the
Grand Ballroom of the Hotel du Saint Pierre was empty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Nicely done.
I almost regret having to do this.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
In the doorway
was a Bob. He aimed his camera at Paul and Charlie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
Suddenly he
folded forward and fell to the floor. Behind him stood Roger’s mermaid holding
a chair.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Well, I
didn’t regret that at all,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“So you’re not
a volunteer but a Federal Agent?” Terry said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
The grandpas,
Charlie, and the mermaid sat around a table in the empty ballroom. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“That's right.
We knew The Star wasn’t naturally formed or of terrestrial origin, but we
didn’t know what its purpose was. So we staked out every place it was
exhibiting hoping to find some clues. Fortunately you got them to show their
hand, so to speak,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“And we missed
dinner,” Roger said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Fine. I'll
take you all out. My treat,” said the mermaid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“This will
make a great blog post,” said Paul.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“I’m sorry,
you can’t tell anyone what happened,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“Not even if I
write it as fiction?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
One year later
Paul again stood on the main stage at Infinite-Con.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
“I’d like to
thank everyone for making us your Blog of the Year two years in a row and your
choice this year for Best New YA series. I, and all Intergalactic Grandpas,
thank you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
THE END<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
as always, thanks for reading me</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-61651630527840342372013-01-27T16:54:00.002-06:002013-01-27T16:57:07.867-06:00Kindling (Thoughts on about my Kindle)It's been a month now since my lovely wife (and favorite muse) gave me a Kindle Paperwhite for Xmas. I developed some definite opinions about it. I never thought I would be one to embrace an e-reader. I love the feel of a real book in my hands, the texture of the paper, the weight in my hands, the aroma of a vintage tome. And I love bookstores. It is physically impossible for me to walk into a bookstore and then leave empty handed. Oh, it's been done, but it hurts.<br />
<br />
<b>So why did I want one?</b> <br />
<br />
E-books are the way of the future. More and more publishers are doing e-versions. More and more people are buying e-books. Fewer and fewer people are buying hard copy books. And the price of the bestsellers at the major houses is coming down. All this taken together indicates that people are still reading, and reading more by some counts. The world is changing and to be a part of it you have to be aware of it.<br />
Besides most of what I've been selling lately is in electronic format only. I wanted to see what it actually looked like in its final form on something made to show it.<br />
<br />
<b>What's it like?</b><br />
<br />
The Kindle Paperwhite is small, about the size of small trade paperback. It is very lightweight and very very thin. At first I found it awkward to hold, not having the depth of a book, but I soon got used to it. The Paperwhite is an e-reader only, no apps, no sound, no motion. It stores books and you read them. That's it. I did n't need another place for games, and such. I wanted an e-reader only.<br />
<br />
<b>The good?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I am one of those people that must read in bed every night in order to fall asleep It can be anything, a magazine, a current book, what ever, but I must read something. It allows my mind to shut down, to stop worrying about the day's activities and what will come tomorrow. Reading allows me to escape, relax, and go in a completely different direction. The Kindle is the perfect tool fro reading in bed.<br />
It is very easy on the eyes. The brightness of the illuminated page can easily be adjusted for daytime or night. I have found that instead of reading a paragraph some nights before my eyes get heavy, okay many nights, I now read a chapter or two or three before telling myself it's time to sleep.<br />
<br />
It's very easy to get content. E-books are everywhere. Amazon has daily specials where they will drastically reduce the price of 4 books to usually something under $3. Or there many sites that publish free titles in kindle format (.mobi). Many are of classic now in public domain. I recently downloaded the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the entire OZ collection of stories. You can download them on to your computer and then transfer to the Kindle.<br />
<br />
I can also upload any document in PDF format and read it on my Kindle. Very handy. Here's a recent example. In Wikipedia you can make a single document from numerous entries and then save it as a PDF. Upload it to my kindle and it's there when I want to review it.<br />
<br />
<b>The bad?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This surprised me. I've already stated I am addicted to books. I have many many books. Too many if you ask my wife. They line every shelf and are staked in corners in precarious piles. I've found it very difficult to get rid of a book. It's like losing an old friend. (Unless it's a really bad book, then you just want it out of the house.)<br />
<br />
But I have found there is less of a connection to e-books. Is it because they have no physical presence, no tangible connection, no tactile essence? I don't know. I do know I find it easier to stop reading a book I'm not too interested it, and even delete it from my collection with little or no remorse. Poof, it's gone. What's next? It makes me feel bad in a way.<br />
<br />
<b>The fun part?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
It's my new toy. And my new toy needed a case, a cover, some protection. My son told me about some people who had converted old books into case for their e-readers. What cool, yet ironic idea, creating a case from the thing it replaces. I went looking for a cheap old nice book to cut up. I found something quite by surprise. It was at Michael's craft store, a Star Wars journal for $3. It bought it knowing that if it proved too small I'd at least have a nice little journal. It worked perfectly .<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRl46KrhbV2zkvBUZivCJqHwHbUfe6SOsnLvnePiWsF1CGwicpshgLGXJRNIoOMS3oQKQgEzMsuTjaW0uQ1_txNf9DU7kRUlW5QV4Z9UCNaIzQpRrEEj1sl6Z2fY-8_ZOZU_Rx85k3gE/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRl46KrhbV2zkvBUZivCJqHwHbUfe6SOsnLvnePiWsF1CGwicpshgLGXJRNIoOMS3oQKQgEzMsuTjaW0uQ1_txNf9DU7kRUlW5QV4Z9UCNaIzQpRrEEj1sl6Z2fY-8_ZOZU_Rx85k3gE/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SpfRXh-_YLAdZXKbXQJHgM4MtbEM3OMbZBN-GUOwWSysjZE8dHQ7pPi_WhSjM25Z2LttSrQvZVuI_WqttGO2vg1inOZSLodD9ejSbnhaMbZaV4lIzOfiFx3YAUv2J0cW-e-YD18dlL4/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SpfRXh-_YLAdZXKbXQJHgM4MtbEM3OMbZBN-GUOwWSysjZE8dHQ7pPi_WhSjM25Z2LttSrQvZVuI_WqttGO2vg1inOZSLodD9ejSbnhaMbZaV4lIzOfiFx3YAUv2J0cW-e-YD18dlL4/s320/photo+(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
So I guess it's going pretty good. Right now I really only use my Kindle at night but time will tell. E-books are the future whether we like it or not. We adjust.<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for reading me.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B008GEKXUO" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-18100091857485964012013-01-06T15:35:00.000-06:002013-01-06T15:35:20.709-06:00Three Titles For Your Kindle!My available works for kindle.<br />
<br />
This anthology includes the first story starring the detective team of Ramses II and Bernie Clayberg, "The Wrong Side of the Rainbow". Stayed tuned for the sequel "Death Bites" in an upcoming month from the same publisher, Rampant Loon Press. (I know, how perfect is that?) Look for more after that. The series is just beginning.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B009JWHG2U" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> </div>
<br />
My first novel for middle grade reader. What would you do if your neighbor wanted to take over the world? A little scary, a lot of fun.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B0059Y4I0A" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
<br />
This anthology includes my story, "Charlie Decker and the Last Zombie". It's also available as an audiobook.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B0055DVHJU" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
And thanks for reading me.Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-71629987900435085052013-01-05T18:40:00.000-06:002013-01-05T18:40:06.831-06:00A Visit From Neil Young (on my Kindle)First the good news! The second adventure from the detective team of Ramses II and Bernie Clayberg is being picked up by Stupefying Stories. I received word on January 2. Now that's a great way to start teh new year. I'm hoping this is on it's way to becoming a popular series.<br />
<br />
If you missed their first adventure, "The Wrong Side Of The Rainbow", you can find it here:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B009JWHG2U" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
My lovely wife gave me a kindle for Xmas. Very nice. I love it but more on that later. As a new kindle owner I discovered that Amazon has daily deal on ebooks. Every day a new set of ebooks at very low prices usually under $3. Check it out here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/?_encoding=UTF8&node=1286228011&tag=biboland-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957" target="_blank">kindle daily deal</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biboland-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br />
Recently one of the daily deals was the kindle version of Neil Young's new autobiography "Waging Heavy Peace" for only $1.99. Neil Young has always been a musical hero of mine so I snapped it up immediately. I dropped everything else and began to read. I was in for a big surprise.<br />
<br />
Let me say I was really looking forward to reading it but after I began it was too long before... well, let me say that in my opinion it is one of the worst things I have every read. Definitely a stream of consciousness book it is all over the place.<br />
<br />
Yes, Neil, we know you like model trains, we know you are a big audiophile and hate the mp3 file format, but please give me a break. I'm not. The narrative bounces from his Lionel trains to the startup company he's planning back to trains to a few paragraphs about vacationing in Hawaii with friends back to trains back to Hawaii back to Puretone (his file format) and finally back to his trains. I made it for 4 chapters and had to stop. I couldn't take it anymore.<br />
<br />
Sorry, Neil. I tried, maybe not long enough but I tried. I will say I did not delete the book but kept it hoping to return to it at some day hoping it might get better. I really wanted to like this book.<br />
<br />
If you like model trains and Neil Young you just might like this book too. Give it a try if you'd like.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=biboland-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B007K3E2LI" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As always thanks for reading me.</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-25472757476533508812012-12-02T14:28:00.001-06:002012-12-02T14:28:47.621-06:00PiBoIdMo 2012 is over but Creativity goes onTara Lazar's Picture Book Idea Month is officially over but I just can't stop. The original challenge was to come up with 30 ideas for a children's picture for every day in November. I did it. I actually hit #30 on Nov 26. I ended with 39 separate and unique ideas.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrGp9X9PS6zZdq_kezWKj5KhBmqaVqeDrdtwWGthBvHt2q0t-VoD3Y4IHLz1GGLfgw5todaiiQPaUmj6sFMGYcgHjPAJT5U1LiqF5bmZJg3KOkKjwfGDX8uBGp3e5ino9Q4jB0sK7z84/s1600/piboidmo12winnerlarge.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrGp9X9PS6zZdq_kezWKj5KhBmqaVqeDrdtwWGthBvHt2q0t-VoD3Y4IHLz1GGLfgw5todaiiQPaUmj6sFMGYcgHjPAJT5U1LiqF5bmZJg3KOkKjwfGDX8uBGp3e5ino9Q4jB0sK7z84/s320/piboidmo12winnerlarge.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hurray!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Now the real work begins. Over the next year I will take those ideas, sift through them,(okay all aren't gems) and work to actually publishing the best. And I think I have a few that might work.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In some ways this was more difficult than NaNoWriMo. There the challenge is 30 days and 50,000 words. But also there the goal is speed writing and quantity. You can be, and probably are, writing the worst piece of crap in the world, but if you the amount then you win. Here you are actively pursuing quality ideas. If you wanted just quantity you could complete PiBoIdMo in about an hour. But as the ideas came I sifted, thought about each one, judged it on first impressions alone, really what an agent or publisher would do if I sent these on</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But the best thing about doing PiBoIdMo was the feeling of creativity I had all month. I was on the look out for ideas everywhere, in the shower (hard to take notes), walking the dog (I'd repeat my idea over and over in my mind until we got home, at work (taking out my notebook when no one was looking as an idea popped into my head during a complex wall detail), you name it, I thought it. And the ideas came to me. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And I'm not stopping now. I've got a new notebook with Tootle on the cover. I'm filling this sucka up. I'll let you know my progress.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thanks for reading me.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
adios</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-74672649192762984402012-10-29T20:39:00.001-05:002012-10-29T20:39:06.673-05:00November is PiBoIdMo! Greetings, citizens.<br />
<br />
November is challenge month. And I'm up to another one.<br />
<br />
A few years ago I tried NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writers Month challenge. Thirty days = 50,000 words. I was successful. It wasn't easy, but it worked. I believe what helped me the most at that time was I was traveling a lot to Tampa on business. Instead of reading on the flight I wrote. It mostly worked. (Other than interested row mates on the plane and making one young woman cry when I told her my story.)<br />
<br />
Unfortunately my novel still sits waiting for me to complete it, for in NaNoWriMo the goal is speed and not quality. Someday I will. Laurie hopes it is soon.<br />
<br />
Children's writer Tara Lazar a few years ago began something similar. She calls it PiBoIdMo or Picture Book Idea Month. Thirty days = 30 ideas for a children's picture book. The key here is that they are ideas not fleshed out publisher ready manuscripts. After the month there should be some good ones in there that might be worthwhile pursuing.<br />
<br />
And wouldn't a published picture book be awesome.<br />
<br />
Yes it would!<br />
<br />
I have ideas bubbling, frothing, popping, trampling over each other trying to get out. November is almost here. Bring it on. PiBoIdMo, I'm ready for you. (Check out the cool badge on the right.)<br />
<br />
Check out Tara's website at taralazar.com.<br />
<br />
<br />
ONE LAST NOTE!!!!!<br />
Wednesday is Halloween! Yeah! If you want a great read check out my middle grade novel, "Dr Zombie Lives Next Door." Go to Amazon or click on the link on the right.<br />
Or my short story "The Wrong Side of the Rainbow" currently in the October edition of Stupefying Stories!<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for reading me.<br />
<br />Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-62619134648695901732012-10-08T20:14:00.001-05:002012-10-08T20:16:42.094-05:00"In Your Eyes" liveOn Sept 25 I had the great pleasure of seeing one of my musical idols in concert, Peter Gabriel. It was amazing. It lived up to every expectation I had and surpassed it. I am still in awe.<br />
<br />
While it doesn't do the experience true justice Peter posted this link on his Facebook of "In Your Eyes" from the Hollywood Bowl concert. Here he did have a little help from John Cusack.<br />
<br />
Enjoy<br />
<br />
http://youtu.be/tEIty14mI_IBill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-57527836848771259352012-10-01T18:56:00.000-05:002012-10-01T18:57:25.452-05:00Stupefying Stories and I'm one of them!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysKZcUmJP5IbJBak7G7y90zMUT2A-lV-6zNL2wsoBjyaTbxp2NS2UiRcFXOdZvj1g88CgZaQEEXyIsmVY7G1OsNJfiNluD5-iR4bMVdsMorrG_wCdeyXV_CxiRYLT0UiQVea5k8aA7hQ/s1600/978-1-938834-08-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysKZcUmJP5IbJBak7G7y90zMUT2A-lV-6zNL2wsoBjyaTbxp2NS2UiRcFXOdZvj1g88CgZaQEEXyIsmVY7G1OsNJfiNluD5-iR4bMVdsMorrG_wCdeyXV_CxiRYLT0UiQVea5k8aA7hQ/s320/978-1-938834-08-0.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
This just in! The adventures of the ultimate detective team, Ramses II and Bernie Clayberg, have officially begun. "The Wrong Side of the Rainbow" was published today in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009JWHG2U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009JWHG2U&linkCode=as2&tag=biboland-20">Stupefying Stories: October 2012</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biboland-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009JWHG2U" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
<br />
It's their Halloween Edition! Check it out! Only $1.99 on Amazon. (currently only for Kindle, but more editions coming soon)Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785347173603644429.post-60022454127220940942012-08-13T20:55:00.001-05:002012-08-13T20:55:17.250-05:00"Agenda 22" wins at NECON EbooksFriday night my wife, Laurie, and I returned from a week in Door County, WI. We had a fantastic time hiking, kayaking, climbing to the top of a lighthouse, sailing, eating wonderful meals, and just relaxing. It was well timed break and we both returned feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and a bit overwhelmed right now.<br />
<br />
In my inbox was a note from Matt Bechtel at NECON Ebooks. He wrote, "In the spirit of the Summer Olympics, welcome back to the medal stand!" My story "Agenda 22" was one of this month's winners.<br />
<br />
The theme for July was <i>Trending Now</i>. I had just finished reading an article about recent Tea Party protests in certain southern states against any bill or law with the word "sustainable" in it. This latest conspiracy theory is gaining real steam. It cries doom and gloom over the UN's Agenda 21, a nonbinding set of proposals to make the world more green and "sustainable." These proposals were written in 1992 and supported by then President George Bush the First. Now as President Obama supports them these proposals are a threat to our freedom.
<br />
<br />
"It all starts with bike lanes. Next they take away our private property and make us live in penitentiary style housing."<br />
<br />
Here's my take (in the usual 100 words or less) on the real conspiracy. These stories will be up for the month of August.<br />
<a href="http://www.neconebooks.com/flash.htm">http://www.neconebooks.com/flash.htm</a>
<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for reading me.<br />
<div>
</div>
Bill Bibo Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04049163151363751930noreply@blogger.com0