Animal CloudsPosted on July 31, 2014 by Billy Ray Chitwood


                                                                               Animal Clouds

Okay, too much time on my hands, you say! Really, do we ever have enough time? It was only yesterday I was a young man ‘courting the girls’ when my ‘young man’s fancy lightly turned to thoughts of love’. Time has taken those wonderful moments away from me, yes, but it has given me a love, comfortable and serene. Or, is it that my dotage has made it so much easier for my mind to wildly ponder the unrealities of life? Or, is it that my cleverness lives only in a return to childhood? That seems an inconsistent thought when one foot is already inside the boat that gives passage to the River Styx.

Animal Clouds, indeed!

Today, I write and find a multitude of ‘fancies’ as subjects for my pen – well, the laptop, if you must! Today, as I gaze out upon a sunny day with clouds drifting by as if on parade, I make of the shapes animals of all kinds…there’s a boar kneeling in prayer…there, a heavily plumed fowl stretched full out and zipping along with the wind…above the fowl, there’s a huge turtle creeping by the lovely blue background.

Actually, I’m procrastinating! I’m writing my thirteenth book, a saga about my saintly grandfather, his family’s turbulent emigration in 1885 from the Canton of Bern, Switzerland as his fetus lay curled in the tummy of his mother. Well, perhaps it is not to be a saga – don’t know if I have a saga in me, perhaps a mini-saga if there be such a thing. Through the genealogical channels, my wife has found a very interesting life of the man I loved very much as a child. There is of course love, two lovely sisters vying for his troth, his devotion and loyalty. There is madness, literally, as my grandfather’s mother spends much of her life in a mental institution. There is murder, suicide, and all sorts of interesting turns and twists in his life, so I shall make it into a fictional novel that will contain much factual information. After all, there is much that my novel mind must create.

So, I procrastinate, take a break from the longer form of writing to hallucinate and enjoy the circuitous routes the synapses dictate.

Should you wish to form your own animals from the scudding clouds, do not use mine…be proper and original with your laptop. If there is some other wild writing trip you wish to take, turn to any page in the dictionary and pick a word with which you’re not familiar…you can then amaze us blog lovers with the profundity of your wisdom – ahem, as I have here…

‘Tongue in cheek’ time over, I’m back to my saintly grandfather.

Oh, one last thing, I do have twelve books of mystery, suspense, romance, memoir, politics that really need to be read…consider them lonely for attention, words and phrases ‘just looking for a home’. Books have ‘feelings’, too, you know!

Might I suggest one (or, all) of my six ‘Bailey Crane Mysteries’ – some inspired by true crime?

If ‘Romance’ is your staple, my Butterflies and Jellybeans – A Love Story will answer your call, plus add a dash of suspense (don’t let the title fool you).

If you want the hard reality of evil in our world, try my Mama’s Madness (fiction from truth) OR The Reluctant Savage (romance, mayhem, murder) OR my brand NEW thriller A Common Evil.

 Memoirs of my sordid and wonderful life might interest you. The Cracked Mirror – Reflections of an Appalachian Son and What Happens Next? A Life’s True Tale.

Finally, you can determine whether or not you truly hate me or like me by reading Joe Public’s Political Perspective, a ‘rant and rave’ about government – yes, I had to open my mouth, or, in this case, my laptop! Don’t know if I have it right but the thoughts come from an honest place.

All these books are on my personal website – http://billyraychitwood.weebly.com – just scan the home page after the short bio section. Really, could you just start something ‘viral’ for me? The books are entertaining and non-convoluted – I would not know how to make a book too complicated!

Now you’ve seen the begging and crass side of me after getting your attention with animals in the clouds.

Next week, I promise to behave!

http://www.about.me/brchitwood

http://twitter.com (@brchitwood)

http://goodreads.com/author/dashboard

http://facebook.com/billyray.chitwood

http://facebook.com/billyrayscorner

http://linkedin.com (Billy Ray Chitwood)

Feel free to comment. My best wishes.

                                                                          Confused and Mystified

Participating, watching others participate, wondering what and where is the magic in this digital mind-boggling world. You are a writer. You write because of need and because you have identified writing as the talent you most likely possess more than any other, because just maybe that activity keeps you alive and in tune with the world around you. You go through the spasms of depression, frustration, and an occasional adrenaline rush of encouragement and excitement.

Then, you take a look at the marketing aspects of selling your books, the various providers of platforms, tools, and applications. Perhaps, like me, you become aware of the specialized and confusing language used in the digital market places, things like Avatar, widgets, SEOs, RSS feeds, URLs, hash marks, and all of it somehow cannot seem to make sense to you. You become angry with yourself, with the computer and its devious foreign language, and with the madness of minds making life so much more complicated than it really needs be. You wonder what you should be doing that you are not doing but most of all how to do it. Could you have been selling more books and yourself if you had joined this group, used this platform, done this, done that?

Sure, you can hire someone for a tidy sum you think you can trust to take the marketing worries away that allows you to concentrate on your writing. Yet, you either feel not quite comfortable among the so-called professional or you are too money-tight to give it a try. So, you muddle on, writing good books – books that should be selling – and attempting a one-person publishing house. Is there an answer? Is there a Nirvana out there for you?

The odds might not be great, but you figure to keep on writing – because that’s what you love to do. Hopefully, before the grim reaper comes calling, a benevolent event, a magic will come your way and finally make all those moments at the laptop pay off. A Publishing deal with a handsome sign-up bonus? An Amazon selling spree that puts your books virally in the top echelon of the Indie market? Okay, more realistically, beautifully written and sincere heartfelt reviews may lack the money and fame but they do make you soar for a few moments in those heady clouds of success. Maybe that is all we can hope – that and learning the foreign language that is the internet.

Writing mimics life and weather! Just wait a few moments with the emotion you are currently feeling…it will soon pass and be replaced by another. Time is the arbiter of all things – it is here and gone!

Just in the time it took me to write this blog post, I became a famous writer! Talk about an emotional uplift… A good caring and loving spouse can do that for you.

Keep Writing! Good things can happen!

 NOTE:

My NEW BOOK,  A Common Evil is set in Mexico along the Sea of Cortez – murder, mystery, suspense as good fights evil among the drug cartels. The initial reviews are 5-Stars – Hope you can enjoy it at Amazon Worldwide authl.it/B00LMHJUIS. Reviews are welcome.

Feel free to leave a comment. My best wishes.

http://www.about.me/brchitwood

http://billyraychitwood.weebly.com

http://twitter.com/brchitwood (@brchitwood)

http://facebook.com/billyray.chitwood

http://facebook.com/billyrayscorner

http://linkedin.com (billy ray chitwood)

Writing And Me Posted on May 22, 2014 by billyraychitwood

                                             Writing And Me

It is more than likely that we who write have many idiosyncrasies, patterns, and similarities. Some authors/writers have a special time during the day when the prolific flows occur. Some of us prefer early morning, others late night, still others when the spirit moves them. Presumably we can all agree that the time-element for writing is an individual thing.

What I write does not always do it for me but it comes close enough to make me feel that it is good writing. Sure, even after all the editing and re-writes, I can probably go to any page and find a word or phrase that I would change. Also, almost assuredly, there will be a small number of careless and clumsy typos and/or noun-verb disagreements. Will it bother me? Of course, it will bother me because I try for perfection – like we all do.

The plot, sub-plots, characters, and action? Will they be all that I want them to be? In some instances, yes. In some, no. However, if the tie-ins meet my approval, if the characters are drawn well, I will settle for the finished product. The essence here is that one strives to write the perfect novel, short story, blog, flash fiction, but can always find flaws, minor though they might be. I have come close, by my reckoning and my measuring stick, to writing an almost perfect novel, better than the first, the second, or the others I have written. I say ‘almost’ because there was something else that could have been written to make it all the way perfect. The reason that ‘something else’ was not written? So much time was consumed in the writing, in the re-writing and editing, that I tired and my impatience settled in the end for what was there.

So, what am I trying to say? Like the good golfer who can never win his first PGA tournament, like the good tennis professional who just can’t win the big final, like the carpenter who thinks he can get by with nails instead of screws, we as writers are good but cannot quite take it to the next level. We have the talent but maybe we lack that special spark of enlightenment, that patient ‘stick to it’ quality that will make our books best sellers and movies.

Do not get me wrong here. Writing does it for me. When I turn that special phrase that says everything I want it to say, that’s magic. When I write something that emotionally rouses me to tears or to anger, that’s really special for me. When my fingers dance merrily around those laptop keys in an almost automatic flowing, and, in the re-reading, it knocks me off my feet, that’s a winning lottery ticket. So my plots are not too convoluted and my stories are rather simple. That’s okay because somewhere in that mesh of words is part of me, visible on and between the lines – my legacy to those who love me and those who wish to know me.

With so many million writers across the globe, some for real, some not so much, the odds are long and near impossible for us to reach that pinnacle for which our egos wish to attain. When I ineptly try to market my books with my many tweets (ad nauseam for many folks, I’m sure!), add some amateurish book trailers, do Facebook and LinkedIn, offer KDP freebies, and doctor up my Amazon US and UK author pages, and nothing seems to bring the sale numbers up, do I despair? Sure, it is a natural reaction. Do I give up? Not in my make-up. I’m staying the course, writing for me and the world. It might take a while for the world to reach me, if ever it should, but I will have a writer’s life of ups and downs. There is so much to learn in this digital world and so much of it is a jigsaw puzzle I cannot put together. Being in Twilight, set in some of my ways, I’m not willing to spend so many hours of my day trying to figure out RSS feeeds, SEOs, Widgets, Apps, and the mechanics of cyberspace. So, I will write, do what I minimally can on the internet, and hope for the best. Plus, I’m too cheap to hire someone to do it all for me.

Careless and clumsy errata? Sure.

Good writing? Damned straight, it’s good!

While I won’t be making the NY Times Best Seller List anytime soon, I’m having a ball, writing my blogs and my books… It keeps me young and obstinate! 

Who knows! Maybe one day all the elements come together, that extra spark of hidden genius, that incredible flow of words that say everything in perfect connection, and suddenly the total package of fulfillment comes… Author Stardom!

If one truly believes he/she can write, gives honest assessments to their skills, and, most importantly, loves to write, then I say, stay the course. Success or no success, I have glimpsed life and have given my pen the joy of describing it. The desire to be known, the ego, will always be there, but, beyond all that, I intend to enjoy the process of writing for itself. Many of us wish for those elusive moments of fame and fortune, and some cannot seem to handle it once it comes. If that fame and fortune never comes, you and I will have found much bounty and joy in the writing process. 

Writing does it for me! (Warts and all!)

Billy Ray Chitwood – May 22, 2014

http://www.about.me/brchitwood 

http://billyraychitwood.weebly.com

http://www.goo.gl/fuxUA (My books on IAN – Independent Author Network)

http://twitter.com/brchitwood (@brchitwood)

http://facebook.com/billyray.chitwood

http://facebook.com/billyrayscorner

PLEASE COMMENT IF SO INCLINED. THANK YOU. 

        

Who Am I?Posted on April 4, 2014 by billyraychitwood1


                      Who Am I?

Who am I?

Not a terribly original question, perhaps one that is often asked over the course of one’s life. What got me to thinking about the question are the genres in which I write my books – mystery (some inspired by true events), romance, bio/memoir, political thought. So much of my writing deals with the underbelly of life, the bad elements in our society, the really evil and ugly people who live among us – fictionally or in fact. It must be my admission that at times it bothers me that I focus my writing so much on a salacious news report about someone being sexually assaulted, people being horribly murdered, an awful pedophile hurting or killing our children, or some dark and greedy enterprise. Another aspect relative to the question is my concern that the books I have written are not necessarily going viral.

Don’t mind me. I feel that much of my life has been spent in introspection, analyzing myself as I lie awake in the night, as I drive the open road, as I view television or a sad movie, even in the middle of a conversation. It’s my way of trying to piece together another part that is unknown to me. Maybe in some sort of loose and nebulous nexus I’m creating everyman, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The way I’m built, the crazy DNA I carry inside, does cause me concern. So much emotion and mobility in my early building stages account for the calculus here. I’ve always been drawn to the action, crime, drama, mystery, and suspense of the big screen or tube. My wife loves comedies and musicals, the ‘Hallmark Movies’, and neatly trimmed family adventures. I started out loving cowboy movies, then graduated to the more fast-paced ‘True Lies’ and ‘Jesse Stone’ types. That’s all okay for different likes and dislikes. There’s a spiritual part of me that nudges me now and then to write something wholesome, like a strong Christian story with an uplifting theme for all ages… Hopefully, one day I shall satisfy that nudge.

If you had not noticed, I’m rambling and trying to figure an apt finish to this post.

Here it is.

I’m doing all this word vacillation when it comes down really to this. There is a lot of me in what I write, in the characters I create, and in the plots. There is fun in the penning of my tales, and I experiment with my writing. There are times when I organize a book – in my fashion – and there are times when I simply allow the characters to take me where it is they want to go… This is likely to make a ‘writing purist’ cringe. For me, the process of writing can take any form a person wishes. The readers ultimately will decide whether or not our writing efforts are worthy.

That brings me to the final point of this post.

Writing is enough for me, the process itself…most of the time. Believing I’m under no delusions of grandeur, I truly feel my words are strung together well and tell compelling stories. I get some 5-Star reviews here and there which make me jubilant. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn are used daily and perhaps for some, ad nauseam. I admit to a certain ineptness in this digital world, but I’m doing so many things to get people to read my books. Apparently, I’m not doing nor am I capable of doing some of the things I need to be doing. An old man (me) dusted off some manuscripts, rewrote, edited them, wrote several new books along the way, and self-published them. My first ‘Bailey Crane Mystery’ (“Probable Cause”) was picked up by a publisher, eventually went out of print – that book is now “An Arizona Tragedy – A Bailey Crane Mystery” Book One. There are five ‘Bailey Crane’ books in the series – the original book two manuscript (“Stranger Abduction”) was done on a StarWriter word processor and the manuscript was lost during one of my mobility moments…still not found. Thus, there are five ‘Bailey Crane’ books in lieu of six.

The final point is taking longer than expected.

The mistake was made, I believe, in coming out with so many books in such a short period of time. There were no ‘launching parties’ for the books, no book tours, and there was very little internet plugging. Add to that, I’m no longer a young man who can keep the pace of author book signings, events of one kind or another, or other vital networking avenues. So, the end point is this: my books are good, and I would like to see them in the hands of readers. Yes, writing is enough for me most of the rime, but I do get hungry for reader reaction. Like most authors, I hope for some gratification. My books are bought too infrequently, and I am at a loss to find some magic buttons to push… Of course, I could turn the books over to someone specializing in all phases of marketing, but that of course is costly.

I just finished a KDP giveaway of five of my books for five days (likely, should have been one book instead of five). It looks like some seven hundred total all books were given away during that time, with much tweeting, much Facebook activity, much Goodreads and LinkedIn activity, with my weekly blog announcing the giveaway.

Baring one’s soul is perhaps foolhardy and senseless, but there it is.

What you need to do, kind followers of my blog, other than commiserating, is to start a viral situation with my books…having not the foggiest idea of how you will do that. Do not worry if you fall short of doing either, the commiserating or the viral thing, you will still have me doing a weekly blog, valuing you – and still writing my books, flash fiction, poems, songs, and short stories.

Incidentally, if you have any idea of ‘who I am’ please let me know in the ‘comment’ section.

Here are various links to my books and me.

http://www.about.me/brchitwood

http://www.goo.gl/fuxUA (My books on IAN – Independent Author Network)

http://billyraychitwood.weebly.com (My main website/blog and my books w/some reviews)

Follow me on http://twitter.com/brchitwood (@brchitwood)

http://facebook.com/billyray.chitwood andhttp://facebook.com/billyrayscorner (‘fan’ and ‘like’ page w/updates)

https://www.linkedin.com/nhome/

http://thefinalcurtain1.wordpress.com (The origination blog site of all my posts)

Please leave a comment if so inclined.

        

Some Notes On My Writing Posted on March 29, 2014 by billyraychitwood1

                                  Some Notes on My Writing

Words have always fascinated me, individually and the way they can be strung together. For me there’s a certain magic that takes place when I write something that brings echoes from the soul, brings tears or makes me laugh. Writing a blog or a book is an incredible adventure of fingers tapping keys on a blank screen page. From where do the words come, these signals from the heart and the mind?

Quite often I open the blank whiteness of ‘Word’ and only have some simple words to tap on the screen. For example, I dabbled during my more youthful days in acting, stage, and did some television commercials. In a recent blog, I thought the words, ‘Action! Camera!’ Without yet a title for the blog, I allowed the two words to take me on a short ‘flash fiction’ ride, creating the story as I went along. The title in the end became ‘Love and Consequence’. In reading the piece several times I was surprised to find that multiple summations could be made about the post relative to life and its many crossroads.

Again, from where do the words come?

This might not astound or surprise anyone who reads my blogs, but I believe that some of us are endowed with a special talent for creating strings of words that arouse the soul to deliver a moving story, to amuse, anger, bewilder, entertain, inspire, intimidate, terrify. Are we thus endowed by virtue of our life sources, our environment, our genetic programming? Is it as Alfred Lord Tennyson conveyed in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ – “Theirs not to reply / Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die…”? We are all, of course, marching into the valley of death! But, let’s delay that event and thought for as long as our lives’ purposes allow.

Words and writing are marvelous gifts. Some authors distinguish themselves for their moments in the bright light are timely and their words find an eager audience. Other authors are anguished by rejection slips and their moments come late or not at all. While a jovial and sane person I perhaps would not honor my words, my blogs, my books with Tennyson, Tolstoy, Grisham, Hemingway type praise, but they are good words, good blogs, good books, and worthy of reading. Even I will pick up one of my books on occasion, try to divorce my authorship, read it and find enjoyment from that reading. Sure, I might perchance find a typo or some minor error missed in editing, but it does not dismiss the book’s validity. Sure, add to that a bit of ego and pride… I’m not immune.

If it is folly and I fool myself, so be it…there is immense joy in the penning process. It is enough for me that readers and authors I respect find my stories good enough to earn their 5-Stars. With the positive reviews or without them I am officially a slave to the pecking of laptop keys and will continue until there are no pecks left. However, there is no hiding the fact that an author wishes to be recognized.

My writing is a necessary ingredient in my life these days. Age at times bids me quit my trifling typing on the laptop keys, but I say nay and fill my days with writing. At times there are songs, poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and full-length books. There, in that lofty solitude, I stay young and vibrant. My heroes and heroines fight their good fights, and there is musing on and between the lines of what I write…particularly with my five ‘Bailey Crane Mysteries’, several of which were inspired by true life events. (In fact, as a side note, there were to be six ‘Bailey Crane Mysteries’ — “A Stranger Abduction” is missing — but, with all my moving about, the second manuscript was lost and has not been found. While each book can be read independently it grieves me that some of Bailey’s musings and life situations are not included in the series, enough, however, that your picture of the man will be quite clear.) So be it! As I was saying, I try to capture in my books that vitality and youth, once mine for real, on the blank screens of ‘Word’, present the finished product to an audience I hope might forget for those moments of reading the trivial pursuits of a man in Twilight.

One area of my neglect has been in marketing my books… After all, like any author, I wish to be read. I’ve admittedly been rather inept in this digital world, trying to figure ways to promote myself, making many mistakes. Basically, I’ve been a Tweeter/Re-tweeter fool, have likely not availed myself of the proper use of Facebook, LinkedIn, other no doubt valuable platforms and tools. I’m afraid no one would consider labeling me a ‘Renaissance Man’. It is indeed time that I ask of my blog followers/friends and cyberspace in general for help in promoting my books.

Thus, I come to the really good part of this blog. Beginning on March 30, 2014 and running through April 3, 2014, five of my eleven books are free on Amazon.Hopefully, with fingers crossed and a pitiful pose, those who get free copies will be kind and give me an Amazon and/or Goodreads review. Following are the books and the Amazon sites for getting your free copies:

“The Reluctant Savage” – http://www.goo.gl/nTvwNo (mystery, suspense, romance)

“Mama’s Madness” – http://www.goo.gl/nnTjbX (suspense, evil, inspired by truth)

“Butterflies and Jellybeans – A Love Story” – http://www.goo.gl/tvaJmv(romance + twists)

“The Cracked Mirror – Reflections of an Appalachian Son” –http://www.goo.gl/0Ln6Mc  (bio)

“Joe Public’s Political Perspective” – http://www.goo.gl/g9bzxK (musings about our nation and its leaders)

Should you like what you read, perhaps you will consider as well my five ‘Bailey Crane Mystery’ titles. All of my books are available through Amazon in paperback and Kindle format. If you wish, please follow me on:

http://www.twitter.com/brchitwood

http://www.facebook.com/billyray.chitwood and http://www.facebook.com/billyrayscorner  

http://www.goo.gl/x7j7wD

All my books can be previewed at my IAN site, with Amazon links:  http://www.goo.gl/fuxUA

Please leave a comment if so inclined. Thank you and my very best wishes.

        

There are some things we feel, instinctively know, that we hold dear and very few counter positions can sway those special holdings. I'm talking about the feelings we have about the books we read, our children, our faith, family values, friendships, movies, political views, television shows, and other venues of thought that generally fall under the 'subjective' heading. These are things shaped by the merging of our childhood and adult hemispheres, feelings and thoughts that are inveterate, solidified, and otherwise likely not to undergo major alterations during our lives. Yes, there will be room for modification to these basic parts of us but, in most instances, they will speak of who we are to those people who might care to know us.

No big startling revelations in the foregoing paragraph. You know of what I write here. These determining factors bring us our world communities, our caste systems, our classes that define supposedly where we belong in the hierarchy of groups. Some of us are not as lucky as others, perhaps born into poverty, wealth, or somewhere in between. Some of us don't get the luck of the draw on that intelligence quotient chart. It is all well and good that each of us has our very own unique DNA network, but we will find our ways into the groups in which we apparently belong. Sure, there are those in the poverty group who are blessed with a promising IQ and have a burning desire to move into another group. There are those in the wealthy group who do not get an accompanying IQ that is promising, but they are less likely to go to another group. There are those in all the groups who are handicapped in some way. Some are skinny and stay skinny. Some have a propensity for weight gain and with some exceptions, stay overweight. There is some universally unwritten codex for determining who among us is cute, handsome, pretty, and who is not so. Funny, the way this programming came, the evolution from ape to man or the intelligent creation that places us where we are. We are born as equals perhaps but we don't stay that way.

When I hear, read, and/or see something spectacular that I don't understand like space/time continuum theories, galaxies, universes, black holes, splitting atoms, generally the mathematical and scientific stuff, I'm really out of my league - or, my group. I'm dumbfounded and fascinated by the world of cyberspace and all the technological advances, by quantum physics, by the rapid doubling of knowledge, by parallel worlds, by the 'Star War' movies, by the digitally enhanced Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarentino films, and by some of the marvelous books that envision worlds that I might or might not want to inhabit... Aah, the things I don't know! We truly do have geniuses who give our lives adventure, excitement, and new knowledge. But, gee, it is also truly staggering the things I don't know.

I guess maybe it comes down to this. In all that programming by God (I'm in that group!), it's like He gives us this big rock of knowledge and each of us chip off a bit of this huge boulder and that becomes our main interest in life. Einstein with his chip gives us that theory of relativity thing. The Greek, Euclides, with his chip gives us his Mathematical theories. Michelangelo takes a large chunk of that rock and gives us Art with his Italian Renaissance brilliance - like, the man does it all as an architect, an engineer, a painter, a poet, a sculptor! Bill Gates and Steve Jobs (recently departed) with their chips off the rock of knowledge add so much to our devilishly exciting world of the internet.

With my chip, what am I giving? I write blog posts, books, poetry, and songs. Poverty is where I begin my journey. Along my way, there are many mistakes. There is membership in that aforementioned Middle group, and I don't quite make it to that Wealthy status. It is my belief that God did give me a gift, much of it frittered away over time in gin mills and romantic pursuits, and I'm now trying to make up for the lost time. Whether my humble writing appeals to the hungry readers of our E-world day remains to be seen. My books are simple reads without a lot of complicated and convoluted plots, but I do promise the reader that pieces of me are there on and between the lines.

It is truly remarkable this new digital world in which I find myself, and I'm planning to stay awhile. I'm slowly adapting to the internet world, immersing myself in the merry madness of it all. I'm even giving away free books on amazon, one at a time. This next five days my first fictional memoir is FREE at amazon - fictional but over ninety percent accurate. The title: "The Cracked Mirror - Reflections Of An Appalachian Son." The true non-fictional brother to this book is just recently out (shamefully, 100% true): "What Happens Next? A Life's True Tale." These two books have seven more of my fictional books as company on amazon. For the next few weeks (for five days on amazon each week) my plan is to give away a free book.

It's my observation that this is a great time for readers. It is also a great time for authors and writers of all genres. Possibilities are unlimited. What amazes me is the incredible talent that is among us. What utterly confounds me in my reading is discovering the things that I don't know.

Please follow me on twitter (@brchitwood), check me out and scroll the 'home' page on my main website/blog at http://www.goo.gl/TeQpP. There's a quick bio sketch and a number of links at http://www.about.me/brchitwood. I belong to the following author groups: ASMSG, IAN, AHA, and TBSU. You can browse my books at http://www.goo.gl/fuxUA or scroll down the 'home' page of my main website/blog (above).

“The Booker Award”
Posted on January 3, 2013  by  billyraychitwood1      
     
There is the ‘Liebster Award,’ the nomination for which I thank my friend and fellow author, John Dolan – a recipient himself of this highly prestigious little ‘stickum.’

It is my pleasure again to receive a nomination for the highly coveted Booker Award,’ my great thanks going to another author and blog buddy, Jhobell Kristyl. These lovely ‘stickums’ undoubtedly console those of us who peck away at our laptops day after day without as yet having reached the pinnacle of writing stardom. These ‘stickums’ carry the mind momentarily to some hallowed place where the forfeiture of big royalty checks do not matter so much. It is not my wish to have rotten tomatoes thrown my way, so I’ll stop now and just give a hearty thanks to my buddy, Jhobell Kristyl, her intentions pure of heart and soul. I am very appreciative of her generosity and kindness and, hopefully, have followed her instructions precisely.

The (Booker) Award is a prize for literary and book-centered blogs.  It is for book blogs only! The deserving blogs must be at
least 50% about books, reading, book-reviewing etc.  So here are the rules to receive this fantastic award: 

• On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share
  with readers your top five favorite books you have read in your life so
  far.
• On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share
  with readers your most favorite author/writer. Possibly, also the reason why you
  like their literary work.
• On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share
  with readers your favorite genres.
• You must give this award to five or ten or any number of other lucky book
  blogs that you adore.
• And least importantly, show-off the award on your site and link it back to
  me.

So here are my top 5 favourite books in no particular order:

1. You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe; 
2. Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; 
3. The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille; 
4. There Are Men Too Gentle To Live Among Wolves by James Kavanaugh (‘America’s poet laureate’); 
5. Everyone Burns by John Dolan (because I fear Digby!).

My most favorite author/writer is: JAMES KAVANAUGH. He is my most favorite author/writer because he spoke most beautifully to my soul, somehow understood me more than I could ever understand myself. and was an extraordinary wordsmith. James Kavanaugh left the Catholic priesthood to reach out and enrich the lives of the
downtrodden and weary.

(Now, again, as my most favorite author, I thought about John Dolan of Galericulate fame but decided against him for these reasons: because I did not want to inflate the Brit’s already enlarged ego; because I fear Digby; and, because Dolan’s book, “Everyone Burns,” though simply an exquisite ‘romp,’ is so much better than any of my own books… I suspect the scars I
carry from his recent interview of me at the Dubai Dungeon were the deciding factor to exclude him.)

My most favorite genres are:  Action  -  Adventure  -  Biography/Memoirs  – Mystery  -  Suspense  – True Crime  -  Romance

And finally, here are my 5 distinguished awardees. Don’t forget to check out their awesome blogs: 

1. John Dolan – http://johndolanwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/Home ;  

2. Bottledworder – http://bottledworder.wordpress.com 

3. Rich Weatherly – http://richweatherly.wordpress.com (‘Welcome To My Place’) ;

4.  http://waywardspirit.wordpress.com (@JessicaLeBaron); 

5.  http://ruleofstupid.wordpress.com (@RuleOfStupid)

Finally, I want to thank Jhobell again from http://bookmavenpicks.wordpress.com/ (@JhobellKristyl)  for awarding me this Booker Award in the first place.  Thank you very much, .  That’s all, folks!

I've been nominated by John Dolan for the coveted (maybe) 'LIEBSTER Award'. You can find out about this trivial pursuit (but, GREAT!) at http://goo.gl/xk16q , a wonderful blog site by John Dolan called 'Galericulate' (a word meaning, 'covered, as with a hat or cap'). If you are not familiar with this British 'chap' of wisdom and wit, you have just got to become familiar. SO, please visit his site, read his posts, some book reviews, some outrageous author interviews, and I'm betting you will thank me. In fact, I've reviewed his book, "Everyone Burns," on this site and will do likewise when the much expected sequel is out. I have also interviewed him on this site --- view in the archives.

Now, back to the business at hand. Here are the rules for acceptance of the 'LIEBSTER Award.' These are important because? At the end of my little mission here, I will be nominating eleven blogs for this coveted award.  Okay, the rules: 1) When you receive the award you must post eleven random facts about yourself; 2) you must answer eleven questions posed by the person who nominated you; 3) you pass the award on to the blogger friends you are nominating, making sure that you have notified them of their nominations; 4) you write up eleven new questions for the bloggers you are nominating (and you cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you); 5) finally, you paste the award picture into your blog.


Eleven Random Facts About Billy Ray Chitwood:

1) Kerosene lamps were the 'in thing' during my rural youth.

2) You would never know I taught 'Advanced Writing' when you read my books.

3) Skipped school occasionally to play 'nine ball' at the pool hall.

4) Spent many Saturdays sitting on the front row of the movie house watching Hopalong Cassidy, an early cowboy hero of mine --- how would you know him?

5) Worked up the nerve in high school to ask a majorette beauty for a movie date --- then, stood her up because of my shyness (go figure!)

6) Spent a tour of duty in the US Navy at an outpost in the Aleution Islands called Adak (A-yuck!).

7) The English 'Romantic Poets' were my beacon lights in college --- also gave me a big assist on dates! (My etchings, so to speak.)

8) I've chased 'windmills' all my life --- and still chasing!

9) Love is not only a great golfer but an emotion that ends up being my number one priority in life.

10) Along with the waste accumulated in my life there has been a lot of joy.

11) I've been a 'President' --- of a Homeowners Association.


Eleven Questions From John Dolan for me to answer:

1) What is the worst present you ever received?
I'm tempted but won't go there! The worst present was Christmas undershorts two sizes too large from my loving Mom --- she gave them every year until she passed on. (I just never had the heart to tell her.)

2) If you were going to throw someone our of an aeroplane who would
it be?
An 'aeroplane?' Really, John, get on board! I'm too lovable to even consider such an awful act...

3) What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever worn?
A yellow polka dot bikini! (Please, John, try harder with the questions.)

4) If you could have been the writer of any song, which song would it be?
Toss-up between "My Way" and "God Bless America."

5) If you weren't doing what you are doing, what would you be doing?
Writing a song...

6) How long can you hold your breath for?
John, John! Ending with a preposition? Really? One hour, thirty-three seconds!

7) If you had to have a tattoo what would it be and where would it be on your body?
'Liebster' Award, lower right cheek!

8) Apple or Microsoft?
Finally a short question! Apple has a certain acid that bothers my stomach. Microsoft when I'm not hungry.

9) If you could remove one country from the planet which one would it be?
Right this minute or later on when I'm more rational! Besides, I don't wish to offend North Korea...

10) Which extinct animal would you like to see not-extinct?
A dinosaur because I'm lonely!

11) Which movie is most likely to make you blub?
 'Blub' as in blubber? Out on a limb here but I go with "Somewhere In Time."


Here are my eleven easy questions for my nominees:

1) Your favorite Actor and Actress?

2) Your least liked chore?

3) Your favorite book genre?

4) Your favorite type of music?

5) Your favorite movie?

6) Your least favorite movie?

7) Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing?

8) Favorite beverage?

9) Favorite meat?

10) Favorite vegetable?

11) Your favorite author of all time?


We're all serious about the business of writing and the events that shape our world. Some levity and fun is allowed. Who knows! While doubtful, this 'Liebster' Award could go viral! It took me some time to do mine, but all of you are younger and more digitally savvy...should knock the chore off in thirty minutes. My very best to all, and, don't hate me, please! Just get even. You can hate John Dolan!

Here are my nominees for the 'Liebster' Award:

Rich Weatherly - (@richweatherly43) - http://richweatherly.wordpress.com

Christine Warner - (@ChristinesWords) - http://christine-warner.com

Jhobell Kristyl - (@JhobellKristyl) - http://bookmavenpicks.wordpress.com 

Chris Martin - (@TheChris_Martin) - http://chrismartinwrites.com  

Jack Durish - (@jackdrsm) - http://www.jackdurish.com

Caleb Pirtle - (@CalebPirtle) - http://venturegalleries.com

Babette James - (@BabetteJames) - http://www.babettejames.com  

Dianne Gray - (@Zigotide) - http://diannegray.au.com - http://diannegray.wordpress.com

Ella Medler - (@EllaMedler) - http://www.ellamedler.com  - http://ellamedler.wordpress.com

Rick Mallery - (@RickMallery) - http://rickmallery.wordpress.com

Judith Victoria Douglas - http://booksbyjudithvictoriadouglas.wordpress.com

This is a 'Don't Miss' combo for you: an interview with a quality author and a partial review of his 5-Star book, "Everyone Burns." If you have not had the pleasure of reading John Dolan you've
missed a great experience from a writer extraordinaire. JD is truly a wordsmith for his times. He is also the man who introduced me and countless others to the word, 'Galericulate' --- that's the name of his website/blog. (See end of interview/review.) He's the man hidden under the hat and he's roaming around some continent or another. At last report, he was in Amsterdam. Meet John Dolan. 

'Burning' John Dolan, writer extraordinaire - An Interview (Sort of!)

(Billy Ray = BR) (John Dolan=JD)
 
BR: Okay, Filbert, take off the blindfold!
 
JD: Hey, not so rough! You just don't take 'no' for an answer, do you?
 
BR: Why should I? You can leave us now, Filbert, and take Salome with you.

JD: You kidding me? 'Salome!' 'Filbert!' They're 'junkies...'
 
BR: Had no money...they grabbed you for the 'grass.'
 
JD: Are you mocking me? Are you stealing my interview ideas?
 
BR: Show me a legal document!
 
JD: At least my chair is comfortable, and my straps are pure leather, not this cord crap!
 
BR: You left me no choice, JD, you broke your promise to take my books viral and...
 
JD: Correction! I said your books were vile and pretentious...
 
BR: Okay, okay, I understand you're a bit angry...just some tit for tat, that's all. I really like your book, "Everyone Burns," and I'm thinking 'movie,' 'TV series,' something really big. Can we just relax and talk about the book?
 
JD: Can you at least put a cushion on this orange crate? You're not helping my hemmies.
 
BR: How's that? Better? Good...Now tell me about "Everyone Burns" and how you came to write it.
 
JD: Guess I got no choice, but you gotta promise me you're not going to make a habit of this kind of interview. This is my idea, not yours. Do we have a deal?
 
BR: Yes, we have a deal...Hell, I thought you would be pleased!
 
JD: Well, I am, sort of, but this is intellectual property, not something you mess with, BR. Plus I only get one original idea per decade.
 
BR: Okay, no more kidnaps for interviews! Got it! Can we proceed?
 
JD: The events in "Everyone Burns" take place over seventeen days while Thailand is still numb from the giant tsunami of December, 2004. Like everyone of sane mind this great catastrophe made my emotions run wild, made me think of life like I had never really thought about it. "Everyone Burns" gave me some escape from the reality all around me.
 
BR: Really?
 
JD: No, not really. I wrote it for the money and the groupies.
 
BR: And how's that working out?
 
JD: Probably about as well as it's working out for you, I'd guess. Well ... looking at you, probably slightly better with the groupies.
 
BR: Here's a quote from 'Everyone Burns, just after a bar fracas: "To summarise, my life is one of split personality. I am in two minds about it myself. Nevertheless, down these narrow streets a man must walk, even if it is in flip-flops. But I am no Philip Marlowe, and Koh Samui is not film-noir USA. There is nothing of Hollywood's black and white morality on this most colourful
of Thailand's Islands. And long overcoats just make you sweat in the sun. Here The Postman Never Rings Twice, simply because he never rings at all. He has better things to do. Lamai's and Chaweng's adventurers generally pack a condom, not a gun."

You open the book with a broken cue stick inflicting injury to your protagonist and it's like the excitement and action just never stops after that. I picked this quote because it's one of my favorites but also because it gives the reader a sample of your splendid writing...Do you have any disagreement with my assessment here, JD?
 
JD: Take these cords off and I'll kiss you. The passage is also a favorite of mine. Aside from the style thing in my writing, it is just basically who I am. But I'm NOT David Braddock, by the way. I want to make that clear in case my wife Fiona is reading this! A book of this genre for me has to move at a rapid pace, the action mostly non-stop. A lot of what I write about in "Everyone Burns" has some factual similarities, the people, the places, the time certainly. And, of course, you know my English is rather precise, proper, as it was intended to be! WHY are you smiling and shaking your head?
 
BR: Never mind, just me being me! It's a great book, JD. Wish we had more time because I'd like to mention "People With Real Lives Don't Need Landscapes," a book of poetry you wrote in 2003. You certainly have a way with words, JD, and
I happen to love poetry. As Amazon puts it, "This big bouncy collection of contemporary poetry draws on both popular and high culture. The poems have energy, imagination, humor, and lively speech rhythms. They are light, weighty, topical, intellectual, gory, sad, wild, and tender all at once."
 
JD: I didn't write that.
 
BR: What?
 
JD: I didn't write that collection of poetry. That was a different John Dolan.
 
BR: Are you sure?
 
JD: What do you mean, "Am I sure"? I'm not likely to forget a thing like that, am I? Sheesh! It's scary how your brain can live in such a small space.

BR: I'm fragile, JD... Well,regardless, I loved your book "Everyone Burns" and can't wait for the sequel. People should really take a long look at you, my friend...
 
JD: 'My friend!' My butt is sore here, BR!

BR: Filbert and Salome are napping right now. I'll untie  you, but, please, no fracas here. Tit for tat, remember? Be gentle. 


NOTE: Please follow John Dolan on twitter - @JohnDolanAuthor

Visit his website/blog ('Galericulate') at: http://johndolanwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/Home (You don't want to miss his posts.)

Also visit his amazon site: http://goo.gl/nElP1 (amazon)


 

Jack Durish (http://www.jackdurish.com) and Chris Martin (http://www.chrismartinwrites.com) write some provocative posts and they stirred my neurons. They got me to thinking about this frenzied two-polar high tech and emotional world in which we live today. They got me to thinking about a simple phrase uttered by Arnold Swartzenegger in one of his films: "I'll be back!" They got me to thinking about the 'yesterdays' that can be no more...two talented writers, concerned about, confused about, thinking about the misty elements that control the hours of our collective existence.

Does anyone really doubt that the 'machines' have taken over the world? Sure, the takeover was helped along by the dual wizardry of Computer and Corporate genius. It is very likely that these minds envisioned what they were creating. It is also likely that their creations far exceeded their expectations. For certain, these minds had no choice...their visions, their competitive juices, their incredible brain power made the reality of our 'today' inevitable.

As Jack Durish opines in his most recent post, most of the world has fallen into the routine of fast text messaging while dining out in a fine restaurant, while driving, while taking a walk, virtual slaves to their new world of electronic gadgetry. Writers of great talent wonder why their books are not selling. They are trying everything they know in promoting their novels, but nothing seems to encourage sales. The naysayers might suggest the product has flaws, that established authors always sell their books (sure! with mega-bucks for promotion, TV appearances, media blitzes, and, sure great writing), but the issue is not so basic and simple, methinks. The 'future' is now, that 'future' many of us saw coming but were so beguiled by its on-rushing dazzle and seeming utility that we accepted it without thinking...but, then, what else were we to do? Life could be handled by the 'machines' and without our expending too much effort.

So, here we are, smack dab in the middle of a 'science fiction' movie and we can't walk out of it. Our lives always had its routines, but today the routines are connected to the laptop, the internet, the social media, so many avenues of choice. Our days are gone before we know it as we lose ourselves in the magic of cyberspace. My wife still reads her books (on her laptop). I still pretend I'm a writer (on my laptop). God forbid our internet system goes down! We're lost, even angry at the down time. My wife gets her reading done. I get my writing done, sort of, because there is the need to nourish my twitter, my facebook, my goodreads, my, my, my!

We don't talk so much anymore because we might be interrupting each other as we peck away at our laptops. We don't talk so much because now we have gone through the laptop wars of the day and are watching our favorite TV shows we taped over a period of days. We don't walk as often as we once did. Our 'get up and go' just 'got up and went.' We don't go out to dinner as often as we once did, socialize one-on-one with friends as often as we once did...we do so much socializing on the laptop. We don't read as much or in the same manner we once did, and we perhaps don't read the classics so much anymore, or, that big old tome we call the Holy Bible.

The other consideration, even with all the above rambling, this new world of electronic gadgetry could be a fun and good thing. Maybe many folks still have time for conversing, for reading, for socializing outside the web fare, and for walking and staying in shape. For this 'old dog learning new tricks' the new digital world can get confoundingly frustrating at times. It is during those times that I wonder just where the world is heading. One thing seems rather certain to me: the machines are indeed a controlling factor in my life.

One thing is also sure, should I awake in the morning, I'll be sitting in this spot on the love seat beginning my day of routines. I'll still be promoting my books, still writing posts, still finishing my next book, and still waiting for some bright light to go off in my head that makes sense of all that I'm doing. I'll still be trying to figure it all out while I'm thanking my God for blessing my life.

Hope you were not thinking this post would offer some quick fixes to potential problems. Hell, who is smart enought to outwit these machines? Me, I'm hoping for 'Divine Intervention.'

And, how was your day?