When a word won't do

One of my favorite passages from This Time, my first book about Richard III in the 21st-century, came about because I couldn't use the word sympathy. Early in the novel, Richard observed what we would call a sympathetic expression from Katarina, a linguist who was part of the team helping Richard adjust to this century. Being a man of the late 15th-century, he spoke what is now called Early Modern English. According to The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Word Histories, sympathy did not come into use until the late 16th-century, and the adjective, sympathetic, until the mid 17th-century. The following short paragraph is the result.

Katarina’s pupils grew large and her lips parted slightly. While Richard would not describe her expression as one of pity, the word that came to mind was in his Latin vocabulary—misericors—caring heart.

Free ebook--Loyalty Binds Me

I want to express my sincere thanks to everyone who decided to download, read, and review Loyalty Binds Me, my second book about Richard III in the 21st-century. I am also very pleased to report that the reviews I've received as a result of this experiment have been quite favorable. Even though there's no guarantee that everyone who picks up Loyalty Binds Me will have a similar reaction, I'm quite excited by this great start.

Although no longer free, the ebook is available at the regular price ($2.99) at Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, iTunes, and Smashwords. For those who prefer to hold a real book, the paperback is available at booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, and Better World Books.

Recommended by Midwest Book Reviews.

Rant: Soliciting for Donations

For the past few years, I have been making all of my donations online through the various organizations’ websites where possible. My idea for doing this was to reduce the amount of paper mail that I had to recycle. I also thought it would make the money the organizations would have spent on these mailings available to support the reason for their existence.

Now, in addition to nearly daily emails, which I don’t mind deleting, I still get paper mail—some as often as bi-monthly. I could understand a yearly mailing thanking me for my support, but this barrage of mail is acting more to deter than encourage me to continue giving. I’m slowly being buried under a mountain of return address labels, cheap pens, note cards, newsletters, and calendars meant to get me to give through the mail. I expect that these so-called goodies are a significant expense that could otherwise be used to greater benefit.

Why can’t these organizations ask those who donate online if they wish to receive solicitations or any of these items in the mail when the donation is made? That for me is what I’d call a win-win.

Please indulge me in some boasting.

I hope you don't mind a bit of bragging—I recently got news that my short story, Becoming Ishmael finished second in Writer's Digest SciFi short story competition--Woohoo!! Additionally. I will be listed in the May/June 2012 issue of Writer's Digest magazine.

Although most of you know me from my novels about Richard III in the 21st-century, I have always loved the short story and science fiction. About three months ago I came upon a Writer’s Digest competition for science fiction and I immediately thought of my story about a computer scientist who was trying to create the first sentient robot. A dozen or so edits later, I was submitted it and then forced myself to stop thinking about it. Thus, it was a lovely surprise when I got an email and a voice mail to let me know that my story came in second.

“I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”—Mark Twain

It's Alive!

At last, my redesigned website is finally accessible. Please check it out and let me know what you think. The domain is the same, so if you had bookmarked joanszechtman.com, you should still be able to reach my site via the original bookmark. A nice new feature is that you can now reach all pages with a direct link.

I had been meaning to update my website for some time, but kept finding reasons to keep the update on a back burner whose fire I had allowed to extinguish. However, my ISP provider decided to shut down their free personal website hosting, so I was forced to find a new hosting site. I decided to update the site, instead of just moving it. I got the new site installed and tested and then redirected my domain name to the new site. Alas, Murphy's Law--simply stated, "if something can go wrong, it will"--kicked in. I stumbled and no one could access the site for a couple of days until I fixed the last little kink. My apologies to anyone who wasn't able to find my website these past couple of days.

Ramblings: libraries, no power, no internet, and book review

Along with hundreds of thousands of other Connecticut residents, we lost power starting late Saturday night of October 30th and didn’t get it back until sometime Friday, November 4th. Although most of the days were sunny and the temperatures rose to the mid-fifties Fahrenheit, overnight they cooled down to the mid-thirties or lower, some nights below freezing. We didn’t get the Internet or phone back until the next evening, but at least we were warm and could cook hot meals. What a treat!

Bless the public libraries. Except for Sunday, a nearby library was our daily refuge. In addition to depending on them for certain research and obtaining hard to find books through the inter-library loan system, they also have free WIFI. So, for that week, we drove to the library and connected my laptop to the internet. We also stayed warm, at least during the day. Because of the library, I was able to meet an important deadline--producing the December issue of the Richard III Society, American Branch publication (Ricardian Register).

After we got our services back, I discovered that BigAl's Books and Pals favorably reviewed This Time, my first book about Richard III in the 21st-century.

The week ended well. :-)

The Typo

I had been away on a combined vacation and Richard III Society American Branch Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Chicago. When I returned I found a note in my email letting me know that Loyalty Binds Me, the second book in the series about Richard III in the 21st-century, got a review from Midwest Book Reviews. Now Midwest Book Reviews is one of the better recognized online book review sites, so a review from this site carries some weight. The email only said that Midwest Book Reviews had published their review online in the Smell Press Bookwatch September postings. I prayed it was a typo and that the reviewer didn't think my book stunk. I did wonder how many skunks it got. Phew, it was a typo--should have been Small Press Bookwatch, not smell. I'm actually quite pleased with the review.

Reprinted here (it's short):

Immortality plays into our hands strangely. "Loyalty Binds Me" is a unique novel that spins into a Richard the III alive in the twenty-first century. Wrapped into a centuries old problem and facing what he's been running from for centuries. With a five hundred year old murder mystery turning hot again, "Loyalty Binds Me" is a highly unique twist on historical fiction and mystery, recommended.