An Audio Book?

 

For the blog, in the midst of the Holiday season, I hadn't planned to write about one of my books that had Christmas at its heart. But, then Ranch Boss, who does the marketing, had gotten information on having books also available in audio.

The reason I'd never done it was the cost and the fact the books, especially my smaller ones (novellas) hadn't sold that well. How would I pay for someone to narrate the stories? Why would they want to do it without a proven market for a possible share, which might be of nothing (and there is a lot of work involved for narration).

But Amazon approached us with another way to get an audio book that didn't require money up front, but did take a percentage of the book for Amazon. Since Ranch Boss liked the idea, I left it up to him.

On the creator end, it requires checking the book for where different speeds might be required; then listening to a selection of possible voices, all computer generated. Ranch Boss let me listen to some of them and the one, he had liked best, seemed like it fit the narration. 

He said that this is not AI but rather just computer generated. I do understand the difference that the story is mine, not artificially created.

As it turns out, I don't know a lot about the technical end of this, but the woman's voice sounded good. We were to listen to the reading and make sure it fit the story. There was, as was promised, no upfront cost, but a lot of work, which Ranch Boss did, since I've been editing another series. That one we aren't sure if it'd work as well for audio since it's much longer. One at a time is the best process anyway.

The way this works with Amazon is we establish the price, which if the customer has credits can be very little. It also is very little if the reader had earlier purchased the book, where Amazon will have the record, and the price then is $1.99. 

It's an interesting dilemma as a writer whether this is a good idea or not so much. I do like this story. It follows after a full-length novel, From Here to There, and is set on the same ranch where most of the earlier story takes place. The second one is about a family needing healing and ranch life around the holidays, plus the now married couple from the earlier romance.

I guess, I am being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century... Is that a good thing? 

If you had bought the Kindle, check out this link: A Montana Christmas, where you will find the novella and option for the audio book. There is a sample of the audio to listen if you are curious what computer generated sounds like. Since this is brand new to us, go to the link and Amazon will tell you what price any of it will be for this week since we are putting the Kindles on sale.

The book leading up to the story is at: From Here to There. It's both a romance and about what the American West is all about for those who may not already know. While the story takes place mostly in the modern West, it also is about what that has meant in this country, with much of it impacting values today-- some good and some maybe not so much. 

Both books are on sale at 99¢ from the 21st 'til the 30th.

This is a nice coincidence that today is the Solstice. The celebration for that happens to be in the novella/audio book. For those who don't know of such for the Solstice, it involves a fire to bring back the light. We are on our way from this day forward.

image from Stencil

Zen thinking

 This was not a good week for us as I got sick with some kind of stomach upset, which has improved, but not enough for me to write about my original idea for Saturday's blog. 

I decided instead to pull up some blogs from nearly 20 years ago and things I believed then, which I still do. Makes it handy to repeat it here for something fresh. Not sure how many of you read my blogs back then; but if so, even I'd forgotten these two. 

The key though is I still see things this way-- even as I no longer am that woman. Well I am mentally and emotionally but physically, not so much; but then, should I be? Life is about change, some decades more than others.This clearly looked like a good time for thinking about life. 

I still like all the quotes from earlier-- well except the one by Marsha Norman. If she was right, my soul is more confused than when I am awake lol. I like to dream though, one of the fun things for me about night-- although one of those recently was full of weird events. No nightmares but just what the heck was that about?

Friday, August 05, 2005

Zen Photographs

Photographs often are just recordings of events, places, but once in awhile one is what I call a Zen photograph-- they capture an idea, a feeling that is bigger than the individual elements within the photo. They are not greater art per se but carry a message which came not through careful planning but just a going with the flow or a lucky accident. They come out of a moment where the Universe flows through the camera to tell a story bigger than its parts.

This is such a photo. The woman has waded into the ocean, not way out, not swimming but she's in the sea of life. Her arms are opening to whatever she might want to hold. She is not afraid of the tides nor the huge sea behind her. She looks ahead toward life and what she can take into herself.

A Zen photo is a gift. This one shows what I wish my life to be.

August 2, 2005,

Favorite Quotes

Let my love like sunlight surround you and yet give you illumined freedom. Tagore

If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it is yours. If it doesn't, it never was.

Dreams are necessary to life. Anais Nin

I do not unmarry...... But I marry myself. I take my fate as within. Sena Jeter Naslund

Where we choose to be-- we have that power to determine our lives. We cannot reel time backward, but we can take ourselves to the place that defines our being. Sena Jeter Naslund

Dreams are ... illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you. Marsha Norman

The thing you have to be prepared for is that other people don't always dream your dream.  Linda Ronstadt

If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time.   Marcel Proust

The Talmud says, If I am not for myself, who will be? If I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?

What do they look like?

This blog will be carrying on the last topic about heroes. There, I discussed qualities of heroic men and woman. The code they live by is important in the book. Then, it comes down to what they look like where it comes to sales. Even if you use symbols or scenery, how will those impact the cover. Part of marketing is finding what will be seen. For some authors, covers happen before the book is written, for others, it's when it's finished.

When I began bringing out my romances as an independent author, I had to deal with exactly that since I wanted to make my own cover images for paperbacks and eBooks. I had described these characters in the stories, but hadn't tried to see them. as movie stars or people I knew.

To begin, I thought I could paint the cover images. After all, I was a sculptor and painter. Although I had also earlier written some historical romances, the ones I first put out were contemporary stories. It took time not only to figure out their faces but also their bodies. Sometimes, I wanted settings that fit the stories. Mostly, I did them in digital painting, something I'd been doing for a while. What could go wrong?

 

Turned out, apparently, a lot was wrong for readers. I was at that time in Amazon forum groups and learning more what not to do, than to do. The readers I talked to said they thought these covers looked too amateurish. I figured, since I was new to the game, that they probably knew better. 

 

To fit, what I was being told, was the beginning of my journey into the world of models for stories-- all kinds of characters but especially the main protagonists. It felt strange to be looking at faces and bodies while thinking-- nope not suitable enough or wow, that's the one!  I was rejecting people I would never know. It felt like a beauty contest. To begin, I didn't like it much, but I grew into accepting it.

Some of my characters had problems built into them. I had one heroine where she was no great beauty in the book, didn't care to be, and the images i found did not win favor when I used them. One of my heroes saw himself as ugly and had a very rugged look that the heroine saw as handsome to her. Now, I happen to know that to be true. People who might seem unattractive, based on features, sometimes have something that goes beyond that. Maybe it's charisma, but whatever it is, those kind of model images didn't exist unless they headed into villain territory.

 

Over time, I put together backgrounds with the closest models that worked for me-- kind of. I got better at the search as I went along... kind of.

 

 

How does one find that when what matters most for the readers will be some escapism? Sometimes they were okay with say a plump heroine but even then she had to be pretty. Ugly or plain wasn't good enough. While it works for life, not always for romances.

 

I recently read that Generation X (I think that's the right one), didn't like When Harry Met Sally because the hero wasn't good looking enough to attract the heroine who was more beautiful as a woman. As a much older woman, I have to wonder on that one if they had good eyesight. He was very attractive; but frankly looks aren't the bigger issue for many successful, romantic relationships. 

 

She's too pretty. He's too handsome. Come on, a lot of qualities matter far more in lasting marriages, but then that's not escapism, is it!

 

So,what I came to believe, is that for covers to attract readers, the models had to be ideal as a male or female type or forget the cover working. Interesting conundrum between the text and the images. Meanwhile, keep in mind why the readers need for what they are looking.  

 

When I began, the most difficult to find were blond males, who looked tough even to me. It's not like you can use a real movie star. I think there are more blond men now when I go to the sites, but I eventually found what I needed-- if not wanted.

 

When you write your book, you might create the cover first. It might even help you develop depth with the protagonists. I know those who do it that way as inspiration. 

 

Oh, add to that, getting the right fonts can be as important as the characters. Readers are quick to find something that makes them not bother to even try the book sample.  It has been claimed that potential readers only look for 2 - 4 seconds and go on-- hmmm.

 

Of course, many writers pay someone to do their covers and there are good sources for that. I personally wanted to do mine and still do, even if it loses some readers. To me, the art involved in a cover is part of the whole creative process. It expands the complexity of getting into it all. 

 

The images here are some of my original covers, all for my contemporary novels, which for a long time, have only adorned my computer. You know rules and marketing ideas have changed with time. I am reconsidering if maybe, for my contemporaries, which by the way aren't selling well anyway, these may reappear. For now, the current covers use models, you can find those with a search for Rain Trueax books, from contemporaries, to historicals, to paranormal/fantasies. If I make a change, with my editor's agreement, it will only be to the contemporaries. The others have sold pretty well.. for me. 

 

What got me was when I looked at the current cover for From Here to There, I expected to find a cover I didn't like as much. I liked this one better than what I had created and was considering changing-- which I didn't share above. 

 

This is a bit of a complicated story, with two love stories, one today and one in the past, the bigger one a love of the West. but still, now what to do? Maybe nothing, but this is the nature of writing and then publishing-- when it's all your choice. This one uses a model with a background photograph we took on one of our trips through the mountain west.

 

As a writer, what I like about using covers that I painted is they are not someone else's. They are the imaginary people I created. I like that. I do not want them to be a movie star or model. I want them to be these characters, the ones my imagination brought to reality, the issues they are facing. This one though does not tell you what she looks like, just her life.

 

Here's the big key to writing, in my opinion. Be flexible and aware of what works for your own imagination and muse. Trying to follow someone else is not being creative. It might sell, but it's not the joy of being a writer, not for me at least.

What is a hero?

 purchased  from Canstock-- the Green Man

Hero definition from Merriam-Webster dictionary: 

 a: mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

 b: an illustrious warrior

c: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities

 

d: one who shows great courage

 

If someone is writing an adventure romance, the hero matters very much, if it works or not-- be that any genre. Here is the truth, as I believe it to be from being a long time reader of romances and writer of adventure romances. Characters feel pretty much real, for the most part, but heroes are way above real. They are as the dictionary says-- warriors and mythological. They carry the action of the story and make it all work. In many cases, they make the story fun to write or read.

 

This is where the Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell can come into play. For writers, I highly recommend the book. He studied the form of the myths that have lasted through time. What about them can be used in plotting a novel for today? Now, I have to qualify this as it's not the critically approved novels. This is about the adventure stories, be the romances or suspense, from Clancy to Robards.

 

The first time the reader meets the hero, he may not seem very heroic. But as the adventure takes off, he will take on the mantle. He will be willing to sacrifice whatever is required to save his people and best the villain at his own game. 

 

Does a hero have to be a man? For my books, he will be, but the heroine (again can that word be used today as it once was?) will also fight for the victory, sometimes even save the hero. She will grow into her own challenges and be much more than a sweet little homemaker, though she might be that also -- or not.

 

I have personally had a hard time writing women that are stronger than the men. I also don't like writing victim heroines, where she is on the run or is in danger from a direction she didn't recognize. It is one of my weaknesses as a writer, that I prefer writing the male protagonists. I have to work to make my female characters more interesting.  I think that's a product of my age-- as in how we grew up with the movies and television shows.

 

One of the criticisms I got when I submitted my books to publishing houses back in the 1990s was the heroines had it too much together. They wanted the heroine to be in danger and then could the hero save  her? If it's a romance, the reader knows the answer, which is part of the appeal in the world of today where in real life, heroes and heroines too often end tragically. 

 

One of the appeals of romances is the difficult life many people are experiencing. A romance novel guarantees a happy ending. Who doesn't want that when life so often does not deliver it? A romance will, and even better if it's a suspense or adventure romance that will take us along for the journey with danger, maybe a few deep breaths or even tears, but it will work out.

 

Back to the hero. While in real life, our life partners may be a hero to our family and life, he is not what we will find in a romance novel. The guys there often appear on covers and they are gorgeous, muscular, often shaved chests and faces.They look like they can take care of any emergency. A popular genre lately has been with them being billionaires. Have you seen most real billionaires? That is not usually on the cover.

 

Of course, since this is a romance, there needs to be a man who knows how to appeal to a woman. If he didn't already know, he will learn. That might sound like fantasy, but it happens in real life too. What would a romance be without romance. When writing such books, I believe don't go overboard with too much lovey-dovey. Other things demand his and her attention. That's the challenge and the adventure.

purchased from Deposit Photos

Many (maybe most) romantic heroes are alphas, but that does not mean brutal or too controlling. Frankly if he is, the heroine will walk away or rise up in power to remind him that's not a good idea. Unless the stories are erotica, maybe, but even then she allows what is happening. Romance heroines are only abused by villains. This was not necessarily the case when these kinds of romances first grew in popularity, but today if any rape happens, it's not the hero doing it.

 

Repeating, real life heroes don't generally look like the books. Readers don't want them to, They are for escapism. When writing, it's part of the fun that you can control what happens. I can think of some real life serial killers that were quite good looking. Don''t make the mistake of thinking beauty guarantees goodness-- in males or females. 

Do writers fall in love with their heroes? I never have, but I do enjoy writing about them and that is true if they are a school principal or a cowboy or a marshal or a billionaire. They are imaginary creations and make writing enjoyable for writers and readers.

 

Personally, I believe we need to know the background of the hero. What led him to risk his life for others? Did he have a happy childhood or was it less than ideal? What he was is not all of who he is, but it has impacted it. The writer should know what it was as again, it's part of the escapism of being a writer that we can create what feels real and yet is exciting in a background sort of way. All that we know about a character does not have to appear in the pages. The emotional impact of it though will.

 

Over the years, I've read  sociological studies on who reads romance novels. What does it do to them? Does it it ruin marriages? Overall, the results seem to be romances are read most by those in high pressure jobs, like say nurses.  Marriages are not damaged by reading those books, as they are escapism, not wanted to be real, just to take a break from reality. They might though hide the covers if on a subway, train or bus as there are a lot of jokes around romance novels and those heroes and heroines :).  

You know men have their own escapes but they are different with suspense or macho heroes like a Tom Clancy book. One way or the other, neither sex want to live these escapes. Their lives are generally pretty good. My experience in talking with men who do give romances a try is they are surprised at the action in them.

Heroes come in many forms from the ones who spiritually save the world, the lovers (not only of women but of life and children) and those who are warriors that believe this is sometimes the only way for a good life.  

 

When you are writing a book, it all takes time to work through what is best and what works for the writer's own life. While writing and imagining what is to come, the world fades away into a new world and characters.

 I bought this image from Deposit Photos because it fits one side of the hero; but then, I worried if it had been made by AI. Is there a way to tell? It would never probably work for one of my book covers, given where my books are set. I can still enjoy the beauty and power of it, the energy that it takes to change the world when all seems going awry. What is a hero willing to sacrifice?

 

 

 

Chasing Characters

 

From 2007, this is a photo that Ranch Boss took, illustrating the inspirations I draw around when writing. In this case-- art (3 prints, 1 original oil), an old saddle, music, rocking chair, and out the window toward the creek. Music needs to be soundtracks with no lyrics to produce energy and not distractions.

Now, comes the next stage for a creative path where it comes to writing fiction, which could lead to short stories, articles, even YouTube fiction, or go onto a novelette, novella or full length novel. When looking for distractions to someone's personal life, where life is less than what they want, fiction writing/reading can be one way. 

Where it comes to creating, I have tried many paths, the ones where I spent the most time were painting, sculpture, and writing-- the latter where I think I've learned the most as I've done it over the most years-- from a kid to at this time of my life. 

My books are not bestsellers; so if that is your goal, maybe look elsewhere. If it is to find yourself carried away from your daily grind and find a creative work that inspires you, read on. I don't have a formula but rather a way of life, a rewarding part of my experiences. My hope is to inspire readers to find that also. For me, it has been writing adventure romances, both historical and contemporary.

People sometimes ask writers if they use real people in their stories. It is one of the risks of being a friend to an author. I do use real people but always mixed in with other aspects. It's nice to create characters a combination of fantasy and reality. Having known a variety of 'people types' through my many years, I can draw on a type, without turning it into a 'stereotype'. 

What to me is interesting about types is how in real life (or what we call real), people can be a type but there are more aspects to who they are. I think this works best in writing also. 

An example, I have one secondary character in my Arizona historicals where he made a great juxtaposition to the hot hero (in my romances all the heroes are hot even if they didn't appear to be on the first sighting of them), who teased about him being his mother since he'd never known a real one. That secondary turned out to make a hero for his own book (a novella), later in time, and readers got to see a second side to him that was there all along and they could reread and find it. Uh, yes, he was what can be considered old at almost sixty, but that didn't mean the fire was out. 

image purchased from Canstock to fit that character as I saw him

Humans have roles they often play in life, and hence it is with characters in books. Making characters feel real but still interesting  (let's face it, a lot of us are not that interesting as we go about our lives) is part of what makes time with those people enjoyable to readers and writers-- maybe escapism, which we can all use now and again. 

As a writer. I spend more time with my characters than any reader ever will-- which is why I want them to be interesting, especially when fleshing out the personalities of secondary characters. Make these people feel they could have lived and through them, we get to experience a different life.

As writers, we observe what is around us, which involves the terrain but also the community. I am very much a dreamer, as in a nighttime dreamer. My dreams are full of characters and experiences over which I have no control-- that I know of anyway. I find it amazing, when I wake up, what my brain or the muse has put together for a vivid night full of activity. Many nights, it's like watching a movie until dawn. 

Rarely do I have nightmares. I think that's because I don't watch horror movies or stories where violence is in the offing from the time I have turned on the remote. I know it can be a very successful genre like with Stephen King type writers. I just cannot spend that long with such danger. On the other hand, I love suspense in my stories and a good villain makes for a very interesting writing experience for me and worthy challenge for the protagonists. I guess there is a thin line. ???

Besides accumulating characters for books, there can be a lot of time between the original idea for a story and beginning to write it. I believe while we want it to feel real, we also want it to be an escape from daily reality. There is that thin line again. 

A big part of that working involves having meaningful main protagonists; for a romance, that means love interests, which my books mean hero and heroine (if we can still use those terms). So, next blog will involve those main characters, the ones that keep people reading and make them feel good for the adventure they just went on.

One of our photos in Montana and another example of what I love out here.Those black dots that you see in the distance are cattle. Up close, it's a herd of antelope. Some prey species travel individually and some in herds or flocks.

Finding A Creative Path

The image of the eagle and a dramatic sky, on an earlier blog, which I had bought some years back from Canstock, is one that inspired me. I had never used it in a cover or trailer for my books, but sometimes we need things for ourselves that help us reach out and up. Old or young, we can do that. 

The one above here is one that I personally found amusing (though likely the one who posted it was deadly serious), and that we took maybe more than twenty years ago. It is another image of the American West that some would find scary or irritating. I've never been in that store because that day we were on our way to Jerome, Arizona, but I've been in others very like it in other places in the West (that I might someday write about (if I can find photos to back up the story). Keep in mind that a creative path might not have in it all of what you expected.

We can pull up memories from our own lives, from earlier years-- especially when going through dark times. I've shown what I look like now. For the blogs to come, I'll share some of my earlier photos and memories that help me with creativity today with the hope it will encourage you to find your own soul places.

No, I am not the woman  in that photo today, well I am underneath some wrinkles and gray hair. About twenty years ago, I was her, standing there with my husband holding the camera, knowing we were staying in the motel just outside the park.

Today, it's holding those memories, not with regret that they are gone, but with joy that they ever were my reality. They can be pulled back in a time when such moments are not possible at my current age. I don't need them to be as I have the creative impulse that stays with me. Also, having been some special place, I can easily pull up the smells and feeling of the breezes, not just the view. I can use that when I write some of my books... or in a blog.

Finding our own creative path is not the same as for others. We should not want it to be, just be glad our path ever existed. The above photo is one of many we took at Monument Valley. I had always wanted to see it since it had been the background in many movies, especially John Ford westerns.

I wanted to learn more about its history, which added to the storage inside my head. I thought I'd be back, but never worked out not because of force but rather other opportunities. 

For the coming blogs, I will share not only the pieces of my life that benefit me today, but also the creative paths I follow today-- some with frustration as I deal with the march of time. 

There are various reasons why I've never set a book in Monument Valley, but I have used country near it. The Valley itself is owned by the Navajo nation, where they control access. Fortunately, visitors can drive the road and stop for many photos as we did. More good memories.

For me, the big thing is not thinking of such moments with regret. Just be glad they ever existed. Some people want to travel to Europe or other places across the ocean. I never did and turned down the opportunity whenever it arose. Ranch Boss has been around the world but always for work.

What I yearned for was to experience the American West, not as it once was, but as it is today. It is still there for those who want to look and are willing to be tough enough to spend time there-- and sometimes it can take some toughness-- to sleep under Western stars like Chris LeDoux sang about. 

We drove into the Wyoming country where LeDoux had his ranch, where Butch Cassidy and his gang had hidden away from the law. Beautiful land. I could never live there due to lack of money and not having been born there; but I could spend time there, take photographs, suck in the fragrances of sage and juniper, look at distant mountains knowing in some of them were grizzlies, black bears, cougars, and smaller predators as well as many mammals, where it is their country. 

 Again, with those memories, I feel lucky and sometimes write a book set out there. All of my books are dominantly set in the American West, the land west of the Mississippi. I've been to the East and the South and seen the beauty there too; but the West is my country, in my blood and what I most want to share with others through my books or this blog.

This link is to one of LeDoux's songs. Really worth hearing if you never have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SDXnQj_4_4

Creating a book trailer-- hopefully

 

November sunset from Casa Espiritu

When someone writes a book (I've written 30 with one still on the way), that's half the job, the rest (and maybe more) is marketing it through ads and other ways to get that book seen. That doesn't even mean bought as if it's not seen first, it won't be bought. The ads cost money, require some creativity, and can be fruitful... or not so much. It's also possible to write about it in various social media sites, which may or may not work out for sales.

Are sales that important? They are for those who want to be a full-time author without a second job. But even when writing as someone who loves doing it, there is a satisfaction with a sale. It enables paying for other elements of getting it seen and also just the enjoyment of knowing someone appreciated the writer's work. Writing can be a lonely job and seeing that a reader enjoyed a work through a purchase or review can be a connection that keeps that writer going.

There is another way to get a book seen-- book trailers. It is probably a lot less known or used.There are two kinds. One has the author talking about the book, usually 3 minutes but can vary depending on the money put into it. How long will vary on how interesting a discussion and where it's set.

A second type of book trailer, usually lasting a minute, with images, takes three things. First the images, which are usually purchased for the project or earlier feeling they might be of use someday. Some writers can pay for actors to portray some of their plot. In a subject trailer, there is also music. The creator needs royalty free music and images. My music for videos came mostly from JewelBeat, which is no longer active. What is it about the internet that nothing stays the same.  In my case, the rights were under Properties, royalty free, and found on my desktop. I listened to them and chose one that fit.

This trailer was for a book that had been out for a while, but I'd changed the title because the original one was potentially confusing to readers. The process I used is not the only one,possible. I have not watched a lot of book trailers, but I found a pattern that worked for me, cost very little money (other than that which I'd already put out off and on), and got across the key points I hoped to have in my stories. Without giving away the whole plot.

Creating the trailer itself seemed like it'd be easy as it had been before. I wanted it to depict the characters, their issues, and the overall theme. This book had a supernatural element, which made it fun to work with putting backgrounds to the characters. Usually the backgrounds are my photos and in this case in the area where the book was set-- Arizona. Some had been been purchased earlier.

A major oops came when I read that Picasa3, where I can created all my trailers, had been discontinued years ago. It no longer connected to the Internet as it didn't work with the Cloud... What!!! Dang internet and its constant upgrading. I had never used the Cloud but did need to send trailers to sites from my desktop and memory cards.

I still had Picasa3 on my computer but something was different, and I went looking for other video making sources. Nothing was easy enough for this Luddite. I went back to studying Picasa3 and found certain familiar areas.  Might it still work?

Getting my images in a Picasa folder was my first problem. From a standpoint of not thinking so much about the election, since this trailer problem all began on Tuesday, it had some advantages as a distraction. Staying busy with a creative- if frustrating- process took me away from the country's issues. It also helps that I don't watch any television.

I was still unsure that I could use Picasa3 and then I found more of the tools I used to use. With text on the images, it looked good. It went to YouTube perfectly.

Then came more frustration, a grammar error that I didn't discover until the trailer was out there. I debated leaving it but knew it'd bug me. I finally redid it, frustrated again with how it was to get the trailer into my blogger site for trailers. That problem was the Luddite in action again, and easily fixed.

There was one more discovery to pass on with anyone interested in creating their own trailers. Picasa3 is still available thanks to Google. It cannot directly send a trailer to various sites, but once it's on a desktop, it could be sent to YouTube where it is seemingly instantly ready to share. Best of all for Picasa3 is it's free. I though had my own version, which was still functional for creating.

At YouTube, the trailer is:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xp39filv44

At my Trailer Blog: http://rainydaytrailers.blogspot.com/2024/11/capturing-wolf.html This channel has many of my trailers-- some older versions not as good. I've learned as I've gone.

 

For a Kindle version of the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KDCI9VG  It also has a paperback with the old title. I might order the new version but for now I've had enough frustration.
 

Contingency Plan -- 3b

purchased from Canstock Images for inspiration and light

When I began this series, I had a list of issues I thought were important. There were more than I knew I could cover before the election, but covered as many as possible with simple essays. Since, I still believe I should go onto something new come November 9th (next Saturday's blog), it was time to stretch my thinking in a different way. I could pick one thing off the list, but...

• health care
• abortion
  
• taxes 
• voting IDs
  
• games/movies
• globalism-- one world government
  
• policing
• legal system
• economy
• divided country
•  environment 

Turned out, though the list still seems important, the new subject is not on it. It is inspired by what I've seen during the campaign through ads and speeches, but also what goes on in a culture as the elite side of a people, try to help the less elite do what is best... or is that what they're doing?

Before I start on the new subject, I want to say that I hope when the election is over we can let be whatever the result is and wait for the new leader to take office and begin to implement their ideas without the vitriol we've seen in recent times. 

I wish I felt more positive regarding that. Right now, I can't, not with all the venom out there, which I have personally run into-- fortunately, not here at the blog but in other social media. It is so important that we have a peaceful transition, as it was meant to be but hasn't always been. 

Having read/heard that one side and then another plans an insurrection if they lose, it looks as though violence is being plotted if loss happens. Some believe that was what the January 6th riot was. I do not think it had enough organization or smarts behind it for it to be more than a riot, which we had seen in cities across the country-- always when something dissatisfied the rioters. If though, a well-planned insurrection happened, could it work? I sure hope not. Even if it helped your side take power, how could that be good for a Constitutional government? Answer-- it could not.

Ranch Boss and I voted already, as Oregon is vote by mail; and in our case, we needed an absentee ballot for being in Arizona for the coming winter. I can't say we were happy with all our choices for ballot measures or candidates. We did the best we could for what we hope will be good for the state, country, and the world. 

It won't be easy, for either side, to not be upset if it goes against how we thought best; but it's the only real hope to continue to live a good life as well as for the community, finding any sort of unification. I don't want to be a hater for the next four years. Life is too sweet to ruin it for something we hurt ourselves more than others. If, we support a well-organized coup, those who take power will run things-- not the voters. Do we like that idea?

Some seem to be calling for a civil war. I have to think they've had no real experience with violence in their own life. Nobody should want a civil war, but instead work harder next time what they regard as a fairer result.

The subject for today, indoctrination, is important for voting wisely-- not only here but around the world as many have or will vote this year on possible change. Do we understand what change will mean? Who will tell us?

Indoctrination can happen not just with elections. Based on the dictionary, it means when an idea or belief is repeated so often it is accepted without questioning. Basically, it becomes dogma at a certain point.

When we look at history, we see what has been declared can be true or a lie-- like the earth is flat. It can lead to freedom or slavery. No one votes to become a slave, but they might give up freedoms when they don't realize it is at stake. 

We come into a season, like the US has just been having, with our own prejudices and opinions. Then, when we see an ad that fits that, watch out that we don't let it swamp any sense of reasoning we might have.

Indoctrination, which can also be called propaganda, is repeated again and again on Social Media, including sites like this one-- though I try hard not to do that. So what is a reader to do? Use discernment and even though we may want to believe an ad, still check it for truth in the supposed logic being used. 

As an example, I will use one of the more controversial issues remaining on the above list-- abortion. The ads I've seen the most frequently are on the side of protecting a legal right to abortion. The subject is emotional and very open to rage on either side. It also involves more than candidates but also ballot measures.

My problem with what I consider questionable logic is when it refers to the argument that the woman has a right to an abortion since it is her body. Yes, it's her body, but once pregnant, another body is also involved. Very tiny to begin, but it's growing and impacting the parent body. It has its own DNA, bones and organs. Does that mean she has no right to what is best for her body? I am not saying she doesn't, but that's the question, not that its our body.

Ads have argued that no man has a right to say what a woman should do where it comes to abortion. This is trying to create division and anger between the sexes.

 The other main point that ads and some politicians make is that the government has no right to impact the woman's body. Here's the problem there-- the government already impacts her body with requiring a helmet when on a motorcycle. It impacts what drugs a doctor can prescribe for her. If she has children, the government can impact her choices after they are born; and it does through social services if they are called in.

What I believe is we have to accept responsibility for making a choice to end an otherwise growing life. I don't consider it murder given the complexity, but I do feel we need to consider what we are doing. We might want to maintain the legal right, which, to me, is logical. But, be honest and not deceptive even to ourselves as to what's going on.

Now, I personally believe in early choice to have an abortion. Later, say after 15 weeks, a doctor should be the one determining the baby is nonviable, say its brain is no longer functioning. If the baby won't survive out of the womb and the mother would likely die, abortion seems a logical option. For many, opposed to all abortions, the arguments are more religious than biological.

Indoctrination does not just involve elections. Sometimes the laws are changed due to things we are told but are not necessarily proven.  When facing indoctrination, people need to think deeply and beyond emotional responses. Dogma can be very powerful.

How do we figure out for ourselves what is wise? It might be by personal experience. Today with Artificial Intelligence, we might believe something that never happened. Remember the old joke. Who you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes? Not so easy to determine right now where speeches can be created for someone who never said them.

There are many issues that we believe because of what we were told. To reach a point of questioning it all can lead to total chaos. On the other hand, to question can lead to wise choices if we look for facts.

Where it comes to indoctrination, I could list a lot more things, where I might agree or disagree with the popular stance, things I've been led to believe or don't, but I feel that's for each person to look at for themselves, as I have for myself once I felt it was okay to question. There are those who tell us to question nothing as it's ignorant or wrong. I was told all my life I question too much. Maybe so, but it's how I am and not likely to change now...

Next week this blog will move from political issues and hopefully something that will lead to more creativity and even joy. Our election will be over (although perhaps still counting or in the courts to determine winners depending on how close) with no discussions here about the results. 

The whining will likely increase, based on what I've seen so far. Will we turn to that and let it ruin our lives or find new things to inspire us? The main thing is, when we have the option, vote, wait for the outcome, then whatever happened. don't be a bemoaner-- that accomplishes nothing except angst or anger. I've voted where I lost and other times where I won for what I had hoped. Sometimes winning didn't turn out as I had hoped either. Life went on either way.

What Does Adapt Mean?

 For the next blog, a natural seemed to follow immigration. People sometimes leave their homes because of climate change where they no longer can support themselves by work they have always done. There are reasons beyond climate change as in violence or lack of the income they could earn elsewhere; but we currently do see example of droughts that make it tough to grow crops even enough to feed the current population.

I began to research climate change a little differently than I had before when I knew I'd be writing about it. I have considered if, of course, when I was told by various groups that we'd all die if we didn't change our ways. The problem was when the Green New Deal was proposed by progressives that it had much to do with social change as much as climate change. It turned a lot of people off to listening to the ones proposing it, who were usually woke. How many know today what the Green New Deal even proposed? The following came from a source, where the link is below.

• The Green New Deal wants to institute changes that would lead the U.S. to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and 100 percent renewable energy. 
• To do this, the bill proposes investments specifically geared toward communities that have been impacted by climate change, as well as investments in renewable power, clean energy manufacturing, zero-emission transportation, and sustainable farming.
• The bill also proposes broad infrastructure repair, affordable and energy-efficient power grids, ecosystem restoration, and hazardous waste clean-up.
• The Green New Deal would instruct the U.S. to collaborate globally for a more cohesive approach to climate change.

 This was in: https://marketrealist.com/p/green-new-deal-summary/, which said it was estimated it would cost the US $93 trillion  Since this was proposed in the House and Senate, there has been a lot more coming out for what we need to do to avoid catastrophe in the United States and for the world. For instance, cattle are bad as they put out methane. Hence they should go and people need to be vegans, as cheese is also a no no.  

Of course, most of this won't happen first. It's a process that the climate people want to see gradually happen. For instance there was the Paris Accords, which have many bans on so-called developed countries that are not carried over to developing countries, which included China, close to being the dominant country in the world as it's growing.

NOW, here comes my take as an average person and not a scientist trained in climate (which is not weather). btw, these photos are all at Chaco Canyon twenty-five years ago. When we went there, it was claimed they were the Anasazi People. Today, as so often happens, they are called Ancestral or Ancient Pueblo People. It is believed that Chaco was a religious center for them.

To start on Climate Change,, I don't think that conservatives totally disagree that climate is changing. More, it's that it has been always changing from the time humans were developed enough to notice. I suppose there are some that don't believe climate is changing today, but they aren't paying attention to their own neighborhoods or the storms, which human are measuring and sometimes being devastated by. 

The question is how much difference can humans make to it, and what will a change do?  

At one time, humans (many today also) put all their faith in a god, their god to either destroy or save. Today, for many who don't count on a deity, they count on science and why not. Look what it's accomplished for the human population, at least the developed side. 

When it's suggested that coal, oil, gas, should be eliminated from use, it's not going after all the places they are used. It's developed countries. They don't want to get rid of all cars, just gas fueled ones-- except they then need electricity, in many areas where it's hard to get enough electricity for the homes it already serves, let alone if everyone gets an electric car. 

Can we depend on solar, when it only works with the sun? Or windmills when wind isn't extensive enough everywhere? There might yet be a new fuel for homes, vehicles, and don't forget planes, but it's not here right now.

This does not mean I am against doing what we can about CO2 and Methane, but it seems it is all I see discussed. There is a reason to be concerned given the example of many ancient civilizations. I have some links that those looking for more info on those and what went wrong. One of the theories was that they could not or would not adapt. Might we fall into that trap? 

Another question to go with that is-- could they adapt? When the Hittites based their early, very successful civilization on growing grains, maybe with a severe drought, such as they had, there was no other option for the large population. That happened to other cultures also as you will see in some of those links. So, adapting might mean leaving, but to where? Strangers aren't always welcome; and when they do get accepted, they can't always bring their culture with them.

The idea of an increasingly hot climate from global climate change is questioned in this link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13991003/Gulf-Stream-COLLAPSE-soon-scientists.html What if, due to ocean changes, we get a new ice age as the earth has experienced before?  If you haven't seen the sci-fi film, Day After Tomorrow, this might be a good time... or maybe not.

One of my concerns, which isn't being considered (from what I read) as much as changing the climate, is what do we do about areas that might be less livable with the change, like say oceans rising. It makes a lot of us wonder about the Obamas having a home on the ocean, two actually? Doesn't a rising ocean concern them or maybe they are on the ice age team?

 

Adaptation is about more than changing the climate (how would we change sun cycles, which may impact warming) beyond from a human angle, but instead figure out where can humans still live?

I know many very intelligent people are addressing these things; and for those worried, they are worth searching out for technical papers. For this essay, there are some simple links, which suits my simple thinking. I like to think-- what can we actually do as individuals; and I don't think, for most of us, buying an electric car, with a very expensive battery to replace and questions of getting electricity, isn't what we can do. We can though figure out if where we currently live will be negatively impacted when change happens. We can be sure we are keeping on hand supplies, just in case a big shift abruptly happens, as it seems it has in the past, which might involve new diseases. Be alert and aware.

Voting for those who have smart, realistic answers to our cultures might be a start. Head in the sand won't fix anything.

Sources:

• https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=mnet&hsimp=yhs-001&type=type9049412-spa-3583-84499&param1=3583&param2=84499&p=which+cultures+were+destroyed+by+climate+change
• On the Hittites, The Guardian. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
•  https://climate.nasa.gov/news/1010/climate-change-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-civilizations/

Heading Down the Road -- Or Not

Looking down my list of issues, one of them is very important, perhaps the most important for the difference between our two American parties, and probably the parties in other countries. Immigration. 

Every nation on the earth, with a few small exceptions, was at one time or another, populated by immigrants in one form or the other. Yes, there are peoples who believe they came different ways, like up through a hole in the earth, but they didn't. Those are popular mythologies but reality is adventurers, explorers, and migrants traveled from their homelands to what they regarded as a more hospitable place. 

The exception would be those who evolved where they ended up. There are several of those locations based on archaeology, but most of them also headed elsewhere when the wanderlust overcame them or their current life became undesirable. We don't generally leave places without a reason.

At a certain point, to avoid wars, countries established borders. It gave clear dimensions to a nation and rules for entering, dependent on each country's concerns. This gave stability and a system possible for governing depending on that country's values. Which, is where we are today.

Before I go into the present on immigration issues, here is my history where this is concerned. The Trueax side of my family came long ago to what was known as the New World. They came out of religious persecution.  I don't know when the first on my mother's family came but it was way back to East Coast communities. Way down the lineage, the last immigrants, my great grandparents came from Germany and Scotland. 

When people came, they wanted to be part of this building nation, speak the language, or at least have their children speak it. They wanted to be part of its future. That's what was needed back then for the many diverse directions from which people came. Of course, I know not all originally came because they wanted to be Americans. Some came as slaves. Some to work before going back from where they had come, and others as indentured servants due to debts or crimes.

Personal immigration seems a good place to share a recent photo of myself. I always like to know what the writers I read look like,  so I took this one during my 81st birthday week. This is in our desert house, sitting at my desk. One more picture is coming, after I've written about our modern immigration problem. 

One more thought, off the topic. Aging is what it is and nobody, who is fortunate enough to live to be old, avoids it even if surgeries may seem as though they fool for a while-- not worth it for me. They won't change the things that matter most in life. Nevertheless, not many savor looking old. lol It is what it is, and the old better find other things that matter more, and there are plenty. Someday I'll write about aging but today is for something else.

The issue here on immigration is only about those who did not come in legally. Immigrants can acquire legal status through the government. The US allows in, with a path to citizenship, almost 600,000 immigrants from various countries and walks of life. Yearly, we also have over 300,000 students, and another number yearly, coming in with green cards to work. The latter two generally go home eventually. I got the numbers from this link: https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-immigrants-are-coming-to-the-us/

The problem is not them but the ones coming illegally, by boat sometimes, but most especially across our southern border. Some claim they are refugees, which they have to prove in a court hearing-- except, not all come back for it. Hence, the country has no idea from where they came, what their skills are, nor do we know if they truly want to be residents. What if their desire is to overthrow the country either by sheer numbers or violence? When you don't know, nobody can guarantee these arrivals are safe-- although it's likely most are.

Another complication is for some reason those here illegally get to cities that claim to be refugee spots and they are given hotel rooms, money, and maybe even jobs of some sort. This is all not for US citizens to know... 

When we have so many already homeless people, with no such comfortable rooms, might not citizens wonder what's really going on with tax revenues. Especially regarding our large homeless problem with people in tents, sleeping with a blanket in parks or on the streets. For those interested in the homeless problem in the US, (most recently, the number  was 653,104)  here are some statistics: https://www.usich.gov/guidance-reports-data/data-trends and https://www.statista.com/chart/24642/total-number-of-homeless-people-in-the-us-by-year/ 

You might wonder why suddenly I am posting links. It's because I read someone saying they wanted to know from where writers got their numbers. I usually said research it like I did, but not that hard to add the sites.

Here is a group that looks at the number of undocumented people living in the United States. It makes clear how much confusion there is figuring it out: https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2024/how-many-million-immigrants-america-illegal/

That is the problem, but here is the concern regardless of the numbers. Say we have 11 million here without papers, who are they? Some have worked hard since they got here, took jobs no one wanted, have established families, and value what this country stands for. They are not wanting to overturn the nation. 

As one man said when Victor Davis Hanson asked him at a grocery store, when the professor recognized he was an immigrant, Why did I come here? Well, it wasn't to have it be like Mexico from where I came. That answer said he wanted a stable system without rampant gang activity.

Also most of those who favor open borders don't live in the communities impacted by them with cheaper wages for workers and less housing. The violence is also more of an issue in some areas than others. Most know  about that too.

If you pay attention, you know that gangs from other countries have moved through the US to settle in many communities, including small ones, probably most for drug sales. A lot of their violence is directed at their own communities; so you don't experience that as those people do.

By allowing people to work as undocumented, they often not only get less wages, but so do those competing with them. If an employer can pay someone less and even avoid taxes, there are those who will do it

What is the answer for immigration? In my opinion it is send home the ones who recently breached the system, build a good border fence and have enough agents to protect it. Pay those agents good wages as it's a very tough job.  Then increase the number of people coming in legally to help with the needed work. Keep them fair, not under the table. 

Try to bring in those who value from where this country came, want to keep its best parts, and help improve those parts where it needs work. Encouraging immigrants to learn English, our language, is a good start. They also can, as many have, keep their original languages, but if you don't speak English here, you will have a harder time working for those who don't speak Spanish, etc. and can end up being cheated on wages by some.

So, more legal immigrants on a path to citizenship and way less illegal who we have no idea of their background or intentions. Sending back the ones who cheated in the line might be part of what it takes. Since many of them are being put up at fancy hotels, at government expense, it could save federal and states money.

Do not send back those who have been here a long time with families, having committed no violent crimes, and who have solid jobs. The ones here 10 years or more need to also be on a path to citizenship for their sake and the country's.

Well, I did say one more picture. This is my husband with me taken a few hours after the above one. We celebrated our 60th anniversary in September and both are 81. So far the marriage seems to still be working out well (with, as usual, a few glitches along the way). At our age, we talk a little more about health issues or what about after death-- cremation for both of us. When you get to 80, it feels different than any earlier decades as obviously more likely will go wrong. We try to be positive and both have our strong interests to keep at least our minds alert. *s*