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Den sweet den
General | Posted 13 years agoHome at the Chakat's Den again. After spending a day and a half with Roy Pounds, he took me to the BART station and I headed off to San Francisco Airport. It was an uneventful trip home, but the plane was half empty, and I had a whole centre row of seats to myself. For the first time, I got to sleep on a plane lying down. Not the most comfortable of beds, but it still beats sleeping upright.
Jet-lagged as hell, and dreading having to go to work tomorrow. So much scanning to do!
Jet-lagged as hell, and dreading having to go to work tomorrow. So much scanning to do!
Three more days
General | Posted 13 years agoThanks to my very good friends, Jim and Carol Alves, I got picked up from LAX again, and I had a place to sleep. After the dust had settled, I had been rebooked for a flight home... in three days! So I don't fly out until Sunday night - providing that one doesn't break down also. It also goes via San Francisco, so I asked if I could do that leg two days sooner. After thinking about it a bit, they said yes, so now I have got an opportunity to visit 
steamfox which I thought I would not have this trip. I'll be late getting back to work, but at least one good thing came out of this.
steamfox which I thought I would not have this trip. I'll be late getting back to work, but at least one good thing came out of this.Stuck in L.A.
General | Posted 13 years agoWell, America must like me too much, because it broke my aeroplane, and my United Airlines flight is completely cancelled. I am stuck in America for at least one more day, and maybe more, depending on how much juggling that they have to do to get everyone re-booked. If I had known sooner, I might have been able to book a seat on a Qantas flight instead. Too late now though.
Another con ended
General | Posted 13 years agoWell, it's Monday and Anthrocon 2012 is finished. Despite several hours sleep, I am still tired, but at least I'm not frustrated. Sales went reasonably well, and while I would have liked to have sold at least half a dozen more books, I still made a bit of profit, and I won't have to worry about having too many books to lug back.
I sold out of the newest book on the first day. I had sold a couple on my way to Pittsburgh, and I was afraid that I had under-ordered those. Friday was a very good day for sales, as has proved to be the case in the past years. Saturday was dead for a lot of people, and I sold only six books all day. Sunday started off dead, but I managed to do some decent sales later.
As usual, my sales paid for more sketchbook art for my stories, and I will have quite a lot of scanning to do when I get home. Not as much as usual though, except for the pile of sketches that Seth Triggs knocked out for me in an amazingly short time. He drew pictures of the Chakonan government buildings, exteriors and interiors, and the main train station. That will add very nicely to the information for that world. Unfortunately, due to having to attend a family reunion, he could only be there Thursday.
We held a Chakat Nom & Yap at "Tonic Bar & Grill" on Saturday after Uncle Kage's story hour. We had 21 attendees, and the event was very successful, even if it was a tad hard to have a conversation against the background noise. Thanks to everyone who turned up!
Found out that there was a fairly large Aussie contingent this year - up to 16 of us, I hear. Cynwolfe, our MiDFur chairman was one of them, as well as Jenner, author/artist of the Doc Rat web comic. He held a cocktail party on Sunday evening. Met up again with a lovely girl who goes by the name of Dingo, and have been enjoying her company. Sadly we will have to part ways today.
Tomorrow I have to catch a flight back to California at a ridiculously early hour of the morning. Not looking forward to that! I really would like to sleep a bit longer.
I sold out of the newest book on the first day. I had sold a couple on my way to Pittsburgh, and I was afraid that I had under-ordered those. Friday was a very good day for sales, as has proved to be the case in the past years. Saturday was dead for a lot of people, and I sold only six books all day. Sunday started off dead, but I managed to do some decent sales later.
As usual, my sales paid for more sketchbook art for my stories, and I will have quite a lot of scanning to do when I get home. Not as much as usual though, except for the pile of sketches that Seth Triggs knocked out for me in an amazingly short time. He drew pictures of the Chakonan government buildings, exteriors and interiors, and the main train station. That will add very nicely to the information for that world. Unfortunately, due to having to attend a family reunion, he could only be there Thursday.
We held a Chakat Nom & Yap at "Tonic Bar & Grill" on Saturday after Uncle Kage's story hour. We had 21 attendees, and the event was very successful, even if it was a tad hard to have a conversation against the background noise. Thanks to everyone who turned up!
Found out that there was a fairly large Aussie contingent this year - up to 16 of us, I hear. Cynwolfe, our MiDFur chairman was one of them, as well as Jenner, author/artist of the Doc Rat web comic. He held a cocktail party on Sunday evening. Met up again with a lovely girl who goes by the name of Dingo, and have been enjoying her company. Sadly we will have to part ways today.
Tomorrow I have to catch a flight back to California at a ridiculously early hour of the morning. Not looking forward to that! I really would like to sleep a bit longer.
All's well so far
General | Posted 13 years agoMatt McCullar drove me to the airport bright and early this morning (Wednesday 13 June). Despite a fifteen minute delay in my departure from DFW, I connected with my Pittsburgh flight in Chicago without a problem, and arrived on schedule at the Westin this afternoon. Boyce Kline beat me there though. Also met up with Cynwolfs, Jenner, and a few other Aussie furs who also arrived today. No problems with overweight luggage. No problems with my new phone. I'm feeling very optimistic about this year's Anthrocon trip.
The adventure so far...
General | Posted 13 years agoIt has been an eventful few days since I arrived in America on Thursday (June 7). The flight from Australia went smoothly and on time. Although I normally fly via Qantas, this time I flew with United Airlines. Upon entering the aircraft, I was impressed with the modern upgrades to the business class section. However, stepping into the economy section was like time travelling back a decade. It's unchanged since I first started travelling overseas, and Qantas is at least two generations ahead in this area. However, because the flight was only about 2/3 full, I had an empty seat next to me, and extra space in economy is definitely a luxury.
Not happy with Immigration at LAX though. United's terminal has its own international section which has 36 counters, only 20 of which were operating though, and of those, 12 were for US citizens. Of course the non-US queue was twice as long, and I was about 2/3 down it. I was in that queue for 70 minutes, and as the US line shrank, they started topping it up from the back of my queue. By the time that I finally got processed, my line had shrunk so that I was in the last dozen people processed! I was being met by Jim and Carol Alves, and by that time, they were wondering if they had come to the wrong terminal to meet me, and Jim had gone off to check out the Tom Bradley international terminal just in case, so Carol and I had to wait for him to return.
One of the first things that I did before we even got back to the Alves place was to stop by a Verizon store and set myself up with a permanent phone account. I took the cheapest option, but for a quite reasonable price, I now have a new phone and a US phone number. No repitions of last year's disaster with global roaming! My Australian phone will remain off except in the case of dire emergency.
That afternoon, we went to a baseball game as has become my habit on each of these trips. We follow a single A team called the High Desert Mavericks who have been doing very well this season. Unfortunately they did not pull off a win for me this time, but it was still a good game.
After only an overnight stay at the Alves, they took me to Ontario Airport and I flew to DFW. Again a smooth flight, and this time my luggage was where it was supposed to be. I had to wait for Matt McCullar who was picking me up after work. Most aggravating were the half dozen people who parked their cars illegally in the passenger pick-up zone, motors running so that they could have their air conditioning running. Some were there twenty minutes or more - I didn't think to time them - and there weren't any airport staff around to move them along. Because they were there, it was hard to see cars approaching, and those that were legitimately there to pick up people who were waiting had to double-park to do so. I almost missed seeing Matt as he passed. he missed me completely, but not just because of the parked cars, but because he failed to recognise the man with the beard and the hat! This was my little joke on him that almost backfired. On his second orbit of the pick-up zone, he used his cell phone to confirm that I was there, and still couldn't believe his eyes when I started waving to him.
We stopped for food on the way to his place - they ran out of all but snacks on the flight! Lyn "Ferret" Thomson was waiting for us when we got home, and we were joined later by Gary Akins. That weekend we had many others join us for "Mattcon", including Cindy and Dirk Martine, Allen "Redbear" Fesler, and Gregg and Melissa Anderson (a.k.a. Mythril and Snowheart). Food, fun and friendship were the order of the day, and later Matt brought out his new telescope so that we couild have a look at a couple of planets. I have seen Saturn's rings directly for the first time in my life.
Not happy with Immigration at LAX though. United's terminal has its own international section which has 36 counters, only 20 of which were operating though, and of those, 12 were for US citizens. Of course the non-US queue was twice as long, and I was about 2/3 down it. I was in that queue for 70 minutes, and as the US line shrank, they started topping it up from the back of my queue. By the time that I finally got processed, my line had shrunk so that I was in the last dozen people processed! I was being met by Jim and Carol Alves, and by that time, they were wondering if they had come to the wrong terminal to meet me, and Jim had gone off to check out the Tom Bradley international terminal just in case, so Carol and I had to wait for him to return.
One of the first things that I did before we even got back to the Alves place was to stop by a Verizon store and set myself up with a permanent phone account. I took the cheapest option, but for a quite reasonable price, I now have a new phone and a US phone number. No repitions of last year's disaster with global roaming! My Australian phone will remain off except in the case of dire emergency.
That afternoon, we went to a baseball game as has become my habit on each of these trips. We follow a single A team called the High Desert Mavericks who have been doing very well this season. Unfortunately they did not pull off a win for me this time, but it was still a good game.
After only an overnight stay at the Alves, they took me to Ontario Airport and I flew to DFW. Again a smooth flight, and this time my luggage was where it was supposed to be. I had to wait for Matt McCullar who was picking me up after work. Most aggravating were the half dozen people who parked their cars illegally in the passenger pick-up zone, motors running so that they could have their air conditioning running. Some were there twenty minutes or more - I didn't think to time them - and there weren't any airport staff around to move them along. Because they were there, it was hard to see cars approaching, and those that were legitimately there to pick up people who were waiting had to double-park to do so. I almost missed seeing Matt as he passed. he missed me completely, but not just because of the parked cars, but because he failed to recognise the man with the beard and the hat! This was my little joke on him that almost backfired. On his second orbit of the pick-up zone, he used his cell phone to confirm that I was there, and still couldn't believe his eyes when I started waving to him.
We stopped for food on the way to his place - they ran out of all but snacks on the flight! Lyn "Ferret" Thomson was waiting for us when we got home, and we were joined later by Gary Akins. That weekend we had many others join us for "Mattcon", including Cindy and Dirk Martine, Allen "Redbear" Fesler, and Gregg and Melissa Anderson (a.k.a. Mythril and Snowheart). Food, fun and friendship were the order of the day, and later Matt brought out his new telescope so that we couild have a look at a couple of planets. I have seen Saturn's rings directly for the first time in my life.
Alternate site
General | Posted 13 years agoYes, I know my website is still down. No, I still don't know why.
However, you can get most of your chakat fix at my back-up site at https://www.chakat.com
Not everything is there yet, so please don't bother pointing out broken links. This is not intended to replace the main website, but be there for times like this.
{{{EDIT}}}
And the main site is finally back again! Please stick to using the main site (when it's not down!).
However, you can get most of your chakat fix at my back-up site at https://www.chakat.com
Not everything is there yet, so please don't bother pointing out broken links. This is not intended to replace the main website, but be there for times like this.
{{{EDIT}}}
And the main site is finally back again! Please stick to using the main site (when it's not down!).
Last expense
General | Posted 13 years agoI just forked over the dollars for the last expense before I fly out to America on Thursday - travel insurance. Because you'd have to be crazy to travel to America without it!
Better forget about it!
General | Posted 13 years agoAnyone who has ever bought a book directly from me in Australia and had it mailed to them in America knows how expensive air mail is. It's gotten worse. The US government has now imposed a "Security Fee" of $9 for all packages weighing 500 grams or more. That's about 1.1 pounds for those of you who are metric-impaired. It's also the weight over which most of my book packages go. "Life's Dream" is the biggest that can scrape under that limit. I had to post a package a few days ago that weighed 550g and the postage plus the extra fee came to $33.00!!! So unless you really want to pay a ridiculous amount of money, I suggest you forget about it.
I'm also wondering how it can possibly cost $9 to scan a parcel.
{{{EDIT}}}
It has now been determined that the fee seems to have been imposed solely by Australia Post who are happy to have people imply that the US government is responsible.
NO MORE COMMENTS PLEASE!
I'm also wondering how it can possibly cost $9 to scan a parcel.
{{{EDIT}}}
It has now been determined that the fee seems to have been imposed solely by Australia Post who are happy to have people imply that the US government is responsible.
NO MORE COMMENTS PLEASE!
The preliminary Anthrocon schedule is out...
General | Posted 13 years ago...and it looks like the chakat group has been overlooked again. All they have online as of today is an annoying spreadsheet, but to the best of my knowledge, my requested panel has not been included. I'll check the official program guide when I get there to be extra sure, but right now it's time to start thinking about organising an unofficial gathering. Suggestions anyone?
Website down... again
General | Posted 13 years agoYes, I am aware that my main website is down. It does that occasionally, and I have no control over it. It will be back when it's back.
However, all is not lost. I now have a mirror site in operation for times like these. I don't have everything on it as yet - there's just too much to upload all at once. This one is meant *only* for when the main site is down because I am taking advantage of a friend's server, and if too much data goes through, it costs. Anyway, you will find it at http://www.chakat.com
By the way, I have just uploaded the final two chapters in the "Consequences" story by Honeymane, so now you have another excuse to check it out.
Tail high!
Goldfur
However, all is not lost. I now have a mirror site in operation for times like these. I don't have everything on it as yet - there's just too much to upload all at once. This one is meant *only* for when the main site is down because I am taking advantage of a friend's server, and if too much data goes through, it costs. Anyway, you will find it at http://www.chakat.com
By the way, I have just uploaded the final two chapters in the "Consequences" story by Honeymane, so now you have another excuse to check it out.
Tail high!
Goldfur
Just a month more
General | Posted 13 years agoNot much longer now, and I'll be flying off to America once more. I've said this before, but it bears repeating - I would not have been able to do so this year if it was not for the generosity of several people. Thank you all!
The money that I earn from my book sales is spent in two ways - (1) helping to pay my debts, and (2) financing the art that illustrates my stories. No money from my regular day job is allocated towards the latter nowadays, so if sales are good, I can afford more pictures, and if they're bad... well, too bad.
However, now that I have a new book out, hopefully I will get a resurgence in sales. Of course I will be bringing Tales From the Chakat Universe with me to Anthrocon. I have placed my stock order of books, and hopefully I've judged it better than last year and won't get stuck with a great deal of overstock.
I have not heard anything about Anthrocon programming, so I have no idea whether we will be having an official chakat track yet, but one way or the other, there will be a meet-up sometime during the con.
The money that I earn from my book sales is spent in two ways - (1) helping to pay my debts, and (2) financing the art that illustrates my stories. No money from my regular day job is allocated towards the latter nowadays, so if sales are good, I can afford more pictures, and if they're bad... well, too bad.
However, now that I have a new book out, hopefully I will get a resurgence in sales. Of course I will be bringing Tales From the Chakat Universe with me to Anthrocon. I have placed my stock order of books, and hopefully I've judged it better than last year and won't get stuck with a great deal of overstock.
I have not heard anything about Anthrocon programming, so I have no idea whether we will be having an official chakat track yet, but one way or the other, there will be a meet-up sometime during the con.
A little hiccup
General | Posted 13 years agoI submitted my request for annual leave for June a little while back, and just the other day got the bad news that I don't have enough hours saved up to cover the entire duration - about two and a half days short in fact. I was afraid of that because of the extended break that I took due to Gary Akins visiting for MiDFur. The good news is that I will be allowed to take all the days that I wanted. The bad news is that it will of course be unpaid. A bit more that I will have to try to make up in sales at Anthrocon or online.
Speaking of sales though, work is well under way to get my next book ready for publication soon. "Tales From The Chakat Universe" should be available in a few weeks. This book will be a bit different from the others in as much as it will be half stories, and half "factual" articles on the Chakat Universe, including "An Introduction To Chakats".
Speaking of sales though, work is well under way to get my next book ready for publication soon. "Tales From The Chakat Universe" should be available in a few weeks. This book will be a bit different from the others in as much as it will be half stories, and half "factual" articles on the Chakat Universe, including "An Introduction To Chakats".
Time for a bit of a break
General | Posted 13 years agoThe past week has been extraordinarily busy for me, mostly due to the fact that I am the admin for the Ursa Major Awards website, and the ballot needed to be prepared for the voting which started on March 15. As always, there were the usual dramas and hassles behind the scenes, and technical difficulties that kept me from getting much sleep for a couple of days. However, that's all been done now, and the last of the bugs ironed out. Anyway, if you're a fan of the anthropomorphic genre, may I suggest that you go to the voting login page and put in your votes for the final nominees for the 2011 Awards. Your participation is my reward for the work that I put into it. And please pass the word around!
Of course, the UMA was not the only thing preoccupying my time. As you probably know, I am also on the board for the MiDFur convention, and our esteemed chairman had declared that the board was having an online meeting on Monday. However, due to issues with Skype, we failed to be able to have a voice meeting, so we had only some text stuff. It still took up precious time though.
And finally, I have been working on my latest story. It needs a bit of rewriting before it will be ready for release, but I hope to get it done this weekend. Meanwhile I intend to take it easy for today as a bit of a break from the stressful week, which included a heck of a workload at my place of employment.
Of course, the UMA was not the only thing preoccupying my time. As you probably know, I am also on the board for the MiDFur convention, and our esteemed chairman had declared that the board was having an online meeting on Monday. However, due to issues with Skype, we failed to be able to have a voice meeting, so we had only some text stuff. It still took up precious time though.
And finally, I have been working on my latest story. It needs a bit of rewriting before it will be ready for release, but I hope to get it done this weekend. Meanwhile I intend to take it easy for today as a bit of a break from the stressful week, which included a heck of a workload at my place of employment.
Nominate my stuff please!
General | Posted 14 years agoI've left this a bit late, I know, but I have a couple of things eligible for nomination for the Ursa Major Awards. Firstly, there's issue #57 of South Fur Lands. That is the final ever issue of the fanzine, and it would be nice if it at least got nominated.
Secondly my book, Other Trails Taken, is eligible in the Other Literary Work because it's a collection of stories, even if they are sequential.
And while you're there, why not nominate some other worthy works by other people?
http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm
Secondly my book, Other Trails Taken, is eligible in the Other Literary Work because it's a collection of stories, even if they are sequential.
And while you're there, why not nominate some other worthy works by other people?
http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm
Forest Tales now e-ready
General | Posted 14 years agoForest Tales joins the list of books that are now available in e-book format at Smashwords. Like the others, it costs a full third less than the paper version - $16.99
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/135573
And for those who prefer to go through Amazon, it should be available in a couple of days.
If you're wondering if all the illustrations will be in it, I'm afraid not. For starters, I can't use any of the more adult images, although I did censor a couple with Photoshopped tops. The biggest problem is that the images added too much to the file size, and I have a strict limit of 5MB. So I squeezed in as many as I could, and regretfully had to leave out many others.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/135573
And for those who prefer to go through Amazon, it should be available in a couple of days.
If you're wondering if all the illustrations will be in it, I'm afraid not. For starters, I can't use any of the more adult images, although I did censor a couple with Photoshopped tops. The biggest problem is that the images added too much to the file size, and I have a strict limit of 5MB. So I squeezed in as many as I could, and regretfully had to leave out many others.
Anthrocon trip update
General | Posted 14 years agoTwo bits of news today. First, I got my brand new passport. I'm set for another ten years. Well - nine and half really. I need at least six months validity on my passport to enter the U.S. on a tourist visa.
Second - American Airlines has seen fit to make a schedule change. Actually it's a complete flight change. Maybe they cancelled flight 440 from Ontario because now I'm on flight 1491 leaving nearly an hour later (11:30am) and arriving at DFW at 4:25pm. Very annoying. Oh well, it's better than some forced changes I've had to make.
Second - American Airlines has seen fit to make a schedule change. Actually it's a complete flight change. Maybe they cancelled flight 440 from Ontario because now I'm on flight 1491 leaving nearly an hour later (11:30am) and arriving at DFW at 4:25pm. Very annoying. Oh well, it's better than some forced changes I've had to make.
Nearly there
General | Posted 14 years agoWell, I booked my interstate flights on Friday. As I feared, but could do nothing about, the prices have gone up a bit since I first checked them out. Worse still, the available flights from DFW to Pittsburgh sucked. I had a choice of an expensive direct flight at a poor time, or a cheaper indirect flight at a near perfect time. Although the indirect flight is much cheaper, it has the horrible flaw of going via *SHUDDER* Chicago O'Hare. Here's hoping that they don't have the storms at that time like they did last year, or else that earlier flight will arrive later than the late flight.
For those who need to know, or are just curious, here's my itinerary:
Ontario, CA to DFW, Texas - Friday 8 June, depart 10:40am, arrive 3:40pm. Flight AA440
DFW to Pittsburgh (via Chicago) - Wednesday 13 June, depart 9:20am, arrive 2:25pm. Flights AA2332 + AA4133
Pittsburgh to Ontario (via DFW) - Tuesday 19 June, depart 9:00am, arrive 2:00pm. Flights AA1891 + AA1649
Thanks once again to the people who have been helping me get there, and pay my expenses when I do get there!
For those who need to know, or are just curious, here's my itinerary:
Ontario, CA to DFW, Texas - Friday 8 June, depart 10:40am, arrive 3:40pm. Flight AA440
DFW to Pittsburgh (via Chicago) - Wednesday 13 June, depart 9:20am, arrive 2:25pm. Flights AA2332 + AA4133
Pittsburgh to Ontario (via DFW) - Tuesday 19 June, depart 9:00am, arrive 2:00pm. Flights AA1891 + AA1649
Thanks once again to the people who have been helping me get there, and pay my expenses when I do get there!
A progress report
General | Posted 14 years agoYesterday I received my official Anthrocon membership in the post. Badge number 2012-0857. Type: Dealer.
So that's another step completed on my trek to Anthrocon. Of course I also booked my hotel room a few days ago, and I will be staying at the Westin as usual. The first day had to be paid in advance of course. Today I had another unavoidable expense - passport renewal. My old one expires in April, and seeing that it's crazy to leave renewing it until the last moment, I took care of that today. Including the cost of the photos, that was another AU$248 that I had to spend. Now all I have to do is wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to slowly grind through the paperwork and send me the new one.
So, to sum up, here's what generous donations have paid for so far to get me to Anthrocon:
Round trip flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles.
Anthrocon registration.
Hotel deposit.
Passport renewal.
Still to pay:
Cross-country flights from L.A. to Pittsburgh.
Balance of hotel bill.
Travel costs, including food, shuttles to and from airports, etc.
Book stock.
I have the feeling that I've forgotten something. Oh well....
The cross-country flights are my next priority. Can't leave those too much longer. I had an unexpected expense today that is unrelated to my Anthrocon trip. I had to pay the first night deposit on a hotel room for MiDFur next December! So many of the attendees of MiDfur 13 decided to book their rooms for the next convention while they were checking out, that the hotel was almost booked out already! Logistically, I need to be at the con hotel. I bring a car full of stuff to the con because I'm the Head of Exhibitions, and I sure don't want to be lugging that stuff any further than I need to.
So that's another step completed on my trek to Anthrocon. Of course I also booked my hotel room a few days ago, and I will be staying at the Westin as usual. The first day had to be paid in advance of course. Today I had another unavoidable expense - passport renewal. My old one expires in April, and seeing that it's crazy to leave renewing it until the last moment, I took care of that today. Including the cost of the photos, that was another AU$248 that I had to spend. Now all I have to do is wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to slowly grind through the paperwork and send me the new one.
So, to sum up, here's what generous donations have paid for so far to get me to Anthrocon:
Round trip flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles.
Anthrocon registration.
Hotel deposit.
Passport renewal.
Still to pay:
Cross-country flights from L.A. to Pittsburgh.
Balance of hotel bill.
Travel costs, including food, shuttles to and from airports, etc.
Book stock.
I have the feeling that I've forgotten something. Oh well....
The cross-country flights are my next priority. Can't leave those too much longer. I had an unexpected expense today that is unrelated to my Anthrocon trip. I had to pay the first night deposit on a hotel room for MiDFur next December! So many of the attendees of MiDfur 13 decided to book their rooms for the next convention while they were checking out, that the hotel was almost booked out already! Logistically, I need to be at the con hotel. I bring a car full of stuff to the con because I'm the Head of Exhibitions, and I sure don't want to be lugging that stuff any further than I need to.
Another ebook done
General | Posted 14 years agoI've just finished converting and uploading "More Terrible Than Chains". You can get it in various formats at Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/127350 - for $13.99
You can get the Kindle format there too, but if you prefer to buy through Amazon.com, it will soon be available there also. Same price. It's a third less than the paperback price. In fact that's what I'll be aiming to price all the ebooks - one third off the dead tree versions.
I notice the reviews on Amazon.com have equally praised the book and lambasted it. Sometimes I wonder what people see in my writing when it gets such mixed responses.
Don't forget that you can get "Life's Dream" at Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/125511
I would get these conversions done more quickly if I didn't have to be so finicky. I also need to replace the horizontal rules that I use in the documents with a row of plain text asterisks, but I don't know how to do a search & replace on horizontal rules, so I have to do them all manually, which is slow and prone to error. Anybody got a clue how to do it quicker?
You can get the Kindle format there too, but if you prefer to buy through Amazon.com, it will soon be available there also. Same price. It's a third less than the paperback price. In fact that's what I'll be aiming to price all the ebooks - one third off the dead tree versions.
I notice the reviews on Amazon.com have equally praised the book and lambasted it. Sometimes I wonder what people see in my writing when it gets such mixed responses.
Don't forget that you can get "Life's Dream" at Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/125511
I would get these conversions done more quickly if I didn't have to be so finicky. I also need to replace the horizontal rules that I use in the documents with a row of plain text asterisks, but I don't know how to do a search & replace on horizontal rules, so I have to do them all manually, which is slow and prone to error. Anybody got a clue how to do it quicker?
Kindle anyone?
General | Posted 14 years agoI've had some calls to provide my books in e-book format. Well, I've bitten the bullet and taken the first step. Life's Dream is now available for the Kindle. You can find it at Amazon.com. Better yet, it sells for about a third off the list price of the paperback.
Those of you who want it in a different format, fear not! It soon will be available through Smashwords also in all formats. I was going to do the Kindle version through them too until I found out that there was going to be a lengthy delay in submitting it to Amazon, so I decided to get around that problem by going direct. Eventually that won't be a problem any more though. My other books will also be converted to e-book format as soon as I get them whipped into shape. It was a steeper learning curve than I anticipated, but thankfully Smashwords provides a detailed guide to help.
Those of you who want it in a different format, fear not! It soon will be available through Smashwords also in all formats. I was going to do the Kindle version through them too until I found out that there was going to be a lengthy delay in submitting it to Amazon, so I decided to get around that problem by going direct. Eventually that won't be a problem any more though. My other books will also be converted to e-book format as soon as I get them whipped into shape. It was a steeper learning curve than I anticipated, but thankfully Smashwords provides a detailed guide to help.
Teeth, travellers, MiDFur, and magazines
General | Posted 14 years agoSo many things to talk about, and as usual I've been too busy to write them up. Oh well, here goes...
First - the tooth. One of my teeth had a crown. A few weeks ago, the tooth that the crown was anchored to broke, and now it's useless. It's not hurting, but it's left an embarrassing gap in my smile. Not only does it look bad, but it's harder to bite things through properly. I can't really afford to get it fixed at the moment, so I'm going to have to live with it for a long time. Pardon me if I don't grin too broadly.
Second - My friend, Gary Akins from Texas paid me a visit, arriving on January 1st. His trip was timed to coincide with MiDFur, but before and after that event, we did various activities such as visiting the Frankston sand sculptures, going to Ballarat to visit the Sovereign Hill gold mining reproduction settlement and gold museum, and going through the Melbourne museum. I was glad that Gary was able to visit for longer than his first trip to Melbourne for MiDFur X, and will be looking forward to seeing him in June when I go to America for Anthrocon.
Third - MiDFur. As Head of Exhibitions, I was kept very, very busy this year. I was responsible for the Dealers' Den, Art Show, and Charity Auction. The Dealers' Den was the easiest because after four years, I've got that pretty much perfected now. A few minor tweaks perhaps, and we will be trying to get a pico-cell in there next convention so that we can get cell phone reception. The art show was a major headache due to the fact that it has taken a quantum leap from last year's. A lot of work will be going into improving it for MF14. Many aspects need tweaking, and I might have to build more display panels also. The charity auction went smoothly, and I was very happy with the result. I wish people got their donations in sooner though because I was practically tearing my hair out, trying to finalise that while both the art show and the dealers den were packing up. Some re-thinking needs to go into that too. All up, I was kept very busy almost all the time, and if it wasn't for Gary manning my table, I might have hardly found the time to sell anything. Gary was my right-hand man, from setting up to tearing everything down again, and I was very grateful for his help.
One of the events at MiDFur was the traditional collation of South Fur Lands fanzine. This is issue #57, and it is also the very last edition of the zine. SFL has now ceased production due to rising costs and falling interest. All the issues will remain available for order though, either through back-stock or print-on-demand.
And that's pretty much what's been happening for the past few weeks. Now that MiDFur isn't sucking up a lot of my free time, I hope to spend some time catching up with other things now, and my room desperately needs some clearing out and tidying up. I also hope that my muse gets back to work so that I can finish the fifth episode of Phoenix.
Tail high!
Goldfur
First - the tooth. One of my teeth had a crown. A few weeks ago, the tooth that the crown was anchored to broke, and now it's useless. It's not hurting, but it's left an embarrassing gap in my smile. Not only does it look bad, but it's harder to bite things through properly. I can't really afford to get it fixed at the moment, so I'm going to have to live with it for a long time. Pardon me if I don't grin too broadly.
Second - My friend, Gary Akins from Texas paid me a visit, arriving on January 1st. His trip was timed to coincide with MiDFur, but before and after that event, we did various activities such as visiting the Frankston sand sculptures, going to Ballarat to visit the Sovereign Hill gold mining reproduction settlement and gold museum, and going through the Melbourne museum. I was glad that Gary was able to visit for longer than his first trip to Melbourne for MiDFur X, and will be looking forward to seeing him in June when I go to America for Anthrocon.
Third - MiDFur. As Head of Exhibitions, I was kept very, very busy this year. I was responsible for the Dealers' Den, Art Show, and Charity Auction. The Dealers' Den was the easiest because after four years, I've got that pretty much perfected now. A few minor tweaks perhaps, and we will be trying to get a pico-cell in there next convention so that we can get cell phone reception. The art show was a major headache due to the fact that it has taken a quantum leap from last year's. A lot of work will be going into improving it for MF14. Many aspects need tweaking, and I might have to build more display panels also. The charity auction went smoothly, and I was very happy with the result. I wish people got their donations in sooner though because I was practically tearing my hair out, trying to finalise that while both the art show and the dealers den were packing up. Some re-thinking needs to go into that too. All up, I was kept very busy almost all the time, and if it wasn't for Gary manning my table, I might have hardly found the time to sell anything. Gary was my right-hand man, from setting up to tearing everything down again, and I was very grateful for his help.
One of the events at MiDFur was the traditional collation of South Fur Lands fanzine. This is issue #57, and it is also the very last edition of the zine. SFL has now ceased production due to rising costs and falling interest. All the issues will remain available for order though, either through back-stock or print-on-demand.
And that's pretty much what's been happening for the past few weeks. Now that MiDFur isn't sucking up a lot of my free time, I hope to spend some time catching up with other things now, and my room desperately needs some clearing out and tidying up. I also hope that my muse gets back to work so that I can finish the fifth episode of Phoenix.
Tail high!
Goldfur
And so we begin anew
General | Posted 14 years agoIt's now the year 2012 here in Melbourne, Australia. Happy New Year! As usual, there were a couple of neighbours who had illegal fireworks. One nearby really outdid themselves this year with quite a spectacular display. Perhaps not quite as amazing as the show that they put on in the city, but who wants to fight an enormous crowd and transportation problems for a mere ten minutes of fireworks? I was quite happy with what we got right here.
This year looks like being pretty tough for me financially, but due to the help of some very good friends, I am keeping my head above water, and still managing to visit America again in June. I want to put out a special thank you for those people. I am humbled by your generosity, and proud to call you my friends.
Tail high!
This year looks like being pretty tough for me financially, but due to the help of some very good friends, I am keeping my head above water, and still managing to visit America again in June. I want to put out a special thank you for those people. I am humbled by your generosity, and proud to call you my friends.
Tail high!
Your opinion please
General | Posted 14 years agoWho would be interested in a mug like this:
http://www.chakatsden.com/chakat/Images/Mug1.jpg
and if so, how much do you feel you would pay for it?
I'm feeling my way with some possible alternative merchandise which might include T-shirts and mouse pads.
And for those who haven't noticed yet, Fur Affinity now recognises "chakat" as a species when you put in the info for a new submission. =^_^=
http://www.chakatsden.com/chakat/Images/Mug1.jpg
and if so, how much do you feel you would pay for it?
I'm feeling my way with some possible alternative merchandise which might include T-shirts and mouse pads.
And for those who haven't noticed yet, Fur Affinity now recognises "chakat" as a species when you put in the info for a new submission. =^_^=
Trying again
General | Posted 14 years agoI'm re-listing the Cougar Morning Wood original art on FurBid at $40.
http://www.furbid.ws/cgi-bin/auctio.....item=232359199
I am also listing a series of 8 pieces of a lion and his cross-dressing roomie with a starting price of $80, which at $10 apiece for original art is a steal!
http://www.furbid.ws/cgi-bin/auctio.....item=232359200
Please bid - I need the money!
http://www.furbid.ws/cgi-bin/auctio.....item=232359199
I am also listing a series of 8 pieces of a lion and his cross-dressing roomie with a starting price of $80, which at $10 apiece for original art is a steal!
http://www.furbid.ws/cgi-bin/auctio.....item=232359200
Please bid - I need the money!
