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Check Your Reading

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Readers are smart people. We know that. Reading almost anything makes you learn things, even if they're not massively important things. Non-fiction is the most reliable source for learning, although you have to be careful whose nonfiction it is. Recent studies showed that reading fiction can make a person more empathetic, presumably because you put yourself in the place of others and see life from viewpoints other than your own. Over time we develop reading habits, and that's both good and bad. If you always read one genre and even one sub-genre, you're going to end up in a rut. Publishers encourage this, hoping and expecting that readers will buy the next book in a series by their favorite author, even if it's pretty much the same as the book before it and the one before that. Sadly, they can get sloppy if they think buyers are locked-in to the series. The last book I read by one of my favorite authors was poorly edited and so much like the rest that there was

Stop Making Stupid People Famous!

The title says it all. I'm pretty sure it isn't a new thing, but our 24-hour, please-watch-us media makes it difficult to ignore those who pander to the camera and try to shock us with their "honest opinions". The only thing you can do is turn it off. Stop buying the magazine. Change the station. And let them know you don't intend to watch uninformed asses bleat that they have a right to their opinion. If their opinions are based on stupidity and hatred, we need to ignore them, not play to their need for attention.

FREE E-book!

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THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY is free for Kindle right now: August 1st through the 4th. http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Detective-Agency-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B010MF5J9E/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= This is a re-release, so you might have read it, but if you haven't yet met Seamus, Dead Detective, and if you have a sense of humor about the Afterlife, you might enjoy this series (follow-ups are Dead for the Money and Dead for the Show . I'm working on Dead to Get Ready--and Go.) One reviewer made me giggle when she said though SHE liked the book, she wouldn't want her children to read it and conclude that this is the way heaven actually is. Really? Can you say FICTION? I had fun with what we're taught about the Afterlife as I wrote this mystery, which another reviewer says is "Sam Spade meets Quantam Leap." Not sure about that, since there isn't much sci-fi stuff here, but I think you'll enjoy the book, which won Best Mystery of

Who You Callin' Hitler?

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I try hard to stay out of politics on-line, mostly because I understand that no one changes someone else's beliefs by simply saying, "You're wrong. Here's the right way to look at it." Instead I'll do a history lesson. Adolf Hitler came to power and did what he did by convincing his people that it wasn't their fault things were bad in Germany. They were good people, he said. In fact, they were the best people on the face of the earth. They owed their nation whole-hearted love and allegiance, and there could be no questioning of the Fatherland. They had a proud heritage, and it deserved respect. What was wrong, Hitler said, was outsiders. People who didn't think, look, or act like "real" Germans. Something had to be done about these people, and we know now what that something was. I had a really cool prof at U of M many years ago, Dr. Westie, who explained two terms that get in the way of our view of the world. Egocentrism is the feel

Wading into a Bureaucracy

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My mother-in-law received two new I.D. cards (with different numbers) from BC/BS, which I figured was something that needs investigation. I'd also received a form to fill out that made no sense to me. And in addition, about a month ago her mail from them had started going to the nursing home rather than to me. Bright and early this morning I thought, "I'll kill three birds with one stone." Ha. Ha Ha. Step 1: Go to the website. It has my address for mailings. Hmm. Step 2: Call BC/BS Got a very nice lady who said she has my address for mailings. After some back and forth, she told me I needed to call Blue Care Network, which isn't the same as BC/BS. Step 3: Call BC Network. Got another nice lady who was able to correct the mailing problem but had no idea why MiL got two ID cards (plus the new one BC/BS had sent). She said I had to talk to Blue Care Advantage. Step 4: Call BC Advantage. Got a woman who re-checked the address for mailings, so we're pretty

One of Those Busy Weeks

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You know? The times you're going to be in the car more often than out? That's me this week. Knowing that was going to be the case, we got busy and did a project we've needed to get done for some time, painting the shed built by my dad in the '70s and shored up over the years through John's efforts. It's out of sight from the house, so I tend not to think of it until I'm driving away, and then I'd often think: "That thing needs paint!" I like to paint. Things get visibly brighter as you work, and the result is usually pretty satisfying. So we finally did it. Five gallons of Barn Red and a lot of elbow grease later, it looks pretty nice for its age!

What Am I Working On, You Ask.

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The weekend was great. Lots of people come "home" to our tiny town for the Fourth festivities, so we ran into old friends everywhere. The question often came up, "What are you working on now?" Short answer: the 4th Dead Detective Mystery, but it's been interrupted a lot by the other three in the series. The first book The Dead Detective Agency, was published in 2011, the second, Dead for the Money , in 2012. Then the publisher got overwhelmed and didn't move forward with Book 3, even though it was edited and ready to release. At the beginning of this year, I asked for the rights back (the contracted time was up) and went about re-releasing the books with new covers, which you learned about last week if you're a regular reader. (I don't want people to re-buy the books, thinking they're new.) Now it's time to finish Seamus' story, so my first priority is Dead to Get Ready--and Go , in which he will investigate his own murder. Its rele