A PC Holiday Miracle

Non-technical types please bear with me.  There is a point to this.  Ahem.  In my home, when something goes wrong with a computer or the network I’m the one who gets to fix it.  Having spent years as a tech writer, and long ago being the “go-to” computer guy in the office, I’m no stranger to this sort of stuff.  A few years back, though, I purchased a LaCie Ethernet mini-drive to store our music, photos and videos that’s been nothing but trouble.  Reading files from it is easy enough, but every now and then, for no apparent reason, it decides that NO ONE has permission to write new files on it.  Not a handy feature for a hard drive.  Anyway, when it acts up, I wind up spending a few hours driving myself up the wall, calling tech support, scouring the net for a solution and so on.  Usually, after much hair-pulling and vows to sundry pagan entities, I get it sort of working again, but invariably, the problem repeats.  And when it does, the previous solution no longer works.  It’s as though the problem is evolving, learning how to thwart me.  The warranty has expired and I’m in no position to buy a new one.  It has been my Ethernet albatross.

About a week ago, I absolutely had to remove some files from my daughter’s overburdened laptop and put them on the LaCie.  One of the things I hate most about technical issues is that I never have any idea how long it will take to address.  Could be seconds, days, or worse.  There I was in my familiar purgatory,  checking everything, reading and re-reading the manual, scouring sundry techno-geek fix-it sites.  I was just about to set myself and the drive on fire when… 

A miracle occurred!

I was looking at Amazon customer reviews, when I happened, just happened to notice the last line of a review which said, sort of as a throwaway line, that if you have the “guest” setting turned on, no one will be able to write files onto the drive.  One line.  Neither the manual, tech support, or anyone else on the whole freaking web seemed to know this.  Dubious, I unticked the box, restarted the drive, and, lo and behold, a problem that had been tasking me, literally, for years just… vanished.  Now, the drive works perfectly.  I felt profoundly relieved, and, though I don’t subscribe to any organized religious belief, blessed.

Long story short, my holiday wish for everyone is that whatever trouble sits heavily upon your mind, technical, economic, social, spiritual or whatever, may it have as quick and simple solution, and may you find it soon.  Pax.

Hour Long Radio Chat with Stefan Petrucha

My previous radio experiences have been ten or fifteen minutes long at most, some live, some taped.  Exciting, fun, but brief.  Last night, though,  for the first time, I was the sole guest on Writers, Authors & More from Adrenaline Radio, and spent a live and lively hour chatting with host Megan Willingham.   We discussed Harry Potty and my other work, but the big topic was Blood Prophecy.  Megan had read and loved it, and asked some great questions.  To top it off, I did my first on-air reading, covering a few pages early on in the novel in which Jeremiah’s father, Nathan Fall, unwittingly unleashes what we in the business like to call “an ancient evil” from a burial mound.  I think it went well.

The show is fed throughout California and in some states on the South East, but since it’s also streamed on the web, you can listen to the whole thing here.

Lemme know what you think!

Literary Escapism Guest Blog

Jackie Morgan over at the wonderful Literary Escapism site was kind enough invited me to guest blog.  My post, in which I discuss my thoughts and experiences about dealing with history in novels  is up today.  To get you started, here’s the first two graphs: 

Ambrose Bierce said, “God knows the future, but only an historian can alter the past.”  History’s tough.  It’s written by the winners.  It’s a rebuke to the present.  He who does not remember it is condemned to repeat it.  And the historical novel?  Twice the angst at half the price.  By definition, the author wasn’t even there.

Sure, there are all sorts of heady reasons to engage the conceit – it’s a reflection of ourselves, a way of understanding how we got to be who we are, blah-blah-blah.  But, but really, does it offer a genuine advantage or is it just another decoration for something that, at heart, works the same as any other fiction?  Is it merely a matter of taste – a la some like chocolate others strawberry?

For the rest, click here.

Dark Shadows Guest Blog

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let everyone know that today a guest blog by yours truly is up at FangtasticBooks.  I cover all things vampire via one of my favorite shows, Dark Shadows, then get into some of the nuts and bolts background for the concepts behind Blood Prophecy.  Have a look!

Radio Vibes

Thanks to the efforts of PR person Lissy Peace and the wild popularity of Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring (which I’m sure has nothing to do with the film/book of a similar name) this last week I’ve been doing a number of radio interviews.  I’ve done radio before, briefly, during my days as writer of The X-Files comic, but these have been fun, wide-ranging chats.

Wed was Eric Kaufman’s morning show at 92.7 KZIQ, out of Ridgecrest, California.  Last night, it was The John Carney Show at KMOX, St. Louis, MO, which covered a wide range of subjects, including Blood Prophecy and Paranormal State.  You can give a listen to that one here.   This morning I spoke with morning host Jay Caldwell at AM1240 WJOM in St. Cloud MN.  And, on December 8th 10AM EST I’ll be speaking with Tron in the Morning at 1530AM KCMN in Colorado Springs!  More audio links as they become available.

Meanwhile, as I await a few manuscripts back from sundry editors, I’m hard at work on two new proposals, which I hope will wow the publishing world, even as it lay dying from the twin blows of a dormant economy and the rise of the e-book.  But, hey, what can you do?  Pax.