Here’s a nice video that shows you some of the scenery in Salmon Arm, the setting for Grace Awakening Power (and where we live, coincidentally). How many places do you recognise from the book?
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Yay! April 2, 2012
Happy news! I have been assured that by the end of the Easter weekend, Grace Awakening Power WILL be back for final final final view before release to press!
Dare I hope?
Fingers crossed!
This is how I’m feeling:
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slow December 24, 2011
What I’ve learned about the publishing industry:
It’s slow.
Everything about it moves like a comatose tortoise. True, like the tortoise, sure and steady gets there eventually, but it can be ridiculously frustrating watching from the sidelines.
If an agent or publisher says they’ll get back to you in a week, s/he means a month. If they say it’ll be a month, expect to hear around four months later. Four seems to be the number to multiply by.
Ironically, I was also told that from completion of novel to publication the average book takes 4.5 years. Coincidence?
Is patience a virtue?
Perhaps. Electronic publishing speeds up many aspects of the process, but the most important one, the editing and proof-reading will still take just as long as ever.
I’m counting the days until Grace Awakening Power gets back from the editor, I can make the required changes, and it can be released by Lintusen to the world! I was expecting it initially in November, four months after it went to the editor. If my multiplication scenario holds, I will see it in 16 months, or perhaps 4 months after November, which puts arrival in March.
Patience.
The watch-word for the author waiting for a book.
It’s a slow process.
Shawn L. Bird 
Power September 4, 2012
Tags: democracy, elections, Ender's Game, leadership, orson scott card, Power, voting
Orson Scott Card. Ender’s Game NY: Tor, 1991. p. 239
People who crave power, ensure they get it eventually, in one form or another. Be it business or politics, if they have the desire for it, they will make it happen. One hopes that with the desire for power is an instinct or training for leadership as well. Fair leaders with wise attitudes are rare, I think! (Though I have come across many quite impressive leaders in schools over the years). Benign dictatorships are the most effective governments for a reason. Most people can’t be bothered with all those fine details. I often wonder if the heinous voter turn out in the US elections relates to the sheer volume of things on their ballots? How can Joe Everyman possibly make informed decisions when voting for everything from president to dog catcher, and complex referenda? It would require far too much research! It makes me glad that we don’t have this system in Canada. Sometimes excessive democratization of decision making is anathema to intelligent decisions! Joe Everyman generally will not have enough facts to make a sensible choice, and if he’s voting based on looks, popularity, or the dollars spent on spin, he is unlikely to get the best leaders, is he? One hopes power isn’t purchased, but is earned after demonstrating prudent wisdom. But when you consider that “cream rises to the top,” remember cream is really just fat. What’s floating at the top isn’t necessarily what’s the best thing for your long term benefit.
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