blogging | Bertram's Blog

I Fear, You Fear, We All Fear

October 31, 2009 — Pat Bertram

Sheri Parks, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, says that many teens today have had years of exposure to violent video games and media images, which studies show desensitizes them to violence.

How odd to think that there are now studies showing this desensitization. Many of today’s — and yesterday’s — video games were developed by the military because studies had shown that repeated images of violence and death inured people to killing. In World War II, as many as 85% of soldiers fired over enemies’ heads or did not fire at all. After World War II, there was a concerted effort by the military to overcome this natural reluctance to kill, and apparently they succeeded, because during close combat in Vietnam, only about 5% of soldiers failed to aim to kill.

These same desensitizing “games” were later released as toys for children. Is it any wonder that teens today stand by and take pictures while a young girl is gang raped?

Today I am a guest at A.F. Stewart’s blog talking about fears. I kept my post light in honor of Halloween, but findings such as these about desensitization scare the heck out of me. Author Lee Child says that we don’t write what we know, we write what we fear, and that certainly is true in my case. I fear the machinations of the powerful, deadly, and calculating men and women who control our lives behind the scenes.

This theme is most prevalent in More Deaths Than One (in fact, I came across the information about desensitization while researching the military, soldiers, and killing for that particular novel) though it shows up in milder forms in all of my novels. Conspiracy? Perhaps. Truth? Probably. Fear? Definitely.

Now that I have scared you, go check out a lighter side of fear and tell me: What Are You Afraid Of?

More Deaths Than One is available from Amazon, Second Wind Publishing, and Smashwords. (You can download 30% free at Smashwords as well as buy in all ebook formats.)

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Posted in blogging, culture, life, writing. Tags: A. F. Stewart, desensitization, fear, Lee Child, military, More Deaths Than One, video games, Vietnam shoot to kill, WWII shoot to kill. 2 Comments »

Plagiarism?

October 30, 2009 — Pat Bertram

I had a bit of a scare this morning. I checked my blog as usual found a comment on my “Origin of the Grim Reaper” bloggery from someone named Robert Weniger, who said: You Plagiarist. I posted the exact words and you copy/pasted it from my website.

Um . . . What??

I love WordPress and all the statistics and information one gets! Besides email addresses from commenters, wordpress notes the IP address. I searched for Weniger’s address on the “What is My IP Address” site, and discovered the comment had been sent from a proxy server. According to the IP address site, A proxy server is a computer that offers a computer network service to allow clients to make indirect network connections to other network services. A client connects to the proxy server, then requests a connection, file, or other resource available on a different server. The proxy provides the resource either by connecting to the specified server or by serving it from a cache. In some cases, the proxy may alter the client’s request or the server’s response for various purposes.

Apparently, the comment was some sort of spam. What’s interesting is that most of that particular bloggery was plagiarized, though if one credits the writer, it’s not truly plagiarism. It’s called research. So, if you’re interested in my citation of William Bramley’s grim reaper information, be sure to check out The Origin of the Grim Reaper.

I also had a delightful surprise this morning. At today’s Daughter Am I blog tour stop, Zhadi’s Den, they are talking about my books! Wow, if anything will make someone feel like a real writer, it’s e-vesdropping on a people discussing one’s works. (Nope, that’s not a typo. I just thought it looked better than e-eavesdropping.) So, please meet me at Zhadi’s Den to talk about consistency in writing or my books, whichever you prefer.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Amazon.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, life, writing. Tags: blog tour, IP address, plagiarism, proxy server, William Bramley, Zhadi's Den. 2 Comments »

Persisting in Delusion

October 29, 2009 — Pat Bertram

“It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” — Carl Sagan

Is this true? When it comes to the cosmic universe, perhaps. When it comes to our personal universe, is it better to persist in delusion? Isn’t that what a dream is, a delusion? The dream might be attainable with luck and hard work, in which case it’s not a delusion. If it is not attainable, is it better to hold on to the dream or is it better to persist in delusion?

I used to think reality was important — I spent my life trying to get down to the rock bottom of “what is” (as opposed to what we think is). I studied particle physics and quantum mechanics (for fun, can you imagine that?) and discovered that every particle can be divided into smaller particles and those particles can be divided, until what you end up is nothing. Or a wave. Or a thought. Or something that changes every time you look at it.

Now I don’t know if reality is all it’s cracked up to be. If our perceptions can change “what is” at the quantum level, perhaps it can change life at the macro level where we live. If so, it might be better to persist in delusion.

I explore this theme of delusion (or illusion, which perhaps comes down to the same thing) in all of my books: What is truth? What is reality? Who are we, really — are we our memories, our experiences, our dreams? And I still don’t have an answer.

So what does this have to do with my Daughter Am I blog tour? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps I am deluding myself that what I am doing will increase sales, increase name recognition, increase my network of friends. (The last is not a delusion — I am making new contacts.) And if this tour turns out to be some cosmic illusion, is it still worth persisting? Of course it is. It’s the doing that’s important — the quest.

Very strange — these are the thoughts that usually strike me late at night, and here it is early afternoon. Must have something to do with all those late nights. Or maybe it’s just an illusion.

Today I am guesting at Alan Baxter’s blog, talking about writing tools. You know the ones I mean — hammers and chisels. Please stop by and say hi. At least there, the talk is much more concrete. You can find me here — Alan Baxter: The Word.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, life, writing. Tags: Alan Baxter, blog tour, Carl Sagan, delusion, illusion, perceptions, reality, story themes. 8 Comments »

Writer Am I

October 28, 2009 — Pat Bertram

I did not come up with that great title for this bloggery, my host today, L.V. Gaudet, did. (Since you are all familiar with the title of my new book, Daughter Am I, I know you get the gist.) I’m hoping everyone goes to pay L.V. a visit. She says such wonderful things about me, that I want everyone to know! And, oh, yes — she’s also posted an article of mine in which I say that it does not matter how long it takes you to write a novel or how many words you write each day. All that matters is . . .

Hmmm. Do I tell you, or do I have you go read the article to find out for yourself? I have an idea — let’s play a game. You tell me here what you think matters, then go to L.V.’s blog and find out what I think: (What Kind of) Writer Am I.

I am also still live at JaxPop in the Haunted City. We are talking about hooks, so stop by and post your first sentence or paragraph. We will be kind, I promise. No criticism. I’d just like to see how you start your book. You can find me and my hook at: That’s What Hooks a Reader.

The haunted house is still haunted at the Second Wind Publishing Blog. Not only is the clue game fun, but you might also win the prize: a print copy of Second Wind’s Murder in the Wind Short Story Anthology. I even wrote a story for the book!! That alone should make competing worthwhile. So, meet me here: Trick or Treat! Let the Game Begin!

Tomorrow I will be in Australia. How cool is that! (Weather-wise, I bet it’s cooler here — lots and lots of snow! — so I’m looking forward to the virtual change of climate.) And, as if this weren’t enough excitement, tomorrow night at 9:00pm ET, I will be having a live chat at my No Whine, Just Champagne group on Gather.com.

For those of you who are just tuning into my Daughter Am I blog tour, you can find the entire schedule here: Blog Tour 2009. The most incredible thing about the internet is that , in an cyber/quantum sort of way, the past is always the present. So, while I am here, I am also at every stop on my tour waiting to welcome you. So please join me on my journey. We’ll have fun, you and I.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Amazon.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, writing. Tags: blog tour, Daughter Am I, Murder in the Wind, Second Wind Publishing. 4 Comments »

What Hooks a Reader — Blog Tour Day Ten

October 27, 2009 — Pat Bertram

Though it is actually night here, it’s still day ten of my Daughter Am I blog tour.

The reference to night and day reminds me of one of those standardized tests I took when I was in second grade. The question was, “How many hours are in a day?” I knew, of course, that there were twenty-four hours in a day’s span, but for some reason, I took the question to mean day as opposed to night. I knew that there were variable daylight hours — that was apparent from the way the sun set earlier each evening as it got nearer to winter. So, what was my answer? Twelve. I figured that on the average there had to be twelve hours of night and twelve hours of day. As you can see, I never did quite fit into a standardized world.

What does this way too revealing annecdote have to do with my blog tour? Absolutely nothing, except that it could be considered an example of a hook if, in fact, it did hook you! I am down in St. Augustine, Florida with Dave Ebright, and we’re cyberly talking about hooking a reader. I have a hunch Ebright doesn’t need any advice from me — his novel, Bad Latitude, has hooks galore: surfing, fast boats, zombies, ghosts, and pirates. Stop by Ebright’s Blog, JaxPop: Haunted City Writer, and tell us about your hook, even if it is only a fishing hook. You can find me and Dave here: That’s What Hooks a Reader.

If you haven’t yet stopped by the Second Wind Publishing haunted house (hey, there’s a theme here! Haunted City. Haunted House. Way cool!) you are missing the fun. You can find the house here: Trick or Treat! Let the Game Begin!

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Amazon.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, writing. Tags: Bad Latitude, blog tour, Daughter Am I, Dave Ebright, haunted house, hours in a day, JaxPop, Second Wind Publishing. Leave a Comment »

Daughter Am I Blog Tour 2009 Update

October 26, 2009 — Pat Bertram

Day nine of the Daughter Am I blog tour, and I am still going strong. I actually went to bed before midnight last night, and I’m a bit more rested. Good thing — there is a lot going on today! First, check out “After the Writing Comes the Work.” Great discussion going on at that unscheduled tour stop, and a wonderful compliment about Daughter Am I.

Next, check out “How Best To Procrastinate” on Claire Collins’s blog. It was actually yesterday’s tour stop, but I kept finding other things to do and never got around to telling you about it. (Procrastination humor. Trite, but still amusing. I hope.)

Claire is a guest on my blog talking about “Welcome to the Business of Writing”, and the importance of a mission statement. Mine is: “It is my mission to become so well-known that a traditional publisher will offer me an obscenely large advance. I will turn down the advance because I’d like to show that there is value in being published by a small independent publisher, and because the resulting publicity could be worth more than the publishing contract.” Did you notice that it says nothing about writing? Hmmm.

One of these days I really do have to work on my poor stalled WIP. I’m thinking of doing WriMo — my own slimmed down version of NaNoWriMo. Instead of National Novel Writing Month, I might do simply a Writing Month. Perhaps try to write a sentence or two each day in November to get back into the habit of writing. I did sign up for NaBloWriMo (National Blog Writing Month) and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). Since I’ve already contracted to do a blog post every day for the first three weeks in November because of my blog tour, all I need to do is to finish out the month and I win. Win what? you might ask. Nothing, of course. It’s the challenge that counts.

But I am digressing.

Today I am again visiting Joylene Nowell Butler in Cluculz, this time for an interview. I am at Untreed Reads talking about my Rites of Passage as an author. And I am trick-or-treating at the Second Wind blog.

This is turning into an international tour. I’m in Canada today and Wednesday, in Florida tomorrow, and in Australia on Thursday. In the middle of November, I’ll be in South Africa. You gotta love the Internet!

Today’s schedule recapped:

After the Writing Comes the Work
How Best to Procrastinate
Welcome to the Business of Writing
Interview at Cluculz
Rites of Passage
Trick or Treat! Let the Game Begin!

Have fun. I intend to.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Amazon.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, writing. Tags: blog tour, Claire Collins, Daughter Am I, Joylene Nowell Butler, NaBloPoMo, NaBloWriMo, NaNoWriMo, Untreed Reads. 4 Comments »

Welcome to the Business of Writing

October 25, 2009 — Pat Bertram

To celebrate the eighth day of the Daughter Am I blog tour, I am treating myself to a guest here on Bertram’s Blog. That means one less post I have to write. Oh, joy! While Claire Collins is guesting here, I will be at her blog talking about How Best to Procrastinate. When you get a moment, please visit Claire’s Blog and join in the fun.

Claire Collins is the author of Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny, both published by Second Wind Publishing. Claire says:

Welcome to the Business of Writing!

Wait! Don’t go anywhere. I’m not going to take your favorite hobby and turn it into work. Or maybe I am . . .

It depends on what you want to do with your writing. Are you writing as an outlet? Do you write to relieve stress? Maybe you keep a personal journal and write to document your life. Perhaps you write to shut up the voices in your head that scream until you tell their story. Some of you may already be highly successful authors or journalists.

No matter why you write, or where you are in your writing, at some point, you may want to adjust your mindset to look at writing as a business. When that first royalty check rolls in, you will be self-employed as a sole proprietor. To help you think of your writing as a business, I suggest you develop a mission statement for your writing.

A mission statement is defined as: a formal short written statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a sense of direction, and guide decision-making. It provides “the framework or context within which the company’s strategies are formulated.”

That’s pretty stiff. Simply put, a mission statement is a summary of how the company will conduct business and the purpose of the business.

Create a mission statement for yourself as an author, for your works of writing, or for your type of writing. If you aren’t an author or writer, create a personal mission statement. I give you permission to use your creative ingenuity to draft your mission statement.

I’ll even create one for myself to give you an idea. Oh, and don’t forget: Have fun!

Claire Collins: author – Mission Statement

“It is my mission as an author to weave tales that draw readers down an interesting path with twists and turns. I will entertain, educate, and create emotion with my words.”

Stop by Second Wind Publishing for a free ebook sampler or two. One sampler includes the first chapters of all Second Wind’s romances, the other sampler includes the first chapters of all Second Wind’s mystery, adventure, maitstream novels. The first chapter of A Spark of Heavenly, More Deaths Than One, and Daughter Am I are in the Mystery Sampler. The first chapter of Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny are in the Romance Sampler.

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Posted in blogging, books, writing. Tags: Claire Collins, Daughter Am I, Fate and Destiny, Images of Betrayal, mission statement, Mystery Sampler, Romance Sampler, Second Wind Publishing. 39 Comments »

Reviewing Interviews

October 24, 2009 — Pat Bertram

I made it through the first week of my blog tour!! I’m getting to the hard part, though. I have several interviews coming up, and it’s challenging keep from making identical responses to identical questions. There really is only one story behind the writing of Daughter Am I — I wanted to use the true tales of the Syndicate an historian friend used to tell me, and I wanted to do a mythic journey, so I combined the two ideas into the book — but I don’t want to bore people bycontinually talking about that not so very interesting inception. So, I wait until very late at night when my defenses are down, and I write what ever comes to mind.

Yes, I know — I keep talking about how words don’t come easy to me, but that’s only when it comes to fiction. When it comes to late night stream of consciousness, well, the words do come. I just hope they are worth reading. I guess we’ll find out. My first interview is today with Shelagh Watkins. Click here to find it.

I must have used up all my words last night for the interview. I’ve been sitting here for the past ten minutes trying to think of something witty to say, or perhaps pithy, but my mind is a total blank. Not good. I have a live chat in a couple of hours on Reviewers Roundup to talk about blog tours, and I need at least a few words for that. Maybe I’ll go take a walk. See if I can find a few words among the fallen leaves.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Amazon.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, writing. Tags: blog tour, interview, stream of consciousness writing, Visual Arts Junction. 4 Comments »

Haven’t a Clue about Cluculz

October 23, 2009 — Pat Bertram

My blog tour is really starting to heat up! Lots of activity, more than I’m used to, that’s for sure. To start out, I am a guest at the blog of my good friend Joylene Nowell Butler author of Dead Witness. We first met when she submitted a character interview to my Pat Bertram Introduces . . . blog. Usually I have to twist people’s arms to get them to send me an interview to post, but she voluntarily responded to a link I left on a discussion on Facebook — which impressed the heck out of me — and now here we are, a year later, virtually visiting in Cluculz.

Where is Cluculz? you might ask. Good question. It’s 67 km west of Prince George and 32 km east of Vanderhoof, in central BC, Canada. I had to Google it, which was fun since it fit right into the theme of my guest post — writing about places you have never been. So, come to Clucluz, listen to the loons, and don’t forget the mosquito repellent. Click here to find the guest post at Cluculz Lake.

As if that weren’t excitement enough, today is the debut of my writing column — ASK PAT. Way cool! Since it’s in an ezine, there’s no place to leave questions and comments, so I’ve set up a special blog post for that purpose. You can find it here: questions and comments for ASK PAT. If you have a question you’d like me to include, be sure to let me know. If you have an answer you’d like me to include, let me know that, too. I certainly don’t presume to have all the answers.

And there’s more excitement! (I’m trying to sound like an info-mercial.) Tomorrow I am a guest at Reviewers Roundup on Facebook. Glenda Bixler, you, and I will be having a live chat about blog tours, my books, writing in general. So if you are a member of facebook, please pop in to the discussion between 3:00pm and 5:00pm ET tomorrow. It should be a lively chat. What’s it called? What else: Blog Tour 2009.

Don’t forget, my books are available in all ebook formats at Smashwords. Even better, you can download the first 30% of each book free. And speaking of free downloads, stop by Second Wind Publishing for a free sampler or two. One sampler includes the first chapters of all Second Wind’s romances, the other sampler includes the first chapters of all Second Wind’s mystery, adventure, maitstream novels. The first chapter of A Spark of Heavenly, More Deaths Than One, and Daughter Am I are in the Mystery Sampler.

If you’d like to do a character interview for my Pat Bertram Introduces . . . blog, you can find the instructions here: Character Questionnaire.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, writing. Tags: Ask Pat, blog tour, Cluculz Lake, Dead Witness, Glenda Bixler, Joylene Nowell Butler, Reviewers Roundup, virtual book tour. Leave a Comment »

Dialogue with Pat Bertram

October 22, 2009 — Pat Bertram

The Internet is such a wonderful place. Today, day five of my blog tour, I am in Florida with author Nancy J. Cohen talking about dialogue. Virtually speaking, that is. Physically, I am in Colorado, listening to leaves falling like rain. In Florida, it’s a sunny day at the beach. At least I hope it is. I sure would hate to get caught in a hurricane while I’m visiting!

Yesterday someone commented that a virtual book tour seemed like a lot of work and asked if I would do it again. My first inclination was to say, “No way!” It’s too much work for such seemingly meager results, yet I am meeting people out of my normal circle of connections, which is always a good thing. I am getting to talk about my books, which is fun. And it’s a challenge, not just setting up the book tour, writing the articles, and promoting the tour, but figuring out how to make the same basic comment a hundred times and yet make each time seem fresh and new. So, would I do it again? I don’t know. Ask me in six months when my next novel Light Bringer comes out. My goal (silly me!) is to be so well known by then that the book will just fly out of Amazon’s warehouse as soon as I announce its publication. It could happen. And oh, by the way, I just bought London bridge. 🙂

So, please join me in Florida to dialogue about dialogue at: Nancy J. Cohen’s Notes from Florida

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