That’s a wrap for my experiment in politics 6 Nov 2024, 6:54 am

I just dropped a note to the incumbent Trustee Harvey, congratulating her on her re-election. I’m disappointed, but not surprised. Incumbents are hard to beat. I wish her well, and the college much success, with the challenges it will be facing in the next few years.

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Oaths and Odysseys is out 11 Aug 2024, 7:12 pm

Book Two in the Genesis Renewed Saga went live July 22nd.

Life doing what life does, coupled with about of COVID, and I’m way behind on posting and promoting. Early feedback is that book 2 provides a nice, page turning, follow on to Genesis Renewed.

Book 2 picks up where Book 1 leaves off and finds Dave Sharp and his small community leveraging the remnants of their now lost civilization, and challenged by how to move forward. Looking for answers to several questions, the source of their immunity, what may remain of their lost government, and the mysterious loss in communication with D3ck3d, Oaths and Odysseys takes Dave and a band of volunteers on a cross country trek to find answers.

I hope you enjoy Book 2 as much as I did in discovering the story and bringing it to the page.

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It’s Official – I’m running for the AVC Board 10 Aug 2024, 6:46 am

Last week I completed my filings. I am on the ballot for November 5, 2024’s election as a candidate for the Antelope Valley Community College District’s Board of Trustees – specifically Trustee Area 1. If you’re in the AV, or its surrounding communities and wonder who on the board represents your area, check out this interactive map. Trustee Area 1 is the big pink one that spans the southern portion of the district, from one county line to another.

I’m not going to leave a manifesto here, but just a couple of thoughts driving my interest to continue to serve this community.

When I retired from my role as Chief Information Systems Officer last year, I knew I wanted to remain involved — kind of hard not to after ten years serving the amazing students and people of this area. For years, in that role, I promoted and supported more progressive working conditions, deeper integration of technology into instruction, advocated for expanded veteran services, and enhanced availability of resources to students in need.

The Board needs to take an active role in promoting a modern perspective on the workplace. COVID proved, for many, that remote work is a viable solution. For many of the offices and academic programs at the college, attracting quality candidates is an enormous challenge. Actively supporting and promoting a remote work policy could dramatically improve candidate pools and the working conditions.

The 2016 Bond, Measure AV, which I supported actively, provided the means to update the physical infrastructure of the college and ensure funds would be available for future needs. This bond has dramatically enhanced the learning experience for our area students. There is still much work to do to ensure the proper stewardship of the endowed funds. As a member of the leadership team that developed the plan, I hope to continue to have a voice in ensuring its initial intent is preserved.

I am a product of the California Community College and State University systems. Like so many in our system, I was a working student. After my service in the US Air Force, I worked my way through two degrees in history while attending full or part time – my AA on the five-year plan, and my BA three years later. Later in my career, I returned to the student role and completed my masters degree at CSU Northridge.

Twenty-seven years of my working career was in service to California Higher Education, in roles with the University of California, two California State University Campuses and its Office of the Chancellor, and two Community College Districts. I concluded my career serving the Antelope Valley and AVC as its Executive Director of Technology and Chief Information Systems Officer.

I have no interest in public office beyond this role. My wife and I – and our dogs – have made our home here in the AV. I believe strongly in representative governance and citizen oversight, as well as giving back to the communities and institutions that have supported me along my path.

In continuing my service to this community, I would like to bring my years of experience in California Higher Education to the citizen oversight of Antelope Valley College through its Board of Trustees. To do so, I ask for the privilege of your vote for the Trustee’s Seat serving Area 1.

– Thank you.

p.s. I’m not fund raising for this effort. For those who have offered your support, Thank You. But, I don’t want to futz with the falderal of having a committee, the perceptions of obligation & access, and simply I feel this should be something I do on my own. – rs

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A brief update 12 Jun 2024, 5:30 pm

This week brings my annual pilgrimage to Santa Barbara and the community of writers that started me down this path. The Santa Barbara Writers Conference comes together to work on craft and, increasingly, the business of writing. I’m honored to have been asked to contribute to several panels this week.

• Wednesday Afternoon – Demystifying Publishing will cover a spectrum of options for authors. Two of the panel’s presentors will discuss the options of Hybrid houses. I’ll be presenting information on folks who are interested in the full Indy experience.
• Thursday Morning – Deep Dive into Publishing Options will be a follow-up to Wednesday’s session. The assumption is after digesting the deluge of information from the day before, folks will have had the chance to digest and new questions will arise.
• Thursday Afternoon – Marla Miller’s Hooking Readers will focus on the Indy Experience. I’ve been asked to come, discuss my experience, and share information.
• Friday Afternoon – Author’s Platform Panel – Four of us will discuss what we’ve done in the areas of self-promotion.

If you are in the area, please come down to the Mar Monte on East Beach and join us in a bit of exploration. One day tickets are available.

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You Read It Here First 10 Apr 2024, 9:19 pm

Last June, I was asked by the organizers of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference to set up a Q&A opportunity for folks with questions about the Indy Publishing world. I met with a couple of dozen folks. Questions ranged from the very intro, what is Indy Publishing, to how does it differ from traditional, to some very nuts and bolts questions on software and platform building. It was a blast.

They got enough positive feedback, and continued interest, that I’ve been asked to come back again this year to do the same. So I’ll have a table in the main room, with a signup sheet, for 15-minute sessions. I’ll block out whole mornings and afternoons to provide opportunity for folks But, because I’m also a working writer, I’ll want to attend some workshops myself. Thus I won’t be there 100% of the time. Check-in at the table for availability; there will be a limited number of sessions, no more than a ten per day.

This year, drum roll, please, in addition to the one-on-one sessions, one of the conference’s long-time workshop facilitators, Marla Miller, who has for years conducted workshops on platform and self-promotion, has asked me to co-lead her session on Wednesday, June 12th. Topic, Navigating the Indy Publishing world. I’ll do an intro, speaking in general terms to what Indy Pub is, Where you can start navigating it yourself. And highlight some of the more common paths for folks to follow. I’m hoping, however, the majority of the two hour session will be question and answer. You know better than I what you want to know.

The Indy world is an ever changing landscape. One of the big new pushes is direct sales. It’s not as daunting as you might think. There are solutions, including print-on-demand services, that allow a small press – and yes as an Indy Author you are a small press – to successfully sell direct to your readers.

Please bring your questions.

On the business side of things….

I’m experimenting with something typically called a reader magnet. Offer a free book or short story in exchange for folks joining your newsletter’s list. In 2019, Bayonet Books published a short story in the Genesis Renewed universe as part of the From the Ashes Anthology. #IceteroidSurvivors is an alternate starting point. I’ve polished up the story a bit, put a cover on it, and posted it in epub format with a service called BookFunnel. 

I have not and will never share your information with a vendor. BookFunnel facilitates the delivery of digital formats, such as ebooks and audiobooks. It also provides a platform for authors to collaborate on promos to build their newsletter’s readership.

I’ve joined a promo that starts April 15th, and goes for a month.I will be among twenty or more authors who have joined the Apocalypse in April promo, offering a free electronic story. Some of these covers intrigued me.

To take a look, click here, (NOTE LINKS WILL NOT BE LIVE UNTIL 4/15) If you find something of interest, share your email address with that author, and expand their mailing list. If the book or the author’s newsletter isn’t to your taste, you can unsubscribe with a click. Because you were here first, if you would like a copy of this short story, send me a note, and I’ll forward a link to download it to your Kindle reader. Or you can click the link, and enter your email address to download – don’t sweat it, I’ll de-duplicate so you don’t get multiple copies of this newsletter.

On behalf of the authors in this promo, thank you in advance for your support.

If you want to keep up with my writing world, click here, join my newsletter list, and get an update monthly direct to your inbox.

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Reflections in gratitude for this amazing year. 22 Nov 2023, 9:32 pm

My first full year of semi-retirement, and so many people to thank for the successes of this first year.

It all started with attending the 20BooksVegas conference in November. That’s not really accurate; we can call 20BooksVegas the catalyst. The energy of 20BooksVegas and the generosity of this new network of amazing writers/people were enough to push me over the edge. I hit publish, not once, but twice in 2023, publishing novels in June and September through my imprint 2FBooks.  

So, to Craig Martelle and the 20Books community, thank you for the nudge over the top. Two books this year and a goal of three in 2024.

Next on the list of folks, my thanks, are the folks of the SBWC writing community, especially the subset that is our Fu***** Outstanding Writing Group.  Mac, Maryanne, Nick, Angela, & Stephen (RIP). Without your feedback, encouragement, and occasional kick in the tuchus, the aforementioned success couldn’t have happened.

To the online writing communities of the Dead Robots Society & Blasters and Blades. Thank you for the shoutouts and guest slots on your podcasts. No less than five times since I first hit publish in June, I have been invited to come on one of their episodes and talk about process, story, craft, and occasional tom-foolery.

The most recent of these sessions dropped just last week, when JR Handley played host on Blasters and Blades, including me, with the company of J. Daniel Sawyer, Rob Howell, and Joe Vasicek in a panel discussion on Creating Realistic Geopolitical Organizations in Fictional Worlds. You can check the links above for the other conversations I was a part of.

And, of course, Marla Miller, because a portion of this is still her fault.

To the love of my life, La, our four amazing boys, three added daughters, and ‘the mom. Your support and encouragement were essential to getting me to this point and continuing on this journey.

And finally, to you, my new and growing readership. I thank you for your support, for buying my stories, for leaving reviews, and for joining me on this journey.

From my family to yours on this upcoming day of thanks, we wish you much happiness.

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Oops, I did it again! I hit publish for a second time. 29 Sep 2023, 9:39 pm

Not really an oops. I was planning to announce this after the start of October, but Amazon was more efficient than expected and Genesis Renewed: Book 1 in the Genesis Renewed Saga went live this morning.

Genesis Renewed is the first of what I anticipate being a five or six-book series, focused on a community of survivors after the global dispersal of a celestial pathogen. Mankind is near extinction, and Dave Sharp is thrust into the role of protector. Initially protecting what remains of his family, then finding others and protecting them from the evil that has survived.

Genesis Renewed is available via KU, Kindle, and in paperback.

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Check out my Substack – UPDATED 9 Sep 2023, 4:48 pm

Update 6 January 2024 – I’ve decided to terminate my account with Substack due to their support of hate speech. It’s their business, they can keep whatever content / customers they wish, and I will exercise my right to not pass my traffic/readers through their site.

Folks who were signed up to my newsletter have been ported to my new setup – I’ll be hosting it myself. My target is one newsletter a month with updates on my writing, things I find cool, and new picts of the Shaw Shack Hooligans.

Thank you all for your support.

Hey folks, I’ve decided to use Substack as my email platform. Completely accessible. Platform responsive. And, it’s reasonably easy to use.

You can check out my first posting here.

And sign up for future postings via a link in the middle of the page.

And if you’re going to be in the Las Vegas area on November 10th, you have to come see me at RAVE 2023. Check out the post above for details!

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What a flipping treat!!! 3 Sep 2023, 6:21 pm

A couple of weeks back, I was asked to participate in a panel on the future of art and artificial intelligence. J Daniel Sawyer, Joe Vasicek, and little old me, along with the host JR Handley. To borrow from JR’s intro… “We wandered all around the topic before we reached the final destination. We ended at a solid MEH as our group opinion while clutching our pearls and telling everyone that the sky was falling!” Please check it out, I think you’ll find it as interesting as we did. Blasters and Blades Episode 279

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Blades and Blasters…. 4 Aug 2023, 5:24 am

Blades and Blasters is three Vets sitting around hashing through reading, writing, and pop culture – in this case, two vets.

A week or so ago, I had the pleasure of sitting in with JR Handley (one of the three), for a chat about my book (The Tunguska Deception) and writing in general. As it turns out, a whole lot of other things. JR and I share a similar academic background, personal interest in history, and being veterans and avid science fiction readers. We seemed like we kept sweeping back around to alternate history and the definition of spec fiction. We decided I’ll have to come back and we’ll have to go through those a bit further — which I will happily do.

Apparently, I’m now Rick Shaw Alien Overlord…. Have a listen.

You can find it on Spotify, Rumble, Bitchute, YouTube, and just about anywhere you find your podcasts. We had a good time.

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