Ryan Long Finds Canceling People is the Best Medicine

Or so some folk think. Trust the science. 

Ryan Long

Greta Thunberg vs. Darth Vadar

It was inevitable. One day they would have to meet.  

Casciari

Prostate Cancer, Real Talk Coming Soon!

 

Punnett's Square

A new podcast centered around prostate cancer treatment and recovery will soon debut. Thanks to Elverage (El) Alen and his wife Shay, the above-named podcast will waft out across the ether quite soon. El and Shay were gracious enough to interview me re. my prostate cancer book with our talk ranging from diagnosis to surgery to post-op complications. A fun time with a couple who understand the difficulties awaiting men facing this disease. (As a note: African-American men are 50% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.) So all guys over 50, get a blood test and check your PSA. (Over 4 means pay attention.)

I'll have a link to the interview and more information up soon on Prostate Cancer, Real Talk.  

Ryan Long Trolls Therapy

 Don't worry about lock-downs and life. You're free of blame!

Ryan Long

Book Review: Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and The Last Trial of Harper Lee

 

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A man stands accused of murdering a suspected serial killer before over 300 witnesses. His charming attorney often defended the deceased. Now he defends the killer. A famous author is present in the Alabama courtroom, observing the trial. She researches material for a new book. On such a premise rests Casey Cep's non-fiction tale.

Back in the 1960s-70s, the Reverend Willie Maxwell was a big believer in insurance. He took out policies on his wives, relatives, and neighbors. The fast-spending Reverend was also the beneficiary. A gruesome pattern ensued in which the newly insured perished in ways most suspicious while Reverend Maxwell collected the settlements. Attempts to bring him to justice always foundered on the rock of Tom Radney.

A liberal Kennedy-loving lawyer in a Wallace-loving state Radney was a "Casanova of the court room . . . His juries might not have always liked his clients, but they sure liked him." Known as "Big Tom, Radney frequently defended the Reverend Maxwell.

Until the Reverend's death by gunfire at the funeral of one of his victims. At that point Big Tom took up the case of murder suspect Robert Burns.

Divided into three parts, the book focuses on Maxwell, Radney, Harper Lee. Sadly, this fusion of southern justice and the debilitating perfectionism of a famous author blends less well on the page than in the title. The fascinating trial was a short book in itself, with Harper Lee's presence providing an interesting footnote. Without weaving Lee's literary struggles into the trial narrative, her section reads more like a biography than a part of a whole.

Still, the malevolent Reverend and the courtroom antics of Radney are worth the read.

View all my reviews

Comparing a Proofread to a Copy Edit

Amazon

My eyes ache from this task. I published Hallow Mass in 2016. Having since excised around 4K words, I commissioned a new proofread and a copyedit. Typos were still found. Hopefully, this tidy version with hot new cover art will set the stage for Volume 2. I hope to promo soon and release mid-summer. Other than that, life fortunately continues. I'm grateful.

Author JP Mac After Writing All Day

 Sad, but true. After five or six pages, the steel balls are never far from my grasp.

GroupAACSCLW5510

Self-Publishing, Magical Realism, and the Slippery Slope

crownofcompassion

I wanted so little: a new cover for my horror novel, Hallow Mass. But then I needed a page count for the cover artist. That led me to glance over the manuscript and notice several errors. This led to a brief rewrite which, in turn, led to a longer rewrite, which resulted in my cutting over 4k words. 

This, then, led to my sending the manuscript out to a proofreader. In the meantime, I've acquired the new ebook cover from the artist who is holding onto the paperback cover until I present a final page count. In the meantime, I attemptted to format the paperback interior myself. Several days were eaten up as one step forward often led to three steps backwards and one hop to the side.

Great work by the proofreader, but my production manager—also my wife—rarely sees a free moment these days from her technical writing job. Unable to do the task herself, she suggested a copywriter to supply the manuscript with a high-gloss finish. 

So I offered the job on Reedsy to five of their curated editors. So far, one passed and another wanted twice as much as I could afford. Meanwhile, I've contacted a company in Australia for the formatting. Great price, but I need the copywriting completed first, as well as adding ISBNs, before I can receive the final pdfs. 

Bowker, which handles American ISBNs, presents one with an unforgiving interface. I checked a box by mistake, couldn't undo it, and must now call Bowker and seek their help.

My to-do list now looks like a rough draft for the Peace of Westphalia. And all I desired was a new cover.

Next time, I'll desire differently. 

The Church of the Woke

Ryan Long once again as he harvests the low-hanging comedic fruit. Everyone else is so frightened, that Long shares the orchard with no one.

Ryan Long

Death Honk Promotion at Reedsy

Snappy ebook/paperback

 Oh?

Yes. Tomorrow, or as many have taken to calling it, Friday, Feb. 5 @ReedsyDiscovery promotes my collection of nine short stories ranging from crime to the strange and eerie. Stop by Reedsy and view this personally pleasing promotion and avail yourself of a copy or two. More, if you wish, no one will chide you.

Ryan Long Sings His Lock-Down Songs

 Ballads to while away your shut-in hours. 

Ryan Long