A Blonde Moment

Here is yet another blonde moment in a lifetime of such...




Over the weekend, I built a "hay containment receptacle" for my horses, which simply means I cobbled together a hay rack from pieces of wood I had lying around.






I place the receptacle in the pen and my colt, Kris, who is two months old, thinks I built this thing mainly so he might scratch himself in places he can't hope to reach. And in scratching himself, he moves the "receptacle" all over the place. So, I have what I consider to be a brilliant idea to prevent this.




I'll just stake the rack to the ground. I get two pieces of rebar and a regular Stanley, 16 ounce hammer...

While pounding the rebar into the ground, I accidentally strike my left arm with the hammer, very near the wrist. Fortunately, there were no children present.

I think nothing of this, naturally, until two days later, when I notice my arm is now black and blue around the area of impact.

The visit to the doctor, the x-rays, confirm that I am suffering from yet another self-inflicted blonde moment--a fractured left arm.



At least I haven't shot myself in the foot--yet.

Miracle the novel--Video Trailer

Finally! The video trailer for Miracle, the novel, ISBN 9781934340554, available wherever better fiction is sold...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24g8QcxziRc



Enjoy! Leave a comment, rate it, and share it with friends.

Many, many thanks to those who support me now, and especially those who've supported me since the get-go! You, too, God!!!!!

M.L. Bushman

Amazon: Money is God and Greed is Good

There are times in history when you are presented the unique opportunity to stand up in defense of what's right, ethically and morally, not only for yourself, but for others as well. Almost as if you are being tested as to strength of character and/or being forced to bare your true colors for all to see.

Amazon's recent decision to strongarm independent publishers and their authors into using the substandard BookSurge printing company owned by non other than Amazon have brought divisions in the publishing industry to light--those who still believe in doing good versus those for whom money is God, while the frightened or merely confused sit on the sidelines and watch to see how this greedy grab for power plays out.

Jeff Bezos obviously believes now that money is God, that greed is good. He sees his customers not as real people, but merely as vehicles to increase his wealth. He's decided we authors and publishers should now provide cheaper cars to further fatten his coffers, we should hand him our keys and let his lordship dictate how much gruel we peasants are allotted for any given sale while he plots a space colony in lieu of first paying his bills.

Complain all you want about other bookstores or chains, but Amazon is just as bad, if not worse, for all aspects of this business. It's bad for the bookstores, chain or no (just check out the new text messaging service where a customer can use their cell phone from within the walls of any bookstore to compare prices and even order from Amazon); bad for publishers, independent or otherwise, especially those who would oppose the Amazon; bad, bad, bad for the authors caught in the middle of this squeeze play--authors whose own fellows, in some cases, won't stand up beside them because they are sold on the idea that they "need" Amazon.

Most of all, however, Amazon is particularly bad for the customers, who will foot the bills. And tell me, unless we authors and publishers work diligently together to enlist the support of consumers, who will ultimately be blamed for the rising costs of books? The answer is only a look in the mirror away for any one of us. Unless we stand together and make Amazon's greed an issue no customer will ever forget, we publishers and authors will bear the brunt of the blame, not Amazon. Just as publishers and authors shoulder the blame every time a book is poorly produced. And don't think for a minute Jeff Bezos doesn't realize this, too.

Whatever will I do without Amazon? Well, necessity is the mother of invention and change may be stirring in the wind, below anyone's horizon right now. Although the references to David and Goliath abound, the story of one small soul felling a monster with a single well-placed stone might simply exist to encourage those would to stand up and try, despite the risk, in spite of the odds.

If you think about it, Jeff did virtually the same thing himself, but now, well, he's made a very poor choice that suggests he's lost his way, he's completely forgotten his roots.

You might not believe in karma, but the truth is, we always get what we give. Always. And the longer what we gave to the world takes to come back around to us, the better or worse the return is. Always.

Boycott Amazon.

Boycott Amazon!

For those of you who may not yet be aware, Amazon is currently using threats and intimidation, lies and strong-arm tactics to force subsidy and independent publishers like my publisher, Jigsaw Press, to print books with their affiliate print-on-demand company, BookSurge, instead of a printer of my publisher's choosing. What Amazon is trying to do is bully publishers into paying higher set up and listing fees for less than acceptable quality of printed books and in so doing, increasing costs to the consumer. Like we're already not paying enough.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, apparently believes he's not making enough from his customers, the authors, or the suppliers (aka publishers). This move on his part seems to suggest he doesn't think he's rich enough. He wants more from you, from me, from everyone frequenting Amazon because he's arrogant enough to think he can corner the market on print-on-demand (POD) books this way. What he is practicing with these Mafioso tactics (see links below) is perilously close to something called illegal restraint of trade, if he's not already over the line.

I'm not asking any one of you to do anything more than boycott Amazon. Buy your books, your products elsewhere, such as Barnes and Noble, where you can also get free shipping for orders over 25.00 and better discounts if you join their book club.

For the authors among you, if you blog, and would join other authors and independent publishers, such as Jigsaw Press, in this boycott, we invite you to blog on the issue as well as pass this on to all your friends. If you're of a mind, if you're as outraged as we are, you can also call, write, or email the FTC to complain--

a.. Phone: (202) 326-3300
b.. Mail: Write to:
Office of Policy and Coordination
Room 383
Bureau of Competition
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
c.. Email: antitrust@ftc.gov (Note: Email is not secure. Mark confidential information "Confidential" and send it via postal mail.)

The most important thing here is that we readers, authors, and publishers who built Amazon into the company that it is today, we who made Jeff Bezos rich in the first place, register our complaint in a language Jeff Bezos and Amazon can understand: money, or the lack thereof.

We respectfully ask that you join us in boycotting Amazon.

See these links for more details on this:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120667525724970997.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/004597_03272008.html

These are just two of the articles generated since the story broke. The Washington Post and others are now reporting on this. We believe that soon the US Attorney will be looking into Amazon.

We also know that Jeff Bezos has shot himself in the foot for his greed.