Monthly Archives: September 2010

Thinking Outside the Bin

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Susan Spann

This morning my family was awakened by the neighbors’ gardener, who considered it both necessary and appropriate to run a leaf blower for 35 minutes straight at a very early hour.  While discussing the issue with my son over breakfast, … Continue reading →

Posted in Running Amok | 2 Comments

An Advance look at the October observances

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Susan Spann

Every month, we in the United States celebrate a variety of important causes.  Since I know you’re all very observant, I thought I’d bring you up to date on the things we’ll be, er, celebrating in October. (With the snark’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Anything for a Party | 2 Comments

Wednesday Writing Challenge #3: Word Play

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Susan Spann

A writer gets nowhere without words.  The more, the merrier. I’ve also heard it said that a writer should never use a word in a manuscript until (s)he is comfortable using it “for real” or the word will sound forced, … Continue reading →

Posted in Running Amok | Comments Off

A brief word about how Friday reads, and a disclaimer.

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Susan Spann

I’ve had a couple of questions about how I select books for Friday reads. First, I only review books I would recommend.  There are basically three categories: recommended, highly recommended, and Stop Everything And Read This Book Now.  Almost nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Reads & Reviews, Running Amok | Comments Off

In Honor of Maritime Day: Across the Sea in an Open Boat

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Susan Spann

Many people know that Vikings sailed extensively throughout northern Europe (and parts of southern Europe, too) during the Viking Age (roughly AD 793-1066). Viking settlements dating from the tenth century have been found in Greenland and North America. What many … Continue reading →

Posted in Shiny Dinglehoppers | 2 Comments

The Only Statistic That Matters to You

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Susan Spann

Last Monday Kristin Nelson posted a valuable blog entry titled “White Noise” which dealt with authors’ need to know-but-ignore the overwhelming statistics regarding the query, agent acquisition and publication process. I spent some time over the past week thinking about … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons Learned, Scribbling | 6 Comments

All My Friends Are Dead*

Posted on September 25, 2010 by Susan Spann

*(Calm down, it’s a book title) I don’t normally post on Saturdays (and won’t unless something particularly good goes on) but I had to shamelessly steal and re-post this link that Janet Reid posted earlier: All My Friends Are Dead. … Continue reading →

Posted in Running Amok, Scribbling, What's That in the Web? | Comments Off

Friday Reads #2: Blind Descent

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Susan Spann

This week’s offering: Blind Descent: the Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth, by James Tabor. Blind Descent follows the explorations of two supercave pioneers, American Bill Stone and Ukranian Alexander Klimchouk, as they seek to discover the deepest … Continue reading →

Posted in Reads & Reviews | Comments Off

A Piece of my Wednesday evening

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Susan Spann

Son and I are sitting in the living room, watching television.  The program mentions the US metals market, where commodities such as steel, gold, and silver are bought and sold.  At the mention of one particular word, son (who has … Continue reading →

Posted in Running Amok | 8 Comments

Writing Wednesday #2: Tell Me a Story

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Susan Spann

Novelists owe a lot to the bardic tradition, and in many societies (if not most) that tradition hasn’t died out.  We are storytellers by nature, almost from the time we’re old enough to speak. With that in mind, today’s writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Running Amok | 12 Comments