The End of Education in Nevada

The lunatic is running the asylum.

State of the State.

Random House on Amazon

Random House comments on Amazon Pricing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute meeting was held today, and for the most part it wasn't good news for Amazon. When the representative from Macmillan stood up he received a standing ovation from the crowd (mostly independent booksellers). David Young, chief executive of Hachette USA, also spoke and said he "saw only a bleak future at $9.99". He also indicated that Hatchette would be adopting the agency model.

The only bright spot for Amazon, and Kindle owners, came from Madeline McIntosh, the President of Sales, Operations, and Digital for Random House. She pointed out that publishers "have no real experience at setting retail prices." She also revelaed that one of the reasons Random House had not been party to the iBook Store at launch was because of the pricing issues.

In regards to delayed releasing of ebooks, McIntosh said, "Our current policy is we release e-books at the same time as physical books," followed by "I haven't been convinced that it's good for the author or consumer to delay the release. My fear is that the consumer who has fully embraced the technology will buy another e-book that is available or lose interest altogether. What if I train the consumer that the best scenario is to get it free?"

Reprinted from Mobile Read Forums.

Bob Russell's Report on the Ipad

The iPad has my interest, even though I'm not a fan of closed systems, and I never thought I'd consider a device without at least one USB port and a memory card slot. What follows is my reasons for interest, and the things I wish it had. I.e., if I could have provided input, this is what Apple might have included on an iPad developed just for me.

Why I Am Interested
Good battery life. Hopefully, real world usage matches 10-12hrs.
Great form factor - light, slim and nicely sized screen
Zippy performance - should be much faster than e-ink devices
Capacitive touch screen
Lots of developer support, and huge iPhone consumer base
External keyboard via BT or dock. Eventually wired keyboards will probably be available via the connector.
Should be a good e-book reader, even for PDFs in landscape. (I don't mind reading on an LCD screen.)
Price is not much more than an e-ink device, so I can potentially make this as an e-book reader purchase that gets me some additional functionality and a more responsive device as well.

If you go to a full O/S like Win7, then you lose battery life and the lightweight advantage. I.e. In that case, I may as well use my convertible tablet, or get a netbook (still a possibility). The extra weight and shorter battery life is a critical factor for me.

It will be interesting to see what Android tablets come out with 7-10" screens, 8+hr battery life, <2lbs>

Originally posted on Mobile Read Forums.

Baen Free Library

There are plenty of places online to get free ebooks, and I've tried to point out as many as I could. If you like science fiction, one great spot is Baen Fee Library, if for no other reason than Honor Harrington-- the gold standard in military sci-fi.

His Robot Girlfriend tops 25,000 Downloads

His Robot Girlfriend has topped 25,000 downloads! Yay!

Featured ebook - Fungi from Yuggoth and Other Poems

H. P. Lovecraft's poetry is more than simple verses. I fleshes out the bizzarre undead/alien mythology that he created in his stories. Well worth reading if you have already read his shorts and novels. But, be prepared for MADNESS!

Download it here for free.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest

Hi Wesley,

Thank you for participating in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award!

We've received your entry, "The Voyage of the Minotaur." Your unique ABNA ID is: YWRGPU4J

On February 25, Amazon will announce the round two entries at www.amazon.com/abna.

Good luck in the contest!

Need to update your contest information?

- To update your name and e-mail address, log into your CreateSpace account at:
https://www.createspace.com/Member/EditAcct.jsp

- To update your contest entry, including the author name that will appear on Amazon.com if your entry is selected as a quarterfinalist, log into your CreateSpace account and click "Edit Entry":
https://www.createspace.com/pub/member/dashboard.abna.do

You may update your entry until 11:59 p.m. eastern time on February 7, 2010, or until the first 5,000 entries have been received for your category, whichever comes first.


Connect with other contestants! The Amazon.com forums are a great way to meet other entrants:
http://www.amazon.com/b?node=332264011

Review contest key dates:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200291680

Read the official contest rules:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200291720

Browse the contest FAQs:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200291640

Get more information on the contest prizes:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200291700


Interested in self-publishing? CreateSpace offers services and tools to help you distribute your book on Amazon.com and through other sales channels. Start publishing with CreateSpace:
https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book

Monthly Contest

If you look to the right you will see details on my new monthly contest. You can win a free autographed book. You must be logged onto City of Amathar Blog. If you are reading this on facebook or somewhere else, go to http://blogspot.amathar.com.

Special Session Targets Teachers

Over the last month you have been hearing and reading in the news about the dire economic condition of our state. This has presented enemies of public education, specifically Governor Gibbons, an opportunity to advance their anti-union, anti-public education agenda.

The Governor has proposed an 8 point school reform plan, which he indicates will help balance the state budget shortfall. (Those challenging him in his primary election have also embraced the concept of revisiting NRS 288.) The centerpiece of the Governor’s School Reform Plan is to eliminate NRS 288, which affords public employees the right to collectively bargain.

If the Governor and his allies are successful in eliminating NRS 288, well… just look to Arizona, who like Nevada is a right to work state. However, Arizona doesn’t have collective bargaining rights so the legislature recently went after teachers and the Arizona Education Association:

* Legislation was enacted prohibiting school boards from using seniority when it came to reduction in force.
* Legislation was enacted permitting school districts to target specific employees for pay reductions.
* The Tucson Unified School District has laid off approximately 700 teachers and support staff.
* The Paradise Valley School District employees were forced to take a 2.62% salary cut.
* The Governor and legislature went after the Arizona Education Association because they were “way too vocal, and way too union oriented.”

If the Governor and his primary opponents have their way, all you have to do is substitute the word Nevada for Arizona.

Providing the Governor fodder, and an excuse for his attacks, is the continued decrease in sales, gaming and property taxes, which make up the bulk of the state’s revenue. According to the Nevada Economic Forum, which met on January 22, 2010, the revenue shortfall will be in the neighborhood of $800 million to $1 billion, which represents approximately 15% of the state’s biennium budget. Since education represents approximately 40% of the state’s budget, and CCSD receives approximately 75% of that 40%, the impact to CCSD could be in the area of $250 million over the biennium. This figure alone would exceed the total amount cut from CCSD’s budget over that past three years and would be truly catastrophic.

The Governor will give his State of the State address on February 8, 2010, at which time it is expected he will call for a special session of the legislature to take place around February 23, 2010. The Governor is the only one who sets the agenda; his proposed budget cuts and school reform plan will more than likely be on that agenda.

Last year CCEA was successful in working with CCSD to keep teachers from being laid off or RIF’d, preventing cuts to our salaries, and funding step increases for experience when the Legislature only funded enough money for education step increases. CCSD support staff employees were not as fortunate and experienced layoffs and RIF’s. If the Governor is successful in eliminating collective bargaining and implementing his school reform plan, then teachers and other employees will be subject to the whim of the legislature and school districts. They will balance the budget on the backs of teachers and at the expense of our children’s education.

As we face tremendous challenges in the upcoming year due to the projected budget shortfall, it’s important that we fight any efforts to eliminate collective bargaining, which was so instrumental in providing a legal framework in working with CCSD.

So where do we go from here? CCEA is finalizing an organizing plan that will focus on influencing and impacting legislation during the special session, addressing budget cuts and the Governor’s school reform plan. Our plan will include a variety of activities in which your participation will be vital. The plan will be ready to roll out immediately following Governor Gibbons’ speech on February 8. In the mean time, please save the following dates for activities: Feb. 9 & Feb. 13 - details to follow.

We urge you to sign up for our e-mail alerts in order to receive up-to-date information on organizing activities. Please ask your friends, neighbors and family to support teachers as we fight to preserve our right to bargain and to minimize budget cuts that will impact us and the students of Clark County.


Governor Gibbons’ 8 Point Plan

On January 6, 2010, “pro-education” Governor Gibbons proposed the following school reforms:

• Streamlining K-12 school funding and creating empowerment school districts.
• Eliminating local government and school district collective bargaining as provided for in Chapter 288 of the Nevada Revised Statutes.
• Adopting a statewide school voucher program.
• Eliminating the elected body known as State Board of Education.
• Eliminating the statutory requirement for class-size reduction.
• Eliminating any statutory and budgetary requirements for full-day kindergarten.
• Eliminating the hold harmless provision in school funding.
• Amending NS 386.650(1) to delete the provision which prohibits the use of student test scores from being used for the purposes of evaluating an individual teacher or paraprofessional.


Reprinted from the Clark County Education Association Website.

MobileRead Book Club Selection

I was blown away when I logged onto MobileRead forums and saw their choices for Bookclub selections:


Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Sometimes only remembered for the epic motion picture and "Frankly ... I don't give a damn," Gone with the Wind was initially a compelling and entertaining novel. It was the sweeping story of tangled passions and the rare courage of a group of people in Atlanta during the time of Civil War that brought those cinematic scenes to life. The reason the movie became so popular was the strength of its characters--Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler, and Ashley Wilkes--all created here by the deft hand of Margaret Mitchell, in this, her first novel.

The Accidental Tourist Anne Tyler
Scarred by grief after their 12-year-old son's senseless murder (he was shot by a holdup man in a Burger Bonanza), Macon and Sarah Leary are losing their marriage too. Macon is unable to cope when she leaves him, so he settles down "safe among the people he'd started out with," moving back home with two divorced brothers and spinster sister Rose. Author of a series of guidebooks called "Accidental Tourist" for businessmen who hate to travel, Macon is Tyler's focus here, as she gently chronicles his journey from lonely self-absorption to an "accidental" new life with brassy Muriel, a dog trainer from the Meow Bow Animal Hospital, who renews and claims his heart.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Published a year before her death at the age of thirty, Emily Brontë's only novel is set in the wild, bleak Yorkshire Moors. Depicting the relationship of Cathy and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights creates a world of its own, conceived with an instinct for poetry and for the dark depths of human psychology.

Shadow Game by Christine Feehan
The classified experiment is the brainchild of renowned scientist Peter Whitney and his brilliant daughter, Lily. Created to enhance the psychic abilities of an elite squadron, it can transform their natural mental powers into a unique military weapon. But something goes wrong. In the isolated underground labs, the men have been dying-victims of bizarre accidents. Captain Ryland Miller knows he is next. When Dr. Whitney himself is murdered, Ryland has only one person left to trust: the beautiful Lily. Possessed of an uncanny sixth sense herself, Lily shares Ryland's every new fear, every betrayal, every growing suspicion, and every passionate beat of the heart. Together, they will be drawn deeper into the labyrinth of her father's past…and closer to a secret that someone would kill to keep hidden.

It Happened In Egypt by Charles Norris Williamson (1859-1920) and Alice Muriel Williamson (1869-1933)
Lord Ernest Borrow and Captain Anthony Fenton think they know a secret – a secret that could make them both rich. En route, they are sidetracked by Sir Marcus Antonius Lark, a woman who thinks she’s Cleopatra reincarnate, a Gilded Rose of an American Heiress, and Mrs. Jones, a mysterious Irish woman with a past. Will they find the secret? Or will the trip up the Nile on the Enchantress Isis net them another discovery altogether? (summary by Sibella Denton)

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Dead Until Dark is the first book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries / Sookie Stackhouse novels. In this first installment, the author introduces the character of Sookie Stackhouse, a young telepathic waitress from the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, and her world, an alternate history where vampires, shapeshifters and other supernatual beings coexist with humans. In Dead Until Dark Sookie begins a romantic entanglement with her vampire neighbor and is faced with a series of murders in town.
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. It's a romantic mystery / urban fantasy. It's actually written by married couple. It has an e-book version.

His Robot Girlfriend by Wesley Allison (HistoryWes)
Mike Smith's life was crap, living all alone, years after his wife had died and his children had grown up and moved away. Then he saw the commercial for the Daffodil. Far more than other robots, the Daffodil could become anything and everything he wanted it to be. Mike's life is about to change.

The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
In a sleepy little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family. Mysterious deaths threaten the living. Musty documents nestle behind hidden panels carrying the secret of the family’s salvation—or its downfall.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Tough minded Jessica Trent's sole intention is to free her nitwit brother from the destructive influence of Sebastian ballister, the notorious Marquess of Diain. She never expects to desire the arrogant, amoral cad. And When Daines reciprical passion places them in a scandously compromising, and public, position, Jessica is left with no choice but to seek satisfaction...
Damn the minx for tempting him, kissing him...and then for forcing him to salvage reputation! Lord Dain can't wait to put the infuriating bluestocking in her place -- and in some amorous position. And if this means marriage, so be it -- though sebastian is less than certain he can continue to remian aloof...and stell his heart to the sensuous, head strong lady's considerable charms.

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Penelope Featherington fell madly, hopelessly in love with Colin Bridgerton two days before her 16th birthday. Unfortunately, Colin has always seen Penelope as the plump, shy best friend of his younger sister. By the time Penelope is 28 and a seasoned member of the English ton, she's accepted that her love for Colin is destined to remain unrequited and she shall be a spinster forever. Fate, however, has other plans. When Lady Whistledown's Society Papers announce that Colin has returned from his nearly nonstop travels, Penelope is blissfully unaware that her life is about to change dramatically. Colin is equally unaware of the turn his life is about to take. He's not surprised that his beloved mother is determined to marry him off, but he's rather astonished to find himself inexplicably drawn to Penelope. Her dry wit and intelligent mind are delightful, and Colin soon finds himself joining forces with her to deflect his matchmaking mama's good intentions. Together, the two will thwart their mothers' iron wills, face the formidable Lady Danbury, confront the gossips of London society, and resolve the lovely dilemma of falling in love. And, oh yes, there is that matter of the true identity of Lady Whistledown. Will the twosome unmask the elusive journalist? Or will their efforts be doomed to failure like so many others' before?

You can check out the original post here.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest

Ihave entered The Voyage of the Minotaur in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest of 2010. The grand prize is a publishing contract from Penguin. Part of the process is a vote by readers who visit Amazon. If I make it that far, I'll be sure and let you know where you can go to vote. In the meantime, wish me luck.

Senta and the Steel Dragon - Setting

Senta and the Steel Dragon is the story of a world not too different than our own Victorian/Edwardian age of Colonial Imperialism. This world however is different because in the past, mythic creatures like dragons were common. Magic is still present. In an age of steam power and rifles, wizards are sought after for service in the army and navy. In this world, the continent of Sumir is the place of origin and primary home of humanity. The people of Sumir have begun to colonize the rest of the world, which up until now, was dominated by non-human creatures.

I began creating this world, by imagining a world larger than our own, with more land as compared to ocean. I cut out a shape that I imagined as this world's Pangia, then tore it to pieces and moved them around to simulate continental drift. When I was done, I set another piece of paper over them, and traced the outlines of the landmasses. Then I made several more drawings, attempting to make each of them more true to life. It helped that as a child, I liked to sit and look at the atlas.

History Card: George Westinghouse

George Westinghouse
(1846-1914)

George Westinghouse is a name most people recognize for the appliances that carry his name. Westinghouse was an entrepreneur and inventor who was responsible for air brakes on trains. This made train travel faster and much safer. He later went on to champion Nicola Tesla's alternating current, laying the foundation for the electrical network that we enjoy today.

You can read more about Westinghouse here.

Mini-Review: O Pioneers!

One of the things I wanted to do when I got my Sony Reader was to read some of the classics that I had never gotten around to. The first one I chose was O Pioneers! by Willa Cather. I love this book. It tells the story of Swedish immigrants in the mid-western US in the nineteenth century. I enjoyed the story and the characters. What I really enjoyed was the realism and how things just seemed to happen-- much like they do in real life. I went out and found the movie version with Jessica Lang et al and watched it afterwards. It was pretty good too. I highly recommend this book and you can download it for free here.

The Voyage of the Minotaur - Another Rejection

I got my rejection letter from Baen books today. I have a list of about 5 more literary agents and a dozen or so publishers who will be getting queries from me next. If I haven't got a positive response by summer, I'll self-publish it, so I can move on to the next project.