Lubrican: Blog

just had five issues with my left shoulder operated on. will be in a sling for 6 wks. everything being typed with on hand so no caps for a while unless the machine fixes that.
the good news is that doc says i won't make more mistakes when it's healed.
i'll make the same amount
bob

Okay, here we go. I'm posting a new story and this one came to me in a dream. It is not like anything I've ever written or posted before. It is extremely dark in the beginning but it is, in the end, a Lubrican story. It gave me very sour lemons and I've tried to make it into lemonade.

The Extortion of Heather Mercer is eight chapters long and the whole thing will get published this week if all goes well.

Read the foreword. Look at the codes. I have included any possible code that somebody could think should be included, but the story isn't about the codes. What I mean is the codes don't tell the story. When you see "rape" in the codes, and that's not your bag, I get it. I don't normally write about rape. In this case, though, it had to be done for the plot to work. It's the same with any other code.

I'll turn comments on so you can vent if that will make you feel better.

I get mail all the time from people who say things like, "I was going to pass this one by because of [imagine a reason here] but because it was written by Lubrican I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did."

That comment means a lot to me because it tells me the reader trusts me to deliver a "Lubrican" story. I think you can trust this one, too.

I'll be interest to see the feedback
Bob

I recently got some kudos aimed at my support staff, whose names you see (or should see) in the end note of all my recent books and stories. By recent I mean books and stories I wrote in the last ten or so years. Michelle is my proofreader and "normal human" who does a 'reaction video' to each book I write, except it's not a video. Most people have seen those reaction videos, though and she does very much the same thing. Once she sends me her changes and thoughts back and I digest them, the book then goes to Andy, who is in Mensa and twice as smart as I'll ever be. His background is in strict grammar, so he keeps me honest (or tries to) when it comes to using the King's English, so to speak.
So I passed on the kudos to them, as I always do, and I thought the readers might like a peek into our little literary world, in which we all work very well together.

Here are their responses:
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Andy: I don't know that I've put it this way before, Bob, but anyone can follow known rules, which is what I and Michelle do (sorry, dear, but it's true). The creative spark is yours alone, and that is the end-all and be-all of art. It's you who keep us "in business", so to speak.

Michelle: It is true what you say Andy, but mostly I just make changes just so things flow better and look nicer. Knowing the rules is just what makes things easier to understand in my book. I'm not so anal to think I've got everything nailed down, but I understand what needs to go where to make things flow nicely. That said, I do leave all the harder edits to you Andy so take your bow.

As for your fan base, Bob, be sure to tell the kind fans that they are very much appreciated and that I hope their experiences with reading your works make for a relaxing and entertaining time as it does for me. I've said many times how much I enjoy reading your work and I'm always happy to hear that they do as well. It makes things on my end much more pleasant and I'm waaaayyy more willing to make sure to catch as much as I can so their reading experience sails smoothly. Be proud of your work first and foremost and let their praise come as a close second. You really do earn it. :)
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It isn't much, just some ordinary email exchanges, but they exemplify the process in which the product you read gets to your e-reader. I hope this was interesting.

I just wanted to thank you for the nice things you say.

So do Michelle and Andy.

By the way, I just got one back from Michelle and sent it on to Andy just before I posted this blog entry. He's a busy guy and it's a longer story, so it may be a while until it gets to your e-reader, but for those of you who think i might have died or had a stroke or fallen and couldn't get up, now you know there will be something... eventually.

Thanks for reading.
Bob

Well, we got moved and are settled in, though there are stacks of boxes yet to be unpacked. The computer is set up and I'm back to work.

Today I started posting a three chapter story that got written during the hiatus. The foreword says it isn't fine literature and it's not. Call it shaking the rust off of my fingers.

It's called Daddy, I Have a Question and I'll post a chapter a day. It's also available at Bookapy if you don't want to wait.
I also finally got the boxed set of the Bobby Dalton story The Making of a Gigolo published at Bookapy. A number of people asked for that and it took a while to figure out how to do it. The whole set is made up of four volumes, each having four books in them. It was edited in the process and is "cleaner" than what is at SOL. I like to think it's only a "little" cleaner because the original is in good shape. I'm a little vain that way. That is also why I like it when people write to me and tell me I made a mistake. I can't fix them if I don't know about them.

Anyway, I hope everybody has a happy and fruitful new year and that we can write and read some good stuff.

PS Michelle currently has a twenty-something chapter book that I worked on before, during and after the hiatus. I do not expect to post it until sometime in February or March, but it's out there getting spruced up.

I haven't posted anything in ahwile and that always brings out the "Are you still alive?" people. Not that those folks bother me. I'm flattered they think about me.
Here's the deal. My wife's health took a serious dive last spring because of allergies that almost hospitalized her. So we had to get out of Kansas and go somewhere more allergy friendly. That means we've been on the road here and there (mostly there) looking for a new place to hang our hats.
The good news is we found something and it's going to get all finalized between now and the end of the year.
At that point I might be able to spend more time writing. I've been working on something as time permits but I doubt it will come out until after the new year.
I just wanted you to know I'm still alive and have some of the same problems as many of you have.
Happy Holidays
Bob