Office of the Director of National Intelligence

This graphic was recently posted on the International Spy Museum site as a commemoration of the 2005 inception of the position of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It made me wonder how long the idea had been in the works before they decided to implement it.  What a great contribution to our national security. 

Where you do some serious reading... and thinking.

Writing cabins in the woods... seeking out the Muse with his burnt stogie and little bag of dust.

My writing cabin in the woods... newbie author by the word-processor stood... watched the cool story idea floating by, then knocking at my door. "Breathe life into me," he said....

I like Stephen King's version of the Muse... his inspiration for some of his best ideas. He describes him as a big, rough-cut, lumberjack-looking guy with a stogie popping out of one side of his mouth... and bag a magic dust.

I just pulled his quote off of Goodreads (no guarantee it's perfectly accurate):

“There is a muse, but he’s not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter or computer. He lives in the ground. He’s a basement kind of guy. You have to descend to his level, and once you get down there you have to furnish an apartment for him to live in. You have to do all the grunt labor, in other words, while the muse sits and smokes cigars and admires his bowling trophies and pretends to ignore you. Do you think it’s fair? I think it’s fair. He may not be much to look at, that muse-guy, and he may not be much of a conversationalist, but he’s got inspiration. It’s right that you should do all the work and burn all the mid-night oil, because the guy with the cigar and the little wings has got a bag of magic. There’s stuff in there that can change your life. Believe me, I know.”

Not that I'm a fan of King's novels... the horror genre isn't my thing.  But I respect his insight into writing a great deal.  The man has done some SERIOUS listening to the Muse.

New Review of Trident's Flame (2012), Kindle edition

A big THANK YOU to another reviewer, Bridget L. Ferguson - she bought Trident's Flame: A Jake Sloan Adventure (Kindle Edition) for her daughter recently (reviewed on 1Apr13).

She gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

Comments:

"Daughter loved it and wants to read more from this author. That is saying a lot since she is not fond of reading. She chose this book and finished it within the week. Never has she not put a book down. This book was purchased as a kindle read."

THAT is encouraging to hear.  It is the exact reason I wrote Trident's Flame (along with a desire to see readers encouraged in the Lord along the way). 

I remember not reading very much as a kid... even when my buddies were "eating up" sci-fi left and right, books and books, week after week.  For me, it was a book by Kin Platt, The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear, that hooked me.  It was one of the first real stories that caught my attention (it was probably the title that did it... something I could relate to, I imagine).  Platt did a great job of it.  And ever since then I've been more of a reader.  I'm happy Miss Ferguson enjoyed Trident's Flame so much.

 

Well, thank you Mrs. Ferguson, and Miss Ferugson!  I may just get back to volume 2 (Sanctum Threat) and vol 3 (Choke Point) in the near future.  (I've been rather tied up with the efforts to get Trident's Flame into hard copy on CreateSpace... and a little discouraged along the way.  This is just the sort of feedback I needed.  Thank you both.)

Link for the review: http://www.amazon.com/Tridents-Flame-Sloan-Adventure-ebook/product-reviews/B008DM2RCG/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

 Here is the Amazon link for Kin Platt's book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Could-Make-Himself-Disappear/dp/044090837X

I had no idea that Mr. Platt passed away as recently as 2003 (or so is says in the short bio I found).