JSM Published

January has been a busy time for me and I’ve neglected my blog long enough, but I do have good news.  Journal of the Silent Majority was published on January 18^th, 2014 and I made my first sale that day.  Early on, I had no illusions about getting the job done through a traditional publisher.  It could have taken a couple of years at best.  Even the publicity and marketing routes which included solicitations to reviewers, editors, associations, buyers, publishing groups, book clubs, and the Media would have meant significant delays. 

I concluded many months ago that I would have to take a measured and deliberate path which involved calculated risks because of the book’s controversial nature.  After all, JSM is not a cook book and the nature of the publishing apparatus against the Silent Majority is formable.  If it was about cars, sports, hunting, or gardening, the process would have been much easier. 

After studying many marketing sources and strategies, I concluded that there exists a dilemma - an untapped market for the millions of people who comprise the Silent Majority.  They have been left out and politically abandoned.   JSM was written in a vacuum; no institutional, monetary, or celebrity backing.  There is nothing like it.  Again, for those who have been patiently waiting, I had to publish JSM in a slow and deliberate manner.  From the acorn grows the oak.

Specifically, Journal of the Silent Majority measures 6” x 9” and is 517 pages long (11pt.).  Its retail price is $34.95.  Initially, I will send individual copies out by Flat Rate Envelope Priority Mail.  For those in the United States, if you are interested in purchasing a discounted copy, please send a check or money order made out to Valley Star Publishing for $30.00 to:

Valley Star Publishing

P.O. Box 843
West Plains Mo. 65775

For those overseas, I have to do more research because the shipping cost seems too high.  I’ll also update JSM’s web page to reflect the book’s publication and ordering information.  Next month I’ll be focusing on the next important publishing step: JSM in e-Book form which, of course, will be significantly lower in price. 

The Moors of Hardangervidda

On my way out of Olso and up into the mountains I made a rare stop into the train’s tea coach.  In fact it was the only diner I ever encountered on a train.  When we were still at the tree line I looked up and over the aisle I noticed the biggest couple I'd ever seen.  The Norwegian fellow was 7 at least feet tall with hands bigger than a catcher’s mit.  His girlfriend, sitting at the table with him, was just as tall.  No wonder the English in olden times feared their raids.  I recall King Harald and the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.

Passengers leave summer and late season haying to find mountain crags, water, fiords, and gorges.  We passed Hönefoss and Gol.  A little after we passed the highest point it started snowing in Geilo where several passengers departed with skis slung over their shoulders.  I really appreciated of the warmth of the coaches.  I’m not used to snow in September.  On the way to Begen on Norway’s west coast there are 200 snow sheds that prevent snow from blocking the railroad tracks.  The 300 mile line is called Bergensbanen  (the Bergen Railway or NSB).  There are also snow screens like the one in the picture to the right. 

Hardangervidda is a moor and there’s nothing there - just terrible cold desolation – no trees and nothing alive that I could see.  It reminded me of the Grampian Mountains in Scotland, only on a much larger scale.  There are, however, some small cabins, perhaps used for fishing during the warmer months.  Once in a while a fiord would come into view and they are spectacular with their obvious depth on up to their snow-capped peaks above them.  Travel books say this is the place where battle scenes from The Empire Strikes Back were filmed.

I remember seeing many crystal clear boat anchorages during the descent to the level ground not far from Bergen.  The entire length of chain or rope was visible down to the rocks on the bottom.  Many Norwegians have to take a boat to get to their boats because there are no docks and nothing to tie onto.  I can appreciate this lower level because I'm not used to mountains or the cold.  In their own special way, I appreciate the mountains too because they are so beautiful, but the people who ski there must be really tough or have a lot of time on their hands.

Hunker Down Time

This is one winter that makes me appreciative of every bit of sun there is.  Even this far south in the Ozarks the snow and ice seem relentless.  We're not used to this.  When the clipper came through the other day, the north wind made the snow drifts look like long white tubes and the cattle with their heads down ran before the onslaught towards the timber.  I took down the gates behind the barn and garage so that the calves could take shelter against the deadly wind and extreme temperatures, but their mothers had already forced their way into the wind break behind the garage.  Cows are protective of their young, but I was surprised by their intelligence and instinct in order to preserve their young. 

I know it sounds funny, but the water froze in my hot water tank a couple of days ago.  I couldn’t figure it out, but I did detect the mushy sound of water and ice coming from the tank.  Outside, the pump house is well insulated and is built over the old rock well which brings to the top warm air from the bottom forming a kind of natural heater.  The indoor pipes seemed intact, but to find any break, the pipes would have to thaw and that could have taken several days.  Fortunately, I noticed an unused vent with a flapper the width of a baseball dangling from it.  It must have been installed to anticipate upgrades to the HVAC system.  I was greatly relieved the next morning to see the rushing water coming from the faucet.  I still have vivid memories of how in 1996 in Kansas City when it reached -20 degrees, the old galvanized pipe in my mom’s old house burst on two different occasions in the bathroom above the kitchen causing thousands of dollars in damage and flooding the basement.

In the country the safety net begins at the blacktop (road).  Serious farmers have the big high horse power 4-wheel-drive tractors that look like tanks moving through the snow at night to feed the cattle or pull out someone’s pick-up that got stuck.  Macho men enjoy these tests of power and endurance.  They can’t wait to test their monster equipment in adverse conditions.  For me, I use common sense and do not tempt fate because there are times when events are just too big to deal with.

Goodbye to Misery

I confess, Misery with Kathy Bates is one of my favorite movies.  Oddly, it’s about a psycho like Norman Bates in Psycho who kills people who’ve ended up at his/her residence.  In this case, it’s Paul Sheldon, the writer of her favorite fiction character.  After rescuing him, she forces him to redo his latest manuscript which was found with him at the scene of his snowy car wreck.  He’s from the old school of writing and I enjoy watching him pounding away on her old antique typewriter and wondered if that’s the way he normally wrote.  Despite being a captive and being in mortal danger, he was picky; he demands she go to town to get him some smudge-proof paper.  I suspect the movie is set in a time when cell phones and computers were not invented because I would have demanded at least a Hp Pavilion with Windows 7 as well.

If Hollywood wants to depict writers chiseling away like they used to, that’s their business.  In the real world, that style went the way of the dinosaur.  I’ve been in several writers groups where most still write with pen and pencil on a yellow steno pad.  They’re hopelessly and needlessly lost and I feel for them – not that I’m special, but it’s a radically different world from the time when penciling in something and pounding away with an old Royal typewriter sufficed.  Those were terrible days: faded ribbon, White Out, and worn out pencil erasers.  Even if you write just for yourself, you should have the basics: cell phone, credit card, a stable e-mail address and computer knowledge. 

I was fortunate enough to learn word processing in the Marine Corps and working for the State of Missouri - in other words - at work.  In my last job, the boss gave us free reign and not only did we learn word processing, but other important applications as well like the Internet (if you call that an application).  The important thing to remember is just do it.  Libraries offer courses in being computer literate and I admit I’m still learning: transferring cover and content image from flash drives, PDF, jpeg, attachments, images in e-mail text when they’re not attachments.  You’ll need the know-how if you’re serious about writing and publishing.  Think of it like this; if you were Paul and had a new set of legs, you’d be the one in control.

Pot, Colorado, and Pandora's Box

The last time I visited Colorado (except for the Denver Airport) was in 1966 when I was in high school.  Mom wanted to visit her brother there and instill in us kids an appreciation of the West with a mandatory detour to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  It’s a long trip from Kansas City on I-70 to Denver and as we drew near I couldn’t make out if what I saw was the mountains or clouds appearing on the western horizon.  Colorado has changed a lot since then. 

Voters there - and I suspect a minority – have legalized marijuana and the Pot Heads and Left are tripping out on their latest victory of being allowed to legally trip out.  Their victory followed the same tried and true 1-2-3 knockout method they regularly use: legal/vote challenge; state challenges; and final federal acquiescence.  Washington State is next and so forth.  The demoralization of the majority there and elsewhere in America bodes ill for the republic.  The Left’s victory, I suspect, took place in a vacuum because the moral and practical issues should have energized the Right. 

As it always does, the Left softened up Colorado’s cash-hungry politicians with a theoretical promise of $500,000,000 going to the economy or the state; no mention of adverse effects like murderous car wrecks, the human wreckage of addiction and misery, or the Mafia taking over the competition.  The economic benefits of vice was compelling, but you could say the same thing for prostitution (I’m sure they will or have) and gambling – sorry, they already won that battle as well.

The next logical step for Colorado is Head Shops or do they already have them?  What’s next -Opium Dens?  They too, can make a lot of money for the state.  By the way, what does “private” use mean?  Can a Colorado policeman smoke dope in his squad car?  Can convicts use marijuana in the privacy of their prison cells?  Can national guardsmen get high before morning formation?  What about smoking pot in a nuclear weapons facility?

Pandora’s Box was never empty.  If you’re dumb enough to open it, you’ll find out why America’s Old Guard was right all along, but the times belong to the Hedonists and their legions of followers whose only clarion call is: “If it feels good, do it!”  In the meantime, if you want to visit Colorado, I-70 will be pretty crowded with unusually mellow strangers and that image you see on the horizon will most likely be pot smoke, so don’t forget to turn on your fog lights.