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My Favorite Cover – Open Book Blog Hop #385

July 17, 2023 By Captain Maiel 6 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #385

Post your favorite cover from your books
and explain why it’s your favorite.

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writings with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

This is going to be super difficult to write up. Which of my covers is my favorite? I love each. My designer did an amazing job on each one. Each one is a window into the pages contained in the work they clothe. One utilizes my own photograph, the rest are visions from inside my dreams. How do you choose?

In order to pick, I asked my daughter to look at my covers and choose her favorite. Interestingly, she settled on the one that I leaned toward. Why did she like it? The wolf. I love him, too.

The reason that I lean toward the Trailokya covers is that I thought they would never exist. I believed the visions from my dreams would go unseen, witnessed by myself alone. It truly is difficult to display dreams to others. Whether retelling them in conversation or fiction, justice simply cannot be done. Yet, somehow, in communicating with the designer, in my honest estimation, we accomplished something quite close.

The image depicted is from later parts of the series. The tones of the covers reflect the movement from unknown to know to unknown again–or, the dawn, the day, the evening. Taken together, this cover with it’s sisters creates a triptych. They present a scene full of symbolism, as well as elements of the story as I mentioned prior.

The presence of Argus and the pieces of Maiel’s weaponry, are deeply fun to see illustrated outside of the dreams. The most fun, however, comes in the form of that door. This is the one that scared me most in my dreams. I’ve written about these in other articles, so I won’t go in depth here.

The window of the doors still draw my eye, just as they have in the dreams. Finally seeing them in this world replenishes my curiosity. Honestly, the feeling that I still know so little hangs about my mind in regard to them. The rich symbolism is proof that their meanings run deep. Unpacking all of it will take time. Perhaps a lifetime. Still, they confirm my otherworldly experiences and insist there is importance to them.

Wonder is another aspect of the cover that draws me to it time and again. Speaking of wonder, I wonder what the other authors will have to say and which covers of theirs they’ll choose? Click on their links below to find out. Drop your email in the box at the top right of the page to have this hop delivered to your email directly each Friday. See you next time!

Chinese Food Order – Open Book Blog Hop #384

July 10, 2023 By Captain Maiel 3 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #384

Have you played with AI in your writing?
Tell us what you think about it.

Ordering from my local Chinese Food restaurant is always a favorite choice for me when I don’t want to cook dinner, or nothing I could make sounds good at the moment. I’ve been a patron of that restaurant since 1999. That was when I had my first plate of Chinese Food. You see, my family was not big on ordering takeout from anywhere except their favorite pizza place. So, I didn’t get to try a lot of things. Also, my dad is pretty set in his ways as far as the menu is concerned. I could still recite the menu to you from my childhood. That menu only had the usual suspects on it. Super limited.

Needless to say, my palate was bored. I grew up, just like any other kid, not necessarily liking a lot of things. Because of this, it didn’t bother me until my late teens, early twenties that we kept having the same foods over and over. My mom was a great cook and baker, besides. It’s not for lack of know-how. In fact, I challenge her to make me a different birthday cake every year. I’ll peruse recipes and see what I can get her to make from my short list. Each time, that woman has risen to the occasion. She’d give a professional a big run for their money.

The main issue was always my dad. He had a typical white male American palate. He liked his steak and potatoes. This is how I also found out that beef causes my system a lot of inflammation. Having it on the regular, I had a lot of intestinal issues, but could not figure out what was bothering me until I was responsible for cooking for myself. Steak being expensive was almost always out of my range. Therefore, I was able to find out that I felt better when I didn’t eat beef. Today, I avoid eating red meat, unless it is bison (which does not bother my system at all). If I want a burger, I have cherry juice on hand to reduce the inflammation.

I’m lucky that so far, I have not had an allergic reaction, but I assume the beef issue is mild allergy. Because of that, I do keep it showing up in my diet from time to time, so that the allergy does not become more severe. After a tick bite that rendered my niece highly allergic to meat from all animals with hooves, you find out how difficult it is to avoid beef entirely. The biproducts will show up in many recipes and processed foods.

When I order from the local Chinese restaurant, I don’t bother with the beef items. I started out with the ubiquitous General Tso’s, moved to Sesame Chicken, and then Orange Chicken. These three are sisters. They’re the same dish tweaked just enough. If heartburn has been an issue, I’ll go for the sesame to avoid the heat. If I want something a little different, it was the orange. General, however, remains a top favorite. It’s like a security blanket for times that are rough.

My first taste of Chinese food, however, wasn’t in the late 1990s when I started patronizing that establishment. My aunt and grandmother took me to their place at about the age of twelve. I ordered Cashew Chicken (of which I now make a rendition at home). I tried egg rolls and wasn’t a fan, now they’re a must. Of course, I loved the rice! Fortune cookies are always a treat I partake in since that event.

I’ve tried Chinese food at a number of places during my time, including a great restaurant on Elizabeth Street in New York City. They have since changed their name and probably undergone a change in ownership to go with it. This was where I first had Duck. Oh my gaaahd! That will never not be my favorite. Now and again, I treat myself to some, as it is quite expensive to order.

In recent years, maybe because of the pandemic, I have branched out my menu choice more and more. I dated a guy back in the aughts who took me to a nice place up the street from where I now live. There, I tried the Kung Pao Chicken. That was amazing! Very spicy. Hit all the spots for me.

I’ve tried crab rangoon, cream cheese rangoon, fried wontons, wonton soup, egg rolls, mushu pork, moo goo gai pan, chicken lo mein, chicken chow mein, chicken and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, bourbon chicken, both pork and chicken fried rice, and some others I know I have forgotten.

If I placed an order tonight, I’d be most likely to get a large container of pork fried rice, a couple egg rolls, and possibly the friend wontons. This has been my go to comfort food order of late. The place I go makes the best pork fried rice and I am absolutely forever into it. They also redeemed egg rolls for me back in the day. If I didn’t order that, it would be chicken something. Maybe Kung Pao, since it has been a long time since the last order.

Asian food is something I love exploring, right alongside learning about the cultures. My next exploration is going to have to be Korean Barbecue. I’ve been wanting some for quite a long time now, and still haven’t found a place near me that does it like I’ve seen on the travel/food shows. Probably, I never will, and I need to give them some grace. We’re in the United States not in Korea, so the food is going to be vastly different anyway.

Great, now I need to have some Chinese food. This has given me a mad craving! Let’s hop through the other author’s responses to this question by clicking on their links below. To get this hop delivered to your inbox weekly, drop your email address in the space at the top of this page. See you back here next week!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Open Book Blog Hop #383

July 3, 2023 By Captain Maiel 5 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #383

Have you played with AI in your writing?
Tell us what you think about it.

I love the idea of Artificial intelligence (AI) for creating art pieces. I don’t feel that it differs vastly from what we humans do, like when inspired by the work of others, when we emulate those works (even unconsciously), or when we perfect our skills. AI does evolve its skillset, too. The major difference that I see is that it has no limitations on memory, can improve skills millions of times faster than human beings, and is intentional in emulating work of another (to the point of copying, which is where it is problematic).

When people utilize AI properly, the art will be like collage. The creation that you end up with by the end should not directly resemble someone’s work. It will be such an amalgamation of things, that it not longer resembles one, and is justifiably its own item. Just as in writing, caveats about plagiarism exist. Therefore, counterfeit art should not be tolerated. It is, in fact, already illegal.

Problematic use of AI aside, it is so very fascinating to see the evolution of computing technology. I’m still waiting to have my own R2 unit, and I’ve been waiting since I was approximately three years old (or whenever I first saw it–four? Because I did watch it prior to Empire, which I saw in the theater). Would we tell R2 he couldn’t create art if he wanted? Do you want to turn down C3PO? My empathy would go very deep into anthropomorphizing a droid, and feel like absolute crap denying them the creative outlets I enjoy.

What a wild ride future generations face. As of yet, I have not used AI to work on my writing. I have no intentions of doing so, either. I cannot imagine at this point, that writing AI are going to be able to create usable work. In the far future, it may be quite capable. Until systems have regulation and all the foibles hash-out, the tool doesn’t strike me as realistic.

Still, when you realize what is happening, you know that some entrepreneurs will load up on AI and exploit the tool regardless of its viability. That poses a problem for independent authors. Because of this, my opinion is they should avoid using AI until regulations are clarified, along with viable means of enforcement and oversight. You could end up making it impossible to ever publish your work at some point, should they make the use of AI in writing and other art illegal, for instance.

Wait. Will it come to that? It honestly could as writing unions and artists call for regulation and limitation on this kind of technology. Scientists have called on society to slow down. They want us to reflect and really think about the ramifications coming in every sector of life before letting this cat stay out of the bag.

chalk board with know the rules written large

While it may be too late to put the cat back in the bag, I think it is reasonable to really think about the implications and infrastructure needed in light of this technology. Absolutely, many people are being needlessly reactionary. There’s a lot of misinformation and propaganda out there attempting to settle people’s mind against AI, regardless of any good it has done to date. Also, remember, that AI requires human programming in order for it to exist and function in the first place. Therefore, in the end, it appears to just be another medium (tools and the like) to complete a task. Honestly, It’s super impressive someone made AI, let alone what it can do!

While I don’t see a need to make use of AI outside of creating images to inspire me about my work, or help me create art to draw in would-be readers, I don’t begrudge other legitimate artists from making use of the tool. Being afraid of AI isn’t a reaction I’m having to it’s presence. However, caution and awareness, as with any great new technology that can be leveraged by bad actors is a wise thing.

Let’s hop on through the other author responses to this intriguing question and see how they fee about this controversial topic in our field…

Dream Space – Open Book Blog Hop #382

June 26, 2023 By Captain Maiel 5 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #382

Describe what your dream writing space would look like.

The dream space (or ideal space) in which to write is probably one of the most common day dreams of any writer. For one reason or another, most of us are lamenting what office or corner of the house we’ve situated ourselves in to do the thing. Those of us lucky enough to have a spare room have probably turned that space into the writers den. I’d wager that is more rare, though not as rare as having an actual dream space.

Some time ago, we talked about dream nooks. My ideal space in which to read would be the same space in which I want to write. To me, those spaces would converge because the activity of reading is how I come to write. Don’t forget, we have to read through the work we get on the page to review our progress, do rewrites, polish, or even re-inspire our brains.

Reading Nooks – Open Book Blog Hop #120

The reason I most often think about this topic of late is that I am preoccupied trying to decide if I’d like to ever attempt to buy a home instead of renting one. If not, should I attempt to rearrange the home I rent now to make a better space for writing? Is that plausible or just wishful? The main difficulty I face is keeping my daughter’s play areas separate from my work area. She’s five, so my stuff is still her stuff, and she often invites herself to whatever isn’t put away. In fact, the moment I make a space for myself, take anything interesting out to work with, she will be at my side.

Not only is it difficult to remain focus under such circumstances, but it can be difficult to keep your things safe. Imagine, if you will, all the cool art supplies at your finger tips. You’d want to get into them, too! I can’t blame her. Therefore, my easel and paints remain put away, along with notebooks and writing implements. Lucky for me, she is not all that interested in my laptop.

My dream space would include a door to close, so that my daughter would be less tempted to get into my things. I know that short of locking her out is tenuous. However, I have given her my trust and I explain my reasoning to her about why my supplies aren’t for her use unless I’ve given express permission. I’m not mean, just short on funds. I can’t afford to replace things so easily. Besides, she has her own kit!

Another feature would be a lovely window of some kind. In my mind’s eye, I see something like a small raised area with a couple steps to a pair of window seats flanking a French door that opens on a small balcony. Above that would be a roundel, probably stained glass. The window treatments would be romantic, Victorian–sweeping sheers, swags, and voluminous dark panels.

This dream space also needs to be easy to clean. I can’t emphasize it enough that I don’t have time to be cleaning up constantly. It’s rough with a dog that sheds whole other dogs twice a year (January to June and July to December). I fully expect I’d have a gaggle of dogs to sit around my feet as I work. Wood floors make an easy clean up. Dark wood is my preference.

The walls would be that Victorian green that poisoned half the world back in the day due to arsenic. Of course the trim would all be that dark cherry wood I adore. Excuse me while I sigh with longing. Let me tell you about the wood trimmed ceiling! Oh! And, let’s not forget the cozy fireplace.

Now that I’m set with the basics, I’ll have to fill this space. I’ll need plenty of Victorian furniture to go with the theme–the kind that has all the buttons in it. My desk would be spacious, wooden and situated on a the left wall as you come in, facing the wall. The chair would be comfortable, leather, and also fitting my theme. The other wall would be covered in shelving for my library.

Ferns and plants would dot the space, which could be very bright in the light of day, but the curtains would be able to make it deeply dark when needed. My plants will require the light and I take a lot of joy in their bright presence. The star of that show would be my potted lemon tree, who I grew from a seed. She’ll need a new, bigger pot.

I toy with the idea of being able to hide my electronics in cabinets, so that it doesn’t mess with the aesthetic. Regardless, I’ll carry the laptop around the room to lay on the couches, sit in the various chairs (let there be a nice recliner and ottoman, as well as a couple wing backs, scroll backs, and fainting seats). Pillows can make a nice lap desk to boost up the laptop for typing. A hidden refrigerator full of my favorite soft drinks would be helpful, but I’ll need a small snack stash cabinet, too.

There would be too many little details to write out and sustain the reader’s attention, so I will end this here. Be sure to click on the other author links below. Have the hop delivered to your inbox every Friday by dropping your email in the box on the top right. See you soon!

Clever K – Open Book Blog Hop #381

June 19, 2023 By Captain Maiel 6 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #381

Besides writing, what other ‘subjects’ are you good at?

The odd knack to know just about every dog breed has been a strange facet of my knowledge base. It’s a lot less strange if you understand my background: my grandfather bred and showed dogs, but I also had aspirations of being a vet for a good portion of my high school years. Dogs have always been at my side. However, that is not exactly where I ended up going in my higher education days.

My family would often cite how clever I was. Reading and writing was a huge aspect of my life from early on, however it wasn’t the only thing. Exploring the land was one of my favorite hobbies. Getting outdoors and seeing the animals on our few acres was exciting. There were deer, salamanders, frogs, pileated woodpeckers, fox, and all kinds of critters in-between. At my side was our trusty family dog.

When I began my bachelor degree, my focus was biology. Being the clever kid, I knew what I wanted fairly early on. The point was to gain the base for either zoological work or carry forward into the veterinary sciences. When I faced my shortcomings in calculus, I had to reexamine my future plans. This really put a dent in my ideas that I was clever. Yet, at this time, I already wrote books and honed my craft as an author. I figured I would keep this as a happy little hobby.

Regardless of what I thought I knew or how clever I was, life had other plans. While my high school days and early college days gave me a strong understanding of the biological sciences, coupled with my preoccupation with canines, I also really enjoyed historical topics. Most of what I read was historically based and I consumed a lot of documentaries with my dad. World War II was my major interest and behind that came Victorian Era culture (mostly the arts: textile-including clothing, design, writing, and so on). The rest of history would split my remaining interest pretty fairly.

As you likely surmise, the next natural path for me was to pursue my writing and focus on history along with it. The presence of film and documentaries influenced where I ended up focusing my specialization along these lines. My masters studies amalgamized history, film, and writing into several epic years of study that renewed my interest in writing and allowed me to delve deeply into World War II spy history, along with consensus building and propaganda use in the mid-twentieth-century.

You guessed it! I specialized in my second book‘s topics. It was an amazing ride of which I enjoyed every bit. This is also the period when I met the editor of several of my books: Kara Storti. I worked with her sister who introduced us. If it were not for Kara, I don’t think I would have continued publishing. I know the books wouldn’t be presentable! Editing, strangely enough, is just not my strongest skill–at least when it comes to my own work. I might think I’m clever but I am not foolish!

My love of the biological sciences and history have fed into my writing projects in more recent times. You’ll see wolves featured heavily in Trailokya, paying homage to my most central and oldest loves. Likewise, screenwriting studies have heavily influenced my style and process. I can’t say that this began after my degree, as I had pursued screenwriting earlier than this on my own.

Cutting Board that reads Culinary K, The Blue Honor Blog - culinary K

Something that you may not have seen coming is the influence my science background has had on a hobby (and daily activity) of mine: cooking. These culinary interests are about as old as my love of dogs. Common memories of childhood heavily lean into this subject. Just like I had thought about being a veterinarian or zoologist, I also gave some thought to becoming a chef. That said, I didn’t want to deal with the hours and very real stresses of such a job. The work is hard (understatement). Growing to despise culinary arts was just not something I was willing to risk.

One of my favorite celebrity chefs is Alton Brown. He uses science (chemistry) and historical/cultural knowledge to explore food and recipes on a show called Good Eats, which featured on Food Network back in the 1999-2012. What could be better? If that doesn’t sound right up my alley, you should know that he delivered every episode with humor and unconventional elements. Alton was someone like me, and I wager he’s very clever in real life. I still hold him on high in my list of influential professionals.

In the end, writing won out over all the other subjects that I love. However, each of the other interests developed into skills that appear alongside my art in surprising ways. They’re deeply entrenched in my thinking, so it only makes sense. After all, you write what you know! Maybe I should start a series called Clever K…

Click on the links below to see what the other authors are good at. To get this blog hop delivered to your inbox every Friday, drop your email address in the box on the top right. See back here next week!