BLOG POST 198

Tessera Trilogy Blog Post 198

Kashan Kashmeeri - Progress has been made. All pages out of the final 176 have been reviewed, marked up, reprinted and paper clipped for further editing where necessary. A further round of reviews, markups, re-editing followed. This included multiple word by word checks, looking for improper tense, duplicate words/phrases, incorrect spacing of paragraphs and use of identical font and bolding in Chapter numbers. POV shifts were identified and corrected, as were grammatical, tense, and character name errors. After the cover is finalized the final product needs to go to BOOKBABY for processing as a Print On Demand product.

Novel cover - CamScanner, a phone app for iPhones and Droids, allows you to capture scenes to JPG or PDF format, crop, reorient image, change colors, and make your own special novel cover. I used a new program (Freeware, so it cost nothing) to modify photos taken of a Tree of Life rug, the cover of the novel. It’s called Paint.net.  I searched on that term under Google, downloaded and installed it. One opens a JPG file under the program, and like Photo Shop, one can edit it, and insert title information for a book cover.

DATA LOSS – While transferring twenty plus year’s worth of data files (HI CUZ data files and blog entries, Tessera Trilogy novels research, they ALL DISAPPEARED. I went to Best Buy’s local Geek Squad. They couldn’t recover the data and said it needed to be sent away for recovery.  I then tried a local company, ComputerProsToday. Their estimate was better, and they said there would be no charge unless the data was recovered. Awaiting return (they pick up and deliver the affected drive/PC) of my external hard drive and the new one I bought to take over the duty of data backup.

In the meantime, while I await what the data recovery company can do, I’m attempting to find and recover Journals, HICUZ Blog posts, Tessera Trilogy Blog posts, and other data from email strings.

Data now, end of August, has been recovered. Well, most of it. A number of file names were too long to recover, and all the data is now grouped by type, mostly without its original title, and all the folders are gone. So I face months of opening, renaming, and saving all the data files. Found in initial search of the files that I have 4533 PDF files, all without recognizable titles other than an alpha-numeric  string of characters. YIKE!!!

They recovered "all" data, though I'm still wading through it to see what might be missing. The data came back as an enormous listing of numerically titled files. So I have to open each and every one, re-title it, then decide if it’s a dupe, still wanted, then put in newly designated folders by subject. I think it will take me months, amidst other projects. I feel confident I have most of the files.

I'd recommend the company, now known as Computer Pros Today. They charged me $279.00, which was way less than Best Buy. Best idea coming out of this mess - Backup files to multiple ext hard drives.

The Next One – the sequel to The Tessera Trilogy, has begun to take form. It has survived its first Books-A-Million critique session.

BAM 29 Aug 2016 critique comments

BAM member –

1.      First few pages funny, He seems paranoid and delusional – working

2.      His sense of awkwardness seems off - disagree

3.      Does he have asberges? He seems chatty though – still developing character

4.      Well done, but did you intend him to come across as a loon? – No, he’s brilliant and bizarre

5.      Minor editorial comments – agree

BAM member –

1.       Liked first few pages, then got sidetracked by IQ references - still developing character

2.      Will this be a satirical story? – wait and see

3.      Liked background info on setting - thanks

4.      Better of reader knew who Tom was early on – agree, working

5.      Minor editorial comments – agree

6.      Liked description of unvoiced footsteps - thanks

7.      Too numerous, confusing references to IQ and BP – agree, working

BAM member -

1.      Funny, His minds activities ramble. How does he know his BP is rising? – working on story

2.      Identify George as having a photographic mind – agree

3.      Great character introduction – thanks

4.      Thoughts of dates and his chances were out of place – disagree, essential to story

5.      Minor editorial comments – agree

6.      How does Bai know of heart and BP conditions – her mother is an RN

7.      A great piece - thanks

8.      Bai would have to had extensive training to know how to take BP - disagree

BAM member –

1.       Liked, but nothing different to add – thanks

2.       Waiting to see what happens in next segment - thanks

3.      No written comments

BAM member –

1.       Funny! Is he a genius or crazy. I think he’s crazy – no, brilliant, but weird

2.      Liked the IQ of 197 bit - thanks

3.      Rambled, then heard steps again (he reassessed access points) - working

4.      No written comments

BAM member –

1.      Liked it, funny, Does the main character have asperges? Appears to behave like someone on autism scale – They have to be coached in life – He is an interesting character.

2.      Good writing – thanks

3.      Liked description of characters rambling mind, good character detail – thanks

4.      Spell out Blood Pressure (BP) – agree

5.      Explain how Bai knows about BP checks – her mother is an RN

6.      Liked character having IQ of 197 and developing tests himself - thanks

7.      No written comments

BAM member –

1.      Change telling (he normally felt safe) to showing, or dialogue – agree, working

2.       Stay focused on characters fears, apprehension – disagree. His mind wanders

3.      Don’t have him reassess the footsteps – disagree; intentional part of his wandering mind and character

4.      Correct conflict between “rambled” and “organized” – disagree: intentional part of his wandering mind and character

5.      Remove characters thoughts of dates – disagree, intentional part of his wandering mind and character

6.      Why did character not describe the woman in front of him – because she is in a shadow, working

7.      Why does characters heart rate go up and down – agree, working

8.      Correct POV shifts – agree, working

BLOG POST 197

Tessera Trilogy Blog Post 197

Progress as determined by page count, word count and percent stands as follows: total page count went down to 178; total word count inched up to 98 K, and percent increased to 100.0 percent …. and That’s All Folks!!!.

Ahead lies several weeks of intensive editing, assignment of chapter numbers, and devising a cover. Then the final product needs to go to BOOKBABY for processing as a Print On Demand product.

BAM 27 June 2016 critique comments

BAM member –

1.       Minor editorial changes – agree with most; working

2.      Good way to tie up – thanks

3.      Stefano’s description of protocols too lengthy – agree, working

4.      Nicely done – thanks

5.      Reduce use of coalesced – agree, working

BAM member –

1.      Comes off as a cynical rehash of old (regional) problems with no hope of peace – does reflect the region

2.      Minor editorial comments – agree

3.      Questioned need for one paragraph on Stefano seeing despair in negotiators – will consider

4.      Too much detail in dialogue on peace protocols – agree; working

5.      Challenged use of clichés – agree, working

BAM member –

1.       Good wrap-up - thanks

2.       Liked the helo accident – thanks

3.      Stefano’s question/answer technique got old; show emotional responses – agree

4.      Minor editorial comments – agree

5.      Seemed odd the shooter and man he shot were so friendly – they’re cousins

BAM member –

1.       Writing was clear - thanks

2.       Minor editorial comments – agreed with some

3.      Use fewer acronyms – disagree; part of genre

4.      Good imagery – thanks

5.      Good ending, best writing I’ve seen you do – thanks

BAM member –

1.      Good ending – thanks

2.      Change injected to interject6ed – agree, working

3.      Liked the part where General was thrown from helo - thanks

BAM member –

1.       Really enjoyed; brought story together - thanks

2.       Good wrap-up - thanks

3.      No written comments

BAM member (new member) –

1.       Good ending - thanks

2.       Felt like Stefano was writing a memo (peace protocols) – agree; working

3.      Show, rather than tell, of Stefano’s feelings – agree, working

4.      Minor editorial comments – agreed with some

BAM member –

1.       Tickled all five senses - thanks

2.      Great, beautifully written, loved the piece  - thanks

3.      Very good imagery – thanks

4.      Great contrast to history - thanks

BAM member -

1.       Well written, easy to follow – thanks

2.      Spell out PM as Prime Minister – disagree; done in earlier segments

3.      Well done – thanks

4.      Minor editorial comments – agree

BAM member –

1.       Good wrap-up – thanks

2.      Excellent finish - thanks

3.      No written comments

BAM member –

1.       Stefano’s dialogue about peace protocols too lengthy – agree; working

2.      Liked it – thanks

3.      Show, rather than tell, reactions – agree, working

4.      Minor editorial comments – agree

5.      Break up the dialogue on peace protocols with Tooley’s reactions – agree, working

BLOG POST 196

Tessera Trilogy Blog Post 196

Progress as determined by page count, word count and percent stands as follows: total page count went down to 180; total word count inched up to 97.7 K, and percent increased to  99.0 percent.

BAM 06 June 2016 critique comments

BAM member –

1.       Minor editorial changes – agree with most; working

2.      Good job staying with plot line – thanks

3.      Suggested inner dialogue contrast with stated words – agree

BAM member –

1.      Good pace, one of clearest so far - thanks

BAM member (new member) –

1.      Good pace and tension – thanks

2.      Liked the mention of guards and their support for mission - thanks

BAM member –

1.       Good chapter, build up of tension - thanks

2.       Caution on multiple points of view – agree; working

BAM member –

1.       Reads better than any before - thanks

2.       Good pace - thanks

3.      Minor editorial comments – agreed with some

4.      Use fewer acronyms – disagree; part of genre

BAM member (new member) –

1.      Kept my interest – thanks

2.      Too many abbreviations – disagree; part of genre

3.      Felt inner thoughts of characters were not needed - disagree

4.      No written comments

BAM member –     

1.      Better job of writing (than previous) – thanks

2.      State that Ellington is President – disagree; previously mentioned numerous times

3.       Liked coverage of press conference – thanks

4.      Recognized high stakes, fate of free world in balance - thanks

BAM member –

1.       Near perfect, a good chapter - thanks

2.      No written comments

BAM member –

1.       Confused by who was talking at times – working

2.      Liked the tension throughout – thanks

3.      Liked nod to reality with podium and coffee - thanks

4.      No written comments

BAM member –

1.      Many good editorial comments – agree; working

2.      Clarify who Ellington is – disagree; included previously

3.      Difference between Presidents’ body language and words – it is about war and deceit about nuclear bombs being used

4.      Clarify who Counselor is – disagree; She’s VP and identified previously

BLOG POST 195

Tessera Trilogy Blog Post 195

Progress as determined by page count, word count and percent stands as follows: total page count went down to 181; total word count inched down to 97.6 K, and percent increased to  98.2 percent.

RWG 11 June 2016 critique comments

RWG member –

1.      Urgency of war realistic – thanks

2.      Resonates with me as a reader – thanks

3.      The tone is exciting; political dialogue feels real – thanks

4.      Politicians lying to each other seems realistic, enjoyed it - thanks

RWG member (new member) –

1.       Pace too fast – disagree

2.      Narration jumps often without leadins – agree; working

3.      Use characters to describe feelings - agree

4.      Minor editorial comments – agreed with half

5.      Rodolofo too poetic in his words – agree; working

6.      Reword “mélange of prayers” – agree; working

RWG member -

1.      Show how Commander-in-Chief tensed – agree

2.      Describe age of kids sooner – agree

3.      Identify town – done in earlier segment

4.      Clarify APC – armored personnel carriers – agree; working

5.      Minor editorial changes – agree; working

RWG member –

1.       Questioned meanings of CRITIC and BROKEN ARROW – described, defined earlier

2.      No written comments

RWG member –

1.       Suggested describing “ethnic embellishments” – agree; working

2.       Change Peace to lower case – agree

3.      Name Israeli family as participants – disagree; they’d be throwaway characters

4.      No written comments

RWG member –

1.       No written comments provided

2.      One of your best; your writing is improving – thanks

3.      Questioned whether “Kibbutzim” was a realistic Israeli family name – working

4.      Action and plot clear; some language too flowery – agree; working

5.      POTUS wouldn’t speak that way (blunt) – disagree

6.      Couldn’t establish the story, flow - working

BLOG POST 194

Tessera Trilogy Blog Post 194

Progress as determined by page count, word count and percent stands as follows: total page count went down to 184; total word count inched up to 98.1 K, and percent increased to  96.5 percent.

BAM 06 June 2016 critique comments

BAM member –

1.       Minor editorial changes – agree with most; working

2.      Too passive wording at points - working

3.      Ship hull numbers unnecessary - disagree

4.      Moves well – thanks

5.      Identify who briefed Tooley at office – agree

6.      Questioned tense of verbs – disagree; working

7.      Identify the pilots target – agree; working

BAM member –

1.      Narrative seems oddly familiar – yes, but of greater intensity with arming of a bomb and planes’ launch. Tension is being ratcheted up

2.      Identifying technical details detracts from reader interest – disagree; audience

3.      Too many new characters – agree; working

4.      Clarify the events, and timing – agree; working

5.      Change facsimile to fax – disagree; used earlier in same paragraph

6.      Minor editorial comments – agreed with most

BAM member –

1.      Story and writing clearer - thanks

2.      Too many new characters – agree; working

3.      Pacing varies a great deal; too much – agree; tension is being ratcheted up

4.      Liked humorous reference to nuclear winter - thanks

BAM member –

1.       Nuclear tension, plus added military insubordination - thanks

2.       Saw foreshadowing of confrontation - thanks

3.      Thought pilot would personally inspect the bomb – agree; working to explain that a good pilot would, a zealot might not

4.      Minor editorial comments – agreed with most

5.      Was confused with numerous new named characters - – working; will make them anonymous

BAM member –

1.       Writing better, more clear - thanks

2.       Jumping from place to place makes reading difficult – disagree; required to show complexity of story

3.      Identify WHSR as setting – agree

4.      Too much technical detail – working to simplify

5.      Minor editorial comments – disagreed with many

6.      Identify settings more clearly – agree; working

7.      Thought CAPS not needed in SANG Road name – disagree; SANG is the acronym for Saudi Arabian National Guard, and used previously

8.      Identify the pilots target – agree; working

BAM member -

1.      Can’t “connect” with new (throw away) characters – working; will make them anonymous

2.      Unclear about names/introduction of two captains (aviators) - agree

3.      Too many new characters with no personality – working

4.      Minor editorial comments – agree

5.      New characters lack emotional appeal – I tried to illustrate that even some military have consciences. Their names in Hebrew were significant.

6.      Identify WHSR as setting for NSC meeting and dialogue - agree

BAM new member) –

1.       Liked way pieces broken out – thanks

2.       Waiting to see what the Israeli Generals’ orders are - thanks

3.      No written comments

BAM new member –     

1.      Lots of interesting action, but pace too fast – thanks; near end of novel excitement about nuclear war

2.       Wanted elaboration on two special weapons ordnance techs, and aviators - working

3.      Lots of interesting events, but coming too fast – disagree; near start of potential nuclear war

4.      Liked imagery of F-15 and dust at blast deflector - thanks

BAM member –

1.       Writing and structure better, but still lost in story -

2.      No written comments