Finally a reason to go to Manassas Virginia

Other than to see the birthplace of both Ravi Shankar and George Zimmerman, that is.

The NEW reason to go to Manassas, Virginia, is that my book Codes is available for purchase there, at Prospero's Used Book Store, which is, as their banner says, the home of "Used Books, Maps & Prints" [AND CODES A BRILLIANT SCI FI NOVEL BY BRIANE PAGEL] I'm sure they're going to add that any day now.


At least go click on the link and give them some traffic. Plus, you can order used books online, in case you like to buy used books. Which I do, as I mentioned the other day. It really does look like an awesome place to visit, in person. They have a potbellied stove!

I really think this makes ME the most famous person linked to Manassas, Virginia.  Did Ravi Shankar ever write a poem about clones and evil corporations? Doubtful. Did George Zimmerman ever shoot one? Probably, but it was in Florida so it was totally okay because it kind of looked like the book might maybe be African-American.  Either way, I come out looking pretty good in this comparison.

Here, by the way, is a poem by Ravi Shankar:

Buzzards

BY RAVI SHANKAR

Gregarious in hunger, a flock of twenty

turn circles like whorls of barbed wire,

no spot below flown over uncanvassed.

The closer to death the closer they come,

waiting on wings with keen impatient

perseverance, dark blades lying in wake

until age or wound has turned canter

into carcass or near enough for them

to swoop scrupulous in benediction,

land hissing, hopping, tearing, gorging.

no portion, save bone, too durable

to digest. What matters cannot remain.

_________________________________________________

Which, not to brag or anything but I ALSO WROTE ABOUT BUZZARDS ONCE, plus  my story had cowboys.  

The point is though you should definitely get the kids in the car, take a long weekend, and drive to Manassas, Virginia, to buy my book in hardcopy at Prospero's.  Tell them I sent you!  

Also, Manassas' local museum has apparently a collection of bells which I know people will think I'm being sarcastic about but which honestly I would like to see.  Sure there's pictures of them online but that doesn't give you the full experience.

Shameless Self-Promotion: People Are Talking About "Codes"!

Today, I'm being interviewed by author A.F. Stewart (author of tons of books, including Killers And Demons II: They Return) on her blog "Are You Afraid Of The Dark," and while readers of this blog know a lot about me, there's still some interesting stuff to learn there.

Click here to go read the interview.  And have you bought your copies of Codes yet? You'll definitely want more than one.  Here's what people are saying about it:

"Wow, that's a book." -- Mr Bunches.

"I don't understand. What is this book and why do you think it entitles you to get in for free?"-- Clerk at the ticket counter for the local movie theater.

Shameless Self-Promotion!

Today,  Nigel Mitchell -- whose latest book is a parody of those Stieg Larsson novels with the Dragon Tattoo stuff -- is nice enough to let me rant about machines and tools in scifi and fantasy that are supposed to be helpful but which turn out to be completely useless to their owners.  Will I attack beloved Star Wars' icons? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.

Here's another "deleted scene" from Codes, which you may remember is my awesome new book you can buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and from the publisher, Golden Fleece Press.

In the book, these pictures were posters placed around the city to try to 'activate' Codes, so that the clones would realize they'd been cloned and programmed.  The concept is still in the book -- just not the pictures.

Shameless Self-Promotion

THAT is an original image from the rough-draft of Codes; the pics didn't make the final version because: printing, but these were all posters used by the renegades to try to help Codes.

I'm posting today on Unicorn Bell, discussing Five Future Corporations You Don't Want To Mess With. Go check it out!

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION

TWO MORE of my stories have been selected as among the best in the world, if you assume that only the best possible stories in the world get published, which is what I assume, not just because my stories got picked, but...

... I'm rambling. I'll get to the point.  Two flash fiction stories of mine, "An Unsigned Inscription Found in a Class of 1987 Yearbook" and "The Man Who Never Finished His" have been published in After The Pause's March issue, which you can find at this link.  They are flash fiction, so I'm not going to describe what they're about, except to say that The Man Who Never Finished His might be the most clever thing I have ever written.

And I've written some pretty clever things.

Go check 'em out!

Shameless Self-Promotion, and the Song Which Makes A Vague Reference To Xmas, and of course a Picture.

In case you missed it, my short story "A Sky Too Full Of Stars" was published by Daily Science Fiction yesterday; I'd have promoted it but I was busy, so consider it a story you can read on Yesterdaily Science Fiction.  Or think of this as time travel!  Click here to go read the story, which is short and amazing.

Today's song is "River," written by Joni Mitchell I think but sung by Allison Crowe:




She also does a version of "Hallelujah" which I mention because (a) I love it and (b) it will make P.T. Dilloway angry, which is what Xmas is all about, right? Maybe he'll get so angry he'll update us on his Bulldogs Across America tour.

Your Xmas picture of the day:

I call it "Cookie's Last Hurrah."  Sitting by the trash is the Cookie Monster decoration that has served valiantly in our house for nearly 8 years.  When you press a button, it sings one of two Xmas carols, with "cookie" in the lyrics. But this year, a battery burst and so Cookie was unable to fulfill his duties.  I'll never hear "Me'll have a blue Christmas without me cookies" again... *chokes back a sob, bravely soldiers on*.


The latest Some _____ Stories has hit the shelves! AND IT'S TEMPORARILY FREE!

It's got SIXTEEN DIFFERENT Xmas stories -- most of them brand-new and never read before, including my newest favoritest story I've ever written, "Other Snowmen".  And it features a bonus excerpt from an Andrew Leon book -- so for just $0.99, you'll be getting ALL THE HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT YOU COULD EVER WANT. Seriously,  Xmas will seem pretty anticlimactic after how great this book is.

So click here to go download it now, saving yourself the $0.99 you could've blown yesterday, you sly dog.

Some THANKSGIVING Stories is here!

UPDATE: IT'S FREE NOW. CLICK THE LINK AND GET IT FREE!


Everybody talks about Thanksgiving, but nobody does anything about it.  UNTIL NOW.  I have written the definitive collection of Thanksgiving short stories, 'definitive' meaning that every story in this collection at least mentions Thanksgiving. But some do more so: I have written a series of stories each centered around one Thanksgiving menu item.  In "Turkey," you'll learn why it might be better to deep-fry your turkey.  Stuffing introduces sure-to-be-classic character "The regular mouse," and a discussion of things you can stuff. And so on, through every course of a Thanksgiving dinner, finishing with the magical story "Pumpkin Pie."

The collection also includes the shorts "Pompeii" and "A Happy Story About The Universe, And Stuff," which, as promised, is happy! (And about both the universe as well as stuff!)\

You can get it for just $0.99 today, so go check it out by clicking here.

Shameless Self Promotion Time! (Plus Some Shameless Promotion Of Others.)

My story

The Secret Origins Of Wolverine's Leather Jacket,

the title for which came from one of P.T. Dilloway's rants/comics recaps,

is available for FREE to read on Punchnel's.

It's a story that's far more about a kid who's just starting to figure things out than it is about superheroes and their leather jackets. It's also pretty short -- only about 500 wordsish.  So check it out by clicking here.

PS: 

While you're at it, follow P.T. Dilloway's blog about his adventures across America, which have been entertaining so far.  And don't fret that I stole P.T.'s line for my story's title.  He's creative enough to spare some words, having written something like 50 books so far.  My favorite of his is the Scarlet Knight series,

which he has helpfully bundled into two sets (there's 8 books total) and which are for sale through Planet 99 Publishing by clicking here.

P.T., by the way, is the only writer I know whose creations have actually broken out into the real world, as demonstrated by this actual kid's costume from the actual costume parade at the actual school of my actual kids this past week:

Have any of your characters become Halloween costumes?


I would be remiss if I did not note that my buddy Andrew Leon has a new, awesome book out:

It's actually two shorter stories but they are among his most entertaining yet.  "What Time Is The Tea Kettle?" in particular is amazing. Click here for that one.

And while I am at it, Brandon Meyers (of A Beer For The Shower fame) got a great review from Andrew for this book:

which I immediately added to my wishlist because I used all my allowance buying Andrew's book, and yeah, I know Halloween is over but you can still read scary stories in November, pal.  It's allowed. So click here for that one.