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Self-Review – A Kitten

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 23, 2023

Review – A Kitten

I like A Kitten, and I think it’s one of the cuter short stories I have ever written. At some point, I would love for it to have a home… somewhere. But I imagine it may not. So, it is entirely possible it will become a free giveaway.

Background

I wanted to write something which would be sweet and very all-ages friendly. But because of the kind of writer I am, I could not resist a little surprise…

Plot

This story has very little plot. Rather, its charm and its uniqueness come from the twist ending.

But the story is, essentially, that Suzy will be turning six years old very soon. So, the entire plot essentially revolves around deciding whether it is such a good idea. And, when it is decided that it is a good idea, getting Suzy her heart’s desire.

It is a gentle story, and the surprise is nothing in the vein of jump scares in the dark, or anything.

Characters

The characters are Suzy, and her two friends who she associates with. Oh, and there’s also Smoke.

One thing a reader who is paying attention may realize is… something is odd here. Who are these people? Why are they in charge of whether Suzy can get such a gift? They are clearly not her parents. So, how do they fit in with her? Why are they even necessary in her life at all?

Also, everyone uses American Sign Language. There is only one scene where people are actually speaking out loud to each other.

Memorable Quotes from A Kitten

We entered Suzy’s room and she came over. Ever the gracious hostess, she signed, “It is good to see you, Scott. Do you want a cup of water? Do you?” she turned to me.

“I’m good.” Scott asked, “Suzy, do you know how to take care of a kitten?”

“I think so,” Suzy replied after a while. “You feed and give water and play and they get a comfy place to sleep.”

“There’s a litter box, too,” I explained. “A kitten will need a place to poop.”

“I understand,” Suzy replied.

“That’s very good,” Scott praised. “Do you think you could be responsible enough to care for a kitten?”

“Oh yes! Oh yes!” Suzy got excited and started jumping a little.

“Do you understand, Suzy,” I pointed out, “that a kitten will grow up to be a cat? And that a cat might not want to play as much?”

“I understand,” Suzy replied. “I will be sure to remember and be careful. And I will love a kitten just as much when it grows up to be a cat. I promise!” To emphasize her point, she crossed her heart.

“We will think about it,” I stated cautiously.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

A Kitten – Takeaways

Suzy is one of those characters that I have no future plans for. But I sometimes think I would like to. After all, how does she get along with Smoke? Does it all work out? In all honesty, I do not truly know.

Doesn’t every vaguely described child want a kitten? #amwriting”

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Writing about Technology

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 21, 2023

Background – Writing About Technology

When we think of writing about technology, inevitably a lot of us think of computers and such. But if you go back in time, what’s the cutting edge tech? And if you’re writing about a primitive people off earth, their development should probably be similar.

So, instead of looking forward, let’s look backward for a moment. Because even that can inform writing about the future.

Types of Technology

Writing about technology inevitably means going into a few basic categories. Of course, there are plenty of other types of tech. But the earlier you go, the more basic they become. You can divvy them up more or less this way.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

When we go very far back, your writing about technology may very well involve paragraphs about domesticating animals. The creation of towns (and, eventually, cities) goes hand in hand with agriculture. For hundreds if not thousands of years, the most sophisticated tech people knew about was probably grain milling.

Communications

When does language come about? How about writing? What happens when people start to carry messages for each other? How about when they start telling and writing stories?

From the telegraph to the walky-talky, communications tech is some of the most familiar tech to many people.

Medicine

Do your characters have antibiotics? What about anesthetics? Do they use leeches, or pray for cures? Are they bleeding people, or beating the so-called demons out of the mentally ill? And do they realize the importance of hygiene?

Also, take into account the differences between midwives and doctors, from about 1850 and earlier. Why did so many higher class women die in childbirth? Because (in general) doctors would go from autopsy to birth and not wash their hands. But midwives were specialists who did one thing very well—and they would wash their hands.

Metallurgy and Toolmaking

Of course, tools predate metallurgy. But eventually, someone starts to notice that there are some rocks which give off shiny substances when they get too close to the fire. Who made the leap of logic to melting those shiny substances down and making something from them?

Transportation

This dovetails, at least in part, with domesticating animals. Transportation speed is also vital because it can get materials to people faster (or more slowly). This might make a difference in other inventions. Imagine an inventor dying because the medicine didn’t arrive in time.

Warfare

Like it or not, it’s an enormous part of our lives. When people graduated from rock throwing to spears, what did they dream of making?

You will need to do much more in-depth digging than I have done here. But these should get you started in writing about technology in history. These are down and dirty, mostly from Wikipedia (yeah, I know, I know. This is for illustrative purposes and not scholarship!). You should go to primary sources instead.

But let’s go back in time and see what the tech was like.

In the Year … 1900

If you’re writing about technology at the turn of the last century, then you’re probably writing about trains. Penicillin doesn’t happen until the 1940s. Cars and airplanes are from the first decade. And in the 50s and 60s, we even start to go to space.

Of course, computers are invented during this time, and they start off being the size of a room. Allegedly portable phones come about, but they’re often clunky and heavy, with little to them beyond simply making and receiving calls.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 1800

It’s the start of the nineteenth century. President Washington has just died. What sort of tech are people using? The horse and carriage (or wagon) is like the family car. To communicate, they are writing letters or sending messages with people. Pony Express? Not until 1860.

The US Civil War is probably the first truly modern war. There was trench warfare, and they invented the submarine. But soldiers with crushed limbs would get field amputations. At least ether existed, and it was already used in the 1840s. But if you think they had enough to go around…

In the Year … 1600

Let’s skip a century. The further you go back, less happens and there are fewer inventions. So, Queen Elizabeth I is nearing the end of her reign and life. But hey, how ‘bout that Italian Renaissance?

The first known opera premiers. In about 1606, Galileo invents a thermometer based on the expansion of gas.

In the Year … 1200

This is just after the Renaissance of the 12th century. It’s the end of a period called the High Middle Ages. In the 1210s, Genghis Khan mobilizes his troops, preparing for war with China.

In the Year … 1000

We’re just starting the High Middle Ages. And one vital piece of tech has been invented but isn’t in wide usage yet—the compass.

In the Year … 700

We’re around 47 years before the birth of Charlemagne. And about 18 years after the Eastern Roman Empire started using Greek Fire in warfare.

In the Year … 500

It’s not too long after the Roman Empire collapses in the west. It’s about 8 years after Aryabhata, an Indian astronomer and mathematician, calculates pi to the fourth digit.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 200

The Roman Empire is threatening to split up (and it does, in 286). It’s about 10 years after Greek astronomer Cleomedes teaches that the moon’s light is a reflection.

In the Year … 1 BCE

The Emperor Claudius takes a wife named Livilla (spoiler alert—it doesn’t go well). It’s about 10 years after the Aeneid is published.

In the Year … 400 BCE

Greek engineers invent the catapult! And London is just about being founded.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 700 BCE

In China, the minister of agriculture is teaching crop rotation to the peasants.

It’s been less than 50 years since the founding of Rome. And money is starting to become a thing. As a result, wealth starts to become more portable.

In the Year … 1000 BCE

David is about to become the king of the United Kingdom of Israel. This is when the Phoenician alphabet was invented.

In the Year … 2000 BCE

Horses are first being tamed. And the last woolly mammoth goes extinct.

In the Year … 5000 BCE

In China, people are starting to cultivate rice. And in Africa, herders are starting to move into the Nile Valley.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 6000 BCE

Cultures are starting to make wine. And in Poland in 5500, people start to make cheese.

In the Year … 7000 BCE

Some people are starting to domesticate pigs (although the earliest period is about 6,000 years before this). They are making bread.

Jericho becomes a 3,000-person settlement—probably the biggest ‘city’ of the time.

In the Year … 8000 BCE

About 10,000 years ago, people were planting crops—but the potter’s wheel hasn’t been invented yet.

In the Year … 10,000 BCE

Agriculture is starting. But pottery is already pretty old. Jericho is founded in about 9600 BCE.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 12,000 BCE and Earlier

The goat is first domesticated. Sheep are domesticated about a thousand years before. The first evidence of warfare is from 2,000 years previously. Right about then (14,200 BCE), we have evidence of the earliest known domestic dog. In about 20,000 BCE, pottery is invented in China.

And in about 50,000 BCE we have the first evidence of sewing needles.

Not too much earlier than this, and we modern humans are hanging around with Neanderthals.

Writing About Technology: Takeaways

All of the little things we take for granted were dreamt up by someone. Do your research when writing about technology, so you don’t accidentally introduce anachronisms. And have some fun with it!

Writing about technology means going way past computers and the present day! #amwriting

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Character Review — Jazminder Parikh, MDCharacter Review, Josie James, Greg Shapiro, Jazminder Parikh, MD, Johnny Barnes, Dalton Farouk, Peri Martin, Carmen D’Angelo, MD, Dr. Devon Grace, Tommy 2000, Lex Feldman, Velexio, Character Reviews are Coming, Ixalla, Elise Jeffries, MD, Frances Miller Ashford, Marnie Shapiro, Ceilidh O’Malley, Dr. Mei-Lin Quan, Trixie LaRue, Tathrelle, Nell Murphy, Craig Firenze, Adger, Astrid Hennigsen, Benjamin Chase, Bobby/Jerry Brodie, Cyndi Mendez, Dez Hunter, Eileen Bragin, Eleanor Braverman, Judge John Lowell, Keisha Darnell, Minka Lopez, Nell Murphy, Noah Braverman, Olga Nicolaev, Peter Ray, Rachel Gifford, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sally Bowles/TSTO Tiles, Shannon Duffy, Student #17, Tad Lewis, Ginny Carey, TSTITO, Selkhet 3000, complex evil characters, Emma 1000, They Say This is the One, Elston Young, Trinity Hawthorne, Character Creation

Character Review — Jazminder Parikh, MD

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 16, 2023

Consider Jazminder Parikh, One of My Original Characters

Who is Jazminder Parikh?

Like in the original Star Trek series, the top three characters are the captain, the first officer, and the chief medical officer.

In short, Marnie, Trixie, and Jazzie.

I see actress Aarti Mann as Jazminder Parikh.

Where Did Jazminder Parikh Come From?

It was not until Star Trek Discovery that I actually saw anyone from the Indian subcontinent anywhere in the franchise. And that is just ridiculous! I mean, India is the second-most populous country in the world. And it has been for years. There are a good four times as many people there as there are in the United States.

So, why weren’t any of them seeing the stars?

Therefore, I took the old idea to heart. If you don’t see someone in fictional media, then write them yourself.

Of course, this is not my personal experience. But I still wanted this character to get on screen.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Jazminder Parikh

Jazzie is from a wealthy family in Hyderabad. But she attended school in Leeds, England. Hence, her accent is a lot more posh British with a mix of Indian.

Also, she does not join the crew of the Valentina Tereshkova until later. At the time of The Enigman Cave, she’s already been ensconced for years. But she doesn’t come out of the same school as Marnie and Trixie.

As for family, the only person she ever mentions is her father. This leads to the conclusion that her mother is likely to be dead.

Description

A bit short, and with very long, dark, straight brown hair, Jaz is younger than Trixie and Marnie. Since Marnie is 53 when the book starts, Jazzie is what, … forty? Maybe. I confess I never gave her an actual birth year. Oops.

She is also a bit of an alcoholic. While she, Marnie, and Trixie get drunk in the first chapter, that’s not the only time for Jazzie. In fact, she even drinks to the point of passing out. As a doctor, of course she should know better.

But it’s also the future, so she has plenty of ways to cure a hangover.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Much like for the rest of the Val‘s crew, Jazzie’s main motivation is to explore space and find multicellular life. And, at the same time, assure that everyone stays healthy. Once the crew discover the Enigmans, her purpose shifts, as does everyone else’s. Now, her motivation is to protect the Enigmans at all costs.

Jazzie even goes so far as to perform an emergency c-section and even an autopsy. She ends up invested in their fate.

Quotes

Jaz drained the dregs in the bottle. “Superb. Can I tell you something? I would tell Ginny but she’s not here. Pity, that.” She was starting to slur.

“Just how much wine have you had, Jaz?”

“There may have been an earlier bottle. But I am not going to tell you that.”

Marnie had to smile at that. “Your statement, Doctor?”

“My, oh my but we are formal! As I was saying, you are the best damned boss I have ever had.”

“I am?”

“Absolutely. The other captains? They are all a bunch of sticks-in-the-mud, so far as I am concerned. And they may very well be playing along with that awful Carter. But you! Look at you! You’re strong and capable and I won’t say anything about your dodgy knee, and your preference for much younger veterinarians and your poor dye job.”

Marnie held a lock of her hair for a second. “Gwen did this, not me. How much of that other bottle did you have?”

“Oh hush, you.”

“C’mon, Jaz, you shouldn’t be drinking this much.”

“I am off shift, and am perfectly capable, young lady. Now, as I was saying,” Jaz slurred more, “You are an incomparable supervisor.” She clumsily hugged Marnie and patted her hair a few times.

“Jazzie, are you hitting on me?”

“No, you stupid cow!”

“What?” Marnie started laughing. “If you call me any more nasty names, I’ll stop believing you think I’m the greatest boss of all time.”

“No, no, you are the best damned boss I ever had. Now pay attention!” Jaz swayed and dropped to the floor.

Relationships

The only romantic relationship I have for her is with Ginny Carey. But when the book starts, she reveals they have broken up.

With over a thousand people on the Val, Jaz could conceivably find someone else if she wanted to. But I don’t have her do that. By the end of the book, Marnie is trying to get the two women to reconcile.

I like to think that they do.

Conflict and Turning Point

Much like with just about everyone else on the Val, her turning point comes when Carter emerges as a serious threat. This directly affects Jaz, as she loses contact with her father and fears the worst.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

There really are no continuities or Easter eggs with her. What you see, is what you get. She isn’t intended to be related to another Indian character of mine, Akanksha Kondapalli, from the first Obolonk trilogy.

Future Plans

She will not be a part of the planned prequel until it is pretty close to its end. Otherwise, I do not have plans for her.

Jazminder Parikh: Takeaways

There may have been some missed opportunities with this character. And I may end up rectifying them in editing and rewrites. She’s smart and capable, a lot more than a stethoscope, a bottle, or a failed relationship.

Jazminder Parikh — this posh doctor brooks no nonsense.

Want More of Jazminder Parikh and the Rest of The Enigman Cave?

If The Enigman Cave resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society handles first contact with a species that may be as primitive as Australopithecus.

Character Reviews: The Enigman Cave

The Enigman Cave Universe

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Character Review — Josie JamesCharacter Review, Josie James, Greg Shapiro, Jazminder Parikh, MD, Johnny Barnes, Dalton Farouk, Peri Martin, Carmen D’Angelo, MD, Dr. Devon Grace, Tommy 2000, Lex Feldman, Velexio, Character Reviews are Coming, Ixalla, Elise Jeffries, MD, Frances Miller Ashford, Marnie Shapiro, Ceilidh O’Malley, Dr. Mei-Lin Quan, Trixie LaRue, Tathrelle, Nell Murphy, Craig Firenze, Adger, Astrid Hennigsen, Benjamin Chase, Bobby/Jerry Brodie, Cyndi Mendez, Dez Hunter, Eileen Bragin, Eleanor Braverman, Judge John Lowell, Keisha Darnell, Minka Lopez, Nell Murphy, Noah Braverman, Olga Nicolaev, Peter Ray, Rachel Gifford, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sally Bowles/TSTO Tiles, Shannon Duffy, Student #17, Tad Lewis, Ginny Carey, TSTITO, Selkhet 3000, complex evil characters, Emma 1000, They Say This is the One, Elston Young, Trinity Hawthorne, Character Creation

Character Review — Josie James

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 9, 2023

Consider Josie James, One of My Original Characters

Who is Josie James? And how did she get to be the main character in the Time Addicts sub-series (part of the Obolonk universe)?

Originally, I had wanted to name her Jodie James. But the character had other plans. When I could not “hear” her voice, I realized a change was necessary.

And then I quite literally made a mistake when I was writing down notes about her. Suddenly, she sprang into sharp focus. And so, Jolene Jordan James was finally born out of my imagination.

Another aspect of her which really defined the character was when I decided she would be a numbers person. I had never really written anyone like that before. She is, essentially, a person who today would be an actuary or a mathematician. This meant giving her an orderly mind and a fairly linear way of thinking.

Does she code as autistic? I think a bit. She does take a lot of things literally. But at the same time, that can be a function (ha!) of being a math person versus being on the spectrum.

Where Did Josie James Come From?

Much like with the Peri Martin character, I wanted Josie to be a kind of a wisecracking cop. But unlike Peri, Josie would be a somewhat younger woman in her mid-thirties. Furthermore, Josie would not have Peri’s trauma. But she also would not have an equivalent to Peri’s work husband/work BFF, Greg Shapiro.

I also wanted for Josie to have one thing which I had until that time not given any characters—a large family. Now, the letter ‘J’ is the tenth in the alphabet, so that worked for me.

And then, to make my life easier, I created a naming convention for the family. Everyone, not just Josie, would have the same first and middle initial. And they would all be in alphabetical order.

Hence, Aaron is the first-born, then Brian, and then Connie. Deb and Em are twins and come next. Then there’s Francie (Frances) and Greg. Haley and Ian come next. Also, because this can happen in real life, I wanted for Josie to have a niece or a nephew older than her.

This also meant giving the James siblings a big age gap. She’s kind of the ‘oops’ baby.

So Aaron is essentially a different generation from Josie. And it shows.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Josie James

A decent cop working in the Boston Meg’s Financial Crimes division, Josie has a secret.

Every morning, for a dozen years, without fail, she has started her day tossing her cookies. It does not matter whether she ate the prior evening, or drank, etc. Sick or well, well-rested or tired, it does not matter. Every morning, it happens.

And so she has fetishized it in a way. This was also, initially, a way to make my life easier. Plus, for NaNoWriMo, it makes for some excellent word padding (oops, did I just say the quiet part out loud???).

But then, because the sub-series is about time travel, the fetishizing started to truly make sense.

See, she follows the rainbow every week. Sunday is red, Monday is orange, etc. And along with the color of her clothing and even the corresponding flavoring added to her water, she has a bunch of buckets. But Josie’s are color-coded to the days.

Since indigo is tough to find, I had her use gray or black and white or patterns on Fridays.

But no matter what, if a reader is ever lost as to the day of the week, her outfits are a dead giveaway.

Her buckets and her continuous attempts to get a medical explanation are what make the Orb Intelligence Agency’s Department of Temporal Narcotics want her. Because her barfing is related to changes in time.

Description

I really love the actress Anna Kendrick, and she works well as a stand-in for Josie in my head. It was a truly serendipitous find to learn that Kendrick is left-handed! By also making Josie a lefty, it worked well with some of the dramatic elements in the story.

Although Kendrick can sing, Josie really doesn’t. But her brother Ian does.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Josie’s purposes drive the sub-series. She first wants to know why she gets sick. Then, she wants to catch the bad guys and save the Obolonk race. But she also wants to take the next step in her life. Her illness has held her back and left her in a kind of young twenties limbo.

But to get serious about herself or about anyone else, she can’t just be puking all the time.

Quotes {Josie and Dalton Meet After He’s Gotten Her Suitcase Off a High Shelf}

The dreamy chivalrous suitcase retriever stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Dalton.”

“Er, hi. I’m Josie James.” His hand was smooth, as if the only physical labor he did was in a gym.

“You sound like a dance hall girl or an outlaw. Definitely something from a western movie.”

“You sound upper crust.”

“I was born in the Philly section of the Washington Meg so, yeah, kinda. You?”

“You want to know where I was born?”

“Well, yeah, seeing as we’re not supposed to be hinting at roles and responsibilities yet.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot that. Man, oh man, the OIA sure has some strange protocols. Still, I figure there’s a kind of a method to their madness.”

“Oh?” asked Dalton.

“Yeah, they get to continually test us on secrecy and on following instructions. We screw up, and they can boot us. You know, like it says in our contracts. I am assuming you got the same contract that I did, er, Dalton.” Why the hell was the dreamy chivalrous suitcase retriever just going by his last name? How weird, she thought.

“I’m sure I did. And yeah.” He seemed to be staring at something for a second, as if he was mentally flipping the pages of the contract, in electronic or paper form. “You’re right; it does say that. But you didn’t answer my question, outlaw Josie James.”

Relationships

Josie’s condition makes it difficult to form romantic attachments. But then there’s…

Dalton Farouk

Not just another pretty face, Dalton Farouk is a genuinely caring person. Dalton has a very real gift called hyperthymesia. But it turns out Josie has a gift, too—she can remember timelines, even as they change. So, they aren’t just paired by me because I wanted her to have a love interest. I also pair them together because they are both quite literally all about memory.

And, Dalton almost blows it the first time they go on a date. Then again, Josie yells at him. So, I suppose they’re even.

Tad Lewis

Tad is not a romantic partner to Josie. Rather, he is her work partner. The sharpshooter of the team is a great choice to look out for her. Because Carmen realizes immediately—Josie is valuable. And vulnerable.

Tad and Josie often have to play at being married. They get along well enough that he would be a reasonable choice for her. In fact, if anyone wants to ‘ship them, well, I won’t stand in your way or anything.

Carmen D’Angelo

Josie’s relationship with her boss is complicated. While Carmen is cordial, Carmen also keeps nearly everyone at arm’s length. But Josie trusts her. And as everything else changes, Carmen points out that if she (Carmen) ever does, then it’s all gone to hell in a hand cart.

Without having had a mother for the second half of her childhood, siblings like Connie and Deb have filled in the gap. But, at times, it’s Carmen who kind of, sorta, fills it in as well.

Wing AKA 42753

The idea of little flying robots came to me although I suspect I’m not the first person to ever dream them up. They are, at bottom, a natural descendant to drones. But they have a fairly good degree of sapience and they have personalities. But they are also programmed to love cleaning and orderliness.

Wing, like all other wingbots, has some limited morphing capabilities. Hence, it, too, is a part of the constant color parade. Wing colors itself like a parrot, a blue jay, a cardinal, and more.

Wing is, easily, one of her closest friends.

They Say This One Can Floss Human Children’s Teeth Carefully

AKA Flossie. A lot like They Say This One Can Tile Bathrooms Adequately, Flossie is an intersex alien but identifies as female. This alien has had surgery to be able to smile like a human, and uses she/her pronouns.

Flossie is also one of Josie’s main reasons for trying to restore the original timeline. It’s not just because it’s the right thing to do. It’s also because someone like Flossie can never, ever be her friend in many of the newer, worse realities.

Josie James and Her Siblings

Josie has complex relationships with her various siblings. Aaron treats her a lot like his own child and can often be overbearing if not condescending to her. But at least a little bit of that is to be expected. After all, she’s younger than his first born child.

With Brian, she has a more cordial relationship although they don’t spend a lot of time together. He is usually not the first person she thinks of when she needs something. But at least Brian doesn’t talk down to her.

Connie is more of a mother/kindred spirit figure to Josie, particularly as they are both single and childless, and are both numbers people. Connie is just plain easier to talk to.

The twins are night and day to each other. Deb is warm and maternal, whereas Emily is all business—literally. It isn’t until the third book that Josie realizes the reason Em never married is because she loves the people who work for her.

Francie is another sibling who Josie doesn’t really get to know until the third book. Greg, on the other hand, is the first person Josie thinks of when she needs a place far from the group.

Hayley is often the punchline to Josie’s jokes, because Hayley is modern Orthodox and Josie is horribly lapsed. And Hayley actually keeps Josie on the straight and narrow a lot of the time—even if it’s just Josie saying she can’t do X because Hayley would have a coronary.

Ian is closest in age to Josie, but is such a flighty free spirit that they have only a little in common.

Avalon

Without giving away too many spoilers, Loni (Avalon) is a character who comes into the books later. She serves as a kind, maternal person to Josie, but not in the first timelines.

Conflict and Turning Point

Josie’s conflict and turning point are the ones for this sub-series. For the most part, rather than there being one big conflict, it’s a relatively slow burn. Writing scads of different temporal universes meant that life changes for her, in ways that are subtle and not so subtle. Until things get really dicey, she doesn’t notice some of it.

In that way, both her realization of the issues and the reader’s (and the invisible hand driving the plot, too) is a lot like putting a lobster in a pot of cold water and setting it to boil. Once things start to feel hot, it’s already too late, and you’re already cooked. But it can take a bit to get there.

For Josie, a lot of the bigger time changes go off like loud alarm bells, particularly in the last book of this sub-trilogy. Life before might not have been perfect. But it was hardly the dystopia that many of the later time changes cause to come about.

Continuity/Easter Eggs for Josie James

Josie, just like Noah Braverman from the Mettle Universe, lives in my house! In a bit of crossover continuity, the house has been in her family for generations. But there is a tenant the family has to buy out before she can live there. That tenant is Kelly Braverman.

Josie is also a Jewish character; their surname was originally Jacobson. As a result, she relates, however loosely, to characters like Noah Braverman, Marnie Shapiro, Lex Feldman, Greg Shapiro, Eleanor Braverman, and even Herschel Taub. She’s not too strict, but her sister Hayley lives in what used to be Tel Aviv.

Also, being a person experiencing time changes and understanding them while others around her do not, makes her something of a twin to Tathrelle. But I never actually explain Tathrelle. With Josie, I give something of an explanation of how she’s known to be temporally sensitive. But I never actually get into why.

The truth is, even I have no idea!

Future Plans

Well, one thing that may be a bit of an issue is that Josie was not a part of the Time Addicts prequel, The Dust Between Our Stars. But I like her quirkiness and her overly orderly mind. I’ll try to find some place for her. Much like Peri, she may even get the occasional shout out in the next sub-series. I don’t know.

Josie James: Takeaways

One of the things I love about her is that a lot about her represents a departure from what I have written before. Her methodical nature, her familial relationships, and her fetishizing of her condition make her unique and a lot of fun to write.

You don’t just want her in your corner. You also want her help if there’s a math test!

Josie James — why should she let her chronic illness interfere with saving the timeline?

Want More of Josie James?

If the story of the Obolonks resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society turns tripartite, with humans, robots, and Obolonks.

Character Reviews: The Obolonk Murders

Humans

Robots

Obolonks

Character Reviews: Time Addicts

The Good Guys

The Bad Guys

The Obolonk Universe

Self-Reviews: Obolonk Trilogy

Self-Reviews: Time Addicts Trilogy

Next article

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Are You Promoting Your Writing With Social Media?

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 7, 2023

Let’s Look at Promoting Writing With Social Media

Promoting Writing is important! So let’s say you’re an amateur writer. You know you should be promoting writing with social media. But how do you get started?

Not to worry; I’ve got you covered, whether you’re looking to sell your work or just get your unsellable fanfiction noticed.

My Background

I have my Masters’ degree in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University. I blog, tweet, and go to Facebook pretty much every day. And I did all of that for grades and now a lot of that for work.

Furthermore, I have been in the social media space for years, long before the term was even so much as coined. I go back to Usenet.

Getting Started with Promoting Writing on Social Media

So it may be tempting to just plunge right in and start hyping your work on Facebook or Twitter or the like. After all, everyone else is doing it, right? It seems so easy. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s free. But I want you to take a step backward because we are going to do some basic strategizing. It’s called the POST Strategy.

P is for Personas

A persona, or a buyer persona, is the person who would typically buy your work. This is demographics, generally including gender, age range, and race. It can include highest educational level attained. It can also include marital status or sexual identity, time zone, and sometimes household income.

I know you don’t have the bucks to hire a team to build a demographic profile. That’s okay. You’re more or less covered online, if you don’t mind some vagueness.

In 2017, Pew Research investigated who in America is reading. You can also pull related data, such as this study on gaming. Google, as is often the case, is your friend.

Once you’ve got your general demographics together, write a short thumbnail sketch of a biography of them. E. g.

Steve loves science fiction as he enjoys the escapism elements. He’s in his thirties and lives in a small town where he has a technical job. Unmarried, Steve wants to escape into the strange worlds that are a staple of science fiction.

Because Steve is bi, and he’s in a small town where that might seem strange to his neighbors, he is semi-closeted. He wants to read about people like him or more or less like him. He enjoys action and adventure but doesn’t mind some romance in the storyline so long as it’s not dominant.

You are writing a description of your ideal reader. That person might be a lot like you. They might turn out not to be. Plus you might find more than one persona. That’s okay, too.

Naming them, and even giving them a face (just a pic from stock images is fine) will give you someone to connect to. What should you write to Steve? Or Annika? Or Keisha? Maybe Mei-Lin would respond better to different content. Hmm.

O is for Objectives

We’ve all got pie in the sky notions, where we want to be recognized for our art, published, get an agent, make a mint, and hobnob with the best writers we can think of. Or maybe that’s just me. But you’ve got to be realistic here.

What’s realistic? Breaking even, on a first novel, is probably not realistic. But selling at least one copy to someone you do not personally know? That’s a good, attainable goal. It may not sound like a lot, but you start this way.

Do some measuring, in order to know you met your objectives. Amazon shows sales data, and many places show read counts even if you aren’t publishing for $$ at this time. I personally use spreadsheets but I’ve got a data analysis background so this appeals to me.

You don’t need to go nuts! You can get by with just vague ideas, such as to see that sales have gone up, or you haven’t broken 1,000 reads, that sort of thing.

S is for Strategy

What’s your plan? First of all, allow me to suggest one thing right off the top – get HootSuite or the like and learn how to use their scheduling features. Don’t be tweeting in the middle of the night. So schedule stuff. Trust me; scheduling will save your offline life.

Scheduling and strategy also go together beautifully because you can collect a number of older bits of content (posts, landing pages, etc.) and combine and recombine them to see how they do. Maybe one order or one combo is better than another. You’ll never know until and unless you try, and test. And sometimes fail.

T is for Technology

So now let’s start thinking about platforms. And do some more research (Pew is awesome!). Where is your buyer persona going online?

Our mythological buyer persona, Steve, is fairly young and male. I bet he likes Tumblr and Twitter. Plus he’s on Facebook because many people are. Maybe he uses FB to keep in touch with older relatives.

While he might be on Pinterest (it’s not 100% female), the likelihood is greater that he’s elsewhere.

That elsewhere is likely to be Snapchat or TikTok.

So what’s your mission? To post your promotional links where Steve is. Maybe Betty. Or Lakeisha. Perhaps Hong. Or José. And change up to reach whoever your buyer persona is.

Want to know more about POST Strategy? Go to the source!

More Information on Promoting Writing

However, this barely scratches the surface when it comes to promoting writing. Because there’s a ton more to know! Where can you get started? I just so happen to have a book for that. And it also just so happens to be free.

Ask me anything, here or on Wattpad in the comments for that book. Am I missing something? And do you want anything updated or clarified? I gladly take requests to update the Social Media Guide.

Now go out there and knock ’em dead!

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Content Strategy with Kristina HalvorsonContent Strategy, Halvorson, Hip-Hop Content Strategy, Content Monster

Content Strategy with Kristina Halvorson

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 31, 2023

What Hath Halvorson Wrought?

So, Kristina Halvorson is the author of Content Strategy for the Web.

I was excited to hear her speak to the Content Strategy New England Meet Up group on May 24, 2010.

What are the Essential Elements of Content Strategy?

• Auditing and Assessment – so, what’s the available content? What are the skill sets of the persons in the organization? What is their work flow? Just what do their competitors do? What are the needs? Also, what are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
† Messaging/Substance – what are you trying to say? What should your readers leave with or act upon? Can you archive older, less vital material in order to retain it but also have it leave more room for content that is more in demand?
• Structure – usability and design are key. Make it easy to browse for and search for content. Add a taxonomy and metadata.
† Workflow and Governance – what are the tools to move content through an organization? What are the metrics, and how will they be analyzed? How does the organization decide which content is going to go out there? Who makes the decisions?

Companies With Issues

So, Ms. Halvorson talked a lot about working with companies that simply do not seem to get it. Also, she made it clear that these strategies need to be implemented by humans, not automated CMS systems.

Tips included:

• Make and stick to an Editorial Calendar
† Create a Governance Policy
• Identify Standards and Goals
† Create and adhere to Benchmarks
• Establish Guidelines
† Create a Content Inventory

The truth is, over fourteen years later, every single bit of this still applies.

Recommendations from Halvorson

She recommended not only her own book but also a blog post by Rachel Lovinger, The Philosophy of Data.

And she had one final whimsical, yet still serious tip: When you find cool stuff, tweet about it.

And so, we will.

Twelve Plus Years Later…

Content strategy is less of a discipline that needs to justify itself. Rather, now, it is more of a discipline that needs to herd cats. It is a dance of social media, content, advertising, and corporate egos.

It is also a dance of language. A company has to know what it is saying, and it may have to define that for its customers and prospects—the primary audience for the blog and other content machines.

Also, much like years ago, companies don’t seem to know what they have half the time.

A Content Strategist can make a decent impact in a new job just by figuring out what the business actually owns. And then figuring out if it’s dated or current, relevant or out there, and if it’s following linguistic requirements.

This doesn’t even get into SEO and any attempts to use the various subsets of marketing (like advertising, etc.) in a synergistic fashion.

Advertising creates a campaign to tout a blog post, which you share on social media. It’s the transcription (more or less) of a recent livestream, now available on YouTube.

Embed the video in the blog post to aid visual learners. And link to the blog on YouTube and anywhere else you’re housing the video—so people can get the gist if they prefer the written word.

When all of these work together, content strategy is the conductor or perhaps the ringmaster, making everything work together and making everyone better.

And when they don’t, well, those egos may have had a little something to do with that…

But you never heard that from me.

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Social Media Background Check Being Used For Jury Selection

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 26, 2023

Is a Social Media Background Check Being Used for Jury Selection at all Ethical?

Social media background check? What? So, in 2010, the ABA Journal reported that lawyers admitted to using the Internet to ferret out information about potential jurors.

And essentially what happens: in some instances, while reading off the names of the members of a jury pool, a lawyer or paralegal Googles them. Sometimes the names are released the night before (at least, in Los Angeles County they can be), but it can also happen where lawyers only learn who would potentially sit on a jury on the day of selection.

State By State Differences

While state courts allow lawyers to bring laptops into courtrooms, Googling the jury panel isn’t what they have in mind, says Paula Hannaford-Agor, who directs the Center for Jury Studies at the National Center for State Courts.

However, preventing counsel from checking potential jurors’ backgrounds online might pose a Constitutional question and may very well violate the First Amendment. Though the law remains fluid in this area, with no decisions or tests yet.

Personal Thoughts

With all of the above said, I don’t know where I fall on the spectrum. Preventing Googling doesn’t just seem like a First Amendment issue – it also seems to exist as more of a common sense one. Because with the invention of the telephone, when a lawyer suddenly could learn more about jurors (and far more quickly than sending letters or asking a messenger to run somewhere or another), was that ever questioned?

And did it bother the jurors? Or did they perhaps not know about it? Or, maybe even if they did know, were they still so dazzled and flattered by the use of the brand-new technology? Did it make them not care, or see any implications?

Privacy?

And then we have the other end of things. Do I really want to be Googled if I’m in a jury pool? Welllll, lawyers look for every other possible advantage and nugget of information. So what would lead me to believe that they wouldn’t look there as well? If I exist as a somewhat sophisticated potential juror (and I’ve practiced law fer cryin’ out loud), I know that. And in particular in an expensive or high stakes (read: death row) case, both sides will look for every possible angle.

They scrutinize my bumper stickers. And my dress. My hair. Whether I’m wearing nail polish. My voter registration records. My work product, which is available online. Because they look at anything and everything.

Plus, as an avid Facebook and Twitter (and LinkedIn, and SparkPeople) user, I well understand the openness of my online life. And, for me, particularly after losing a boatload of weight, I feel it’s important to be open about a lot of things. Perhaps I overshare. No, wait, I definitely overshare. I know my life is open and there are all sorts of cracks in the armor.

Yet at the same time I, like many other people, feel there’s still a place to put on the brakes. Somewhere in there, there are vestiges of privacy. However, are they still available to me if I end up in a jury pool?

However, I’m not in a jury pool under my own volition. Hence I believe that, even as I share yet another “before” photo or mention that I’m turning a particular age or whatever, that I can throw up a wall.

Can’t I? Even a little bit?

Your Thoughts on a Social Media Background Check?

I’m curious as to what others think. Is this a squishy, I-want-to-be-left-alone area, or should we all just get over it? Is it the crest of a slippery slope? Would it erode privacy even more? Or did I get all hot and bothered over nothing?

Gentle reader, what do you think?

Years Later, What’s Different?

Right now, a social media background check seems almost quaint. You can more or less expect a social media background check for employment. And you can kind of expect a social media background check by the police. At least, in the higher profile cases, I would think.

Hell, you would probably do well to do a social media background check on yourself. So, this doesn’t feel so weird or invasive anymore.

It is, in its essence, just another way for the legal profession to attempt to get an advantage during a trial or for negotiations, nothing more.

I bet the next thing we are going to see are motions written by AI, or at least with its help. That is, if we are not seeing those already.

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Supercharging Your On-Line PresenceOnline Presence, Supercharging your online presence, pet peeves, careers, virality, Alibaba

Supercharging Your On-Line Presence

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 17, 2023

What Does it Mean When You Say You’re Supercharging Your On-Line Presence?

Supercharging? Yes! This post is a riff on the February 2011 edition of Law Practice Today

About a thousand (er, twenty) years ago, I used to practice law. And, of course, things were far different then as opposed to now. But I have retained some of my old interests and connections, and would get the paper version of the ABA Journal for years after I had hung up my shingle.

Once a lot of that started to go online, I renewed my interest in any number of facets of law practice, in particular how it collides and dovetails with the Internet and, these days, Social Media.

Viral Marketing Gone Wrong

And I have seen enough tone-deaf Social Media campaigns (Able2know is rife with laughably bad viral marketing attempts, for example) to see the need for a publication like Law Practice Today to try to clear up some misconceptions and get lawyers going in a good — or at least non-harmful — online direction.

What is great about this article is that it doesn’t just apply to attorneys.

Get Your Own Domain Name

The first point made in the article is: You need your own internet domain name. Well, yes. And it continues to surprise me when companies and individuals who are attempting to make a splash (or at least not appear to be totally out of it) online don’t do this.

C’mon, people, domain names are cheap! Go to GoDaddy or HostGator and buy one! You can direct WordPress to be posting through a domain name that has naught to do with WordPress. This is not too tough (hell, that’s what I’m doing with my blog), or you can hire someone to do this. It’s a lot, to me, like buying business cards with your actual name on them versus cards that just say “Lawyer”.

Rejuvenate Your Website

The next point is: Rejuvenate Your Website. No argument here. Stale websites are as appealing as stale bread. I am not saying that you need to update every minute or every day or even every week but I see an awful lot of abandoned blogs and websites out there — or at least they appear to be, as their most recent changes occurred in 2010.

That means it’s been at least nearly two months since anyone changed them. Surely there is news, or at least even cosmetic changes would give one’s readership/potential clients a feeling that someone was minding the store.

Use a Good Profile Picture

Point number three is: Your picture is worth a thousand words. A good picture is, well, good. You might not be able to afford to hire a professional as the article suggests. That’s okay if you at least get a decent photographer friend to take a lot of pictures. How many? How’s one hundred? Lighting varies. You might not smile perfectly the first time. Your tie might be crooked. Your hair might be flying in your face.

You might not be looking directly at the camera. There are any number of reasons why a photo can go wrong. And get your pal to snap photos of you in various places, doing various things, so long as they are germane to the site. For a lawyer, that could be in the office, or in front of a courthouse or in front of the office building or with colleagues or alone.

After all, with a good hundred photos, you might end up with several usable ones. If there are choices in different locations, you can use them to make different points on your site.

Fill Out All About Me and Profile Pages

Point number four is: It’s All About Me. That is, create an “About Me” page. There’s a place to put a photograph or two, eh? It doesn’t have to be long, but give it a little personality. Be sensible, of course. This is probably not the place (assuming you’re a lawyer) to tout your ninja skills.

But if you play tennis or have two kids or are from Omaha, by all means, those things are perfectly fine here. Otherwise, you’re just nameless, faceless Joe or Jane Lawyer — and I, as your prospective client, can find a million of them.

Give Visitors Takeaways

The next point is: Give visitors something to “take away” from your blog. Me, I write articles and I allow the reprint rights. So if my experiences can help you, then by all means reprint my articles, and I wish you well, so long as you respect my rights in the matter.

Work on SEO

The next point is: get on Google+ as it gives you a boost in rankings. For an SEO beginner, or someone with a limited budget, this is easy and free and it takes nearly no time.

Here’s another point: Make Sure You Advertise on Google Local. I felt no need to do this, but I’m not trying to push ecommerce directly through my site and blog. Your mileage will, undoubtedly, vary.

LinkedIn

Next point: Be LinkedIn. Hell yeah. Here’s my LinkedIn profile. Yes, I will link to you – just send me a request. Also, I have found that LinkedIn is an excellent way to get to know people attending an event with you. If you can get a hold of the guest list in advance (and with Eventbrite, evite and others, you can), look those people up on LinkedIn.

Hey, you might have something in common with them, their photo might be up so that you can recognize them and they might be someone you’d like to know, either personally or professionally.

Gather Business Intelligence

Then there’s the penultimate point: Use Social Networks To Gather Business Intelligence. People share all sorts of stuff these days. Want to know if someone is moving? Going on vacation? Selling their business? Changing jobs? A lot of that information is out there, free for the taking. And other things are out there, if you know how to dig.

I’m not suggesting that you turn yourself into a creepy stalker but if a possible client is tweeting about buying land, and you’ve got a real estate practice, well, do I really have to connect the dots for you?

Tell People the News (About You or Anything Else of Interest)

Here’s the last point: Be the Evening News. The idea is, broadcast Youtube-type stuff, either your own or pass along others’. Agreed, but I wouldn’t overdo this, particularly not at the expense of other types of content, which are generally easier for Google to index (and for you to get an SEO bounce from).

But by all means, if it adds value (there’s a big if right there. I adore the Old Spice Guy but he does not help me on my site), add it.

The bottom line, I think is: don’t be afraid. Yes, the Internet can bite you. But it can also be quite a good friend to you. So start supercharging.

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Starting a Twitter StreamTwitter, Twitter Stream, offsite connections, visual elements, Twitter followers, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, Demystifying Twitter, metrics, verbal elements, Amazoncart debuts, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, metrics, verbal elements, Bruins denounce Twitter hate, Twitter bigots, lost dogs, using Twitter to track, Shift in Twitter Trends

Starting a Twitter Stream

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 12, 2023

Let’s Look at Starting a Twitter Stream

How do you go about starting a Twitter stream? Should you plunge right in, or hang back? What about oversharing?

Yes, I know it’s called X now.

Your Account

You need a name! Let’s say you’ve taken my advice (or decided this on your own), and gone with an account just for writing. If you want a personal account, you make a second one.

Fine, but you need a name. How about a word like writer or author somewhere in there? You can’t go beyond 15 characters. Fortunately, you’ve got both letters and numbers, so you could conceivably add wr1ter or auth0r if you liked.

Go as short as you can while remaining coherent and unique. An abbreviations like wrtr is well-known, so you don’t have to worry about people getting confused.

Your Look

Settings are important in Twitter as they are with every social network. Twitter moves them on occasion. Every large site does beta testing, where they experiment with different layouts and looks to see what you’ll click on more often—this is normal.

Currently, they are under where it says “More”.

But you change your profile image from the profile page. Add a profile image and make it a head shot or at least a picture of the cover of your book, if you have one. Don’t keep the egg!

A background image is nice but not strictly necessary; Twitter has some pretty decent generic images if you are unsure of how you want things to look.

Who do you Follow?

Spend a little time chasing hashtags. #amwriting, #amediting, and #MSWL are great for getting started. Know an author you like is on Twitter? Then follow him or her! Publishers and agents are also good choices, as are your friends from NaNoWriMo or Wattpad or the rest of the writing community, even the fan fiction writing community.

Follow people who put words together into sentences and stories. Applaud their efforts and read what they have to say. It matters.

Your First Tweet

There’s no reason not to just say hi. It doesn’t have to be momentous. Be kind and supportive. Other writers are not your enemy and they’re generally not your competition.

That is to say, you can own both Untrustworthy (note shameless plug) or the Twilight books. Owning one does not make it impossible to have the other. A book collection is only limited by space, taste, and budget. It’s not like pie.

More to come later!

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Almost Everything But the Tweet – Conquering Twitter (Visual Elements)Twitter, Twitter Stream, offsite connections, visual elements, Twitter followers, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, Demystifying Twitter, metrics, verbal elements, Amazoncart debuts, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, metrics, verbal elements, Bruins denounce Twitter hate, Twitter bigots, lost dogs, using Twitter to track, Shift in Twitter Trends

Almost Everything But the Tweet – Conquering Twitter (Visual Elements)

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 10, 2023

Almost Everything But the Tweet – Conquering Twitter (visual elements)

Visual elements. There are two areas on Twitter where you can make a visual impact, and it has nothing to do with what you’re actually tweeting. No, scratch that, there are three. Kinda.

Avatar

So the first, most obvious one, consists of the account’s avatar. Here’s where you should put the company logo. Don’t have a logo? Then it can be a picture of the person doing the tweeting, as this is supposed to be something of a conversation.

And for God’s sake, make it someone real. Otherwise any offsite connections are going to get awkward right quick!

For authors, try the cover of your most recent book!

Other visual elements of choice for an avatar can be a picture of the company mascot, if there is one.

Or a photo of one person (the main user) on the Twitter team, although if two or three people are doing the tweeting, what about a closeup of both or all three of them, photo booth style?

This will depend upon your industry and your image therein. But at the very least, you must get away from a generic Twitter avatar.

Background Visual Elements

Where’s the second area where you can make a visual impact? It’s your background. Here’s where your company logo can go if it’s not already being used for the account’s avatar. And if you have a well-known logo, that will add to the visual impact, so long as you’re not using the logo for both the avatar and the background. Because that constitutes overkill unless both are subtle.

Depending upon monitor or device size and screen resolution, some parts of the background will be hidden or revealed. So make sure to place the logo on the left of the background, preferably near the top, and test the look on several different-sized monitors and devices, and using different resolutions and operating systems.

You will not be able to customize the look for each setup (like you can with Cascading Style Sheets), but at least you’ll get an idea of where you’re being cut off. Naturally, you want to optimize your visual elements for whatever setup your customers are most likely to be using.

If your target audience has vision problems (e. g. perhaps they’re elderly), the most likely setup may very well involve a larger than standard screen resolution.

More About the Background

Below the upper left corner is some space directly above where the tweeting actually occurs. To the left, vertically, you have a little room in which to place the company web address, a telephone number and possibly a short slogan.

Twitter is meant to be short and sweet; don’t get caught up in adding a lot of verbiage here. Less can certainly be more in this case. Keep in mind, too, that no one can search on any verbiage you place here in the background image.

You can also add a picture just below your logo, or in place of it, in the upper left corner or along the left side. Try, perhaps, a picture of the Twitter team. Because you can great impact from offering pictorial evidence of who’s listening. Another option: place a picture of your main product here.

There is also some space to the right. But it’s just the gifs or jpgs you’ve put into tweets. A savvy social media manager will look at design elements and see if they can use that space as a part of a more unified design, although not as a focal point.

For example, maybe it’s a recipe for making a roasted chicken. Your first image might show the bird (a before shot). The second might have a short list of ingredients (although keep in mind the print may be small).

Third might be brief instructions. Fifth could just be the cooking time and temperature. And the sixth and last one (currently, there are six images on the top right, but Twitter may change this) could be the finished recipe.

Tweet Now, Or Later?

What’s part three? Visuals are also something, like every other part of Twitter, that you can schedule. This can come from a free or quasi-free website or software like Buffer or HootSuite.

But, what do I mean by timing? Picture this. You’re up early, and you’re kind of groggy. So all you really need is a cup of coffee. Then wouldn’t an image of a cup of coffee catch your eye? It just might.

And maybe this is small or even too subtle. But it’s another way to use visuals. Consider what the day looks like for the people in your Twitter stream. When are your followers up? If your followers are in the Philippines and not Boston, then you will need to think of everything as 12 hours opposite from the way you see it. So don’t put up a happy wake up cup of coffee image when your Filipino followers are heading to bed or going out to parties.

Visual Elements: The Upshot

What you tweet is, naturally, important, but consider the other areas where you can enhance your message. These basic visual elements can help you to place an exclamation point at the end of your tweets.

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