Well, it seems someone has hijacked this blog, but after considering it for a while, I’ve decided to leave the post as it is. As long as she doesn’t detract from the serious content here, then it should be fine.

I’ve been working on the research for the next Amy and Ben adventure. They’ve told me the story from their point of view, but there’s a lot of history around the times they went visiting, and they don’t know nearly as much as they let on. So…I’m reading up on the plague in 1665, called the Great Plague. Amazing reading, and very shocking at the number of deaths. At its height, the sickness claimed over 7,000 people a month, just there in London.

Another interesting part is the conflict (already) between people searching for divine cause and those searching for scientific cause. Those politic enough even divided causes into first cause and second cause, being sure to include God as one of those causes, to cover all the bases. With an illness like the Great Plague, it’s no wonder people thought they were cursed by God.

Only a few of the preachers back then had things straight. God did not “send the plague” to punish the sinners in London, any more than he sent those terrorists crashing airplanes into buildings on 9/11. It is a fallen world, boys and girls, and our time here is brief as it is. I’ll see if I can find the quote from the book that is tickling the back of my mind–but it is one of the preachers from 1665 echoing the same sentiment.

Reading history is the best and easiest form of time travel. Safe in our chairs, we can visit any number of moments in the past, and while we may miss out on all the nuances of the time, and who said exactly what, we can still gain a deeper understanding of our humanity over time, and realize this: Human nature never changes.

A wise man once said, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecc 1:9

Hi, this is Amy.

I finally found a place I can post my thoughts without my mom peeking in. She found my FB page, and INSISTED on being my friend, so she could track what I was saying. And she’s got my twitter name, and I can’t block her, or she’ll remove me completely. Sometimes I just want to tell her, You know I’m (almost) 16 now, and I do know what’s right and wrong. You’re not the only one in the family who has a brain! (Well, I guess Dad’s pretty smart too–but I’m not going to vouch for Ben.)

Anyway, the Author Guy was kind enough to leave his book of passwords out where I could see it, and saw he had a blog. If I can’t do FB, and I can’t twitter, then I might as well blog. Ugh.

We took a trip last week, to some national park. I told mom and dad I’d rather stay home and read, but they dragged me along anyway. Dad lectured us the whole way about “spontaneous pair production” until mom finally told him to can it. Three hours of that sort of family time, and I was ready for a break. But, no. We hiked around some dead volcanoes, and saw some bubbling mud things, until my legs were ready to fall off.

Ben, of course, loved it, and bounced from one natural attraction to the next. He swore he wanted to be a park ranger when he grew up. As if. I told him I could make him a permanent part of the park. We were near one of the boiling lakes. Mom told me to watch it. Oh well.

Anyway, bored at home now. Both Clara and Beth are at camp (hi girls!), but will be back next week.

Will post more later, if the Author Guy doesn’t catch me and toss me out. (Please, please please, let me stay? Thanks, A.G.!)

I love listening to the Webcomics Weekly guys, four web cartoonists who have this notion that business for creative people has changed. Much of what they talk about seems like it should apply to writing as well, but there’s one snag. While they can give away content (their comic) for free, and monetize on books and other merchandise down the line, how does a writer do the same thing? Do you post a paragraph at a time, or a chapter a week? How do you keep people coming back?

Can you give your book away, and end up selling more copies? Can you skip the publisher and go it alone? It’s an interesting idea, one that I’ve been mulling over for a bit. For sure, you will see some sample chapters here on this blog, but probably no more than that.

I’ve seen Neil Gaiman offer entire books on his site, books he’s already written and gotten paid for, and yet by doing so, he has increased sales for those titles. Can an unknown writer do the same? I don’t think so.

To continue with the argument (with myself, of course), aren’t the best things in life free? For example, isn’t salvation a free gift? Aren’t most things you read/see/experience on the web free? What’s wrong with free?

I’m still debating the whole thing, but who knows? At some point, you might be able to read the whole book online, then buy the t-shirt on your way out.

2 Cor 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”