Month: April 2009

Independent Kids

When I was eight years old, I went out trick-or-treating by myself, returning hours later (long after dark) with an immense bag of swag. In those days, this sort of thing wasn’t remarkable. The urban myth about razor blades in the treats hadn’t made the rounds yet. The world was a reasonably safe place for kids, and everyone knew it. Kids went outside to play and were supposed to be home by dark, or dinnertime, or bedtime, or something. It worked great.

Nowadays everyone is terrified by the idea of independent kids, although it’s as safe as it ever was, so they keep the kids in sight at all times — until they are suddenly left on their own in their mid-to-late teens. What’s the point of cloistering our kids in this way, other than leaving them more dependent and less competent, while driving their parents crazy?

Which is why it’s such a relief to read books about active, competent, take-charge kids. This is what fuels my wife Karen’s passion for old-fashioned boy’s adventure books, like the Tom Slade series, which she’s bringing back into print. We’ll be releasing the third volume (Tom Slade on the River) soon. Kids who get out and do stuff, have adventures, and generally (but not always) do more good than harm. It takes me back. Hard to believe that kids are being raised in such a way that they don’t get a taste of this until adulthood.

You can check out our Tom Slade page on our Norton Creek Press Web site.

My SF Novel Will Be Available in a Few Days

I approved the proof of my SF novel, “One Survivor,” today, which means that it’s technically in print already. However, it takes a couple of days for the news to spread. Amazon and Ingram (the world’s biggest book wholesaler) ought to figure it out at more or less the same time.

It’s a 258-page trade paperback and retails for $16.95.

I’ve posted a new One Survivor page on the Norton Creek Press Web site, which has background information about the book.

I’ve also published a lengthy excerpt, which consists of the first third of the book. If that doesn’t hook you, nothing will.

When was the last time you read a science fiction book where an alien spacecraft gets repaired by a group of teenagers?

Organic vs. Antibiotics

My cold turned into a sinus infection, so I went to my favorite doctor to cadge come antibiotics (Dr. Foley at Philomath Family Medicine, a clinic started by hippie doctors in the Seventies, and still a laid-back and mellow place). Given my chronic sinus conditions, I do all the usual stuff, with an air filter in my office and saline nasal rinses, but sometimes the bacteria get the upper hand anyway. When this happens, it’s time to see the doctor and get some drugs. Most people do this, even people who love the idea of “natural remedies.”

(And why isn’t penicillin considered to be a natural remedy? It’s harvested directly from the penicillium mold.)

It saddens me that so many people don’t use the same approach with their livestock. The use of antibiotics sullies their political correctness and organic status, so people drag their feet and let their animals suffer before breaking out the drugs. I don’t think they have their priorities straight.