McCloud Fire Muster 2017 Parade Footage

I love our fire department. A large portion of my family volunteers on the department as well. We are in a rural community, so our department of volunteers also works with other departments around the county. THG StarDragon was not able to donate to help support the Muster financially, but we do plan to renew our annual space on the Community Calendar through the McCloud Firemen's Association to help support the department.

This Saturday was the annual Fire Muster in gorgeous McCloud, California. It was extremely fun, and my sunburn was worth it. We started with a parade of different departments that gathered, some from beyond our local area even. Afterward it was a trek to Hoo Hoo Park to watch the firefighter games. There were hamburgers and hot dogs, and several types of beer. I even had a beer, a very rare event, and I can recommend that Blackberry Blonde. There was a raffle and a silent auction for a wood carved yeti (the artist is shown in this video during the pre-parade windup). The Prizes were awarded and this year the trophy stays in McCloud, shared by McCloud CalFire and the McCloud Explorers. Following all of this was a Tri Tip dinner and then a dance.

Here is the parade footage below. I am working on getting footage from the games ready. I filled two cameras.

Candle Flash Sale and a Raffle

Candles go great with books. This is why I've also started selling candles with JIC Nation, or Jewelry in Candles. These candles are 100% soy based, sourced from soy that has been grown completely within the USA. These candles do not tunnel as easily as paraffin candles and do not soot unless you trim the wick incorrectly, meaning less black stuff to get into your lungs and soil your books.

Right now there is a sale going on. Using code FLASH at checkout discounts items from the Jewelry in Candles line, the Basics, and the JIC Naturals items. There is a lot more than JUST candles in the THG StarDragon Illuminations store, but the candles are tarts are what got me deciding to go with this particular company.

I do wish they offered votive candles too though.

Please go and look at what is on offer by clicking the graphic below, pick a favorite scent, and if you get one with jewelry I wish you luck as you could potentially receive a piece worth thousands of dollars.

Additionally, I am holding a raffle. Each candle purchase counts as an entry into my raffle for a Pink Flame candle. If you do not feel you can afford a candle you can also purchase a raffle ticket for $5 directly from me. The winner will receive a Pink Flame candle out of my stock on hand, or I will buy and send the scent the winner wants if I do not have it in my personal stock. My raffle will go until the last day of July. August first I will choose the winner and contact them. 

Raffle tickets are purchasable in person or via Paypal. Remember, every candle purchase from the candle store will also count as an entry!

The Raffle is a three pronged activity, and is in part a benefit drive. 1) I want to share how cool these candles are. 2) The Pink Flame isn't a cheap candle, and I know there are lots of people out there that might like the opportunity to have one of their own. 3) My daughter and I are taking my son to Disneyland for his 8th grade trip. He is autistic and needs to have several adults in case of over-stimulation. This is his first major trip since the passing of his grandfather (on my side) in December of 2008 so we expect it to bring up a lot of additional things for him to deal with. We have met our minimum to take him. However that is just our minimum, and my mother is wishing to extend the trip so that he can have time on the way back up the entire state of California to see some other places as well. This will help fund the extension. Anything left over would be split between a fund to prepare for his high school graduation in 4 years (Disney World is that goal) and toward a fund to pay Illya Leonov up front to record the first book of the Dragon Shaman series. When I contracted him to record Selkies' Skins he also was interested in recording the Dragon Shaman books. I want to make sure that he gets sufficient funding up front this time as the royalty share is taking longer than I had wished to give him a good return for his time.

Unboxing Publishing Stock & Flea Market Announcement

Direct order pricing adjustments

It is with regret that I am going to have to start imposing payment fees when payments are made through paypal. For my authors the past several years I have eaten the fee that Paypal charges me. I can no longer do that. Paypal charges me 2.9% + $0.30 of the total payment sent to me. For years I have only asked just a bit above manufacture price per author/illustrator-ordered book, far below my share of royalties, and after all of the associated fees I actually have been getting even less than my share of profits with which to pay myself. That makes it difficult to afford to make the business grow. The last order that I set to be fulfilled actually went in the red due to neglecting to calculate the fee Paypal took out of the sum.

New rates

• For my authors, illustrators, and editors associated with a particular title requesting copies of their titles to distribute locally or at booths copies will now be the base cost of manufacture plus 30% (instead of the 10% since I've not been seeing at least 20% additional coming back to meet my base share). Additionally shipping will still be charged, and taxes since I still have to pay the taxes. Paypal payments will now be calculated to include the 2.9% + 0.30 fees they charge.
• Single item orders from people not involved in a book will have no discounts.
• Bookstores, libraries, and other wholesalers contacting me to order a run of books sent will pay base cost of manufacture plus 50%, as I realize they too must have room for markup. Additionally shipping will still be charged, and taxes since I still have to pay the taxes. Paypal payments will now be calculated to include the 2.9% + 0.30 fees they charge.

Larger orders would give me more room to give discounts, calculated on a case by case basis for the time being.

How To: Reviews

When writing a review there are some things you will want to consider and touch on. You don't have to do them all, but the more you do the more thorough the review. This is primarily for books but can be applied to other items.

Main Body

• Title and Author
• Book Summary
• Technical aspects, quality, accuracy
• Emotional Impact
• Age range intended vs. Age range you feel it appeals to
• Suggested Readers

Star Ratings

• Some places use star ratings for how much the book was enjoyed by the reader.
• Some places use star ratings for quality purposes
• Some places do a combined system.

When you have negative things...

• Point out what you like
• CONSTRUCTIVELY Point out what you do not like or did not work for you. some criticism is ok, but it has to be done in a fashion that is not harmful and that might help a writer (beginner or not) improve.
• ALWAYS be polite.
• ALWAYS be honest.
• If you feel better bringing up detracting things in direct conversation with the author then it is good to do so. This also helps conversation between author and audience, and you might get lucky enough for that author to talk with you about character motivation or get told about planned future developments or backstory that exists but can't be public knowledge yet.

Book Review: Dark Musings by David Boiani

Book Review

Title: Dark Musings

Author: David Boiani

Where to get: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/722258

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y3HB1PF

Star Rating: 5 stars for both enjoyability and structure

Age Rating (IMO): PG13 for most of the stories

This book is a collection of short stories ranging from somber, macabre, all the way through beautiful. Some of them are all of these things. It starts strong and stays strong through the entire book. Some of these stories are going to haunt my head for awhile, such as the child rescued by the teacher, the serial killer, the mother that lost touch with reality, and the one about the birth of Adolf Hitler and his parent’s expectations as examples. There are so many different viewpoints and scenarios, and no character is flat. They live, they breathe, some of them you wonder if you’ll meet walking down the street or getting your morning coffee. Some of them you pray you never will. Yet, it is likely that at some point you will meet someone that might have stepped from these pages.

These are tales that might happen, some that do happen. It is not a journey for the faint of heart. However I also feel it is one that most should read. Some of these are great cautionary tales, and I would consider this a very good addition to a collection of modern folklore. They remind me in a way of books that I grew up with, such as the Scary Stories collections by Alvin Schwartz, but aimed for an older crowd.

It is hard to find anything that I did not like. Some of the stories appalled me, but not because the author dared write them. They appalled me because I’ve read of things similar happening in news and some of the things addressed are real. It is not the author’s job to control his fellow man, and an author’s job is as much to shine light on the good as it is to expose the bad. Therefore I do not find anything to actually detract. It was very well done. I am going to be suggesting this book to several people that I know who will immensely enjoy it.

Personal note for Youtube: It took me a couple days to finish this book. I prefer to read in long uninterrupted sessions, but it just was not able to happen as I’d have liked. If I had nothing else on my plate I would have been able to finish in less than a day. You might prefer to read this one story a day and contemplate to let the full effect seep in, or you might read in spurts here and there and you can grab the time, both would work and if done would lengthen your reading time. If you are like me and like to carve out reading days then you still will be able to. This book fits any reading style due to the short story structure.

Mozilla's Campaign for net neutrality

I have just signed Mozilla's campaign regarding strong net neutrality regulations. This is intended to help preserve the free use of the internet to watch, read, and say what one wants. What is available to us should not be limited by religion or anything else within America, as this is clearly under the 1st Amendment and an issue of free speech. I invite you to join me.
Click here to see the campaign or to sign your name.