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Post by Not Wes on May 30, 2019 13:02:57 GMT -5
This announcement is a little late, but is still worth posting with some additional info.
The second chapter of The Spearfish Lake House has been posted. There are 39 chapters.
RTF files, mobis, epubs, and PDFs are available from the Spearfish Lake Tales Store Spearfish Lake House page. Sales on Lulu for hardcopies, epubs and PDFs have also been enabled.
Preorders have been shipped. If anyone preordered a book and didn't get it, please e-mail either Dan at the regular SLT site e-mail address, or me at the new one listed there on the site "contact" page and let us know.
Very often when I put up a new story there are html bugs that don't show up when I tested it locally. I usually stay around until around midnight EST to deal with any of those issues that you bring to my attention. Dan will get new orders processed and out as soon as he's able.
Have fun reading TSLH! This book is somewhat typical of Wes's series stories, but does have some exciting moments in it, and it touches somewhat on some outlier practices which are typical of Wes's writing. Expect the unexpected, I guess, not like the teaser doesn't give too much away already.
Please note that reader Anthony Hilton, who purchased a copy so he could read it all because he checks characters for the Wiki list, noticed that the original story draft Wes wrote has Mary Sue Kempa mentioned in it. Previous Bird series books give her name as Mary Lou Kempa. She first appears in chapter two which was uploaded last night. The editors didn't notice it. Anthony reported the mistake to me and I got the site chapters with her name mentioned changed before posting so they are correct throughout the story here on the site. Those of you with purchased copies, however, all have Mary Sue instead of Mary Lou, so you'll want to note that if you're keeping track of that sort of thing. Anyone interested, ask, and I'll list them if you'd like. The editors did change a couple other misnamed characters between draft and final copy, but couple other name switches we missed have also been reported. I'll try to remember to mention them when they appear later in the book so as to not cause any spoilers before then.
Chapter upload timing can be fickle. Wes was almost always around himself to do it on time. We volunteers are not always in a position to do so. Because there are now two of us we can cover for each other, but there could be days when we're both out of touch at the same time and a posting will be delayed beyond the normal. We try to get chapters up before midnight on Sunday and Wednesday, but the original proclamation from Wes indicates that Monday and Thursday are the declared posting days, and those would mean to midnight those nights instead. Again, they'll usually be up maybe 24 hours earlier than that, but posting could spill over into that next day.
Thanks.
-- Not Wes
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Post by K Pelle on Jun 14, 2019 0:15:31 GMT -5
Hmm - DeRider being employed as ANYTHING higher than janitor at Merinthal sounds to me as if there was a MAJOR screw up on checking his past credentials. Or I suppose it could be a choice between a huge bribe or blackmail of some sort. I remember what I personally went through when I first applied for employment at a local University -- that was well over forty years ago and there is NO WAY that DeRider would have gotten through a similar assessment process - not without someone discovering the truth about his past.
However, having Charles DeRider and Cody Archer on the same campus does open up some very interesting plot possibilities ... I think I might well enjoy this tale -- a lot!
K Pelle
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Post by Not Wes on Jun 20, 2019 9:31:00 GMT -5
However, having Charles DeRider and Cody Archer on the same campus does open up some very interesting plot possibilities ... I think I might well enjoy this tale -- a lot! K Pelle I purposely waited until chapter 8 was up to respond to this. In here be spoilers if you haven't read chapters 7 and 8. In chapter 8 you read that Cody's father said that deRidder wasn't a bad administrator, though not a good one either. In chapter 7, Susan's father stated that deRidder wasn't bad, though not ultimately good enough to get his contract renewed by the school board. I do agree with Ken in that Southern Michigan University should have checked references better (hey, the story date is 2011 and Google exists!). What would deRidder have put down for "reason for leaving Spearfish Lake" on the application for employment at SMU? I'm sure that question would have been asked. He could have wiggled around it somehow, I'm sure. "Leaving for better opportunities elsewhere," if nothing else. It's the next employer's responsibility to confirm that. But it's the way Wes wrote the story, and Charles is obviously there, a colleague of Susan's. And, like Ken says, deRidder and Cody Archer again in the same story could lead to interesting events. Not Wes
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Post by K Pelle on Jun 21, 2019 0:50:27 GMT -5
Well, my comment was made because I can recall the interviews I went through at UVIC and also the fact that letter from my former High School asking me for a donation to some fund or other arrived followed shortly after that. The only way I could think of for my old High School to have gotten my address was if the admin at UVIC contacted them about me. And that was way back in the 1970s.
K Pelle
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Post by Not Wes on Jun 21, 2019 8:03:19 GMT -5
Well, my comment was made because I can recall the interviews I went through at UVIC and also the fact that letter from my former High School asking me for a donation to some fund or other arrived followed shortly after that. The only way I could think of for my old High School to have gotten my address was if the admin at UVIC contacted them about me. And that was way back in the 1970s. K Pelle Hey, they hired Susan with absolutely no research, but then of course everyone there (except deRidder) knew her already, had put up with her for four years in a five-year period, and she'd graduated I think it was only two years ago. How much trouble could she have gotten into during that time? Well, we're talking about Susan here! <G> I had a situation similar to yours. My degree in college was education, but I've never taught. I'm not sure I was ever in a job where my college degree was in question. I graduated in the early 1970s and then in the late '90s a fellow student from college tracked me down somehow, just to make contact again, said they'd contacted the alumni association to do so. It was shortly after that when I got a letter from the college asking for a donation to the athletic association (I'd been on the swimming team there). I got similar requests for a while after that, but haven't seen one for a while now. I've never even gotten a high school reunion notice. I think the reason was that "the girl next door" (literally) was on the reunion committee, and we couldn't stand each other. Not Wes
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Post by K Pelle on Jun 24, 2019 2:43:11 GMT -5
Re Chapter *9 - a shot across the bows of DeRidder's "Empire Builder" boat.
Not only that but his layout of the student 'intro to campus' is an example of his (incompetent / laid back?) approach to a difficult job. I fully believe that tendency, not to mention his continued backing of the "football-bully coach," was what cost him his job in Spearfish Lake.
As to your previous post about not teaching - I was an Engineer and "jack of all trades" - the only teaching I did at UVic was brought on by my knowing a pair of English Profs on campus - one of them had me give a couple of lectures about writing fiction for publication (and had me bring in a few rejection slips - lol) and the other used some of my poetry as examples of rhythm, rhyme and reason - then had me try to explain to his class how and why they were written - that was the tougher job of the two!
KPelle
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Post by Paul on Jun 24, 2019 6:52:29 GMT -5
Wasn't Cody's father the public face of the push to rid Spearfish Lake of deRidder? And certainly Cody and deRidder were on opposite sides of a quite serious fight. So Cody being Susan's neighbor, landlord, and friend surely complicates her getting along with deRidder. But here is a speculation on where the story could go: Susan is a very dominant personality. We've seen in previous stories that Jan is very submissive to Cody. There have been hints that there must be something about deRidder's personality that has not been revealed yet, to explain his loyalty to Payne when Payne was blatantly in the wrong in how he treated Cody, and perhaps a few other things. What if deRidder is some kind of submissive? I have not read past chapter 9, so this is just speculation.
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Post by Ernest Bywater on Jul 3, 2019 14:14:39 GMT -5
While I'm enjoying the chapters being posted while I wait, I do wish to know what is the lead time between paying for the full e-book on the site and it being shipped out to me?
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Post by Not Wes on Jul 3, 2019 22:21:41 GMT -5
Dan checks site mail on Wednesday nights and Sunday nights (USA time) when doing chapter updates to the site. If you don't get your paid-for book shortly after the next chapter update after paying for it, let him know again, or let Not Wes (that's me) know and I'll prod Dan a bit. Sorry for the wait Ernest.
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Post by Ernest Bywater on Jul 4, 2019 4:33:06 GMT -5
That's OK Not Wes, the book I bought on 28/6 Aust time arrived today at 1.46 pm Aust time - I wasn't that worried or trouble too much, only chewed 2 fingers down to the second knuckle in frustration while waiting.
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Post by Not Wes on Jul 4, 2019 11:09:12 GMT -5
That's OK Not Wes, the book I bought on 28/6 Aust time arrived today at 1.46 pm Aust time - I wasn't that worried or trouble too much, only chewed 2 fingers down to the second knuckle in frustration while waiting. Gonna be hard to type stories from now on with those missing fingers? [huge grin!] Again, anyone -- let me know about missing books either here or via private mail to my contact e-mail if you don't get them within a few days of ordering one. See site "contact" page Remember that Dan doesn't check mail reliably until Wed and Sun evenings. I check my own e-mail more often than that, and more often than I do here, so letting me know via my gmail would likely be quicker. Glad you got your book finally. Thanks for letting me know. Not Wes
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Post by Ernest Bywater on Jul 4, 2019 11:24:13 GMT -5
First, I only type with two fingers on each hand anyway, as I walk them across the keyboard so that leaves me the outer two and the thumb on each hand I can lose without affecting my typing. But it will affect how I hold a knife and fork so it can affect eating my dinner.
Now I know when you guys check the mail I can make sure to order any books on my Wednesday or Sunday now because I'm 18 or more hours ahead of you, depends on your location, due to being in Australia. So if I order then it'll be the night before for you. I'm just spoilt by Wes' speedy responses in the past where the longest wait was 12 hours, and the most frequent was under 30 minutes.
Ernest
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Post by John Robert Mead on Jul 4, 2019 13:34:20 GMT -5
Wes was pretty good about that, yes. This activity was a major focus for him, much more so than it is for his daughter and son-in-law.
We're fortunate that they decided it was a small enough hardship to them that continuing the site and posting those stories he'd indicated were close enough to completion that he OK'd his editorial team finishing them was a request that they would honor. Not Wes' involvement, the various responsibilities he's taken on to help them do this, while not necessarily the deciding factor, certainly played a part in their determining to give it a try and then concluding that it was something that was worth the effort they'd need to put into it in the long run. While Wes did arrange with them for this to be done while he was still alive, that agreement had to be subject to their not finding it too burdensome when push came to shove.
They've got their own lives to live, after all.
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Post by Diana Susan on Aug 12, 2019 3:50:42 GMT -5
I have enjoyed reading these stories. It is a pleasure to find so few errors. However, the statement concerning “The heathen Chinee is peculiar” is NOT from Kipling, but from Robert Service. Both excellent writers, but I do like to keep things straight.
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Post by Not Wes on Aug 19, 2019 12:15:57 GMT -5
Sorry Diana, but I don't think Service or Kipling are on the reading lists of any of the editors, so we obviously missed it. I'll note it for a future update. Thanks.
Not Wes
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