You might have notices a few changes to the website. I am slowly transforming it from just a blog and portfolio to a e-commerce site. While there are more changes to come, you can now directly purchase autographed books directly from me.
These include Abandoned Wiregrass and my fiction titles. Hopefully soon I'll have photography prints for sale, too. More to follow...
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"And when I die and when I'm dead, dead and gone There'll be one child born In our world to carry on, to carry on, yeah, yeah..." - "When I Die" by Blood, Sweat & Tears, 1968. A civilization must obey two basic rules if it is to survive: have children and pass along to those children the culture that made it successful. Fail either task, and the civilization falls. The "birth gap" is a quantitative measurement we are failing the first rule. Now, when you die, there isn't one child born to carry on. In fact, in Alabama, there is currently a 13% deficit in "carry on-ing." In recent years many have commented on the impending global population collapse. Perhaps no other journalist has put it in such clear focus as Stephen J. Shaw in his documentary "The Birth Gap - Childless World." In "Birth Gap" he explores several facets of the industrialized world's impending depopulation. We're getting older and having far fewer children. Since Shaw is also a data scientist, he gets to the heart of why this is happening and points to the grim mathematical outcomes if the trend isn't reversed. The graphic below from the Birth Gap website clearly illustrates the phenomenon. The redder and blacker the area, the wider the birth gap. Those red and black gaps are beginning to spread across the South, and the Wiregrass, like a pox. Alabama's birthrate (as well as that of the rest of the industrialized world) is falling below population sustainment level. This unabated decline will result in too few workers and consumers to support a healthy economy and aging majority. In the post-COVID era, we are just experiencing a taste of that now. Of note, the illegal immigrants living and working in the shadows across the Wiregrass are also experiencing the same birth gap phenomenon as the native born populations. When working on my book "Abandoned Wiregrass" I discovered far more abandoned and derelict houses than I ever thought possible. As I drove around the Alabama's cities and towns, I saw decrepit downtowns and once proud structures slated for demolishing, There are many reasons for abandoned homes, but I believe there is a correlation between all these abandoned structures and the growing "birth gap". If one extrapolates this trends, then it won't just be old derelict dogtrot shacks, like the one pictured here, that will litter the landscape. It will be modern homes and businesses, even those being built now, that will become vacant and fall into disrepair. This may be happening now. Simply put, there may be too many homes currently being built than will be needed. "Demand is strong right now because of an unusual emotional surge driven by the pandemic. Demographics, which are a better measure of housing demand historically, do not support more construction.." - Dennis McGill, director of research at Zelman & Associates. In Abandoned Wiregrass, I think I unwittingly caught the leading edge of this coming wave. I had over 700 images for Abandoned Wiregrass alone, mostly taken from 2018 thru 2020, and only a fraction were used in the book. If I stopped and took a photo of every abandoned home I ran across in the Wiregrass, I could fill multiple books. They are far more numerous than you can imagine, and the Wiregrass is not a unusual case. Taking photos of abandoned places has even become a sub-genre of photography called urbex (urban exploration). I don't know where this trend will end, but I know we will probably be better off with more children, not less. It would be nice to die knowing there was one more child to carry on. #urbex #abandonedwiregrass #birthgap #populationdecline #abandoned ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." This is my favorite part of spring (or late winter), when its new and raw and can't quite push winter out of the way. The sky still wants to stay angry, but the earth wants to kiss and make up. I like to take candid shots of their conversations. This is Talladega County in Alabama. It's one of the most beautiful counties in my state, and a place I visit often. Enjoy. ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." I'm all over the place and absolutely nowhere at the same time. I have no project discipline. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm unfocused. WritingWork on the last Chronicles of Fu Xi novel is progressing slowly. I'm trapped at a crossroads. I've got a lot of story material, so much so I'm constantly tempted to break it into two novels. I don't want to do that. Well, I don't want to break it into two main storyline novels. The Chronicles of Fu Xi (COFX) main series will only be four books. I might break one off into an independent smaller novel, like I did with The Golden Princess. However, what I really want to do is finish the entire series and move on. I'm at a conjuncture where I have to decide and decide soon. There is considerable back story that has significant influence on the main story. The back story is a novel unto itself, and an exciting one. If I break it off into another stand-alone spin-off, like The Golden Princess, it will be another smaller novel that doesn't sell. So much effort, so little to show for it. If I press on with one enormous novel, it's going to easily reach 250,000 words. It will make for a richer experience, but that's too long. If I leave this material out, it will lessen the experience, with too much "tell not show" in the book. I'm incredibly proud of the work I did on The Golden Princess, including the audio book. It just doesn't sell the way I thought it would. Its gotten great reviews, and even award nominations. It just doesn't sell. The main novels sell considerable better, and I thought it would be the other way around. So what to do? I think I'm going to break off the back story and press forward with a small, stand alone novel. The main COFX will also press forward and the fourth novel will be smaller and more manageable. I am not going to self-publish the smaller novel. Once I complete the final COFX novel, my self-publishing days are over. I've got that t-shirt, I've lived that experience. If there is an audience for my work, I'm not finding it through the self-publishing arena. The plan is to market the smaller novel to the traditional publishers, and I have no illusions about that path. I'll try to make it accessible, marketable, and all those things publishers and agents want to see, while at the same time holding true to myself and my expanded universe. We'll see. PhotographyI've been unable to get out and hit the road for more images. Simply too many other demands right now. I am taking photos, but they are not for the next photo book.
Hopefully spring will see things improve. More to follow. Now it's off to work to earn a living. Last weekend I returned to one of my favorite places on earth - Amelia Island, Florida. The annual Amelia Island Book Festival, located just north of Jacksonville, Florida, happened last Saturday, 18 February. It had been been six years since I last attended. This is one of my favorite book festivals, and one of my favorite places. The Atlantic coastline from Savannah, Georgia to St. Augustine, Florida is a playground of great beaches, state parks, and places to see. I met a lot of great people, including authors and readers. I'd also like to shout out to the Amelia Indie Authors for inviting me to join their group. The next day my sister and I hiked the seashore in several state parks located south of Amelia Island. The South Georgia/North Florida Atlantic shoreline is amazing, and I love capturing it with my camera. I would attend the Amelia Island Book Festival even if I didn't sell one book. I enjoy going there that much. Here are a few images from my adventure. I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've got four extensive blog posts in draft and I'm trying to finish them up. FYI, my next book signing is tentatively 25 March back in my hometown of Enterprise at the Spring Festival at the Monument. Hopefully, I'll see you there. ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." ![]() I'm talking about one of my novels this week. Of all my novels, The Golden Princess stands out as my proudest achievement even though it sells the least. I wanted to talk about it today because it deserves to be read. In 2016 I published The Golden Princess, a prequel (and stand-alone) novel in my Chronicles of Fu Xi literary universe. The Golden Princess takes place in distant antiquity, and tells the story of a princess running for her life after her father's throne is usurped. I wrote this novel for several reasons: 1) to bring readers into my greater series 2) to be an easy read (It's short, it's simple. 3) and to attract younger readers and those not necessarily avid readers. 4) to give two characters from my main series more depth and attention. For these reasons, I also converted it to an audiobook narrated by the great Philip Battley. The novel didn't sell as well as I would have liked, even though it met with some critical success. The audiobook fared worse, even though it, too, met with excellent critical success. Now it sits out there on the Amazon and Audible shelves, my literary orphan. I don't push this book like I push the main series. I should, because I'm very proud of this novel, even through there are a few things I would change about it if I could go back in time. First, I wouldn't have self-published. I think I could have landed a contract with this one. I wish I would have tried, but at the time I had a company called Underground Book Reviews that specifically covered the indie publishing scene. My plan was for UBR and The Golden Princess to support each other's marketing plan. UBR folded, and the indie publishing scene is massively oversaturated. Also, the cover doesn't do the novel credit. I freely admit it needs a better cover. It seemed like a good cover at the time for the budget I had. I'm currently working on that. In fact, I have new covers coming soon for all my novels! Pound for pound, this little novel gets the best reviews (on Amazon and Goodreads) of any of my other novels. It's the tightest, most disciplined book I've ever written regarding plot, narrative, and character development. It's not overly complicated, with lots of action that moves quickly. It has some of my favorite characters. It's also ideally written for conversion to a screenplay. That's one reason it makes such an excellent audiobook. If you enjoy audiobooks, I invite you to download a copy from Audible. It's slightly over 6 hours long, and Philip Battley nails the reading. If you prefer eBooks or paperback, click here. Give The Golden Princess as try. You won't be disappointed. #books #audiobooks #publishing #fantasy #epic #adventure ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. ...Since I Rock and Rolled. It started with a text message from my friend Val: "We are playing at Harlow's this weekend it's a birthday bash for Sean and Ken would love to see you come hang out..." Who am I to argue? It was a great night of music and fun with my old friends Midlife Crisis, as well as a band I had not seen before, Reptile Dysfunction Dude (what a name, huh?). If you've visited this website before, you know I started my photo journey taking images of Midlife Crisis back in 2017. There isn't a year that goes by where I don't at least catch them in concert at least once. They put on a great show, often with appear with other great acts from around the South Alabama music scene, and never disappoint. Saturday night at Harlows in Ozark was no exception. It was also a great night to take some photos. I've been experimenting with camera settings during music photography for some time, and I've slowly settled on the settings that work for my style. As someone who started in painting and drawing first, I try to bring art composition to my photography style. Maybe in a future blog post I will talk about music photography composition and style. I hope you enjoy the images. See you next time. ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. The house rested downslope from a rural Alabama state road on a rather steep piece of property. I pulled over, looked at it from a few angles, and then almost didn't take any images. From a photography perspective the structure was uninteresting. Maybe it would get better at the Golden Hour, but probably not. In my opinion, there is nothing notable about these images. The light is summertime high noon. If it conjures any feelings, it's those of Alabama heat and discomfort. I couldn't get any closer than the roadside (these are at full 300mm zoom), so the angles are rather mundane. Meh. I took the images anyway, and then resumed my journey. I edited them that night, and then forgot about them. I've never displayed these photographs before. Looking back, I think these are notable images just for the subject matter alone. From the outside, it's a good house. It is heavily overgrown, but mostly fast-growing vines. It's been perhaps two or three seasons since the neglect began. Yet, it is apparently salvageable. The roof looks good. A satellite dish adorns each corner, giving clues to when it was inhabited. There is a story here. If you recognize this house, please don't leave a comment about who it belongs to or the story behind it or where it is because these stories are seldom happy. None of that is really important. What matters is that it is empty, and there are so many like it, and no one seems to be paying attention. There are way too many houses like this, fairly modern and functional homes, along the South's backroads and rural highways. They are everywhere. Everywhere. I see more and more each year. This is why these mundane images of an abandoned house in the middle of deep rural South Alabama are so important. This isn't right and it hasn't always been this way. Start paying attention and you'll see them, too. Modern homes. Good homes. All abandoned, all in plain sight. Then you won't be able to stop seeing them. ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." I met Adam Kamerer at a book signing last year, and later discovered his poetry. I'm not an expert on poetry, but I recognize talent when I read it. While I was browsing Adam's poetry website, I came across this poem. "Feraling" conjured images and feelings from my visit to the Aracata Forest in Northern California a few years ago. I asked Adam if I could combine his poetry with my images, and he graciously agreed. I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I did. Please click over and visit Adam's website for more poetry. Feraling.
I hope you enjoyed Adam's work. I want to highlight other local artists and writers in the coming year. If you are a Wiregrass area author, artist or photographer and would like to collaborate or have your work showcased on The Illusion Exotic, please contact me. ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. regarding Social Media.Maybe its time to reevaluate my relationship with this time slayer we call social media. I started seriously writing in my 40s, just about the time social media became a thing. It still seems like a new thing to me, but its been around for well over a decade now. It started with a personal account on Facebook, and then it morphed to a few business pages for my writing and my old company Underground Book Reviews. Then I branched to Instagram for photography as well as a few minor apps that have come and gone. As for Twitter, it's been on and off but we are currently seeing each other...but not seriously. I leave apps like Discord and Tiktok to the next generation. Frankly, there are so many apps that I find it exhausting. Lately, I find myself asking "Why?" Why do I feel the need to even have one social media account, let alone three or four? Is my life richer for the experience? Was I better off before? What do I get out of all this time I've spent with my face in an app? Well, I enjoy seeing what my friends and relatives are up to. On second thought, do I really? There is an awful lot of drama on the inter webs, and if someone close to me really needs my help they know my number. I like being able to contact people. Well, some people. Actually, I have a phone, too. There are also a lot of people I don't want to be contacted by. I also don't enjoy people knowing too much about me. In fact, there is way too much information about be on the interwebs as it is. I like to post photos and look at friends' photos, but why am I really posting it? Some are for business, but as for the other images, like family events, I could just as easily text those the image to those who actually care to look at them. Maybe I should think twice about posting those photos. Isn't it all really about attention and vanity if am brutally honest with myself? After seeing all these Tiktok videos bleeding over onto Facebook, its becoming apparent our society is taking the definitions of "vanity" and "narcissist" to new levels every day. Speaking of vanity, nothing is more vain than being a political blowhard on social media (guilty, guilty, guilty). I don't think anyone really gives a damn what I think about politics, and that's okay. So why even post it? There is also news on social media, right? Social media is good for posting news stories, and therefore can be educational and informative. True, but we've also learned in the past decade a lot of that news and educational material can be false or heavily skewed. Perhaps I should be more careful when reading and posting. It also makes me uncomfortable to think about how much I whip out my phone just to mindlessly doom scroll, like a smoker taking another drag. I know its not healthy, I'm self-conscious of it, but I do it anyway. But if I didn't, how would I be able to look at the latest funny cat meme? Some days I think the only redeeming element of social media is funny memes and videos. I mean, there is some really funny and insightful stuff out there. Cat memes are truly the only thing I would miss about social media if I were to ever walk away. Is it even possible to walk away? It's everywhere. Many non-social media websites and apps have some element of social media built into their user interface. Social media seems to plug into every other aspect of our culture and lives. We're steeped in it like a teabag left too long in the water. It leeches us, and makes us physiologically pale. It has become impossible to extricate SM from the fabric of our culture. Case in point, as much as I hate to admit it, I will eventually share this blog post on social media. Can we really escape it? Should we even escape it? While I estimate I have lost a full year of productive writing because of social media, I also got a photography book deal because of it. Social media is truly a two-edged sword, with great promise and dangers. Personal Social Media Experience.My social media experience has two flavors: Personal and professional. The personal journey started with Facebook just about the time I retired from the military. In the years since, Facebook has been a great way to keep in touch , both through good times and tragedy. I've reconnected with old friends from high school, college and the service. I've made new friends from all over the world. Its been fantastic to connect with those that share my same interests, such as writing and photography. In the early days, before censorship, algorithms, privacy issues, and unbridled monetization twisted our social media experiences, it was fun. Social media has even taught me some life-lessons. Social media taught me my that my 20 years in the service, and perhaps my upbringing in rural Alabama, put me in a "bubble." In the military I thought (wrongly) most Americans viewed the world like me and shared my values. Social media's wide-open, uncensored early days showed me how naive I was. Social media taught me there are only two unwinnable conflicts: Nuclear war and debating on social media. I also learned through interactions on social media that the generations behind me are vastly different than those that had come before. They think differently and don't share many of the older generations' values by an order of magnitude, especially those who are college-educated. They read fewer books. Most have never read any portion of the Bible, from either a religious or secular perspective. Many are overly hostile to any religion without the least acknowledgement of faith's critical role in human civilization. Most American young college graduates are unfamiliar with the US Constitution or any of the important documents that led to its writing. They are technically far more savvy and advanced than those who came before, but lack the foundational culturally building blocks that define their western culture. In fact, many are openly hostile to their own culture and civilization. Labels and slogans have replaced objective truth and critical thought. All that is "new" is morally right. All that came before is "bad," including history, philosophy, faith, and even science. They are obsessed with race, genitalia, identity but they have no idea who they are, or what they want, or where they are going. They are easily outraged and offended and feel like mob in search of a riot. Once again, this is a general observation and does NOT apply to everyone younger than me, especially any young people currently reading this - you are special and definitely the exception. As a result, I found myself interacting less and less with some younger people on social media because, frankly, they aren't much fun and they scare me just a little. I also found many people my age also interact less often on social media, too. Maybe we're been turned off by the rise of censorship and fact checking. I think a lot of older people really don't want to support many of these platforms. Social media companies have proven untrustworthy and don't have their customer's best interest in mind , and they've proven too cozy with big government. Taken as a whole, my personal social media is locked down tight and I generally restrict it to Facebook. If one is not an immediate family or a close personal/non-work friend, you're on the "acquaintance /restricted" list. Sorry, it's nothing personal, it's simply privacy and protection. The older I get, the less I'm interested in the world seeing my personal business. Also, I see many people getting hacked, especially older people, and I want no part of that. I still post family events, personal achievements, the occasional funny meme and even political opinions, but not very often. My posting is becoming less and less as the years go by. I see a day when I'll walk away entirely. The only reason I'm still there is because of my writing and photography, but that is hanging by a thread. Writing and Photography Social MediaWhen I started writing my fellow writers said I needed a platform. So I got a platform. Its also how I got into blogging. At first, the platform-thing worked pretty good. Prior to 2016 I used to sell books using Facebook as an advertising tool. I used to get hundreds of clicks when advertising on that platform. In fall of 2016 everything dried up. It was like someone threw a switch. Now, an advertising dollar doesn't stretch near as far on Facebook. I abandoned Twitter in 2016 when the trolls and garbage became overwhelming. I recently returned hoping under Musk the platform had gotten better. It didn't and it's clear I'm not going to find a readership out there. In the early days of Instagram, one of my images could get 20 or more likes easily. Today, I'm lucky to get 6. In all these SM cases, it became clear there was an algorithm behind the scenes that needed appeasing, and obviously I wasn't appeasing it. I began to feel like I'd been put in a digital cage, and the price for breaking out was too high. It was also obvious that algorithm could change without notice. It also became clear in the revelation of the Twitter Files, that shadow banning and "social-media scores" were actually real. And I don't want to appease Algorithm. I'm sick of the Algorithm. I keep hearing to get a social media following you need content - lots of content. I have content, its called my books. I can either write and take photos, or I can spend hours upon hours honing an online presence in hope of appeasing some hidden and mysterious daemon to reach readership. I don't have the time, energy or inclination to spend the precious moments of my life trying to get a few more clicks. Sure, I'd like to sell more books and prints, but it's not worth it. In fact, it destroys my creative process. I'm good with that. I'm at peace with that. So what's my advertising and marketing plan on social media going forward? You're looking at it. I'll continue to blog here, and occasionally post those blogs to Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter. I'm also on Vero, but that place is a ghost town. Mostly what I plan to do is write and take photos and create. That's where I want to apply my efforts. I also plan to use in-person appearances to get the word out. The Way ForwardI think social media, and the internet in general, held so much promise in the beginning. In the early days, before the corporate giants took it over, it was algorithm-free. No one and nothing stood between you and everyone else. There were no filters, no shadow banning, no fact-checkers, no social credit scores, - just you and the rest of humanity connected instantly. The people were different back then, too. I don't fully understand the people on the other side of the screen anymore. What I see out there doesn't bode well for our species. I really don't want to interact with those people for fear I may become one of them. I'd rather interact with those people I see out here in the real world, those that smile and shake your hand and have manners. You are welcome to disagree with me, but I've reached a point in life I've come to trust my own observations and instincts. Social media and the internet was once wonderful. And now it's gone. I'll hang around the social media interwebs for professional reasons for another year or two, and see if anything changes. After that, I see no reason to stay. I am a member of Gen X, the last generation who will remember the world before the internet and social media. Last I checked, the real world was still there. I think I'm grab my camera, hop on my motorcycle, and go explore it. I'll crawl back into my bubble and shadow ban the world, thank you very much. Maybe I'll drop a post on Facebook about it. Maybe I won't. (picks up phone and begins to doom scroll) #socialmedia #essay #culture #facebook #twitter #instagram #vero #theillusionexotic ![]() If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. |
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