Publishing a Novel Takes Longer Than Writing One

I feel discouraged sometimes. Publishing a novel takes longer than writing one. Seems impossible sometimes. How much time do I have to waste writing query letters before I get published? I hope there's a smaller publishing house somewhere that publishes fantasy because the big publishers don't seem to be worth the time. It's just so frustrating! You have to have to have limitless patience being a fiction writer.

Mysterious Statement from a Charcter in My Fantasy Novel

What did Athan mean when he stated that he would become almost immortal and would reign for more than a sar? What is a sar? When my novel is finally released, we shall see the answer.

The Truth About Failure: Failure is Actually A Stepping Stone Toward Success

If you happen to be an aspiring author/novelist, you have to expect rejection. But always remember that failure is merely a stepping stone toward success. Your first rejection letter or rejection email should be viewed as a stepping stone.
Sometimes literary agents and publishers won't even have the courtesy to send you a rejection letter. Sometimes your book isn't right for a certain publisher or literary agency.
At least you got noticed. Even if you did get rejected. Keep it up and eventually you'll find an agent who will take you on and get you published. Self-publishing is also another avenue to consider.
Whatever your dream is in life, don't give up and don't let anybody else's opinion shake your faith in yourself. Like Will Smith's character Chris Gardner said in the inspirational based on a true story movie The Pursuit of Happyness: "You got a dream. Go for it! Period." Don't let anybody dissuade you from your goal or your dream. Giving up would be the real tragedy. That's my opinion.
A young man once asked Socrates what the key to success was. Socrates told the young man to meet him at the river. He met the young man at the river and held him underwater until he nearly passed out before he came to the surface, struggling for air.
Socrates then asked him, "What did you want more than anything when you were under there?"
"Air, "the young man replied.
"That is the key to success," was Socrates' response.
If you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe then you will succeed. Don't give up.

Google Plus Needs to Die

Sorry I haven't written a blog in a long while. Been busy with other things. But today I have something to complain about. Google Plus.
Google Plus is awful! This particular blog was on a separate email account but Google Plus came along and I had to link it with another one. What if somebody else shared this computer and was logged into their email account? What a pain it would be to log off their account just so Google Plus wouldn't try to force you to link their account with yours.
The bottom line here is that Google Plus has complicated everything. Nobody likes how it has linked itself to everything on the web. Google Plus needs to die. Nobody likes what it's doing right now!
I'm usually not a complainer. But Google Plus linking to YouTube and blogs and other social media is a pain for everybody. Nobody likes it.
What Google Plus has done is similar to if somebody came into your house and forced you to do something against your will at gunpoint. That's what Google Plus is.
Ha! Ha! We are Google Plus. You will be forced to link all your accounts with us because you no longer have a choice.
Please leave us alone Google Plus. Nobody likes you and you never that popular to begin with. Google Plus is like the big tentacle monster that has wrapped its tentacles around the entire web.
That's my rant for today. Hate Google Plus. HATE IT!!!
If you hate what Google Plus has done, leave comment below.

America's Dumbest Conspiracy Theories and Other Stupid Beliefs / Opinion Blog

How dumb are Americans? Dumb enough to believe even the most absurd conspiracy theories in spite of lack of evidence to support them.
Take a look at some of the people who believe these conspiracy theories. Most of them are either stupid and never made it into college or they're bat shit insane. Many of them -- like small children -- believe anything and everything they hear. Most of what comes out of their mouth makes you want to run the other direction.
Is there anything that happens in America that isn't a conspiracy? At least 90 percent of all conspiracy theories are way too stupid to believe anyway. You'd have better luck gleaning logical sense into a Bugs Bunny cartoon than you would some of these conspiracy theories.
Many of them are made by people with an agenda. That's why the nuttiest conspiracy theorists belong to some cult or some group. Is it any coincidence that the KKK have their own insane conspiracy theories? No. It isn't. A lot of these people have their own agenda and they'll make up crazy stories to get stupid people to believe them.
The Sandy Hook Conspiracy is a perfect example of a DUMB conspiracy theory. So are 9/11 conspiracy theories considering the fact that there are thousands of different conspiracy theories relating to that topic that are clamoring for attention. Many from people with an agenda. I believe the KKK thinks the Jews did it or something asinine and stupid like that. And the Gypsies helped. They were the ones pretending to be Arabs. Dumb.
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
A lot of them will say things like: "Oh, we're not crazy. We just don't trust the government." Or something along those lines.
Nobody in their right mind trusts the government. The government has a bad rap sheet. But there's difference between not trusting something and believing something that is insane and has no evidence to back it up. Believing in things without evidence was what people in the Dark Ages did and it always had bad results. Do we really want to go back to witch burnings and lynchings and other stupid things? And no. References to a blog or conspiracy web site where you gleaned your stupid information doesn't count as evidence. I wouldn't even want people to believe what I write without looking into it themselves, which is why this blog often cites sources. Mainly academic sources such as documentaries or books. Many books are full of crap too, though. Use discretion. If you're a reasonable person who recognizes solid evidence you can usually sift out the wheat from the chaff so to speak when it comes to information.
Aren't people fed up with the entire plethora of stupid and asinine beliefs people have? We're told in our culture to respect other peoples beliefs but not all beliefs deserve respect. A lot of unprovable and far fetched beliefs and claims actually deserve to be ridiculed. If somebody believes in witchcraft and witches and thinks that a fictional story like Harry Potter is evil you actually have a right to laugh at that stupid person who believes that. Make them feel dumber than they already are. Such people do not belong in the 21st century.
I'm not saying all conspiracy theories are crazy, I'm just saying most of them are. At least ninety percent of them are complete crap. There's little reason behind believing in claims with a complete absence of real solid evidence.
Anyway, that's all. Just encouraging people to be sane and rational in an insane world. That's my opinion for today.
P.S. BEWARE OF STUPID
STUPID IS EVERYWHERE

Quote of the Day

There are no foreign lands; it is the traveler only that is foreign. -Robert Luis Stevenson

Ancient Symbolism of the Cross

Here I write about ancient symbolism associated with the cross. I compare modern Christian ideas of the cross with ancient ideas.

In previous blogs I've covered anthropology and archaeology but this is the first one where I delve into the subject of symbology.

The wheel cross or sun cross was associated with the sun. It represented power or control. You can still see this symbol today in many Christian churches.

Another cross symbol is the Egyptian Ankh. The Ankh symbolizes life, more specifically eternal life. Anybody who has ever been to an Egyptian exhibit at a museum has likely seen ancient pictures of figures holding an ankh. Isis is often depicted with an Ankh in hand. It was very common is ancient art and was sometimes worn as an amulet for protection the same way some modern Christians wear cross necklaces for protection. It is one of the most widely known symbols of ancient Egypt.

The most common cross symbol used by Christians today is the Latin cross or crucifix. Not only was this an ancient torture device used for crucifixion but its also symbolic of something. Before Christianity, the Latin cross symbolized the staff of Apollo, the sun god, and appears on ancient coinage. So it's actually a sun symbol, among other things.

Knowing that the cross is also a sun symbol, you'll never look at a church with a big cross the same way again.