Taking Care of the Greatest Machine Ever

The curse of the modern age is that life moves at a speed human beings were never meant to sustain over the long haul. And since media of all kinds tells us we must stay ahead of everything simultaneously, we end up hurting ourselves along the way.

A consistent diet of 24 hour news, the latest app, the newest TikTok video, Insagram, Snapp, Facebook or whatever else society has told us is important this very second comes in a never-ending deluge courtesy of our connected world and there is no way to stop it.

Or is there?

Look, there is nothing you are going to do to hide from it all. Buying an old school cell phone has become almost impossible as the salesperson will likely look at you with derision and disdain. You can’t go into the store and buy a small screen television anymore that is incapable of remaining constantly updating you an every conceivable place you can rent the latest blockbuster. Short of digging a bunker in your backyard and lining the walls with lead and concrete, you are pretty much stuck in the modern world.

So, what to do?

Try this. Go into a dark room, sit on the floor or a comfortable chair, and close your eyes. Keep them closed for as long as you can and try to let your mind do nothing. See how long you can do this without the overwhelming urge to check your phone, computer, etc. And do you know what happened while you were indulging in a little moment of peace? Nothing.

Likely nothing changed in the world in that short amount of time that you would have had an instant need to know. Most of what we force ourselves to get all wrapped around axle about is self-important nonsense. No need to know almost 80 percent of the stuff we are assaulted with on a daily basis and the other 20 percent could have likely waited.

Sitting in a dark room being absolutely quiet is a form of self-care. Did you know that for all of our technological advancements in the world, the human being is still the most advanced piece of machinery on the planet? Like every piece of machinery, we need some downtime too. We have to recharge and restock our resources.

About six months ago (maybe longer) I decided to try something I had never tried before. I went to a sensory deprivation chamber to float. Complete darkness, almost complete silence, floating in a pool of therapeutic salts. It is 90 minutes of quiet time and the most amazing thing happens when I do this.

Peace

I go to a place called OmFloat. It is located in Ashburn, VA and it is a 90 minute investment in myself. It is all me at that time and it allows me to clear my mind of all unnecessary nonsense while just focusing on the machine that is me. I listen to my heartbeat, my breathing, and the way my body seems to just disappear into the water as I can no longer tell where I begin, and the water starts.

When I leave, I enjoy a sense of peace for a while as all of the stress was literally washed away.

Maybe floating is not your thing, that’s fine. But I highly recommend it. I don’t think I am breaking any confidences by sharing with you the link below. If you live near Ashburn, VA. check them out. It is time well spent!

http://www.omfloat.com/

Until then, be at peace everyone!

 

Review: The Airship Also Rises

The Airship Also Rises by Katherine McIntyre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The hardest part about finishing any series is having to stay good-bye to old friends. There is a feeling of sadness when the characters that you know and love must inevitably dance off into your “read” pile. Today I finished the last in the Take to the Skies series, “The Airship Also Rises”.

For those of you unfamiliar with the rest of the series, this is the third and final installment in a series including “An Airship Named Desire” and “A Tale of Two Airships”.

Katherine McIntyre is an inspired author. She tells a story which calls you in and keeps you glued. Most important to any novel, are characters who you fall in love with. Most importantly, you grieve when something happens to them.

In this installment, we find our intrepid Captain Bea and her crew plowing the skies in search of something they need more than anything, a future. Plenty of battles, witty dialogue, and exciting steampunk to keep anyone thoroughly engrossed, I keep finding myself wondering if there is yet another adventure for the crew of the Desire at some point.

At any rate, “The Airship Also Rises” is well written and fun. I will miss the crew who will live on in my imagination and will likely be pulled from my shelves to be reread sometime in the future.

Three Cheers for Katherine McIntyre!

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Review: A Tale of Two Airships

A Tale of Two Airships by Katherine McIntyre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes I not sure where to begin a review. It is kind of like I want to start with the excellent writing, although maybe I will start with the excellent characters, maybe the excellent settings and scenes. Maybe I will just start this one by saying, A Tale of Two Airships by Katherine McIntyre; making armored corsets sexy again!

I loved A Tale of Two Airships. Naturally I read the first book in the series and found I needed more! The tale is an engaging one, a steampunk setting with characters who you can see in your mind’s eye.

I often say the mark of truly great writing is when you worry about the characters as you are reading. What I mean is when one of them dies, you are sad for that character; when one of them is in peril, you don’t stop reading until you know they are safe. This is what the Take to the Skies series offers in spades. Even an inanimate object, the good ship Desire, is written in such a way that you are concerned for its well-being.

While I think it is possible to read this book without reading the first in the series, you are going to want to read the first one. Heck, buy them all at the same time. There are things in the first book which lend themselves to why people are taking certain actions and making certain decisions.
Not a heavy read, by any means, Katherine enjoys telling a good story and doesn’t weight it down with tons of extraneous stuff. Like a good roller coaster, it leaves you with that awesome feeling in your tummy by the time you are done with the ride!

I hate female fictional characters who are strictly one-dimensional cliches. Captain Beatrice is not some flower who wilts in the sun. As a man, I like a good female character who is still feminine, but will run into battle with me, screaming her head off and slicing through the enemy. And then she’ll buy the first round at the bar for her crew. In short, Beatrice is a character who is equally likable for men and women alike.

She also has enough of a backstory to ensure we know exactly how she has these skills in battle. She comes by her battle gravitas honestly. As she does the honor of serving as captain. In this book, there is now shortage of likable characters.

I could go on, but you shouldn’t spend your time reading my review. Start reading A Tale of Two Airships!

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Where Do I Want to Go With This Writing Thing?

Funny thing about being an author. People make some assumptions right away. They will reach one of these three conclusions about you with little evidence to support any of these arguments.

• You are a millionaire recluse who hangs out with other luminaries in a secret cave beneath your mansion (or maybe that’s Batman)
• You sit in your mother’s basement, screaming at her to bring you a PB&J while criticizing the fact that she didn’t cut the crust off of the bread and it stifled your creativity. Now you are forced to regain said creativity by playing Call of Duty for thirty-six consecutive hours.
• You say you’re an author, but it is really just a cute hobby and you will never really amount to anything.
  • BTW, this last one, you can tell these people because they will often say things to you like, “So, how’s the book coming?” They say this because they assume it is something you have been working on for years and will never finish. These are also the people who generally don’t take time to hear anything you say.

The reality is that all authors have goals for their writing career and they vary from one author to the next.

Fun Fact: Every time I sit down to dine with other authors, I have a massive impostor complex. I start fidgeting and sweating a little as I realize I am surrounded by greatness and I can’t help but feel like I don’t belong.

One of my first book shows!

I was at a convention recently and there was a guy who came up to me and told me he was excited to meet me and said he was impressed by my work. I had to look around me to make sure someone wasn’t standing behind me.

That interaction got me to thinking that while we all want to be the headliners at a book show, there really is ever only one headliner and the rest of the tables have to get filled by someone. No matter where you are in your writing career, or what table you occupy, you may be someone else’s headliner whether you know it or not.

I hate looking at the world that way. I want to hide in my corner and stare in awe at the likes of other writers who have a good following and show up to shows and literally run out of ink in their pen they use for signing books because they have that many autographs to sign.

I remember what it was like being the new writer who stared in awe at the authors sitting at their tables, selling their books and talking to customers about their work. Today, I am the one sitting at the table and I hope to never forget there is a writer in the corner of the room, staring at me, longing to be where I am at. Most of all, I am constantly reminding myself to always contribute to the community of writers.

This brings me to my goals. What are my writing goals? I have a friend who is an amazing writer. When he gets shipments from his publisher, the publisher’s name is one we all know. I am honored to call him a friend. We all want to be there, but I am just not ready yet. I’ll get there by writing word after word, but I am not there yet. And that is just fine with me.

Right now I am comfortable with going to shows, meeting customers, and talking about my work. No, I am not burning up the Amazon charts, but I am okay with that. For today, I am content with working every day toward my goal of becoming a full-time writer. It might be that it is a retirement job for me. And if it is, then fine. I am okay with that too.

What are your goals? No matter what they are, I’d like to hear them as a source of inspiration! Send them to me at bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com or post them below!

 

Interview With a Writer

Well, I guess it’s an interview with me! I was recently interviewed on Madness Heart Radio. I very much enjoy giving interviews like this since it allows me to explore concepts and ideas with the host.

Check it out here!

Review: Stiff by Mary Roach

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a fiction writer, I am constantly researching the things I write about (death and dying) so Stiff was a natural fit for me. We have a fairly odd view of death here in the West and dare I say, it is unhealthy. Death is natural and also inevitable.

Here often humorous look at the things she does for research purposes is sprinkled into a look at the realities of being dead, and what you can expect in your new life as a dead person. Well written and easy to read, I found myself often unable to stop reading since I was enjoying it so much.

Of particular interest to me was the chapter entitled “Crimes of Anatomy” which looks at the thefts of bodies over the years and how we came to know as much about the human body as we do.

I joyfully, and full heartily (before someone takes it from my body to donate it to someone) recommend Stiff for anyone interested in what happens after the end comes.

-Bryan the Writer

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Review: The New Adventures of Rocky Jordan

The New Adventures of Rocky Jordan by Richard White

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a huge fan of radio classics. I even have my computer bookmarks set up to listen to some of my favorite programs. So when I saw that someone had written The new Adventures of Rocky Jordan, I jumped at it.

This is a series of stories which focus on Rocky Jordan, Cairo saloon owner and a perpetual thorn in the side of the Cairo police department. No matter where Rocky goes, trouble seems to find him and he is ready and waiting.

This is a collection written by a few authors who do such a wonderful job capturing the spirit of the original series, they are hard to beat.

If you love the old stories on the radio, dime store crime dramas, or the penny dreadful, you will absolutely love this collection of stories.

-Bryan

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