Forrest Carr's Blog
April 3, 2015
OMG. Is it happening? This was supposed to be fiction!
Violent flash mobs hit the streets? Check.
Jetliners falling out of the sky, under the control of homicidal maniacs? Check.
Sleeping sickness erupts? Check.
World goes mad? Zombie apocalypse to follow? Stand by.
Coast To Coast AM listeners heard these predictions just last month. Readers of my novel, A Journal of the Crazy Year, saw them even sooner.
In February Coast To Coast AM host George Noory had me on the program to talk about these predictions, former TV news director and author to former TV new director and author. Is the world going crazy and if so how bad will it get? And could the zombie apocalypse really happen? One of the things we talked about is a topic that George has some expertise on: The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, a subject on which he has co-authored a book. A lot of people, me included, suspect the disappearance could have been the act of a deranged, suicidal pilot.
The photo on the back cover of the novel showing a jetliner crashing at the hands of a homicidal pilot was just fiction at the time the book was published. In the plot it’s one of the first signs of the madness to come. At the time, it was fictional. The first published edition of the novel predated the crash of that Malaysian Airlines flight. And then what happened in March (2015? A confirmed incident of pilot suicide/mass murder in Europe.
Listeners to George's show heard it first that this could happen, and would happen if current trends continue.
What else did we talk about? The idea in the novel that a zombie apocalypse could really happen was inspired by a real-life pandemic that struck a hundred years ago. Some of the victims became hyperviolent. The first symptoms manifested themselves in the form of a sleeping sickness—victims who fell asleep and never woke up. No cause for the disease, dubbed encephalitis lethargica, was ever found. No method of transmission was ever found. The disease disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived, without any human intervention, after claiming about a million victims. My point on the show was that if you allow me the leeway to suggest the disease cold come back in a much more virulent form—which it certainly could, having struck twice before, with the second outbreak exponentially worse than the first—then yes, a zombie apocalypse like the one laid out in the book could happen.
And how’s this for sending a chill down your spine: During its first outbreak at the end of the 19th century, the disease was known by another name: The Living Death.
Well, guess what. A sleeping sickness has now appeared. Or reappeared, as the case may be. It’s happening in Kazakhstan; the headlines are as fresh as your morning paper. Does this sound familiar: people are falling asleep. They can’t wake up. Doctors are baffled. In the village of Kalachi, population 600, one person in four has been affected. It strikes without warning—the victim can be in bed or walking down the street; it makes no difference. Some victims report mental disorders, including hallucinations. Now, “everyone is afraid of sleeping,” says one villager.
So far no one appears to have made the connection to encephalitis lethargica. You're hearing it here first. I did a great deal of research on the disease for my novel (the prologue for which is non-fiction) including time spent in a university medical library. Trust me: the last outbreak of this pandemic started out almost exactly the same. Maybe this new eruption, whatever it is, will be less severe and will go away without claiming mass numbers of victims. Maybe it won’t, and will act more like the second outbreak of EL, affecting upwards of a million people. Some of those went violently psychotic, and tens of thousands had to be institutionalized for the rest of their lives.
Maybe it’ll affect more people, as depicted in the novel. Let’s hope not; the book was intended as intriguing and thought-provoking but ultimately escapist entertainment, not as prophecy. But it’s definitely true that readers—and Coast To Coast AM listeners—heard this vision of the future before it happened.
Not to alarm you—well, okay, maybe to alarm you a little bit—but the reality of what happened after the last outbreak of sleeping sickness is just as scary as the thought of a zombie apocalypse. What followed was the Spanish Flu pandemic, which killed—you know what, I’ll let you look it up.
People are talking about this. Last night (Thursdsay, March 26) sales of the novel peaked at #35 in its category. Publishers Weekly described it as a “fascinating read” from top to bottom. Take it from this starving novelist: Critical praise and rising sales are welcome. Rising incidents of illness and psychotic violence are not. Let’s hope this remains nothing but intriguing fiction.
###
Jetliners falling out of the sky, under the control of homicidal maniacs? Check.
Sleeping sickness erupts? Check.
World goes mad? Zombie apocalypse to follow? Stand by.
Coast To Coast AM listeners heard these predictions just last month. Readers of my novel, A Journal of the Crazy Year, saw them even sooner.
In February Coast To Coast AM host George Noory had me on the program to talk about these predictions, former TV news director and author to former TV new director and author. Is the world going crazy and if so how bad will it get? And could the zombie apocalypse really happen? One of the things we talked about is a topic that George has some expertise on: The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, a subject on which he has co-authored a book. A lot of people, me included, suspect the disappearance could have been the act of a deranged, suicidal pilot.
The photo on the back cover of the novel showing a jetliner crashing at the hands of a homicidal pilot was just fiction at the time the book was published. In the plot it’s one of the first signs of the madness to come. At the time, it was fictional. The first published edition of the novel predated the crash of that Malaysian Airlines flight. And then what happened in March (2015? A confirmed incident of pilot suicide/mass murder in Europe.
Listeners to George's show heard it first that this could happen, and would happen if current trends continue.
What else did we talk about? The idea in the novel that a zombie apocalypse could really happen was inspired by a real-life pandemic that struck a hundred years ago. Some of the victims became hyperviolent. The first symptoms manifested themselves in the form of a sleeping sickness—victims who fell asleep and never woke up. No cause for the disease, dubbed encephalitis lethargica, was ever found. No method of transmission was ever found. The disease disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived, without any human intervention, after claiming about a million victims. My point on the show was that if you allow me the leeway to suggest the disease cold come back in a much more virulent form—which it certainly could, having struck twice before, with the second outbreak exponentially worse than the first—then yes, a zombie apocalypse like the one laid out in the book could happen.
And how’s this for sending a chill down your spine: During its first outbreak at the end of the 19th century, the disease was known by another name: The Living Death.
Well, guess what. A sleeping sickness has now appeared. Or reappeared, as the case may be. It’s happening in Kazakhstan; the headlines are as fresh as your morning paper. Does this sound familiar: people are falling asleep. They can’t wake up. Doctors are baffled. In the village of Kalachi, population 600, one person in four has been affected. It strikes without warning—the victim can be in bed or walking down the street; it makes no difference. Some victims report mental disorders, including hallucinations. Now, “everyone is afraid of sleeping,” says one villager.
So far no one appears to have made the connection to encephalitis lethargica. You're hearing it here first. I did a great deal of research on the disease for my novel (the prologue for which is non-fiction) including time spent in a university medical library. Trust me: the last outbreak of this pandemic started out almost exactly the same. Maybe this new eruption, whatever it is, will be less severe and will go away without claiming mass numbers of victims. Maybe it won’t, and will act more like the second outbreak of EL, affecting upwards of a million people. Some of those went violently psychotic, and tens of thousands had to be institutionalized for the rest of their lives.
Maybe it’ll affect more people, as depicted in the novel. Let’s hope not; the book was intended as intriguing and thought-provoking but ultimately escapist entertainment, not as prophecy. But it’s definitely true that readers—and Coast To Coast AM listeners—heard this vision of the future before it happened.
Not to alarm you—well, okay, maybe to alarm you a little bit—but the reality of what happened after the last outbreak of sleeping sickness is just as scary as the thought of a zombie apocalypse. What followed was the Spanish Flu pandemic, which killed—you know what, I’ll let you look it up.
People are talking about this. Last night (Thursdsay, March 26) sales of the novel peaked at #35 in its category. Publishers Weekly described it as a “fascinating read” from top to bottom. Take it from this starving novelist: Critical praise and rising sales are welcome. Rising incidents of illness and psychotic violence are not. Let’s hope this remains nothing but intriguing fiction.
###
January 17, 2015
In Praise of the Humble Zombie
Constructing the modern zombie novel: Boy meets girl. Girl becomes zombie. Can’t live with her. Can’t shoot her. Sometimes love is complicated.
Zombies are all the rage right now. Everyone, it seems, loves a good zombie story. And how can we not? Cue Barbara Streisand: “People. . . . People who eat people. . . .”
Even my cat Ellis loves zombies. (I kid you not.) Really, it’s no surprise. Cats love a good chase. Zombie movies have those out the wazoo, along with enough other plot elements to appeal across a wide demographic: crashing cars, falling planes, burning buildings, guns galore, explosions, action, danger and adventure of all kinds, political intrigue—you name it. The best ones even have a bit of romance.
And the good news for zombie storytellers is that creating a zombie character does not exactly present the most difficult of writing challenges. Zombies are not particularly complicated. Not a lot of deep psychological layers here. The toughest problem in writing zombie dialogue is figuring out how to spell “Graaaaarrrr!” Zombie needs are simple. They’re very direct. They know what they want, and they go for it.
In fact, zombies tend to be a rather homogenous bunch. Most of them have similar back stories. They wake up dead one day, and realize they’re powerfully hungry. Only one source of food will do. They have a hard time putting their needs into words. But they know what must be done. They set out to do it. And there you go.
Now, scratch a journalist, and you’ll probably find a frustrated novelist underneath. Most great journalists love a good story. It’s what drives them and brings the occasional buttercup of joy to their otherwise cynical, flinty, shriveled hearts. But there’s one thing about the traditional zombie scenario that, while compelling enough as a story, might rub a journalist the wrong way: it can’t happen. Most zombie plots are based on something that’s absolutely impossible—people rising from the dead. And really, there’s nothing wrong with that. A good horror story doesn’t have to have one foot in the real world.
But what if one did? In fact, what if it had both feet planted in reality?
In real life the dead are the dead, and short of divine intervention, nothing is going to bring them back. True, in not every zombie story are the victims “undead,” but those usually revolve around some fictional disease that makes victims crazy. To count as a plausible zombie story, the scenario must be grounded in actual science. This rules out the walking dead, but does leave room for a fictional disease that makes its victims violent. A handful of zombie plots have done that. But let’s see if we can take our tale a step further, and make it reality-inspired. For that, “plausible” isn’t good enough. We have to find not only a disease but a pandemic that actually has struck in the past with zombie-like symptoms. And, of course, there’s never been any such thing, has there?
As it turns out, the answer is yes, there has. A pandemic that struck a century ago, encephalitis lethargica, claimed about a million victims, making a small number of them hyperviolent. The disease was even known as “The Living Death.” Eventually the malady disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived, leaving nothing but questions in its wake. The disease agent was never discovered. Was it a bacterium? A virus? A fungus? An auto-immune reaction? No one ever knew. Nor was the method of transmission ever identified. Very spooky. What if the pandemic, or something very like it, were to come back, only in a much more virulent form? Could it? Of course it could. What would the world look like then? That sounds like a great premise for a novel.
So let’s do it! And here’s where the fun begins. Basing a zombie story on a real-life pandemic, as it turns out, presents some unique problems, but also some unique opportunities. Here are some of them.
The plague is real. And this means the zombies can’t be dead. They’re sick, but they haven’t yet kicked. In fact, you can’t even call them “zombies.” They’re real people, and they have rights. This would present a unique problem for the unafflicted, one not contemplated in the traditional zombie story. Specifically, from a legal standpoint, you couldn’t simply shoot on sight someone suspected of being sick. What to do? Here they come! And by the way, Mom is looking a bit peaked. And come to think of it, Sis seems a bit twitchy, too. Think fast.
The method of transmission is unknown. The real-life pandemic did not appear to move directly from victim to victim. So, the same must hold true for our novel. Were this to happen in real life, scientists would no doubt assure the public that no one can get the disease from a bite or from zombie blood. Yet, everyone seems to be getting sick. OMG—you mean there’s no way to avoid it? Outrunning the zombies won’t help you? How in the world would people protect themselves? Would the scientists’ assurances that victims are not contagious even be believed? Would you believe it?
Will civilization fall? And what are the implications of that? A big enough outbreak—and yes, we’ll base our novel on a really big one—would put civilization on the skids. Which would raise a question: has this happened before? As it turns out, there’s substantial evidence to suggest that human civilization actually has risen to great heights in the distant past, perhaps more than once. Recorded history goes back about 5,000 years. In terms of the written word, the time before that is completely dark to us. But mankind certainly was around well before then, and was armed with the same amount of brain power. In fact, modern humans appeared in our present physical form about 200,000 years ago. You may believe, as most scientists do, that we spent much of that time in the hunter-gatherer stage of civilization, chasing rabbits with rocks, grubbing for roots, and barely staying alive. Look at mankind’s incredible progress over the last 200 years alone. Is it reasonable to believe that it took us nearly all of 200,000 years to learn to write our names in the sand? Could it be that our current level of advancement is a repeat performance, and that every time our species picks itself up, something comes along and knocks us down? Something strong enough, say, to nearly kill us while destroying all of our records? Something, perhaps, very much like our zombie disease? If we’re going to base our novel on reality, and if the novel is going to present the threat that civilization might fall, then it makes sense to look for evidence that such a thing has happened in the past. And there is some. Let’s throw it in!
Is there anything else associated with the fall of civilization that we can make use of? Well, I’m glad you asked that, because the answer here, too, is “yes.” That would be comets. Now, plots wherein comets or asteroids smack our planet are old hat in science fiction. If any big comet ever actually has hit the earth within the past few thousand years, the historical records don’t indicate it. But there have been plenty of fly-bys. Would it be possible for a comet to have an adverse effect on mankind without actually striking the planet? Maybe. Records going back to the dawn of history are replete with entries associating comets with mass, civilization-threatening mayhem. In fact, such associations extend well into modern times. In 1664, a great comet appeared in the skies over Britain. Londoners gaped up at it in awe. Within a year, 100,000 of those very same people would be dead. This is historic fact, as documented in Daniel Defoe’s classic novel, A Journal of the Plague Year. Was there actually some kind of connection between the comet and the plague that followed? In 1910, the approach of Halley’s Comet led some to panic, out of fear the comet’s tail would brush the Earth and inject poisonous vapors into our atmosphere. People were making cash money selling gas masks and renting out space in basements.
Could it be that ancient record-keepers knew something about comets that we don’t? It’s certainly true that science has found no such comet-mayhem connection. However, it’s also true that scientists don’t know exactly what’s in comets. But they do know that comets are filled with mysterious organic chemicals. Did you know that you almost certainly breathe in a tiny amount of comet dust every day? All of this makes great ingredients for a scary story.
It’s also fact that mass extinctions on earth appear to follow a cyclical pattern—and one possible explanation is that some kind of celestial body, such as a comet or dwarf star traveling in a very long-period orbit around the sun, occasionally makes an approach close enough to cause life-affecting mischief here on Earth. (For an interesting discussion on one such possibility, look up “Nemesis Star.”)
So, although this plot point requires the reader to put scientific skepticism on temporary hold, the idea that even fly-by comets really could be bad news for humans is not as far-fetched as you might think. So we'll do some research, and stir this into the plot as well.
And how weird of a coincidence is this: In the novel I write about a comet making an historic near-miss of the earth, at the same time a horrible plague breaks out. This summer I picked up my morning paper to read about a comet making an historic near-miss of Mars, which was happening while a horrible plague raged (in this case, Ebola).
Here’s an even bigger question: could the world-wide descent into madness envisioned in the novel be happening now, already? It’s not your imagination: the news has been getting more and more bizarre—one could also use the word “insane”—lately. We all know about incidents of mass unprovoked violence, which have been increasing exponentially. But that is not all. A couple of years before sitting down to write A Journal of the Crazy Year, a reporter friend of mind and I began a clipping file of “really weird stories.” Some were violent, such as the incident where a naked man attacked a stranger without warning and ate the victim’s face off. Others were just plain weird, such as couples making love in their seats aboard airliners and then refusing to stop when confronted, or strangers urinating on others at bus stations, and so on. I’ve been doing TV news for a long time but stories of this nature have begun to pop up only relatively recently. What could be next? In the first draft of the novel I wrote about a jetliner falling from the sky under mysterious circumstances in which it began to be suspected that the pilot had gone nuts and crashed the plane deliberately. This was months before the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. I wrote about flash mobs savagely attacking people at random, months before a mob did just that at a grocery store in Memphis. I wrote about terrorism flaring up again in the Middle East, months before any of us heard of ISIS. Let’s hope all these incidents turn out to be just coincidences. In the novel things get worse. Much worse.
And finally, if you’re going to write a novel about civilization ending because of what insurance underwriters would call “an act of God,” then you pretty much have to ask this question: Does God exist—and would He allow such widespread destruction to take place? A good way to explore such a thing in fiction is to have a character ask the question, and see what he comes up with. In our novel, John Cruz will ask it. John’s standing with God isn’t terrific. But knowing that time is short, John asks God for one thing: one good day with the love of his life, Maria. Just 24 hours. That’s all. Will he get it? And if he does, how will he repay the favor? John’s relationship with God forms the heart of our narrative.
When I sat down to write the novel, I had no idea that when the print edition came out (which it just did, with brand spanking new art) quotes would be available for the cover from some really nice reviews penned by well respected review outfits such as Publishers’ Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, but that has turned out to be the case. I hope you will check the novel out and find out why Publishers’ Weekly called it “a fascinating read all the way to its chilly, barely hopeful conclusion” and why Kirkus Reviews compared the writing style to Kurt Vonnegut and praises the novel’s unexpected ending, writing, “a truly unconventional ending makes for a worthy trip.”
Meanwhile, to the humble zombie, I say, “Long may you live!” Actually, that’s probably not the best choice of verbiage. But you get what I mean.
Zombies are all the rage right now. Everyone, it seems, loves a good zombie story. And how can we not? Cue Barbara Streisand: “People. . . . People who eat people. . . .”
Even my cat Ellis loves zombies. (I kid you not.) Really, it’s no surprise. Cats love a good chase. Zombie movies have those out the wazoo, along with enough other plot elements to appeal across a wide demographic: crashing cars, falling planes, burning buildings, guns galore, explosions, action, danger and adventure of all kinds, political intrigue—you name it. The best ones even have a bit of romance.
And the good news for zombie storytellers is that creating a zombie character does not exactly present the most difficult of writing challenges. Zombies are not particularly complicated. Not a lot of deep psychological layers here. The toughest problem in writing zombie dialogue is figuring out how to spell “Graaaaarrrr!” Zombie needs are simple. They’re very direct. They know what they want, and they go for it.
In fact, zombies tend to be a rather homogenous bunch. Most of them have similar back stories. They wake up dead one day, and realize they’re powerfully hungry. Only one source of food will do. They have a hard time putting their needs into words. But they know what must be done. They set out to do it. And there you go.
Now, scratch a journalist, and you’ll probably find a frustrated novelist underneath. Most great journalists love a good story. It’s what drives them and brings the occasional buttercup of joy to their otherwise cynical, flinty, shriveled hearts. But there’s one thing about the traditional zombie scenario that, while compelling enough as a story, might rub a journalist the wrong way: it can’t happen. Most zombie plots are based on something that’s absolutely impossible—people rising from the dead. And really, there’s nothing wrong with that. A good horror story doesn’t have to have one foot in the real world.
But what if one did? In fact, what if it had both feet planted in reality?
In real life the dead are the dead, and short of divine intervention, nothing is going to bring them back. True, in not every zombie story are the victims “undead,” but those usually revolve around some fictional disease that makes victims crazy. To count as a plausible zombie story, the scenario must be grounded in actual science. This rules out the walking dead, but does leave room for a fictional disease that makes its victims violent. A handful of zombie plots have done that. But let’s see if we can take our tale a step further, and make it reality-inspired. For that, “plausible” isn’t good enough. We have to find not only a disease but a pandemic that actually has struck in the past with zombie-like symptoms. And, of course, there’s never been any such thing, has there?
As it turns out, the answer is yes, there has. A pandemic that struck a century ago, encephalitis lethargica, claimed about a million victims, making a small number of them hyperviolent. The disease was even known as “The Living Death.” Eventually the malady disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived, leaving nothing but questions in its wake. The disease agent was never discovered. Was it a bacterium? A virus? A fungus? An auto-immune reaction? No one ever knew. Nor was the method of transmission ever identified. Very spooky. What if the pandemic, or something very like it, were to come back, only in a much more virulent form? Could it? Of course it could. What would the world look like then? That sounds like a great premise for a novel.
So let’s do it! And here’s where the fun begins. Basing a zombie story on a real-life pandemic, as it turns out, presents some unique problems, but also some unique opportunities. Here are some of them.
The plague is real. And this means the zombies can’t be dead. They’re sick, but they haven’t yet kicked. In fact, you can’t even call them “zombies.” They’re real people, and they have rights. This would present a unique problem for the unafflicted, one not contemplated in the traditional zombie story. Specifically, from a legal standpoint, you couldn’t simply shoot on sight someone suspected of being sick. What to do? Here they come! And by the way, Mom is looking a bit peaked. And come to think of it, Sis seems a bit twitchy, too. Think fast.
The method of transmission is unknown. The real-life pandemic did not appear to move directly from victim to victim. So, the same must hold true for our novel. Were this to happen in real life, scientists would no doubt assure the public that no one can get the disease from a bite or from zombie blood. Yet, everyone seems to be getting sick. OMG—you mean there’s no way to avoid it? Outrunning the zombies won’t help you? How in the world would people protect themselves? Would the scientists’ assurances that victims are not contagious even be believed? Would you believe it?
Will civilization fall? And what are the implications of that? A big enough outbreak—and yes, we’ll base our novel on a really big one—would put civilization on the skids. Which would raise a question: has this happened before? As it turns out, there’s substantial evidence to suggest that human civilization actually has risen to great heights in the distant past, perhaps more than once. Recorded history goes back about 5,000 years. In terms of the written word, the time before that is completely dark to us. But mankind certainly was around well before then, and was armed with the same amount of brain power. In fact, modern humans appeared in our present physical form about 200,000 years ago. You may believe, as most scientists do, that we spent much of that time in the hunter-gatherer stage of civilization, chasing rabbits with rocks, grubbing for roots, and barely staying alive. Look at mankind’s incredible progress over the last 200 years alone. Is it reasonable to believe that it took us nearly all of 200,000 years to learn to write our names in the sand? Could it be that our current level of advancement is a repeat performance, and that every time our species picks itself up, something comes along and knocks us down? Something strong enough, say, to nearly kill us while destroying all of our records? Something, perhaps, very much like our zombie disease? If we’re going to base our novel on reality, and if the novel is going to present the threat that civilization might fall, then it makes sense to look for evidence that such a thing has happened in the past. And there is some. Let’s throw it in!
Is there anything else associated with the fall of civilization that we can make use of? Well, I’m glad you asked that, because the answer here, too, is “yes.” That would be comets. Now, plots wherein comets or asteroids smack our planet are old hat in science fiction. If any big comet ever actually has hit the earth within the past few thousand years, the historical records don’t indicate it. But there have been plenty of fly-bys. Would it be possible for a comet to have an adverse effect on mankind without actually striking the planet? Maybe. Records going back to the dawn of history are replete with entries associating comets with mass, civilization-threatening mayhem. In fact, such associations extend well into modern times. In 1664, a great comet appeared in the skies over Britain. Londoners gaped up at it in awe. Within a year, 100,000 of those very same people would be dead. This is historic fact, as documented in Daniel Defoe’s classic novel, A Journal of the Plague Year. Was there actually some kind of connection between the comet and the plague that followed? In 1910, the approach of Halley’s Comet led some to panic, out of fear the comet’s tail would brush the Earth and inject poisonous vapors into our atmosphere. People were making cash money selling gas masks and renting out space in basements.
Could it be that ancient record-keepers knew something about comets that we don’t? It’s certainly true that science has found no such comet-mayhem connection. However, it’s also true that scientists don’t know exactly what’s in comets. But they do know that comets are filled with mysterious organic chemicals. Did you know that you almost certainly breathe in a tiny amount of comet dust every day? All of this makes great ingredients for a scary story.
It’s also fact that mass extinctions on earth appear to follow a cyclical pattern—and one possible explanation is that some kind of celestial body, such as a comet or dwarf star traveling in a very long-period orbit around the sun, occasionally makes an approach close enough to cause life-affecting mischief here on Earth. (For an interesting discussion on one such possibility, look up “Nemesis Star.”)
So, although this plot point requires the reader to put scientific skepticism on temporary hold, the idea that even fly-by comets really could be bad news for humans is not as far-fetched as you might think. So we'll do some research, and stir this into the plot as well.
And how weird of a coincidence is this: In the novel I write about a comet making an historic near-miss of the earth, at the same time a horrible plague breaks out. This summer I picked up my morning paper to read about a comet making an historic near-miss of Mars, which was happening while a horrible plague raged (in this case, Ebola).
Here’s an even bigger question: could the world-wide descent into madness envisioned in the novel be happening now, already? It’s not your imagination: the news has been getting more and more bizarre—one could also use the word “insane”—lately. We all know about incidents of mass unprovoked violence, which have been increasing exponentially. But that is not all. A couple of years before sitting down to write A Journal of the Crazy Year, a reporter friend of mind and I began a clipping file of “really weird stories.” Some were violent, such as the incident where a naked man attacked a stranger without warning and ate the victim’s face off. Others were just plain weird, such as couples making love in their seats aboard airliners and then refusing to stop when confronted, or strangers urinating on others at bus stations, and so on. I’ve been doing TV news for a long time but stories of this nature have begun to pop up only relatively recently. What could be next? In the first draft of the novel I wrote about a jetliner falling from the sky under mysterious circumstances in which it began to be suspected that the pilot had gone nuts and crashed the plane deliberately. This was months before the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. I wrote about flash mobs savagely attacking people at random, months before a mob did just that at a grocery store in Memphis. I wrote about terrorism flaring up again in the Middle East, months before any of us heard of ISIS. Let’s hope all these incidents turn out to be just coincidences. In the novel things get worse. Much worse.
And finally, if you’re going to write a novel about civilization ending because of what insurance underwriters would call “an act of God,” then you pretty much have to ask this question: Does God exist—and would He allow such widespread destruction to take place? A good way to explore such a thing in fiction is to have a character ask the question, and see what he comes up with. In our novel, John Cruz will ask it. John’s standing with God isn’t terrific. But knowing that time is short, John asks God for one thing: one good day with the love of his life, Maria. Just 24 hours. That’s all. Will he get it? And if he does, how will he repay the favor? John’s relationship with God forms the heart of our narrative.
When I sat down to write the novel, I had no idea that when the print edition came out (which it just did, with brand spanking new art) quotes would be available for the cover from some really nice reviews penned by well respected review outfits such as Publishers’ Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, but that has turned out to be the case. I hope you will check the novel out and find out why Publishers’ Weekly called it “a fascinating read all the way to its chilly, barely hopeful conclusion” and why Kirkus Reviews compared the writing style to Kurt Vonnegut and praises the novel’s unexpected ending, writing, “a truly unconventional ending makes for a worthy trip.”
Meanwhile, to the humble zombie, I say, “Long may you live!” Actually, that’s probably not the best choice of verbiage. But you get what I mean.
November 7, 2014
Great Kirkus Review!
"Carr employs jet-black humor reminiscent of Vonnegut... The flight from civilization is handled well, and a truly unconventional ending makes for a worthy trip. A great case made for the idea that the end isn’t nigh—it’s already here."
--Kirkus Reviews
Earlier this year I submitted the upcoming print edition of A Journal of the Crazy Year to Kirkus Reviews. The verdict is now in, and it's great. Their review adds to previous excellent comments from Fantascize.com (which praised the novel for its "thrilling narrative" and its "impressive scientific and historical details") and also to comments from many of the book's readers (my favorite: "This will stay with me.")
The print edition is due out in January. I'll make an announcement at that time and also reveal the new cover then. Meanwhile, A Journal of the Crazy Year is available for the Kindle now. It's a cheap read--and as critics agree, a good one.
The full text of the Kirkus Review is below.
________________________________________
TITLE INFORMATION
A JOURNAL OF THE CRAZY YEAR
Carr, Forrest
CreateSpace (276 pp.)
ISBN: 978-1500300951; January 12, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A pandemic helps humanity destroy itself in this wry apocalyptic thriller. In 2015, John Cruz wakes up in a hospital in Las Vegas. He’s surprised when a pair of orderlies quickly restrains him, as if he’s capable of violence. He soon discovers that he’s one of only three patients at the mental hospital, and Dr. Marcia Keenan tells him he’s been there since his 2011 attack on a co-worker. The facility is largely empty because most mental illnesses seem to be vanishing. A disease called Sudden Onset Psychosis Syndrome has been on the rise, however, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t have any answers. When John befriends fellow patient Scooter, he learns that frequent gun massacres have swept the United States, and the planet teeters toward World War III. Once he’s deemed stable, John goes home with his loyal wife, Maria. From there, they watch TV media dispute what’s causing the spread of SOPS—which propels many victims into bloodthirsty rages. The gigantic Comet Filipov, streaking past Earth, is a cause that seems preposterous until it’s argued that comets have heralded doom throughout history, and science can’t fully explain the universe. Author Carr (Messages, 2013) does an exemplary job portraying the media circus surrounding the comet and the possibility of flesh-eating mobs; when asked about zombies, a leader from the CDC says the organization “vehemently rejects that term, and would strongly condemn any news reporter...using it in reference to victims of this crisis.” Early on, Carr employs jet-black humor reminiscent of Vonnegut, as when Scooter says: “I’ve got about another two months to live….Wanna play checkers?” But John becomes less sympathetic as the narrative progresses. Chaos envelopes the city, so he takes charge, telling Maria that he wants no “backtalk, no argument, no questions.” Later, the flight from civilization is handled well, and a truly unconventional ending makes for a worthy trip.
A great case made for the idea that the end isn’t nigh—it’s already here.
###
More info about this novel and the author, plus a free sample chapter, is available here.
--Kirkus Reviews
Earlier this year I submitted the upcoming print edition of A Journal of the Crazy Year to Kirkus Reviews. The verdict is now in, and it's great. Their review adds to previous excellent comments from Fantascize.com (which praised the novel for its "thrilling narrative" and its "impressive scientific and historical details") and also to comments from many of the book's readers (my favorite: "This will stay with me.")
The print edition is due out in January. I'll make an announcement at that time and also reveal the new cover then. Meanwhile, A Journal of the Crazy Year is available for the Kindle now. It's a cheap read--and as critics agree, a good one.
The full text of the Kirkus Review is below.
________________________________________
TITLE INFORMATION
A JOURNAL OF THE CRAZY YEAR
Carr, Forrest
CreateSpace (276 pp.)
ISBN: 978-1500300951; January 12, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A pandemic helps humanity destroy itself in this wry apocalyptic thriller. In 2015, John Cruz wakes up in a hospital in Las Vegas. He’s surprised when a pair of orderlies quickly restrains him, as if he’s capable of violence. He soon discovers that he’s one of only three patients at the mental hospital, and Dr. Marcia Keenan tells him he’s been there since his 2011 attack on a co-worker. The facility is largely empty because most mental illnesses seem to be vanishing. A disease called Sudden Onset Psychosis Syndrome has been on the rise, however, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t have any answers. When John befriends fellow patient Scooter, he learns that frequent gun massacres have swept the United States, and the planet teeters toward World War III. Once he’s deemed stable, John goes home with his loyal wife, Maria. From there, they watch TV media dispute what’s causing the spread of SOPS—which propels many victims into bloodthirsty rages. The gigantic Comet Filipov, streaking past Earth, is a cause that seems preposterous until it’s argued that comets have heralded doom throughout history, and science can’t fully explain the universe. Author Carr (Messages, 2013) does an exemplary job portraying the media circus surrounding the comet and the possibility of flesh-eating mobs; when asked about zombies, a leader from the CDC says the organization “vehemently rejects that term, and would strongly condemn any news reporter...using it in reference to victims of this crisis.” Early on, Carr employs jet-black humor reminiscent of Vonnegut, as when Scooter says: “I’ve got about another two months to live….Wanna play checkers?” But John becomes less sympathetic as the narrative progresses. Chaos envelopes the city, so he takes charge, telling Maria that he wants no “backtalk, no argument, no questions.” Later, the flight from civilization is handled well, and a truly unconventional ending makes for a worthy trip.
A great case made for the idea that the end isn’t nigh—it’s already here.
###
More info about this novel and the author, plus a free sample chapter, is available here.
July 1, 2014
Another 5 Stars for "Messages"
My novel "Messages" just got another fabulous 5-star review. The reader says he cannot wait to read a sequel (although I haven't quite promised to write one.)
He also sent me a photograph of the novel at home in its native environment. See what I mean and find the full review by following this link to my main blog:
http://thebashfulbloviator.blogspot.c...
He also sent me a photograph of the novel at home in its native environment. See what I mean and find the full review by following this link to my main blog:
http://thebashfulbloviator.blogspot.c...
June 17, 2014
Update
For my Goodreads friends and contacts, here's a very quick update on what I'm doing. I've fully recovered from kidney removal and was certified cancer-free in my most recent checkup. I had intended to resume work on novel #3 right away, but I started work on two other projects instead. The first was to launch a blog, which they tell all new writers we must do these days. The Bashful Bloviator is now up and running. I cover everything from God to politics to paranormal activities (coming up). It's already doing quite well for a new publication of this type, and a recent widely-read posting about President Obama pushed it to a whole new readership level. You can find it here:
http://thebashfulbloviator.blogspot.com/
After I launched that, I worked on a book cover replacement project for "A Journal of the Crazy Year." That work is now completed. Following that, I started work on the print edition for the novel. I expect to have that ready in a few weeks, at which time I'll unveil the new cover.
Once that is completed, it's back to work on Novel #3.
I will continue to update the Goodreads blog from time on writing issues. Meanwhile, please check out the Bashful Bloviator for the kind of snarkograms you can also find in my novel "Messages," and some scientific discussion from time to time along the lines of ideas presented in "A Journal of the Crazy Year."
FC
Links:
Messages
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ECK0DBK
A Journal of the Crazy Year
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FY3GFDE
The Bashful Bloviator
http://thebashfulbloviator.blogspot.com/
My website:
www.forrestcarr.com
My Facebook author page:
https://www.facebook.com/forrestcarra...
http://thebashfulbloviator.blogspot.com/
After I launched that, I worked on a book cover replacement project for "A Journal of the Crazy Year." That work is now completed. Following that, I started work on the print edition for the novel. I expect to have that ready in a few weeks, at which time I'll unveil the new cover.
Once that is completed, it's back to work on Novel #3.
I will continue to update the Goodreads blog from time on writing issues. Meanwhile, please check out the Bashful Bloviator for the kind of snarkograms you can also find in my novel "Messages," and some scientific discussion from time to time along the lines of ideas presented in "A Journal of the Crazy Year."
FC
Links:
Messages
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ECK0DBK
A Journal of the Crazy Year
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FY3GFDE
The Bashful Bloviator
http://thebashfulbloviator.blogspot.com/
My website:
www.forrestcarr.com
My Facebook author page:
https://www.facebook.com/forrestcarra...
April 30, 2014
“Holy Buckets! I couldn’t put it down!”
Two new 5-star reader reviews for Messages.
My crime/humor novel Messages has just received two new 5-star reviews, both posted on the same day.
John calls it a “great read and a must read for those of us who’ve spent our lives working in the news biz.” He goes on to say, “Forrest has captured the real personalities of us nut jobs who write the first draft of history. Forrest captured the insanity of what it’s like to report on the crime and filth in this world, and he hit a home run in detailing how covering those stories impacts journalists. This novel has more twists and turns that the back roads of Appalachia.”
John says he believes that in writing the book, I must have been channeling “gonzo journalist” Hunter S. Thompson, and he goes on to repeat the famous quote about TV news attributed to Thompson, calling it a “cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.” I agree that in all too many cases, that summation is perfectly accurate.
He also relates his own story about what some TV news managers really value. “30 years ago I was interviewing for a news producing job in Green Bay and I asked, ‘What’s the crime rate like in this town?’ My potential employer looked me in the eye and said, ‘low but getting better.’” By which, of course, the news manager meant that higher crime rates make for better TV news ratings. John added that he took the job. Sounds like he has his own book to write. Come on in, the water’s fine!
John concludes his review with these words: “Messages is a really entertaining read. Way to go Forrest, can’t wait to read your next novel.”
After I thanked John for his excellent review, he sent me a comment adding these words: “Messages was a page turner for me just based on the newsroom personalities. I’ve worked with every one of them. But the last 25-30 pages—Holy buckets! I couldn't put it down. That is NOT where I expected the story line to take me. Really nice change up!”
John, thanks so much!
Greg also posted a 5-star review. He writes, “This was a fun book to read wrapped up in a murder mystery. Having worked in the TV news industry for quite a few years, I found many of the characters ring true with the complex egos and peevish natures that often dominate newsrooms everywhere. It also has some great insight into the trials and tribulations of TV journalism and getting the job done under pressure. It's a ‘killer of a book,’ and despite the deadly topic is actually full of laughs.”
Both John and Greg work in the TV business. If you don’t, don’t let that worry you. The fact that they find the book to ring true means that you can be assured of getting a rare and authentic glimpse into a world you haven’t really seen before. Most movies, TV shows and novels about television news are set in big markets—but that’s not where most Americans live or get their news. The story of what goes on in small to medium market stations hasn’t been well told, until now. And that’s important, if you’re curious to know who decides what you may know—and not know—about the community where you live.
Messages also collected its first 1-star rating this week (bringing the total to 9 5-star, 3 4-star, and 1 1-star), courtesy of a reader who said he put it down after encountering profanity. The complaint is valid. The language in Messages is not quite as strong as what you might find in, say, the movie “Wolf of Wall Street,” and it’s there for the same reason: it’s authentic to the period. But if F-bombs are a deal breaker for you, my apologies, but you’ll want to pass this one by. (I do warn about the mature content in the book description and also in the Foreword.)
I’m very excited about the results so far. In addition to the overall great reader and critic reviews, during a promotion for it earlier this month Messages cracked the Top 100 on Amazon in three of its categories, including humor and crime fiction.
Many thanks to those of you who’ve taken time to post feedback. Remember—every successful author was a newbie at one time. When you post a good review for a book you liked, you could be helping to discover a worthwhile new author and send him or her on his way.
Find purchase links, a free chapter, reader and critic reviews, and more for Messages here:
http://www.forrestcarr.com/messages.html
My crime/humor novel Messages has just received two new 5-star reviews, both posted on the same day.
John calls it a “great read and a must read for those of us who’ve spent our lives working in the news biz.” He goes on to say, “Forrest has captured the real personalities of us nut jobs who write the first draft of history. Forrest captured the insanity of what it’s like to report on the crime and filth in this world, and he hit a home run in detailing how covering those stories impacts journalists. This novel has more twists and turns that the back roads of Appalachia.”
John says he believes that in writing the book, I must have been channeling “gonzo journalist” Hunter S. Thompson, and he goes on to repeat the famous quote about TV news attributed to Thompson, calling it a “cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.” I agree that in all too many cases, that summation is perfectly accurate.
He also relates his own story about what some TV news managers really value. “30 years ago I was interviewing for a news producing job in Green Bay and I asked, ‘What’s the crime rate like in this town?’ My potential employer looked me in the eye and said, ‘low but getting better.’” By which, of course, the news manager meant that higher crime rates make for better TV news ratings. John added that he took the job. Sounds like he has his own book to write. Come on in, the water’s fine!
John concludes his review with these words: “Messages is a really entertaining read. Way to go Forrest, can’t wait to read your next novel.”
After I thanked John for his excellent review, he sent me a comment adding these words: “Messages was a page turner for me just based on the newsroom personalities. I’ve worked with every one of them. But the last 25-30 pages—Holy buckets! I couldn't put it down. That is NOT where I expected the story line to take me. Really nice change up!”
John, thanks so much!
Greg also posted a 5-star review. He writes, “This was a fun book to read wrapped up in a murder mystery. Having worked in the TV news industry for quite a few years, I found many of the characters ring true with the complex egos and peevish natures that often dominate newsrooms everywhere. It also has some great insight into the trials and tribulations of TV journalism and getting the job done under pressure. It's a ‘killer of a book,’ and despite the deadly topic is actually full of laughs.”
Both John and Greg work in the TV business. If you don’t, don’t let that worry you. The fact that they find the book to ring true means that you can be assured of getting a rare and authentic glimpse into a world you haven’t really seen before. Most movies, TV shows and novels about television news are set in big markets—but that’s not where most Americans live or get their news. The story of what goes on in small to medium market stations hasn’t been well told, until now. And that’s important, if you’re curious to know who decides what you may know—and not know—about the community where you live.
Messages also collected its first 1-star rating this week (bringing the total to 9 5-star, 3 4-star, and 1 1-star), courtesy of a reader who said he put it down after encountering profanity. The complaint is valid. The language in Messages is not quite as strong as what you might find in, say, the movie “Wolf of Wall Street,” and it’s there for the same reason: it’s authentic to the period. But if F-bombs are a deal breaker for you, my apologies, but you’ll want to pass this one by. (I do warn about the mature content in the book description and also in the Foreword.)
I’m very excited about the results so far. In addition to the overall great reader and critic reviews, during a promotion for it earlier this month Messages cracked the Top 100 on Amazon in three of its categories, including humor and crime fiction.
Many thanks to those of you who’ve taken time to post feedback. Remember—every successful author was a newbie at one time. When you post a good review for a book you liked, you could be helping to discover a worthwhile new author and send him or her on his way.
Find purchase links, a free chapter, reader and critic reviews, and more for Messages here:
http://www.forrestcarr.com/messages.html
April 3, 2014
Obamacare and Me: Adventures in The Toilet Zone
Mission: To keep the doctor who recently saved my life. To do that, I must dump my Healthcare.gov Exchange policy and switch to another, non-Exchange plan. I've chosen to remain with the same company, however, which has treated me well (despite some very confused communications).
Mission status as of this morning: I hold an approved application, but my credit card had not been charged, and so I didn't know whether the replacement policy is in effect. The approval email, received two weeks ago, specifically stated that I should not cancel any existing plans until I have received and reviewed the membership materials for the new one. Efforts to get answers by phone have not been successful, leaving me not knowing whether I now have two policies in effect, just one, or none, or whether I could now see my existing doctors. This is a concern because I am past due in scheduling an appointment for a follow-up to my recent surgeries.
In our last episode: Starting with a phone number set forth in the aforementioned email as the one to call with any questions, I hit the dial pad Monday (the last day of open enrollment) to try to find out what's up with my coverage. Over the course of the next three and a half hours, I spoke to 4 different employees, each of whom assured me I'd reached the wrong department, before transferring me off to the next hapless victim down the line, who also couldn't help me. I disconnected the final call after listening to two and a half hours of toe-tapping hold music. (Or maybe it was finger-drumming hold music.)
Today's task: Try again.
Narrative: Okay, it's getting really, really ridiculous.
Let me say right off the top that I don't blame my insurance company, which I am not naming at this juncture for reasons that should be obvious. This company stood by me in January, authorizing my operation when it could have fought me on it. Change brings confusion, and so it follows that massive change brings massive confusion. Given the broad impact of the Affordable Care Act, it would be surprising only if chaos were not the order of the day right now, on all fronts.
That said, even by those standards, today's round of mirth and merriment scored well above average on the Ridicu-Meter. Now that the deadline for open enrollment has passed, I had hoped today would be a little less busy for employees working the phones. However, I found I could not start my calls where I'd left off. The last woman who'd talked to me on Monday did not give me the number she was dialing before she transferred me to The Toilet Zone. ("Submitted for your approval: a portrait of a man stuck between two worlds, trapped in a place that's neither light nor dark, hot nor cold, high nor low. Picture, if you will, a hard, round, wet land that's neither here nor there, nestled somewhere between existence and non-existence; shadow and substance; and promises and fulfillment. A place we call: The Toilet Zone.") So I had to start again. From the beginning. This time, rather than resort to the number listed on the email, which I now knew to be wrong, I looked up the customer service number indicated on my old membership card, and called that. The phone picked up quickly. After hearing my problem, right away the employee wanted to transfer me to someone else. I stopped her, and explained the joys of my day on Monday. She listened politely, and then checked her computer more closely. But it turned out that she could not see any of my payment information because she worked in the company's Exchange area. To get me help, she would have to transfer me off to a non-Exchange department or section within the company. Reluctantly, I let her do so.
The lady who answered next was extraordinarily helpful. And bless her heart, she really dug into the issue for me. She had to call around to several different people in order to gather information, but she did not transfer me or maroon me again in The Toilet Zone. Finally, she found the answer: my credit card had not been charged, and the new policy was not in effect, because the company was waiting for me to cancel the old one.
Yes, you read it right. After telling me, in writing, not to cancel the old policy, the company had then shelved my application until such time as I did so.
At this point, I think even the late Rod Serling would had rejected this story synopsis as being too bizarre for belief. But at any rate, the woman on the phone (who was, let the record reflect, a consummate professional and a great advocate for me today) told me that the word from the enrollment department was that I needed to contact the government-run Exchange by phone and cancel my existing Exchange policy. She said that, according to the enrollment people, this would result in a cancellation number. She was very specific in saying I should write down that number. Once I cancelled, in theory the government would notify the company, at which point the replacement policy would take effect. She said she expected this to take about a week to play out.
I thanked her, and then politely gave her some summary comments about my recent customer experiences – both good and bad – which she promised to relay up the chain of command.
After taking a break for lunch, I hit the phones again and called the government number she'd given me. After about 35 minutes on hold, a gentleman politely guided me through the cancellation process (as it turns out, I could have done this on line). By the end of the call, I'd succeeded in terminating my Exchange plan. However, I did not get the requested cancellation number. When I asked for it, the man patiently explained that the termination procedure generates no such number.
I swear to you, shortly after hearing this, I found that I had assumed the exact hands-to-face pose as the tortured figure in Edvard Munch's famous painting, "The Scream."
Even so, if all goes well, in about a week I'll get my new membership card, and will be able to proceed with my follow-up treatments, enjoying the services of the internationally-renowned doctor who operated on me successfully the first two times.
So what have we learned here today?
I am in my current situation (and I'm guessing there are tens of thousands, if not millions, of other Americans in the same boat, or in one similar) because of a long string of misinformation, bad advice, incorrect statements, and broken promises. Here is a rundown, with some suggested solutions.
Problem: Within my insurer (I don't know about other companies, but here is an invitation for some enterprising reporter to find out) apparently the Exchange plans are handled very differently from the non-Exchange plans, using different teams of people. This causes massive confusion and raises barriers to communication.
Solution: Shouldn't any employee be able to access any information needed to solve any customer problem? This factor alone accounted for 90% of the runaround I got.
Problem: Before signing up with this company, I verified that my primary care physician was listed on its provider page. I got the web address for that provider page from materials I downloaded from Healthcare.gov. But as it turns out, its list of Exchange policy providers is very different from the non-Exchange providers. The lists do not overlap in every place. I'm not sure they overlap in any place.
Solution: The company should set up a web page listing Exchange providers separately and exclusively. Materials provided by the Healthcare.gov site should lead only to those providers, not to the irrelevant page to which I was directed.
Problem: The offices of both of my doctors – the primary care physician and the specialist – told me verbally, after I explained that I'd just bought an Exchange plan, that my physicians were authorized providers.
Solution: Whenever there is a breakdown in communication, it's likely that more than one party is responsible. But I have to ask: did this insurance company warn its medical providers that patients would ask them whether they are authorized to provide services under the company's Exchange plans? Did it remind doctors that those plans are not the same? Because if it did, those efforts were not effective. A company representative admitted to me in January that there was massive confusion all around on this point, both among patients and providers. I'm also curious to know to what extent, if any, the company recruited its doctors to sign up for those Exchange policies.
Problem: The phone numbers that my insurance company listed on its acceptance email as the ones to call with any questions were incorrect.
Solution: That one's easy. List the correct numbers.
Problem: The email warning me not to cancel my existing policy before receiving my membership materials was exactly the opposite of what I needed to do.
Solution: Equally easy. Don't be sayin' that. Obviously, the company needs to make sure its instructions are accurate.
Problem: When I called the company asking for help, I had to speak to six people and endure a total of about four hours of hold music over a two-day period before finally finding someone who could help me.
Solution: Train your employees and give them the tools they need to communicate with customers and with each other correctly and efficiently.
Problem: Not everyone realizes the Exchanges may not be the only option, or even the best option, for many people. Before launching into all this, I had a vague notion that it would be possible to buy an insurance plan someplace else other than via the Exchange on Healthcare.gov, but I thought the best and most competitive plans would be on the government site. However, for people who don't qualify for a subsidy, there are other potential choices. In my case, according to what both offices eventually told me, no Exchange plan would have allowed me to keep my doctors. I imagine that is true for other people as well.
Solution: Yes, I should have taken steps to be a better-informed consumer. However, I'm not sure the media have done a particularly good job of explaining all this. Nor has the government. There has been the occasional article or story referencing insurance brokers and non-Exchange options. But typically, the coverage tends to focus exclusively on the federal or state exchanges. One news magazine piece I relied on did show how brokers were available to help. But in the example it gave, the broker sat down with the customer only to explain the Exchange options. It would not hurt for the media to broaden the scope of their coverage. Also, when I signed up, I don't recall seeing any items on the Healthcare.gov explainer 1-sheet mentioning other insurance options, suggesting the possibility of working with a broker, or referencing the issue of potentially having to change doctors under a government Exchange plan. None is there now.
And the biggest problem of all: "You can keep your plan. You can keep your doctor." The problem, of course, was that for millions of people, this statement simply was not true. Further, the facts are pretty clear that those who said it, and their supporters, knew at the time, or at very least should have known, that it was false. The Affordable Care Act therefore was passed in a less than forthright way. Not to put too fine a point on it: Obamacare proponents led the American public down a primrose path. This has led to hard feelings and has caused combatants on all sides to become even more entrenched and distrustful of one another. (I've had some personal experience with this effect while discussing the topic with friends on my Facebook page).
Solution: I didn't want the original plan I had last year to be cancelled from underneath me, and I certainly didn't want to have to change doctors. But now that I'm this far down the road, I don't want to simply junk the Affordable Care Act, either. Even so, the current distrustful political atmosphere is not okay. Can it be set right? To start, an apology would be good. I mean a real, sincere one that accepts full, personal responsibility and takes steps to restore trust. Now, only the president can know his own mind. If he did deliberately fib, he should man up and say so. I don't expect that to happen, whether or not he knew at the time that what he was saying was false. But here is what I long to hear President Obama say now: "In the debate over ACA, I said some things that turned out not to be true. In an attempt to focus the debate, I oversimplified. But I knew better. It was poor judgment, and a bad call. I am sincerely sorry. What I should have said is this: 'We are taking steps to grandfather in as many policies as we can. Even so, some of you will be inconvenienced. You might have to change plans. You might have to change doctors. I regret that. But I ask you to accept this sacrifice so that millions of your fellow Americans can have in the future what you have now and will continue to have in the future: affordable health coverage.' That's what I should have said then. I'm saying it now. For some of you, I broke a promise. I hope you will not let your understandable disappointment keep you from closing ranks and moving forward with your fellow citizens, to whom I also made a promise – a promise of a better future."
That statement, or one like it – coupled with sincere efforts to work across party lines, to the fullest extent possible, to fix whatever needs fixing, and also address the parallel problem of out-of-control national spending – would go a long way to set my mind at ease. It might even convince me to vote Democratic in the next election or two.
I'm waiting.
Mission status as of this morning: I hold an approved application, but my credit card had not been charged, and so I didn't know whether the replacement policy is in effect. The approval email, received two weeks ago, specifically stated that I should not cancel any existing plans until I have received and reviewed the membership materials for the new one. Efforts to get answers by phone have not been successful, leaving me not knowing whether I now have two policies in effect, just one, or none, or whether I could now see my existing doctors. This is a concern because I am past due in scheduling an appointment for a follow-up to my recent surgeries.
In our last episode: Starting with a phone number set forth in the aforementioned email as the one to call with any questions, I hit the dial pad Monday (the last day of open enrollment) to try to find out what's up with my coverage. Over the course of the next three and a half hours, I spoke to 4 different employees, each of whom assured me I'd reached the wrong department, before transferring me off to the next hapless victim down the line, who also couldn't help me. I disconnected the final call after listening to two and a half hours of toe-tapping hold music. (Or maybe it was finger-drumming hold music.)
Today's task: Try again.
Narrative: Okay, it's getting really, really ridiculous.
Let me say right off the top that I don't blame my insurance company, which I am not naming at this juncture for reasons that should be obvious. This company stood by me in January, authorizing my operation when it could have fought me on it. Change brings confusion, and so it follows that massive change brings massive confusion. Given the broad impact of the Affordable Care Act, it would be surprising only if chaos were not the order of the day right now, on all fronts.
That said, even by those standards, today's round of mirth and merriment scored well above average on the Ridicu-Meter. Now that the deadline for open enrollment has passed, I had hoped today would be a little less busy for employees working the phones. However, I found I could not start my calls where I'd left off. The last woman who'd talked to me on Monday did not give me the number she was dialing before she transferred me to The Toilet Zone. ("Submitted for your approval: a portrait of a man stuck between two worlds, trapped in a place that's neither light nor dark, hot nor cold, high nor low. Picture, if you will, a hard, round, wet land that's neither here nor there, nestled somewhere between existence and non-existence; shadow and substance; and promises and fulfillment. A place we call: The Toilet Zone.") So I had to start again. From the beginning. This time, rather than resort to the number listed on the email, which I now knew to be wrong, I looked up the customer service number indicated on my old membership card, and called that. The phone picked up quickly. After hearing my problem, right away the employee wanted to transfer me to someone else. I stopped her, and explained the joys of my day on Monday. She listened politely, and then checked her computer more closely. But it turned out that she could not see any of my payment information because she worked in the company's Exchange area. To get me help, she would have to transfer me off to a non-Exchange department or section within the company. Reluctantly, I let her do so.
The lady who answered next was extraordinarily helpful. And bless her heart, she really dug into the issue for me. She had to call around to several different people in order to gather information, but she did not transfer me or maroon me again in The Toilet Zone. Finally, she found the answer: my credit card had not been charged, and the new policy was not in effect, because the company was waiting for me to cancel the old one.
Yes, you read it right. After telling me, in writing, not to cancel the old policy, the company had then shelved my application until such time as I did so.
At this point, I think even the late Rod Serling would had rejected this story synopsis as being too bizarre for belief. But at any rate, the woman on the phone (who was, let the record reflect, a consummate professional and a great advocate for me today) told me that the word from the enrollment department was that I needed to contact the government-run Exchange by phone and cancel my existing Exchange policy. She said that, according to the enrollment people, this would result in a cancellation number. She was very specific in saying I should write down that number. Once I cancelled, in theory the government would notify the company, at which point the replacement policy would take effect. She said she expected this to take about a week to play out.
I thanked her, and then politely gave her some summary comments about my recent customer experiences – both good and bad – which she promised to relay up the chain of command.
After taking a break for lunch, I hit the phones again and called the government number she'd given me. After about 35 minutes on hold, a gentleman politely guided me through the cancellation process (as it turns out, I could have done this on line). By the end of the call, I'd succeeded in terminating my Exchange plan. However, I did not get the requested cancellation number. When I asked for it, the man patiently explained that the termination procedure generates no such number.
I swear to you, shortly after hearing this, I found that I had assumed the exact hands-to-face pose as the tortured figure in Edvard Munch's famous painting, "The Scream."
Even so, if all goes well, in about a week I'll get my new membership card, and will be able to proceed with my follow-up treatments, enjoying the services of the internationally-renowned doctor who operated on me successfully the first two times.
So what have we learned here today?
I am in my current situation (and I'm guessing there are tens of thousands, if not millions, of other Americans in the same boat, or in one similar) because of a long string of misinformation, bad advice, incorrect statements, and broken promises. Here is a rundown, with some suggested solutions.
Problem: Within my insurer (I don't know about other companies, but here is an invitation for some enterprising reporter to find out) apparently the Exchange plans are handled very differently from the non-Exchange plans, using different teams of people. This causes massive confusion and raises barriers to communication.
Solution: Shouldn't any employee be able to access any information needed to solve any customer problem? This factor alone accounted for 90% of the runaround I got.
Problem: Before signing up with this company, I verified that my primary care physician was listed on its provider page. I got the web address for that provider page from materials I downloaded from Healthcare.gov. But as it turns out, its list of Exchange policy providers is very different from the non-Exchange providers. The lists do not overlap in every place. I'm not sure they overlap in any place.
Solution: The company should set up a web page listing Exchange providers separately and exclusively. Materials provided by the Healthcare.gov site should lead only to those providers, not to the irrelevant page to which I was directed.
Problem: The offices of both of my doctors – the primary care physician and the specialist – told me verbally, after I explained that I'd just bought an Exchange plan, that my physicians were authorized providers.
Solution: Whenever there is a breakdown in communication, it's likely that more than one party is responsible. But I have to ask: did this insurance company warn its medical providers that patients would ask them whether they are authorized to provide services under the company's Exchange plans? Did it remind doctors that those plans are not the same? Because if it did, those efforts were not effective. A company representative admitted to me in January that there was massive confusion all around on this point, both among patients and providers. I'm also curious to know to what extent, if any, the company recruited its doctors to sign up for those Exchange policies.
Problem: The phone numbers that my insurance company listed on its acceptance email as the ones to call with any questions were incorrect.
Solution: That one's easy. List the correct numbers.
Problem: The email warning me not to cancel my existing policy before receiving my membership materials was exactly the opposite of what I needed to do.
Solution: Equally easy. Don't be sayin' that. Obviously, the company needs to make sure its instructions are accurate.
Problem: When I called the company asking for help, I had to speak to six people and endure a total of about four hours of hold music over a two-day period before finally finding someone who could help me.
Solution: Train your employees and give them the tools they need to communicate with customers and with each other correctly and efficiently.
Problem: Not everyone realizes the Exchanges may not be the only option, or even the best option, for many people. Before launching into all this, I had a vague notion that it would be possible to buy an insurance plan someplace else other than via the Exchange on Healthcare.gov, but I thought the best and most competitive plans would be on the government site. However, for people who don't qualify for a subsidy, there are other potential choices. In my case, according to what both offices eventually told me, no Exchange plan would have allowed me to keep my doctors. I imagine that is true for other people as well.
Solution: Yes, I should have taken steps to be a better-informed consumer. However, I'm not sure the media have done a particularly good job of explaining all this. Nor has the government. There has been the occasional article or story referencing insurance brokers and non-Exchange options. But typically, the coverage tends to focus exclusively on the federal or state exchanges. One news magazine piece I relied on did show how brokers were available to help. But in the example it gave, the broker sat down with the customer only to explain the Exchange options. It would not hurt for the media to broaden the scope of their coverage. Also, when I signed up, I don't recall seeing any items on the Healthcare.gov explainer 1-sheet mentioning other insurance options, suggesting the possibility of working with a broker, or referencing the issue of potentially having to change doctors under a government Exchange plan. None is there now.
And the biggest problem of all: "You can keep your plan. You can keep your doctor." The problem, of course, was that for millions of people, this statement simply was not true. Further, the facts are pretty clear that those who said it, and their supporters, knew at the time, or at very least should have known, that it was false. The Affordable Care Act therefore was passed in a less than forthright way. Not to put too fine a point on it: Obamacare proponents led the American public down a primrose path. This has led to hard feelings and has caused combatants on all sides to become even more entrenched and distrustful of one another. (I've had some personal experience with this effect while discussing the topic with friends on my Facebook page).
Solution: I didn't want the original plan I had last year to be cancelled from underneath me, and I certainly didn't want to have to change doctors. But now that I'm this far down the road, I don't want to simply junk the Affordable Care Act, either. Even so, the current distrustful political atmosphere is not okay. Can it be set right? To start, an apology would be good. I mean a real, sincere one that accepts full, personal responsibility and takes steps to restore trust. Now, only the president can know his own mind. If he did deliberately fib, he should man up and say so. I don't expect that to happen, whether or not he knew at the time that what he was saying was false. But here is what I long to hear President Obama say now: "In the debate over ACA, I said some things that turned out not to be true. In an attempt to focus the debate, I oversimplified. But I knew better. It was poor judgment, and a bad call. I am sincerely sorry. What I should have said is this: 'We are taking steps to grandfather in as many policies as we can. Even so, some of you will be inconvenienced. You might have to change plans. You might have to change doctors. I regret that. But I ask you to accept this sacrifice so that millions of your fellow Americans can have in the future what you have now and will continue to have in the future: affordable health coverage.' That's what I should have said then. I'm saying it now. For some of you, I broke a promise. I hope you will not let your understandable disappointment keep you from closing ranks and moving forward with your fellow citizens, to whom I also made a promise – a promise of a better future."
That statement, or one like it – coupled with sincere efforts to work across party lines, to the fullest extent possible, to fix whatever needs fixing, and also address the parallel problem of out-of-control national spending – would go a long way to set my mind at ease. It might even convince me to vote Democratic in the next election or two.
I'm waiting.
March 31, 2014
Obamacare and Me: The Odyssey Continues
As open enrollment for ACA-mandated health insurance draws to a close, as of this moment I'm absolutely certain that I either have one policy, two policies, or no policies in effect.
To summarize the story to date:
In mid December, after the health care policy I liked and wanted to keep was canceled out from under me, I successfully navigated the Healthcare.gov obstacle course, during which two phone helpers gave me diametrically conflicting advice. I guessed correctly which advice to follow, and by the end of this process, which was taking place during a personal health crisis, I had obtained an Exchange coverage plan in time not to not die from kidney cancer.
One month later, on the eve of my kidney removal operation, my new health insurance company informed me that my doctors were not on their plan after all (contrary to what I thought I had seen on their sign-up page, and despite what the doctors themselves had told me). But I learned that my procedure would be authorized anyway -- this time -- under a "continuity of care" principle. The next day, into the operating room I went, and out came the bad kidney.
In late February, when I was back on my feet, I hit the phone to see if I could find a way to keep the doctor who'd just saved my life. After spending some time talking with various people at my new insurance company, I applied with the same outfit for a non-Exchange plan that would allow me to keep my doctors.
Fast forward:
By March 21 the company still had taken no action on my request to change plans. I spent more than an hour on the phone trying to find out what was going on. No one could tell me, but late that afternoon I received an email stating that my application had just been approved. The email also advised me not to cancel my existing plan until I had received and reviewed my membership materials.
Today (March 31) is deadline day, the day that open enrollment ends and everyone must have their ACA-required coverage for the year in place. But as of this morning, I still had not received the membership materials my insurance company had promised. I checked and found out that the credit card I had submitted with my application had not been charged. This raises questions. Is my new policy in effect, or not? Can I cancel my old one? If not, must I now pay the April premium for the old policy? If I do pay the April premium, which will be past due tomorrow, will both policies then be in effect? If so, will I be able to get a refund for the old one? Is there something wrong with the credit card number that I submitted for the new plan? So, I fired up the cell phone just after 9:30 AM. Here is what followed:
9:38: I call the toll-free number -- the second of two listed on my March 21 email as the numbers to call with any questions -- and get a voicemail inviting me to leave a detailed message. I disconnect.
9:40: I call the first of the two numbers listed on the email, which is not toll free. A woman answers the phone. Her greeting is garbled but I do not recognize the company name that she mentions. I identify the company I'm trying to call and ask her if I've reached the right number. She says that she is with the company, but that I've reached a department that is only for inquiries about broker commissions. I double check to make sure I have dialed the number I had intended to dial, the one listed on the email, and I see that I have. I point this out to her, but she insists that I have not called the correct number. She gives me a third number to call.
9:43: I call the third number. I am on hold for 1 hour 12 minutes. Finally, a man answers the phone. I explain in detail who I am and what I need. He apologizes and tells me I have called the wrong number. He offers to transfer me to the correct number. I explain that I have already been on hold for nearly an hour and a quarter, and that I had been transferred to him by another person in his company who'd assured me this would be the right number. He apologizes but repeats that he can't help me and will need to transfer me. I agree to let him do so.
11:00: I am transferred to my fourth number of the day and am on hold for 7 minutes, after which a lady comes on the line. I repeat my detailed explanation of who I am and what I am trying to accomplish. She looks up my account, and is able to confirm for me what I already knew, that my application was approved. But she says she needs to put me on hold to research my other questions. At 11:15 she comes back on the line and tells me that she cannot answer my questions, but will transfer me to someone who can. At this point I believe I hear her tell me that she will stay on the line to make sure the call goes through. She transfers me to a call that answers with hold music, and does not stay on the line.
1:15 PM: I have been on hold at this fifth number for two hours. The hold recording is interesting. First, a canned voice says, "We apologize for the delay. Your call is important to us. The next available representative will be with you shortly." This is followed by a clip of music that runs about ten seconds. Some of the music clips provide a snippet of what apparently is intended to be a health tip. More than half of the tips contain only a sentence fragment, such as: "-- Until children reach one year of age and weigh 20 pounds." A few do contain a complete thought, like this one did: "Walking can help you manage stress and soothe your feelings. For your safety select a good pair of walking shoes that support your arches and heels. And always remember to check with your doctor before starting a walking program." This useful tidbit is followed by a minute of dead silence, followed by another message stating, "We apologize for the delay. We know your time is valuable and we appreciate your patience. Please continue to hold and we will be with you soon." And the cycle repeats. And repeats.
1:30 PM: My cell phone is dying, my stomach is rumbly, and I'm giving up to go grab a late lunch. If a bus smacks into my Mustang while I'm on my burger run, or if I have a stress-induced heart attack at the wheel, will I be covered?
Come to think of it, maybe I should walk. I heard somewhere that walking could help manage my stress and soothe my feelings. I do happen to have a good pair of walking shoes, although I have not checked with my doctor to see if a walking program of this nature is advisable for me. At this point, I'm not sure who my doctor is, or if I have one.
Stay tuned.
To summarize the story to date:
In mid December, after the health care policy I liked and wanted to keep was canceled out from under me, I successfully navigated the Healthcare.gov obstacle course, during which two phone helpers gave me diametrically conflicting advice. I guessed correctly which advice to follow, and by the end of this process, which was taking place during a personal health crisis, I had obtained an Exchange coverage plan in time not to not die from kidney cancer.
One month later, on the eve of my kidney removal operation, my new health insurance company informed me that my doctors were not on their plan after all (contrary to what I thought I had seen on their sign-up page, and despite what the doctors themselves had told me). But I learned that my procedure would be authorized anyway -- this time -- under a "continuity of care" principle. The next day, into the operating room I went, and out came the bad kidney.
In late February, when I was back on my feet, I hit the phone to see if I could find a way to keep the doctor who'd just saved my life. After spending some time talking with various people at my new insurance company, I applied with the same outfit for a non-Exchange plan that would allow me to keep my doctors.
Fast forward:
By March 21 the company still had taken no action on my request to change plans. I spent more than an hour on the phone trying to find out what was going on. No one could tell me, but late that afternoon I received an email stating that my application had just been approved. The email also advised me not to cancel my existing plan until I had received and reviewed my membership materials.
Today (March 31) is deadline day, the day that open enrollment ends and everyone must have their ACA-required coverage for the year in place. But as of this morning, I still had not received the membership materials my insurance company had promised. I checked and found out that the credit card I had submitted with my application had not been charged. This raises questions. Is my new policy in effect, or not? Can I cancel my old one? If not, must I now pay the April premium for the old policy? If I do pay the April premium, which will be past due tomorrow, will both policies then be in effect? If so, will I be able to get a refund for the old one? Is there something wrong with the credit card number that I submitted for the new plan? So, I fired up the cell phone just after 9:30 AM. Here is what followed:
9:38: I call the toll-free number -- the second of two listed on my March 21 email as the numbers to call with any questions -- and get a voicemail inviting me to leave a detailed message. I disconnect.
9:40: I call the first of the two numbers listed on the email, which is not toll free. A woman answers the phone. Her greeting is garbled but I do not recognize the company name that she mentions. I identify the company I'm trying to call and ask her if I've reached the right number. She says that she is with the company, but that I've reached a department that is only for inquiries about broker commissions. I double check to make sure I have dialed the number I had intended to dial, the one listed on the email, and I see that I have. I point this out to her, but she insists that I have not called the correct number. She gives me a third number to call.
9:43: I call the third number. I am on hold for 1 hour 12 minutes. Finally, a man answers the phone. I explain in detail who I am and what I need. He apologizes and tells me I have called the wrong number. He offers to transfer me to the correct number. I explain that I have already been on hold for nearly an hour and a quarter, and that I had been transferred to him by another person in his company who'd assured me this would be the right number. He apologizes but repeats that he can't help me and will need to transfer me. I agree to let him do so.
11:00: I am transferred to my fourth number of the day and am on hold for 7 minutes, after which a lady comes on the line. I repeat my detailed explanation of who I am and what I am trying to accomplish. She looks up my account, and is able to confirm for me what I already knew, that my application was approved. But she says she needs to put me on hold to research my other questions. At 11:15 she comes back on the line and tells me that she cannot answer my questions, but will transfer me to someone who can. At this point I believe I hear her tell me that she will stay on the line to make sure the call goes through. She transfers me to a call that answers with hold music, and does not stay on the line.
1:15 PM: I have been on hold at this fifth number for two hours. The hold recording is interesting. First, a canned voice says, "We apologize for the delay. Your call is important to us. The next available representative will be with you shortly." This is followed by a clip of music that runs about ten seconds. Some of the music clips provide a snippet of what apparently is intended to be a health tip. More than half of the tips contain only a sentence fragment, such as: "-- Until children reach one year of age and weigh 20 pounds." A few do contain a complete thought, like this one did: "Walking can help you manage stress and soothe your feelings. For your safety select a good pair of walking shoes that support your arches and heels. And always remember to check with your doctor before starting a walking program." This useful tidbit is followed by a minute of dead silence, followed by another message stating, "We apologize for the delay. We know your time is valuable and we appreciate your patience. Please continue to hold and we will be with you soon." And the cycle repeats. And repeats.
1:30 PM: My cell phone is dying, my stomach is rumbly, and I'm giving up to go grab a late lunch. If a bus smacks into my Mustang while I'm on my burger run, or if I have a stress-induced heart attack at the wheel, will I be covered?
Come to think of it, maybe I should walk. I heard somewhere that walking could help manage my stress and soothe my feelings. I do happen to have a good pair of walking shoes, although I have not checked with my doctor to see if a walking program of this nature is advisable for me. At this point, I'm not sure who my doctor is, or if I have one.
Stay tuned.
March 19, 2014
Praise from Across the Pond for "Journal"
Amazon.com has websites not just in the U.S, but all over the world. Many of those sites do offer my novels for sale. I never expected to sell any outside the States – after all, the books are in a language that's not native to most of those countries. But I've been surprised to note that I actually have sold a few copies of A Journal of the Crazy Year offshore. A few readers in places as far away as Brazil, Italy, Germany, the U.K., Australia, and even Japan have bought copies. I haven't done any marketing in those places – I wouldn't know how to begin – and I'm stumped as to how readers there find the product, but a few have.
I got curious to learn whether those overseas sites also offer reader reviews, and if so, if they're different from those that appear on the U.S. site. Upon checking this out, I was very pleased to find two reviews on Amazon's Great Britain website that I didn't know about, and both were great.
One U.K. reader gave A Journal of the Crazy Year a Five Star rating and wrote the following:
"A different twist to an apocalyptic novel. Well written and the technical and medical details were explained in layman's terms and were done with the right balance. Flesh eating zombies, human trees, the mad are sane and the sane are mad, and with humour thrown in to create a very readable and believable book. Could a comet affect the world as in the book? Who knows, but it does make you think of the possibility.... Look forward to more novels from this author ."
Another gave it a Four Star rating, and wrote:
"This was a great book, newly published in October 2013 and I am happy to have discovered it. It deserves some attention. It is good enough to be considered to be published in hard copy. If I had some niggles it would be that it goes along pretty fast and there could be more on the living aspects like food and heating like some other post apocalyptic books. There could also have been more encounters with survivors. This could have been much longer and then I would be very happy. I would like to buy a sequel."
The book was on the upper end of the word count range that most sci-fi publishers say they accept, especially for first-time novelists, so to hear a reader say he or she wanted MORE is pretty gratifying.
There's also a fabulous Five Star review on the U.K. site that the author, a Top 500 reviewer, was kind enough to cross-post manually on both the U.S. and Canadian sites (I'm not selling a thing in Canada – maybe they don't like zombies!) So with all that going on, my U.K. rating is a 4.7 overall, which is higher than here in the States.
Not every U.S. review has been positive, of course, nor would I expect that to be the case. I got curious to see how really good, widely respected sci-fi books do in comparison, so I checked out a couple by my favorite author, Robert Heinlein. I was astonished to see that my second favorite book of his, Farnham's Freehold, only has a 3.8 rating. His most famous and widely acclaimed book, Stranger in a Strange Land – which won a Hugo!! – only has a 4, and a total of 67 people slammed it with a 1-star review. Many (me among them) consider Heinlein the greatest sci-fi writer of all time. So his scores sort of put things in perspective; obviously, you can't please everyone. Of course, Stranger in a Strange Land" has 875 reader ratings in the U.S. to my 9. That gives me something to shoot for!
And toward that end – I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you read a book and like it – my book, or anyone's – the greatest kindness you can bestow is to go to the book listing where you bought it, and give that author a good review. They really do matter. (And I'll have more to say on that later – I'm working on a piece about the first anniversary of my attempt to reinvent myself as an author.)
I got curious to learn whether those overseas sites also offer reader reviews, and if so, if they're different from those that appear on the U.S. site. Upon checking this out, I was very pleased to find two reviews on Amazon's Great Britain website that I didn't know about, and both were great.
One U.K. reader gave A Journal of the Crazy Year a Five Star rating and wrote the following:
"A different twist to an apocalyptic novel. Well written and the technical and medical details were explained in layman's terms and were done with the right balance. Flesh eating zombies, human trees, the mad are sane and the sane are mad, and with humour thrown in to create a very readable and believable book. Could a comet affect the world as in the book? Who knows, but it does make you think of the possibility.... Look forward to more novels from this author ."
Another gave it a Four Star rating, and wrote:
"This was a great book, newly published in October 2013 and I am happy to have discovered it. It deserves some attention. It is good enough to be considered to be published in hard copy. If I had some niggles it would be that it goes along pretty fast and there could be more on the living aspects like food and heating like some other post apocalyptic books. There could also have been more encounters with survivors. This could have been much longer and then I would be very happy. I would like to buy a sequel."
The book was on the upper end of the word count range that most sci-fi publishers say they accept, especially for first-time novelists, so to hear a reader say he or she wanted MORE is pretty gratifying.
There's also a fabulous Five Star review on the U.K. site that the author, a Top 500 reviewer, was kind enough to cross-post manually on both the U.S. and Canadian sites (I'm not selling a thing in Canada – maybe they don't like zombies!) So with all that going on, my U.K. rating is a 4.7 overall, which is higher than here in the States.
Not every U.S. review has been positive, of course, nor would I expect that to be the case. I got curious to see how really good, widely respected sci-fi books do in comparison, so I checked out a couple by my favorite author, Robert Heinlein. I was astonished to see that my second favorite book of his, Farnham's Freehold, only has a 3.8 rating. His most famous and widely acclaimed book, Stranger in a Strange Land – which won a Hugo!! – only has a 4, and a total of 67 people slammed it with a 1-star review. Many (me among them) consider Heinlein the greatest sci-fi writer of all time. So his scores sort of put things in perspective; obviously, you can't please everyone. Of course, Stranger in a Strange Land" has 875 reader ratings in the U.S. to my 9. That gives me something to shoot for!
And toward that end – I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you read a book and like it – my book, or anyone's – the greatest kindness you can bestow is to go to the book listing where you bought it, and give that author a good review. They really do matter. (And I'll have more to say on that later – I'm working on a piece about the first anniversary of my attempt to reinvent myself as an author.)
March 16, 2014
Fox News: A Danger to the Republic? (Updated)
I posted the paragraphs below recently in someone's message thread about Fox News, and thought it might be worth sharing more widely.
This may sound strange coming from someone with a "Big J" journalism background like me -- but I do not hold it against Fox News for having a political viewpoint -- which comes out mostly (although not exclusively) in their commentary, not in their news coverage per se. Media critics tend to think that non-partisan journalism is the American standard. But when the First Amendment was written, there was no such thing. Almost every newspaper had a partisan viewpoint. The First Amendment was specifically designed to protect such speech.
I do criticize Fox's "Fair and Balanced" slogan, which does not accurately reflect their product. But absolutely no one is deceived. You know what you're getting with Fox -- just like you know what you're getting with MSNBC. Each selects the stories they think are important for their particular audience and for the national agenda they have in mind, and they go for it. That's why, during one week recently, Fox was hammering Bengazi almost round the clock while MSNBC was obsessed with the Chris Christie scandal. There is nothing wrong with that.
It's been years since just three broadcast networks dominated TV national news coverage. In the 21st century media landscape, there are enough outlets for all viewpoints. And I think the American news consumer, by and large, understands that and copes very well with it. I observe, for instance, that despite Fox, Americans recently elected one of the most liberal presidents in memory, and then re-elected him. Americans have a way of making up their own minds, no matter what is thrown at them. The Republic is not in danger -- at least not from politically flavored news coverage or partisan commentators.
Update: my post prompted this response from a friend of mine:
"Faux News masquerades its commentary as news. I've seen how they've blatantly shown the same footage as other networks and then skewed the "facts." Yes, MSNBC has many opinion shows that are obviously kewed to the left, but the NEWS part of it is, in my view, as balanced as anything out there."
My response:
I don't disagree with you. I already said that I don't find that Fox News is fulfilling the promise of its "fair and balanced" slogan. I only said the Republic is not in danger because of it. You are a perfect example of why that is so. Fox, for all its machinations, hasn't fooled you, changed your mind about anything, or brainwashed you. You figured it all out on your own. That's the way the system is supposed to work. It IS working.
I take Fox with a huge grain of salt, but I will confess that I enjoy watching its product. If I see something on Fox that I haven't heard anyplace else, then I go check it out elsewhere to see what it's all about. Sometimes it checks out, and sometimes it doesn't. But the point is, I am better as a news consumer for the exercise. And Fox does sometimes report on things other media don't, or at least don't emphasize.
I made the point earlier that while Fox News tends to get pummeled in the mainstream media, liberal MSNBC mostly gets a pass. Just now I Googled the words, "Fox news obsessed with Benghazi." The search returned quite a few hits. I then examined the first five pages to see how many were from traditional mainstream media. The top article was from The Washington Post, which decries the GOP focus on Benghazi as a "tirade" and points out that Fox, as of the publication date, had repeated one of its key allegations 85 times. There were other articles from such venerable old-media organizations as Time, CNN, The Nation, The Washington Times, The Financial Times, The New York Times, and U.S. News and World Report. The two-line story descriptions contained such hot words and phrases as "falsely," "makes no sense," "no pretensions of fairness or balance," "myth," and, of course, "obsessed" and "obsession." Seven of the eight stories are opinion pieces; one is presented as straight news.
Then I did a search for "MSNBC obsessed with Chris Christie," a subject that channel has been harping while Fox focused on Benghazi. The search also gets a lot of hits, but only three are from legacy mainstream media. A blogger for "The Nation" weighs in, as does one for CNN and one for The Guardian. All three are opinion pieces. Critical keywords appearing in the story descriptions include "discontents," "get over it," "spare me," and, of course, "obssessed."
That's quite a difference. And it's one reason why conservatives feel that in the world of mainstream media, "liberal" is viewed as normal and routine, but "conservative" is seen as weird, extreme, and abnormal, and newsworthy.
The founders of Fox News certainly viewed mainstream media as being inherently liberal. Read the book I referenced earlier, "Loudest Voice in the Room." It shows that their idea of "fairness and balance" was not to bring either concept into every individual story, but rather as a general rule to provide a news outlet designed to counterbalance the mainstream "liberal" media coverage with conservative viewpoints. Thus the slogan is not honest. In fact, arguably it's the most cynically dishonest marketing slogan in media history. But my position is that Fox News viewers are in on the gag.
Is there something fundamentally wrong with the idea of having a cable news channel pursue a conservative agenda? My view is that such an operation provides a valued service (valued in the sense that millions of Americans want to watch it and do), fools no one, and does not endanger our way of life. That said, if and when Fox news gets it wrong, the public should hold it accountable, just like it would any other media outlet. Let the chips fall where they may.
Meanwhile, I think watching Hannity and O'Reilly is grand fun. And I feel the same about Rachel Maddow.
This may sound strange coming from someone with a "Big J" journalism background like me -- but I do not hold it against Fox News for having a political viewpoint -- which comes out mostly (although not exclusively) in their commentary, not in their news coverage per se. Media critics tend to think that non-partisan journalism is the American standard. But when the First Amendment was written, there was no such thing. Almost every newspaper had a partisan viewpoint. The First Amendment was specifically designed to protect such speech.
I do criticize Fox's "Fair and Balanced" slogan, which does not accurately reflect their product. But absolutely no one is deceived. You know what you're getting with Fox -- just like you know what you're getting with MSNBC. Each selects the stories they think are important for their particular audience and for the national agenda they have in mind, and they go for it. That's why, during one week recently, Fox was hammering Bengazi almost round the clock while MSNBC was obsessed with the Chris Christie scandal. There is nothing wrong with that.
It's been years since just three broadcast networks dominated TV national news coverage. In the 21st century media landscape, there are enough outlets for all viewpoints. And I think the American news consumer, by and large, understands that and copes very well with it. I observe, for instance, that despite Fox, Americans recently elected one of the most liberal presidents in memory, and then re-elected him. Americans have a way of making up their own minds, no matter what is thrown at them. The Republic is not in danger -- at least not from politically flavored news coverage or partisan commentators.
Update: my post prompted this response from a friend of mine:
"Faux News masquerades its commentary as news. I've seen how they've blatantly shown the same footage as other networks and then skewed the "facts." Yes, MSNBC has many opinion shows that are obviously kewed to the left, but the NEWS part of it is, in my view, as balanced as anything out there."
My response:
I don't disagree with you. I already said that I don't find that Fox News is fulfilling the promise of its "fair and balanced" slogan. I only said the Republic is not in danger because of it. You are a perfect example of why that is so. Fox, for all its machinations, hasn't fooled you, changed your mind about anything, or brainwashed you. You figured it all out on your own. That's the way the system is supposed to work. It IS working.
I take Fox with a huge grain of salt, but I will confess that I enjoy watching its product. If I see something on Fox that I haven't heard anyplace else, then I go check it out elsewhere to see what it's all about. Sometimes it checks out, and sometimes it doesn't. But the point is, I am better as a news consumer for the exercise. And Fox does sometimes report on things other media don't, or at least don't emphasize.
I made the point earlier that while Fox News tends to get pummeled in the mainstream media, liberal MSNBC mostly gets a pass. Just now I Googled the words, "Fox news obsessed with Benghazi." The search returned quite a few hits. I then examined the first five pages to see how many were from traditional mainstream media. The top article was from The Washington Post, which decries the GOP focus on Benghazi as a "tirade" and points out that Fox, as of the publication date, had repeated one of its key allegations 85 times. There were other articles from such venerable old-media organizations as Time, CNN, The Nation, The Washington Times, The Financial Times, The New York Times, and U.S. News and World Report. The two-line story descriptions contained such hot words and phrases as "falsely," "makes no sense," "no pretensions of fairness or balance," "myth," and, of course, "obsessed" and "obsession." Seven of the eight stories are opinion pieces; one is presented as straight news.
Then I did a search for "MSNBC obsessed with Chris Christie," a subject that channel has been harping while Fox focused on Benghazi. The search also gets a lot of hits, but only three are from legacy mainstream media. A blogger for "The Nation" weighs in, as does one for CNN and one for The Guardian. All three are opinion pieces. Critical keywords appearing in the story descriptions include "discontents," "get over it," "spare me," and, of course, "obssessed."
That's quite a difference. And it's one reason why conservatives feel that in the world of mainstream media, "liberal" is viewed as normal and routine, but "conservative" is seen as weird, extreme, and abnormal, and newsworthy.
The founders of Fox News certainly viewed mainstream media as being inherently liberal. Read the book I referenced earlier, "Loudest Voice in the Room." It shows that their idea of "fairness and balance" was not to bring either concept into every individual story, but rather as a general rule to provide a news outlet designed to counterbalance the mainstream "liberal" media coverage with conservative viewpoints. Thus the slogan is not honest. In fact, arguably it's the most cynically dishonest marketing slogan in media history. But my position is that Fox News viewers are in on the gag.
Is there something fundamentally wrong with the idea of having a cable news channel pursue a conservative agenda? My view is that such an operation provides a valued service (valued in the sense that millions of Americans want to watch it and do), fools no one, and does not endanger our way of life. That said, if and when Fox news gets it wrong, the public should hold it accountable, just like it would any other media outlet. Let the chips fall where they may.
Meanwhile, I think watching Hannity and O'Reilly is grand fun. And I feel the same about Rachel Maddow.
