Check out FRACKED

  

My new novel, FRACKED: Earth’s Warning!, was released last week. I’ve stepped out of my horror writing comfort zone into straight fiction. The genre is action, adventure with a bit of romance and heroism thrown in to round things out. The story emerged from my summer work at Yellowstone at the Old Faithful Lower General store. Little by little the characters came to life as I hiked the various areas of the Old Faithful basin.

As I was writing, I had a memory of Irwin Allen. Remember him? He became known as the “Master of Disaster.” I loved watching his films like The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure. Today his legacy can be seen in films like 2015’s summer blockbuster, San Andreas.

Though Fracked: Earth’s Warning! is a work of fiction, I’ve woven into the storyline facts and discoveries about fracking, and its possible harmful effects. Here are links to some of the articles I researched for the novel:

 “Fracking Firm Admits It Caused Earthquakes” by RP Siegel

www.triplepundit.com/2011/11/fracking-firm-admits-caused-earthquakes/

“Man-made Earthquakes | StateImpact Texas” This article was reported and researched by StateImpact Texas reporters, Kelly Connelly of KUT News, and David Barer and Yana Skorobogatov of StateImpact Texas and Reporting Texas.  

https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/earthquake/

“States With Fracking See Surge In Earthquake Activity” by Emily Schmall and Justin Juozapavicius

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/14/fracking-earthquake_n_5585892.html

“The Seismic Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes | TIME” by Bryan Walsh

www.time.com/84225/fracking-and-earthquake-link/

“After statement linking earthquakes and fracking, oil tycoon tried to have scientists fired.” By Jenny Hayden

 www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/19/1386023/-After-statement-linking-earthquakes-and-fracking-oil-tycoon-tried-to-have-scientists-fired?detail=facebook

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Is it too late to fix our broken planet? Some would say yes that we are past the tipping point. News reports almost daily depict unprecedented storms and weather related disasters. Global warming is no longer a theory. It is upon us and now the majority of the American public agrees with the scientists. As for some politicians in denial, it’s a slow arduous effort to convince them. We can only hope that the efforts to put the brakes on the warming of our planet will work or future generations will have to pay a hefty price. Could we possibly break our planet in our hunger for fossil fuels and the greed associated with it?

On a more positive note, Fracked really is about people coming together to help others without fear for their own life. Whatever the disaster is and no matter where it occurs, people rise to the occasion to be the good Samaritan, to be the selfless hero. I have always felt that the greatness of country is not reflected in its leadership or its wealth, but rather the caring, compassionate fabric of its people.

FRACKED: Earth’s warning!  is available from Amazon. Here are links to the ebook and print formats:

http://amzn.to/1PdO602

http://amzn.to/1UjRgiH

Hope you’ll give FRACKED a read. Let me know how you like it with a review on Amazon or send me an email (jhoch@winona.edu)

On Being Stalked

I’ve been noticing something creepy and a bit George Orwell’s 1984 lately when I surf the net. It’s almost like being stalked.

So the other day, I googled a particular shoe I liked and found it at JC Penney. The price was good, but I decided to see if I could first find it at the store. A short time later when I opened my facebook page … bam! There was an advertisement for it from Penney. Now for the last couple of days almost any page I visit, I get bombarded by a picture of the shoe and the price from Penney. HELP! THEY’RE STALKING ME!

JC Penney isn’t the first instance of utilizing stalking techniques. I’ve noticed it from other business sites that I visit. Some are relentless at invading my computer. I suppose it’s a whole new marketing scheme, but I do find it creepy because they are capable of “watching” me. It’s kind of like a mosquito buzzing around your ear. As George Orwell put it … Big Brother is watching!!!

All the surveillance around us nowadays on one hand is probably for our own good. But I wonder where it will all lead. Guess I should revisit Mr. Orwell’s book 1984 and see the possibilities.

A Lost Art

Recently, I received an email from a friend and something dawned on me. She addressed everything that I had mentioned or asked in the email that I had sent to her. I love that because I truly believe the person “listened” to what I had to say or ask in my email.

Some people’s email is just … me, me, me. They don’t answer anything you asked or comment on something exciting you reported. It’s just a report of what they are doing. It is a one sided conversation and most likely they are the same people who don’t listen when you are talking.

Remember actual letters? I find it fascinating to read old letters from past eras, especially from composers, authors, or important political figures. The writing is colorful and some might say – flowery. But they sounded so eloquent, personal and educated. The whole art of writing a letter might be long gone. An email is often short, cryptic and with the influence of texting more akin to something that needs a person skilled in deciphering … . lmao, lol!

I don’t text. To begin with, I find it awkward to type on those tiny little keyboards. I like a regular keyboard so I can stretch out and write a real sentence and paragraph. More importantly, I find it hard to express a feeling in a text. An email is at least closer to a real letter and one can articulate a sentiment more easily.

When I write an email, I still write as though I am writing an actual letter, something that was taught in elementary school. I use correct grammar and sentence structure. I choose my words carefully and write in an educated manner. Oh, and before pushing that send button, I proofread!!

So the next time you are constructing an email to a friend take a look at what you have composed. Would your grammar school teacher be proud of you? Oh wait, I’ve just dated myself with the term grammar school. For those of you younger, that is the same as elementary school. At any rate, happy writing!

Just found out that the blog platform that I have been using for about the last four years was sold. So I shopped around for a new blog site and went with blogger. I am tweaking my site look and have to change sites and info to show my new blog site.

I will be posting a new blog soon.  In the meantime, I do have good news to report. My short story, HOUND OF GOD, can be found in the new ultimate werewolf anthology by D. Alan Lewis and Dark Oak Press. There are two volumes. My story is in LUNA'S CHILDREN: FULL MOON MAYHEW.  It is available in 3 formats. Go here to pick up a copy. http://amzn.to/1r8hLdv

Happy reading!!!

Test Drive

I am test driving this blogger site to see if I would like to use this as my main blog. Currently, I've been doing my blog at Red Room.

I am curious to see how this works on going to my other sites such as Author Central at Amazon.com and Goodreads.

This one is easy to use.