Baron of the Coast published!

Its been a while since I updated this blog but I think this is something worth talking about.  I published Baron of the Coast and its available on Amazon.  I went through Create Space this time just to try it out.  Its a rather easy, no pressure, no hassle way to publish something.  I may return to my old publisher for the next Cruel New World book but I'll wait and see. 

Baron of the Coast has been well received so far and sales are picking up.  And this is now while there are no review copies out yet.  I'm working on that as we speak.  So far everyone seems to like Baron's dad and the people under him more than Baron himself.  A friend even said he liked the idea of Baron's mom.  None of those characters were really given much thought.  Baron's dad is just a typical two sided drunken parent who is loved by his peers and dreaded by his family.  He wasn't very hard to write about.  Baron's mom is a typical woman living after the bomb and realizing that there is no longer a future in being a trophy wife.  Now it means more to be able to assist in making a home and helping your family to survive than just looking pretty and popping out a baby every few years. 

Everybody I put a lot of thought into, such as the bullied traitor, Will Jenkins for example, has been barely mentioned.  I'll say this though, for whatever reason you liked Baron of the Coast, its a good enough reason.  So far one person has pointed out a few phrasing mistakes but other than that, there have been not a single complaint. 

I think people enjoy seeing how a smashed up world affects the more well off individuals.  Its one thing to say "look at how the survivalist own the situation" or even how the young and healthy adapt.  But what I find more interesting is how the moneyed, chemically dependent, pampered or just sedate living people handle the bottom falling out of the world.  In that way, Baron of the Coast is kind of the opposite of Cruel New World FN-1.  Cruel New World was about young guys who already knew the woods and swamps of Georgia better than most folks know their own living room.  They lived in the wreckage of the old world and lived better than they had before, minus the presence of the Chinese Chemical Warfare Assessment Team with whom they tangled. 

My next book to come out will be Ticker 2.0.  I'm finishing that one up now.  In fact, now that I've got an easy way to get the books out, I don't think it would be unlikely to see a book from me every 90 days or so.  There are even a few old books I wrote that didn't have bad concepts in them but were just poorly written.  I might dust some of those off and give them a re-write. 

So here's the link for Baron of the Coast.  I hope you guys like it!

http://www.amazon.com/Baron-Coast-Christopher-R-Drake/dp/1499568983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405104280&sr=8-1&keywords=baron+of+the+coast

The Occupy scene

It's really kind of funny to see how vague and inarticulate the Occupy crowd is as a whole.  Wallstreet...corporate fat cats...bankers...yeah, we know.  Even as vague as that is, it is at least downrange. 

Let me tell you what I'd say if I was down protesting for days on end.  First, I'd point out that I'd just now woken up to the fact that I'm a slave with a golden collar (to borrow a phrase from an old friend).  Next, I'm here to challenge the notion that this is a free country and ask that my collar be removed so I can fail or succeed on my own.  No banks, no credit cards, no loans of any kind.  Basically, I'd have to do that because taking long periods of time off work to protest would mean I'd have to file for bankruptcy anyhow.  Then I'd remind whoever I was speaking to that this is exactly how WW2 started. 

Revolution in Europe started against capitalism then against capitalism and communism.  When it was all over, the capitalists and communist unevenly divided things up and went on their way.  So when you think left-right wing this and that, remember that fact. 

Cheap labor is brought in to make sure your demands for higher wages are ignored.  You are told to celebrate diversity while it all gets set up.  Meanwhile, the police state welcomes the climate that sort of arrangement brings.  Sure, multi-cultural society works, you just need enough police, prisons, laws and soldiers. 

Remember June 17th, 1953. 

To the powers that be, I dare you to try that here.  You've played commies and German workers.  Now come see what happens when you play commies and American dissidents.