Zombie Literature banned by U.S. Supreme Court

Below are some snippets from the L.A. Daily (Lapeer Area Daily Newspaper). The article from the newspaper deals with the surprising Supreme Court decision to ban zombie literature:

...In an unexpected pronouncement, a unanimous decision by the highest court in the land called for the immediate banning of all fiction "associated or related to the walking dead, undead, or commonly termed 'zombies'."

No one in Washington is commenting on this startling ruling. All members of the U.S. Supreme Court have refused to discuss the issue. This silence extends to Congress and all the way to the President himself. One inside source revealed, "there is a growing concern about zombies in politics. Not to say that all politicians are zombies, but quite often they share some of the traits of the undead, and don't want to be mistaken for one by overly zealous fans of the genre." The insider went on to explain that there is a general fear among politicians and the corporate elite of being attacked, mistakenly, for being a zombie. The insider also revealed that vampires are next on the Supreme Court's targeted list.

Locally, the decision drew attention by several university professors. While none were willing to have their names printed, at least one agreed to offer some insight:

"Washington's fear of being mistaken for zombies is decades old. Mostly it was due to unfortunate timing. George Romero released the cult classic, 'Dawn of the Dead,' and soon the Reagan administration was under fire with charges of being zombies. Naturally, the glassy-eye gaze of President Reagan, and what some termed 'voodoo economics' didn't help the image.

The fear has continued ever since then, culminating with several Congresses that seem to be unable to make decisions, or find their way back to D.C. But this problem isn't limited to the U.S. political system. Every day in the halls of my university, I come face to face with zombies. Blank-faced students, seemingly asleep, yet able to walk, and text one another. They moan and grunt and groan when asked questions, and randomly lift their hands in the air when no question is asked. On several occasions, I have covertly taken their temperatures, only to find they were no higher than room temperature - which can be in the hundreds at a Michigan university in June or September.

Personally, I see this as a growing threat, but one that doesn't need to have all literature on the subject be banned. Clearly, the Supreme Court is trying to hide something, if not themselves, from the public eye. It is important that everyone be aware of how to identify a zombie, and how to avoid contact or stop an attack. Banning the literature is moving in the wrong direction. In these desperate times, the public needs more of such literature. This growing threat is moving from every direction. Fast food restaurants, schools and colleges, hospitals, local and nation-wide politics. It is obvious there is an overthrow in progress, and the U.S. is shambling into that revolution with the walking dead leading the charge.

Metaphor: What is it good for?

Recently, I've read several educational surveys that indicate that art and tools of literature are passing way. Primarily, metaphor, simile, and personification. For those who enjoy writing and reading, this is certainly sad news. For those who enjoy language as logic, it is also sad news. Orators, prose writers, poets, lyricists, all can be affected by the seemingly decreasing understanding of the purpose, function, and meaning of these tropes.

A few lines of Shakespeare will reveal the power of these figures of speech. He was a master of their use - particularly personification. However, it seems modern readers are having more difficulty catching-on to lines such as "...Up from my cabin / My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark..." (Hamlet). Okay, I admit, that one is a bit of a challenge. Given we don't think of the fog on the sea that often, to be "scarf'd" in fog and darkness requires some work to figure out. But what a wondeful imae.

Mmost writers today don't work at the level of Shakespeare, and the metaphors are a touch more modern in meaning. "The clouds padded across the night sky" (A. A. Attanasio) is wonderful example of modern usage. Of course, clouds don't "pad" about. It is the image that works; the underlying meaning, the poetry of the line add to its "feeling." It transforms the clouds into something more than vapor - more than the literal.

Naturally, the weaker forms of metaphor are falling by the wayside as well. What this adds up to is a loss in the depth and pleasure of reading. While film can compensate for written metaphor by imagery, it is very different - and something that also appears lost to more and more film viewers.

At the root of all of this is the sub-textual meaning of a fiction work. Yes, fiction sometimes has such a thing, and quite often the aforementioned literary tropes build the foundation of that meaning or theme.

Recently in my novel Pallid Light: The Waking Dead, I opted to move away from the common theme of "zombies as consumers." It's a good one, but I was interested in personal and group identity. And it so happens that "zombies" are a natural fit for dealing with identity. Throughout the novel I used character reversals (for the living characters) and semi-intelligent and mindless zombies as well. I suppose, to be cliche, I was saying, "you can't judge a book by it's cover" (hopefully that still has meaning today). Convicts, tough guys, nerds, the poor and the wealthy all get a chance to appear as their stereotypes, and then attempt to reverse those stereotypes as the reader engages with the characters. Even the zombies join in the fun.

Personally, I think the novel can be read without any attention given to the sub-text, but part of the fun of reading and writing for me is exploring the sub-text, the themes. And while we do live in a consumer nation, the traditional zombie fiction theme, we also live in a world of lost identities. In fact, it seems people might even consume to find personal identity - you are what you eat and what you buy, after all.

For me the locus of the issue rests with the individual. What defines us? Work, clothing, actions, public opinion, vocabulary, education, social status? It's an endless list, and one, to me, worth investigating.

In a culture driven to achieve, to succeed, to "win," I can think of no greater disaster than the fall of the structure of society. All that remains are people without their belongings, without the former social order, without the things they strove so long to acquire to "identify" themselves. And while people can be taken at face value, in order to trust them, we as individuals must look deeper. To maker matters worse, if we all experience an identity crisis, how can we know ourselves, much less anyone else.

In the end, words, simile, metaphor, and various other approaches attempt to tell two stories in Pallid Light. One story is obvious: the end of the world. But at every turn, fast on the heels of the apocalypse are character questioning who they are and what they are.

I mention all of this not because I want people to read the sub-text of Pallid Light. Rather, I can speak on the novel with some authority as I wrote the book. My real goal is to convince some readers to give more thought to any author's selection or words, phrases, comparisons. It is a part of what makes written fiction so wonderful. Sometimes a word is just a word. But other times, we catch ourselves asking, "What did you mean by that?" To return to Hamlet, his utterance of "Get thee to a nunnery" has been the topic of countless debates over the centuries. Most of us today know what a nunnery is - but in Shakespeare's day, it also could mean a "whore house." He said this to Ophelia, shortly after uttering, "I did love you ... but I don't love you." The meaning of his words depends upon whether Ophelia thought Hamlet was speaking in metaphor or literary... or maybe both. Either way, there's something rotten in the State of Denmark.

Publishers, Authors, and Readers - Will They Be One?

E-Books. Yes, I typed it. For those who have read my various blogs and articles about e-books in the past, you're probably thinking: here he goes again. But I'm not. Well, I am, but only long enough to link to another important article in The New York Review of Books. If you're a fan of books, and have ever wondered why books vanish from the shelves so quickly, and never return, then this is an article for you.

Actually, if you're a reader, writer, or publisher, this article is for you. Or, if you're alive, the article is a pretty good match for you. The fact that you're already on the Internet means it's a good fit. All in all, I'm saying follow this link and give, "Publishing: The Revolutionary Future," by Jason Epstein.

Surrogate - Film

Yes, I'm behind in my film watching. In fact, last night was the first chance I had to watch Zombieland and Surrogate. It seems that Zombieland has had plenty of commentaries - not surprisingly. I certainly enjoyed the film, but I didn't think it was as clever as Shaun of the Dead. And luckily for me, there are some common themes in Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead and Surrogate. Lucky because it gives me an easy segue from zombie films to "almost" zombie films.

Let me explain that last remark. Or maybe the entire paragraph. Quite often, zombie fiction/films deal with the alienation of humanity. Shaun, in Shaun of the Dead was so alienated that he didn't notice the difference between a living and undead world - until it was close enough to bite him. Similarly, Zombieland followed the "journey" plot, taking the narrator from the living world (isolated from humanity) to the zombie world, where he finally completes his journey of growth, and finds the family for which he's been searching (no longer alienated). In Surrogate, most of humanity use avatars (robots) to live their daily lives. They go to work in them, entertain in them, vacation in them, and pretty much do everything else you can imagine in them. Hidden in those "control beds" where humans dwell while operating their surrogates is something of a "zombie." But mostly, they are alienated from each other - just as in the two zombie films mentioned above.

Those of you who are familiar with Marxist literary analysis have already picked up on the keyword "alienated." Those who are just familiar with Marx are probably thinking: Is this guy a Communist? I'm a writer, therefore, I'm a Capitalist - is it possible to be anything else in the current world? What I'm saying is I'm not speaking about Communism. I'm speaking about alienation - the removal ourselves from the daily human existence. Yes, Karl Marx feared Capitalism caused this, and well it does. As a result, the theme appears in our fiction (intentionally or not). For example, to be alienated from labor is to work for a corporation, but being nothing more than a cog in a greater mechanism. To borrow from Marx's example: If I make shoes for a company, the company name goes on the shoe. That is very different from being the owner of a shoe shop, where people know me for making shoes. When I own the shop and make the shoes, I'm not alienated from what I do for a living.

So back to the film Surrogate. It is set in a world where most everyone uses robots to travel about the world, and to work. They view and sense through the robots, but their real bodies are in "VR" beds. Needless to say, the robots are physically attractive, creating a world of supermodels. Meanwhile, the humans look shabby and sickly - they don't get out much. Or, in other terms, they exist in near complete alienation.

This was something I didn't expect from the film. And I'm not sure it was the intention of the film. Isolation and vanity are clearly themes it deals with, but as a side effect alienation comes into play as it produces an artificial superstructure - a false world in which humans have their surrogate machines do the living for them. The end result is that there is no "real " living going on in the film. Husbands and wives remain locked behind doors, while their surrogates interact with each other. This makes for a clever analogy for the Internet, texting, VR, and most trends in our modern world where personal interaction can be "phoned in" from a device.

With all of that said, this is not a new idea. It has been told in many different tales many times. However, without revealing the end of the film, I will say it was strikingly similar to a short story by John Shirley titled, "Techotriptych." In fact, it was so similar in concept and execution that I briefly wondered if John wrote the screenplay for Surrogate (he is a screenplay writer). It turns out not to be wasn't the case. And if you're wondering, John Shirley's tale deals with similar themes. He'd have to comment about the alienation aspect. Although, intended or not, it is embedded in his story as it is in Surrogate and Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland because alienation is a part of Western Culture. And I think, for me, that is part of the appeal of these films and short story. They touch upon a common theme, an aspect of the viewer's (and reader's) life.

Hopefully, I've not revealed too much about the film to spoil anything, but offered enough incentive to watch Surrogate. And if you haven't seen the other films mentioned, give them a shot. The same goes for John Shirley's tale. It is powerful and makes no apologies, but that is what rattles the reader into reconsidering the world in which he or she lives.

What's Up With Indie Presses

During my recent visit to ConFusion, I had a number of new authors ask the same question - although always in different terms. However, the central theme was about Indie and large presses. Basically, they wanted to know "what" Indie presses were and why would authors go with them.

Of course, the question is a tough one to answer quickly. So my fast-response was: Indie presses are moderate to small sized publishers, usually with far less overhead than the "big" publishing houses. Unlike some of the larger houses, most Indie presses do not purchase shelf space in stores (though some do), which means a new title may have less representation in bookstores. The mega-size of larger publishing houses provides them with the clout and the ability to secure shelf space for all of the titles they publish. Indies tend to rely upon book appeal, author appeal, and proven sales.

Now with this said, you might expect indie presses to sell less than the larger houses. And quite often this would be correct. However, on many occasions indie presses compete or out sell their larger counterparts. It seems there is an advantage to basing published books on "appeal" rather than a "shotgun" approach. In fact, in the the last few years, indie presses have made giant leaps in sales, although mainly in trade paperback books (those are the larger books). Mass Market books (the smaller ones printed on pulp paper) tend to be the domain of large publishing houses - there are exceptions, though many large houses start new authors with low print-run trades, or reward strong selling authors with higher royalty trades. However, even mass market books are no longer the sole domain of large houses as several indie presses are venturing into this area. It is a bit more risky as quite often a larger number of mass markets books are not sold (selling 50% of a print run common with MMs). In this case, quantity or "mass" sales is the key to success. Print 20,000 books and hope to sell 10,000 (the actual numbers vary). And the author is paid on final sales, not total number printed. those MMs that are not sold have the cover removed and the book is destroyed. Meanwhile, trade paperbacks (TPs) are physically returned to the distributor or publisher, and either destroyed or re-sold.

As a result of the success of indie presses, many notable authors have started working with these moderate sized publishing houses. There is money to be made in this market, and authors of all backgrounds are usually interested in increasing their income. Likewise, there tends to be a bit more creative control for the author, and more personal interaction.

Now back to the question I was commonly asked at ConFusion. Although it was unsaid, I believe the main interest was in how to select or whether to go with an indie publishing house. With any size publisher it is important to find the right one. And with large houses, it is a given they have distribution. If you're a writer shopping indie presses, make sure the house has strong distribution either through a commercial distributor, or direct distribution. It is these connections with distributors or through distribution that allows indie presses to compete in the marketplace and provide writers with strong sales. That is how the books get out to stores.

All in all, there are many more options for writers today (and artists). Selling several thousand books through an indie house or a larger house is pretty much the same. In all cases, the sales numbers usually come down to the amount of promotion the author does. Yes, publishers promote titles, but for the vast majority of writers, the bulk of promotional work is left to the them- Indie or large press. Sadly, this dispels the myth that writers sit at home, never venturing out into the world. Large or moderate, the publisher still calls upon the writer for assistance in selling her or his book.

Pallid Light: The Waking Dead - Book Contest

Win a Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) of Pallid Light: The Waking Dead

I have a number of ARCs of my new novel, Pallid Light - to be released in Feb. 2010. So, I thought I'd give away a couple of copies. To make some sport of it, those interested can offer the location of any city named "Temperance." Example, Temperance, CA. (Just made that up, so it doesn't count).

The novel takes place in Temperance, Illinois (fictive location). If you'd like to enter for a random drawing, then either post or email send me a message with a location of another Temperance.

The contest will run until the end of 2009 (Dec. 31st).

That... That... That Thing

Presently, the American written word is plagued with "That-itis." Well, it is plagued with many things, but the overuse of the indefinite pronoun "that" is overwhelming. With THAT said, I confess, in my casual writing, I abuse and use "that" quite often. But such a confession does not forgive me of my crimes. :) To atone for the abuses, I attempt to remove or avoid using "that" in my fiction writing. Okay, I'm not atoning, I'm simply trying to avoid over usage.

Having taught at a university, I was always dealing with students plopping down "this and that" here and there in their papers. I'm certain most any teacher who has encountered writing has seen this as well. What's alarming is how rapidly the guard has been dropped in the fiction world. Over the last few years, I've read several books by various publishers, all of which were overstocked with "that."

So what's the big deal about that? Probably nothing. Most likely, I'm a curmudgeon who is overreacting. Although, if you're a writer, try re-writing a sentence without "that." I bet you'll find your style varies, and the sentences flourish with other words. Yes, sometimes "that" can be a prose killer. It's easy to use, easy to spell, and it comes naturallyto us. All of those are warning signs. Take the difficult path with your sentence.  Or start counting "that" in writing - just to see how often it is used or overused. And of course, sometimes we simply need to use "that." After all, that is why "that" was invented. :)

SFF Insider Site, Guest Blog, and Contest

If you get a chance, drop by SFF Insider. I did a guest blog about the e-book industry, and speculate a bit about the future. Even if you don't care to read my ramblings, there is also a contest. Get a chance to win a free copy of Pallid Light: The Waking Dead.

Or, prowl around the site and read a few book reviews, other blogs, and catch up on publishing/book news. There is a website for nearly every genre, so there is something for everyone.

Pallid Light: The Waking Dead

Coming to bookstores next February, 2010, is my new novel Pallid Light: The waking dead. I'm going to offer up that it's fast-paced, and a bit of an action tale. For a preview, visit my website. The first 3 chapters are online. (Click Here)

I'm already working on other projects, and have been for a while. In the queue are a few anthologies and two more novels. If all goes according to plan, they should appear next year and the following year. By then I'm certain I'll have more projects, and the process will repeat.

For those who know about my sleeping disorder (now you do if you didn't), I find the subtitle to Pallid Light rather ironic. It didn't occur to me until after I'd finished the novel. Oh, how many times I've felt like the waking dead.

Now comes the confusion: Why does the book on Amazon have two authors listed? Pretend you didn't see that. I write under a pen name, and through a variety of channels of confusion, the title was listed with my pen name and my real name. This will soon be corrected. As it turns out, my pen name doesn't have the same Nielsen ratings I do - see the previous post for details on that. And, given myriad other things, one confusion lead to another, which resulted in me co-authoring with myself. Even though I found myself difficult to work with, in the end, I won all of the arguments. A good sign, I hope.

I do want to thank Malcolm McClinton for his cover art, and everyone who read the book and offered insights.

Below is some copy text for the novel. It takes place in Temperance, Illinois. The town will never be the same.

Pallid Light: The Waking Dead

The world ends with the flip of a switch. The thundering storms strike across the world, searing the earth, leaving destruction in their wake. Few will survive. For the folks living in Temperance, Illinois the nightmare is just beginning. When the sky roils in luminous colors, the people of the small town begin to die, and Randall Clay decides to escape. What he didn’t expect was the dead to come back to life or the nightmare that came after.

Holidaze and Gifts and Review

No essay this time. No rambling about some arcane topic. Just rambling about common topics.

Once again, I return to e-books. In particular, the Kindle. I spotted a commercial for the Kindle on television last night. Very stylish, and creative. Very little mention of reading. But after you see the ad, you feel like you need to own a Kindle. As luck would have it, I do own a Kindle 2. It came to mean through a promotional means related to the publishing industry. The ad didn't sell me - mainly because I hadn't seen it at that time. (That is the shadow of my paws over the Kindle)

I confess, I was torn between the Nook and the Kindle, and any Sony device. I went with the discount. And then I started running into people who had purchased Kindles for gifts, or were receiving them as gifts for the holidays. Everyone was excited - you can read books anywhere (I could before). You can bring all of your books with you (couldn't do that, and still can't with the Kindle, but I see the point, although I'm not sure of the need). The Kindle is small (so is a book). It is light-weight (most books are). It looks just like a book (so does a book).

And yes, I own a Kindle. It is a delightful gadget. I can read books anywhere, even though I can with my iPhone and a Kindle application. It is light...looks like a book. Okay, enough said.

What I've been wondering about with all of this excitement is this: How many people are purchasing e-readers because they are nifty technology? The Kindle commercial certainly pushes heavy on "coolness" and "style." At a metaphoric level it hints at reading by becoming different characters. But at no point does it show someone sitting in a chair, gazing at a Kindle. That approach probably wouldn't work. But my guess is that is how it is used most often. I've not tried dancing with my Kindle yet.

In the end, if you're interested in a Kindle, I'd say you'd probably enjoy it (particularly if you like to read). You can make notes on it. Look up words. Listen to Audible.com books or MP3 anythings. You can store your own documents on it, and it has free Internet access. Yes, you can browse the web, read blogs, use web-based email. None of those things work as well as a computer. But they do work. Of course, you can get books very quickly, and there are many free books to be had (out of copyright). And I'd suggest quizzing Jeff Edwards about e-readers. He puts them to very good use, and is quite knowledgeable on the subject.

The drawback in all cases is the price of these things. Sometimes they range the price of a netbook (which can do all of the above). But you don't get a free screensaver with one of your favorite authors. All in all, they make great gifts because the person being gifted does not have to pay the high price. So maybe gift yourself.

So what am I reading on my Kindle? Everything I was reading on my Kindle application for my iPhone/iTouch. But I did go back in time and read Tobias S. Buckell's novel Ragamuffin (2008).

Yes, I know this isn't his most recent book. I've read the recent ones, but for some reason I didn't read Ragamuffin. So, it seemed like a good test of the Kindle. And a way to catch-up on books.

For those who don't know, this novel is a SF novel, set in the future, with a rough and tough protagonist. A female protagonist. And the novel has strong social undercurrents as humanity is far below being second-class citizens. Oh, before anyone says, you're reading too much into it, I'll respond: I'm not. :) Even if Tobias says otherwise, I will disagree. Why? Because it's there to be found, regardless of the author's intent. Although, I suspect there was intent.

In many ways, the novel reproduces the themes of the Harlem Renaissance literature (don't moan; I'm not going into a history lesson).Social stratification, species-ism, and biological discrimination are a part of this work. So is action, combat, witty dialogue, and an interesting universe. Certainly, there is science in this work of fiction, but it is not hard science fiction, which means those of you who dislike long explanations of how technology works or why there is gravity on a spaceship don't have to worry.

The novel starts with a bang and ends with a boom. You'd have to read it to get the joke. I'd certainly recommend reading it, either in print or on an e-reader. And as for the e-book edition on the Kindle, the format was smooth, with the exception of what I suspect are "drop caps" for the first letter of every chapter. The first character of each chapter stood above the body of the text - it was clearly not intentional.

Ah, but someone is bound to say: It is too late to get any of these gifts. It's not! If you go with a Kindle, you can get it delivered before Xmas. And if you include a gift certificate, the books can be downloaded in minutes. This means that every following year you can do last minute gift buying as the gifts can be downloaded.

Getting Published

I'm a professional member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and the Horror Writers Association. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not sure I understand what really qualifies a "professional," making that person different from an "Affiliate" member. Yes, I know the rules stipulating qualifications, but in an Affiliate member writers, and publishes, and quite often does as well financially as a Professional member, then isn't the Affiliate a Professional?

But I'm not here to talk about that. Recently, the famous publishing house Harlequin purchased a "pay for print" business. These are quite common today. Amazon has one, Ingram (the book wholesaler) has one, and there are myriad others. These businesses basically charge writers to print their books. I'm not using "publish books" because that is a little bit different.

Originally, Harlequin had their name associated with this business, which mislead some new writers into believing their manuscripts had been accepted by Harlequin. Not true. First, Harlequin doesn't charge writers, and next one is more or less printing while the other is publishing.

In turn, the HWA (Horror Writers), SFWA (not defining the rest of them), RWA, MWA, and most every other organization for writers which included "WA" in their initials protested and removed Harlequin from their list of "approved" publishers (notice that last word).

In turn, Harlequin changed the name of the business to Dellarte Press. This satisfied no one, so the protests continue.

If you're not keeping-up with these things, you might wonder what why this is important. It is important because there is a difference between being published and being printed. At first, most people think it has to do with the pay - the author being paid. Well, that is part of it. Although most authors don't get much pay to begin with. And others would argue it has to do with the writer paying to have the book printed. Partly the issue as well. Publishers don't charge - at least not yet.

But in the end, if a writer pays to have a book printed and it sells a million copies, does it matter? Probably not - except that million selling author isn't a Professional according to most places with WA in its initials.

What is important is the spectacularly poor odds of that book selling more than 200 copies. The cause isn't a lack of editor, or because the writer paid to have it printed. The most overwhelming issue is the lack of distribution. Or to put it another way, a book in a box in someone's basement isn't selling to anyone. Neither is a book in a box in someone's warehouse.

Let me offer an example. Think of a book title you've never heard of. I'll wait. :)

Of course, coming up with the name of a book that you don't know and no one else knows is very difficult. Now imagine a reader saying spontaneously, "Hey, I want ..." and she blurts out the name of a book of which she's never heard.

Probably isn't going to happen.

This is the problem with most of this "pay for print" houses. They offer you "distribution," for an extra fee, and then they list the book with wholesalers. This means, if someone knows the name, and wants the book, he or she can contact the wholesaler and purchase it. That isn't really distribution. The book is basically available for those who know and want it.

Of course, Amazon will stock one or two, on consignment. Even so, finding the title on Amazon requires someone to type in the name - Amazon won't promote it unless the writer pays for that as well. And most likely, the promotion will go unseen by the vast majority.

So, how do bookstores get books if not from wholesalers? Bookstores do use wholesalers. But they have to know the name of the book as well. And they need a reason to buy it. Stores have budgets. If one has $100.00 to spend on books, is the best investment in a title no one has heard of, or a very popular title? Shelf space and cost often prevent books from appearing in bookstores. Of course, never having heard of them hinders it as well.

This begs the question, how does the industry know what is popular? Simple answer: Nielsen Bookscan. Yes, the same people who bring you television ratings does it for writers as well. With the tapping of a few keys, a book buyer for a large chain can look-up you name and the history of every book you've sold - including publisher, and demographics. Of course, this system is only as accurate as the numbers received. Any writer who sells a book directly to someone at a convention doesn't have this number added into Nielsen.

Nonetheless, Nielsen does determine the fate of many writers. Publishers use it as well - except those that charge to print a writer's book. They have nothing to lose. But book buyers for large chains do have something to lose - their jobs. Or at least the stores money. As a result, there is little incentive for a large chain to risk money on writers with small or no sales records.

Here is where the distributor enters. Before you cry-out about how unfair the Nielsen system is, know that distributors use it as well. And it leaves one wondering: How does a writer get a Nielsen rating if the books are never sold in stores that provide numbers to Nielsen. The answer is, they don't.

The good news is most publishers are willing to take risks on new authors. And most publishers use distributors or own their own distribution system. This means someone is going to bookstores, chain stores, wholesalers, and all manner of places, asking buyers to purchase titles. Yes, the Nielsen debate rages in these negotiations, but having a person sitting face to face with a book buyer or store owner or wholesale buyer helps in creating awareness of the title. It is no longer a game of "guess the name." Now the name is there, with a sheet describing the book, with a cover image, along with how the author is going to work herself to death going from city to city to promote the title if only the store buys it. (Oh, and use the Internet to promote it as well).

While the book might be turned down, at least it has a fighting chance.

All of this boils down to getting the book in front of the people who need to know about it. While places like Dellarte Press promise the above, mostly what the writer gets is a list of wholesaler names - and how many writers, new or experienced, know the name of wholesalers and distributors, or know the difference in their function? When the writer is told the book "will be available to all bookstores, and online shops, through Ingram or Baker & Taylor," how can a new author know this means the book, at best, will sit in a box on a shelf in a warehouse. At worst, it will only be a name on a list of a few million other titles.

For this reason, and others, the -WA organizations listed above are protesting.

Alas, there is another side to this tale. The "pay for print" industry is a multi-million dollar profit boom. With technology creating more writers by the day (probably more writers than readers if that makes sense), and the ease of "printing on demand," why would Harlequin or any other such business stop? Will all of the writer associations cause them to close or sell a growing business? Doubtful.

Lastly, while I am warning writers about places that charge to print a book, and for editing, and for cover art, and for making the title available for wholesale, I'm not saying that such places are foul. In some instances, they can take advantage of a person who doesn't understand the industry. But in other cases, a small number, they have produced popular titles, or at least titles that "pay the author" publishers have purchased and re-printed. Like any other business, and while writing is a craft and an art, it is a business when it involves money, be aware of the industry and how it operates.

Shaping the Brain

Not too long along researchers identified a crucial gene that influenced cell shape and growth. That is to say, researchers discovered that neuron growth and connections are altered by the expression of the srGAP2 gene. What this may lead to are breakthroughs in brain science, and greater understanding of brain development and disorders.

It appears that "neuron networking" is influenced by the expression of srGAP2 - it can interfere or influence connections. This in turn shapes how the brain communicates and operates and a multiplicity of levels.

Below is a link to one of many articles on the related research, and following that is a link to an informative article about neurons that might help put things in perspective.


Science Daily

The Nervous System

Words, Words, Words

So many ways to quote Shakespeare, and so many ways to read his works.

Alas, dear friend, I promise not to rant and rave about the works of William Shakespeare - in particular about the play I quoted: Hamlet (short version of the title).

What I will do is speak about muse, as it is still that month dealing with novel writing. I've not had time for many posts, mostly because I've been writing, editing, reading, and playing with words. However, I will offer up some words about inspiration and ideas.

I am often asked from whence my ideas come. (Sorry) I don't know, is the honest answer. They come from many places. I'm certain you're expecting me to say "Shakespeare," given my prattle about the Bard. And I'll confess, Shakespeare's plays are certainly one of many sources. For those who've read The Strange Cases of Rudolph Pearson, you'll note that there is a bounty of Shakespearean quotes. Certainly, I played with the character Prince Hamlet when developing Pearson throughout the novel. Not only did Professor Pearson quote the play often, but the character also suffered from some of the "conditions" of which Prince Hamlet suffered. The most obvious being the question of sanity.

With that said, my inspiration for the character was not Hamlet. Nope, I wanted an unlikely character in an interesting situation. Although, I confess, given the Lovecraftian themes a professor is also a likely character.

But let me not wander too far from my topic. For me, reading and re-reading (and teaching) the works of Shakespeare is a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration. I've had solitary sentences (in context) give me myriad story ideas. His works are replete with wonder and amusement. If you take the time to worry yourself with the text and subtext, your fancy will certainly be struck.

I do know that reading Shakespeare is not cup of tea everyone can drink. And I don't sit around reading Shakespeare looking for ideas. Honestly, inspiration comes from every direction - when I'm looking. Music is a great source. Film, the news (oh, what dreadful stories are to be found there), the shopping mall, video game (yes, I have an archaic Xbox, and a contemporary PS3).

In the end, I don't know that my muse comes from any group of things or any single thing. When I choose to consider something, I find myself inventing a history, surrounding ideas, themes, and characters. Most often, the character comes first, then the plot and theme follow. Perhaps that is called daydreaming. I like to call it "my job." :)

Allow me to throw out a line from a Beatles song:

"When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybodies help in any way."

The song is Help, and besides having a catchy melody, it has instant character. I wonder how many tales could be written from this line?

Mind you, for me it is more than the lyrics. It is the melody as well. I've found my muse in symphonies ranging from Mozart to Wagner. One is often quite cheerful and the other brooding. Sometimes, it's the reverse. A dark Mozart is great motivation for me, and a frolicking Wagner puts me on edge.

Ah, but here's the rub. I don't think anyone can be told where to find inspiration. So my answering the question is not likely to do much other than inspire you to find your own muse. And don't overlook your own experiences. Writers are the sum of their experiences. I don't know that one must suffer to produce art, or commercial entertainment, but it does help if one is exposed to a wide variety of experiences. Perhaps a little suffering is good for the soul, but so is a great deal of joy. Mayhaps is all boils down to: writing. Writing and something is bound to turn up. Words, words, words...

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

In case you haven't heard, this month is National Novel Writing Month, also called NaNoWriMo. If you have questions or need help of any sort, visit the link above to the nanowrimo website.

For a number years, I've been under the opinion that the volume of writers has been on the increase, although it appears the number of readers has been on the decrease. Thanks to computers, it is easy to become a writers. Of course, there is more than the declaration. Writing is a very important aspect of being a writer. I suppose that's why nanowrimo is a wonderful way of jumping in head first. Writing a novel is daunting. Writing one in a month is... well even more daunting.

This is also the time of year that the emails arrive, asking me if I'm joining in the fun. I confess, I never have. Oddly, I've always been to busy with writing projects to attempt a novel in a month. Such irony. But that doesn't mean I don't share in the spirit, and even try to write a bit more to share the "pain"? And, as I am writing, editing, and revising presently, I'm in the game, so to speak.

Yes, I did say "game,' because it is a bit of a game. Countless writers spend this month moderately competing against each other for high word counts, each attempting to reach a goal of a novel length manuscript. It is possible. I know a few people who have done it several times. And I know many, many people who have almost accomplished it and ended up well on their way to finishing a novel. So why not give it a shot? Grab a web word counter, and even if you don't write a novel, see how many words you can write this month. Oh, and don't forget to read! Those who write, do read. And those who read, often write. It's a great way to learn, and it is one of the oldest methods of building writing skills: reading and writing.

Even though it probably isn't needed, I'm going to offer my favorite starting point. Of course, it varies for every person. There is no uniform system of "how to write" (even if there are published books explaining the process). In the end, only the writer and determine the best method and approach. As for me, I like to start with three things:

1. Narrator: The person actually writing the story - that's not the writer, it is an invented voice/person.
2. Character(s): Grab a handful and place them in a conflicting situation. Conflict leads to story. It can even be characters in conflict with each other.
3. Plot: The general purpose or movement of the story. Chase? Mystery? Exploration? Adventure? Murder?
   

There it is. Take one of those broad plot concepts (or one you think up), stir in conflict and characters, add a narrator, and a novel starts to cook. Let your imagination and fingers do the rest of the work. And remember, plenty of people are writing alongside you.

What's Your Favorite Zombie?

If this year isn't the year of the zombie, then certainly next year will be... or maybe the year after that. It has arrive sometime.

The last few years have seen a plethora of zombie films, both "serious" and comedic. At the moment, Zombieland is booming at the theaters, and "mash" books such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (zombie version) are filling bookshelves. As for books, there are quite a few others out there. They vary from traditional zombies (we don't know why they exist, they just do) to SF/thriller blends - usually associated with a viral infection.

And yes, I have two similar projects in the works or soon to be released. The one that is perhaps the greatest surprise is the novel Pallid Light. Yes, this one is with the ever pleasant co-author Alexander Griffin. Wonderful to work with. Always agreeable. And ever so witty.

But this post is really about the different types of zombies out there. If you haven't been keeping up with the walking dead, then you should know there are shambling zombies, ambling zombies, intelligent zombies, and brain dead zombies. There are also those that crave flesh, and others that desire brains, and some they just bite and chew.

While zombie lore existed long before George Romero's film Night of the Living Dead, it was that film that planted them in the horror genre - though it took a few years for them to sprout.


In Romero's classic film, the zombies were slow, brain dead beings, that walked the Earth for no known reason, and they liked to eat living flesh. Oh, they were groaners as well, as opposed to the more recent screamers.

Following Romero's film were a number of others, including follow-ups by Romero (I remember watching Dawn of the Dead at the midnight show at the mall theater). The zombies in that film were a bit smarter, although they did tend to hang out waiting for good prices of consumer goods.

Now throw into this the cornucopia of zombie novels and short stories, and we have a new sub-genre. To underscore this, many entertainment companies and websites are having zombie contests, protests, and of course games. Ah, did I mention The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks (Mel Brook's son)? This book is neither novel nor story. It is a guide on surviving the zombie apocalypse, and wildly successful.

And back to films. Dawn of the Dead saw a re-make with faster zombies, and they were a bit smarter. In many ways they were similar to the critters in 28 Days Later (although some would argue they are not zombies).







Needless to say, I could continue this all day - but I won't. However, if you haven't read or seen any of these books or films, take the time. If the sub-genre is this popular, it seems like it is related to popular culture, which begs the question why is popular culture embracing zombies?

H.P. Lovecraft in Pop Culture Take and Eugenics

As Halloween approaches, I thought I'd try (emphasis try) to make a few posts related to horror and fiction. Some of the posts will be my typical dry commentaries, hopefully others will be my less dry commentaries.

To start it off, given the short amount of time before Oct. 31st, I thought I'd post an essay (dry) about the author H.P. Lovecraft and how the fear of eugenics, or what scholars term "popular culture" interpretations of eugenics found its way into his work. It is a work I presented at a conference several years ago.

As a bit of background, do understand that Lovecraft lived during the middle of the great American debate about eugenics. Many states had passed laws, and many were passing laws requiring the sterilization of "defective humans." The standards and conditions in each state varied. However, they often focused upon I.Q. tests, income level, education level, and sometimes physical appearance. Mind you, there were no standardized I.Q. tests, so all of these forms of measurement were farcical at best.

In any case, the concept of eugenics - of improving the human race - moved from the scientific realm, which was dubious enough, to the general public. There were protesters on both sides, for and against, and it was transformed into a bit like a Jerry Springer show. The end result was a generally misinformed public on a already misinformed science.

My point behind this lengthy prologue is to point out that several academic and fiction books had been published about eugenics before the 1800s. With the advent of motion pictures, it had moved into theaters, and was already frolicking in fiction - both literary and genre. The overall tone of the following essay is to point out the reoccuring eugenics theme in H.P Lovecraft's works, and how it was represented in popular culture.

And, if anyone is interested in referenced works, please feel free to contact me for a list.

The Reading and Misreading of American Eugenics:
“The Lurking Fear” in Popular Culture

In 1923, the pulp author H. P. Lovecraft published his short fiction work “The Lurking Fear” in four installments in Home Brew magazine. Since its publication, neither the story, nor the magazine, has had much critical attention. However, the story has proven to have great longevity in the domain of popular culture. Lovecraft, while starting his career as an author of scientific articles, has become known today for his writing in genre fiction. “The Lurking Fear” is not one of his most notable works, yet it is a tale that sets a theme he follows throughout his career, and one that mirrors the mass culture reading of American eugenics in the early twentieth century.

Perhaps distinguishing between the theoretical, scientific concepts of eugenics in the United States as opposed to the common cultural interpretation seems to be of little benefit – at least at first glance. But it is the public’s reception and re-interpretation of these scientific and pseudo-scientific notions that produces, mutates, and evolves into a broad eugenics movement in commercial fiction. As argued by Martin S. Pernick in his text, The Black Stork: Eugenics and the Death of “Defective” Babies in American Medicine and Motion Pictures Since 1915, the dismissal by Mark Haller and Daniel Kelves of “environmentally-caused conditions that are not really eugenic, but the result of the mass culture’s misunderstanding of heredity” is to over simplify the eugenics argument. Pernick argues that the eugenics debate is evident in motion pictures, demonstrating how the misunderstanding has become the tool of propaganda. However, the same germs of misconception and misinformation infected commercial writing as well. This is perhaps the most evident in the works of H. P. Lovecraft.

Because of the overwhelming lack of scholarly interest in Lovecraft’s writings, biographical information is vague, debated, and often generalized. Nonetheless, he is recognized as one of the influential writers “weird fiction” during the early part of the twentieth century. Although he died in 1937, his literary progeny have given life to a vast sub-genre in the contemporary commercial market, bringing with it the embedded notions of degeneration and eugenics, though usually disguised in the metaphor or symbols of “monsters.”

In Lovecraft’s “The Lurking Fear,” the language of degeneration and the concern with heredity are readily evident. Through a first person narrative, the decline of a Dutch family, the Martenses, is traced. The short story follows them from an early, pre-colonial Dutch settlement in New York State’s Catskill region, to 1921. In the story’s opening, Lovecraft creates a setting that is one of the causes for the devolution of the Martense family:

It was not a wholesome landscape after dark, and I believe I would have noticed its morbidity even had I been ignorant of the terror that stalked there… The ancient lightning-scarred trees seemed unnaturally large and twisted, and the other vegetation unnaturally thick and feverish, while curious mounds and hummocks in the weedy, fulgurite-pitted earth reminded me of snakes and dead men’s skulls swelled to gigantic proportions.

This description of the land surrounding the ruined Martense mansion produces a primordial environment. Embedded in this language is the Lombrosoian idea of atavism, although Lovecraft has applied it to plants, weather, and earth. It is Nature stagnated, if not regressing.
The conversation of eugenics expands when the focus shifts to a nearby “squatter population inhabiting pitiful hamlets on isolated slopes”. The narrator goes on to state that “Normal beings seldom visited” the squatters – clearly drawing a distinction between the poverty-stricken people populating the remote areas and the other inhabitants, such as local townsfolk and farmers. In fact, throughout the work, Lovecraft refuses to describe the squatters in any positive manner. Being an author known for his abundant use of adjectives, he always prefaces “squatters” with “degenerate,” “simple,” “pitiful,” or other labels indicating their inferiority. Occasionally, he forgoes the use of “squatters”; instead, the terms “animals” or “witless shanty-dwellers” or at best “mountaineers” are applied. The overall effect is to produce a sense of defective humans, clearly of degenerate stock. And it is through the squatters that the work’s theme of heredity surfaces in the ancestry of the squatters; they are the offspring of the Martense family.

This is the moment where mass culture’s reading of eugenics as heredity intersects with Lombroso’s stigmata of the criminal man. Through the discourse of history, Lovecraft produces a narrative that explores the hidden aspects of the human animal. While on the surface the work is interested in locating a fiend, a monster stalking the remote regions of New York, beneath the narrative is the exploration of heredity and ancestry, the figuration of the criminal man:
Their life [the Martenses] was exceedingly secluded, and people declared that their isolation had made them heavy of speech and comprehension. In appearance all were marked by a peculiar inherited dissimilarity of eyes; one generally being blue and the other brown. Their social contacts grew fewer and fewer, till at last they took to intermarrying with the numerous menial class about the estate. Many of the crowded family degenerated, moved across the valley, and merged with the mongrel population which was later to produce the pitiful squatters [my emphasis].

The lack of symmetry (the eyes) and the intermingling with the “menial class” are elements that Martin S. Pernick describe as being examples of “defective” humans portrayed in the 1915 commercial film The Black Stork. This mass culture conception of eugenics is the device at work in Lovecraft’s story. It is the concern with the mixing of “stock” or “race” combined with an inferior heritage of the Martenses which results in the creation of atavistic humans. But, in order to bring about the rapid devolution of the Martense line, Lovecraft has their “menial” class progeny mingle with a local “mongrel” population. The result produces a narrative of superstitious, feebleminded people, capable of living in nothing more than shanties and “dug-outs” in the mountainside. Lovecraft has effectively reduced the squatters to the common notion of “cavemen.”

Of course, the hereditary trait of different eye color is a stigmata for the Martnese family. This allows the reader to mark them as defective, as a Lombrosoian criminal. In the story, it also serves as a portent of a darker fate for them. The narrator continues to delve into the mysteries surrounding the Martense family, eventually returning to the ruined mansion, which is located on Tempest Mountain. This spot is given to spectacular thunderstorms – and is in itself a commonly used literary trope of pulp fiction. When the weather is combined with the primordial landscape, the stage is set for what appears to be Lovecraft’s project: The representation of heredity as a lurking fear in human society. It is revealed to the reader that the Martense family was physically and mentally influenced by the prehistoric, atavistic location of their mansion. This is the cause for the rapid devolution of the family line. Lovecraft portrays this in his typical style. The narrator returns to the Martense mansion during a thunderstorm and attempts to put into words a horror that is beyond description – even doing so weakens the narrator’s sanity:
…then from that opening beneath the chimney a burst of multitudinous and leprous life – a loathsome night-spawned flood of organic corruption more devastatingly hideous than the blackest conjurations of mortal madness and morbidity.

The language used to describe the devolved family does its best to avoid the use of “human.” Similarly, the adjectives flood the prose just as the Martenses flood the surrounding forest, exposing the horror that not only slumbers in tunnels beneath the earth, but the threat that sleeps in human ancestry and society. Undaunted, Lovecraft continues in an attempt to convey the scope of the peril:

Seething, stewing, surging, bubbling like serpents’ slime it rolled up and out of the yawning hole, spreading like a septic contagion and streaming from the cellar at every point of egress – streaming out to scatter through the accursed midnight forest and strew fear, madness, and death.

Eventually the suppuration of adjectives ends with the narrator describing the Martenses as “dwarfed, deformed hairy devils or apes – monstrous and diabolic caricatures of the monkey tribe.” And like chimpanzees, the Martenses are agitated and aggressive during thunderstorms. In the last few paragraphs of the work, Lovecraft again describes the Martense family because they are the horror, the monsters of the tale. This time he uses the label “white ape,” and explains that they were “…the ultimate product of mammalian degeneration; the frightful outcome of isolated spawning, multiplication, and cannibal nutrition above and below the ground… .”

Even for the most imaginative of scientists studying eugenics, such a result is (hopefully) beyond their ken. Certainly this is an exaggeration of an already exaggerated theory. But as with most popular literature, the subject touches upon cultural fears, misguided or not. In Lovecraft’s tale of human degeneration, he is not experimenting like Zola in Nana, he is not writing a social critique, he is revealing a social fear, a “grinning fear that lurk[s] behind life.” The ancestral ghost that haunts this narrative is the unseen stigmata of the defective human. It is the symptom produced by years of debate over the “fit” and “unfit,” the superior and inferior, the great and the lowly. While those engaged in the debate about eugenics were secure in their status, insecurity seeped into mass culture. This caused a debate, already from dubious stock, to degenerate into a fear that was overlooked. Mass culture’s misreading of eugenics as science, transformed into a nightmare that continues to reoccur to this day.

ConClave 34 Convention

As October 9th quickly approaches, I thought it best to mention the upcoming Conclave convention. I will be attending the convention, both for entertainment and as a panelist. Although the final panel list has not yet been released, I do know that there will be a number of enjoyable ones - for writers and fans of SF/Fantasy.

So why go to a convention? If you're a fan of genre fiction, it is a great place to meet people and discuss your favorite topics. You can also attend panels and join in on the discussions. Also, there is always something going on and something to do. Overall they can be great fun.

Now, if you're a writer, conventions are handy for meeting other writers, or editors. Usually there are a few panels dedicated to writing and publishing. Sit in on these and get information the easy way: by asking questions or jotting down notes.

This year at Conclave there will be the Writers Workshop - a three day workshop where a number of moderators, including me, comment upon submitted works. This is a great chance to meet with writers and editors one-on-one and ask a few questions.

There will also be panels covering the basics of freelance writing. Everything from manuscript formatting, to query letters, to submitting, finding markets, promoting, etc. will be discussed. Because the panels will be longer this year, much more can be covered.

Of course, there will be panels for experienced writers dealing with a variety of topics. I'll stop describing the panels and wait for this list appear on the website: ConClave 34

At the very least, drop by for a day and say hello to a few people. Hear some "inside buzz" and have a great time!

Oh, I nearly forgot - so I'm updating this post. There may be copies of the Dark Wisdom anthologies there (at least one). And a few of the authors appearing in the anthology will also be present.

Not speaking of computers. My drive recently crashed, and I lost a number of emails. So, if you've not heard from me, please re-send your email. Most everything else was restored. This technological hindrance did slow my writing pace, but for those who've been asking, here is another word count update. (I'm not really sure what that graphic means. Is the computer sticking it's tongue out at the potato? That is a potato, isn't it? Well, if I'm correct, my computer did just that - except I'm not a tuber. Hmmm. Some might disagree).

On Writing

Based on the title, I suppose I should attempt to write something profound about writing. That wasn't my intention. "Write." If you want to be a writer, then writing is the most difficult aspect of the job, and the most fundamental. I know it sounds silly. However, the most common barrier people encounter in writing is the writing aspect. It is tough work.

Okay, it's not profound or original. But maybe it is a little bit insightful.

I've spent the last few months wrestling with various projects, trying to complete each. I've finally reached a point to where it seems I've returned to where I've started - which means, some projects are complete. I'll start announcing a few of those next week. Or maybe even tomorrow.

For the moment, I've reset my writing counter, and embarked on another project. I typically divide my time between projects, so word count trackers are not accurate. Still, I'm going to use one. And I'm isolating it to a single project. This keeps it a bit more honest.

On the off chance someone is curious, the project I'm tracking now is a novel. I have a few to write in the next year, so I thought it'd be fun to track them.

I'll not venture into "my process" of writing. Although I'd love to hear how others approach a work such as a novel or short story. And if you have something you'd like to mention, please do. For those who are shy, emailing me is fine.

Traditional Instruments meet the Future

I wonder how many people in the world play what I'd call a traditional instrument? - violin, trumpet, drums, guitar, flute, etc. What I mean by traditional instruments is pretty much any musical instrument that requires time and training to master or even not master, but to learn to play at some level, and it is an instrument that has an original sound that can be identified with it. I know this places keyboard synthesizers in a gray area, so maybe we include them under "keyboards."

I bring this up because having spent years learning to play a variety of "traditional" instruments, I've now encountered modern, ergonomic, synthetic musical devices that can reproduce most any existing, or even non-existing, instrument. They have a short learning curve, require no calluses, and can even play by themselves, or accompany you. Actually, these machines can even play other electronic instruments.

Two examples of these devices are the MPC1000 and MASCHINE. In a few minutes, a person with some musical skills, and quite a bit of technological savvy, "play" one of these new instruments. I've included some YouTube links for samples.


This brings me to the argument I've heard. Some people state that traditional instruments are better because they do require mastery, and "just anyone" can't play them. The other side of this argument is that new-tech instruments are more democratic, and take the emphasis away from fine-tuning the body to play an instrument, allowing more time for the mind to create music. And of course, a single person can replace an orchestra.

Naturally, being a person who straddled the age of classical instruments into electronic instruments, I enjoy the originality and flexibility of both. But I wonder if "traditional instruments" have seen their day come and pass? Yes, for the present, they are required for most electronic devices to use as sample sources. But can they can they compete with the new age of musical instruments?

MASCHINE DEMO (YouTube)

MPC 1000 DEMO (YouTube)

Both videos have lengthy introductions, but it is worthy watching them for the actual demonstrations.

Product Intergration: There is an Ad in my Entertainment

I've been planning on this post for a while. So, I ventured across the Internet - thinking my use f "integration" fit the topic better - and just as I'm about to link articles, there the word is. Seems everyone is using it and I knew nothing about it.

Now what am I going on about? Overdone product placement in programs, films, and written fiction. The easiest way to see this in action is to watch any recent episode of the show Eureka. It's hard to overlook lines such as: "I really like your new Subaru [model name here]."

Pretty much everything appearing in the show is a product. Basically, they use real products - not cans labeled "BEER," but commercially produced beer. They speak about it, place it in clear view, and then speak about it again.

Having a bit of experience in the advertising world from working with a magazine, I can tell you that there will probably only be 1 product of a given brand per show. This means if Subaru is advertising, then all other cars become generic. If Coke is advertising, then there are no other soft drinks with real names. And their mentioning must be placed within appropriate editorial - meaning, the have to write the "integration" into the show as content.

The NBC show 30 Rock does this as well, although they make fun of themselves for doing it as though to make it appear they are not really doing it. Sounds more confusing than it is.

It does seem that the FCC has responded. This quote comes from a Washington Post article:

FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said product placements and integration into
story lines have increased as television viewers increasingly use recording
devices like TiVo and DVRs to fast forward through commercials. Currently,
agency's rules require television programmers to disclose sponsors who have
embedded products into shows. Those disclosures typically are done during the
credits at the end of the show, which fly by viewers in small script.

"We want to make sure consumers understand and are aware that they are
being advertised to," said Martin, who first pushed to clarify disclosure rules
last fall. "We ask how we should update our rules to reflect current trends in
the industry."

I'm not sure listing anything in the speed-of-light, crunched into a small box credits will help anyone realize a product is being promoted. But I suppose it is a start.

And yes, it is happening in fiction as well, but I won't list books titles - they are easy to find. What once was thought to be verisimilitude is now actual product placement.

What is more striking is that Nielsen is already tracking the product integration. Yes, these are the folks who track TV ratings, ringtone sales, book sales, and pretty much anything that needs tracking. I wonder if this means shows with low reception to product integration will be cancelled? Too many people watching and not enough buying.