Every day is a new beginning. Every morning, the sun rises over the eastern horizon and chases the day across the sky. As it goes, the current moment swallows the future, chews it quickly, and spits it out as the past. Every second is a new beginning and ending all wrapped up together in one narrow slice of forever. Every steady tick of the clock opens and closes doors and windows, taking the infinite “possible” and transforming it to immutable “history.”

I’ve watched beginnings and endings for a very long time. I wrote an entire book about them – they made an unavoidable subtheme in the account of my first spontaneous trip to Taiwan and China as I moved from place to place, with people and places continually appearing in my life before falling away behind the steady march of time like watching railroad ties fade away from a train’s caboose.

Today marked a new ending for me. Today was the last day of class for another semester. My work has only begun with the five-inch pile of papers stacked on my dining room table, but the faces of my students that I recall smiling, laughing, listening and speaking won’t return.

As always, this has been an enjoyable semester. We not only had a good time, but I’ve seen an impressive amount of progress in my student’s writing. We successfully accomplished our objectives. I had to get on their case once about putting in more effort and following the steps I had taught, but they rose to the occasion and impressed me with high-quality writing immediately after.

At the beginning of the semester, the majority of the students admitted to not liking writing much. I asked why and got the expected answers: it’s hard, it’s time consuming, grading is often ambiguous, and it often seems boring and pointless. Continue Reading »

Looking for a Christmas book list? Then check out eclecticbookscatalog.com.

In the spirit of “Shop Locally” and “Buy Made in America,” this is a list assembled by authors and connected fans with suggested “safe” clean reads. Some are Christmas related while others just make good gifts.

Enjoy!

Hot off the University of Life Press, two brand new books by Dr. Phillip Buster arrive just in time for the Republican primaries and next year’s elections! These books clarify and confirm what you always suspected…and as you may have guessed, there is not a single word between the book covers, making these books the perfect gag gift or coffee table book for your favorite political junkie or adversary!

The book comes in two forms:

Everything Democrats know about Government
Available from:
1. Amazon.com @ http://amzn.to/democratbook – like it and leave a funny review!
2. Direct from the printer
3. Amazon Kindle @ http://amzn.to/democratkindle
4. BUY 5 GET 1 FREE from UofLIFE.com:

Everything Republicans know about Government
Available from:
1. Amazon.com @ http://amzn.to/republicanbook – like it and leave your funny review!
2. Direct from the printer
3. Amazon Kindle @ http://amzn.to/republicankindle
4. BUY 5 GET 1 FREE from UofLIFE.com:

Each version clearly and concisely explains Democrat or Republican logic & values regarding:

- The Economy
- Social Issues
- Foreign Policy
- Energy Policy
- Environmental Policy
- Ethics

A comprehensive historical timeline reveals significant contributions each party has made to America’s past and present greatness.

From the back cover:

“Brilliant!” – Fox News

“Says it all. An ideal political reference guide.” – The Washington Post

“Dr. Buster’s impeccable reasoning and direct style result in perfect clarity and outstanding readability.” – The Wall Street Journal

[Everything Republicans know...has reviews from The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and USA Today]

At last – complex politics made simple! Written for novice Democrats or Republicans who want to better understand their political rivals, this insightful and succinct overview accurately summarizes the logic, wisdom and values behind Democratic viewpoints on:
- The Ecomony
- Social Issues
- Foreign Policy
- Energy Policy
- Environmental Issues
- Ethics

A comprehensive historical timeline outlines major Democratic contributions to America’s past and current greatness.

About the Author

It’s Wednesday afternoon and I’ve already worked 45 hours this week. Why? Because I’ve got stuff to do.

One such stuff is the revision of my book An American in China: Starting Over. A travel guide to the adventurous life. I wrote it years ago about my spontaneous trip to Taiwan and the unexpected “vacation” in Mainland China that followed. Back then, I was sorting out many deep feelings stirred by that tumultuous experience, and the process of writing helped figure it out.

I had done some revision on the book and it sat for several years until I decided to hurry up and finish it and get the new edition out. So I did. I spent half the day today designing the new cover. It’s now on Amazon Kindle and the book will be available in a day or two.

If anybody wants one of the original version (I have about a dozen left), you can have one for five bucks. Just let me know.

I also added 75 Search and Rescue Stories: an insider’s view of survival, death, and volunteer heroes who tip the balance when things fall apart on Kindle. I sell the vast majority of books on Kindle these days. Continue Reading »

All the feedback I’ve received so far from readers of 75 Search and Rescue Stories has been great. Here are a few excerpts from ones available online:

From a book review by author Jules Harrell in the Mountain Rescue Association quarterly publication Meridian:

From Amazon.com:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and fascinating, July 30, 2011 by Baird

This book is well worth twice the price charged, especially given that part of the proceeds are donated to SAR. Divided into quick, engrossing chapters that each tell the story of a SAR operation, it’s immensely readable. Some stories will make you laugh, some will leave you in awe. Shaun Roundy has a fast-paced, light-hearted writing style that never bogs down. Everyone in Utah County should read this before heading to the mountains or the lake; maybe then we’d have fewer people getting ledged out on a cliff in a t-shirt with no gear every month.

I have never required the assistance of SAR, but my brother did, and some these stories seriously brought tears of gratitude to my eyes. Anyone considering volunteering for SAR or something similar (working at a mountain resort, national park, or similar) should definitely read this first to get a feel for what they might be facing and to understand the mindset required.

If you stumbled across this book and are wondering whether to buy it: I promise you will not regret the purchase. It’s a book I’ll proudly display on my shelf for years to come. The selfless sacrifice SAR volunteers undertake is nothing short of inspiring, and this book is an easy and fun way to learn more about SAR and support it at the same time.
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME book, one of a kind!, July 18, 2011 by P. Burns

Once I started reading this book, it seemed like an injustice to put it down!
Waiting inside were the tales of desperate victims, anxious heroes and the land they challenged which threatened to steal their lives! The heartfelt stories of love, loss, hope and failure kept me enthralled as I experienced the thrill of success, the tearful suffering of the hopeless and the exhilaration of the search.
This is a heart pounding, tear jerking, hooraah eliciting collection of stories of amazing volunteers whose quest is simply to help those in need.

Others tell me that they thoroughly enjoy it and fellow rescuers say they appreciate the reminder of rescue memories and that they identify with the ideas I express. I’d love to hear what you think! Order yours now from 75 Search and Rescue Stories

At long last, 75 Search and Rescue Stories is ready to order!

It may not seem long to you, but after working day and night for months…it does to me! The first month went very well, cranking out content quickly. The second month, it took real effort to make myself work on it, but once I got momentum, the words usually flowed nicely. Then the final revisions, editing, photo layout, and such was less taxing on the brain and came along just fine.

Some stories are short and sweet. Others are long and gripping. Some make you want to celebrate against-all-odds victories, and with the ones that end in tragedy, I usually do a pretty good job of putting on a positive spin (sometimes surprising myself how well they came out).

It occurred to me last week that I’ve written three major books in the past year. Not bad! Continue Reading »

I’ve spent most of my free moments for the past 6 weeks (and there have been a lot of them!) writing my next book: 75 Search and Rescue Stories. I cranked the first draft out in a month of days and nights, and read a few chapters to new search and rescue members and others to get some feedback. The two common responses were: 1. give a few more details and 2. that’s AWESOME!!!

It was rewarding to put the print out down after reading a story and see the rapt attention on everyone’s faces. I probably should have expected it since friends and neighbors often quiz me to find out the latest adventure, and since I’ve now written out the very best stories in far greater detail than I’ve ever told them verbally.

One challenge is remembering that all the details I take for granted (because I was there) are still fascinating to others (who weren’t). I tell my university students the same thing, and it just takes a bit more attention to make sure I fit them all in.

The really tough part, though, is that about 1/4 of the stories include some sort of tragedy, and it’s not very fun to relive and remember them in sufficient detail to write them down. But that’s the way it goes. The exciting rescues are the technically, physically, and emotionally challenging ones, and those are also the ones that make the most engaging stories.

I’m so near finishing, I can’t stop now. I just have a few stories to revise and a lot more photos to add and lay out. I’ve already begun setting up a bit of the marketing, including a Facebook page where I’ll share some stories and photos on a regular basis – check it out at Search and Rescue Stories and don’t forget to “like” it so you won’t miss a single exciting post! (Also, I greatly appreciate you liking it because it helps me get a short Facebook URL and helps spread the word which really, really helps!)

I still have to jump through an administrative hoop or two before this is official, but I’ll keep ya posted on when it’s ready to preorder!

Do Hard Things

If you ask me to list my all-time favorite call outs, the list will include two types of missions: fun and hard.

Fun calls include zipping across the lake on a PWC on a bluebird summer afternoon and pulling an attractive girl from the water moments before she sinks below the waves where her boat sank. She would catch her breath, discover a brand new perspective on life, and we would become fast friends on the ride back to the marina with her arms wrapped tightly around my waist. We would go on a picnic that weekend, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after.

Nothing remotely like this has ever happened, of course, but I won’t complain if it ever does.

Hard calls are not always fun. Their rewards come at the expense of fatigue, endurance, and technical challenges. They may include rushing up tall, steep mountains in dark, inclement weather, carrying a heavy pack filled with ropes, hardware, medical and survival gear on my back. They may include severely wounded victims who we must quickly transport through challenging terrain, knowing they will die if we don’t. They may include ————.

I didn’t always like hard things. I wanted everything easy and comfortable – who doesn’t? But then something happened. I did hard things because I could not avoid them, and I learned. I changed my mind. I discovered the deep, exciting, satisfying appeal of the word “challenge.” Continue Reading »

Dave M just forwarded me an article about publishing on Amazon Kindle which inspired me to drop all my book prices there.

I’ve been making more from ebooks than regular books for a few months now and it makes sense. After all, I don’t have to pay for the printing, I don’t have to deal with shipping, I get a higher % of the retail revenue, and people obviously like their Kindles. Another book “expert” talks a lot about charging the same amount for e or paper so as to not devalue your work, but that sounds like old-school thinking to me.

So I changed. My vampire book now goes for $2.99, and my Christmas books (which, in all honesty, are barely Christmasy enough to call them Christmas books) go for $4.11 for the first one and $6.45 for the sequel. Maybe I’ll drop those later. We’ll see how it goes.

If you don’t have a Kindle – click one of these – choose from the $139 wifi version for uploading books on your home network, or the $189 wifi + free 3G version which gives you free internet anywhere it gets service. Pretty cool!

Hi. I’ll make this short and to the point. This post is mostly here for another link to my Christmas Books site.

But while I’m at it, I’ll provide a very quick tutorial on how to get your web page ranked better so ppl can find it. Continue Reading »