Writing: New Work, New Site, and Giveaway
New work: While many have worked productively through Covid, I made less progress than hoped except for a new website and a short story. A prior short story has been unofficially accepted for an anthology, although it is unclear if the anthology will be published. I entered the second story for another anthology and am waiting to learn if it was accepted. I also finished a partial outline and a few scenes in the fourth Lynn Dayton thriller but have a long road to completion.
New website: I and others devoted considerable time and thought to a new L.A. Starks Books website, (link above). I was advised and helped with design by marketing pro Diane Feffer, by the University of Chicago Mark marketing group, and by website designers at P.R. Inc. My thanks to all! We took advantage of a different platform (WordPress) to create a site that is visually dramatic. Check it out.
Giveaway: Between now and September 25, I am hosting a 100-copy giveaway of The Second Law on Goodreads. Join me at Goodreads if you have not already done so and enter to win an extra copy for yourself or friends.
Reading
In the last six months I’ve read twenty books, including four nonfiction, and skimmed one more (a weighty but well-illustrated history of Hyde Park houses). In non-fiction I finally read The Devil in the White City, with full appreciation for what remains of its Chicago setting. The Unexpected Spy was written by a former history teacher at a Texas girls’ school. Factory Girls, about young women working in Chinese factories, was recommended to me and was so insightful I wish I had read it when it was first published twelve years ago.
Pandemic fiction recommendations include both The Plague by Albert Camus, which perfectly captures the uncertainty of an epidemic, and The End of October. In other fiction I liked The Girl Who Lived Twice, Express Intent by new action/adventure author Karen Gordon, The Associate by John Grisham, and a spy thriller called Restless, with two fascinating female protagonists.
In a category between fiction and non-fiction is the slightly-fictionalized The Women of Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell about the human drama of the pre-World War I copper strike in Michigan’s upper peninsula.
Energy
The last six months have been crazy for everyone due to Covid lockdowns. Doubly so in the energy arena as Saudi Arabia and Russia decided a 30% demand reduction was the perfect time to start an oil price war. Prices were even briefly negative. Post-price-war, countries around the world including the U.S., Russia, and Saudi Arabia cut oil production to bring supply back into balance. However, demand—especially for gasoline (commuting) and jet fuel (travel)–is still far below norms as schools, businesses, restaurants, offices, and other gathering places have not yet fully resumed in-person protocols. Moreover, the work-from-home mode borne of necessity may well end up changing our living and working routines for the long term.
Addressing these and other energy-related topics, I write three articles a month for the public (free) Seeking Alpha platform and five a month for a Seeking Alpha Marketplace subscriber platform, Econ-Based Energy Investing (EBEI). The public platform and EBEI links:
https://seekingalpha.com/author/laura-starks#regular_articles
https://seekingalpha.com/author/laura-starks/research
Until next time,
L.A. Starks
http://lastarksbooks.com
Fiction (books) by L. A. Starks–in reverse order
The Second Law (Lynn Dayton Thriller #3)
- Print ISBN 9780991110742, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, October 2018, $18.95.
- E-book ASIN B07JLDGTVL, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, October 2018, $8.99.
Strike Price (Lynn Dayton Thriller #2)
- Print ISBN 9780991110704, 2nd edition published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, March 2014, $18.95.
- E-book ASIN B01K5Y406A, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, August 2016, $6.99.
13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy (Lynn Dayton Thriller #1)
- 2nd Print ISBN 978-0991110711, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC, August 2016, $18.95.
- E-book ASIN B015LI65GI, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC, September 2015, $4.99.
Electronic and print editions published by L&L Dreamspell, Brown Books, and StoneThread Publishing are no longer available.
Short stories by L. A. Starks on Amazon Kindle, in reverse order
- “Josh Rosen & Bubbe” gives additional background on series character Josh Rosen and insight into his relationship with his grandmother when she falls ill. 2014. ASIN: B00O854YKA, $0.99.
- “A Time for Eating Wild Onions” introduces two key characters in the second Lynn Dayton book, STRIKE PRICE. The tragedy that befalls them profoundly shapes the next generation. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6DGA, $0.99.
- “Robert and Thérèse Guillard: Choices” is a story about 13 DAYS’ Parisian antagonist and how it feels to fly in a wing suit. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6D74, $0.99.
