Title: Abby the Witch
Author: Odette C. Bell
Publisher: Smashwords
ISBN: N/A BN ID: 2940033047406
Abigail Gail, Abby for short, fresh out of training is the newly appointed witch to a city/kingdom that has banned witches on pain of death. Years pass and slowly Abby is starving to death as she tries to do her duty in the background, until a storm of epic proportions comes blowing in. Abby goes out in the storm to save a drowning man, and they both get blown back in time. Once there they face the problem of getting back to their time and the moral conundrum of whether or not they should fix the problems that ruined the kingdom and brought the ban on witches.
The copy I read was beset by that which seems to plague all free or inexpensive ebooks: typos. That said, let's move on.
The story was well told and intended for a younger audience, perhaps early teens. It is a bit of a romance novel. This however does not hamper the tale, but does give it a bit of a foreseen ending. At points it is a bit shallow in that the characters seem to only have a few emotions and swing between them. And the thirty year old sea commander, almost captain, acts like a teenager, as does the witch. This is what leads me to think the target audience is teenagers. Further the characters don't really have to think much to resolve the situation, they are pointed in the right direction and everything conspires to help them on the way, all they have to do is make the right choice. There was one blatant lose thread left blowing at the end, in the beginning the sea commander was told "not to break my window this time", but at no point in the story was he ever faced with a situation where he might have had to. Also the author felt the need to use a faux cussword constantly, even by a character who is stated to never swear. And finally, at one point the main characters introduce themselves with assumed names, but later encounter those who only know them by the fake names and are addressed directly by their correct names with no explanation needed as to the change.
Overall, it is a youth friendly read and rather quick. However it could do with some editing and possibly shortening. While I would tenderly suggest it as a read, I would not fervently urge anyone to read it.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Obamacare... is a tax?
With the 5-4 vote of the Supreme Court, Obamacare is now in full swing and ready to slap the nation silly come 2014 and continue it's escalation of abuse until 2016 when it becomes an annual event. And though I see the contrivance of Obamacare as little more than a social atrocity, the decision of the Supreme Court is more so. Why?
This is because by declaring Obamacare to be valid under the taxation clause of the Constitution the Supreme Court has granted unto the Legislative Branch a new and far reaching power. This power is the power to tax the public into a behavior, or rather tax the public for not doing something. For the nonce, from 2014 forward, we will be taxed for not having health insurance. Silence the arguments about the "social necessity" for a moment and listen, please. This new taxation realm now allows the government to socially engineer the country.
Suppose, a future administration is in favor of green technology. A new tax is passed and suddenly any vehicle that isn't a hybrid or electric is taxed. Houses are taxed for not being solar. Home owners are taxed for not gardening. Or suppose they decide to tax you for not buying some technology, for not going to the doctor, for not going fishing, for not saving money, or even for not spending money. The list of things the government can now tax the public for NOT doing is nigh on endless.
Worse yet, not only has this new idea been introduced to the world, but if the U.S. government begins to utilize this taxation ability without it being struck down by the people then other countries will follow suit. Even without the U.S. government acting on it, the idea is out there now and some government will try to run with it.
This outcome, to my mind, is not hyperbole nor simply excessive negativity, but rather a certain surety that the government, as it currently exists, is a money grubbing organism. And with this new found power will find ways to justify the power's use, but always for the "greater good".
The government must be corrected, and it is the voice of the people that must do it.
This is because by declaring Obamacare to be valid under the taxation clause of the Constitution the Supreme Court has granted unto the Legislative Branch a new and far reaching power. This power is the power to tax the public into a behavior, or rather tax the public for not doing something. For the nonce, from 2014 forward, we will be taxed for not having health insurance. Silence the arguments about the "social necessity" for a moment and listen, please. This new taxation realm now allows the government to socially engineer the country.
Suppose, a future administration is in favor of green technology. A new tax is passed and suddenly any vehicle that isn't a hybrid or electric is taxed. Houses are taxed for not being solar. Home owners are taxed for not gardening. Or suppose they decide to tax you for not buying some technology, for not going to the doctor, for not going fishing, for not saving money, or even for not spending money. The list of things the government can now tax the public for NOT doing is nigh on endless.
Worse yet, not only has this new idea been introduced to the world, but if the U.S. government begins to utilize this taxation ability without it being struck down by the people then other countries will follow suit. Even without the U.S. government acting on it, the idea is out there now and some government will try to run with it.
This outcome, to my mind, is not hyperbole nor simply excessive negativity, but rather a certain surety that the government, as it currently exists, is a money grubbing organism. And with this new found power will find ways to justify the power's use, but always for the "greater good".
The government must be corrected, and it is the voice of the people that must do it.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Short Story Contest
Wednesday, June 27, 2012, a writer's site, Writer's On The Loose, is having their Semi-Annual short story contest. It is open to everyone and the public are the judges. The stories are posted anonymously on the host's column. The story that accumulates the most votes wins.
I've entered it before, and even hosted it on occasion. It's a nice way to showcase your skill and allows people to improve their writing. Plus it exposes people to new ideas and stories. I encourage anyone interested to check it out.
Copyrights are retained by the original author.
I've entered it before, and even hosted it on occasion. It's a nice way to showcase your skill and allows people to improve their writing. Plus it exposes people to new ideas and stories. I encourage anyone interested to check it out.
Copyrights are retained by the original author.
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