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Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith

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A Writing Biography, Part VIII: The Exoskeleton, Archiving, Publishing, The Blog, and the Long Novels, 2011-2023

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on January 16, 2025 by Michael D. SmithJanuary 16, 2025

The period from March 2011, when The Martian Marauders was accepted for publication, to January 2023, retirement from the library, already finds expression in the blog, but I hope to pull together more insight here. It’s tempting to just narrate … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Akard Drearstone, Asylum and Mirage, Balloon Ship Armageddon, Book Covers, Book Daily, Collapse and Delusion, CommWealth, Double Dragon Publishing, Editing, Interviews, Jack Commer, Jump Grenade, Literary, Man Against the Horses, Marketing, Martian Marauders, Nonprofit Chronowar, Novels, Perpetual Starlit Night, Publishing, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, Stories, Supreme Commander Laurie, The Damage Patrol Quartet, The First Twenty Steps, The SolGrid Rebellion, The Soul Institute, The Wounded Frontier, Trip to Mars, Twisted Tails, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

A Writing Biography, Part VII: Organization, Lost Energies, New Novels, Publishing, 1994-2011

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 19, 2024 by Michael D. SmithDecember 19, 2024

It’s been difficult to write 1994-2011; this is quite a long era, from my thirties to my fifties, with several deluded sub-eras as well as breakthroughs. But the period seems anchored at each end: beginning with The Soul Institute charting … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Akard Drearstone, Art Shows, Double Dragon Publishing, Editing, Jack Commer, Jump Grenade, Man Against the Horses, Marketing, Martian Marauders, Nonprofit Chronowar, Novels, Painting, Perpetual Starlit Night, Publishing, Query Letters, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, Stories, Tarot Cards, The Damage Patrol Quartet, The First Twenty Steps, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Twisted Tails, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | Leave a reply

Supreme Commander Laurie Publication

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on March 18, 2024 by Michael D. SmithMarch 18, 2024

United System Space Force leader Jack Commer has resigned to probe a dangerous cosmic irregularity, elevating physician/engineer Laurie Lachrer to take his place. But when she finds herself inexplicably transported onto his suicide mission, she must struggle to assert herself … Continue reading →

Posted in Balloon Ship Armageddon, Book Covers, Character Images, Jack Commer, Man Against the Horses, Marketing, Martian Marauders, Novels, Publishing, Science Fiction, Sortmind Press, Supreme Commander Laurie, The Wounded Frontier, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Online Interviews and a Resuscitated CommWealth

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on July 21, 2023 by Michael D. SmithJuly 22, 2023

Where are the URLs? Over the past seven years I’ve had the opportunity to be interviewed on various online blogs and websites. Though I’d saved the original webpages as files to my computer, for some reason I neglected to note … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Comedy, Book Covers, CommWealth, Editing, Interviews, Marketing, Novels, Publishing, Sortmind Press, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

The Exoskeleton

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on July 3, 2023 by Michael D. SmithJanuary 14, 2025

Mindful of one of my favorite saws probably picked up from The Internet, “There are two kinds of people: those who place people in categories, and those who don’t,” I nevertheless postulate that there may be three kinds of artist … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Process, Asylum and Mirage, Jack Commer, Marketing, Novels, Painting, Publishing, Supreme Commander Laurie, Writing, Writing Process | 4 Replies

ChatGPT Edits My Elevator Pitch

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 19, 2023 by Michael D. SmithJune 19, 2023

One Paragraph I asked ChatGPT for a one-paragraph summary of the relevant 518 words from my previous blog post (also reproduced at the end of this post) and got these 150 words. It’s rather sobering to see this rendered in … Continue reading →

Posted in AI, Drawing, Interviews, Marketing, Novels, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Stuck in the Elevator with the President of the World

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on May 22, 2023 by Michael D. SmithJune 19, 2023

Still working on the snappy, one-phrase, brand-defining pitch you’re supposed to have ready when you find yourself riding an elevator with the CEO of Random House. But all I have are concepts culled from various web interviews over the years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Character Images, CommWealth, Dystopia, Marketing, Novels, Science Fiction, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

Are You Ready for AI Authors?

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on July 28, 2022 by Michael D. SmithJune 19, 2023

This is not really a review of How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market by Richard Fayet, free on Kindle, but the book is a useful guide and it did inspire further thoughts on something I’d been … Continue reading →

Posted in AI, Dystopia, Essays, Marketing, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

The UR Jack Commer: A Look at the Childhood Beginnings of the Commer Saga

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on April 4, 2021 by Michael D. SmithDecember 25, 2024

Okay, why revisit this early stuff???? After publishing seven Jack Commer novels I felt a need to pull together Jack’s entire history starting from my first fifth-grade story about him. That was the story that electrified my nine-year-old self. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Writing, Jack Commer, Marketing, Martian Marauders, Novels, Science Fiction, Sortmind Press, Stories, Trip to Mars, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

The Blank Zen Interview

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 27, 2020 by Michael D. SmithJuly 3, 2020

I’ve done about a dozen web interviews and I always found them like writing a midterm exam where, despite all the agonizing left-brained hassle, you felt you’d pulled something valid or interesting together. In response to these interviews I came … Continue reading →

Posted in CommWealth, Interviews, Marketing, Novels, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

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Recent Posts

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus
  • A Blog Post from February 13, 1976
  • A Writing Biography, Part VIII: The Exoskeleton, Archiving, Publishing, The Blog, and the Long Novels, 2011-2023
  • The Major 2024 Book Energies
  • A Writing Biography, Part VII: Organization, Lost Energies, New Novels, Publishing, 1994-2011
  • Zarreich – Publication at Last
  • The Sortmind Draft One Project
  • Dreams Used in Zarreich
  • Zarreich – The Draft Covers

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Recent Comments

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Unknown Ending for The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Trip to Mars in Paperback
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The First Childhood Appearance of Jack Commer, September 19, 1962
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Irregular Origin of The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The UR Jack Commer: A Look at the Childhood Beginnings of the Commer Saga

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Michael's books

Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
4 of 5 stars
Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
by Matthieu Ricard
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
4 of 5 stars
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
5 of 5 stars
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
by Philip Plait
Using Joomla!
3 of 5 stars
Using Joomla!
by Ron Severdia
Serpent's Tooth
5 of 5 stars
Serpent's Tooth
by Toni V. Sweeney
On a cruise Melissa bonds with an older man, Travis, who turns out to be a famous celebrity in hiding from a once successful life. But by degrees we become aware that his enormous success came at the price of bonding with demonic forces...

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