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Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith

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Category Archives: Sortmind

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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

The Major 2024 Book Energies

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 25, 2024 by Michael D. SmithDecember 25, 2024

I’m quite proud of the six books I assembled this year; I feel I’ve psychically moved forward with these projects and other unpublished work. But I’m also somewhat dazed to find myself at a stopping point. It feels strange, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Man Against the Horses, Novels, Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, Supreme Commander Laurie, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | 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

The Sortmind Draft One Project

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on November 18, 2024 by Michael D. SmithJanuary 26, 2025

Why I sometimes reread first drafts of my novels, usually amazed by how the sprawling but somehow compelling mess eventually congealed into a publishable story–or in some cases, was so bad I abandoned it. When I rediscovered the first draft … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Covers, Character Images, Novels, Science Fiction, Sortmind, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

A Writing Biography, Part VI: Failures, Successes, Rhythms and Swerves, 1983-1994

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on January 8, 2024 by Michael D. SmithDecember 16, 2024

I’m struck by the veering between successes and failures in this period, losing control and skidding across all four lanes until I’d finally get enough sense to stop the car and take a good look around. Had I never learned … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Akard Drearstone, Asylum and Mirage, Character Images, Jack Commer, Martian Marauders, Novels, Painting, Publishing, Query Letters, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Stories, The Damage Patrol Quartet, The First Twenty Steps, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | 1 Reply

The Damage Patrol Quartet: Four Stories

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 23, 2021 by Michael D. SmithDecember 23, 2021

A feckless young architect falls in with a sixteen-year-old’s dubious trucking venture. Drug-addled Randy bemoans his fate as a slave employee in New Fascist Australia. An archeologist arrives on a tiny artificial gravity platform to give a scholarly lecture to … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Comedy, Dreams, Dystopia, Literary, Perpetual Starlit Night, Science Fiction, Sortmind, Stories, The Damage Patrol Quartet, Twisted Tails, Writing, Zarreich | Leave a reply

A Writing Biography, Part IV: The Perfect Cube and Beyond

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on November 2, 2021 by Michael D. SmithAugust 4, 2023

Recapping Part III as the Author Seeks Sympathy for How Terribly Difficult This Post Has Been In rereading Writing Biographies I-III I’m struck by how they stand outside my usual self-description. I remember all that history, but it was as … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Akard Drearstone, Dreams, Early Writing, Novels, Plays, Sortmind, Stories, Wiess Cracks, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

The CommWealth Republication

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 13, 2020 by Michael D. SmithJuly 22, 2023

A. Property What if anyone could ask for anything you owned and keep it for thirty days until someone else wanted it … your home, your car … even your body? Members of the Forensic Squad theatrical troupe find themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Black Comedy, Book Covers, Character Images, CommWealth, Dystopia, Editing, Jump Grenade, Literary, Novels, Publishing, Query Letters, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Sortmind Press at Smashwords End of Year Sale

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 21, 2019 by Michael D. SmithDecember 21, 2019

The 3rd annual Smashwords End of Year Sale runs December 25 through January 1, 2020.  The eBook versions of my literary novels Akard Drearstone, Sortmind, and The Soul Institute, as well as my science fiction novella The First Twenty Steps, … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Novels, Science Fiction, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, The First Twenty Steps, The Soul Institute, Writing | Leave a reply

Shackism v. Sortmind, Part Three

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on November 25, 2019 by Michael D. SmithNovember 25, 2019

The reader of the previous two blog posts must suspect that I’ve been building to some manifestation of Shackism v. Sortmind in my current life. So I finally acknowledge a buried concept lurking for several years: the idiotic notion that … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Balloon Ship Armageddon, Character Images, Jack Commer, Novels, Publishing, Sortmind, Tarot Cards, The Soul Institute, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a 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

Links

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  • Jack Commer Series from Sortmind Press
  • Kara D. Wilson
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  • Smashwords author page
  • Sortmind the novel from Sortmind Press
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  • Where to find my novels

Archives

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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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