Over the past several months, Linda Lane has been working really hard to get her first two novels ready for publication. Now she's excited to announce that they’re finally available on Amazon as both paperbacks and eBooks.  The first is titled The Accounting , and the second is Tormented Tango . Both books explore family dynamics in depth as members struggle with the unexpected. Visit Amazon and check them out, and  please leave Linda a review if you read them.  If you know anyone who might like to read these books, let them know! The Accounting What if the person who should love you the most hurts you the worst? A powerful story of families that you won’t soon forget. Woven through its pages, The Accounting shares within its carefully crafted plot and well-defined characters events that will forever change the lives of four Kohler households. Family dynamics expose their weaknesses and reveal their strengths as they adjust to the sudden death of their beloved husband and father.

Brutal Season the fourth book in my Seasons Mystery Series made its digital debut on April 10, and long before the release I was working on marketing and promoting, hoping to give it a big boost when it launched. So much of a successful book launch depends on luck, popularity, and marketing skills, and not every writer - certainly not this one – excels in the marketing department. Still, I did my best to develop a plan for this book.   After finishing the writing, and my own self-editing of the manuscript, things were set in motion for getting some pre-pub ducks in a row - cover art design, editing, requesting blurbs from other authors and getting ARCs to them, and formatting. Then I made a calendar of when each task would be completed. This process started in mid-January, and I jumped ahead several months to choose a release date, giving the various professionals plenty of time to hatch their individual duck. Once there was a working cover image, the book was listed for pre-order on

Artificial intelligence seems to be all the rage these days, so I decided to find out why. First, I had to find out exactly what it was. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as 1, "a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers; and, 2, as "the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior". [I might question any statement implying that human behavior is necessarily intelligent.] Second, I wanted to know how artificial intelligence is used. According to IBM, systems such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa are examples of AI. Theoretically, IBM says, machines may one day surpass human intelligence and become problem-solvers that can learn and make plans. Fortunately, this is still just theory, but its ramifications if (when?) it's actually invented should strike fear (or at least concern) in all of us. I'm neither a scientist nor a science fiction writer; however, I can see pros and cons in t

Chat GPT is a way to “converse” with an artificial intelligence interface. The chat bot scours billions of sources of content to come up with an informational database to answer questions and produce writing samples. It continues to “learn” and adapt as it integrates more and more source material. The act of using it helps it grow. Is it coming for your job? Yes and no. Chat bots lack imagination and self-awareness. They are not yet capable of the type of sophisticated thought processes humans have. It cannot draw complex inferences and understand subtleties. It struggles with irony, sarcasm, and double meaning. Writers of technical documents might find themselves replaced by a machine. However, so far everything I have read from a chat bot is like reading an elementary school child’s paper. There is a lot of unspecific data, incomplete thoughts, misused language, and too much repetition. I am pretty certain I have read some instruction manuals written by machines, or people who do not

  Peter Usborne , the founder and Chairman of Usborne Publishing passed away on March 30, 2023, at the age of 85. (Usborne Publishing is sometimes referred to as “Usborne Books” and was rebranded last year as “PaperPie”). Usborne’s death leaves a hole in the world of children's literature, as he was a major influence in the publishing industry for almost 50 years. Born Thomas Peter Usborne on the 18th August 1937, Usborne grew up in England and attended Eton College and then Oxford University and the INSEAD, a business school in France. Usborne worked for various publishing companies before founding his own, Usborne Publishing, in December 1973. Usborne was known for his exacting standards and commitment to creating high-quality books that would engage and educate children. Usborne Publishing became successful due to the innovative design, engaging content, and high production values of their books. Recent awards for the company include Independent Publisher of the Year at t