Have you bought vitamins or any kind of supplement lately?  I was just
doing so and could not believe the vast array of products on the market.  I
personally like to take my Vitamin C this time of year and my doctor has
prescribed fish oil.  The latter is apparently due to my need for Omega 3s
which you get from fish.  Since I seem to have an aversion to anything that
has not walked on the ground or had warm blood in it, this is my sole source of
these and apparently, I need them.  So I went to the store and started
looking at fish oil pills.  There were too many kinds to count.  First
there were the ones with x number of milligrams of Omega 3s.  That seemed
simple enough except none of the bottles tell you how much you need in a
day.  Do I need 800? 1200? 1600?  You would think the more the better
but is it overkill?  I don’t want to be buying something I don’t
need.  Then some were mixed with other “Fatty acids” Won’t a cheeseburger
do the same thing?  Apparently not all fatty acids are created equal. 
Do I need those products?  The doctor just told me to take fish oil. 
Well, all of these products will accomplish that task.  Why should I pay
extra for these acids or Vitamin D3…or was it D2?  I am sure there is a
doctor out there, perhaps related to me who knows what all that means.  To
me is just means, an additional $5 a bottle and 50 fewer pills.  The labels
are of little help and I think they’re designed that way.  These companies
want you confused so you get scared and buy the higher doses.  Sadly, their
evil scheme worked.  I bought the bottle that cost the most, with the
fewest pills, and the most…stuff.  What’s really sad is that I really have
no way of knowing if it is helping me or if it is, could a cheaper supplement
would do the same job?  Vitamin C was little better.  At least there
they tell you what percentage of your daily amount each pill has.  Then
they have different types to throw confusion into the mix.  Do I want
Vitamin C rose tips (no clue what that means) or citrus or one of ten different
types.  Don’t they all just do the same thing?  I bought the 500mg
ones that were generic because I decided to go with the “Ignorance is Bliss”
point of view.  Though I was done I looked at the Multi-Vitamins.  Now
there is some confusing stuff.  They have cool titles like “Silver” and
“High performance” and “Heart Health”.  Those all sound like things I want
but those pills are expensive.  How does a person without a medical degree
figure all that out?  Ladies and gentlemen, it’s all nothing but a good old
fashioned fear appeal.  They scare you into buying their products and
purposely give you limited information so you have to assume the worst. 
Vitamins and supplements are a racket.  Next time I’m at the doctor, I’m
just going to have him write out what to get. 

In a recent interview I was asked if I thought comedy had a place in books such
as “Quest for the Red Sapphire”.  I whole-heartedly answered “Yes”. 
While it is true that the meat of the book is action and adventure, it is also
very important to find places for humor.   Even the most suspenseful
novels need that tension relief that comedy provides.  That comedy might be
a simple line or two every so often or it might be an entire scene.  It
really depends on the story and how much tension the reader has been exposed to
so far.  In my book there is a segment where distressing situation after
situation keep happening.  The reader is wound up from all the stress and
is ready to burst.  We, as humans, cannot handle too much stress for a long
period of time.  So we seek outlets for it and in this situation I
introduce the character of Newminor.  This sarcastic gnome is the kind of
person who says all the things you wish you could say but are prevented by good
manners.  He cares for no one other than himself and lives life to the
fullest without regard for others’ approval.  Newminor takes his shots at
the characters and pretty well puts them in their respective places.  He is
funny and enjoyable both to write and read.  Such a scene is necessary to
relieve that tension.  The reader needs that relief in order to continue on
in the book.  If the suspense never let up, the book would be exhausting to
read.  As a writer you know that you can’t keep your audience on the edge
of their seat for too long or else you lose them.  I have read many books
that did not insert any comic relief into the storyline.  I found myself
straining to finish the stories as they drained my desire to read.  Each
time I picked up the book I read for shorter and shorter periods.  I had to
break the cycle of stressful situations by myself. It was like reading an
instruction manual after a while.  I became tuned out to the story because
the tension never relented.  A good story breaks itself up for you and
gives the reader that reprieve they often need so desperately.  Comedy,
even in a mild form, is a wonderful way to accomplish this and is a valuable
tool in the hands of a writer.

I’m not sure if it was a late Christmas present or an early birthday present but
my father bought me a camera for my computer.  I set it up yesterday and I
must say it looks quite intimidating.  There is this rectangular bar with
an “eye” staring back at me every time I look at the computer monitor.  I
keep expecting a flash to go off and blind me.  So I continue my work on
the computer, writing away.  Then I look up to be sure what I wrote is
correct and there it is again…watching me.  Have you ever seen the movie
“2001: A Space Odyssey”?  I kind of feel like HAL is watching every move I
make.  It’s a little creepy.  Then I used it to call my father on
Skype.  He sits a lot closer to the screen than I do and his face was
huge!  You could hardly see anything around him.  Then I looked at the
bottom of the screen and it showed me.  Is that really what I look
like?  This must be a wide angle lens or some other camera trick. 
It’s a lot like the feeling you have when you hear your voice on tape. 
Then I noticed how messy the room was behind me.  You never think about
these things on phone calls.  Science fiction movies always show phone
calls in the future being two-way picture calls.  I hope that doesn’t
become the case.  I would hate to have to clean the house before I make a
call.  “I don’t want to order pizza. It will take an hour just to make the
room look good enough to make the call.”  Now I will have to straighten the
room more before I Skype with anyone.  I also had to throw a hat on. 
My hair was a mess.  Think of all the things you do when you’re on the
phone that you can’t do when you Skype.  No more walking around or eating
your lunch.  No more wearing your holey clothes and paying your bills while
you chat.  I just looked up again and HAL is still watching me.  I
swear he is judging me as I sit.  From now on I think I will cover the
camera with something while I am not using it.  Before I Skype again I will
be sure to have the room clean.  Losing weight can be postponed.  It’s
a lot easier to clean the room.  Maybe Dad had the right idea by sitting so
close?

I heard a mother teaching her child about “Stranger Danger” the other day. 
It didn’t seem like such a concern when I was growing up.  These days,
though, it is just good parenting.  I was reminded of when my youngest
daughter started school and we taught her about it.  We had already had
this talk with her older siblings so it seemed like it would be an easy
conversation.  We sat down with her before she started school and told her
to stay away from strangers and not to go with people besides Mom, Dad or her
older brother.  Everything was going just fine.  Then we tested her at
the end.  “What do you do if someone comes to pick you up from school and
they say Mom or Dad sent them?”  “I don’t go”, she replied.  “What if
they say one of us was injured and they have been sent to get you and bring you
to us?”  “I don’t go”, she repeated.  “What if they say they are with
the police and it is important that they bring you to us?”  “I get the
teacher and don’t go” she said.  Then it happened.  I asked, “What if
the stranger has candy?”  “What kind of candy?” my daughter asked.  I
was at a loss for words.  When I composed myself, I asked, “What do you
mean when you say ‘What type of candy’?”  “Well”, she said, “I’m not going
with someone just because they have a sucker.  I can get one of those at
the bank any time.  Now if they have a candy bar, I might go.”  I was
furious.  “Wrong!  That is the wrong answer.  You do not go with
them ever!”  “But what if they have Skittles, Dad?  Those are really
good and we don’t buy them very much.”  I could not believe she was arguing
with me over this.  “I don’t care what they have.  You absolutely
never go with a stranger.  At the time I was livid but in hindsight I can
look back and laugh.  Though she was young, I can’t help but wonder if she
was just pulling my leg just to get a rise out of me.  If that was the
case, it worked great!  I was worked up for days.  Still, you have to
be careful these days.  You hear more and more about children being
abducted.  They are so precious that you have to be on guard all the
time.  Even my 17 year old daughter worries me when she goes out.  I
tell her that I trust her.  I just don’t trust all the other people.

It wasn’t so long ago.  At least I don’t think it was so long ago.  It
doesn’t seem like so long ago.  But maybe it really was long ago.  I
used to be able to make decisions.  That’s right.  I used to be able
to decide between choice A or choice B.  Now, I have to ask my wife before
I make any choice.  It didn’t strike me until the other day when we were
grocery shopping and the clerk asked me if I wanted paper or plastic bags. 
I looked frantically to my wife standing behind the cart and she replied,
“Paper”.  A few minutes later the clerk asked me if I wanted my laundry
detergent in a bag or left out.  I paused.  ‘Shouldn’t it go in a
bag?’  ‘Everything else is going in a bag.  Why not add this?’ 
‘But it does have that handle which makes the bag unnecessary and a waste of
paper.’  ‘Let me look at the other registers.  Are other people having
their detergent put into bags?’  ‘Rats!  How can no one in any of
these lines be buying laundry detergent at this moment except me?’  ‘Do
they never wash their clothes?’  ‘Maybe there was a big laundry detergent
sale and I missed it?’ ‘That would be my luck!’  But the guy is still
staring at me waiting for an answer.  ‘What will it hurt to have it in a
bag?’  ‘Wait a minute.  It could break open and ruin whatever food is
in there’  ‘Surely the person bagging the groceries wouldn’t put soap in
the same bag as food.’  ‘Then again this kid isn’t even old enough to
shave.  He might not know any better.’  Panic-struck I look at my wife
and she says to the patient clerk, “Just leave it out.  It will be
fine.”  Then it struck me.  I can’t make decisions for myself
anymore.  How could such a thing happen?  I used to be assertive and
self-assured.  Now I can’t decide if laundry soap should go in a bag or
not.  How did I get this way?  The obvious theory is what we will call
“The Wife Theory”.  I am so used to my wife making these kinds of choices
that I have lost the ability to do so out of lack of use.  That leads to
the chicken and egg question.  Can I not make up my own mind because my
wife dominates my choices?  Or does my wife dominate my choices because I
cannot make up my own mind.  Well, one could argue that I have been told my
opinion was wrong so many times that I gave up trying to decide for myself and
save the argument.  That would certainly explain my indecision.  On
the other hand, these are not the kind of choices I make often, whereas my wife
makes them all the time.  Perhaps I am bowing to her experience.  That
makes sense too.  After all, I wouldn’t go to her and ask how to write a
novel.  That is a field where I have experience.  I do make some
decisions.  It just seems when we are together I look to her for guidance
more than I used to.  On the plus side, her choice is nearly always the
right one.  Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the two
viewpoints.  Whatever the case, it seems to be working so maybe this isn’t
the hill on which I want to die.  I’ll decide something else. 

The .99 download sale of “Quest for the Red Sapphire” is nearly over.  It
will end at 10:00 AM CST on Sunday January 11, 2014.  This is your last
chance to download it for the promotional price.  Don’t miss out.  I
want to thank all those who have purchased the book.  I hope you enjoy this
first volume of the Sapphire Chronicles.  Writing is one of my favorite
pastimes and sharing it only makes me want to write more.  Read what you
love and love what you read.  Rival

Mary DeSantis and the good folks at Kit 'N Kabookle blog were kind enough to do
a full page spread on me and “Quest for the Red Sapphire”.  It is up on
this link: http://kitnkabookle.blogspot.com/2014/01/quest-for-red-sapphire-by-rival-gates.html?spref=tw 
There is an excerpt from the book as well as a character interview, an interview
with me and a more detailed insight into my life.  It also touches on the
fact that the .99 cent Amazon download sale is still going on through the
12th.  http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Red-Sapphire-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00DZ100MO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388726338&sr=8-1&keywords=quest+for+the+red+sapphire
.  Thank you to Mary for hosting me and my book.  She runs a first
class blog and is ever the professional.  Enjoy the read.

Let me just start by thanking everyone who has downloaded my book from
Amazon.  It is still .99 until January 12th.  Keep on
downloading!  My daughter’s car (which I technically own) was parked
harmlessly about a month ago when someone backed into it.  The body shop
has just found time to work on it and I took it in this afternoon.  As part
of the arrangement, I was to be provided a rental car.  When I was taken
out to check it over for damage before taking possession I saw that I had been
given a Ford Fiesta.  Now I certainly could stand to lose some weight but I
am not that big.  When I sat down in the driver’s seat one of my shoulders
was hanging off the back of the chair.  The seat was back all the way and
my knees were bent in front of me.  I like to think of myself as someone
who is not picky but this just wasn’t going to work.  I politely asked the
nice young lady if I could have something a little bigger.  She said I
would need to talk to the insurance company to get a larger size.  So I
called the insurance company.  They said I had been approved for a
sub-compact car.  I never knew what that term meant until today. 
After explaining the situation at length they approved me for a full sized
car.  I was promptly taken to the car lot for the rental company and given
a 2014 Chevy Silverado Extended Cab.  Talk about a change!  Now I was
sitting in a tank.  The only thing missing was the gun turret.  It was
too big to fit in my garage.  The agent talked to me about the gas and how
much it needed to have when I returned it.  Then she spoke to me about
optional insurance.  It was a terrifying speech.  She said that I was
responsible for any damage like someone opening a car door into it or someone
scratching it.  That doesn’t sound so bad, right?  Wrong.  Then
she said a claim would be filed against my insurance and I would be charged for
the damage plus the number of days the truck was “Off the road.”  I don’t
know what all that would add up to but it was a lot.  I am a trained
salesman and I know a fear appeal speech when I hear it.  This was one of
the scariest ones ever.  The more she talked, the more I considered the
optional insurance. A knot was forming in my stomach.   All I could
think of was hitting something with this huge truck.  Why couldn’t I have
fit in the Fiesta?  Then she told me the price.  It was $20.00 a day
for as long as I had the truck.  I’ve had repairs take as long as a month
before.  Even if it’s only a couple of weeks, that’s $240 I would be paying
whether I damaged the truck or not.  It’s half way to my deductible. 
So there was a fight within me.  If the scared side won I would pay for the
insurance.  If the cheap side of me won I would not do the insurance and
roll the dice.  I am no gambler and abhor taking risks but I declined the
coverage.  The expense just didn’t seem justified.  Now I have a huge
truck parked in front of my house I am scared to drive.  What good is
that?  It was either feel like that or pay the money and feel like a
sucker.  So the days of terror begin.  Maybe my wife will drive
it?  She doesn’t worry about such things.

The .99 cent Kindle Download Sale of “Quest for the Red Sapphire” is going very
well.  I am so pleased to have my work in the hands of more readers. 
It runs through the 12th on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Red-Sapphire-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00DZ100MO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389029119&sr=8-1&keywords=quest+for+the+red+sapphire. 
It is a wonderful opportunity to download a great book for a great price. 
The general reaction I have received is that it is a hard book to put down once
you start reading.  That has to be just about the greatest compliment a
writer can hear.  Its sequel, “Sapphire Crucible” is at the editor’s now
and should be out in the next 2 months.  It will answer many of the
questions posed by “Quest for the Red Sapphire”.  I can’t answer
everything, mind you.  Some things must be kept for future books.  Be
assured, however, that there will be even more action than the first book and
thrilling moments that will keep the book glued to your fingers.  The
anticipation is palpable for me and I know what is going to happen!  I
won’t spoil it but there will be some big surprises.  Enjoy the stories.

I have been honored by another blogger with an Author Spotlight.  Jessica

Tornese has done a piece about me on http://jessicatornese.com/.  There’s

information about the book, a fresh bio about me and an excerpt from “Quest for

the Red Sapphire” It also spotlights that the .99 sale started today!  It

runs through the 12th on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Red-Sapphire-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00DZ100MO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389029119&sr=8-1&keywords=quest+for+the+red+sapphire.
 
I am flattered by the exposure and hope you will take this opportunity to
read
this exciting novel for a very low price.