I'm now on Barnes & Noble.com

I'm thrilled to announce that two of my books are available on Barnes & Noble.com-- "Sealand 1001" is available as a Nook book and my short memoir "A Remarkable Life, lived by an ordinary person" is available as a paperback and as a Nook book!

Thank you so much for your support and helping me to spread the word about my writing!

Sealand 1001 -- on Barnes & Noble.com

A Remarkable Life lived by an ordinary person -- on Barnes & Noble.com

going crazy with Facebook!

hello friends -- I have to apologize if you are also on Facebook you are probably getting lots of Facebook updates and stuff from Me.  I promise as I begin to understand how Facebook works the number of posts and changes will be limited.  My main purpose for getting on Facebook was to spread the word about my books -- if any of you have experience with this or suggestions please help me !

Happy Holidays!

Hello My Friends, just wanted to wish all of you a very happy holiday season!  Wow!  Isn't pressure from commercialism amazing.  They started with Christmas shopping commercials before Thanksgiving this year.  I've always believed that gift giving and receiving was a fun part of the Christmas holidays -- but it seems like in modern times the media puts too much emphasis on this part of holiday season.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving...  My friend Bob and his wife brought the Turkey -- a tradition we've had for over 12 years now.  We also invited my friend Daisuke and his wife Yuki Who are now living here from Japan.  And my son Christopher and his lovely girlfriend also joined us.  It was a nice small gathering with lots of great food!
I hope that you and your family and have a happy and healthy holidays!!
My New Year's resolution is to write at least one post to this blog at least once a week!  I hope you don't get bored with my post -- please send me comments and let me know how I'm doing.  I'm also wondering about Facebook?  Anybody out there use Facebook?
Here's our picture from Thanksgiving gathering 2012:

Proud author!

Here's a great picture taken during Thanksgiving weekend of me and Daisuke.  Daisuke is my friend from Japan who has designed covers for two of my books so far.  He's very very talented!

Sealand 1001 now available!

Hello friends, I'm sorry I haven't added to this blog in a very long time.  I've been spending every free moment trying to Finish Sealand 1001.  Finally, I can say it is completed, formatted and published on Amazon.com. Two versions are available; a Kindle version and also a paperback version.

Sealand 1001 on Amazon.com

I'm really proud of this effort.  I appreciate everybody's encouragement and support along the way.  I hope some of you will check it out and give it a good read.  Let me know what you think!  Please help me publicize by sending this information off to your friends and family.

Happy holidays to everyone!

PublishAmerica finally lowers price!

Great news!  After months of arguing with PublishAmerica they have finally seen the light and agreed to lower the price of my book "Dolphin's Dance"-- new price for the softcover version is $9.95 and the new price for the e-book is $7.95.  Currently these prices are listed on the PublishAmerica website but should be reflected On Amazon.com.

I'm really happy about this!  I always thought the extremely high price Kept many people from purchasing the book.  Hey, now we shall see!

Thank you for your reviews!

Several wonderful friends have taken the time to actually read my two books and then write Thoughtful reviews for Amazon.com.  Thank you so much!  It really encourages me to continue with my writing...
Check out the reviews at the Amazon links below:

Remarkable life -- reviews

Dolphin --review

I sent the following to my Senators and Representatives today

I've had enough!  I'm really angry.

I cannot express how deeply disappointed and angry I am at how you have conducted our country’s business over the last couple of months!  I know you will say it is not the Democrats fault or your fault – blame the tea party or blame the Republicans!  But that’s just the problem…  You do nothing but blame each other in a negative and unproductive way.  You need to put aside your petty differences and actually get around to solving some of our serious problems.  You need to compromise!  You need to stand up for the middle class and help us bring this country back to prosperity and sensibility.  Enough politics.  I for one and voting all of you out of office!  Not one of you will get my vote next year, not even the president.  I want new blood, new ideas and new sense of urgency for our government.  You old boys and girls are just not getting it done – shame on you!  You really should be ashamed of your performance.  No excuses!

Sincerely,

Richard Raker – registered voter in Honolulu Hawaii

It's August already!

Hello everyone, it's been quite a while since I have posted.  I guess that means not a lot has been going on in my life lately.  It also means that I have been very busy writing.  I am working on a final draft of Sealand 1001 and hope to have it published on Amazon by early September.  I've also been working on a very retrospective/spiritual journey called the Artist and the Dreamer.  That Will not be finished for quite a while-- the important thing is that I am still writing, still enjoying the process and it gives me something to do almost every day.

I have a new bed -- a hospital bed.  It took quite a while to get adjusted to it, everything changed when we got A different bed.  All of our daily routines were suddenly different.  It's taken a while but now everything is Going fine and I am much more comfortable.  I can even turn the And to look out the window during the day -- which is great.

I wish you all well.

Cover for Sealand 1001

Friends, the cover for my fictional book "Sealand 1001" it is still being developed.  A great friend of mine from Japan, Daisuke, is doing the work for me.  Below are two possible front covers.  I thought I would share them with you.  If you have any comments or suggestions are always welcome...

Look inside feature-now Active

Hello friends, I'm thrilled that the Look Inside feature at Amazon is now working for my memoir "A Remarkable Life, lived by an ordinary person".  this is just another one of the great tools that Amazon.com offers authors and publishers.  It allows prospective buyers to browse through the book without buy it.  Check it out!!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1461185971#reader_1461185971

Also, please please please...  If any of you have read any of my books please be the first to write a short review on Amazon.

Memoir cover design

A few people have been asking who designed the cover of my memoir "A Remarkable Life, Lived by an ordinary person"...  It was designed and put together for me by my good friend Daisuke MAEHIRA.  I have no Daisuke since he was five years old.  His father and I were best friends in Japan a long time ago.

The photograph is Taken at the Polynesian cultural Center in 1972.  The lovely woman on the left is my grandmother Raker, I'm the long-haired boy on the right!

My Memoir Is Coming Soon!

Hello friends, I have completed my first memoir "A Remarkable Life, lived by an ordinary person" and have almost finished the process of publishing with Amazon self publish tools.  It's been a very interesting and satisfying process.  Should be available on Amazon.com within the next few days...  Softcover edition only $7.50 plus shipping of course, the Kindle version only $2.99.  I'm very proud of this work and think that my writing has improved since my first book.  I hope some of you will be interested in reading about the first 25 years of my life. 

Search for the book by the title or by author name R.K. Raker - You can also get to it from my author page on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/R.K.-Raker/e/B00501DBDM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

My experience publishing - lessons learned

I have written a short article, about 10 pages long, about my experiences with Writing and publishing my first book over the last year.  I am definitely a novice at this business, but I think I have learned several things of value that I want to be sure to share with others.  If you are thinking of publishing and you would like a "new author's" perspective, please go to the link below to download the attached file.  I hope that it has some useful information and that your experience publishing is a good one.

My publishing experience - a short article

PublishAmerica e-book pricing

I have been arguing with PublishAmerica for a couple of weeks now to lower their prices, especially for Kindle/e-books.  This is the response I get each time I asked them to lower the price.  Exact same response each time!
*** 
Dear Richard Raker:

There is no reason whatsoever why e-books should be cheaper than printed books. If there is, then someone ought to explain it to us. E-books come to the customer with a great advantage: the instant gratification of immediate downloading, and no shipping or handling charges. E-books cannot be damaged in transport, they don't harm the environment (no dead trees, no exhaust emissions from trucks and planes before the book is delivered on your doorstep), and they can't be borrowed and not returned.

In the market place, the customer should have equal options to choose from. PublishAmerica offers a book in various formats, at a pricing that does justice to the value of the book. If the customer wants a paper format, we deliver. If they want an electronic format, we deliver too. The difference between the first option and the second should be the shipping expense, and nothing more. The fact that the publisher saves on printing is offset by providing the significant comfort bonus of delivering the book instantly. If the customer doesn't want that extra comfort, or doesn't want to pay for it, they should buy the paper product. We don't charge extra for the printing.

We are well aware that when e-books were first launched a decade ago, to capture a still non-existing market pricing was kept artificially low, very low, at a net loss to all traditional publishers. Now the market is there, fueled by Kindle and Nook sales, and everyone can start behaving normally again. The costs to acquire, produce, publish and market a book stay the same, regardless of the format in which it is sold. Therefore the time has arrived for normal margins to be included in e-book pricing. Publishing is for profit, and not for publishers to compete against themselves by undervaluing their e-books.

Authors should embrace regular pricing. It doubles their royalties. Those who don't embrace it, effectively root for large numbers of publishing companies to go under in the ongoing digital revolution. As Publishers Weekly wrote recently, "A key for valuing publishers in the future will be their ability to generate the same level of cash flow from the sale of digital products as they do for print." Those who don't, will perish. PublishAmerica has no such intention.

Thank you,

PublishAmerica Support
support@publishamerica.com

Follow us on Twitter at @PubAmericaNews!
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/publishamerica.publisher

A Remarkable Life

I am almost ready to publish my memoir "A Remarkable Life, lived by an ordinary person".  I am attempting to use the self-publishing tools created by Amazon, createspace.com.  So far the tools that they have available seem to be pretty intuitive and easy to use.  I'll let you know what it looks like after I have received my first authors edition...  A good friend of mine from Japan, Daisuke, has been working on the cover for the book.  I shared with you below!

My continuing publishing experience

Hello friends, I thought I would update you on my latest efforts at trying to get my book available to all.  Earlier this week I sent out an e-mail stating that I was thrilled to finally have my Book "Dolphins Dance" Available on Amazon.com.  Even though the prices set by PublishAmerica, my publisher, were very ridiculously HIGH...  I was still very happy to see my book available.  Unfortunately, I purchased the Kindle copy for $25 (outrageous!)  Just to see what it would look like - the formatting was terrible.  Throughout the book there are missing words and letters, some of the alignment is also screwed up.  I immediately contacted the publisher and Amazon.com to rectify the situation.  Amazon Kindle support replied very quickly And will be removing The Kindle version within 24 hours...  If anyone purchased this version I believe you can return it to Amazon for a refund.  I'm so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.
I am now waiting to hear from PublishAmerica to see if they will fix the formatting issues that make the book available again had Amazon.com/Kindle.  I really believe In the Kindle and And e-book "revolution"... I believe/think it is the future of publishing and Makes Reading books more accessible/books available especially to the younger more technological generations.

I am asking PublishAmerica to lower the prices of my book.  I would like to see the print copy available for $12.95 on Amazon.com (you can get it for that price if you go directly to the PublishAmerica bookstore) and I would like to see the Kindle version of my book available for less than $5.95.  That way my friends and family who would like to read the book do not have to fork out so much money!  If you want to help me with this "campaign" please go to the PublishAmerica website and give them feedback that you would like to see my books listed at lower prices.

Anyway lesson learned!  I am not saying that PublishAmerica is a "scam"...  They have fulfilled their contract with me.  They did help me get my book into print with no upfront costs or charges.  They did format the book and designed the cover - something I could not do on my own.  They did make the books available on their website and on Amazon.com as promised.  So, looking on the positive side I am now a published author.  It's just that my book is priced so high that I believe there will be very limited sales.  In my opinion I believe that PublishAmerica makes its money from the authors, not from selling the books to the general public.  It's a different business model and had I been fully informed and not in such a rush to be published, I would have gone a different route.

So there it is, my thoughts on my publishing experience to date!  I have not given up.  I continued to ask that the prices be lowered and I would also like to rewrite Dolphins Dance - I'd like to grammatical errors and make the paragraphs a little more readable.  Someday a second edition will be out there.  In the meantime I plan on either self publishing on Amazon.com using their self-publishing services or if I can find a literary agent that might be even better.  I'd rather not spend so much time formatting and publishing, I want to spend more time just writing.

Sorry for the long winded message today!  Just needed to get some of these thoughts off my chest.

Great News, Good News and a scare

The great news is that my book "Dolphin's Dance" is now available on Amazon.com and for the Kindle.  Search using the title or author name (R.K. Raker).  Unfortunately the price is too high for my liking, but the publisher sets the price not Me.  If you go to Amazon.com and find the book please visit the author information page.  And if you have read the book please, please, write a customer review!

The good news is that my parents were here to visit for one week.  We had a wonderful visit and I was so proud of them still traveling and doing their best at 83 years old.  They are from Phoenix so the wet and humid weather was a bit uncomfortable for them.  But on the whole we had a nice visit and it was good to have the whole family together.

A scare occurred a week ago on Monday during thunderstorm that we had here on Oahu.  Suddenly we had a very strong electrical search and all the power went out.  My backup emergency battery for some reason did not kick in and I was left unable to breathe for a couple of minutes--which seemed like years for me.  Luckily my good friend Michael was here and stayed calm and in a few minutes the electricity came back on.  We were both pretty scared.  We now have new caregiver procedures which we hope will prevent any future electrical malfunctions.

Sealand 1001

I have finished the first draft of my second attempt at science fiction.  If any of you would like to read part of the excerpt and give me some suggestions or comments let me know.  I have sent this off to some literary agents to see what reaction I get from professionals in the literary business...  It's been fun and I continued to write.  I thank all of you for your encouragement.

Sealand 1001 (Word count 49,860)

One hundred and seventy years in the future humans have survived global warming but are still faced with the problem of overpopulation.  The Free Sealand organization offers an economically and politically viable solution to this problem: floating city nations.  Environmentally however, the cities pose a great danger to the health of the oceans.  An eco-terrorist group, Ocean Peace Resistance (OPR), and the forces of the World Council of Cetaceans work together to stop the development of Sealand cities by doing everything they can to disrupt their operations.  Technology and linguistic knowledge have developed over the last hundred years allowing humans and cetaceans to communicate and begin cooperative endeavors.  They team together in a variety of ways, for good and bad, as world tension mounts in the face of proliferating city states and the destruction of the oceans.

“Sealand 1001” is the newest city to be launched and targeted by OPR.  The planning and execution of an attack on the city is told through the exploits of two of the terrorists, Jackie, an aquaculture expert, and Daniel, a former US Marine working undercover as a commercial fisherman out of Honolulu, Hawaii.  We also follow their dolphin counterparts, Power-flukes and Long-breath, as they join the dolphin Rangers and play pivotal roles in the attack.  Sealand’s perspective unfolds through the eyes of the governor of the city and Rory, an anti-terrorist expert working for the Free Sealand security forces.

The story is fast-paced and gives the author’s view of the future with a plausible blend of science and fantasy.  The struggle between human civilization’s careless exploitation of the earth’s resources and nature’s need for balance are explored.  The author’s positive bias leaves the reader with the hope that a final equilibrium can be reached. 

Beautiful orchid

my good friend Bette gave me these orchids around the beginning of the year.  They had some beautiful blossoms at first and then all of a sudden all of the blossoms fell off.  I was so sad.  As usual the rakers are not that good at taking care of plants...  We either water too much or too little.  It's so hard to find that balance that nature needs to flourish.

After the blossoms fell off we put the plant outside.  For the next couple of weeks in late January the weather was wet, cloudy and cool.  Then all of a sudden in late February new blossoms appeared.  I was so happy and amazed at the resilience of this little plant.  We brought it back inside and now I've been enjoying the new blossoms for the past several weeks.

This little plant reminded me that nature is so beautiful and so resilient when it's left alone and not disturbed.

my book is in print!

Dear friends, family and caregivers:

My book, "Dolphin's Dance" is now available on the PublishAmerica website. This is the link to their online bookstore: http://www.publishamerica.net/

Scroll to the bottom and use the search feature to find the book. You can search by by last name "Raker" or by the title of the book.

You will see that there are two versions of my book available; the first is a softcover edition for $25 and the second is a special "price edition" for $13. I have seen the softcover edition and it looks pretty good, good quality and ships within two weeks. But, 25 bucks is pretty expensive!

The cheaper price edition I have not seen yet, so I have no idea what the quality looks like (perhaps is printed on tissue paper?) And also it probably takes 4 to 6 weeks to ship. PublishAmerica charges 4 dollars for shipping for each book... They are definitely not a discount bookseller like Amazon. But, they give first-time authors like myself a chance to get published.

I do expect an official release of my book within the next few months, then it will be available for Kindle and also listed on Amazon (I hope).

If you do decide to purchase my book, thank you very much! If you like it please pass it on. It is not a children's book. The cover is deceiving... I apologize in advance for the grammar mistakes, long-winded paragraphs and abundance of adverbs. I also apologize to all my loved ones for the morbid first chapter, it's just the way that I felt at the time. Thank you all for your love and support! I promise to keep writing and get better at it as time goes on.

Dolphins Dance - final manuscripts submitted

I'm happy to announce that this is finally off to the publishers. They sent me the final proofs and cover design this week and allowed me to make some corrections. On Friday I submitted these last changes and now it should be published very soon!

how is 2011 going?

Hello friends,

I was just thinking about all of you this morning when I saw the beautiful snow falling in New York Central Park on the today show. I was hoping that no matter where you are you were getting out and enjoying the winter weather. Thanks for your updates and staying in touch.

So far it's been a busy 2011 for us and things seemed to be going quite well.

I finally submitted my edited manuscript PublishAmerica just this Wednesday. It was tough for me as I wanted to add and edit and add and add, but finally just thought enough was enough and it's my best writing that I can do at this time in my life. I hope it's not too wrought with errors and grammar problems. PublishAmerica doesn't help at all with the editing process. Now, I wait for them to do their formatting and cover design. Perhaps I'll be completed by 6 to 9 months from now. In the meantime I keep on writing and have completed more than 50 pages of a science fiction/SQL to the first, so far called "Sealand 1001". And I have also finished editing my memoirs of the first 25 years of my life. So writing is still a great therapeutic adventure for me each day. I would love to find a literary agent to represent me and give me some guidance. I've written several but no response. I guess I just keep trying at my leisure, I'm in no big hurry.

I got out of the house twice in the last week. I went to the Sony open, so far I've gone every year for the last 12 years. I go with a friend of mine, a retired Air Force major who was a college friend of mine. he takes very good care of me and we had a good time. I also went to the dentist on Tuesday so I am a little bit exhausted. Going out really is a challenge for me.

My son Christopher is back in school at the University of Hawaii in the middle of his junior year. He worked at Best Buy over the holidays as a seasonal worker, learned a lot from the experience. And now he just got a job with an Internet company called "Clearwire". I'm very proud of him, works hard and seems to be very responsible for a 20-year-old. He still spends one day a week with me, which we enjoy very much.

Mineko continues to work full-time. She's always busy and has so many things to do and worry about. But her strength is amazing and her love for me and each other is still very very strong.

My health seems to be pretty stable. I think it's all perspective. I have good days and bad days, but so does everyone. I do get bored sometimes, mostly that happens in the middle of the afternoon when I'm too tired to work on the computer, or uncomfortable for being the one position for too long. I'm grateful I can still do some things. I do wonder about the future, try to take each day as it comes. I have wonderful friends and caregivers.

Thanks for checking in and have a great week!
Rick

Stay in touch with me on my blogs or website
http://sites.google.com/site/rickspossepage/

http://rickswindow.blogspot.com/

http://ricksdvdreviews.blogspot.com/

January is flying

Hello friends, is amazing to me that January is almost
halfway over and we are well into 2011. I've been busy. On Saturday I went to the Sony open with my good friend Bob. We had a great time and continue the tradition we started over 10 years ago. Yesterday, I went to the dentist. So my teeth are clean and my smile is Bright. Today, I finally finish the final manuscript for "Dolphins Dance" and sent it off to the publisher. Christopher started a new job with ClearWire last week and is still going to school full-time. So, I've been busy these days! And a thoroughly enjoying the NFL playoffs.
I hope all of you are having a wonderful January.