[Pen/Pencil Review] Preview of Upcoming Attractions
Yeah, I know… I didn’t get a blog done. Day Job is a bit discombobulated with the tornadoes that went through the area on Saturday. Our home and family is fine – the tornadoes went pretty far east of us. But my job is dealing with quite a bit of the aftermath. Therefore… a preview of upcoming attractions.
This is my pen and pencil haul from Christmas. A nice collection of pens, pencils, and highlighters. Including an array of colored pencils (wooden and mechanical) to go with some coloring books (both adult and no-so-adult).
I’m hoping the Sprouts pencils actually work (especially with my less than Spring Green thumb). But they’ve intrigued me and now I have some!
Totally love that my family enables my love of pens – and that I can share them with you. Looking forward to 2016.
[Writer Post] Christmas Eve 2015 and Oopsies
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I know I’m a day late on my Wednesday post… yesterday was busy with good, bad, and an epic FAIL. But I’m making up for it.
So the big writing news since the last week was Tor.Com announcing it is closing to “unsolicited submissions” starting January 7, 2016. This is sad, sad news for writers. The avenues for newer writers or established writers like me who aren’t necessarily a “name” author to break into “professionally” paying markets is narrow enough to see one of the more promising markets make the avenue even more constricted is sad. But… nature of the beast in a lot of ways.
I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU ALL for the support and sharing my excitement this year. It still boggles my mind at I FINALLY have a novel out! I appreciate everyone who bought it. Who’s commented on it – if you don’t mind reviewing it (if Amazon will let you), please consider it. I’ve had a handful of people ask if there’s going to be more stories in that universe… the answer is…
I have Grand Plans for the New Year…
Most of the plans lie in the same vein of “Get Stuff Done”. Some of it’s stuff I’ve should’ve done over the last couple of years, but haven’t (setting up a Create Space/Amazon author page to get the chapbooks online better and the like). I have two major projects that need FINISHING. I have at least two or three projects that need DOING – start to finish.
So please keep asking/bugging me about what’s going on so I don’t get complacent and let things slide. There are no laurels to sit on here. I need pokes, prods, and fire to feet. Fortunately, I have two THREE DAY WEEKENDS in a row coming up. And this weekend we have potential for threatening weather. Good to bundle up with puppies, fireplaces, and pens/paper/computers.
So here’s wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. See you again soon!
[Pen/Pencil Review] Stabilo Bl@ck – Fine Point – Red & Green Ink
It’s the week before Christmas and all through the house, every creature is running rampant. Here’s one more set of red and green rollerball pens – the Stabilo Bl@ck Fine Point.
I’m…iffy…about the Stabilo pens. These are no exception. JetPens PICTURES says the Bl@ck fine points are a 0.3mm but if they are, it’s the WIDEST 0.3mm tip I’ve ever used. It’s not bad. In fact, it’s a decent line with a good pigment in both the red and the green. Dark and rich, I just have the quibble on the point size.
The barrels are a softer rubber than your typical rollerball pens. The rubberized plastic has an ergonomic taper to the end, but there are also ridges that can dig in defeating part of the claim to be a “fatigue free†writing experience. The pens are comfortable. The cap does post securely. There are some handsome details to the pen.
The Bl@cks are 5.7†long with the cap on and 6.2†with the cap posted. The pen is well-balanced and fits well in the hand. And it is a really handsome looking pen. The metal clip is strong and bright against the cap. The conical tip is relatively smooth on the paper. There’s some smearing to the ink, but it does dry pretty quickly.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 0.5 It’s decent. The point is pretty sturdy with a decent ink flow. I quibble over the point size.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It has an ergonomic flair to the barrel design. The rubberized barrel is nice, but there ridges near the point that can dig in if you choke down on the point.
3. Material – 1 The rubberized plastic is softer than the normal plastic stick pen which gives it a nice feel. The metal parts are strong. The cap posts securely.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a relatively decent stick pen with decent workmanship and writing surfaces
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s a bit on the pricy side – you have to order them online from JetPens or Amazon. They run between $3 and $4 a pop unless you get a sale on Amazon for the four-pack. Not something to buy on the biggest of whims.
3.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Writer Post] The Week Before Christmas Edition
It’s the Week Before Christmas Holiday Edition of the blog post. If you want to surprise someone with one of my Yard Dog Press Books, you can find a list of all the titles here. I know I’d appreciate the love – and so would Yard Dog. Feel free to check out the other authors, too, and pick up some of those books, too. Or pick up books by any of your favorite authors.
I’m working on some of my 2016 calendar dates. One is almost completely nailed down. I’m waiting for the venue to mention it first before I do. But it’s 90% confirmed! I can’t wait to tell you about that (it’ll be all over Facebook and Twitter just as soon as I have final confirmation). Then it’ll be ConDFW for the next appearance.
Totally need to make some things happen next year – that I’ve been sitting on. Amazon type stuff – because 500 lb gorilla – but will hopefully help with reach and stuff – stuff that falls under “Business of Writingâ€.
The new contact lens paradigm failed. It’s been corrected. Now I can actually get back to work like I should’ve been doing this past week or so but had difficulties. Also thinking there might be some “Winds of Change†in Day Job stuff that could be really good (so fingers crossed).
Time to get crackin’, I guess. Let’s make stuff happen!
[Pen/Pencil Review] Pilot Super Gel – 0.5mm Green Ink
‘Tis the Season for trying to stay on track (sort of) it’s been a busy day – stuff happening, things going on. To keep with the theme, this is a green gel roller ball pen I picked up in my last JetPens order. This is the Pilot Super Gel – 0.5mm in green ink (to keep with the season).
This is a utility pen. Basic clear plastic. It’s about 5.7†long capped and 6.3†long with the cap posted and fairly well balanced. The cap posts securely (with a solid click) and has a fairly study molded plastic clip. The clear plastic of the cap and barrel let you see how much of the green ink reservoir is available. And the cap has decorative cut outs. The barrel has a ribbed grip, but little in the way of ergonomics.
The gel ink is decently dark and rich with a conical roller ball tip. It has a smooth action across the page. It’s a decent, no frills pen with a seemingly huge ink reservoir. You’ll write with this pen for a good long time. It’s also relatively inexpensive that makes it a decent investment – even if you have to order it online.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s decent. No frills. But it’s a good fine point gel stick pen
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s an inexpensive, plastic, no frills pen. The ribbed grip gives it traction without much else.
3. Material – 1 It’s okay for what it is. It’s a solid clear plastic stick pen with a good cap and a solid clip.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a basic stick pen with a nod to ergonomics. It’s a nice thing but nothing out of the ordinary.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s a solid pen for a decent price. These pens are $1.65 on JetPens. They’re not available in stores, just online. And you’d have to get a lot to qualify for free shipping.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Writer Post] Day Late… AGAIN
And… another blog post that’s a day late and a probably a dollar short. But it’s December – a busy time of the year. About to start the holiday baking marathon. We did our Christmas shopping this afternoon. Work is … work. But there are Winds of Change starting to blow (or potentially anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me, please.
Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers for my dad last week. He’s out the of hospital and on the mend and looking into preventative measures to keep this situation from happening again.
I’ve gotten through the first read of a collaborative effort novel – now I need to actually need to do the edits and add the additions and answer the questions. WHEE! All while I’m still adjusting to a new contact lens paradigm. But it’s a good project – weird project – but good project.
I have some plot bunnies hopping around. We’ll see if any of them actually get corralled.
[Pen/Pencil Review] RERUN – Boxing Reindeer Ball Point Pen
I’m doing a repeat post a day late because I had my annual eye doctor check up yesterday and had the REALLY GOOD pupil dilation drops. And I’m adjusting to a whole new contact lens – a bifocal contact lens. Trippy. Reading/writing last night DID NOT HAPPEN. 😎 So.. Day late…
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It’s not a holiday season without at least one funny novelty pen. This one was a gift from my mother. And after this review it’s not going to actually ever really be used as a pen again. It’s much more fun as a toy.
This is a boxing reindeer ball point pen. The ink point is either a 0.7 or a 1.0mm – I’d bet on the 1.0, it’s becoming the more “standard” pen ink. The pen is over 6 inches long and fairly wide in diameter. It’s wider than I’m comfortable with on a regular basis.
For a novelty pen, it does write fairly well. I used it one day at work and wasn’t completely fatigued by it. The ink flows remarkably well for a silly novelty pen. And I apologize for my photos. For a photographer – I’m a decent writer. A setting was changed…darn it.
But that’s not why I love it. I love it because it’s a silly boxing reindeer — with a glowing nose. This last week before my play and during other Christmas stuff, it was my favorite threat — Don’t Make Me Get Out The Boxing Reindeer.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 0.5 – It’s better than I expected. It’s decent ink and flow. It’s wider than I like.
2. Look and feel – 1 – It’s not bad for a novelty pen. It’s long and wide, but fairly well-balanced for all of that.
3. Material – 0.5 It’s inexpensive plastic with a boxing mechanism and a glowing nose. There are parts to break, wear out, or die.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s an amazing boxing reindeer pen. That’s all there is to say.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – This is not a cheap novelty. It’s not stupidly expensive, but I think it runs about $4. If you’re looking for cheaper – this is not the pen. If you’re looking for a toy… there could be less expensive.
3.5 out of 5 bronze pencils.
[Writing Post] [Conventions] Tipping Points
Welcome to Wednesday and blog post day. It’s been a very weird week. But then, I’m weird, so it’s to be expected… I made it through the initial panic of Grandma coming for Thanksgiving. It turned out fine. That was followed by a very quiet weekend reading a wide variety of books and novellas while it torrentially rained.
Then a question arose… and a quandary. There’s been a small show that I’ve supported for a few years now. And in the last year or so, I’ve watched the table prices rise (and rise and rise). Sadly, there hasn’t been a corresponding rise (and rise and rise) in attendance or sales. Which highlights a situation that seems to occur in a lot of “for profit” shows…expenses rise – either a new venue or floundering attendance – so the show raises the price on tables to cover it – creating a bigger financial burden for the artist/creators who are also part of the draw of the show – especially if it’s a small show where panels are problematic due to space constrictions or what have you.
Jim C. Hines and Me – taken by John Husisian for Jim C. Hines
The question/quandary comes when the artist/creator then has to decide what the breaking point is – continue to support a show that you love so you still have an avenue to sell books/prints, or cut the losses because the odds of actually making the money back is iffy at best. You’d think that wouldn’t be a big question but it is. The venues for branching out to new audiences isn’t as…prolific…as one would hope in the area – so you want to take advantage of the opportunities. HOWEVER, you can’t keep pouring money into losing propositions. And this is not JUST profit shows, you have to sometimes make this call on fan run shows – like literary conventions – as well.
You’d think that would be an easy answer… lose money, stop going to show. Except it’s not all that clear cut if you like the organizers and you can see the potential of the show (whether it’s realized potential or not). Many times you have to look at as an investment in the career (sometimes what I’ve not made in sales, I’ve made up for in networking and contacts) – but you can’t immediately pay rent with networking. There’s a tipping point – and that’s where I struggle. Deciding where that point is.
![IMG_3061[1]](https://www.rhondaeudaly.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_30611-300x225.jpg)
So what’s your tipping point? How do you decide if you stay or go?
[Pen/Pencil Review] TUL Rectractable Pen – 0.5mm Red & Green Ink
Okay, so I know Office Max and Office Depot are technically the same thing, but I still think of them separately. Though, it’s getting harder. There’s one line that still exists in the Office Max Universe – the TUL pen line. Which makes me happy this holiday season, because I like their 0.5mm retractable pens. And for the next month, I’ll be exclusively working in RED and GREEN… because fa lalalalala.
The TUL retractable pens are about 5.75″ long with the tip retracted and extended. The barrels are plastic with color coordinated dimpled rubber grips. The clips are metal and sturdy with color coordinating accents. The plunger is clear plastic with color coordinating plugs in side. There’s not a ton of squish in the grip, but they’re pretty comfortable.
The ink is decent. I’ve actually had these for a while, and they still work well, even on the rough handmade paper. The color is rich and smooth, especially for a 0.5mm. I’ve enjoyed working with these pens off and on for a while now. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t reviewed them before. But I looked, and lo, behold!
I’m more impressed with the green. Green is hard to get a good dark line in finer points, but these TULs do a good job. I think you may still be able to get smaller packages than a dozen in the multiple colors, but even if you can’t the 12 pack in multiple colors are still pretty affordable.
These are good utility pens. Solid mechanisms with good ink for a decent price. You can go pretty far with these pens. I’m sticking them in my bag for work pens this month. Along with some Pentel EnerGel Xs and probably others. 😎
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – These are solid pens. The ink doesn’t skip in the fine point. The ink is dark and rich. It has a good feel.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – It’s a utilitarian pen. Has a nod to ergonomics with the dimpled, rubber grip. It has a good length with decent balance.
3. Material – 1 It’s a solid plastic and metal retractable pen. It’s good for what it is.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s solid. It’s utilitarian. It works.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – These run between $1.50 – $2.00 a piece, which make them affordable, but I’m not sure how easy they are going to be to get any more other than online. Since TUL was an Office Max “house brand” I don’t know that Office Depot kept them on. Get them while you can, if you can. Or order them online.
4.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Pen/Pencil Review] A Thanksgiving Rerun
Yeah, sorry about this… but so much to do in the next few days I had to give one thing up. So enjoy this post from 2014. And hey, BROWN INK in the theme for Thanksgiving! So enjoy!
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I don’t know why some Mondays are a bigger struggle than others, but they are. This one is one of them. I left the pen I’m reviewing at home, so I don’t have it physically in front of me, but I’m going to do my best. This is one of my last batch from JetPens (may have to do another order soon), it’s Morning Glory Mach 3 roller ball pen in brown ink.
Haven’t heard of Morning Glory? Don’t neither had I. They’re a South Korean pen maker. According to JetPens and the TradeKorea website – Morning Glory is the “biggest Fancy Stationary Manufacturer” based in Seoul, Korea. The Morning Glory Mach 3 collection is the current collection JetPens carries.
The Mach 3 line has 13 different colors in a 0.38 needle tip, roller ball design. I chose the brown ink – occasionally I want something different. Brown takes care of that. The barrel color matches the ink color. There’s a view port to see the ink levels in the side. The grip is molded plastic with only a nod to ergonomics. The cap color matches the barrel, but the plastic is transparent with a steel clip.
The roller ball and ink are smooth and dark for such a fine line (which I like). The tip can be a touch “scratchy” but that gives it a bit of character. I didn’t see a lot of skip or stutter. The needle tip felt solid and not about to bend if you write heavily. The length was consistent with these types of pens to give a decent balance. And it has a good price point for a disposable roller ball pen. I’ll probably try a different color.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – For such a fine point, it works really well. A solid, dark line with little skipping. Dries quickly with minimal smearing.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – I’m knocking a half point for nod to ergonomics. The grip is a decent diameter, but it’s smooth plastic and hard. If you’re a hard gripper, it’ll be tiring. There’s also a ridge where the cap seats that can dig into fingers.
3. Material – 1 – This is an inexpensive, disposal roller ball. It is what it is. Plastic and steel, but it feels sturdy
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – It is what it is. It’s a good design for an inexpensive roller ball. I like the view port for the ink levels. It’s meant to be used and done. It’s good for what it is. There aren’t any ergonomics. The roller ball can be scratchy which some might not like.
5. Price Point – 1 – It’s pretty cheap. It’s $2.00 on JetPens. For a decent quality roller ball, it’s an okay price point.
That’s 4 of 5 bronze pencils.
