Why didn't the EYES, better known as Empathic Yoga Ecologist Seers on Erth One, predict so many people would check my website as soon as I started querying agents to represent Erth Won? (That's the book title, not the planet name.) I sent only a few letters, not thinking even one agent would check my website. At least not so soon. And never 20 times as many letters as I sent. It can't be the webcrawler bots checking for updates.

Under such scrutiny, I decided to do a major overhaul. Many agents say they want well-developed new worlds or old ones re-imagined. Though Erth One fits both extremes, I hadn't posted many specifics online. So I did.

For my friends and relatives who already read my home page, please do so again. Same goes for teenage and adult reviewers. Let me know if you like the hisstory I posted for Erth One. Ditto if you have any questions about Erth SCOUTs, Super Conductors of Universal Terraforming. Most important, show your interest and support by clicking the like button and sharing on Facebook. I need a large audience of willing readers, the larger the better.

Why, you might ask? To convince an agent I have enough readers to make it worth marketing my book, These days most publishers won't read any manuscript sent by an unagented writer. And what good is free agency without any doors open to choose between?

Erth Won is a clean read, even if the characters get dirty fighting addictive towbackhoes and other evils poisoning the Heartland. In the end, someone will have make sure evil gets its just desserts, beating some murderous bullies in the process.So share with anyone who has children over the age of ten who might like going along on the reading adventure of a lifetime, saving Erth One's Heartland from destruction.

I’m a day late and a bunch of dollars short, but I can’t complain of boredom. Anytime I think all is well, my life comes crashing down around my ears. Credit card fraud isn’t the worst thing that’s happened, but fraud is the only disaster I can forewarn others about. Who says secure payment systems are secure? They’re not, when every year, like clockwork, somebody somewhere tries to buy something with my credit card. Platinum? Not anymore. Tarnished again.

This year the criminals charged something from London, buying shoes. Last year they started with eBay electronics and moved on to diamonds. The first time, years ago, someone advertised phone sex jobs — I mean for people to man (or woman) one of those 900 number sex hotlines. I don’t end up holding the bag, and the criminals don’t get the goods, since my credit card company refuses the charges. They notify me and change my card numbers. They’re used to it by now. I’m on my 6th credit card.

Notifying all the companies I pay via automatic payment is a hassle, as is doing without the card until the replacement arrives. But it’s a lot better than being robbed in person. Then again, how many people get robbed in person year after year? Using PayPal doesn’t seem to help. That’ll teach me to leave home without my wallet. Wait, I did take my wallet. Did I say the card itself has never been stolen? And it still has a label on back instead of a signature, saying “ask for ID.” I praise the few merchants who do ask.

My sister doesn’t do any online banking. Her card number has never been stolen. But I like those great deals online. Now I have to ask, at what price in time lost? How much price in worry?

Fraud is everywhere. Yahoo’s groups get broken into; I get spammed. I have one email address I use for business transactions nowadays, expecting each company to put me on their perpetual mailing list, and sell my name to others. Do I believe them when they say they respect my privacy? No.

Fraud is just as prevalent in the publishing industry. Take a look at Predators and Editors: http://pred-ed.com/pubwarn.htm. The site gives all sorts of publishing warnings. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of American (SFWA) website provides this page: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/, proving it’s not just buyer beware; writers must also beware.

The most basic rule is that publishers shouldn’t charge upfront. Agents shouldn’t either. Those who belong to the Association of Authors' Represenatives (ARS) abide by a code of ethics to protect innocent new writers, and not-so-innocent old ones. That’s not to say other agents don’t treat their clients fairly, but they’re not required to. Read that contract carefully, because there’s no organization to back a writer’s rights if the agent doesn’t belong to AAR. Their website, at http://aaronline.org/, provides a complete list of member agents.

So keep your eyes open long enough to read these websites. I’ve done my duty, giving fair warning. Maybe now I can get some shuteye.