Republibot’s Burt Cottage interviews Samuel “Sam” Ben White on his recent success with selling Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels on Amazon’s Kindle platform.

Burt Cottage: Good morning.

Sam: Afternoon.

BC: What?

Sam: It’s afternoon where I am.

BC: No kidding. Anyway, tell us about Kindle.

Since January 1 of this year, 32 copies of my novels have been sold to users of Amazon's Kindle--including 3 just this month. I have four books available ("First Time-The Legend of Garison Fitch"; "Saving Time-The Legend of Garison Fitch Book 2"; "Lost Time-The Legend of Garison Fitch Book 3" and "Psalm 88") and three of the four are selling.

I have all sorts of questions.

Star Trek Academy – Collision Course, by William Shatner (with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens)

This novel, by Shatner and the R-Ss (however that works) is probably the best novel this trio has written to date (though not as good as “Federation”, a novel by the R-Ss which is, IMHO, the best Trek novel ever written). It tells the story of a teen-age James T. Kirk and how he first met a Vulcan named Spock.

Wait, you may be saying, isn’t that the same plot as the new movie?

No.

When I see a comics page from the newspapers, I’ll read every comic strip presented. If I stumble across a cartoon on-line, I’ll read it. And, of course, I draw a comic strip which appears in 6 newspapers. So, I feel somewhat qualified to present a list of the comic strips that I believe are—or were—the best.

Now, with commentary, I’ll present the best the comics page has ever had to offer.

Governor Perry's reference to secession—and even his subsequent assertion that he wasn't advocating secession—has set off a fire-storm of criticism and acclaim. It has also fueled some additional thoughts in my own mind.

The objection that I keep hearing (the rational objection, I should specify, as there is plenty of moronic vitriol on every side of every issue these days) is that secession is not legal. When Texas joined the United States, it was agreed that it was permanent. John C. Calhoun tried to debate this point and lost over a hundred years ago.

All right, I’m going to go ahead and admit that secession wouldn’t be all peaches and cream. That would be if Georgia seceded. In Texas, it would be pecan pie and Dr Pepper.

Just kidding. A decision like secession would obviously bring up some big questions which I, personally, don’t have the answers for. Still, I’d like to ask them in case someone else does. So, in no particular order:

Those of you who know me, know that I like making lists. Call it a mental issue if you wish, but I do make them. So, in keeping with my recent list of favorite movies, I am now presenting an accompanying list of my favorite TV shows.

Notice, though, that I could only come up with a "definitive preference" for the first three positions. The rest are shows I love, but the more I tried the more I realized I couldn't rank them. So, they're only sort of in order of preference.

“You must remember, my friend, that if we leave the governing to others, then others will govern, and possibly not as we would like. In a country such as this, none of us is free of responsibility.” --Louis L’Amour in "River's West"

What constitutes “Science Fiction”?

This is probably one of those questions you’ve never bothered to ask yourself. Fans of the genre, however, ask it a lot—and write about it a lot. Some of them even get angry about it.

Take a look at the following titles of movies and books (that I hope you have at least heard of): Star Wars; Plan 9 From Outer Space; Star Trek; Buck Rogers; Flash Gordon. Which of these would you consider science fiction?

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”

So says the declaration of independence of the United States of America.