· · ·

Copyright Violation is Theft

Posted on:

I love the internet, I believe in the internet as the voice and the flow of the demotic, and I staunchly advocate for a free internet.

I think Snowden and Assange are heroes. Individuals have the right to privacy, no matter what Obama’s Big Brother government believes–and do I risk a drone targeting me for saying that?

What I do not believe in is THEFT. Piracy. Stealing. Copyright violation.

I suppose it happens to all authors these days–we google ourselves online and find our books offered as free downloads. It cuts into sales and steals money from our pockets.

To everyone who posts those files, or who downloads them: YOU ARE THIEVES. You are setting yourselves up for bad karma, and I for one will be thrilled to see you meet your just rewards for such acts of conniving thievery.

Here is my standard takedown letter, and I have to send it regularly:
***********

Dear Admin:

The email is notification of copyright infringement. I am the author of “X NOVEL.” Please remove my novel “X” from your website

www.dirtyrottenthief.com/xnovelfreedownload

immediately. It is a copyright violation for you to have it posted for free on your website; this is a blatant example of online pirating.

I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of here is not authorized by me, the copyright holder, or the law. The information provided here is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I swear under penalty of perjury that I am the copyright holder.

Please send me at the address noted below a prompt response indicating the actions you have taken to resolve this matter.

I am copying the author’s guild legal services department on this email so that they can inform other authors of the infringement and piracy on your website.
Sincerely,

Traci L. Slatton

**********
TO all my readers: PLEASE DO NOT participate in free downloads of copyrighted material. It is theft. It is wrong.

Most Awesome Gift, and much appreciated

Most Awesome Gift, and much appreciated

Posted on:

Awesome Gift.

Our wonderful friend Don, who is a deeply lovely human being, and funny and smart and successful, though much too hard on himself, came for dinner the other night. He brought a delightful friend. He also brought gifts.

The gifts were unexpected and unnecessary, but Oh, so delicious.

Upon me, he bestowed one of the most thoughtful gifts ever: mugs emblazoned with the covers of some of my books!!! How utterly enchanting.

And happy me.

 

Channeling Miss Phryne Fisher

Channeling Miss Phryne Fisher

Posted on:

I find myself hopelessly enamored of a certain saucy Aussie investigator. Her effervescence and inquisitive nature completely slay me.

The name of my girl crush is Miss Phryne Fisher, of Murder Mystery Fame.

Is it that she drinks too much, dances with too much abandon, and beds too many hot men? Is it her wardrobe of stylish art deco garments? Or is it simply that she owns herself with delightful and delicious aplomb?

I am utterly ravished by her lightness-of-being.

No question, when I grow up, I want to be Miss Fisher. Until then, I shall have to settle for emulation.

Phryne Fisher

 

My latest on the HuffPo. Visionary Medicine: Neurosurgery Simulation and the Potential to Save Lives
· ·

My latest on the HuffPo. Visionary Medicine: Neurosurgery Simulation and the Potential to Save Lives

Posted on:

Last weekend I attended a conference on brain surgery simulation–a fledgling technology with enormous potential. Here is the article I wrote about it.

Visionary Medicine: Neurosurgery Simulation and the Potential to Save Lives

Doctor Bederson remembered my interest and invited me to a conference he arranged last week on the science and applications of brain surgery simulation.

Simulation is regularly used in other high-risk industries, such as aviation, nuclear power, and the military. Pilots practice taking off and landing in simulators and also handling emergencies. I, for one, am grateful they have done so, every time I step onto a jumbo jet.

Simulation is also a tool in many areas of medicine. Residents practice intubating on mannequins; surgeons learn a running whipstitch on a chicken breast. Cardiothoracic surgeons refine their skills on pig and beef hearts. Residents are better trained and better prepared because they have worked this way, learning and refining basic skills before being turned loose on real patients. Safety is enhanced; outcomes are improved. There are many benefits to practicing a skill in a simulated environment.

Brain surgery simulation, however, has remained elusive, both because of its inherent complexity and because of the exquisite, mushy, wet, softness of the human brain itself. It’s also hard to distinguish critical structures within the brain from each other. For example, the optic and the olfactory nerves are similar, as normal brain and pathological brain can be…

Posted: 11/15/2013 7:33 pm

FAR SHORE is TOP PICK on NIGHT OWL REVIEWS
· ·

FAR SHORE is TOP PICK on NIGHT OWL REVIEWS

Posted on:

Night Owl Romance reviewer HCHarju posted an awesome 5 star review of FAR SHORE on the illustrious Night Owl Reviews blog. The review starts out, “Oh my goodness. Traci Slatton does it again.”  How fun is that??

Here is a quote from HCHarju’s revuew:

I am completely in love with this series. She ups the stakes and the intensity is doubled in every aspect of the book. The mists are even scarier and horrifying than in the previous books. The friction from the love triangle is explosive and the characters are all put to the test of their limits. Emma must face her demons and be strong for herself and for Arthur. Also, my favorite sociopath shows up and has been both a curse and a godsend. 

Find it here.

I must say, I am pleased that such an expert reader as Harju enjoyed our very own sociopath; I took some risks with him in the novel, and some of my readers were not pleased.

Night Owl Reviews designated FAR SHORE a “Night Owl Top Pick Review” which is thoroughly lovely!

 

Crystal Book Reviews on COLD LIGHT

Crystal Book Reviews on COLD LIGHT

Posted on:

The rather delightful Viviane Crystal enjoyed COLD LIGHT and wrote enthusiastically about it on her Crystal Book Reviews blog.

Here is one of my favorite passages:

Cold Light continues with scenes of adventure, treachery, brutality, and passion for these feisty characters who love and live with such fierce intensity that actually seeps into the reader while reading.  Traci Slatton’s series is a notable work of science fiction and/or paranormal fiction that will intrigue and thrill readers who love this genre.  

Find the review here.