Court Blocks Penguin Random House, S&S Merger - Publishers Weekly

Panzer just found a breaking news release at the Publishers Weekly site about the Penguin Random House (PRH) and Simon and Schuster (S&S) merger lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

 

Doesn't surprise me.

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, the case has been decided in the Department of Justice's favor and the merger will not be allowed to go forward.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty thinks PRH will probably appeal the decision."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and muffin for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to PRH S&S Merger

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

From Panzer, Mom, and What's His Name

Another Free Jigsaw Puzzle for you

 More Sunday fun. 

 

Mom made another jigsaw puzzle for you.

She thinks they're cute.

This one is three little kittens who've lost their mittens. Oh. Wait. That's a different puzzle. This one is just three little kittens. 

 

Remember, to click the square  in the left corner of the bottom bar to see what the finished puzzle will look like. Click it again to close it.

 

It has 70 pieces to it, so it's harder than the last one.

 

To do the puzzle tootle over to Three Little Kittens

Free Camilla Isley Romance Audiobook

Sunday. An audio book. A nap.

Panzer found a free romance audio book on YouTube to help fill your time this weekend.

Camulla Isley's audio book You May Kiss the Bridesmaid. It's 5+ hours long.

To listen grab a cup of tea, a muffin and tootle over to You May Kiss the Bridesmaid

National Cat Day (U.S.A.)

National Cat Day

Same as any other day.

42 Writing Contests in November 2022 - No enry fees - Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he decided to make a stop at the Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity site. There he found a post about writing contests with deadlines in November.

Something for everyone.

According to Erica Verrillo's post, there are 42 contests in November. None charge entry fees although some do have entry restrictions. There are contests for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and play entries.

Panzer says, "Always be sure to read all the rules before you enter."

Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to eat and drink."

To read the post tootle over to November Writing Contests

No Post

Not enough hours in the day.

Panzer here.

No post today.

Mom is finishing a project.

A Monday Panzerism

 Panzer on friendship:

What's His Name wanted to do head-butting with me to show Mom what good friends we are.

And ...

 

To make Mom happy, I let him do it.

 

Then ...

 

He wanted to do it again.

 

So ...

 

I just turned around and let him head-butt my other end.

 

He wasn't happy about that ...

 

Mom's still laughing.*

But ...

 

Mom sure was.

 

You know What's His Name did call it head-butting. 

*From Cat Wisdom for humans

Free Alexa Verde Audiobook Available on YouTube

Today, Panzer found another free audiobook available on YouTube. A few days ago he told you about authors who are posting their audiobooks on YouTube for free listening.

Listen to a book this weekend.

The audiobook Show Me My Brother's Best Friend by Alexa Verde is now uploaded for free listening. It's listed as a "woman in jeopardy, second chance romance" tropes and as the title says it also includes the "brother's best friend" trope too. It's 6+ hours long.

To listen to the audiobook tootle over to Show Me My Brother's Best Friend

To listen to another free audiobook tootle over to Accidentally Married

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Fiction Podcast

Enjoy

At the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Fiction Podcast site Panzer found a new episode. 

Titled The Light on the Lagoon by Elizabeth Elwood, it's podcast episode 156. Read by the author it's 43 minutes long. As always, the EQMM podcasts are free.

 

To listen to the podcast tootle over to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Episode

The BookFest - Press Room

Today Panzer made a quick trip to the Horror Writers Association and Bookinfluencers The BookFest site.

 

Maybe I'll see you there.

The BookFest Fall 2022 will be held October 22 and 23. Authors, publishing representatives and agents will be available for presentations, panels and discussions. The event will be live streamed on YouTube, Facebook and The BookFest website. Information about the presenters, panels, and time is available at the site. Attendance is free.

 

Panzer says, "Sorry for the short notice. This little kitty just learned about it."

 

To read the post tootle over to The Book Fest

No Post

While she works, I get the bed.

Panzer here.

No post today.

Mom has to finish a project.

We'll be back tomorrow.

Dall-E Opens Its AI Art Creation Tool To Everyone - CNet

Today, Panzer made a stop at the CNet site. With a little digging in the posts there our intrepid kitty traveler found one about AI artwork generator Dall-E. Last week Panzer posted about AI artwork generator MidJourney.

 

My number is private.

According to the post by Stephen Shankland, Dall-E is now open for use by everyone. The post includes several links to information about AI. There's also a link to signup for an account with Dall-E, but be prepared to provide your email address, your phone number.and receive text messages on your phone.

Panzer says, "Sorry. Mom doesn't give out her number and/or get texts, so we haven't used Dall-E."

Note:This is a long medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading adventure.

To read the post tootle over to Dall-E 

To read last week's post about MidJourney tootle over to AI art

A Monday Panzerism

 Panzer on tools:

Mom, what do you mean cats can't use tools?

Not true.

I think of you as my P.T.U.

That's Personal Transportation Unit.

A little back scratch would be nice too.

Now ...

Pick me up and carry me to the window ...

 

while you're petting my head ...

 

you silly tool.

* From Cat Wisdom for humans

New Issue of The Big Thrill Online Magazine

 In his tootling around in the Catosphere today Panzer discovered the new issue of The Big Thrill is posted online.

 

Now for something really important.

This issue of the International Thriller Writers online magazine contains UP Close interviews with Nicci French, Ryan Steck, Kris Waldherr, and Andrew Child and Lee Child, and several more authors. There are also book reviews of new thriller book releases.

 

To read the October issue tootle over to The Big Thrill

AI Art For Authors - The Creative Penn

I'll get lost in all this information.

Today, Panzer found more information about AI generated artwork when he stopped in at The Creative Penn site. There our adventuresome kitty boy found a podcast interview segment titled Using AI For Art, Images, And Book Covers With Derek Murphy. Earlier this week Panzer told you about the problems some AI artwork creators have had using their work.

In the podcast author and The Creative Penn site owner Joanna Penn interviews author Derek Murphy about his writing and artwork and the uses of AI generated artwork. They also compare AI artwork generators MidJourney, DALL -E and Stable Diffusion.

 

The podcast is almost 60 minutes long. There's a transcript of the podcast included at the site.

 

To listen to the podcast segment tootle over to Derek Murphy Interview

To read the previous post about AI generated artwork tootle over to MidJourney

No Post

 

My work, however, is finished.

Panzer here.

No post today.

Mom needs to do some work she didn't finish when she was sick last week.

MidJourney AI art for book cover design (how is this legal?) - Creativindie

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Creativindie site. There with a little digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found a post about MidJourney AI artwork. Yesterday, Panzer told you about Getty Images removing all AI generated artwork from the site.

 

Can you tell I'm excited?

According to author Derek Murphy's post, there are reasons why authors need to make alterations to any AI generated artwork they plan to use for book covers. Not the least of these reasons is with the copyright problems he explains. Included in the post are numerous AI generated artworks he generated using MidJourney software.

 

Panzer says, "You will love the artwork in his post."

 

Note: This is a humongous post. You'll need to bring your lunch and your dinner for today's trip through AI land.

 

To read the post tootle over to MidJourney ai

Why Getty Banned AI Images (For Now) - PlagiarismToday

A few days ago Panzer told you about the AI artwork site Craiyon and showed you the cat he generated there. Today, when he was tootling around in the Catosphere, he was surprised to see a post at the PlagiarismToday site about sites banning AI artwork.

 

According to the post by Jonathan Bailey, Getty Images and several other sites are removing/banning AI generated images/artwork from their sites.

 

Me worry? Cats don't worry.

Panzer says, "Makes this little kitty wonder, if it might cause trouble to use an AI image on a book cover."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a glass of milk and a cookie (biscuit) for today's reading adventure.

 

To read the post tootle over to AI images

To see Panzer's AI experiment tootle over to AI Fun 

Ahead of Frankfurt Audio: Storytel Makes Its Third Quarter Report - Publishing Perspectives

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishing Perspectives site. There our fearless kitty pilot found a post about audiobook service company Storytel.

According to Porter Anderson's post, Storytel announced their third quarter report. The report lists a 29 percent increase in revenue and a 10 percent increase in subscribers compared to last year. Included above the post are links to other posts about audiobook services.

That's a big increase in rvenue.

Panzer says, "That's a lot of new subscribers."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a brownie for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Storytel third quarter report

A Panzerism

 Panzer on tranquility:

I believe in the universal chaos theory.

You know ...

Or ... I can do it for you.*

that theory when you humans say everything should be in chaos.

So ...

If things aren't chaotic in your life ...

You should try harder to be like everybody else.

*From Cat Wisdom for humans

Barnes and Noble will replace two former Boston-area Amazon Books stores - WCVB

 Panzer here. Mom's still sick, but she's getting better.  She'll be back at the keyboard next week.

 

Here's a post I found that she was working on. It's from the WCVB site.

How does she find all this stuff?

According to the post, Barnes and Noble will open bookstores in the Boston-area locations vacated earlier this year by Amazon Books. The post has a very short video at the top, followed by a short description about the new mall bookstores. One will open in the Legacy Place mall in Dedham, MA, and the second will open in the MarketStreet mall in Lynnfield, MA. Also included in the post are links to the Barnes and Noble Facebook announcements about the new stores. (After the Barnes and Noble post are posts about other news in the local area, but not related to Barnes and Noble.)

 

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links, bring a muffin too.

 

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

 

 

 

*A tip of the kitty fedora to Nate Hoffelder for the information. 

A New Cat Jigsaw Puzzle for You

 Panzer here. Mom is still sick.

Today I found a jigsaw puzzle Mom did for you. She said it's a "little" harder than the last one she did for you. (There's another puzzle she already made that's got 60 pieces.)

(It's a good thing Mom has some extra posts saved for here.)

I need a nap after that.

This one is called Cat Against the Sky.and I bet you can't guess which cat that is.

Instructions:

When you click below here and get to the site, to see the puzzle put together click the left square on the bottom bar and to make the full puzzle go away click it again. If you have the sound on, you'll hear a little click when the pieces fit together and a little music when you finish the puzzle.

I left my score (playing under Mom's name 'cause cats can't have accounts there) for putting the puzzle together. Everybody will beat me, because it's not easy using a computer mouse with no thumbs.

To do the puzzle tootle over to Cat Against the Sky puzzle

Free Victorine E. Lieske Romance Audio Book

 Panzer here. Mom's still sick.

Today, I found a free romance audio book on YouTube for you.

The doctor said Mom'll be okay soon.

The audio book is titled Accidentally Married written by Victorine E. Lieske. It's narrated by Jennifer Drake and is 5 hours long.

 

To listen to the audio book tootle over to Accidentally Married

No Post

 Panzer here.

Sorry no post today.

Mom is sick.

A Panzerism

 Panzer on forgiveness:

What's His Name stepped on my food dish this morning. Knocked the whole thing upside down.

Food everywhere ...

and ...

now the food's covered with dirt and whatever else was on the bottom of his shoe. I couldn't believe it. He just scooped it up and put it back in my bowl.

Like I'd eat it now.

Mom told me to settle down. She said it was just an accident and I need to forgive him.

Okay ... Okay. I'm all right now.

 

So I'm using my new kitty mantra to calm down.

To err is human.

To forgive is just plain stupid.

To err is human.

To forgive is ...

*From Cat Wisdom for humans