Looking at the girl, Nyx found a face wrecked in worry. She noted the clasped hands, thumbs working flesh.

Nobody ever asked anything of Nyx besides her swift departure. Men huddled by the fire or hid in their homes. They never faced her. Nobody ever did, not until that early morning the young girl came calling.

Removing her hat, Nyx peered up at the glimmering stars. Considering the request, she ran fingers back through her dark hair. The moon smiled, but face half illuminated it appeared more like a sneer. Looking east, she saw the red embers reminding her of a kiss.

The request came again in a burst of tears.

Patting hat on head, Nyx offered a smile. It felt cold, and she saw fear in the wide eyes.

Agreeing to the request, Nyx tugged at her dress gathering the darkness about her. She stormed across the meadow her cold gaze bearing down on Black Woods. Nocturnal insects sang their songs. Hair blowing, dress flowing, she crossed a river. A man dove into a home, door slamming shut. Entering the woods, she stormed up the mountain, river of darkness flowing behind her.

Atop the granite peak, the moon lit the way. Creeping from the woods, the wolves circled around. Some snarled, others cooed. Reaching out, she stroked their black manes as each one passed. Alpha took position upon his rock, and the others settled down gnawing at bones.

Alpha grinned, teeth dripping satisfaction. “Mistress,” he said, “we have done you a great favor.”

Spotting a boy climbing upon the rock, Nyx recognized the eyes. The girl’s brother stroked Alpha’s back. In the west, red embers lingered on horizon. Glancing east, she watched light growing bold. The weight of the problem fell upon her.

“The lad only wants to see his dear sister,” said Alpha.

Nyx shook her head. “Don’t believe his lies.” The wolves of the night wanted her all to themselves, never again hiding in their cave from her lost lover. “He means to devour you both.”

The boy withdrew his hand, fear melting his face. He stepped down from the rock.

“Dusk is ours!” Alpha snapped his teeth and snarled.

Reaching into dark dress, Nyx withdrew a sword. Fury exploded from her dress, cold waving over the mountain. She held the sword high, blade sparking into night sky. Tails hanging, the wolves glanced about. Nyx lashed out releasing energy. The mountain darkened, and wolves yipped bounding into their cave. Another thunder sent Alpha leaping from his rock.

The blade simmered smoking tendrils.

Standing before the boy, Nyx offered a smile. Her frozen glare sent him stumbling back.

“Please,” said the boy. “My sister.”

Looking upon the sorrow, her own longing grew. Lover lost, a forgotten kiss tickled her face. The siblings deserved better.

Gazing at the lantern in the sky, she pleaded. Listening, the moon nodded thinking it over. The wolves grew bolder, yellow eyes glinting from their cave. At last, the moon smiled and offered a solution.

Turning to the boy, Nyx knelt. “You will see your sister again, but you must return. Guard the border.”

Wiping a tear, the boy nodded. He took the sword and descended the mountain into the west.

Already the dark wolves were bounding down the mountain towards orange blazing horizon.

Descending through woods, cascading darkness, Nyx chased after. Reaching into the dark, she unsheathed her last remaining sword. The blade glimmered lighting the way. Bursting into the meadow, she found the girl surrounded by wolves.

Growls rumbled. Jaws snapped. The girl retreated, but the pack closed in caging their prey.

The blade sparked, a blinding orange shattered air sending wolves tumbling. Leaping onto his feet, Alpha snarled at the light. Waving the sword, Nyx glared at the wolf.

Light burned higher into sky; the dark wolves were out of time. A growl at eastern horizon, Alpha turned and led his pack racing for the cave.

Holding out the sword, Nyx instructed the girl on its use. Light recharged the blade keeping dark wolves at bay. Taking the weapon, the girl queried about her brother.

Removing hat, Nyx wiped cold sweat from her brow. “A promise. You will reunite with your brother. Whenever the moon joins the sun, light and dark together, you two shall meet.”

Throwing arms around, the girl hugged her.

The dawn fire burned. Nyx remembered the day, not its warm touch, but the brightness. Facing south, she gazed up at sky. Half her face lit, the moon smiled brightening the dark side.

Morning birds sang greetings. Men stirred in their homes. The wolves hid in their cave. Nocturnal creatures took a deep breath chilling the air, and settled into slumber.

Squishing hat on her head, Nyx looked down at the pleasant eyes.

“Will you watch with me?” Another request. A little hand rose, fingers open. “Will you watch the sunrise?”

Gathering the darkness about her, she reached out and grasped the warm hand. Sky blazed, orange pushing back the darkness. Dawn glowed.

Winking, the moon signaled the sun: the passage was clear.

Nyx remembered sunrise, the grandeur. Warm kiss, a forgotten memory teased her cheek. Lips quivering, she yearned to return the sweetness.

Day fire burned extinguishing stars. The world faded, little hand slipping away, a fleeing memory. Storm of light and dark rumbled, a wind pulled at dress and tugged hair. Nyx clasped her hat, and the world returned in a breath.

Glancing west, Nyx spotted the burning horizon where Dusk stood holding his sword. She looked at her empty hand, recalling the warmth, remembering Dawn.

She waved at Dusk and spun around heading into a valley. Darkness was her dress flowing over the land. Never sleeping, she raged on. The night was hers, and she was the night. The night moved on.

In a previous post, I argued that “Consumers Pay for Content.” Many publishers try to sell content, but this is not the best marketing strategy. Sell ideas. Sell souvenirs. Sell an escape from reality.

Watch the video of Seth Godin, “10 Bestsellers: Using New Media, New Marketing, and New Thinking to Create 10 Bestselling Books.”

Two important points by Godin:

• Conversation sells.
• Good books sell themselves.

The first point is a big one: word of mouth (WOM.) If people are talking, tweeting, posting about the book then other people will talk about the book. And some of them will buy the book. Getting the conversation started means giving content away.

The second point helps make the first point happen. Start by writing something worth talking about. Readers are hungry for good stories seeking out conversations to find new morsels. Good content sells itself.

Never sell the content. Sell passion.

In the essay, “Post-Medium Publishing,” Paul Graham claims that consumers never pay for content. He begins with the observation that publishers set prices based on the cost of production and distribution of the format. The essay offers some consideration about the future of book publishing.

Do consumers pay for content?

I have never heard of a consumer paying for unwanted content.

Let us assume the consumer wants the content, and that the essay does not infer that consumers are unwilling to pay for content, simply chasing after the cheapest form of the content, otherwise libraries would have put bookstores out of business years ago. The consumer wants the content and is willing to pay. But does the consumer actually pay for the content?

Consider this question from the essay:

Art is subjective. Not everyone agrees on what makes good content. Many titles target an audience. Even the experts can’t always explain why a certain title sells as much as it does.

Rising above the rolling hills, Nulan smiles upon the dark land. Her kisses turn the waving wheat into a shimmering sea. A shadow wriggles from my feet. Wind and wheat sing to her, swaying and encircling me.

I feel her touch, her paleness fills my eyes. Her smile, wicked, freezes my brood.

Nulan laughs. The wheat, the swaying grasses, the night bugs join the song. My shadow dances with them, mocking me. And Nulan howls an address. At my misfortune, at my prison, she laughs at me. She rarely misses.

The night is my shroud hiding my pale face from warm kisses. Nulan’s laughter, her pallid light, is a feeble mirror of warmth, of home. I wish she’d leave me with my stars glittering in my dark sea.

Nulan laughs. Always laughing, her bloodless light touches me, those grim kisses.

For the month of September, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, or BTA, hosts a Bike Commute Challange in Oregon to promote bicycle commuting. The goal is to introduce new riders by getting local businesses and veteran riders involved. To encourage first time bike commuters, the BTA counts partial commutes. Other BTA events during the year include the popular Bridge Pedal when bridges over the Willamette River in Portland close for the bike tour. On the first day, challenge participants logged over 24,500 cumulative miles (source: BTA).

Portland is very accessible for bike commuting due to a mild climate, bike lanes connecting suburbs, and protected bike parking offered by the city and private enterprise. The local buses have bike carriers for riders wishing to reduce their pedal distance. Many bike riders commute all year, including the wet winter months, but the numbers rise during the summer. Getting around by bike in the downtown area bests a car any day due to low speed limits and congestion. Here are some Portland bike statistics from Portland Office of Transportion:

• 13% of daily vehicle trips across bridges are bicycles
• Over 5,000 bikes cross Hawthorne Bridge each weekday
• Annual bike trip increase in 2006 was 18% over 2005
• About 5% use a bike as their primary mode of commuting

I commute to work by bicycle because it is faster and cheaper. Riding wakes me up in the morning, and the moderate exercise is a nice break from working at a computer all day. Skeptics claim that most bike commuters ride for the environment or fashion, that bike riding is too hard or inconvenient. I believe most of the regular bike commuters agree that the primary goal is saving money. Some save time. Living twelve miles from work, my average bike commute time is 42 minutes door to office while my average car trip is 44 minutes. If I leave earlier in the morning, the car trip time shrinks to 35 minutes, but heavy traffic can increase the drive time to over an hour. Bicycles dodge traffic jams with ease and bypass accidents leaving weather as the primary factor in time. The best part: I don’t need to stop at the gym after work; I sprint hard for home cutting my time by another 10 minutes. Parking a bicycle is cheaper downtown, in the office or in an enclosed bike locker. Savings include gasoline, parking price, and gym membership. For single commuters to an office with small cargo, bike commuting makes sense.

Thanks to efforts by the BTA and encouragement from veteran bike commuters, bicycle commuting has exploded in Portland over the last few years. A decade ago, I was among a very small group of regular riders, but today the major bike routes into downtown receive a near constant stream during commute times. In addition to calling my passes, I installed a bell to ring if my speed is higher. On the hill before the Hawthorne Bridge, the city widened the bike lane since packs of bikes sometimes spilled over into the car lane. Second to a surge in gasoline prices last year, the biggest factor I hear in the increase in bike commuting is the realization that biking to work is not as hard as it seems especially with the help of private enterprise providing parking, support, and showers. Look for the Bike Central network.

My advice to new bike commuters:

• Follow the rules of the road (Stop signs!)
• Plan your trip: look for quiet streets or bike paths. Longer might be safer.
• Maintain a line, checking shoulder before swerving or passing.
• Maintain visibility: clothing, lights, and road position.
• If a driver yells obscenities, try to keep calm and follow the rules.
• Some drivers break the rules. Avoid antagonizing them by being a traffic nanny. A few enraged drivers may unleash their frustration on the next bicyclist.
• Don’t wear headphones. It’s against the law, and you can’t hear my bell.

Halfway into the Bike Commute Challenge, my office of four is at 65% bike commute rate with 380 cumulative miles. Does it mean anything? I ride for my own reasons. My co-workers may choose to ride or not. The challenge is a fun event that may introduce a few new bicycle commuters that were uncertain before. Maybe some want to save money on parking, avoid heavy traffic, enjoy a nice day once a week, or ride for the environment. Everyone has their own reasons.

Ride, drive, share the road, enjoy the day.