Pages

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Waiting...

I'm waiting at the moment...I feel like I've suddenly become invisible. I know other people have troubles, too. Maybe that's part of my problem, I'm too understanding but meanwhile I'm waiting.
   I'm waiting for a CT scan on my jaw to see what the surgeon needs to do about the impacted wisdom tooth that is growing in the wrong direction, then I will be waiting for the operation I know has to follow.
   I'm waiting for someone, ANYONE, to explain to me why my books aren't making it across the pond from Barnes and Noble to Nook UK. Two books made it straight away, yippee, but since then the others haven't. Why? I'm waiting.
   I'm waiting for the software update so that I can use my new super-duper laser printer with my new super-duper Windows tablet. I bought the printer in April, was told that the driver could be downloaded from the manufacturer. It couldn't, it wasn't ready. It should have been ready in July, then August. I'm still waiting for a reply from the company but their website says the software will now be available in September. Do I believe them. Do I heck as like! (I don't have the faintest idea where that last phrase originated but I like it). Luckily I can use the printer with my old laptop, the one Mutley tried to kill by jumping on my lap when the laptop was there. 21 kilos of Staffordshire Bull Terrier with claws didn't go down well with the keyboard!
   I'm not very good at waiting. I'm an instant doer. Ask me to do something and you can consider it done. But all in all I'm getting fed-up with waiting for things to happen.
  Ok. Moan over, I'll get back to my proper job now.
  Watch out for SILENT LOVE, coming soon to an ebook reader near you!

Thursday 8 August 2013

New Found Delight

I have never been a great buyer of short story anthologies. To me short stories are what you get in magazines, which, as I never buy magazines, I only ever read in waiting rooms and rarely finish because I get called in to see the doctor/dentist, whoever I am waiting to see. The only paperback anthology I've ever bought was A Quiver Full of Arrows, and I'm not sure I read every story.
    I have just finished editing an anthology of short stories and thoroughly enjoyed them. I have always liked short stories, don't get me wrong. It just seemed a hassle carrying them about. Ebooks are the perfect medium for this type of story. You no longer have to carry around a clumsy paperback on the off-chance of getting ten minutes to read something. On your ebook reader any number of anthologies can be waiting for the right moment.
    I am one of those people who can read four different novels at once and not forget where I am in the story. Strangely once I have finished completely I can't remember the name of the main character but I can remember the story.
     But suddenly short stories have my attention. I have several collections on my kindle cloud, books I have bought to support fellow indie authors which I have never opened. My resolution is to download them and enjoy a new story at bedtime. Irish stories from Gerry McCullough, Scottish stories from Brendan Gisby, funny stories from Mike Church and some I have no idea about from Chris Niblock and Michael Brookes to share just a few names.
    So make the most of your ereader and get some short stories for that trip in to work when you don't want to have your novel interrupted by the mundane task of every day life.
    Happy reading.

Saturday 3 August 2013

Wolrd Wide Reach

I've just had a quick look at the stats on this blog to see where my audience is and have come away thinking 'Who the hell do I know in Brazil, Nigeria and RUSSIA.'
Strangely no one in Canada or Australia seems to be looking so maybe this is the wrong place to post this note! Will put it on FB too.
My point is, if there is a point, that when you write a blog or any such thing on the internet you have no idea who will see it or where they are. Maybe I'm stating the obvious, after all that's what we want, isn't it? Global attention. But I think, sometimes, people forget this.
In the meantime, why haven't my followers in Brazil bought any of my books? I know you haven't because there have been no sales showing from Brazil. Only .com, co.uk, .de and .es. thank you whoever you are.