Here I am at the edge

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nerja-ebook/dp/B007ODWS4C/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3 http://www.amazon.com/Nerja-ebook/dp/B007ODWS4C/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3 I am declaring this month "The month of Nerja." The book has now sold 3 copies and is the month's top seller. These sales now put it in real contention for best seller of all time and for the THIRD time in October Nerja hits the top 50,000 in the UK. I know the UK is a much smaller market than the US but I take comfort in small things after such a long time (June 3rd to September 20th) with no sales.

Part 5 of my serialised story is now "live" http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-word.html#.UJAkQG_ZY6M

To friends on the Eastern seaboard of the USA and to those I don't know. You are in our prayers as Sandy unleashes her wrath.

Don't forget to tune in on Wednesday and find out what is out in the deserted lands that is so terrible even the Game Lords fear it. There will be some hot action as we find out WHO did kill Kabel.

Ghosts return to the Kindles as my book starts to sell. This short collection covers stories from Yorkshire to WW2 and Jazz music The irony is that I was thinking of splitting it up and putting it out on line as a series of stories http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apparitions-ebook/dp/B009I6QL96/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1351511281&sr=1-2&keywords=Apparitions+by+Alan+Place http://www.amazon.com/Apparitions-ebook/dp/B009I6QL96/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1351511281&sr=1-2&keywords=Apparitions+by+Alan+Place

Did we see him? is still rising in the UK Amazon ratings list :) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Did-we-see-him-ebook/dp/B007T943OO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1351467891&sr=1-1

                                                             The end of the line This is a tale of how things can be misjudged. If you open yourself up beware of the unseen consequences. The contest was run by a publisher, their intentions were obvious to all. We will open it to the public to showcase our writers and get them exposure, to make it fair we shall invite all-comers to enter. Up to this point, things were going to plan including a massed blog tour reaching out to Lord knows how many. At one point it became overkill as many people were posting the same replies-maybe just in a different order. Things went awry. Opening to the public, they let their writers be judged not by other writers at the stable but by the public at large and while some didn't do too badly most of them fared poorly in the contest. At the half...

                                           Shopping Mall There are few things more mournful than the sound of a lone saxophone . I did write a jazz music -based ghost short story several years ago called The Ghosts of Jazz . I also started a jazz -based story online called Black Cat Jazz about three sisters running a club. I stopped writing my story as I found it hard to intersperse this story with another jazz story I was writing, The Ghosts of Jazz -    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1194504  - is for sale on several ebook sites.

The human I control tells me to tell you lot, he has some good blogs in mind including one on serialised stories featuring that honey Lanie. yours Ninjapud

I still don't believe this was for me- so I don't blame you for not believing it either but here is the proof.

I have made the radical change in thought patterns this month. No longer am I looking at 10 a month, not even 1 a week. NOW any sale is a bonus as most of my work will soon just be available from me or on my blog or FB page at Blogs4U.

If you can't afford to get them, a few "Likes" would be lovely. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-ghosts-abridged-ebook/dp/B0088QPW92/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3 http://www.amazon.com/Sea-ghosts-abridged-ebook/dp/B0088QPW92/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apparitions-ebook/dp/B009I6QL96/ref=la_B0076M5BNG_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1351114908&sr=1-9 http://www.amazon.com/Apparitions-ebook/dp/B009I6QL96/ref=la_B0076M5BNG_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1351114908&sr=1-9

Being curious (I should know better at my age LOL) I decided to see, how big the Pat Canella series was 140pages-(32,000 words) It hasn't ended yet either.

I know it isn't Wednesday but I got impatient LOL. Here is your weekly Sci-Fi serial episode The towers mentioned in this weeks episode of "The Word." ( part 4) http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-word.html#.UIazuG_Ac6M

Read the early days of Pat Canella's fight for recognition before it goes from the shelves. You may think me crazy for taking down the only book that really sold but did she? She went out in February and has sold 16 copies. 5 came in a glut in June, other than that she is really slow. Ghosts of your past has been on sale in the UK for 7 months and not sold one copy and I don't think the last one will do better. You read that correctly-   the choice was yours, I left the end open and depending on sales, the next book would determine her fate. I have two endings planned, it looks like I know which to write. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canella-dockland-murders-Canella-ebook/dp/B0078VZREI/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_8 http://www.amazon.com/Canella-dockland-murders-Canella-ebook/dp/B0078VZREI/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_8

http://indiependents.org/indie-seal-books.html If you scroll down, you will find MJ at his New York residence :)

A Challenge I sometimes challenge myself to see how far I can extend myself as a writer ; unlike some writers I used to have contact with I have no comfort zone . I have a few areas I will not venture into, though with no reputation to be concerned over these barriers, I could consider dropping. One area I have not tried yet is the glamourous arena of the rich, I haven't done this because I cannot relate to the story I may do. I often write my stories are more like Harry Palmer than James Bond .  Several years ago, my blog had a massive readership in all places, including the United Arab Emirates , this is an area I would have thought is as far from my world as you can be; I can add to the list of unusual places for a large readership this month includes Singapore . When I view my writing over the years, I don't think I had a "comfort zone," I wished to be seen as a writer, not a genre writer. If anything was consistent with my writing , it is that you need to expe...

The reality chip kicked in today, after a couple days of rising ratings at Amazon, I fell back down- it's a good job I don't have much of an ego to get crushed. I wont deny it's a blow but I didn't the rise, I am pleased for a few days I had the small rises :)

You read her story now watch the intro movie :)

The Golden Month To some writers earning $10 in a month would be considered a failure, to me, it was a target for my Golden Month ; this target I achieved in May with a surge in my ebook sales from Google Play . I am still a long way from my ultimate goal, which was to sell 10 copies of one ebook in a day. I would be extremely happy if I could sell 10 ebooks in a day; the closest I have come is with my Amazon bestseller - Holding Richmond - my vampire horror short story has twice sold seven copies in a day.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00891DFXG http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00891DFXG I know this book is not what you expect from me, I have a rep for ghosts and PI's but I do have a softer side. This is a true romance, a travel story and a little bit of a ghost story. Dedicated to a lovely that I loved and lost. Part 2- Lac La Biche 2009 will hopefully be out in the New Year.       This will be more of a collection of photos of the two trips I had to Alberta. The cover is a shot I took on the road from Lac La Biche to Bonneyville, Alberta on our last day together.    http://www.erikamszabo.com/apps/forums/topics/show/8080679-canadian-memories

Hema Malini I first saw Kiran Juneja in the film Shimla Mirchi she shared the glamourous aunty roles with  Hema Malini . While getting a selection of films with Ms. Malini is not hard, getting films with Ms, Juneja is almost impossible, you need to check the cast lists hard as she rarely figures in the top row.  I did watch some of her early work, but the films are so bad as to be painfully embarring to view. The ladies show that if you look after yourself, older ladies can be as alluring as younger ones - Hema is 74, and Kiran is 59.

I checked my email today and got a shocker of a letter from Amazon- they have recommended "Ghosts of your past" in mystery & suspense mmm  No figuring that as it has sold 3 copies (all in the US) in 6 months http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-your-Canella-cases-ebook/dp/B0080LR4M8/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_7 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghosts-your-Canella-cases-ebook/dp/B0080LR4M8/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_7

Who can tell what will sell? A long time ago, I learned that despite what some experts would tell you, there are no sure ways to sell your books https://www.draft2digital.com/book/ . For me, the godsend is Draft2Digital , for others, it has been Smashwords . If you check my D2D page, you will see a link to Smashwords, but I have not sold on the site, to my knowledge, for several years; from what other writers have told me, this is not a new trend for the site. They tell me that some readers have asked if a sequel is coming out, and yet, no fees have been sent for the sale of the original story. The only contact, for me, has been the lack of sales at Amazon for over a decade.

A few months ago, I wrote that having watched the UK ratings it appeared to me that the rise and fall was in some way connected to the effect of Dockland Murders. Over the last week or so it has been more effected by the performance of Did we see him? This is good, I still plan to write the follow up Did we see them?

Good news- only a small morsel but it makes me feel better about myself. I have risen in the Amazon ratings book in ALL books and on the Kindle. I have gone up 2,000 places-not bad for somebody who CANNOT even sell 10 ebooks a month.

The latest episode of the serial has just gone "LIVE" http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-word.html#.UH3b2G_Ac6M

The editing of book 3 of the series has ground to an end. I have lots to do but no drive to do it. I feel the wind of change needs to blow through my muse, to re-ignite her passions I need to go elsewhere to find the source of energy. With all the energies for book 1 and the almost lost book of Pat Canella (Hunted down), I feel that I have expended all I can for the betterment of the series for now. Maybe, in a month or two. I may come back to Patti- by then I may have made a decision on the ending. There was a plan for a book 4 and a romantic setting for our hero. After all his troubles, I thought it would have been nice to give him some pleasures. The bottom line here reads :- "WHO cares if it gets written anyway????" I may well try to get on with the Mordhiem series, even though that in itself is a major re-edit/ re-shape and re-mix. It will be a change of pace and hopefully kick start the muse before she leaves the station. To paraphrase one of my favourite r...

The month started well, in the first week I sold two ebooks and hoped at that time for the first 10 book month. Now, half way through the month-I have only sold one more, this looks like it could struggle to reach even 5 at this rate.                                                   A picture I took when I was with my lovely Faye, it shows some driftwood she had. To me, it was a frog in a cowboy hat- Bless you love, where ever you are.                                                   OH WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The latest news hasn't changed the placings, it has just brought Nerja closer to the field. Here I am at the edge: Amazon ratings

Believe it I AM coming at ya    Read book 2 of Chronicles-IF you dare and then say I am NOT sick LMAO

While I cannot prove that my mid-week news of the award has affected my US rankings on Amazon, I would like to think it did help. For the first time, the US rankings have shown a rise and not just for one book but several.

  Nerja has moved into being a serious contender for second best seller While never having the mass appeal of Pat Canella or the mass sales of Did we see him? Nerja has slowly grown and with the odd sale now and then has got to within 2 of Did we see him? I thought of the idea for the story when I left Lac La Biche (shown on the cover) in Nov 2009. With the ice slowly forming fingers at the edge, it looked so pretty, yet I knew how deadly it can be. Flying across the ice fields I wondered what it would have been like to be down there in all the whiteness, snow-blindness is real problem, it as bad a heat mirages. This is not the highest rank it has made, at the start of the month it was at  23,860 but I am pleased that it shows again at 36,771.

Back in July 2012 I wrote a blog about the contrasting fortunes of two of my stories and how they fared in the reader's eyes. I thought in view of recent events, it would be interesting to see how the months had treated them http://writersgettogether.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/old-church-ghosts.html http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/tale-of-two-stories.html#.UHiQe29JNGA  It is still the case that "The Old church ghost" is one of my most popular stories. It is appearing in "A spooky fall harvest" written by our group, The Peacock writers as well as going through a fourth version with a more adult feel. Chronicles, has recently been in the horror anthology charts and now has an award by indiePENdents.org. This collection will always be my personal favourite. Even though I loved MJ & didn't like TOCG, they do share one thing, they are struggling for sales. Chronicles has sold 3 copies in as many months. Chronicles is now with the ...

Unauthorized Copies If you read my blog , you come to the inevitable conclusion I enjoy watching foreign films a lot more than watching UK TV. This concept brings with it a multitude of problems; mainly there are few DVDs available with subtitles - especially from Mexico and Scandinavia - Netflix  is great for watching, but if I wish to buy some of the films from India I like I need to download them as I have found it almost impossible to buy them.  I wish sellers on eBay would specify in the ad for the film if it has subtitles, it only takes a few seconds to add to the advert, and saves the buyer asking the same question several times. Another reason for me downloading instead of buying the DVDs I wish for is some people charge way too much, in my opinion, for their products. The perfect examples are the Hinge and Bracket  sets I would love to buy. The early sets are good value, but the later sets are way over-priced to be considered. Season 3 is £35 for the set (1...

For those interested, I have just put out this weeks episode of the Word. How will Kabe and friends cope with the pressures of the Game Lords and WHO is Alanov? Find out tonight. http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-word.html

The time to Plan is here I have enjoyed writing stories about India so much over the last few months, and I am loathed to leave the state. I am sure I can find more space to write about life there. The last few months have been an education for me; I have learned that my knowledge of the geography of the country is so old it is unbelievable. There is going to be room to expand my current short story    https://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.com/2023/06/project-india-update.html , as the project is too big for one story I could write another; it would help if the one I am writing sold, but there again I always ask that of you.

Does it do any good? When I first read that the site   https://www.draft2digital.com/book/   I download my ebook stock to was expanding, I was excited at the prospect of the new markets. Now, it has been shown to me, that the new arenas are of no value to my ebook sales . With each new store, my sales get less value; to give you an example of what I mean imagine dipping a paintbrush in a pot of paint and running the brush across a wall, the further from the pot you get the weaker the color is.

This time last year, my left Achiles tendon went for the last time.As you see from the photo it had already torn, that was in July. By September 21st, I was out of the cast by the first week in October I was in a surgical support boot. On Tuesday, I will go to the hospital to get a new boot for the winter months, walking in the rain is lethal at the moment. I set myself the target of the 18th of the month to do the story "Ceremonies," which at the time was just another in the Chronicles of Mark Johnson series I had been writing for my three best friends throughout the summer. At one point it looked as though I would miss my deadline. The story now forms the start of book 2 of the Chronicles series.

Read of the struggles of a group of people known as The Word as the fight to regain control from the Game Lords in this new Sci-Fi story. http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-word.html#.UHAyZJhJNGA

Read his story of love betrayed and the revenge he had to take http://www.amazon.co.uk/descent-Mark-Johnson-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B009M82G5S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349481049&sr=1-1&keywords=The+descent+of+Mark+Johnson http://www.amazon.com/descent-Mark-Johnson-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B009M82G5S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349481049&sr=1-1&keywords=The+descent+of+Mark+Johnson

    You lucky people- Book 2 of Chronicles goes live this weekend.      Sea ghosts could well breach the top 1,000 at Amazon.co.uk- she has only sold one more copy but doesn't have far to go.      Not forgetting Hunted down-the latest or is it last of the Pat Canella series?  Warning- Danger of becoming a ghost story writer LOL http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-ghosts-abridged-ebook/dp/B0088QPW92/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3