Here I am at the edge

Coming Soon This news is NOT Fake news . The joint project with my friend, in Seattle , may be coming out in her name; I have handed over my claim to the book as of tonight I am not doing any more writing. After 15 years of struggle, I called it a day and quit.

“Hell, gal, the city is getting to you!” I told myself, as I turned onto Harrison only minutes from the apartment and yet I noticed a chill, despite the muggy evening air. Was this the start of the after-effect the sarge had talked about? I shouldn’t feel this way or perhaps I should after all I killed a human being and a fellow policeman, maybe this is my punishment even though nobody blamed me, I had to get passed this point, or give in, “Aw! C’mon gal, you ain’t going to crack up yet, you got more fight than any two of them men in the room and just as much brains,” I chided myself, walking onto Sixth Avenue. There had to be a reason for this but I sure as hell was damned if I knew what the reason was. Walking up to the door of the block, steps still covered in the same dirt from weeks ago, garbage trucks didn’t come here. Hell nobody did! “I have got to get away from here, but I ain’t going to do it on my pay. I need to get a higher rank,” I told myself walking past last weeks s...

Coming Soon to Amazon Though my sales from Amazon  have been atrocious over the 15 years I have been a writer , I can do worse than put my new ebook horror story set in India on the site.

This is the new cover to the opening stories in the Pat Canella series which started in 2011 and may end soon as sales did not come from the book on Amazon and the on line stories had no readers.   Buying this book may well let you have a rarity as there are no plans for the scheduled follow up book "Hunted down." Price £1.50?/$2

The second part of The Spirit Painter story has gone out live, also FREE to read at  http://alsdomain.weebly.com/18/post/2013/05/the-spirit-painter-part-2.html#.UZ39GNLVAW4   don't forget this is the third of the eight stories in the award winning Chronicles of Mark Johnson book 1, available for sale  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BEDMSO  and book 2 is due out mid-June.

It's odd how something can bring home to you something which you hadn't considered. At Christmas I saw a video of a lady falling from a platform and ending up under a train and at that point, I realised how easily it could happen to me; true I never get drunk, but since the injury my ankles cannot take the strain and you need two good ankles to get on and off trains. This is the reason, I never use them now.

A quote from Phil Moore about Mark Johnson in book 1which is fitting here to me:- "He died doing what he liked." I may use that at the end of book 3.

As I am at a loss what to do to get readers, do I care?   I have decided to rewrite and extend the third Pat Canella story "Ghosts of your past," why do this for a story nobody wanted to read over the last year?   Answer:- I am a writer

There isn't a lot to tell, the title said it all. I am planning on a crossover book for Patti and Mark; with a dramatic ending ending to two sets of stories I hoped would get your imagination; I was wrong, not for the first time but probably for the last time in my writing as I don't give a damn any more.   You proved nobody wanted the stories, so nobody will miss them after Chronicles book 3. I am going back over the last series of Pat Canella stories because accidentally I let myself have the chance of the crossover plot to Chronicles.  I would say, to understand book 3 you had to read book 2, but hey!  You never got book 1, don't worry about it, after this nobody gives a hoot; not even me. All I will say is this I hope this will be a fitting finale' to two great characters I got to know and like. I hope to make this  book even more scary than the endings to both Chronicles book 2 and the end of the Pat Canella series, as Patti and MJ go hell-for-leather for a...

The muse laid her down to sleep and never rose again. The words ceased but nobody cared to ask why.

 I was considering writing a follow up to the hit "Sexual Explosions 1" if anybody wishes me to continue the story, please leave a comment.

How did the song go? "Like a candle in the wind," my candle has burned out but I am not sure about having a legend   Even the serials are getting less readers each week, not even a constant flow  No, sales and a receding readership, what next?

The next episode for readers on Weebly has gone live, if anybody wishes to read it here is your link  http://alsdomain.weebly.com/19/post/2013/05/old-scars-new-love.html#.UZqIRKLVAW4

I have opened a new page tonight  http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/bill-chart-pi.html#.UZlkkaLVAW4  my original idea was to run a few short stories from the Pat Canella books, but as nobody buys them there is little point; so you have another serialised FREE read to enjoy.

                   Google is the best I may not sell a lot on Google Play, but anything is better than no sales for other sites.

Oddments of Mindscape  is a planned selection of short stories, some have been on here as free reads and some will be new.  I don't have any major plans for this work, it is just some stories which I saw little expansion in but enjoyed writing :)

This is the second of the eight stories in the award winning Chronicles of Mark Johnson; which is on sale at Amazon   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BEDMSO THE PORTHERN CASE Since resolving the matter of the trapped spirits at the old Morton house a few years prior, Mark Johnson’s expertise and skills as a photojournalist were in demand again. He was now getting serious job offers for both his photographic and writing skills. Even though wealth was heading his way, Mark had not changed. He preferred to stay a recluse in his cottage by the coast, his only contact with the outside world being his lady friend, the artist Annette Palmer, and his agent, Phil Moore. He had met Annette a few months earlier while on a case. He had felt an affinity towards her from the moment they met. Today he was out walking the dog, when the house phone rang. “Hello, Phil, what can we do for you?" Annette asked. “Hi, Annette. I think I might have a story for Mark, plus a chance of ...

Some of the readers may know one of my worries is when friends and readers of my stories tell me, I get better with each story.   Why is the compliment a problem?  It means I have set myself a high standard to maintain as I don't want to disappoint my readers - not that I have so far - and this leads to the second part of the problem, if I do disappoint you, the higher the plateau I reach, the greater the fall. As yet I don't appear to have reached the plateau and that is an issue I have to ponder about; when will I reach it?

 I did say, my stories are so scary they give me bad dreams and I know what is coming. Shoot, even them zombies are scared of my scary stories now LOL  A new personal high for Amazon horror rating YAY YAY :- GO ME :) :) September 28, 2012 - May 16, 2013 Current Rank: #1,578

I am not expecting any royalties   It has been almost six months since my last payment from Draft2Digital , and I am not expecting more. The reason is they are devouring up FREE LENDING libraries faster than hot food on a freezing November day. What this means for the writers is until the books reach a certain, unspecified, number of readers we will not see a dime. The best way to Support an Indie, is to ignore these places, and buy your ebook ; in my case from either Google Play , Apple , or Amazon .

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0078VZREI Please note, in an attempt to draw sales;  I have changed the cover and title for the first two Pat Canella stories. I am currently re-editing book 3 in the series "Hunted Down," as of now I have no idea when it may be available or even of it will be generally available.  After the poor responses to the previous books and my books for sale; I am loathe to put books for sale. I will gladly send them to friends to read or you can get them from me via Paypal.

 From the horrors of Sci-Fi to the real horrors endured by our forefathers in WW1 with my US top rated ghost story  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BNDHL0U  . This story was very personal to me and brought me to tears, here is my Yahoo article which links well to the story  http://uk.news.yahoo.com/world-war-2-trenches-grandfather-095300577.html  .

With the successes of "Love of the Sea"  http://alsdomain.weebly.com/love-of-the-sea.html  and "Chronicles" http://alsdomain.weebly.com/chronicles-of-mark-johnson.html#.UZY3GqLVAW4  on line, I am returning to my Sci-Fi horror mix to bring a new and cleaner read to The Word  http://alsdomain.weebly.com/the-word.html

With another sale today, the next honour, the first book to reach 20 sales gets one small step closer for my best seller on Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CJKK84  read the next link to find which book is closest and how close they are  http://alsdomain.weebly.com/9/post/2013/05/first-to-20-sales.html  .

The futility of Amazon ratings You read the title correctly The futility of the Amazon rating is no better depicted than with my award-winning book . You may ask, how can a book which never sold be in the top 20 books of its category? I have no answer, but it is true, when the book won the award  (October 2012) Amazon pushed it into the top 20, though to this day it has not sold a copy.

Okay folks, it is showdown time.  It's my sanity Vs  a massive 90+ page edit session with a story which has plagued me since before Christmas.  Yes, I am mad to try and beat a series which I think is haunted. But, I am going to try and lay the curse to rest; I am re-editing Pat Canella.

Continuing the story of the Prospero, after she leaves the shores of the UK Simon Miggins stood on the deck of the Prospero as she left the cove at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, his eyes cast a final glance to the haunt of his former captain John Andrew and called to the crew, “Make sail for the open seas, this is the last time we’ll see Andrew or the Ship Inn.” The Prospero drew a lot of water in the shallows and more than once the crew wondered would their ship set sail - or would they be stranded here? Slowly she turned to the wind and her sails flapped with North winds, the winds of the North are cold and harsh unlike the warmer winds of the South and the crew had to wrap up well as the biting cold tore through their tattered clothes, Where are we headed, Captain?” called Paul Marler as he dried himself off after the swim under the hull, which led to John Andrew being keel-hauled. Miggins looked to the open sea and said with a wave of his arm, “Out there, Paul, where ev...

 Remember, if you are enjoying the serial, the book is on sale in Amazon   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BEDMSO  and book 2 in the series comes out soon

THE PORTHERN CASE Since resolving the matter of the trapped spirits at the old Morton house a few years prior, Mark Johnson’s expertise and skills as a photojournalist were in demand again. He was now getting serious job offers for both his photographic and writing skills. Even though wealth was heading his way, Mark had not changed. He preferred to stay a recluse in his cottage by the coast, his only contact with the outside world being his lady friend, the artist Annette Palmer, and his agent, Phil Moore. He had met Annette a few months earlier while on a case. He had felt an affinity towards her from the moment they met. Today he was out walking the dog, when the house phone rang. “Hello, Phil, what can we do for you?" Annette asked. “Hi, Annette. I think I might have a story for Mark, plus a chance of some art work for you at the same time.” “Sounds interesting. Go on.” "I've just had a call from a man called Patrick Kingsley. He said he'd like the two of you to m...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CJKK84  Thanks to a sale for Holding Richmond, this book has shot up again 

More tales from the Morpeth Arms Hotel with Algie & Bertie A teasing start to the new story :) Bertie was sitting in his regular spot on the porch of the Morpeth Arms Hotel, partaking of his "medicinal tipple" as he called it these days. The sun was lazily glinting on the waters of the pond and the Moorhens and Coots were displaying their finery, "What a lovely morning," he thought, "I think I will take a walk around the park before lunch." He rose from his seat and took a quick glance around him, making certain nobody could see him; he took a nip of whiskey before setting off on his afternoon stroll. Here at the "Morpeth", things rarely moved quicker than a snail, days lingered as the men told tales of exploits of their youth and the ladies were in "the snug," the area of the hotel which allowed them in, the men would retire to the smoking room and talk of things which they preferred ladies not to know about. While the ladies ha...

eBook links I am not expecting miracles, and I know hunting writing sites is going to take time out of writing the story, but I would rather do it the old way than trust to Draft2Digital . The only use D2D has for me now is to show me a few sites where I can add to my eBook stock there, or perhaps create an account to add to.

                                               Yahoo news Many years ago, i was paid £20 for an article about why I stopped smoking by Yahoo News . I stopped because I realised my children were living in an atmosphere of second-hand smoke as I did with my parents, the difference being I cared about the health of my children.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BH5HGQ8 The say write about what you know, I always thought I was crazy LOL How about this for a turn in fortune, my best seller this month is about Neuroscience;   a subject I know little about

   To salvage or to scarp? I have checked Patti over with Word and there are masses of edits to do. I wonder is it worth saving? Nobody bothered about the earlier stories. I have to ask myself this question as it will involve a lot of work for what?   Sales of the first books over the year amounted to less than one a month, the on line readership to which is was re-writing these stories amounts to less than half a dozen a day, considering all the networks they link to this is crap. It does show how little my work on Patti is valued :(   I enjoyed the excitement of writing her stories and will have to tie the threads up as I re-write the series to end it over the next few weeks, nobody wants to read it and I will close the series; which in a way answers my previous post. No crossover .

 Recently I was talking with a close friend about how I felt that with all the problems that have beset the last Pat Canella stories, and how I felt the series was haunted from the time I started writing it.  I said at one time I had to redirect the plot line as it was becoming too  like a Mark Johnson plot line. My friend suggested that would be a great theme for a book to join my characters in one series of stories. I had to think about the backgrounds to my stories and while Pat Canella is set in the 1940's; Chronicles isn't set in a time period, so the possibility is there. What do you think?  The bottom line here is that neither series has sold well at Amazon, and this may well be a kill or cure for either or both.

Just back form a book signing by Raymond E Feist

The latest segment of my award winning book has gone on line this morning  http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/chronicles-of-mark-johnson-on-line.html#.UY4GE6KG0W4

 From time to time, I may not be writing; here is an article explaining some of the symptoms I suffer from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_neuralgia     Putting it in terminology which is easy to understand:- The least painful is like a bad headache on the top of my head. Stage 2 is like having somebody put a pen in your ear, push on your eyeball and squeeze your head and the worst case is like the USS Enterprise going into warp, with stars flashing around and yellow stripes on the walls. 

A day lost The pain from the growth on my liver has been bearable today; the growth may not be growing - I should find out tomorrow - but, that doesn't mean it is not affecting me. I am in so much pain today that I had to spend most of the afternoon in bed as standing was too painful. The pain is similar to having a sword stabbed in my side, and twisted and being pushed in and down.

 When I wrote "The Love of the Sea,"  I started out with the idea with the idea of a short ghost story with a romantic theme. I had a reputation for good ghost stories and had not done a romantic one before, so I thought I would try. I sent it to a friend for her free read section on the blog and had some nice comments and my friend told me that the story was very popular. I had the thought maybe I can expand it a little; never imagining that I would expand a 1,200 word story into a novel, but that does appear to be what is happening as the story is now over 26,000 words and still going strong. I think my largest collection to date is the first Chronicles book at around 30,000  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BEDMSO  which is a series of short stories introducing the characters who appear in the forthcoming book 2.

I would like to open today's blog by thanking you for your support and the growing numbers of readers which this blog is achieving. Over the last week, you have continued to read more each day, which is great .  I was worried a few weeks ago that the erotica was the only reason why people came here. Fans of my stories on line keeping telling me that the stories get better each time, which is a little disconcerting as there has to be a time when I plateau and cannot surpass my previous story. My worry is that when the time arrives, I will let you down and the greater the height, the greater the fall.

Another sale in the UK, for my best seller , get a copy before the follow up story comes out. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CJKK84