Here I am at the edge

@GhostAdventures   For many years, people have told me that I write good ghost stories - one of the most popular is in this special edition http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H4F38AI   - the edition contains both the first printed (not the original version) and the now unavailable version I wrote for our   #charity ,   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-peacock-writers.html#.VoQq21WLTnA .  St. Peter's Church, Clevedon known locally as Old Church . This is the church in the story. The original version of my story is also available on Amazon & Draft2Digital . One reason I think my stories are so liked is because I am able to think myself into the roles involved in the story, by so doing I can express the fears better.

#Software #amwriting For several months, I have contemplated buying Dragon voice-to-text software   http://www.nuance.co.uk/dragon/index.htm . I see the software, not a luxury to aid speed writing. I type slow, but that's not a problem for me. I see buying the software as a necessity if I am going to continue as a writer. The reason for this is I suffer badly with  #arthritis   as a result of my  #EDS   giving me bad joints. There are days when I can't open my hands for the pains, and my wrists are so weak I need supports most of the time.

Unhappy Anniversary As if I needed a reminder of the  #anniversary  of my near-death experience two years ago   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O6IEC7E , last night I almost choked on a sweet from a box of chocolates. 

It is hard to believe      After fighting for so long, it was hard to believe that some of the firemen didn't believe in their job. They were paid to destroy all that we held dear, what could have caused the doubt?    And, yet, there was something about his tone that made me think he was honest. I had heard a whisper that there was a growing element who didn't like destroying books; I put it down to idle gossip - after all being a fireman was a well-paid job with an endlessly expanding scope of work, why wouldn't they love the job?    I looked at the old man sitting before me, and asked him, "What is the cause of the unrest?"     He turned to look at my smoked-streaked face as it glistened with sweat from the fires, and said, "We're upset that we'll lose all these excellent books forever. The writers of these works are long-dead, and their work can is unrepeatable. If we lose these books and periodicals, who'll tell future generations...

#MobileStrike   If there was a  #mobilestrike , and my cell phone went out of action, I wouldn't realise the difference. I only use mine for a clock and for emergencies. I am too busy as a  #writer   to spend time chatting, and as most of my contacts are in the USA , there is little to no chance of either them phoning me or me phoning them.

#RIPLemmy #Motorhead Last night's news of the death of Lemmy was a sad note for the UK rock scene. The frontman of Motorhead http://www.imotorhead.com/  had been the lead figure of the scene for generations. He was instrumental in the founding of another wonderful group called   #Girlschool     http://www.girlschool.co.uk/mainindex.htm .  The two groups were similar and often toured together. Motorhead and Girlschool joined for one cd under the band name Headgirl   http://noisey.vice.com/blog/what-i-learned-about-style-from-mtorhead-and-girlschool-head-girl-please-dont-touch Hawkwind   The older music lovers will recall Lemmy used to be the lead singer of another group called  #Hawkwind , in his days before Motorhead. He was jailed in the US because the police thought he was carrying cocaine across the US/ Canadian border. Hawkwind is still going, but they are nowhere near as popular or influential as Motorhead are. ...

http://www.adazing.com/ For the last year, I have been using Amazon for doing my covers, and little else - my sales there are virtually non-existent. Last month, I came across a nice site for doing Free covers   http://www.adazing.com/  this means I won't be using Amazon at all now. Here is an example of a cover I did today, for a book that will be out later in the year.

#AnotherYearAnother Cuddles Meet Cuddles my first teddy bear, he'll be 30 this year. He has been to many places with me, but this year will be  #AnotherYearAnother   year when I don't go out.  Also, this year will be another year of people lying about wanting to buy my books. I get so bored of being asked - where can I get your books? Then nothing happens.   I hope this year is better than the last two, although the sales for Forgestriker have been - and still are - amazing, I don't like having only the one book selling. I'd like a variety to sell, that way I might start believing I am the  #BestSeller   my friends tell me I am.

50% of the sales  Another month is over, and again I'm thanking my American readers for buying Forgestriker (the e-book), without those sales, I doubt I'd be writing as they take up 50% - if not more - of my online sales.

#The Three Mariners Yorkshire ghosts This is a picture I took on my last trip to   @Scarborough  - http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/a-man-of-simple-pleasures.html#.VoAj4lWLTnA . Inside is the inn, and the establishment is haunted by a headless lady who foretells of the doom of sailors   http://www.threemariners.co.uk/ghost.html .

The church that was taken by the sea An English Legend There is a story about a church that once was on the coast, but sank into the sea. The legend says that if England needs a hero, the bells will ring three times.  I don't know which church it is; it could be one of the ones in  @Dunwich ,  #Suffolk   http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/dunwichas.html  as the village was retaken by coastal erosion.   If ever the bells were needed to call a hero - now is the time - with the rising threat of a Muslim takeover and the criminal element from the  #EU   committing crimes and walking free.   England needs to return to the good days if not quite the era of  #JohnBetjamin   http://www.johnbetjeman.com/ .  It's amazing what we take for granted; years ago, I visited Bridgnorth Folk Festival   http://www.bridgnorthfestival.org.uk/about-us/ . I'd got so used to seeing coloured people that it took me...

Back from the brink Two years ago I almost didn't see the New Year in. I had two very close calls with death, then almost died in my sleep, read the harrowing story in   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O6IEC7E   or  https://www.draft2digital.com/book/62636 . 

Night of the e-readers Tonight for the first  #Christmas   in five years, I had sales on   #ChristmasDay . There were two sales on  @Amazon  before we get the bunting out, these sales don't equal the total sales for the last three months on  #Amazon .

#HunterSThompson 1960's America The term Vagrant Journalist was coined by the writer Hunter S. Thompson   http://www.biography.com/people/hunter-s-thompson-9506260   to describe the journalists who populate the periodicals in the hope of getting a break.  This story is set in the pre-Lyndon Johnson era, in San Juan   http://www.topuertorico.org/city/sanjuan.shtml   at the time Fidel Castro was throwing Americans and other non-Cubans out of the Cuba . Not long after this time, JFK almost took the world to war over the Bay of Pigs incident , this could have been a reason for his assassination  http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/the-november-plan_28.html#.Vn1I4lWLTnA .  Popular as his public persona was, his political stances were becoming a security risk to the USA, something had to be done before he brought the world to an end. Who killed JFK? We'll never know for certain   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/there-...

#LonelyThisChristmas Elvis Presley    Usually, at this time of the year, I put on 12 days of Redneck Christmas by Jeff Foxworthy or Santa Clause is coming to town by the Tractors . This year, I thought I'd put this lovely song on by Elvis  for all those who miss someone whether serving abroad, working, or passed away. I know Christmas won't be the same for me.

The end of a bad year 2015 In many ways, this has been a bad year for me. The family has been pestered by the council over our heating regularly since March. The constant badgering led to me missing an appointment for a heart monitor. My laptop finally died on me after several years, and to add to the misery, we think one of our cats got snatched last week - all in all - to quote  #StarTrek   it's been  #AYearofHell .  If ever I needed a miracle, it's now, the year closed with the lowest sales month. I did expect this, for some reason this period is my worst; I tend to do better going into Spring.

Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England Basic training Memories This picture that was taken in Neulette , France , in 1917 reminds me of my basic training in the Royal Air Force . Christmas 1974 As part of our training, we had to do a week's survival course in Sherwood Forest.  The weather was so cold; the water was freezing, and I couldn't shave. I was willing to go on a charge for not shaving. The time I tried to shave, I carved my face up badly.  I was in charge of the heating lamps, and although I was shaking so much, I was pouring fuel on my hands and I couldn't feel a thing. That week, I almost committed assault on one of my friends.  He was in the sergeant's tent and came out saying all he'd had was some soup for dinner. I'd been trying to unfreeze some butter and only managed to tear my bread to pieces.  In the middle of our camp was a stockpile of tins. None of the tins had labels remaining after the freezing rains, an...

                                  Chronicles of Mark Johnson If you enjoyed the science fiction series called Fringe , you should enjoy my award-winning short story selection, as this will challenge your perceptions of fringe science . After all, fringe science once included both psychology and neuroscience .

The Christmas I melted the snow The melting of the snow Several years ago, I was so ill my feet felt as though they were on fire. I was able to stand in a small snowdrift in our garden and watch as the cooling snow melted around my toes.

A loving tribute A lost friend Hard as it is for me to accept, I realize that she'll never return to me. My Smudge has been stolen from my life this #Christmas   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/i-hate-chrstmas.html#.VnV5sVXhDnB . I was thinking of writing a book about her antics, as we had such fun in her short life. From a kitten camera-hog to a lady who "daddy surfed."  #Memories  She may have been taken from us, but the things thieves can NEVER take are the memories we have, and the joy she gave us seeing her growing up.

Books go social My story  http://booksgosocialdaily.com/a-sailors-love/#comments  is gaining praise like the passions raging in the story. If you like your women unafraid and passionate this is your story.

The US help to clean up another French failure Winter 1944 In a final push to gain ground, the German forces attacked the Allied flank via Belgium  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge , during one of the harshest winters of the century US troops fought back many German raids, in the course of which over 90,000 US lives were lost. French never learn   The reason for the action was the French said the Germans couldn't mount an armoured attack through the forests - tell that to the families who mourn their losses this week.   The French made the same mistake in  #WW1   with the Maginot line. Before you attack US involvement, think where we'd be without it. Many American lives were lost in Europe, fighting a war that they could easily have opted out of joining. 

The big hoax Three years ago, there was the largest publicity stunt in living memory - an ironic phrase. 2012 Writers from everywhere were writing about the end of the world, the Mayan Calender stone and a zombie apocalypse - here we are three years on and still rolling.  What happened to all the writers who made a mint that year? They're no better off than me, one reason I never follow a trend. Nobody sent me money when the panic was on about the end of the world -three years ago. It's coming to the end of 2015, and we've moved on   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_calendar_stone . I guess all those rich folk from 2012 are looking for the next cash cow to milk.

A Sailor's Love Romancing the ghost There is no need to buy the book, all you need to do is log in to the site http://booksgosocialdaily.com/a-sailors-love/   and vote. This will give my romance a chance of winning $300, and making 14 months work have a value.

What you see is what you get It is too much of a problem for me to delete all my posts on the blog, so what is on will stay - at best I will be altering older posts - I have no drive or desire to add any major posts to this area, so WYSIWYG -  What you see is what you get - before you start to complain about the standard of my grammar, there are two things to remember. 1 - My grammar may be questionable at times, but I have read a lot worse from people who are paid to write article s, and have a degree . 2 - The most important factor, I am not paid to write this blog, and you are reading the blog FREE . If I was being paid, I would take care of my writing, but as I am not being paid, I don't see how it matters. You could say that is counter-productive, as an editor may read an article, and my grammar could put him, or her, off. Well, I have been writing this b log for almost 15 years, and nobody has shown any interest,

Conjectures   With my  Amazon http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007U50BOI   sales being almost nil, and the sales on Draft2Digital   https://www.draft2digital.com/   being solely dependent on the sales of my series   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/forgestriker-collection.html#.Vm7EiFXhDnA . In particular the title book Forgestriker , I thought about diversifying.  However, the idea of writing what is selling in the primary market is repugnant to me, as this involves writing sex stories. My friends and family say it would be better to quit than chase the dollar   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/can-i-live-with-myself.html#.Vm7FoVXhDnA , as they know I would not only dislike writing it, I would dislike myself for lowering my standards. What are you to do, when writing a story costs a lot of effort but has no reward?

                                                             France I am considering breaking my rule again, and writing with an audience in mind, the last time I tried that the book / novela failed to sell. I think writing about Fr ance should be safer than writing about I srael . The decision is brought about because for the second time this week, my blog has over 150 readers in France and the USA can only come in third with G ermany again a distant second.

The novel you asked me about Janey Kirk  Many thanks to my friend, Janey http://www.janeykirk.com / , for allowing me to use her photo on the cover of my novel - yes - you read that correct.  For years, friends have asked could I do a novel. I never thought I had the staying power - I am wrong - I'm downloading the old files for A Sailor's Love into the editing tool   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/grammarly.html#.Vmmr4VXhDnA , I'm less than halfway through the loading, and already I have passed 50, 000 words; making this book by far the most influential of my selection.  At the current rate, I estimate I will have an opportunity to get close to 90,000 words. I say I'm editing, in my case that usually involves adding as much as I remove.

Talk is cheap Don't believe what you read During the writing of A Sailor's Love   https://www.draft2digital.com/book/34522  several people - including people I knew said they wanted to know of its release so that they could buy copies - at the time I believed them - since those days, I have come to ignore such comments. You may think I am blase but after years of being lied to, I have lost faith in lots of things. Holding Richmond The cover on this page was intended to be for a sequel to my Amazon bestseller  Holding Richmond   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CJKK84 , however, if I write the story I might write it as a western with no relationship to Holding Richmond    http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/holding-richmond.html#.Vml1FVXhDnA .

 The calm amid the storms of my mind E-books Though most of my writing is aimed at the sales of my work, the stories on this page   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/reading-area.html#.Vmls5lXhDnA   contain items I don't consider have enough range to expand into saleable e-books. 

Las Vegas There are some places I'd happily return to, other places I wished I'd never, and many I have no intention - if I was able - of visiting. One of the places I have no intention of visiting is Las Vegas   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/the-mind-is-city.html#.VmlfLVXhDnA . I can think of fewer places - that I know about - that hold any interest for me. Even if I was still a gambling addict - I kicked the habit many years ago - I'd never consider going to LV. I admire the gangsters for building such a city in the middle of nowhere, but the city for me is lifeless.  Going to Las Vegas  http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g45963-Las_Vegas_Nevada-Vacations.html   is as close to visiting hell as I can imagine. All the lights and noise all day, I can't imagine the migraines I'd be forced to endure. My life is best when I'm at peace, I don't need a lot to be happy   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/a-man-of-simpl...

I could be classed an Amazon bestseller Amazon Bestsellers  About three years ago I wrote articles for a Dutch online magazine - until the owner of the site had editorial differences with some of the writers - one such incident involved an Australian publisher.   The man in question claimed to publish only best-sellers, so, I checked a few of the books he published. His definition is anything under 6 million on the Amazon  ratings is a bestseller - by that definition, I'm an Amazon bestseller - yeah, keep telling yourself that, Al, you might believe. I'll believe it, only when I've drunk enough to kill any semblance of my remaining sanity (which won't be long).

Not for me sand and a tan Where to look for me   For as long as memory recalls, I have never been one for sitting on beaches or lazing by pools getting tanned - for many reasons, other than medical. If I go somewhere, I prefer to come back with memories that will last longer than the winter. Before I was a recognised writer of ghost stories, I used to hunt out old castles, forts, and big houses to find their history and if they had any mysteries. From Wales to Scotland  and from Germany to Italy my search for a mystery is relentless. Several years ago, I almost went on holiday to Colwyn Bay in North Wales. The area is festooned with castles dating back to the late 13th Century. The trip got cancelled because the lady I was going to meet cut off contact after a trip to Greece .  You will most likely find me in a museum, art gallery or local history store. I don't see the point of going on holiday if you aren't going to take advantage of the history and...

A land of culture Tyrol range  I would love to live in Italy . Before you ask, no, not because of the pasta. I can give or take spaghetti - I do like tortellini - it's hard for me not to like anything with mushrooms. The year before I got married, my best friend and I considered where to go for our summer vacation, one choice was Yugoslavia or the Balkans as we love seafood, and I was told by a friend who'd visited the area that the Balkans have a great tradition of cooking seafood.  In the end, we chose Switzerland  - wrong choice - on reflection, I preferred the year before when we went to Austria .  One of the trips we went on was across the Brenner Pass - not recommended if you're afraid of heights - and onto the Northern Italian village of  http://www.sterzing.com/en/sterzing.html . The setting is idyllic with the Tyrol mountains as the backdrop to the village and the vast ranges of culture mixing in the area.  Art One of the reasons I'...

                                          News about my WIP projects Often, you will read the term WIP on my blog , what does it mean? WIP is short for Work In Progress, which in itself covers a lot of concepts. It could mean I am expanding a short story , trying to find a suitable image for a story, or I have an idea but waiting for my thoughts to form a concept for the story. Among my current list are several fantasy concepts, ghost stories , a sexually motivated business story about a lady's revenge, and several stories on new themes. One thing is certain, they will appear on my blog, not as an ebook for sale. My idea has always been to be read; when I began as a writer , I was under no delusion that this would be a concept that brings me a large amount of money; I did hope it would bring me more than it has, all that is in the past. The blog is thriving, thanks mainly to read...

Bristol 1984 Evangelistic preaching It is a little-known fact, in the mid-80's I had the privilege of going to a meeting held in Bristol by Billy Graham . At the time, I was going through a hard time - when am I not? And his style of preaching reached out to me, I can't say it changed how I felt about myself, or that it changed my life, but it did put my mind at ease.

Time to close the case files  My only prize Four years ago, I entered a contest on the site Friends of the Merrill Collection  - I didn't expect to win. At the time I was a contest junkie, I entered so many I lost track of what story was going anywhere.  E-book cover This cover is the only prize I won - I did get awarded a certificate for another book -  https://hereiamattheedge.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/winning-isnt-everything/ .   Al Place    My PI series is recommended by a former Queensland police sergeant but that praise didn't save the series from being ignored, and ending up in the never ending pile of trash that my work is destined to be.  I used to love writing   At the time of writing the stories about Mark Johnson and Pat Canella    http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/i-used-to-love-wrting.html#.VmbE11XhDnA . Over the years inbetween I've noticed   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/1...

Being a bestseller and an award-winner Did winning the award change me? Yes, I changed a great deal. After the award, I became more insecure and concerned about the quality of my work, until this month. Winning the award meant little for the book, as in the three years since the award it has only sold one copy - so much for its value to the readers.  Bestseller To some of my writing colleagues, I am classed as a bestseller, the term is relative in that I sold more than some of them - I am far from making any large amount of money from writing. This is one reason for my change in attitude   https://hereiamattheedge.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/on-line-writing-jobs/ . With one high-profile book selling in a forty-nine book selection on three sales platforms, I would hardly say that I'm a  #bestseller .

Bristol City Museum  Freemasonry Until tonight, the thought had never entered my mind.  While I worked at Bristol City Museums & Art Galleries, I was in line for a promotion to be in charge of the museum at   http://bristolopeningdoors.org/st-nicholas-church/ . I am not saying it was a sure thing, but most of the staff thought I was a "shoe-in," as the Americans say. In the end, I didn't get the job, or the relief Security Officer I applied for either.  At the time of the application for the jobs, I had been working in St. Nicholas Church Museum for two years and knew the workings from sales to changing the time on the clock tower. Everyone in the staff expected it to be a formality for me to take over from my friend when he retired. When I didn't - nobody believed it had happened. The man who got the job had never worked in the museum and got the job because his wife baked the curator a cake. These incidents turned me against the museum bosses - who we...