Posts

Showing posts from September, 2017

Why I like Foreign films

Image
The only vacation I will get The main reason I enjoy foreign films is that they show me cities and countries I will never see, hell, these days anywhere beyond my room will soon be beyond me :(                                           Ay, Carmela This film is set during the Spanish Civil War  and is the story of an actress (played by the beautiful Carmen Maura ) who refused to sing a song that betrayed her love of the country she loved and died for, Spain  before the revolution.                                                  Contratiempo This movie from Spain shows the lengths some parents are willing to go to for justice in the killing of their child, featuring Ana Wagener in an enthralling tour de force.

In a wheelchair

Image
Is there any point to it? Tomorrow should have been the big day, but the way things have turned out this week I am not sure I want the wheelchair, after all, what is the point of being able to get out if you can't enjoy the time?

Coming soon

Image
The forlorn hope Today, I ordered a book cover for my  e-book  to turn the e-book versions     https://www.draft2digital.com/book/235628  /  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075BJH2D2  into paperback editions. If there are enough sales, I could be tempted to write a novel shortly

The library of Alan

Image
All things have their time  For several years, I have built up a  library  of books and  e-books ​ for the day when I wouldn't be able to get out; that day is near at hand this year.

The lean years

Image
My life is like a Biblical parable People go on about  austerity  and cutbacks; to me, it's a way of life never having had a lot of money.   I have a family to run which includes paying the price for someone else's child for over 30 years.    I have gone without for so long that saving for tomorrow is my lifestyle   biblehub.com/genesis/41-20.htm .   If I did get some good fortune, I would always put back a little for the times ahead when things are not so good - and there are plenty.

Stephen King

Image
The Colorado Kid If you look at the end of the dockside, you can see a red shed that is a museum; I used to work there many years ago. Last night, I was watching the gulls swoop for fish in the docks, when I recalled the mysterious death of a man in Sydney in the 1940's.  He was small, with manicured fingernails and well dressed; he had no ID on him at the time of his death, and nobody recalled seeing him either get on the ferry across the river or get off. He was found sitting by a bollard as if he was asleep.  It was later discovered that he choked on some meat from his sandwich and the gulls ate his food. His name was never found, and nobody reported him missing. But to have no ID only years after the war was over was a mystery in itself as that was a criminal offense at the time. This mystery is the story behind "The Colorado Kid" by Stephen King.

Some things I cannot do

Image
Celebrity status Book signings https://hereiamattheedgeblogspotcouk.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/facing-my-fear/  are a running joke among my close friends and me. I go to some at our branch of  Waterstones , but the thought of doing one myself is daunting, the only time I tried to beat my fear of public speaking it came back and bit me.   I suppose if I turn my last  e-book   www.draft2digital.com/book/235628  into a paperback, I will need to consider doing a signing

Here I go again

Image
A lonely man It is raining here in  Bristol , but that makes no difference to me. I will be going out soon, come wind, rain, sleet or snow I am told to stay away from my stepson – I am not the troublemaker – that means if he’s in, which he is most days I have to be out of the house. I’ll find somewhere dry to work in and leave the family in peace. Once I am in my wheelchair, I don't know how long I will be able to keep leaving the house to escape from my stepson

Welcome Romania

Image
The global network Yesterday’s surprise for me was that I got a lot of attention in  Romania  for my Wordpress blog . If you like a good  ghost story , try this one  https://www.draft2digital.com/book/32132 . This would be my most familiar story, even if I didn’t like it when I wrote it.

Who was at the organ?

Image
Bishopsworth In times of hardship and distress, similar to those he was going through, the writer had always found some peace in the clamour of life by visiting churches. This day was no different, his life was filled with the torment of debts he couldn't pay and worries about his health     https://disqus.com/home/discussion/channel-writingworld/carry_the_fight_on/   . The history of churches had been an interest of his since his teens, at one time he did think he should have become a priest as he can empathise with people because he's been through a lot. His friends and family had grown more worried since the move. Everyone thought he was coping well with the changes in his life, what they didn't realise is that this only showed what a good actor he had become over the years; in reality, he was not coping well. As he walked up the path to the church, he saw the doors were closed, and there was no sound. He quietly walked around the side of the church examining

Happy Anniversary

Image
Five years after the award Five years ago, my #e-book , Chronicles of Mark Johnson , was awarded a certificate of good writing. In honor of this award,  I am re-issuing my   #award-winning  e-book on   Amazon and     Draft2Digital .

A novel reviewed

Image
Is it possible? In short, the answer is yes. At one time, the thought of writing 40,000 words was daunting, but these days if I can get into a story I see no reason why I could not pass 50,000 words. I stopped  A Sailor’s Love   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07226FRDK  at 35,000 words, not because the story ended but because after writing and living the story for 14 months, I decided I would not see enough reward for my time. I was right, after over two years on sale, not a copy has been sold, despite friends of a friend saying they would buy copies to help her promote her cd’s.

Welcome to the Ukraine

Image
A growing audience Have  blog  will travel!  This week's surprise is the number of readers of my blogs in the  Ukraine .  I have known for years that I had a good readership behind the  Iron Curtain . I put this down to my stories being closer to  Harry Palmer  than  James Bond .

Bleak House

Image
Will the Fall continue? Thank God it’s Friday, another week of wondering if my ebooks will sell   https://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/p/barnes-noble.html#.WalYgsh97IU or  http://alsdomain.weebly.com/barnes–noble.html#.WalY1Mh97IU . It’s hard to  think of myself as a  BestSeller  when last month I had my worst month and only sold one ebook, Well, this is  September , usually a good month for me, but after the last two months I am not holding my hopes up