Here I am at the edge

Not for sale Pat Canella This week, I took both the Pat Canella - The Dockland Murders series and Chronicles of Mark Johnson series off the shelves.  Though the books haven't sold in over three years, along with my Amazon  #BestSeller   Holding Richmond  they hold a record that beat the massive sales of Forgestriker .  These books sold more in one day than Forgestriker did. So, though Patti & Mark go off the shelves, they can hold their heads high in one respect.

Avenging Angel  This segment is an excerpt from my new story about a priest on a mission.  The two cops looked down at the body slumped against the wall, and the victim was a male, in his 30's and from his clothes, he was an out-of-towner. It is easy to tell the out-of-towners by their clothes. The clothes were high quality, designed for style, not for durability. The folks who lived in Kedgetown had got used to the foul smells given off by the power plants, and the waste piles that covered the tight lanes. Style meant nothing when within minutes of walking out of your house, you got coated in ash, and the smell of refuse clung to you like an evil-smelling cloak. Joe Hash – a former policeman – now a low-grade collector of the dead bodies that littered the streets glanced at his colleague, Pete Frome, and said, "Same M.O. as the last one?" Pete didn’t need more than a brief glance. The pose, card, and Biblical quote were identical. "Sure, what did you ...

Moaning Cavern Native American arts To people who have had the opportunity to get to know me, my liking for Native American arts is nothing new, nor is the fact that music has inspired some of my stories - this is one such case.  Haunted by her past Haunted by her past https://www.draft2digital.com/book/94188   is the third - possibly the last - Pat Canella story I wrote.  I was listening to the haunting sound of Mary Youngblood 's flute and I could see in my mind's eye the caves, and the shadows made by the setting sun. From this, I got the idea of the soldiers not wanting to be in the desert near the base after sunset, as strange things have been reported that are unable to be explained.

Noir What a pleasant surprise. Last night the last Pat Canella series book finally   made a sale.  This was to be the latest in the series, the story   has a mysterious ending because I was unsure if it would sell; the other two e-books in the series died a slow death.

Perceptions My change in style Ghost stories    In the days when I wrote my early ghost stories, my work was likened by friends to the stories of Edgar Allan Poe , M.R. James , and Sheridan Lefanu . I consider this a great honor, as I admire their work very much.  Pat Canella    My first e-book that went on sale is said to be in the hard-boiled style of Mickey Spillane by a former police officer from Queensland .  Chronicles of Mark Johnson    My award-winning e-book is compared to the works of H.P. Lovecraft . I have to admit before I had stories likened to his; I had not heard of him, but I can see the likeness in my stories.  Gonzo journalism    My later works have are said to be in the style of stories written by Hunter S. Thompson . Gonzo journalism is a style of first-person writing, where the writer of the article puts himself/herself in the story while reporting the story. My id...

October in the past October 2011    Four years ago, I launched the opening e-book in what I hoped would be a short series of crime stories .  The Dockland Murders   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/pat-canella-the-dockland-murders   was the first of my e-books to go on general sale. This book and its sequel Ghosts of your past  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/ghosts-of-your-past   are highly praised for their authentic feel by an ex-policeman from Queensland. GOYP is my bestseller on Kobo . October 2012   Yes, that year again. In the October of 2012, my e-book Chronicles of Mark Johnson  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/chronicles-of-mark-johnson   received an award for excellence from  http://indiependents.org/ . Both Chronicles and the sequel Wharfemere Finale  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/wharfemere-finale   received high praises from an independent New York review...

A new audience To my surprise, Germany is challenging the USA for readers of my blog today. As I was closing my eBook section on Amazon last night; I realised that my first sale was to a lady living in Munich . The only other sale of The Dockland Murders was for me, to show I had put the book for sale. Over a decade later, and the shop is closed, with no more sales for the short story . The mood changes   For a long time the main thrust of my blog readers were in the USA , with Russia a distant second. This week that has changed with Germany taking the lead from the USA.  What styles? As a writer you need to be perceptive to your audience needs, to this end I've developed a knack for picking my target markets. American readers prefer Science Fiction such as my hit series Forgestriker   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/forgestriker-collection.html#.VdhxgCgViko  .  Russian readers prefer the Noire style of my Pat Canella s...

The inevitable Onward and upwards #amwriting As a writer I realised one day this moment would arrive. I am amazed it took so long to come. The bubble has burst on my sales. We're almost half way through the month, and I'm heading for my worst month for sales. My previous worst was 8 sales, at the present rate of sales I'll be lucky to surpass my first month on Barnes & Noble , when I sold 3 e-books in as many days. #amwritingscifi With the great success of my Science Fiction series Forgestriker   http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/will-my-series-reach-600-sales.html#.VcstGagViko   to keep my faint belief in my ability glowing, I am going  to attempt a novella based on my on line serial The Word . This ran as a series for 14 weeks, three years ago.  #amwritingfantasy Another ongoing project is my fantasy book Mordhiemicus . This is a Medieval story about a group of people fleeing a burning city, and fighting an evil warlor...

This is a real rare occasion, me talking on line. I may do a longer video later, with more about my new works.

Extra reading 415 Al's Delights With the continued growth of readers for my paper https://paper.li/f-1426008357  - now standing at 415 readers a week - I decided to extend the spread by bringing out three editions a week. Starting today, there will be a weekend edition; so, the paper now comes out on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Mondays.

Patti does Germany again Noir thrillers on the rise Pat Canella   I don't usually check my Amazon sales - with less than one in six weeks - I didn't see any reason to check up on them. Today, I did and got a shock; I had a sale, not in the US, or even the UK, but in Germany. Noire   On Draft2Digital the PI stories have had a boom in the last month. The noire style has made a comeback. I put this down to the popularity of series like The Bridge , and  The Killing from Scandinavia; Spiral , and Braquo from France, and the liking for gritty drama like the stories of Harry Palmer . I have been asked why the stories are liked so well in the old Eastern Blok countries - where I have a big following - including top UK noire writer Paul D. Brasill . The answer to me is simple to understand, the people of these countries can relate better to the cold harsh realistic style of Harry Palmer, than the glamorous lifestyle of James Bond . East or West?  Whi...

Tough to beat Will we know what happened? New release this week The last instalment in the Pat Canella series comes out this week. In Haunted by her past  Patti has to choose between taking on the Colderone on their turf, or waiting for an all out war on the streets of Witchborough. Let's say Patti's long suit isn't waiting for things to happen.  Haunted by her past   The stories in this selection are so creepy, I had bad dreams - and I knew what lay ahead - imagine how an unsuspecting reader will feel. The end of the third selection of this highly rated series is a mystery. I left it open in case the sales encourage me to write further stories. Patti's persona   While Mark Johnson was largely based on my   persona, Patti is based on a mix of Jordan Cavanaugh from Crossing Jordan   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0284718/   and Lilly Rush from Cold Cases  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368479/?ref_=nv_sr_1 . If you like your women ...

The mysterious disappearance of PI Pat Canella The enigma continues Early reports   Police and Army officials are not sure what happened. They can only say that Miss Canella's motorcycle was involved in an explosion, at the end of a chase. As a result of the explosion, evidence is scattered across the gulley where she was last seen. The truth may never come out, was she hit by a stray bullet from an army rifle, did she get hit by a bullet from the Colderone gang, or did the engine blow up under her? Nobody can tell. What is known is that she knew the engine was likely to explode if pushed too hard, for too long. The best theory put forward to date is she was heading for a narrow gulley, to escape the ensuing cars, when the engine exploded. Her body hasn't been recovered yet. Patti "Pat" Canella   The life of Pat Canella had been an uphill struggle from the start. Never a girl to sit back, and let life drift past her in the outskirts of Ohandswor...

Pat Canella Death follows in her footsteps Patti "Pat" Canella   When I wrote the original stories https://www.draft2digital.com/book/32325   there were a few sales; the second book   https://www.draft2digital.com/book/32325   sold three copies the night it came out, and then died.  I did start to write another book in the series entitled Haunted by her past , but as interest died off I benched the series. Despite the series getting high praises from a former Queensland police sergeant.  With the new interest in the stories on Google books, I am going to rewrite the next stories. Be warned, these gave me the creeps, and I knew what to expect.  Part of the reason for the feeling came from writing the second book of the award winning  Chronicles of Mark Johnson series at the same time. I considered a crossover book at one time. To find out what Patti's secrets are, read the early books.

April 2015 Googlebooks   Last year it was joining Draft2Digital which saved me from quitting writing. This year's big improvement is joining Googlebooks . I did check out the site three years ago, but at the time I would have had to pay to join, and not making $1 a month on Amazon - nothing has changed - it didn't make economic sense.  May - June 2014    Last year, I had two exceptional months when sales almost gave me back-to-back $20 months (May $22 / June $18.50). This year it is looking like a reversal, with last month paying $19.09c, and this month, with a week remaining looking at over $20. Pat Canella   One of the most pleasing things about the sales, apart from the continued success of the Forgestriker series, is the emergence of the Pat Canella stories The Dockland Murders and Ghosts of your past . They are doing so well, I may be tempted to bring out the next book, which is more eerie than Chronicles.   Of all things ...

I am lost in a wilderness Mojo   The driving influence for artists, a part of your essence which gives your work meaning, and life. Mine has gone. I knew this day would arrive, I thought if A Sailor's Love doesn't attract readers I am finished. Writing the story took so much out of me, the lack of response has killed my drive, as I knew it would.  Spirituality and belief Friends keep telling me to hang on in there, they keep saying Your time will come,  for a while I believed too; especially when Forgestriker sold so well.  When I wrote Chronicles of Mark Johnson , I was doing 3,000 to 4,000 words- three times a week; now, I haven't done that in a month, and what is worse, I am not bothered. I was going to enter a writing contest - a paranormal story - the work was only 1,500 words, but I can't find the inspiration. I have lots of ideas for stories, but no drive.  A Sailor's Love   If I complete the edits I am going to undertake t...

GooglePlay? The Dockland Murders- Al Place Coincidences  Like Leroy Jethro Gibbs of NCIS , I don't believe in them. It is strange that two days after I put Pat Canella 's opening book on Google play, she had her first sale in four years, and I got a sale on Amazon  too. My greatest pleasure  Last night the Forgestriker series sold five copies- none were the title book - this gave me great pleasure because it meant the series was active,not only the first three books. For all the great pleasure that gave, it was dwarfed by the sale of a book I wrote nearly four years ago, and had given up on selling again.  Noir   The books in the Pat Canella series are praised by a former police sergeant from Queensland, Australia . I  did start a book after Ghosts of your past , but as the others hadn't sold I benched it. I had been told by friends to leave the books out, they would find a market. I didn't believe it at the time, but now to quote t...

Feeling pleased  I realise in the bigger picture, one sale a day means little, but to me it means a lot. I can't thank my readers too much. I am not quite up to one-a-day, but almost. I usually set a sales (not including freebies) target of 10 a month. With a target of between two or three sales a week, the sales this month (6) have me a week ahead of schedule. Don't forget, other than the hit sci-fi series Forgestriker , there is the award winning Chronicles of Mark Johnson , the Amazon best seller Holding Richmond , my Noir thriller Pat Canella- The Dockland Murders , and my spiritual romance A Sailor's Love . All the books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo .

A writer's profile Alan Place  "   I don't blow my own trumpet enough,"   a comment often said to me by my friends, and it is true. I am naturally a reclusive person, and too often shun the spotlight I deserve.   Today, I will try to give myself a little praise, and also give you an insight into my works. indiePENdents.org   Two and a half years ago, I had the honor of one of my books being awarded the certificate of excellence by the US non-profit organization http://indiependents.org/ Chronicles of Mark Johnson    The story started out its life after seeing  Lorraine Kelly  complain on TV about having to cross the desert. Like many of her friends, she never thought of the poor camera crews who haul the cameras so her fans can see her.  I wrote the book as a tribute to the unsung heroes the men & women who take the shots, and films but never get the credit for all their work.     http://alsdomain.weebly.co...

Two years ago, I was chatting on line to a friend and she said she admired my ability to skip from genre to genre. At the same time I admitted I admired her ability to stay the course for one book. But, in the back of my mind was always the thought, what would happen to me, if I put all the effort in one book and it bummed? This last book has been such a book. Over a year in preparation and the works has left me drained. If this sank, I have no idea what it would do to me.  Julia, my editor, says I should put it down for another couple of weeks and come back with a clearer mind. While I know she is right, my concern is if I did that I may never pick it up again.