Here I am at the edge

 For your Pleasure One of the reasons I haven't posted for the majoroty of the day is I have been ill; the other is I have been contemplating whether, or not, to update some of the story segments I have on earlier posts in the blog. My problem is, will it be worth my time to update stories if nobody will read them? I am passed caring about the lack of ebook    https://author.amazon.com/books   sales, and if I will be paid this year by Draft2Digital  https://www.draft2digital.com/book / . If you read the image above, you will notice my name; this was the only time I spoke in public since my days in college.

 First Wedding Anniversary It was our wedding anniversary a few weeks ago; this reminded me of a joke my wife and I share about our first anniversary . When we got married, our friends didn't think we'd last two years; we proved them wrong, this year is our 37th annniversary. Back to the joke. On the day in question, my late mother phoned u to congratulate us, after speaking to my wife, she asked to talk to me. My wife replied, "Alan isn't here, he has gone to Taunton to watch a cricket game." Apparently, this horrified my mother, how could I leave my wife on our anniversary? This shows how little my parents knew / cared about me. If they had known me, they would have known for me to travel to watch a cricket game, or any sports match it must be of high interest to me; in this case the match was between Somerset , and Yorkshire . Also, to us, our anniversary is just another day' we rarely celebrate it.

 Where has the year gone? In a few hours, it will be September again, where has the year gone? It must be a sign of getting older, the days at times appear to be endless, but the months have flown by. Also, this means in a few days, another month has passed with no sign of my last royalty payment from Draft2Digital . I passed the minimum automatic payment level of $10 back in May, and there is no sign of any payment  https://www.draft2digital.com/book/ .

 No Sleep Last week, while cleaning my room, I came across some  Amitriptyline - sleeping - tablets; I've been prescribed them for years because of a mix of depression , and insomnia . I don't make a habit of using them for several reasons, the main one being I don't wish to become an addict, though my sleep pattern is low, I prefer to have a hot milk to ease me into sleep . However, a few nights ago, I was in the middle of a long stretch of sleepless nights, and long days when I found the tablets. That night, I took two tablets - my recommended dose - I did get to sleep, but the dreams I had were the worst I'd had for decades.

 A Foregone Conclusion                       Indie Alone This post is an exercise in futility because I know the result as I type the posr; I would like nothing better than to be proved wrong, but I won't be. This is designed to show how few readers come to this blog without using Facebook ; if this post is read at all I will be amazed as I am not putting it on Meta .

 I have a big Problem A lack of Knowledge This week, some new knowledge came to me, through learning about the geography of India . This knowledge has caused me some concern as it changes the route of my latest story https://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.com/2023/06/project-india-update.html , and raises some issues. The problem is caused by the distance between several of the cities I was going to base the story in. The issues are should I adapt the story with the new information, or should I drop the story? I am rending to dropping the story as it won't sell if I put if for sale  https://author.amazon.com/books , and if I leave it on here, it will gain five or six readers at the most.

 Follow the Trend Don't try to be an individual My opinion on how to succed is simple to adhere to. Stage 1 - Warch the trend , and follow it. Stage 2 - Keep going until the tide changes, then move to the new trends. Stage 3 - Put an attractive person on the book cover , preferably scantily clad. Stage 4 - Probably, the most imprtant section, never try to be an individual. I could have jumped on the 2012 ( Mayan Calendar ) trend, but I chose not to, and paid the price. While those books won't sell again, the writers of them not only made money at the time, many were offered a  contract  or later writing . I didn't jump on the Twilight , or Harry Potter trends, not that I wished to; at the time, I was more interested in making my mark as a writer in my voice, not as a copycat.