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30^th April 2010

Editing has continued all week though it has been slow at times. I am making headway, adding in the things that I need to get the story moving again. I still have another seven chapters to work through before I catch up to where I left to rework what I had. When I say rework I really mean is that I added in things to the story, bring some characters in earlier, that sort of thing and at the same time feeding the main plot. Even chapters that I thought I was happy with have seen the hand of the editor to try to make them better. After I do finish the story I will still need to go through it all again a few times to build on what I have, add more background here and there, as well as try to create more visual pictures in words to set the setting or scenes where everything happens.

Editing can be the hardest part for me, as it is with many writers as you can get too connected to what you have already put down on paper. Sometimes you have to move things about, while at other whole chapters get deleted to be replaced. I have already replaced one chapter, as you may know because it was taking the story off in the wrong direction. You have to be ruthless sometimes when creating a tale, just like a sculptor can’t make a beautiful statue without chipping away at a block of rock.

My tubs that I planted are coming on well. I am still waiting on the herbs I planted to start through the soil but all the other veg. have sprouted. The rain we had here helped, I’m sure, though I have been out every day when it was dry to water and check on the progress. I have more planting in the front garden this weekend. Of course this is for my wife. She wants her flowers planted, so I will be out front digging the flower bed. I’m not really a flower person but Magz likes them in the front ands I must admit when I see what others can do, it does make me think how lovely those gardens are.

23^rd April 2010

Work on Banshee has stalled in its forward push to finish it. So to find the track I had a restless night trying to find sleep earlier in the week. I was tracing backwards from the end that I envision and attempting to connect it to what I already have. As I lay awake I could see that I needed to edit what I have already written and so for the past few evenings I have been doing just that, adding more to the tale. Building up the storyline as well as building the characters more. I also hope that by doing this I will get the pace again, leading me through this darker spot in the story.

I usually leave changes till I have completed the first draft yet, this time I find that I need to do tings differently. I suppose that this shouldn’t really be a surprise as each tale you write is always a new adventure. When I begin I always think that I can see the full story in my head but as I write this soon falls short of what I thought I had and so that is when I to search for the path that leads to the end. After I have reached the end then I can edit to fill it out.

I have also been doing more gardening. I got some more seeds, this time herbs to plant in some more large tubs. One of them is American Cress, something I have never heard of but it said on the packet that it was good it salads. As a kid I had cress on egg sandwiches but the picture on the seed pack wasn’t the same thing so I will see how it is in the summer with any luck.

Many of the seeds I have already planted have started to sprout, while I still have about half to show signs that they will spring up. It’s hard not to worry a little when you have spent the time watering and checking each day. Is this one of those things we gardeners are prone to? Not normally but with the seedlings I started indoors fading fast for unknown reasons, I do feel a certain anxiousness about those I have planted outdoors. And now I have added to this by starting a herb tub. I must be a glutton for punishment. :D

16^th April 2010

Planted more seeds this week out in tubs. The seedlings I started aren’t doing well in doors so I decided just to plant more veggies but outside and see how they do there. The weather has been good, plenty of sun and with it has been almost like summer, even though the nights are a lot cooler. I just hope the warm spell last to give the seeds a chance. While I wait to see how they come along my fruit trees I planted last month have really began to make headway, showing real promise. Of course it will be a couple of years I think until they give any bounty. My wife is happy because her two trees are doing the best out of them.

Work on Banshee 2 is moving on nicely. I’ve now pushing on with chapter fifteen though last night was a little bit of a struggle. I can see clearly the final chapter but it is the getting there that is the slow business. I can easily see how to get Susie to the end, as I have said before but DCI Munroe is more problematic. I think it is because as a policeman he is less likely to believe in the supernatural. Still that is the joy of writing, finding how your character get to where you need them to go.

When I start a story I always think I can see the whole tale in my head. In many ways I do but as you write you begin to see the holes, the places you didn’t see. You also see new things that often will lead the tale to where it will conclude. The only thing is that it often leads it along roads you hadn’t perceived. The one thing you don’t want though is it running away to far from the idea you have or as I learn years ago you will lose your way. You need some freedom in the tale so it develops but too much and get lost. When that has happened in the past I have found that a story ends up in the drawer unfinished, not what you want. Don’t worry though I have Banshee 2 in hand, I know where I’m taking it.

10^th April 2010

A day late in posting my blog and the only reason I have is that I simply forgot. I was so into Banshee 2 and a conversation between Susie, a reporter and a neighbour of one of the banshee’s latest victims that everything else seemed to slide to the side in my head. I am now ready to go onto the next chapter tonight and as usual need to think over where I’m taking the main character and when will I bring them together to face the evil that resides in the cottage in the woods. Should Munroe have a visitation or not? So many ideas drawing me further from the plot I wrote down though I did stick to it at the beginning. That is the good thing about plots you don’t have to stick to them, they are flexible or should be. After all do you want to let the ideas flow and not be bottled up or that’s how I see it.

Was out putting a new felt roof on my garden hut today. Finally spring has shown its head, the sun is out and I got some work done in tidying things up around my small garden. I put my seedlings out in the sun rather then leaving them indoors. Some of the have died on me sadly so let’s hope the fresh air helps them. My mate Mickey was round helping with the hut and we both got a good coating of tar paint on ourselves, amateurs eh, what you going to do with us, hehehe.

2nd April 2010

Winter returned to <st1:country-region><st1:place>Scotland this week with a vengeance. Luckily it didn’t last and the snow melted away quickly. But the frost has been nasty for us gardeners. I’m glad I have my seedlings indoors away from the cold. I don’t have a large garden so I use tubs to grow some onions, carrots, parsnips and few other vegs as well as some herbs. Unfortunately the herbs haven’t done very well the past few years. My parsley did quite well last year and has started coming back this year. It’s in the same tub as my Blueberry bush. I like pottering about with the garden but often find I don’t have a very green thumb. In the last few years the onions I’ve planted have all grown but are never that big at the end of the season. Maybe this year?

Banshee 2 has reached the fourteenth chapter. Now comes the part that was never that clear in my mind. How to take Munroe to his confrontation with the banshee. I only have a general idea of how I should bring it around yet need to let another character lead him to the cottage somehow. Something to mull over this tonight, I think that would be a good idea. Have a drink with the wife and relax to let the creative juices blend.

I sometimes read in the forums complaining about having writers block. I always give the same advice. Walk away from what you’re writing and go for a walk. Or go for a bath, anything really that helps you switch off for a bit. Its good way to recharge your batteries. It also works for those times you can’t see the tale to clearly. Mind you we all have our own ways of dealing with these kinds of things.

26^th March 2010

I see there is more trouble for our political leaders in <st1:city><st1:place>Westminster. Three former cabinet members getting three grand a day for pushing through legislation that benefits rich mega corporations. Of course the opposition is claiming that it would never happen under them. Only thing is that it did happen under them as I remember. Back in the eighties and nineties there was the arms dealer scandal, when Conservative cabinet members were involved in taking cash for contracts to furnish weapons to the army and the cash for questions one. It sounds like Labour and the Conservative’s are very much the same when it comes to shady dealings. And then they expect us all to vote for them in the coming elections? No wonder the number of those voting is declining when we see the corrupt nature of those wanting to win our confidence at the ballot box.

I believe that it is our duty to vote, so will not miss casting mine when the election comes. Too many people died to give me the right to have a say in who runs this nation. Though my vote may not mean much on its own when added to all the others it will combine with them, and so will, hopefully send a loud message to those in power. Though wither they will listen is another thing all together. After all they have shown a certain deafness to what the people think recently. We just need to look at their wage increase they awarded themselves and the expenses they seem to think is alright to receive. It just goes to show how the politicians have really lost touch with those they want votes from, doesn’t it?

19^th March 2010

I forgot to mention the great review that I got from LLBookReview.com for Bublos. I meant to mention it in my last past but it slipped my mind when writing it. It is always a good feeling when someone seems to have enjoyed what you have written. I remember the first review I got for Teddy the Bear, it wasn’t very good to say the least, which was a real knock. Though without the bad ones how would we appreciate the good ones?

Banshee 2 is coming along nicely. I’m moving onto chapter 11 and fully enjoying creating my new tale of the vengeful spirit. Mandy has met up with her deepest and worst nightmare. As you may imagine it didn’t go to well for her. Also another character, Frannie has had a not to friendly confrontation with the evil that has already cost her the father of her unborn child. <st1:city><st1:place>Alice, Mandy’s sister had her meeting with the banshee earlier in the story but I’m saying too much. Best be careful or I may give you the whole story, hehehe, and I don’t want to do that. Especially as it still will need a lot of work once I have got the first rough draft down. There are lots of things that need adding as well as smoothing out so the flow is just the way it should be.

Since my interview a few weeks back things have been slow in the job market. The news is that the recession is supposedly over but I think someone forgot to tell employers as I haven’t seen much in the way of vacancies. It reminds me of the mid eighties, when I left school. There was a real shortage of jobs then too and being fresh from school seemed a deterrent to finding work. I was full of energy yet it took a very long time before I actually got my first job. In fact it wasn’t until I had kids that I got work, by which time I had almost given up all hope that I would ever find a job. I just hope that I don’t go through that again, I don’t think I will as now I do have a work history. That is important as it does show employers that you aren’t averse to putting the effort in.

Another week of struggling to get my computer back up and running. Most of that was waiting on the postman delivering the parts. As it turned out my PSU was part of the problem, delivering only power on one of the power looms. My mother board had also blown, which I was able to prove once I had a new PSU. The processor was fine though now I have a more modern one. I finally got my system up and running yesterday and was never so glad, even if it did mean the dreaded reinstall of Windows. Now I can get back to writing again.

The government seem to have gotten away with their wage rise and this week announced that other government workers would have their wages frozen. One rule for us and another for them. Not a wise thing considering that it is an election year. Maybe Labour doesn’t want to stay in power. Though does it really make a difference who is in power? After all they all seem to be only interested in themselves after they have attained our votes. Still what can be done to change things? Can we change anything? I have my doubts. After all I have seen it all before. Last time was when Labour came to power in 1997. Things did seem to improve for a time but not by what was promised, or maybe I just expected more. I don’t believe the Conservatives promises though. Being Scottish I remember the last time they held power and it wasn’t pretty for us north of the border. Yes we have our own Parliament now and that may make a difference, I doubt it though. If anything I thing it make it a lot worse as at heart the Tories were against the idea of Devolved power for the other nation within the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK. In the end though we have to wait and see how the election will turn out.

5^th March 2010

A nightmare of a week, my computer suddenly stopped working, and I have no idea what is wrong. My guess is that the processor is fried. I know the PSU is working fine as the light on the back is coming on, also it isn’t that old. So that leaves the processor, or the motherboard. I’ve been forced to put a new one on the never, never, what a pain. Now I have to wait for it to arrive, which has left me unable to get at my files. As I said a real pain. I’m using my wife’s laptop to do my blog but find it awkward to use, so I have found myself internetless for the most part, and unable to continue my writing. Though if I find myself without my computer over the weekend I may have to resort to more primitive mean, the dreaded pen, and paper, hehehe. At least I can still laugh about it.
Putting aside my troubles, for once I hear you say, I was disgusted today to hear that politicians have voted themselves a pay rise at <st1:city><st1:place>Westminster. They have frozen many other public sector workers wages yet, they feel they are deserving of a rise. And this after the expenses scandal only a few short months ago. Add to this all those who are struggling on unemployment benefit, who the government often try to paint as nothing more than criminals, and layabouts. Yes, some of them maybe but most would rather be working, and earning an honest living. That is more than I can say for the politicians at the moment. To me it looks like they are the one living the free ride. I think it is time that they were all held to account, and forced to take a major wage cut. After all they should be leading by example, and at the moment they keep telling us all that we have to tighten our belts. Well it should be them that should tighten them first, don’t you think?

26th February 2010

It has been a busy week, one of those unexpectedly busy ones. You know where everything just seems to in a hundred different ways at once. I knew it would be kind of full as my daughter turn thirteen this week, I had to sign on and I had my interview, which I think went well. But then other thing fell out of the blue to add everything that was planned. By the time thing began to settle down I felt like my head was on backwards.

It doesn’t help that I changed ISPs this week. This has entailed its own frustrations to everything else. Internet Providers are never easy to deal with but it always seems worse when you change over, or is that just my take on it? I’m still getting used to the new way of doing things. Last night it took me twice as long to surf through all the sites that I usually visit. Why I have no idea, let’s hope that things get back to normal quickly.

Even with all the head bashing my mind has took this week I did manage to do a bit of writing, just not as much as I would have liked. Other news is that I have been invited to write a piece on one of my books for another blog. The blog in question can be found at http://a305w.wordpress.com/ and is really been set up to show the authors views on another site I go to. He/she doesn’t take many prisoners yet I have found it a diversion just when I needed it.

19th February 2010

I finished reading The Stand by Steven King last night. A great read. I found myself doing something I haven’t done in a long time, sitting in bed reading until in the morning to finish it. Have you ever found yourself doing the? I think it’s the sign of a really good book. A gripping read as some would call it. I know it is a bit old now and does at times show its age. Yet I have read many books older, such as The Day of the Triffids, which are older with great joy whilst losing myself within the words.

My own writing is coming on well this week, reaching chapter 8. As it develops I see that this first draft will need a lot of work to pull it all together. A new character will need to be introduced at the start of the book, with more about the trouble she has cause for Munroe as the story moves on. Who is she? Well she’s a reporter for a local rag by the name of Susie. So as you can guess being a reporter she won’t be really the bee’s knees for a policeman.

Getting a little nervous with my coming interview in the coming week. It will be worse the night before, as always. Until then I can easily put it to the back of my mind but the night before, that is when mind starts to run over it. Even though it’s never like I imagine it I can’t stop running it over in my mind. I’ve always been the same when it comes to that kind of thing. Too much day dreaming as my teachers would call it. Sometimes an imagination can be a bit of a curse, a hard thing to rein in and so of it goes keeping you awake when you really need sleep.

Comments(1):TheBigBookGab

HI

I'd like you to do a Big Book Gab for my blog!
http://a305w.wordpress.com/the- big-book-gab

Posted by Alan Smithee 21:01:40 23.02.2010;

12th February 2010

Another fruitless week of job hunting. I haven’t seen the jobcentre this bad though it does remind of how the boards used to look back in the mid eighties. And the news is that we are supposed to be out of the recession. I wish it would show in the number of jobs available. Mind I did get a phone call at the start of the week asking me to an interview on the 23rd of this month. It’s for a new store that is opening up soon in the town. As you can guess I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that one.

I’ve been tapping away on the computer, as expected, working on Banshee 2. It’s been going well with lots more still to do. I stole a name of one character from the book I’m reading at night, The Stand by S. King. I like Frannie in the book, she’s a strong, with real feel to her. Maybe it was her diary entries or how she feels guilt for the way she didn’t feel the same for Harold. Anyway I liked the name and choosing names for character is not always that easy, after all there are so many. Sometimes the name just comes and you can see the person they are but then at other times you have to work on building them. I think my Frannie will need more work, a lot more. It will come when I have a first draft which is what I need to get on and finish first. I doubt though that she will be anything like the Frannie as in Mr. King’s book other than the name. It will be fun creating her though for she does have a good role in the story though how big it will be I still have to decide but it does look like it may be a large one.

5th February 2010

You may have noticed that last week I put the wrong date for the title. Why? Well I don’t have a reason, just somewhere in the week I must have lost a couple of days. How did I not change it? Simply because I believe if you make a mistake you have to live with it. It isn’t like it’s a real big issue that would bring the world down. It does show one of the consequences of unemployment, losing track of time. Another thing which is strange is that you feel tired even though you struggle to find things to do.

When I was younger I was jobless for many years. The longer I remained out of the job market the harder it seemed to be to find the motivation to get out of bed. Really you would have put me down as a lazy good for nothing. In some ways I am but when I do work I put a lot of energy into the job. Yet when I’m back in the list of jobless I do find it hard to drive myself. There is one thing that doesn’t suffer though and that is writing, where when I work there is less time so less gets done. Of course that is too be expected after all.

We all dream of what we would do if we could give up work because of winning the lottery or something. I suspect that most of us would soon become very bored with little to do. Of course with that kind of money we would soon find some way to fill our days, all you need if the incentive. The opposite is the case for the rest of us I suspect. We may have the incentive but the funds are lacking in many cases.

So what do you do? You pull up your socks and do the best you can with what you have. Or if you seem to lack the motivation then when you realise that you’re wallowing, give yourself a good kick up the rear. If you don’t then get a friend to, though that may prove more painful because they may actually kick you behind.

27th January 2010

It’s almost the end of my January sale on my E-books. There is still time to use the codes if you want one of my books. Just check one of my previous posts for them.

I’m going onto the fourth chapter on Banshee 2. I may change the plot a little just to add more action but that’s only a thought, which is still half formed. So I’ll need to think about it. Should I kill of one of the characters sooner? Will it help the storyline? Maybe. As I said I’ll need to think it over some more.

It is amazing though how much more difficult it is to write a sequel. You have to double check what was in the previous book. Really just making sure that what you remember is correct so as to keep the new book for contradicting the first one. Luckily there isn’t a lot that needs check for Mandy was only in the prologue of the first one and Munroe at the end. Still you don’t want to make a bloomer.

I’ve been having problems with my internet this week. Well really it has been longer than that but usually it sorts itself out. This week my son has been the one affected the most. He has found that a few of the anime sites that he goes to won’t load. The Internet Provider I’m with might need changing soon. The good thing is that my contract ends soon so we’ll get the Mac Number then and see who is doing the good deals. Sky looks good and we do have TV from them, so might be good to go with them. It’s just been a pain phoning the one I’m with every few months because of a problem. We did get it fixed and things are back running not to back, though I have noticed a little lag on my sites now. Not long to go though till I can change my Provider.

22nd January 2010

Another slow week, yet when I look back it seems to have only just been a couple of days. It’s funny how time just flies past as you get older but I can remember when I was younger how time always appeared to drag. Now I wonder where it vanishes to. I suppose that’s what we get for all those times when we were kids and wished it would hurry up and be that special day we all waited for, Christmas, birthdays, holidays or whatever. Now you want it to slow down so you have more time to do all the things that you want to do but there never seems to be enough hours in the day or week for that matter. I hear it only gets worse, I’m hoping it’s just a scare story to worry us middle-aged worriers.

I have noticed a bit of interest in my offer for January at Smashwords, yet there hasn’t been many sales. There is still time if you wish to get an E-book cheap. Just used the codes for my previous posts and get which ever book grabs you for $1.

Work on my next book is moving along steadily. Not a lot more I wish to say at the moment as there is still a great deal to write and even more to do after that. First though is to get it down on paper, out of my head or so to speak.

My son has set up a website, one of those Japanese Anime things. He’s a big fan, as is my daughter though my son is the larger fan. He drove me mad till he got the domain name, AnimeJunkies.co.uk. He paid for it himself but need me to pay for it with my card. Of course it was the wife that got the money to pay to the card.

After he had the name though it caused more of a headache as he tried getting the thing up and running. At least it should keep him happy when and if he can get it going the way he wants.

15th January 2010

I've been writing this week again, working on Banshee 2. It has been slow but I am getting there. There will be the usual work once the first draft is done, as you would expect and then more rewrites to improve it.

There’s still plenty of ice around yet, which is making it difficult when going to the shops. You would have thought our spell of rain that we got would have cleared it all but no. More rain is on the way off of the <st1:place>Atlantic, meaning it will be a bit warmer so it shouldn’t be long before its safe to get around again. It does take me back a few years all this slipping and sliding along, hehehe.

The job hunting is still not going well. You just have to look at the Jobcentre site to see that for yourself. There is very few around my area so the ones that are there are for the east coast or <st1:city><st1:place>London down south. All good for those that live there but not for me with a family. Well I’ll just keeping looking.

My January Sale at Smashwords.com hasn’t been seeing much in the way of success but there is still time to use those codes. Remember that to get the reduced price you have to enter the code when purchasing one of my E-books and you will get it for $1.

Here are those codes again:

BM99Y -- Winter Journey

LM87Y -- Bublos

WY59T -- Banshee Angel of Judgement

8th January 2010

Hasn’t it been a cold beginning to the new decade and they’re saying it’s to last for a bit yet. It makes you glad for central heating yet still there’s a chill in the air that doesn’t seem to be shifted by the radiators. I think it has to be something to do with the concrete floor of our house. The carpet just isn’t enough in this extreme cold snap to insulate our feet against the cold. And you know what you feel like when your feet are icy. Makes you glad though to not be in a colder clime like <st1:country-region><st1:place>Russia. There I heard that it didn’t get above -19c today, now that is cold. The coldest so far here was further north where it dropped to -22.3c last night. I’m glad to say round my way it’s not been quite that bad, about -14c so far.

The other thing that the cold has caused is a lack of salt. My wife and I were shopping yesterday and when we got to the salt shelf there was none. We used ours like so many are at the moment for the path so are very low on the valuable commodity. The supermarket though had none and so we’ll to be very careful with the little we have, saving it only for cooking. No more salting the path to free it of the ice.

Job hunting is very slow though I did phone the Jobcentre about one the other day. Now I’m just waiting for the application form coming through the post. It’s for a new store that is opening in the area. There was little detain on the job itself and the woman on the phone told me almost as little as was on the web page I saw the job.

Remember that my January sale is still on so head over to Smashwords.com and use one of my codes to get my e-books at a dollar.

1st January 2010

Happy New Year, I hope that it has started well for you all and that the coming year bring you great happiness. Mine started quietly with just me and the family staying up for the bells. Boring I know but as the saying goes, family is everything. As the old year came to the end we all look back on how the year has been. Or at least that is how we writers would like to think of it but really few of us do. There are times in our lives when we do yet for the most part we look forward with a hope that what is to come is better than what has went. Not that it has been that bad, just that it can always be better, right. No matter how good things maybe for us humans we look for more, we want things nicer, we never have enough. It is not greed, it isn’t even selfishness, what it is, is just the drive that keeps driving us to provide for those we love. It is very much what drove our ancestors’ in the hunt for food. Without it would we have the will to continue? I don’t think so. I think I may have had one to many tipples for I’m getting a little deep in my thinking.

Anyways this week I set up some discounts for my e-books on Smashwords.com. This means that if you go there and quote the code when buying one of my books you get it for one dollar. The discount codes last until the beginning of February. You have the choice of e-book formats, so you can find the one that is right for your reader. Here are the codes and next to them the book they are for:

BM99Y          A Winter Journey

LM87Y           Bublos

WY59T           Banshee Angel of Judgement

25th December 2009

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all are having a great day. I’m glad to say I’m the grateful owner of a new pair of slippers, which I really did need. The old ones were starting to talk to me and were really keeping my feet very warm in this cold snap we all find ourselves in. My daughter has done the usual made noise all day but my son has disappeared upstairs with his new games machine (Xbox 360), when I say new it was second hand yet I don’t think he really cares as it was what he wanted.

Chrimbo dinner is soon to be serve so I thought I’d take the time to do my blog with a tut-tut from the wife, though she smiled as she shook her head. We have a friend for dinner, well he had no other place to go and you know this isn’t the time of year to be alone. I know how that feels and it just isn’t something I would wish on anyone. Anyways I’ll need to get back to help put the food on the plate. I hope you all got what you wish as a present and have a warm, loving day.

18th December 2009

One week to Christmas and as always there’s the last minute gift to get or the card that you forgot to send. My wife got the present when she was at the doctors today but the card came this afternoon so we’ll need to send it tomorrow. Strange how the post has gotten later over the years, isn’t it. It’s worse, of course, at this time of year though. It’s easy to say that everything is down to the posties not pulling out their finger enough but isn’t it? Yet we don’t really know what it’s like as we don’t do the job and have little idea of how it has changed over the years.

Played Spellforce 2 all week, finishing the main game last night. Now I have the add-on to start tonight, yet I don’t know if it will be worth it. After all the main title was buggy to say the least and I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original Spellforce. Often I felt that it was a poor add-on at best, which shows why I’m a little wary of Dragon Storm. I may be wrong though so I suppose I’ll need to check it out to see.

11th December 2009

The hunt for a job has come to a standstill as Christmas approaches. Not really a surprise as the job market is very quiet at this time year and it won’t improve until after the New Year. In fact it will be the end of January before I’m likely to see it pick up again. Of course I still have to continue the search even though I know there isn’t much of a chance of finding anything.

I have now made my books available in E-book format through Smashwords.com. I have thought about it for a while since being told about the site but only now decided that it would be a good idea. For one it gives readers the choice of formats and it also opens up another market for my books. It was a lot of work to reformat it to Smashwords standards so they would be able to get the premium distribution, opening up the possibility of it getting onto Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, as well as other online sites. In the end it all comes to giving the customer the right to choose how they wish to view my books and that can only be a good thing, right?

I’ve also been spending a little too much time playing Spellforce 2. It’s not as good as the first one. Three times I hit bugs that have caused me problems. On one occasion it completely crash and the other two times it just froze graphically. For a game to be still so unfinished even after it has been released as an Ultimate pack or Gold edition is at the very least annoying. Still it is playable enough for me to waste many hours fighting my through each map with more still to do.

4^th December 2009

By mid-week I gave up trying to beat the block that has held me locked in an iron grip and decided to lose myself in Spellforce 2. It wasn’t my first choice as I checked out some other games but found they weren’t to my taste so quickly shelved them. Between each I sat staring again at the computer hoping the Muses would visit something on me. Nothing stirred in my mind so in the end I decided that Spellforce 2 with its mixture of strategy and roll playing would be a good way to let the ice that surrounds my mind to melt.

With the festive season fast approaching I think it will be after the New Year before I return to Banshee 2. With the pressures, that we all find at this time of year, lifted I’m sure I will find creativity flowing more easily. Yes I have most of the gifts for Christmas in, thanks to my wife. Actually she usually sees to most of that leaving me only to get her present. As you may already know I got her a Wii, which she already has. For this reason I got her a few other presents to open on the day. Nothing as expensive as the Wii was but still I’m sure she will love the two books and the CD. I also got her a small gold ring with some inexpensive stones set into. The books are from one of her favourite authors, Catherine Cookson; whilst the music CD is Meka’s new album. I know she’ll love them all and it never cost me too much. That is important when the budget is limited and with the job front being so slow I have to keep a close eye on the pennies.

Comments:

E-e-r-r-r

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Posted by Anonymous 16:03:48 05.12.2009;

27^th November 2009

Writers block has held me in its grip all week. Sitting staring at a blank page with the only the lines that I wrote last week on it hasn’t helped. I’ve reread what is there but I can’t seem to find the words to take the tale forward. I’ve even stared at the plot that I have but it doesn’t give me that push to get on with Banshee 2. So the week has stretched itself out yet now I’m at the end of the week I wonder where it has gone.

It’s been a very dark week with all the rain. Flooding has hit many parts of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK but finally we saw the sun today. It has been almost two week since it showed face in the sky. Thick clouds have made most days so dull that I’m surprise to see the plants in the garden haven’t withered, never mind being drowned by all the rain. Any more and I think we all may be washed away out to sea. It’s not funny yet there has been a lot over the past month. The weather men are saying that it should be drier this weekend, let’s hope.

20^th November 2009

It’s been a bleak week and not just because of the weather. I’ve been troubled with writers block, only managing a couple of hundred words. I suppose it isn’t a surprise with being made unemployed again. Yet at the same time I was expecting to be made jobless, so you would have thought that I’d keep the wind in my sails. Regardless of the reason I’ll get through it, with any luck soon and get on with my next story.

One good thing of the week was that I got the missing serial code for Spellforce 2. If you’ve been following my blog you will know that I got the game last year but the serial on the box was the wrong one. The shop I got it from refused to replace it or give me back my money. When I got in touch with Trading Standards, they gave me the run-a-round, refusing to help. I then contacted the makers of the game and though they did send a nice email promising that they would look into the matter I never heard back. I sent some more emails but still nothing. Well this week I tried another search of the net for the serial and found one that worked. Now I can play the game when I want rather than it just gathering dust.

I also joined Twitter this week after joining another site FReado. Freado is a little like Authonomy but more geared for readers. I put up a section of Bublos hoping to gain interest. The site talked about Twitter being linked to them so I thought it a good idea to see what it was like. I’m still at the finding my way around stage. Other wise I’m not sure I’m doing it right but still we all have to start some where.<o:p>

13^th November 2009

Friday the 13^th and my internet went on the blink, don’t you just hate that? I do. In the end I had to delete my software before reinstalling. It didn’t go smoothly though. After searching for the disk I had to download it with another computer but it wouldn’t install. Each time I tried it would just hang there doing nothing. In the end, after another more fruitful search, I got it back up. What caused the problem in the first place I will never know but reinstalling seems to have fixed it for now.

It’s been a wasted week as I have done nothing more than read a book, which I still have to write a review for. Scarecrow by Darren G. Burton kept me glue for several days. I also went to the interview at the jobcentre, I don’t sing on for over a week. I got the letter today telling me how much I’m entitled to; of course they are taking money off till December because of Tax Credit rollover. Though the rollover is good, it comes in a lump sum and never seems to go far enough. This leaves a few very tight weeks ahead but as always we’ll get through it. As usual the government gives and then it finds a way to take it back, at least from those that need it the most. Or am I being unfair?

6^th November 2009

It was a long week at work, time just dragging by. Got laid off today though, at least I got the week out of it. Phoned the jobcentre as soon as I got home, got an interview for Tuesday first thing. It’s a drag that I have to go back to signing on again but needs must. I’ve luckily enough to have managed to save most of what I need to get my wife’s Christmas. I’m getting her a Wii, she had a loan of a friend’s last year and enjoyed it a lot. Since then she’s been wanting one, so I have been saving my pennies to get it. I’ll go to Amazon for it as its cheaper there, saving me a lot.

I’ve spent a lot of time reading or should I say catching up on reads I owed on Authonomy this week. I like to comment on books of those that have left their opinion of mine. I also enjoy looking at sci-fi, being a fan of that genre. I know it may seem strange since I write horror but I think both often cross over one another. My writing hasn’t really done so. Though in the past I have started a fantasy story just never managed to get round to ever finishing it. It was a good idea but I just never really got into my stride, plenty of idea’s just none that seemed to fit the tale. In the end what I did has lain in the drawer for years. In the end horror was so much more fun to work on, at least for me.

Now I’ll have more time to get my self into the next story and you all know what that should be. I never managed to get the energy to do anything last weekend. Instead I went on a cleaning spree around the house, by that I mean the kitchen. I cleared unused crockery into a box which I put in the loft. At the same time the wife want the Christmas decorations down though not to put up till next month. Till then they’ll be stored in a cupboard for easy access. I also approved Bublos this week so now I await it arriving on Amazon and other online stores. I will put a link to it once it does form the horror section of this site.

30^th October 2009

The work ran out on Tuesday. Mainly due to materials not coming in when they should have. This led to everyone being sent home till Monday. That’s when the materials are now expected; let’s hope it turns out that way. If so I think I should get another week or two out of the job. This isn’t bad as it will give me just enough to get my wife her Christmas present.

I approved Bublos for distribution this week. Now the wait for it to arrive on the pages of Amazon. I think I did a good job, that was till I tried promoting it on Lulu and someone pointed out a mistake. How many did I miss? I hope not many. I don’t think there is but what can I do. After all I can’t afford an editor or to even change it now. I wish I could though that would make life too easy, wouldn’t it. So not much I can do now other than hope that anyone that does buy it doesn’t notice any mistakes and enjoys it.

As for the next story, I never managed to find the energy. Somehow after getting home on Tuesday I felt washed out. This doesn’t mean that I just sat about doing nothing feeling sorry for myself. No, rather I found things that needed done about the house. Cleaning mainly, not the most enjoyable way of spending time but it kept me busy. At the same time I’m able to get the house back into shape after decorating the livingroom. Its amazing how thing’s around the house gets neglected when sprucing up one room. Well at least it kept me from just hanging around the house with little to do.

23^rd October 2009

Fitting a new carpet tomorrow. When that’s done we, my family, can get the livingroom back the way it should be. At the moment my desk has one of the drawers blocked by a chair. It should be fun putting the carpet down because I’ll be lifting the old one at the same time. My son will help; well I need the help moving the furniture.

I got my proof copy in this week of Bublos. The wife is reading through it just now and she has only found one mistake, which is good. Hopefully that is all she will find, that way I can approve the book for distribution. Then it’s on with writing Banshee 2. I didn’t do any writing this week, too tired with more overtime at work. Though I have been thinking about it a lot more. I don’t know if any of the ideas will be of use but some of them are interesting. I’ve also been mulling over the plot and how the characters will be carried on the journey to the scenes in my head. It will be good to see how it develops. I hope that I might do some work on it this week end but I’ll have to wait and see.

Sometimes it seems like the days just flyby before I have time for anything. I suppose that’s just the way things are when you’re busy. The days taken up by work and the few hours left before you have to get some sleep is filled with the family or TV or countless other things. The effort to find some time for you quickly gets swallowed. More effort is something I think I have to make to find those few hours to write. At times though you just can’t get in the zone, so to speak. I think that has plagued me over the summer. There were many reasons though I can’t blame anyone but me for that. At the same time it helped me sort Bublos, making it better.

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16^th October 2009

It has been a long week. Mainly because of three hours over time I did on Monday. I had another hour on Wednesday. As you can imagine I’m glad that it is now the weekend. No overtime this weekend so a chance to relax though I do have things that still need done in the livingroom. Those shelves still need to go up. I didn’t find the time last weekend as I had to repaint them. The wife gave them one coat but she doesn’t keep very well so that was all she could manage. It won’t take me long though to get them onto the wall, finally finishing everything off.

I did dig deep though to get Bublos ready for this weekend. I still have two chapters to go through again but should, provided I don’t have problems, be able to publish it through Lulu. I’m looking forward to getting it out there into the wild. Of course I’ll need to get the proof copy and give that to the wife to have a look again to see what she thinks of the changes and see if she can spot any errors. I’m hoping that there aren’t any as this will mean more editing as well as another proof before approving it for distribution. Eight weeks from approving it I’ll see it on Amazon. Then I might be able to concentrate on Banshee 2.

I think it was the fact that I haven’t published Bublos which was slowing me down with the new one. I kept going back in my mind to Bublos. In a way it was good that I delayed it, for it has allowed more time to try and find where the story needed work or more. It helped a little putting it up on Authonomy for it gave me the view point of others, which always helps. Anyways I still have two chapters to go.

9^th October 2009

I’m working overtime tomorrow. Wish I wasn’t but needs must to fill an order. Still I’m off on Sunday. My mate Mickey started on Wednesday. He needed it to as he just recently passed his driving test. His dad has got him a run around, which Mickey needs to insure before his dad will let him have it. The insurance is more than the car cost because he just got his licence; it was a shock to say the least.

Sunday I’ll need to finish all those little jobs to get the livingroom back into order. My shelves at the computer need to go back up after another coat of paint. The wall clock, a cheap thing I got as a free give away as part of some promotion years ago, needs new holes drilled. You know all the tiny things that finish off making the main family room of the house more your own space.

I did some work on Bublos, more still to do. As I said there weren’t a lot of comments on Authonomy but some of what was said was of some use. I will try to get more of it reworked this weekend. Though I’m at work tomorrow I don’t have to be there till nine so I get an extra hour in bed, which should give more energy to do some rewriting. I was hoping to get more done this week on it than I managed and so was looking forward to making headway this weekend. I’ll just need to make a bigger effort.

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2^nd October 2009

Feeling tired tonight, haven’t slept well most of the week. I’ll catch up on some of it this weekend by having a long lie in tomorrow. It’s not that I stay up late when working, I’m in bed by eleven. Just one of those times when you get so tired that sleep doesn’t want to come.

The decorating is almost done, only a few small things to do before reassembling the living room. Shelves to paint and then put back up, the clock need a new screw hole drilled and the fire surround has to be given another coat of paint. It will be good to get the job done so the main room can get back to normal.

I have also to start the final, I hope, look at Bublos. I’m hoping to go ahead and publish it through Lulu in the next few weeks. Before that I thought, taking in what comments I got through Authonomy, I’d check it through again. It can only make it better or at least that is the plan. I only got a limited number of helpful comments though I did try to get more. What was there didn’t go into much detail so I’ll need to work hard to find where the work is needed.

I did get some good news work wise, I will be working for another couple of weeks. Just the kind of thing you want at this time of year. All the orders are small so unless something larger comes in it won’t last beyond the end of this month. Still I can’t complain as I was supposed to finish this Wednesday coming.

25^th September 2009

Got a phone call at half eight on Wednesday morning asking me in I could start back at work that morning. Two weeks this time is the promise. It has been an easy few days working on the turntable. It seems there’s a few small orders but nothing like I would have expected this time of year. I suppose that’s due to the downturn in the world economy. A couple of months worth of work to get Xmas paid for would have been good but you take what you get and make the most of it.

My wife and my friend Mickey finished off the lining paper leaving me to paint the walls this weekend. I have the fire surround to paint as well. I can move it away from the wall so no worries there. The inset will be black whilst the rest is getting painted white. The fire wall is going to be chocolate brown and the other walls shall be cream. It should be nice when it’s finished. It’s amazing how long it takes when you’re trying to get it right. There was more filling to be done at the start of the week, which I got done before getting the call to work. The council never do everything; in fact you usually find that when you call them they try to get out of their obligation to do the work. Miss a weeks rent and they’ll be at your door to see why. Local authorities, what can you do with them?

18^th September 2009

A week of painting and still there is more to do. Decorating is good once you finish but can be such a pain as it eats up the days. It has left me little time for much else though I am almost finished with the first chapter of my next tale. The smell of gloss is giving me a headache as it always does. I don’t mind emulsion but gloss just makes me feel ill. I’ll be glad when it’s done, I can tell you. I like the prep work to get everything ready to look fresh and new. Of course I also enjoy the feeling when you look at it when it’s done. Hopefully that won’t take much now. My wife will do the lining paper and I will coat it in the colours of her choice. I just hope she doesn’t change her mind half way through, hehehe.

Tonight I’m going to relax with a drink with my friend Mickey. He was around giving me a hand during the week. He did his driving test yesterday, first time and he passed. My wife and I got him a joke card to congratulate him on his achievement. I don’t drive which is probably for the good. As a younger man I was more interested in driving but neglected the need for going legal, to my shame. At times though I wish I had learned to drive properly yet at the same time I believe I wouldn’t be very good at it. For that reason as much as anything holds me back from learning. Still there moments when it would be good to have the ability, never mind the vehicle. That is usually in the early hours when waiting for a bus to take you to work or home at night. At those times you know that if you could drive then you would have the extra half hour in bed or be home that bit sooner. Then again you would also have the expense that goes with cars, maintenance, insurance and of course tax. The things that make you poorer.

11^th September 2009

Finally the council has replastered the walls that crumbled when stripped them a few weeks ago. Now we can start getting on with the decorating. I’ll be glad to get it done and get the living-room back to normal. As you can imagine it isn’t the only place in a state, my bedroom has become a dumping ground for the things taken out of the main room till the work is done.

I’ve also been working on my next story. I’m still on the first chapter and don’t seem to be making much headway so far. Still that’s the way it goes sometimes. At least I know where the story is going, that helps. I just have to get into a flow with it then everything should roll along at a better pace. I have also uploaded the full of Bublos to Authonomy to get feed back. At the same time I’ve put my other books on private for now. Too many people were looking at A Winter Journey when I need them to look at the newer tale. With the feedback I hope to find the week spot in my latest and therefore make it a stronger read.

Something has been nibbling at my blueberries. There aren’t a lot on the bush as I only got it this year, so it’s still young. The few berries that it has sprouted are still ripening but already the wildlife round here is taking an interest in the sweet fruit. My gooseberry bush was a cheaper buy so I don’t expect anything for a year or two. It is growing nicely though and you never know next year. I hope in the end to be able to use both bushes, if I get enough fruit, to make wine. I don’t think though that the two bushes would give enough berries, I’ll wait and see.

4^th September 2009

It’s been a long week suffering with the bug I caught last week. It left me just wanting sleep, which is all I seemed to do. I even had to get my wife to call the jobcentre to tell them I couldn’t sign on. They sent out a form to fill in that was done when I got out of bed feeling like a truck had run me down. Anyways the wife posted it back to them the following day and we got paid our benefit on time. It surprised me as I thought that we would have to wait till the form was processed but luckily not.

I have missed out on doing anything because of how rough I was. No job searching, no checking out the sites on the web like Authonomy and even my garden has been left for me other half to see to.

Luckily I am now feeling a lot better and will be getting back to normal. I have plans to get on with Banshee 2 this weekend. I also want to put more of Bublos onto the Authonomy site. I’m still trying to get more feedback on it before deciding how to move forwards with it. Lulu has sent me an email this week saying that they are trying to sort out problems they are having with Amazon.co.uk. It shows that they haven’t forgotten about me at least or that’s how the email made me feel. They have also changed their packages and it reminds me of the old system that first caught my eye. Yes it cost a little more but if the service is back as good as it used to be who can complain. As I said though first for more feed back before I make my mind up. It also lets me see how Lulu shapes up over the next few weeks.

28^th August 2009

You know that feeling you get when you’re about to come down with a nasty cold or flu. Well I’m suffering from that, hence why I a little late writing this blog this week. I went for a snooze in the hope that a bit of rest will head off whatever I’m in for. Not much hope I know because we all know what’s for you won’t go past you, right.

Anyways what else have I been doing to keep boredom at bay? First I got a light to encourage my Lemon trees as the bad summer has left them struggling and the weather folk promised us a heat wave. I was a kid in ’76 which was a real heat wave. This year we got two weeks of warmer than normal weather and they call that the heat wave, nothing like covering your back. The light I got was cheap but offers the plants the equivalent of 240 watts yet because of the energy bulbs only uses 44 watts, not bad eh.

Out in the garden my Blueberry bush and Gooseberry bush are coming on well. Though my tomatoes aren’t doing so well, really what I need is a proper greenhouse. What I have is fine as a propagator to get them started but not much when the need the room to spread out. I wish I could afford one but like most things it will have to sit on the list of things I’ll get if I win the lottery.

My venture into decorating the living room now awaits the council to send out some plasterers. The Inspector came and has put us down for the repairs but it could be a few weeks before they come. I’ll be glad when they do then I can get on with making the livingroom liveable again. It never ends does it?

Comments (1):

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Posted by Femme Gratuit Mure 04:58:39 11.10.2009;

21^st August 2009

Signed on, on Monday but it could be two or three weeks for my claim to be sorted. This means no income till it is, lean times ahead unless someone at the jobcentre decides to do some actual work. If they do then it will be sooner rather than later.

I’ve been stripping wallpaper the past couple of days. My mate Mickey came round to give me a hand. I was glad he did, the more hands the lighter the work, not that it was hard. Being a council house though stripping the wallpaper means one thing, as the wallpaper comes off the walls so does the plaster. Whole lumps fell from the walls which we now need to wait for the council to come and fix it. Of course first we have to wait for the Inspector to see what need repairing. Usually the Inspector is quite quick in coming out but from him coming out to the workers turning up to fix a problem is a month or two, some times longer. So now we have the joy of living in an echo box, every time one of us speaks the echo off of the bare walls amplifies the sound so it sounds like we’re shouting. Now I’m finding myself whispering almost.

I’ve been having a break from writing this week, instead I’ve been playing games. First it was Civ 4, now it’s Dungeon Siege 2. DS 2 is a good game but there have been a few oversights like when you load the game, you aren’t where you saved it but away at the beginning. As I said a few oversights, which you have to look past; other than that it is a good game with plenty to keep you busy and tuned into it. I can see myself playing for another week or so.

14^th August 2009

Well I was right, I got three weeks work and now I’m back to signing on. More work could come in at anytime as the Christmas orders arrive. In the meantime I’ll have more time to work on Banshee 2. I got a start on the first chapter, which is a start and I have the plot worked out. At the same time I have begun to format Bublos. More work to do to it before it is ready for when I can go forth with publishing. I’ve still to find a publisher though Lulu has shown signs of improving its customer support. I am waiting to hear back from them though concerning some issues. They are minor ones, yet I might have to put them to the side if I wish to get Bublos into print. Mind I’ll need t wait till I have the money to go forward as the cash has been spent. I held onto the money for a while but you know how it goes when you have it burning a hole in your pocket. It happens even more when you have kids and they are in need of new clothes for school. They’re back to school next week. Oh the peace and quiet that it will bring, only joking. My kids aren’t really that noise, except when they’re arguing, which luckily isn’t too much. My son is actually looking forward to getting back to school, though my daughter hasn’t said anything. I’m guessing she’ll also be happy to get back after the six week break.

7^th August 2009

Slept in for work yesterday but still managed to get there in time. Though it left me feeling like it was Saturday for some reason. A strange day all in it was, the heat added to that lazy weekend feeling. Today was all go in comparison even though there was little slacking yesterday. Today was busier as I had the machine I’m work going full tilt. Four bins were filled with waste that gets recycled by another firm.

Lulu seemed to be looking at my complaint more seriously. A member of staff by the name of Nick is looking into it and said he would keep me notified of progress. Now that is what customer support should be like. Maybe I might finally get everything sorted soon then I can get back to publishing Bublos. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime I’ve started sorting out a plot for Banshee 2. Detective Munroe will play a part in this one and Mandy’s family. Micky one of the characters from the first book is Mandy’s great nephew, so that will be the tie in. I’m enjoying working out the details to this one first, usually I just dive in and start writing. This time I’m setting out the plot first so I know where I want to take it. I wrote half a plot last year for it but I can’t find it now. It has forced me to start from scratch yet I think this is good because I have let the ideas from the first inspiration grow and mature a little. The plot, I hope, will add to that making for a better tale. Well that what I’ll be trying to do this weekend. At least Saturday won’t feel like Thursday or so I hope.

31^st July 2009

I was looking at Createspace this week as a way to publish Bublos. After checking it out though I realized that it doesn’t offer much in the way for distribution. At first I thought that their Pro Plan would offer at least distribution through all of its parent company’s many sub domains but unfortunately no. This is sad because if it had then it would have given me a way for my books to be on all of Amazons’ sites world wide, as they are the ones that own Createspace. Ah well, it doesn’t and they don’t.

I will keep looking though the cost of other publishers seem very high, from $399 up till you reach the silly money. I’ll need to save a lot before I can afford to publish again by the looks of things. Saying that, if Lulu were to get around to sorting things out, then I might be able to get on with setting up Bublos for the market. I don’t think that is going to happen though, it’s been to long and they don’t seem to really wish to answer my calls for them to come clean.

Whilst I save I can start writing my next story, Banshee 2. There’s a sub title that I won’t reveal at the moment. Mandy will be back for the funeral of one of the two men that died in the first book. I’m still working out their relationship, as there is a gap in the years separating them. Aunt, Great Aunt? As I said something to figure out this weekend, maybe.

24^th July 2009

Started work again, Adcraft phoned me on Tuesday. So that was me back at work by the next day. It’s only for three week, with the usual, if more work comes in it could be longer. It would be nice but three weeks is better than nothing, especially as I had to pay out for a new power pack. The computer is fine though and the new PSU is a Tagan 680w, plenty of power there. It’s also the quietest unit I’ve had, which is an added bonus.

Got another answer from Lulu but it just adds to the first problem. I got a reply from my question regarding withholding tax. They said all my sales were from the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US none in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK. So that still leaves me wondering where the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK sales are. I know I have had some but they aren’t on my account. Saying that, others have been told that Amazon seems to be using a <st1:country-region><st1:place>US printer for books sold through them. This means all Amazon sales are classed as <st1:country-region><st1:place>US sales. This all seems to be a little confusing for me. Mind others are saying that they are missing more sales than has been reported. In the end it still leaves me wondering about my own troubles with Lulu. After all they haven’t given me anything but the run-around. I even was told off from a Lulu staff member for posting about my doubts concerning getting help from support in the forums. If Lulu doesn’t want to hear people complaining the sort out customers’ problems, don’t ignore them or give them the brush off with lame excuses.

I have four more chapters to edit in Bublos this weekend. I’m also getting some feedback from fellow writers on Authonomy.com. I’ll wait for more before I decide to make any more changes as I want to get to my next story. A follow up to Banshee Angel of Judgement is beckoning and sitting Bublos to the side till I can get it published might be a good thing. It would then let me give it a fresher look at it and give me an idea of where I need to fix it. I will at one time put the whole story on Authonomy for a bit but not yet and only for a short time, to get feed back with any luck.

17th July 2009

I’m writing this on my wife laptop. Why? Well mine blew the PSU the other day. I got a new one yesterday, only for that to malfunction today. When things go bad they really seem to go down the swanny. I only hope that all the trouble with power packs hasn’t caused any other damage to other components. Because of all this I’m unable to do any more work on my story or had much of a connection to the web, which is depressing to say the least. It’s amazing how much we become dependant on the tech around us. Yes, we hear the horror tales of losing our link to the web but it is only when it happens to us that we see what others are going on about. After all there was a time when we weren’t linked through the WWW. Yet we all managed very well without it. What did we do that used up our time so well that we had no need to interact with the wider world? Before the web we watched endless TV, listened to the radio, went to the pub and breathed fresh air whilst going for a walk. We still do these things yet, somehow found we have time to talk to new friends from the other side of this small blue globe. The past few nights I have been a bored to say the least. Last night I was so glad to finally find I could once again get lost in the great digital universe and at the same time work on Bublos. Today saw me back to using my wife’s computer to do those things I think of as essential, checking on my emails, etc, etc. I only hope that my luck changes soon as I don’t think I could stand any more of the kind I’ve been getting of late. With Lulu, work and now the computer, well they do say troubles come in threes; let’s hope.

10^th July2009

What a rotten day; though the weather has been good. My job ended today, yes it was supposed to last longer but a contract has been delayed. The day started bad, my water bottle burst in my bag and then I gave myself a nasty knock on the elbow; it still hurts; going to have a big bruise tomorrow. I also got an email from BBB, they got an answer from Lulu but it was the same rubbish they hit me with. As you can imagine this has been adding to that crappy feeling all day as I thought it over. Anyway if Lulu want to cause upset and ignore their users then they can’t be surprised if we start looking closer at their dubious practices. One that I have noticed is that all my sales to date, whether they are in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>USA or else where, have be subject of the famous Withholding Tax. Now correct me if I am wrong but is that not supposed to be only for US sales? If so maybe it is my duty to looking into, who I should report this matter to – the IRS or Inland Revenue? I might not be taken seriously; then again it does look dodgy to me. As I said before If they treat their customers badly when they have concerns then they can’t just expect us to sit back and take it, can they? No.

As you can tell from my rant it has been a very, very bad day.

3^rd July 2009

Lulu still hasn’t addressed my problems with them. I did get a reply from support but it was unhelpful to say the least and by the answer they gave me, it looked like they failed to actually read what I was saying. I have now gone to the Better Business Bureau to make a complaint to them. Whilst at their site I noticed that Lulu is being reviewed by them at this time. I only hope that this action will lead to Lulu sorting things out for me and others but by the way things have went so far I don’t hold much hope of it.

Bublos is being re-edited by me after my wife asked a few questions. I thought I had everything neatly wrapped up. Still if I need to work on it some more to get it right then that’s what I need to do. Most of it is background or to explain what happens next to the main character. As I said, I thought the end was answered, hopefully it will be by the time I finish reworking it this time.

On brighter news, I start work on Monday. Again it is with the company that I worked for before, so it is only for three weeks. Still that’s better than nothing and I’m looking forward to be earning again. It may not be my dream job, yet does it really matter when the bills are piling up and the kids are making their never ending demands for the things that they see as essential, no.

26^th June 2009

My Lulu troubles still are on going. I did get word back but it far from resolved the issues I have. I sent in my reply and now await them getting back in touch.

My wife has finished checking over Bublos, making recommendations on where more is needed. Luckily it is in only a couple of places, with more typos than I would like to sort out as well. It’s strange how they always creep into your writing. No matter how hard you work to eliminate them you always seem to find more. Sometimes I think it the word processing package not saving it 100% correctly. That will just be my paranoia though. I got the cover finished for the book and have started searching around for publishers. I did find one or two epulishers which don’t ask for cash and so look like they offer a good service. What I didn’t see on there sites was forums to gauge what others experience is with them. More research is needed before I decide how to go. I have the time as at the moment my job search is going no-where. The job market is very empty for those of us with few skills. Well not a great deal I can do about that, just keep searching and hope that something comes my way soon.

19^th June 2009

Still not sorted my problems out with Lulu, I’ve been force to move my query to the Escalation forum. I don’t hold out much hope of them getting back in touch but have to give them a couple of days to see. It hasn’t stopped me finishing Bublos though, so that one good thing. My wife is reading through it checking for those little errors that I have missed. While she does that I’m trying to design the cover. With a couple of idea’s to play around with, I don’t think it will take me to long. I’ve got my graphics pad to help make the whole process easier, there’s nothing worse than trying to draw on a computer with a mouse. I know from experience because that was how Teddy the Bear was done and I did have to fight with the mouse to get it to do anything. Don’t get me wrong the pad makes it easier but you still have to learn to use it. It’s not like when you drew at school with pencil and paper. Then you looked at the paper and your hand was there, unlike with the pad where you aren’t watching your hand; as what you are sketching is appearing on the monitor screen, with your hand out of view. You quickly adjust which is good; leaving everything down to how good you are as well as how good your ideas are.

12^th June 2009

What is happening with Lulu support recently? I got in touch with them last week over some issues that have been bothering me recently as well as sales that haven’t appeared on my account though I know I made them because I ordered the books myself and got them from Amazon. Yes Lulu has to wait for Amazon to tell them about the sales but other sales that I made in March have shown on my account that I also knew about, not from me though. It doesn’t garner confidence in Lulu, especially as I have now waited over a week for support to get back to me about my concerns. All of this is not making me want to continue using Lulu though they are cheap. With the Social finally sorting out my claim and me nearing completion of Bublos, I was hoping to get on with publication of my book. I will get on with finishing Bublos and see how things go with Lulu, though I shall be holding off in getting the book put to print. I’m not happy about it yet I feel I have little choice than to look at more expensive competitors that will require more saving. Still if I get a better service then maybe it is the way to go. I’ll just need to see how things go at Lulu until then.

Comments (2):

Alternatives I looked at a few Will, the cheapest was compatible with Lulu at around £9 per book until you started adding on a £50 minimum charge check your uploaded .pdf file. The next was 10 books minimum at around £300-400. A halfway house in editing and formatting your manuscript which again is compatible with lulu's offers. I just wonder if you pay more if lulu will up their game in terms of service.

Posted by Col 19:38:50 13.06.2009

I'm hoping Lulu will get things sorted without it costing more but I would be happy for them to charge me what they use to under the old package they used to offer, if it meant the service was the way it was too. I have a lot to think about.

Posted by BillyYoung 16:43:43 14.06.2009

5^th June 2009

Had a break from working on my book last week-end but was right back at the editing on Monday. I’m also looking for quotes from the bible as headers for each chapter. So far half of those needed have been found; it’s not easy when looking for the right ones to complement the piece of writing. It is also interesting as I find things I had forgotten or missed when I last read the passages in the good book. I have had to use the net to help find some verses, whilst others I knew. The editing/proofreading is certainly helping improve what I have though there are still one or two lines that I just can’t seem to get right. I’m giving myself more time to work on it as with my current situation financially I thought it best. Once I have things sorted with the Social I can think about going ahead with publishing this book, which could be July though. Still look on the bright side, it helps me spend more time looking it over, sorting anything that needs fixing.

I also can give myself time off from writing at the weekend. Give myself a chance to thing about what the story may need. I got a game for my birthday, Hand of God Legend, which I will be able to lose a few hours with. I’ll need to check to see if there’s any online help, though I enjoy gaming I’m not a gamer by any standard. The main thing is that I enjoy it but I know there is more to life than banging on a joypad.

Comments (2):

Hi BillySome time ago you mentioned my son Will Goddard's book on your website (thank you very much! It is very encouraging for him). How did you hear about him? He has just finished his second book...also available via his website. www.willgoddard.co.uk Thanks very much! Good luck with your new book

Posted by Liz Goddard 07:45:29 06.06.2009

Hi Liz, I heard about his book on Lulu and I do like to encourage fellow authors, especially when they are 11 years old. You must be very proud of him. Tell him to keep up the good work. :D

Posted by BillyYoung 15:11:56 06.06.2009

29^th May 2009

I finished the first draft, which includes the epilogue. I wrote to endings, both are similar yet I need to make up which fits best with the story. I’ll take it under advisement once I let the wife have a look; saying that though she won’t get it till I’ve sorted out as many of the typo’s and other mistakes that I made writing it. It also gives me a chance to look over the rewritten parts to make sure I sorted any inconsistency problems, I’m sure I got them all; I think I did though.

Before I go over the book again I’m going to have a weekend of from it. I’m going to have a game of Civilisation and put writing out of my mind, as much as I can. Especially Bublos so that I can look at it with fresh eyes after the weekend; this way it might be easier for me to see where the work is needed. As it goes with money at the moment I might to have the funds to publish this coming month as I had hoped because the social has decided that they’re going to put my wife and I through the same hassle they did over Christmas. This has the effect that I may need the money I had saved to see us through the coming hardship that the brew is causing. I tell you if I was to stick a needle in my arm filling my head with smack, then I would get everything going including a bus pass. Yes they have an illness but it’s self inflicted so I have no sympathy for them, not when I have to struggle because I’m willing to work. Rant over as I’ll just have to hope I can save somewhere else and not need to use my book money.

Was out gardening this week again, mowing the lawn front/back. Got a very large bag of compost at B&Q for £2.50, it was reduced because it was burst open. As I needed compost to replant my seedling peppers I just had to grab it. What’s left will do for other things, the strawberries when they also are in need of more root room. 70kg of compost for that money though was just too good a bargain to turn my nose up at.

By the way I thought I would like you to see the synopsis for the back of the book:

In the book of Revelation it mentions a scroll with seven seals. What if this scroll was hidden on earth? When an old man dies in <st1:place>Liverpool his flat is emptied by Joe and his friends and a strange looking book comes into Joe’s keeping. Soon he finds what trouble comes with the book when he watches his friend Toby being tortured then killed before his eyes. A man he recently met rescues him from possibly the same fate. Soon he finds out the man that saved him is more than just a man and that those that are after him aren’t what they appear to be. Demons and Angels don’t really exist yet Joe now knows they do and the book mustn’t fall to the wrong side or it may spell the end of everything.

Comments (3):

bZzADLhcplant in house

Posted by kardozo 00:46:30 30.05.2009

JzZlWNEpgduOFSwqJRPred sea

Posted by lankanvin 20:54:57 01.06.2009

GJiUWHvcobirthday gift

Posted by chb908 01:12:47 03.06.2009

22^nd May 2009

I’ve been out making up a gate to finish off the fence I built at the side of my house. My son and friend Mickey helped though I did the major work myself. I took a six by six fence panel, cut it down and then made my gates out of that. Yes you read right, I have two as the gap was just a bit big for one. Making it from a panel keeps it looking like just part of the fence yet at the same time keeps them light. The real test will be later in the year when the high winds come in. I think it should be fine though I might make sure by getting a or rather make a latch for the top as I can’t seem to find what I have in mind anywhere. It shouldn’t be too hard to get some bit and bobs to make up what I want.

I’ve done most of the re-writing of Bublos though I still have the epilogue as well as some reworking to keep the story consistent. Some issues crept into it as I added some content though it was only minor things that should be easily sorted. After I have that sorted out I have the next part of the job to do, proof reading/editing. As you can tell it’s not the most favourite part of creating a story, still it is important. I have to format it before I go forwards with it to Lulu for publishing, that’s not so bad though. I do hope to have it all done for sometime in June but that is only hoping. We will see how I manage to get on in the coming week.

Comments (2):

Best of luck with the proof reading.
Been through the whole job search thing in the eighties. Now its my youngest daughter turn although see has managed to pick up a part time summer job at a visitors centre as PR role. She's tec'ing at the Guardian Hays festival this week. She likes Edinburgh and is hoping to get chosen for tec'ing there - only expenses paid but good for contacts to future freelance work in media.
Posted by Col 09:33:37 26.05.2009

I hope she gets the Edinburgh gig.

Posted by BillyYoung15:11:25 26.05.2009

15^th May 2009

That’s me registered with the Jobcentre now. It was a rapid reclaim which made the whole process very quick and painless. Still I do hate it, signing on that is though I don’t actually sign on the dotted line till the 25^th of this month. When checking for advertised jobs on the website I find little has changed from the last time I did so. As things go though I didn’t expect that much would be different after all it was only just over a month ago since I was last claiming unemployment benefit.

I’m hoping to get out this weekend and cut my grass. It seems to grow at an accelerated fashion this time of year; no sooner have you went over it with the mower, than you need to do it again. I was out working in the garden during the week, really just pottering about for something to do than actually doing anything in particular. My plants are coming on well though, the onions need thinning out and I’m still waiting on the tomato plants bursting into life. I’m sure that in the next week I should see the first of the pushing their way through the soil.

I’ve been working hard with my writing. Bublos is starting to shape up as the rewrite and editing of the middle of the book is starting to show fruit. There is still a bit to go as well as more of the old editing after I finish this reworking of it. It is still on track, fingers crossed, for a June release; which is what I am hoping for. Last night I redid chapter 15, which was 13 but with added content, it may need finishing tonight when I look at it; saying that it might not, I’ll just have to wait and see how my mind flows tonight.

Comments (2):

LLBRHiWill
Hope you have some success soon in the job hunting.
Que. Out of interest how did LLBR get to review your books. i.e. did they request a copy of your manuscript or were they able to obtain it themselves direct from lulu(zero cost).

Posted by Col 07:08:47 22.05.2009;

I sent them a PDF of Banshee Angel of Judgement, which they reviewed.

Posted by BillyYoung 15:05:44 22.05.2009

8^th May 2009

Phoned the Jobcentre today to get signing back on. Like most of us it’s not something I like doing though there is little option. As I said last week, my job came to an end on Wednesday. Now I start looking for more work or win the lotto, which is not likely. Anyways in the mean time I can get on with my writing though I didn’t do any yesterday as I was working on my garden. Finishing of the fence I was putting up. I’ve still got to put a gate on it but I don’t have the materials to do that or the money to get them, so it will wait till I can. My daughter volunteered to paint the fence as well as the hut which I got up at the weekend as hoped. She did a great job; my son helped at first but couldn’t put up with me telling him how to do it. I gave them both a fiver for the effort though my daughter did wonder why I gave her brother the same as she got. That was until I pointed out the fact that he had helped with the fence, mind if it hadn’t been for my mate Mickey I doubt if I would have got it up at all.

This weekend I’ll need to see if I can check on all the links from this site. I believe some have moved or become dead, so I need to check them all again and get them sorted. I also need to add some that I have been planning to add for a while though not found the time to get the work done. So a lot of fun as you can imagine messing about trying to avoid the frustration such things cause.