Help an Indie Writer

 Book Promoters of Twitter

Alan Place - Indie Writer

Each week on Twitter, I get approached by promoters, saying they can help promote my writing to a new level, and asking why I stopped writing?

The best way to help me, and encourage me to write again is to buy a few inexpensive eBooks of mine.

The issue is, while they are correct, greater exposure would possibly help my sales, I have to pay a minimum of $200, which means I will be $200 down, before I begin, that is more than I earned as an Indie Writer in 15 years

Opera Now

 Bergenz

                                                                                                Bergamo  

 Many years ago, when I used to go the Opera, yes, I have seen operas.  At first, my wish was to see Wagner's Ring Cycle, I was stationed in Germany at the time, in the Royal Air Force, so a trip to Bayreuth was plausible. When I checked the sales for the festival, it soon became a high-risk venture. The tickets are so popular, you need to book at least 10 years in advance, so, you have no idea who will be there, or if you will be alive. 

For many years, I had the knowledge of an opera being staged on a lake, my impression was the opera was staged in Bergamo, Italy. I was wrong, the opera is staged in Bergenz, Austria.           

One opera I would have liked to have seen is Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber. The story is a Classical German Romance.

Only Fans Possibility

  I am thinking of opening an Only Fans page

Only Fans Offer

I have had several offers from Only Fans, to become a mature model for the site, and even some ladies asking what is my OF price?

I never gave the matter serious thought as I didn't consider myself attractive to ladies, until last September, when I had masses of requests from ladies in the Bristol area for dates.

What is the reason for my attitude change?

For several months, I have tried to meet a lady who "claims" to live in Bristol, I have had doubts about her from the start of our friendship, she says we're in a relationship, but she refuses to meet me.

So, as far as I am concerned, from August, unless things change drastically, we are over.

 

Where is the UK heatwave?

 A Place in the sun

                                                              The Longest Day

I must have missed the heatwave the forecast predicted.

Here in Bristol, I have had the heating, and lighting on all afternoon. It is unnerving to think, in a month we are at the longest day, and we haven't had more than one day with good weather.

I ask again, Where is the UK heatwave?

Germany couldn't have captured Suez

 Arrogance be thy downfall

The main problem for Germany

The allies fear that the Afrika Korps, under Erwin Rommel, would capture the Suez Canal, was caused by someone hitting the panic button, without seeing the full picture, typical of British Intelligene in WW2.

Hitler, and his staff knew, and told Rommel, his plan to cross Egypt to capture the canal was doomed to fail. Other than the Korps had a dwindling fuel supply, raid by the Royal Air Force based in Malta, and Cyprus kept the Germans on the backfoot.

Montgomery didn't defeat the Germans at El Alamein, he did what he was told to do, not lose the battle. His phrase, "We won't be pushed back anymore," said it all. It wasn't an offensive tactic, it was we'll dig in, and let them drain their supplies.

Hitler's general staff knew, the longer Rommel pushed forward, the more opportunity he had of being cut off, and running out of supplies.

Montgomery or Patton?

 Who was better?

Patton gets my vote

Putting my my Pro-USA stance, in a discussion over who was the better general, Montgomery or Patton, Patton get my vote. WW2 could have been shortened, if the Allies had backed Patton in his plan to hit the Ruhr, instead of fighting to capture Berlin before Russia.

The Reich was on its knees, going for Berlin was a political plan, not a military operation, which is why I favor Patton, he was a soldier, he'd fought through Italy. Montgomery had stopped the Afrika Korps at El Alamein, an operation by the Australian Army is overlookked during that event, an event which was pivotal in stopping Rommel.

Rommel was working against orders from his superiors during the attacks, they knew the closer he got to Egypt, the greater the risk of losing what he'd gained, from over-extended supply lines, the thing that halted the attacks on Russia, as much as the winters

Market Garden was doomed

 The Arrogance of British Intelligence

A Flawed plan

Many historians use the term A Bridge too far to explain the downfall of Operation Market Garden, it is only partially the truth.

The failure of the plan runs deeper than the failure to take the bridge at Arnhem.

The core of the problem was the arrogance of Britirsh Intelligence not to trust the various resistance groups in Europe. From the outset, this was obvious, a Royal Air Force Spitfire, flew a reconnaissance flight over the land XXX Corps tanks were going to travel, the photos showed several gun emplacements, rather than halt the plan, another plane was sent to verify the photos, naturally, they guns were now hidden.

Now, you had the gunners dream, slow moving targets, no room to manouver, and plenty of cover. Hit the front tank, then the back, and take your time.

Ignoring that flaw, the basic logistics of movement were beyond the capability of what was moving, tanks move at a walking pace, going from Normandy to Germany would have been for a jeep to complete, in three days, and here you're expecting tanks to do the job. If the bridges hadn't been blown, the task would have been beyond XXX Corps.

At Arnhem, the Dutch Resistance told British Intelligence, they were NOT fighting old me, young boys, and worn out tanks, but crack Panzer battalions.

Paratroops are good for a quick strike like Mitla Pass, in the Sinai, but they need support ASAP, they fight with what they carry. That is something Adolf Hitler realised after Crete, yet Winston Churchill formed parachute divisions