Are you Curious?

The story behind the eBook 

A topic of interest

Many of my eBook stories have interesting back stories; if you are intrigued as to what lies behind a story drop me a note on the blog.

For example the story here - Nerja - this is a story about faith.

The story is set in Canada, far from where I had the idea, my concept was more a science fiction mystery than a short story on religious beliefs.

The only link between my original idea, and the story which earned TWO 5 star ratings on Amazon is they both feature an aircraft in difficulty.

I had the idea of the story while watching a video of a light aircraft flying over Manchester. The aircraft was flying over office blocks, and I thought "What would happen if it disappeared with all those people in view?"

The story could be considered close to the book The Lost Mesa by Louis L'Amour. Though he is a respected writer of western fiction, this book, his last, I found hard to read. That is something I found with other writers who died shortly after their final books. It raises the question, did they care about the book as they knew they were dying, or did they rely on past glories to sell a lack-lustre story?

Fewer sales for sellers on eBay

 My eBay store is closing

                                                          My eBay buying policy

As my store page on eBay is running down, with a lack of sales this means I have less to spend, the after-effect is I am not able to buy from other sellers on eBay.

This morning, a person on Twitter commented that my latest eBook was of interest to him; I am not holding my breath for a sale. I sent an application to an agent in London two months ago, not hoping for anything; I did mention if the story sold, I was considering turning the romance into a series.

What don't you understand?

 A note to BOOK PROMOTERS on TWITTER

Foreign Language

I often think I talk in several tongues, or at least in a language which has passed into history, why?

Book promoters on Twitter keep trying to get me to pay them to promote my latest eBook, despite repeating myself I have NO MONEY for promotion.

Another futile policy is attempting to convince me my time will come if I write again.

          My light shone too bright for a short time in 2012 when I earned an award

History's Forgotten People

 YouTube favourites

Buying helps the Channel

Another YouTube channel I enjoy watching is History's Forgotten People, it is one of several channels I watch which has an online store where I can purchase goods to help the channel thrive.

Last year, I bought my late wife the book Tasting History with Max Miller, earlier this year, I bought two tee-shirts from Hollywood Mysteries, and I hope to buy another soon.

My wife would approve of the shirt I plan to buy next month, we both would have supported Empress Matilda against her cousin King Stephen, as she was the rightful heir

Why haven't I added to my eBook content on Draft2Digital?

 Draft2Digital / Smashwords

It is a Scam

From the opening of Smashwords, I had my suspicions about the site.

My suspicions centred on how one site could make its owner a multi-millionaire so quickly in competition with Amazon?

It didn't take long before my suspicions were confirmed by reports from other writers.

The site may sell your work, but they keep the fees.

When I first used Draft2Digital it was a reputable sales platform, in contrast to Amazon I was selling eBooks there.

Then things changed, they began using a lending library system which means readers pay a library to take books out, the library pays the distributor, but unless you get masses of sales - the number is unknown - a writer sees nothing.

Two examples of this happened to me; on two occasions I was asked did I plan to write a sequel for a ghost story? I replied, what is the point in writing a sequel for a story, which as far as I could tell had not sold?

Also, I found a new issue with Barnes & Noble which was my main sales platform, not that it concerns me now as I am not writing

Why do I have so few eBooks on my Amazon page?

 Few sales

                                                                  The Bitter Truth

A question I get asked a lot by book promoters on Twitter is why aren't my eBooks on Amazon?

The answer to the question is they were for over a decade, but they never sold. My bestseller sold 15 copies in a decade, that was only because the eBook twice sold seven copies in a weekend; the next bestselling book only sold a dozen, and that had TWO 5-star ratings

Zombiewatch

 WhatsApp 

                                                                   The Faceless ones

The story behind this short story is the story of a double-challenge I set myself.

Challenge 1

Write a story about zombies, as I am not a fan of such films I knew I would not have the passion for it. Technically, what are classed as zombies in the movies are NOT zombies.

There was a man in New Orleans who upset the local witch doctor i, and spent 20 years in a trance, when he was roused he had no recollection of events, though he'd lived through them.

Challenge 2

Sell my story.

Outcome

Success on BOTH challenges, even if the eBook only sold one copy.

The New Era.

I think Zombiewatch is an apt name for the young ladies who contact me via Twitter, asking me to go to WhatsApp, but are unwilling to show their faces

The Faceless ones

Connecting on WhatsApp 

Rude People

I am pretty lenient, and willing to chat to most people, what annoys me is being asked to go from Twitter to WhatsApp by a young lady who is not willing to show her face.

To me, this is the lowest insult. There again, I am old-fashioned.

How do you define being a published writer?

 Alan Place - Published Author

Alan Place - Anthology writer

Technically, I could be classed as a published author since I was 16, when I had a short story published in a magazine in the UK.

Since then I have had articles published in magazines ranging from food, jazz music, country music, and religion.

I have stories in various anthology works, as yet, I have not had a book published in my name

My lost Dragon story

 Alan Place - Children's Author

An Invitation to Write for Charity

13 years ago, a group of writers I used to chat to online, invited me to write some stories for books for charity they were producing for children in the USA.

We had been writing on a site based in Germany for several months prior to my invitation, so they knew my style, and capabilities; I was regarded by many people on the site as one of the best writers on the site.

One of the stories I wrote for the group was a romance about dragons. I thought I had lost all traces of my story, until today while clearing some bags, I came across the book I wrote in, and there was my story. The idea of adding dragons to the title is mine.

The life of a Blog

 The ups and downs of a writer

Meeting a Deadline

I am puzzled by how many readers the blog reaches.

Most of this week I have not written much, mainly because I felt the posts were not being read, with some days not even reaching a dozen readers.

Some days, for various health reasons I didn't blog either, but yesterday gave me new hope for the blog; if only for a short time. The blog had over 500 readers, thanks mainly to readers in Singapore, and the USA.

As I never had a contract to write a story, the only deadlines I needed to care about were set by me. Years ago, when I was writing for three ladies I chatted to, I was writing a series of short stories each week, and one week the deadline came up, but I'd been ill for days, so they asked me to take a break, but I still met my deadline.

Sweet Sixteen

 Alan Place - the Reader

YouTube favourites

All things have their time, and my brief time as a writer is no different.

From now on, I shall spend my time trying to get our garden together, that is going to be a large job, reading, and watching my favourite YouTube channels.

The header does not relate to the many years I tried to be respected as a writer, it refers to the number of readers this blog had yesterday.

Would I believe it?

 Alan Place - Award Winning Author

Am I crazy?

Not that I expect to be accepted by the agent I applied to in London, should the unexpected happen, and I get a contract, I doubt I'd believe it. When I earned my award in 2012 - shown above - it took me weeks to accept I had earned the respect; even when I had the certificate in my hand.

I have been told for years that I am an excellent writer, yet, I have no proof of my success, other than kind words

My other Blog

 Here I am at the edge

                                                                            The Lost Years

Sixteen years ago, I started my first blog called Here I am at the edge, thinking I may be published as an author one day.

I kept being told by colleagues in the writing community, "it could take ten years to get recognition," so I waited, and waited, and waited; it is now 16 years, and I long ago stopped considering being given a contract to write

Trying to find my groove again

  I am going to try to write again

Free short stories

I am going to attempt to enlarge on some of the short stories I have started.

I have many stories to extend, in many genres, hopefully these will pass the hours, and limit the time I can think of my late wife which I fear could lead to depression if I don't attempt a release.

I am hoping my Facebook ban has expired, if for no reason other than FB raised the blog readers.

Was it a SCAM?

TikTok 

Too good to be true

Yesterday, I was approached by a young lady from TikTok?

What she suggested could have been an easy way to earn a few pounds, or it could have been a scam.

What she suggested was to upload the app, and be paid £8 per video I tagged as "like."

For several reasons, I declined the offer, it appeared "dodgy" to me, and at the moment I am too busy to spend time watching videos on TikTok, some are good, many are too stupid to be believable

Which Films am I watching?

My Twitter Profile

Multiple Hindi DVDs for sale on eBay

There is an easy way to see which films I am watching on a night, follow my Twitter Profile, this has a daily tag for film I watch on an evening.

Some of the films will be on sale on my eBay page. some films I had doubles of, as I bought several box sets which meant I had to get a double to get the movie I wished, others I bought, and for several reasons took a dislike to; mainly because they are musicals from the Bollywood era of 1990 2010

Most of my interest is in vintage Bollywood, pre-1990

Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund

 Disabled Vehicle

Economic cutbacks

Five years ago, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund kindly supplied me with a mobility scooter as I am disabled, and cannot walk.

Within months, the government changed the way disabled people get their benefits. I was on Disabled Living allowance, that changed to getting a Personal Independence Payment.

The change from DLA to PIP cost me, and thousands of other people over £30 a week. I said to my wife, there's no point in keeping the EV now, I can't afford to go out, but she said we should keep, on the off chance I could go out to the park, but my legs have got weaker over time, and with her passing in January, I have so much work in the house, and garden, I doubt I would be able to get out (if I could have afforded it)

Yodel Losses

 Mae West

eBay seller

Over a week ago, I ordered these DVDs from a seller on eBay; they were "supposed" to be delivered by Yodel, but they have lost track of them.

This is the reason I use the regular Post Office, as well as some delivery agents have been videoed throwing parcels over fences to speed up their route

Should I buy a PC Game?

Time on my hands 

The Killing Field

My late wife never objected to me coming to my room, and spending time on my computer, but I never felt happy leaving her.

Now the house is coming together, I find myself with time on my hands. Which raises some points, I have the money to buy more PCGames, or I can play I have already bought.

I could also do some writing, as I have several stories I could enlarge, even if only for this blog.

Another option open to me to relax with, is to begin reading again. 

I have several Fantasy WIP projects, I could continue as well

Who was the better dancer?

 The Bollywood Debate

Padmini or Vyjayanthimala?

For many years, there has been a debate in Bollywood as to who was the better dancer Padmini or Vyjayanthimala?

I enjoy watching both ladies dance, and act, my answer will probably disturb some viewers, in my view, the better dancer is Padmini because before acting, she trained as a classical dancer.

As for acting, having seen both ladies, in my opinion there is not a lot between them.

Heartbreak Ridge

 The Return of the Anthology Writer 

                                                     Chronicles of Mark Johnson

Today, and the next month will be very painful for me.

I have to clear my late wife's books from our shelves, as many I would not have read. To me, this is like ripping my heart out, she had such hopes for our future, and now all I have is my memories of a beautiful lady with a wonderful soul.

In clearing the shelves, I came across several anthology selections which I have stories in.

In 2012, I was offered the possibility of having sections of my award-winning book - The Chronicles of Mark Johnson - published by a company based in Launceston, Devon. The problem is how do you explain a series of stories by the inclusion of three or four.

Mexico leads the UK

 Blog Readers

Size is not important

If you are wondering about the headline, the meaning is the blog has more readers in Mexico this week, than in the UK.

The image in the post is from a lost film from Spain about a man who hid during the Franco reign, and refused to come out of hiding, despite his wife, and friends telling him Franco had died. In the end, his wife was forced to ask for a divorce, for a Catholic lady to do that is unthinkable, but owing to her circumstances, she was granted the divorce.

I am not a Catholic, but I agree with their belief we should worship the Mother of Christ, without the mother there is no son.

I walk the line

 The Man in Black

Supernatural

Not that it would matter, as so few of my eBooks sold.

If you did read some of my writing, it may get you wondering which side of the line I walk. I tend towards Nietzsche when he said " If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

The meaning to this is if you fight a demon for too long, be careful you don't become the demon.

For many years, I wrote about demons, to the extent some of my stories had me worried about my sanity. That is not an idle phrase, I was so concerned, I checked myself into a hospital for a brain scan