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Showing posts from October, 2012

Lesson to vehicle Manufacturers: Change the drapes every so often.

I nearly bought a new truck a few days ago. I was there, while my vehicle was undergoing maintenance. Transmission oil, crankcase oil, and tire rotation. I walked out in the parking lot, to see the remaining 2012 vehicles. My truck has, served me very well over the last 3 years and a half. I may wait another year, if things go well. I think the 2012s are nearly gone, to my dismay. Higher prices with the 2013s are probably here to stay, for a good while. I looked at the same new vehicle I owned that was sitting ever so lonely on the lot. It was a 2012. Nice color, chrome, and exterior side steps. This is a vehicle where I love the exterior. The only problem is, they had the same drab interior for a long, long time. If you want to step up to a bigger motor, a bigger size, you can get a change in the interior. Am I willing to pay 10 thousand more for a different interior? Not very likely, unless the high end vehicles come on sale. This is the problem when you get tired of a vehicles

Another Review coming for Part 2.

Another review is coming up for Part 2. The reader just acknowledged in an e mail that it would soon be out,  and that she enjoyed the book immensely. I actually cannot wait for her review to come out. She said she would help me with Part 3 in any way she could. She is definitely, what you would call, a book angel. There were a few of those that helped me out quite a bit in the last month or two. Their honest opinion of the book is help enough for any further writings that come out of the vault. Today I put up a cabinet in the garage. Assembly went fine, but it seems that usually when purchasing these items, some holes do not line up with the others. I had to drill out 3 holes, for it to work. Then it all went together fine. That is why they offer it at such great prices, I suppose. Not many big items you buy at the local retail stores are all assembled. It took me an hour and a half to assemble it. I was wondering if it would be better if a person just bought it all assembled. Th

40 % of Part 4 done

Writing of Part 4 has been moving along rather well. I stopped at this time, as I left it for when the main character is at a entirely different situation than the lovely one he was used to. It truly appears dire, for the main character. I was worried that this Part 4 would be less funny than the other parts. But it appears to be flowing well, thus far. With a few reviews, it should come together alright. I need to keep in mind giving scenes to the other main characters, and not to leave any of them out. I find this is a problem that I have when writing. Trying also to place more focus on being more descriptive while being funny. Not just to have the funny moments in speech. This is also a challenge for myself, personally. I may write tomorrow night if time permits. I have limited my writing for awhile, as I was unsure that Part 3 would even be published.  I have decided to change a small amount of the entrance to Part 3. I found it may have not served the book well at all, in bei

Another 5 on 5 review for "The Supermarket Guy 2"

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/388674311 Here is another review that came down the pipes, on that great book site called, Goodreads!! Within a day, I got two 5 on 5 reviews. I am very thankful for that.. Phew. Have a great evening, till next time... It may inspire me to write tonight!!!

A 5 on 5 review on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Supermarket-Guy-Daren-Doucet/dp/1457502178/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351295505&sr=8-2&keywords=Daren+Doucet There is the link to the first review, I have ever have been lucky enough to get, on Amazon!!! A 5 on 5 review.. Thank you!!! It took me, a long, long, time to get one lol But finally somewhat like Christmas, it has finally arrived.... Till next time :)

Should not wish your life by.

You got a job. It sucks. It is monotonous. You get into a routine. There is no room in the foreseeable future for expansion, and the tasks keep being added on to your duties. Mundane, dirty, tasks. You wish time away. You say, boys, I cannot wait until I get to 55 so I can retire... But retiring these days, and in the future may take you to 65.  Or 67, as some governments raise their age limits for pensionable liability. How can governments forecast that far away, is unknown to me. You then realize that when retirement comes, maybe you will be not in shape to enjoy those years. So what can you do? Make the most of your time at your crappy job as you can. Smile, try to enjoy time, and take more vacation and relaxation moments in between your grinding job. Experience more, relax more in between, take up hobbies or something. Do not sit down and absorb all of the negativity that comes with your job getting worse and worse all the time! This is somewhat the situation for many of u

The Supermarket Guy 2 was a book ahead of its time.

All in the news, the XL food scare in Alberta, Canada, is just the start of people questioning where their food is coming from. The E coli scare, that caused the shutdown of the huge plant that supplied 1/3 rd of the Canadian meat supply. We seen the horrible pictures of the thousands of tons of meat being dumped to land sites in the local area. "The Supermarket Guy 2" does have a part about receiving poor quality goods from certain areas of the world. Also, it has a part where the main character nearly, just nearly, buys meat with antiboitics and growth hormones induced. Luckily enough, something just happened that stopped him from putting his signature down on what could have been a terrible deal. I think the future of food supply is in medium sized, and small size farms again. Huge supply chains, like the one at the XL plant in Alberta, is too huge of a risk should something go wrong with it. In this case, it was linked to poor quality control at its operations. An in

Seize the day and expand your horizons.

The presidential debate is on again tonight. This race could be pretty much locked up. But, it is very close. The key is winning the swing states, with the most amount of electoral votes. A major gaff, a slip up, could spell a much different outcome down the stretch. I do not expect any gaffs, but only a fine tuning on the talk of foreign policy. Everyone thinks much differently, about foreign policy. You should have your own foreign policy. Just on the local scene. Nothing destructive, of course. Just the idea of becoming foreign to your mold in life. Or your routine. Break your routine. You must be tired, as I am, of it by now. Get out of your routine. Join a class. Any class. A music class, an art class, or get into volunteering. An exercise class. It may open your doors to new ideas and friendships that can last forever. Get a second job. That is harder than what it used to be, as the jobs are scarce all over most areas of the world.  Try getting an internet job, and work from

Mark Chesnutt and Tracy Lawrence

Both of these great country stars were at the KC Irving center tonight. They put on a non stop, spectacular show. It is quite something how their voices are the same as from what you would here on CD, Radio, or vinyl. It lasted from 8 pm to 10 pm, but they never stopped playing. Some hits that were played were of course "Brother Jukebox", "Birmingham", "Time Marches on", "Going to the Big D", and a few Keith Whitley songs. Unfortunately, the turnout was lackluster. I would estimate the number at 600 approximate people there, for a facility that can bring in 2000 to 2900 ( depending on stage arrangements. The tickets were 67 dollars on average, as some were saying could have been the cause for the small turnout. I was thinking it could have been from another thing going on in an other spot in town. A hypnotist was in town the same night as well. It could have been due to concert overload. When too many concerts are booked for one year, pe

Help me break even, then I will Produce "SupermarketDominium"

If I could only break even. Then I would produce Part 3, of "Supermarket Dominium".  And if I could break even with that book, I could produce Part 4 (top secret title). I know my friend asked me to try out kickstart.  Kickstart is there to help people fund meaningful projects.  People from all over the world give money to projects deemed to their style of liking.  I have a hard time in taking peoples money, where it could go to much better projects. What I mean, is not in creating a book, but in creating theatrical plays or other things of that nature. Student or small business start ups. I feel my books are plenty reason enough, and should be able to stand alone, to achieve the funding for my very own endeavors. How can I break even. It is so simple. I just need approximately 900 sales. I subtracted a hundred in waiting, but did not even sell these books yet. These are books that are on a digital shelf at Goodreads. There, all intents and purposes are great, but they h

My Kingdom for a winter Boot!

Winter boots are hard to find. I live in Canada, and was looking for a good winter boot to wear that looked chic and could handle minus 20 plus conditions. I do have some winter boots here. Reiker is one of pair of them. Nice looking boot, but I do find they are a little cool in minus 15 C conditions. I have Columbia boots which are great for the cold, cold weather, but they are mostly for going in the deep snow. They have a real high run to them, whereas the Reikers just cover my ankles. My dad wore these kind of boots of the years. The Columbia boots have a warm felt insert inside, and is good for snow showing and such. But they sure look ugly, but do the job! They have Mukluk boots with a strip of fur around the ankles on the outside, look really cute, which are not for me. I can understand some people liking them, but they are just a little to high past the ankle for me. I tried a new pair of Martina winter boots. I think that was the name. They were black leather waterproof

Romney and Obama and made in China?

Last nights Presidential debate was more fire spirited. Lots of exchanges, and the contestants did not want to stop talking when time ran out. One comment by Obama was about Romneys investments in China. This was before Romneys spiel about how manufacturing has shifted to the Red Empire. Romney admitted he would possibly place tariffs against the country, unless they did  not raise their exchange rate. Romney come back in the end, defending his investments with China, asking where the current Presidents pension investments currently lie?  China? A good comeback for Romney. The USA has a big decision here to make. It makes people wonder- If these two guys have investments in China, how will they be really truly willing to cope with this problem? Is the trillion or so dollars owed to them, is that a problem for the USA? Obama did do allot of campaign promises that he set out to do in his four years. Romney is a successful business man, and Governor. Who won the debate? I would

A fan said she would do anything for a Part 3.

Ok, well, anything is not really necessary. What I really need is three things. Reviews (Decent), sales, then the inspiration usually follows to create or to continue to create something more.... Another said, "I will not be left hanging at a cliff hanger". But, yet, what a great time to be living on the edge! Beautiful view, no doubt.. All this small amount of forcing, does not yet stimulate my brain to produce Part 3.... Maybe a few more beer... No.. It takes money to have funny. I am just looking to break even, then maybe a Part 3 will be created. This could be in early 2013 or in the summer 2013.. But why wait until the summer... Who wants to read when at the beach? There are too many sea shells to collect during this time. Seaweed to roll up to make sushi a la plage... ;) Till next time, looking for reviews and such...

Some hidden elements in my book.

There was some hidden elements in my books.. Here are just a few, to share... For one, did any readers pick up on the "2012" employees of the Bargain Way. That was placed in there, as to start a thinking of a doomsday event. That may or not happen,  but as well, the year the book was created... Part 2 does link up with Part 3,  with the comment of "Supermarket Dominium". A grander scale of things to come, perhaps. Part 1, where his tossing of cans at the first of the book, and catching of one, comes in to factor later on in the book... Oh my, there are allot of links, themes, for people, even high school students could ask their teachers to use as their English 111 material !!! Have a great evening,  till next time....

Work this weekend stalled progress on Part 4.

12 hr shifts have put the wall up for any work to be done on my book. It just mentally drains me, not physically. 12 hrs of monotonous work, can do that to a person. It is a good thing I got shift workers with me to make the place a more lighter side of life! Just that you get into a routine at work, sometimes, especially when working at one location. To be quite honest, I can churn out a book every 4 months. I could have probably had another 4 books done by now, besides the two I churned out a year ago. This is if things flow relatively well. The ideas have to continue to flow. You need time, and not to rush things.  If one thing I find, if a person does write for 8 hrs a day, you perhaps end up with allot of burned ideas turning up on the page. But, not everyone is probably like this. Rarely I do write for 8 hrs straight. Sometimes I will go at it for an hour or two straight. Get up, get a coffee or tea, or beer, then go at it for another hour or two. Breaks may last approxima

Tonights debate with the Vice Presidents.

Tonights debate with the Vice Presidents should be a spectacular show. You got the highly successful, skilled, debater in Mr. Biden. Then you have the guy who can't possibly  make any errors, and makes his presidential candidate look great, Mr. Ryan. It is quite something when the VP candidate is playing like a gold glover. Making no errors on the play, highly popular among voters, and looks like a guy who is ready for the front job. Is he smarter than Romney. I would think not, as Romney has more business and governing experience than the younger Ryan. Biden may be able to flail some chinks into the do goodies two shoes armor. Biden, the democratic warhorse, is a tough contender. We know he knows every detail of the American political system, probably of every program in the government. How does a guy like Ryan can win against a guy like Biden, who is a websters dictionary of knowledge?  He has to be general. General in comments, general in direction, general in plans. Do n

How can you trust incoming calls anymore for business?

The other day, I got a call for life insurance from a reputable bank here in Canada. They offered it for 23 dollars a month, for a payout of 200 thousand if I should lose my life in an accident, if I remember correctly. And to make matters worse, the phone connection seemed of poor quality. Did they not see Jim Carreys movie, 23??? First, I picked up the phone from the number 416-581-8705. It began ringing on my end for a few seconds. Hello, I replied, once it stopped ringing. Then came the sales pitch for the insurance. I listened to what seemed like a 40 second spiel on what the insurance was all about. I asked if this was recorded. A womans voice responded on the other line, no, I read that off of a paper. She said she is working for a Canadian Bank, and said she was giving this tremendous offer if I acted now. I listened to the first few sentences of her speech. The cost, and amount of coverage in an accident. First answer, was that I was already covered. I listened to the

Book series could be worth 100 mil to 1 billion?

A guy I was talking to the other day, said the book series when completed (4 parts) could be worth between 100 million to 1 billion in box office receipts and what not". I replied "Easier said than done. There are plenty of series that ignite the imagination and quell the soul for entertainment. Why choose my series?". That was my answer, but I do believe anything is possible. If done right, with the right studio effects and such, I believe with the strongest convictions that my series can altogether break the 100 million dollar mark very easily. But, it takes a good producer, not just an average one. It takes a big studio, publicity, as my writings are funny. I got the reviews to prove it. Even the bad review i did get the other day admitted it was indeed, funny throughout. Maybe the world is not ready for such a series at this time. Maybe never. We will see as the time unfolds.. How the word can be spread... We do what we do, to try to entertain. Till next tim

Fall colors and Autumn winds bring about Change.

You can feel the wind of change, in the Autumn winds of fall. Leaves change their colors, and soon the land will be blanketed with a light blanket of snow. There was no surprise that Romney and Obama would be tied, in the polls leading up to the US Presidential Election. I knew that Romney could gain the ground. Obama stumbled through the televised debate. On the good side for Obama, the jobless rate has declined. On the good side for Romney, his foreign policy appears stronger than the current administrations. Perhaps polling does not suggest the later, and perhaps the jobs are not coming as fast to areas of the United States as people would like. The debate has, and will always have, a huge effect on the voting population. It can swing the voters Plus or Minus 6 % at times. Also, any huge issue, that comes up between now and then can do the same... A blurb, a hiccup, or a missed opportunity.. Can all produce vastly wild results.. I watched many elections, where the tide change

A great review from a USA reviewer.

I woke up to this pleasant review, this afternoon: "The Supermarket Guy is an incredibly hilarious book. Harold is a young man from a small town that works at the local supermarket. Through just daily living, Harold has a talent of getting himself into and out of some surprisingly funny situations. Daren Doucet is amazingly talented. Who knows maybe his book will be the next slapstick comedy film in theater's.  I can't wait to read The Supermarket Guy II. I need to thank Goodreads and Daren Doucet for allowing me to have the opportunity to read a wonderful funny book".  - a USA reader. Thank you for picking up my book and taking a glance :) Have a great afternoon, till next time..

Asked someone how she was doing reading my book from the USA.

Today I asked someone who was giving my Part 2 a read, how she was liking it so far. She is from the USA. Here are some of her words of encouragement: "You are a mess. I am reading Part II right now. Thanks for all the laughs. Did you say their is a Part III? I will check and buy it." - from a USA reader. I am glad to see that she loved the book. And, is requesting to get into Part 3. It gives me a great boost of energy. Working night shifts this past little while, I have been unable to continue to get any good progress on Part 4 done. This week, I have some time off, and will dedicate more time to it if things all goes well. I want to wish my Canadian fans a great Thanksgiving, and remember that it is the sacred bird that is on the main characters coat of arms, displayed magnificently in his house.. Have a great day, till next time....

Support has left the building....

The book business only rewards the few. While there are many at the craft, only a handful survive. Some people who have money can continue to churn out the books, even without sales at the ready. Some people do break even, those who are lucky enough to keep the flow going. I, ladies and gentlemen, have not even broke even. Part 1 and Part 2 have bogged down in the mud. This does not bode well for the future of the series. This time, I truly cannot produce Part 3, or 4, and my book of Poems without sales figures backing things up. Just does not make sense, in digging a larger hole. I still remember giving my business card to some young people around the area. They shrugged, and gave it back, without any thought whatsoever about reading. Even the people who have read it during contests, even the popular reviews, did not spur any new hype about the book. If a friend of a friend does not pick up what the other friend loves, then the chain is broken. The circle is broken. Never to ge

Kings Landing

Kings Landing Historical Settlement in New Brunswick is a great place to go back in time. We visited the site yesterday, and had a wonderful time. There was an old Print Shop in the late 1800s, that brought us back into a period where everything was done by manual hands. The sash mill was shown to us in great detail, you could see the old belts and pulleys several feet long, directing power to carve out the wood by the force of plainers and jointers. Kings Landing is located in Prince William N.B., just 20 minutes north of the capital city Fredericton. We ate dinner at the Kings Head Inn, when I had finished I just realized I went to heaven and back. Delicious chicken pot pie with gravy, roasted potatoes, bean pods, amber ale beer, and a squash nutmeg pie with whipped cream on top. Brown bread... Goes along with the meal, thick, fresh, delicious. Enough said! There were a great crew from England, Japan, and USA there walking through the magical site. There was something unique, or

Recieved a 2 on 5 star rating today!

I received a 2 on 5 star rating today, for Part 2 of The Supermarket Guy. This lady gave her good points, and bad points about the book. The good point was that it seemed she found it humorous throughout. This was the main function of the book, and was very happy to see it at least, achieved that point. The plot was very action, fast paced. This was designed that way, and was very happy to see it worked. Then she liked the fact that I drew out the cover to the main book. Things she did not like- no contractions. She noticed the "it is", "he did", "I do not" which made the dialogue seem stilted at times. Took her some while to pick up. She could not get to know the characters enough. She knew they were zany, which was good on my end. She found my book related to a script, more so than a novel. How do I explain the bad parts. I did not notice the contraction parts. I will try to re correct in the future. My writing style is fast, thereby understan

33 % of Part 4 is complete.

Just decided to stop writing, just now. I felt I would once again, tire out the process, and lose focus of the characters and what not. 33 % is done. Still a long ways to go. I may not write for a little while, until next week as visitors maybe coming over this next bit. Writing will have to wait, until next week now. This is alright, as it gives time to charge the brain, maybe pick up some new ideas, and spur more ink for the pages. On the quality side, I am unsure if it is as good as Part 1 or 2. I think it is comparable, and with fine tuning it maybe one of the finest books that I can produce. The danger to the planet is there. The hero is ready to take charge. Willing to go beyond, even face death, to find out what is going on in behind the scenes. That is all I can say for now. I truly hope I can publish it.. I am still waiting for reviews. It would be nice to get a few sales too :) Till next time...

25 % of Part 4 now done.

Wrote a little bit of Part 4 the other day. A little over 25 % is now done. Coming along fairly alright. Allot of fine tuning required. I definitely want to reach at least 200 plus pages. This time, I may go to 300 if I can find the links, or if the story can carry it that far. This Part 4 should be a signature series, or a special series. I was wondering to get it all done through hardcover. See if I could get it offered, in hardcover, gold leaflet. I am just not sure how to go about this one. It is like, a milestone, for myself personally. I always like holding on to the copy ahead of Writing two books was something, but I was not sure to squeeze out 4 under the same title. But, I will wait until I am finished with this one. Long ways to go yet. Oh, but I forgot that the sales do not back it up either. I am unsure even to produce Part 3. Sales are still very weak, and reviews do not come in that fast. It just allows me for more time to contemplate my next moves. To publish or no