The Supermarket Guy

Part 4 is about 20 % done. I may write today, if the time permits. The worst part for myself, is always the ending. How do you come to an ending that is different, exciting, draw dropping, or just plain. Maybe the reader is not looking for a surprising exit. I watched the Naked Gun part 1 last night, and seen an ending where Frank Drebbon aimed his shooting cuff links at the man that was about to shoot the Queen, but ended up hitting an innocent woman from the stands up above. She fell on the shooter. The Queen was saved. But then the ending dragged on, as he had to follow the villain to inside the stadium, where things turned out great in the end. It was a great ending, as his old friend Nordberg was in a wheelchair, recovering when... Well you know the ending. The funniest part of the movie for me, was when he was shooting at his own car. He parks always smashing it, the air bags deployed in the car, hit the shifter into drive, and began going down the road passing him along the w...

It was 3 am in the morning, and was sure that I was awake. But the story line in Part 4 came to me yet again, and expanded into something more tangible. I went back to sleep, afraid that I would be not remember it in the morning, but decided against jotting the information down. I got up again at 6 am in the morning, and yet again the thoughts were there and I expanded on some of them  in some sections of the book. I decided this time to jot it all down. It ended it up being a page of notes, but that page of notes ends up being many pages of action, and perhaps a major thrust to the story line. This has happened to me before when writing Part 2 and 3, where I had to jot stuff down while half asleep. Thankfully, bits and pieces of the story came to me to be able to create these books. Part 1 was created over a stretch of 7 years. It was expanded on, due to the length of hibernation, as I was not sure as to publish it. It was actually done in a few months, but over those 7 years a...

I wrote another 8 pages of Part 4 tonight. I am finding this book more difficult, as perhaps the flow is not coming to me as quick as usual. I was inspired by the review I had gotten, the other day. This means the book is 25 % done, in respect to the other books that I have created in the past. I am hoping I can think of different ideas, new ideas, to keep the flow going. Writers block does happen, but it can be cured with time. I do feel bad for writers who are writing against a deadline. The pressure, the intensity, the instant of when they have to release what they had too soon. Writers block is not fun for some. I do not know if i do have any gusto left, in producing what I did in Part 1 and 2. Part 3 does have to be fine tuned. I think it can come close to Part 1, but Part 2 is so far the best in the reviews that I have achieved thus far at Goodreads. The situations in a book, always have to lead to more fun, when writing humor. You always hope it will always most importa...

The reviews come in ever so slowly. Today, I got what appeared to be a 5 on 5 star rating on the Users page from Louisville, Kentucky, and on my books page it is a 4 on 5.  So, I am left wondering if it is a 5 on 5 or a 4 on 5. Is it a glitch with the Goodreads Program?  Or maybe she changed her review in midstream. That is ok, as I think a 4 is good enough for little old me. This lady is now reading Part 2 of my book series. I am anxious to see which one she prefers, or if they are equal in her rankings. Part 3 is becoming ever so closer to being produced, with reviews coming down the pipeline like that. On the other hand, sales have been quite dismal. Maybe a few good reviews could shake things up a bit. I am happy that these reviews that are coming in, are from strangers. My relatives did not, nor do they know about, how to rank or rate my book on the internet. I never pushed them to rank it, and just won't do it. I may start writing Part 4 again, and get it back on ...

47 % of voters, a recent politician said, would vote a certain way for a president regardless of who the president was. Ok, we know the story was about Mitt Romney. Allot of news in circles said this was a huge gaff for the Republicans. In this blog, I am trying to be neutral here. Mitt Romney does have allot going for him. He looks presidential, and he does have that W. Bush or even a tad of that Ronald Reagan about him. I do like Mitt, and I do like Obama as well. Obama is a smooth talker. The only problem, is that it appears he likes to talk too much, for myself, personally. I can only handle so much of his speech. But, he can rhyme off a his usual highs and lows about any subject for hours on end.  He can talk your head off. As I have said in an earlier post, Clinton was one of the best speech givers of all time. Reagan, and a Canadian Prime Minister by the name of Jean Chretien gave some incredible moments. Mitt Romney, from what I gather from the press, makes allot o...

Started to weight train the other night. I used to do it much more at a fanatic pace in my 20s, but boys, has that every changed. I could see myself pushing 190 lbs over my head for shoulder press, 10 times. I could bench press 225 for 10 times. I cannot do that now, as I have lost strength over the years being idle at the weights. Remember to always consult a doctor before starting any training regime. I found I had incredible shoulder strength when I was young, and could press 85 dumbells over my head when seated no problem. Maybe this is why  my shoulders are out of wack a bit today. We would train heavy, most of the time. One thing that will limit me forever from achieving those heights again. My shoulder, seems to feel irritated at times. The bench press does not feel like a regular movement, when I press heavy. My shoulder, says slow down. I feel a discomfort there. This is probably from an old injury, way back when doing behind the neck presses with heavy weight. I woul...

Today I changed the UV light in my household water system. It is a sterilight system, the base model. What this system does, is just count down the days until the system needs replacement. The calculated amount is 365 days. Today was my last day, as the bulb warranted replacement. Once again, I would advise anyone in changing their UV lights to read their instruction manuals on how to do it properly. This is the way that I went about changing the light. The first thing I did, was get the part code from the side of the machine. Then I went to the plumbing shops, looking for a UV light. It cost me with taxes, 106 dollars with taxes in. They say UV light can burn your skin, so turn off the power when changing these lights. We know how harmful it is without the ozone layer, way up in bird land. Then I proceeded to change the light as follows. 1. Turn power to unit off. Can wait a bit for the light to cool off. 2. Slide off retaining ring, lift rubber connector up until you can grab ...

This list could change at any time. My top rock songs of all time, the top ten. 1. Def Leppard - Gods of War  -  A highly underrated song, Top Gun fame in the 80s. Ronald Reagan, speaks at the end of the song. 2. AC DC- Who Made Who-  That is a really good question, some say they know. 3. Bryan Adams Tina Turner- Whats Love got to do with it-  Apparently allot. 4. Aerosmith- Angel- What a rock ballad. 5. Van Halen- Right now - Right now, means get her done. 6. Ozzy Osbourne- Crazy Train- High energy. Paranoid is good too though. 7. Alice Cooper- House of fire-  Mr Crowley is good too! 8. Poison- Every Rose has its Thorn- Bushes have been said to be thorny. 9. Motley Crue- Wild side- Drink a few beer and discover it. 10. Poison- Every Rose has its Thorn- Bushes have been said to be thorny. There you have it. The top. ten songs of "The Supermarket Guy".  No news on the book front, till next time...

I have gotten word that one of my Giveaway Books has landed in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is exactly one week from mailing from Canada, Tuesday to Tuesday through airmail. I am assuming most of my winners have gotten their books by now. One lady is going to read it right away, and seems to be pretty excited about it. I will be excited to see her review, as I had not seen a review in a good while.  It seems my momentum has stalled again. There is "no chain reaction" effect to be had, an effect we as artists always hope not to see. Chain reaction effect is where one guy passes on the news of the book to the next guy, and the next gal, and so on and so forth. I did not catch the tide? Maybe there was a reason for it. Poor marketing skills do stand out. On the other hand, hopefully it is not due to how bad the book is to the general public. You always think in the back of your mind, that it just did not break the "Got to have" barrier. We see it with popular prod...

My next door neighbor did not know about my writings. The other next door neighbor did, about a year ago. That just goes to show how good of neighbors they are to me. They never talked about me, at all. I guess I am pretty dry and dull kind of person. I never told this neighbor, as a true test. A test to see how long it would take to get the word to his family. Well, it happened a day or two ago. He was excited to know the news. Myself, not so excited. More humble than anything, he added. I gave him two books the other day. It surprised him, as it was through his wife that was the only way he became knowledgeable of their existence. Finally, the other neighbor gave out the news about the book. A year and a few months from when they heard about it. I then rethought the whole book exposure thing. Marketing is everything. If my neighbor in front, did not get the news of my book, then even the few people that I met on twitter, goodreads, or where ever, did not make that much of an imp...

I thought I heard about the Black Swan effect awhile back.  It was on the PBS channel, and a political conversation was taking place. "If no Black Swan comes around, then the incumbent should win the next election".  The incumbent must have had a huge lead in the polls. It is probably a rare, and improbable event, that causes a massive reversal in outcome. It does sometimes happen. This is in sports, politics, finances, and probably in any event that takes place. Black Swan effect. A sudden, unexpected twist or turn in events, that has a major impact on the direction of  events where they should have unfolded. Could a candidates speech, be a factor as a black swan effect?  I remember a politician "yeah, yeah" screaming after a campaign speech, where it led him to finish off of the podium for becoming a contender. The primary race was his to win. It was played back in the news, quite a bit, back then. 9 11 is often referred to as a black swan event, as ...

Deck painting is never truly enjoyable. Sure, it is fun when you first buy the beautiful colors of paint. Then you scrape, sand, and do what it takes to get the deck ready for painting. Some people use chemicals, or pressure wash too. In pressure washing, you have to be careful in not to lift the grain of the wood. The first coat is on the deck in the back. I have to do the second coat later on. The balusters are the worst job. Having to paint, in and outside, side to side. And, when the number is approximately over a 120, it is a tedious job. I thought I was smart. Next time I build a deck, I will try to go with vinyl handrail system, or just put glass panes inside the handrail system. Wooded balusters are ok, if you got lots of family and friends helping you paint. I am all alone, doing this crappy job ;) I used a rough surface style roller for the main floor. The paint went on some fast, as far as the decking was concerned. I used to do it with a brush, but I had to think of ...

So far in 2012, I sold 10 books out of 14 at a little corner bookstore in Bathurst, so far. This is a 71 % success rate. And the year is not even over, yet. This is with a city population of 14 thousand approx. I did not opt for to offer returns for my book. I found it maybe to risky, and where I could get caught with allot of returns. Even if it is a good seller at this bookstore, in my little corner of the world, I still feel not comfortable knowing where the books goes, and how it is promoted on the shelf. If I knew that bookstores would keep the book on hand for at least a year (not a month), then returns would probably be worth the while. I am unsure if even my publishing company, would try a limited returns policy. A returns policy, that lets say will allow an author to receive returns on a forgivable amount. Something an author could handle, if things went south. Maybe a hundred returns offered, a thousand? Depends on the individual, but it makes for a great way for an au...

You know when you are feeling blah. Now and then, everyone just feels a little blah. I do not even feel like advertising my book on Twitter. I am feeling a little blah. I decided to take a few days off of advertising. You do get, a little blah, about it after when you see not much working there. Blah. I think everybody is a little blah now and then. You do not feel to cut the grass, do dishes, or wax you car. You are feeling a little blah. I am surprised that E Blogger does not put a red underline mark under Blah. I did not even know, it was decided somewhere in time that it was actually a word. Blah. I painted my 16 by 16 deck in the back today. Half done. I am feeling quite blah now. Blah does interfere with, success. I do believe it to be so. I am burned out. Damn them posts! I should cut them off with my chainsaw. Till next time, have a great week...

My five Goodreads winners have been sent their books, via airmail. 4 winners from the USA, and one from Brazil. Glad to see that it did do some help in getting some exposure for my book. Without the airmail, it would have taken 6 weeks or longer to get to the intended destination. With airmail, even as far as I could remember, it will take at least a week to get to the areas in the United States. Brazil, I am unsure how long it will take. On the positive note, I did receive a few good reviews awhile back. Things have yet stalled again for my book, as I see no chain reaction created yet, to make a swell of interaction for my book to be picked up in a continual action. The contest, did help tremendously though. This should have been done with Part 1, but my experience at the book business was zero, and I had no knowledge about the book sites. I still have little knowledge about the other book sites out there. I will check later today, to see if my book 2 is selling well at the l...

Interesting. I got one follower on this blog. His or her name is NEOPOG. This has had me pondering for a long, long, time. Who is NEOPOG and why is he or she, following my blog. The other question has come often into my mind.... Why do I have only one follower on my blog, yet have over 5700 hits on my blog. When drinking beer now and my mind working on beer suds (My wife tells me it kills brain cells- little does she knows it may actually culture them), that this NEOPOG is ahead of the game. NEOPOG. You are ONE. You are something else. Thanks. I would send you a book, but, you are NEOPOG. Unknown to me. Thanks NEOPOG. Till next time...

Barn raising. I remember that title, from an expert from a condensed version of an old writing from a long time ago. I believe I seen a part of it, through my life. What does it mean?  I will tell you that it meant allot more back before our time, than it does now. It was about the link, or links, the traditional farmers had with the fishermen, lumberman, blacksmiths of their time. These people, with callus hands, dirt that they could not wash from their hands, but more important than all, they had a firm direction in heart. This is the environment in which I was brought up in. My father was like both a father and a grandfather to me. Having a brother, relatives, where any inconceivable job could be taken up, and done with the help of family and friends. Whenever you needed a hand, they would, just suddenly appear, and say "We can do that". Time to roll up the sleeves. Get the job done! And, do that they did. Whether repairing roofs from damage, water systems that ...

Thinking of the USA election, and trying to remember about what makes a great candidate just great. A few of these people come to mind. Here is a list of my greatest Canadian politicians of all time: 1. Jean Chretien- Debt reduction and boom time. 2. MacKenzie King- WW 2 - social program groundwork. 3.  Lester B Pearson- Peacekeeping forces. 4. John A MacDonald - Confederation 5. Wilfred Laurier- Expanding Confederation. English French Partnership in governance. My top 5 USA Presidents: 1. Franklin D Roosevelt. - Great depression and escape from it, WW 2. 2. Ronald Reagan - Low taxes, defeated communism? 3. George Washington - The USA Union. 4. John F Kennedy- Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights. 5. Bill Clinton- Pay down debt and economic upturn. These are my top 5 rankings in each country. The reason being, Jean Chretien being the top Canadian leader is due to the fact of his tough job he had to turn the country out of its economic turmoil. George Sor...

I estimate allot. I always try to figure out, how things are going to turn out, or how they are going to land. Whether it is an election, a professional sports team, or even companies on how well they do... I estimate, and sometimes I do get it right. For instance, this past election in Quebec, Canada. I knew that the liberal leader was in trouble, over raising tuition fees for students. Not only that, but the attacks on his government for possible corruption. These two issues, I thought, was going to lead him into minority government. He is a popular leader, but he finished at the other end of the minority government. The PQ government one by 4 seats. A minority government. The baseball situation. I figured my team, the Blue Jays would have been wild card contenders this year. I fell off the wagon, but with the injuries they had, there was no way of predicting the bad finish they took on this year. Oh well. Then I looked at my own contest. I estimated a top finish of 600 contesta...

My second contest on Goodreads, has been a tremendous success! I would like to thank all contestants for entering. 620 people entered to win, which was up from 407 from the first contest I held. And the contest still has 8 hrs to go, so still roll in and you may still have a chance to win! This will be the last contest for a bit. I will be reviewing the reviews, seeing what pours in. Remember, you the reader, are the determining factor if I should continue on my writing  journey. I have Part 3 waiting on the shelf, collecting dust. Part 4, is on hold. Waiting for those precious reviews, and feedback from the lifeblood of the writing industry. You. The reader. Without these reviews, I am a duck a l orange in the water, with a duck unlimited hunter firing bazooka rounds at me… Help the little duck, continue paddling… Paddling, away to a new pond… A safe place, where I can write without the blasts of bazookas wringing in my ears… Have a great afternoon,  till next ...

Today, I was thinking just to open this blog up to you. I was wondering what you are thinking, about this blog. Is it something where you get some interesting tad bits on the world out there, or are you just checking this out now and then to see how I am doing in the book world? How do you think I am doing, and am I going in the right direction in the book business? Everything thus far was done through, a labtop PC, and a bit over the phone. Just imagine, doing all of the business in one way or the other, this way. A little bit has been done through leg work, but only the consignment stuff. And I have had not done hardly any of it. So far I have 477 people signed up for my contest. 72 people offered to read my book. I still have no reviews on the major sites like Amazon, or Barnes. Both books is offered in E format on Kindle, and one is actually offered as Nook also. If you got some spare time, drop me a line. Tell me what my next move should be. Till next time..

There has been a little article in the news, about a writer who had posted fake reviews of his book on the net. This is on the link of the CBCs book website, as follows below: http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/09/british-writer-rj-ellory-apologizes-for-writing-fake-reviews.html I do not think it would be bad if he had just written one biased review about his own work, but when it goes as far as debasing other peoples work with a fake name, then you are headed into double jeopardy. A real name should be used, if you critique someones work. On Goodreads, I received a scathing review from someone. The next day, I received a 5 on 5. It puts into question the bad reviews, and even the good reviews. A person at work, a friend of mine, gave me a 5 on 5. I personally questioned her own review, as just being kind to me. But the 5 on 5 I did receive was from the USA, and from a person truly unknown to myself. The 1 on 5 as well, unknown to me. I did rate my own books on Goodreads. I was i...

Received a book review today, from a complete stranger. A 5 on 5 star rating, from a lady in the USA. This is encouraging, and thankful for the boost.  As I needed a boost, as the light was getting dim for me, for awhile out there, as far as the book business was considered. I have been painting my decks here at the house. It is early Sept now, and I am just lucky that it is warm for this time of the month. There were some Septembers in our past, here in Canada, where you used to see puddles freezing outside and some heavy frosts.  Once again, I leave things sometimes go too late. I will be putting on second coats, again, on what I painted yesterday. Some paints, do call for painting in up to 50 F weather (10 C),  or even close to 35 F. I believe the paints have got better over time, for cold weather applications. It is going to rain tomorrow, so I better get at it now. Thanks to Marion, for the 5 out of 5 star rating.. Part 3 may come out someday, as a result.. ...

A friend at work called me the Matrix, the other day. A great film, which produced a huge fan base as well. I remember those films, and the slow bullets being dodged by the person slowing down time. They joked that I could slow down a second where they could not see me looking at their cards. Me and my partner won at cards, all night. We did not lose, one game. Just luck, no matrix required. I really did not bid much, and just happened to catch the cards that they were going on. My partner, bid all night, and our cards hit well together. These things, are just luck and just happen. So far, my book has 377 contestants to try to win a book! I am 40 away from passing my old total. I think that I will surpass it, but by how much, I would gather maybe around a total of 500 plus or minus. This is my calculated guessing, kicking in again. Checking again at all the great books amassed at the Goodreads giveaways, it is truly amazing how some books do garner a few thousand applications to...

Over the many years in working in an unionized environment, you begin to ask the question about the relevance and the strength of this unit over the years. I know many people who tear down the unions. They say they are counterproductive. More expensive than overseas labor, less productive than labor outside of its framework. This is something, that is probably not entirely true across the board. As far as knowledge and skill goes, I feel you will not find a better skilled and knowledge based worker as a union worker. As time passes from knowing people who worked in both the Steelworkers union, and the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), there is no doubt of their ability to protect workers rights. You have the right to refuse unsafe work, and the stewards will be with you when something goes awry. They will defend you, or at least try their best to do so. You will get a second chance at these places where unions exist, while where none exists, you may not get a...

Less than 7 days to go, and my Goodreads Global Giveaway will be over. Already, 344 people have signed up to win a free, autographed copy of my book. It will be interesting if it beats the total of 407 approx. people who signed up for my past giveaway. The first giveaway was not truly global as the last, having only the USA and Canada at the time. I also find that the amount of people joining the giveaway gets to be more and more each day, as it crawls its way to the front page of the giveaways that are nearly done. I remember the last few days of the first giveaway, gave me 80 or so people in one day to join the giveaway. After this, I am truly unsure what to do. I will take a short break from the giveaways. I need to muster my energy to try to get people to review it. I think the bad side of the giveaways, are allot of inaction. People are not going to read your book, as long as it is in a giveaway. This is natural. They are waiting to win the book, in order to read it, whic...