Harrier Jump Jet

I did something during the week that I’ve rarely done before, and that was to enter a short story competition. I’m not a great believer in short stories because to me they are more or less like and extended joke with a punch line at the end. There’s very little room for all the artistic merits about building characters, drama, mystery etc., but I succumbed this time with a story of a flight I once took in a Harrier jump jet. I was fortunate enough in 1996 to be in the back seat of a Harrier GR7 with my son, Terry in the front seat. We flew from his base in Lincolnshire to Norfolk where we flew over my house. Then we did an about turn and went across country to Wales to fly through the valleys in a mesmerizing display of speed and consummate skill. (By my son: not me!). It was amazing to see the walls of the valleys flash by as we headed towards a dam on which we would be doing a simulated bombing run (probably the most ‘bombed’ dam in UK). It was incredibly exciting, and on the return trip across England I was allowed to take the controls. I flew the Harrier briefly and performed a barrel roll. The jet reacted like it was on rails. When we returned to the base where my wife was waiting with our three other sons, Terry did a fly-by and then put the Harrier through its amazing ability to hover and rise up and down like a lift. Before the sortie finished, Terry turned the aircraft towards his mum and dropped the nose in a bow. My wife said her heart was in her mouth as she watched the jet almost stand on its nose with her husband and son in the cockpit. It all ended well and afterwards I was presented with a framed, signed picture of the jet in which I flew. It was certainly an unforgettable day. The short story I’ve submitted is almost exactly how the sortie panned out except I have liberated the truth and added some spine tingling dog fighting in there. Whether the story, titled ‘SORTIE’ will win or not isn’t really important, but it has been gathering e-dust in my computer files and needed an airing. Wish me luck!

Webinar and spelling

It’s been quite a week one way or another. I finally managed to get on with some writing, or rather, catching up with what I had managed in the past. I’m putting together a kind of family saga, but with a difference. I’ll be running two stories in parallel; both of which are connected, but not that it’s entirely obvious from the outset. More astute readers may catch on early in the book, but I intend something of that nature to happen to all the readers as I will be dropping clues left right and centre. The story will not be a romance, per se, but will include elements of a thriller and a mystery (hopefully). I don’t know how long it will take me, but my track record says at least a year.

Readers of my blog will know that I try very hard not to read my reviews. I make a conscious effort to avoid them. But unfortunately I came across one yesterday, quite by accident in which the reviewer gave me a two star rating and a dressing down for spelling. The date of the review was June 7. It took me a little while to figure out how on earth I can be accused of poor spelling; something at which I am extremely competent. Then it occurred to me that the reviewer was almost certainly complaining about the English spellings of many of the words used in the book. Just a few lines up from here is the word ‘centre’. This is spelt correctly according to the Oxford English Dictionary, but the American word would be ‘center’. The review told me more about the reviewer than the book. I believe the majority of American readers accept the English spellings in much the same way as the majority of English readers accept the American spellings. Let’s face it: the story matters most, not whether centre should be spelt that way or the American way.

I sat in on a webinar last Saturday. It was a power point presentation given by Jim Kukral of the Author Marketing Club. It was a helpful presentation on how to sell more books on Amazon. I found it interesting and helpful. There were a couple of ideas which I will probably follow up (when I have time). But for now it’s back to my own version of promotion and marketing and how to sell more books on Amazon. Wish I knew!

One for the weekend

Bargain Book
My latest addition to the Amazon kindle ranks is THE EAGLE'S COVENANT. I have reduced the price to $0.99, and will keep it low until the end of June. This is a modern thriller set in modern Germany. The two main characters are Joanna Schiller - the young, English widow of Hans Schiller who was heir to the colossal, Schiller corporation - and Conor Lenihan, ex IRA, ex SAS and a killer. Events bring these two together after Joanna's newborn son is kidnapped by a terrorist gang of whom Lenihan is a member. If you like police procedures, blackmail, cyber warfare and covert figures in the world of politics and business, this is  one that will fit easily into your weekend read. You can check it out at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CJZE6Y0/?tag

Back to Work

Back in harness again and looking forward to getting on with my next novel. This will be a ‘composite’: a mixture of two books written a long time ago but never having seen the light of day. The whole project has been growing on me for some time. I had started another thriller last year, but the advent of Amazon Kindle and indie publishing, along with the fact that I had levered the paperback rights to my books from my publisher meant that I spent most of the year working in that direction. As a result the thriller was put aside with the intention of taking it up again once the Kindle projects were out of the way. I did actually begin again, but then picked up the other project and mulled that over. Eventually it was obvious to me which story I wanted to complete, so the thriller will not emerge for a long, long time.

Mine and Pat’s trip back to UK last week was essentially to see the British Speedway Grand Prix (for me) at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff. I go every year with my son, John. This year we added on a few days and spent a bit of time sightseeing, shopping, family visits and looking round park home sites. We found a site in East Sussex which we both like. Once we have sold our house here in Spain, we’ll be bound for that county to rent and then, hopefully to buy a home on the site.

No startling news on the book front. This is another month so another book will feel the weight of promotion. It’s THE EAGLE’S COVENANT’s turn to be dropped in price. It will be $0.99 for most of this month. I have asked ENT to post it but there’s no guarantee they will pick it up. The last two promotions with ENT were very successful, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this one. I will also be giving away five copies of SHADOW OF THE WOLF. These are available in the ‘Giveaway’ comp. on Goodreads. Plus – I will be giving away three kindle books on Momma Says Read. So, let’s see what happens. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hopefully my readers will wish me luck.