Sunday, December 26, 2010

post-Xmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone for another year. Can’t say I’m sad to see it finished. Besides the expense and aggravation, it depresses me because I always think of those who are gone. I recall the great holiday gatherings we used to have here and the fine meals Mom cooked. Now, everybody is busy with their own things and no big family dinners; hell, I didn’t even see either of my brothers over Christmas, though I saw one a few days before.

Did hear from my kids and my sister as usual. Guess I should be happy I was still around for another Christmas--that gets more uncertain every year and, in truth, always surprises me somewhat.

Anyway, I made a less-than-traditional Southern Christmas dinner this year -- fixed enchiladas, Spanish rice and refried beans. Damned good and plenty left for today, so about halftime of the Titans/KC game, I’ll make a kitchen run (not counting my runs for beer). Judging by the game thus far, it’s going to be a long day for Titans and their fans...if they have any left.

Book is still selling. I saw associate editor of the paper at the store Friday and she said about half of that last shipment I took down there was gone. Maybe I need to start ordering a couple hundred at a time. Sure as I did, sales would probably stop and I’d wind up with an excess of books. Strange, but the Kindle version is selling better than the paper on Amazon. Noticed this morning that I’d sold another one in the UK. That’s cool, get full 70-percent on those, unlike those in other places where the royalty drops to 35 percent.

May sound mercenary, but a book like this is all about money, not arty-farty jive. Next one I write will be all about money as well. Living in Obamanation as we do, it’ll come to that for everybody. Course, those of us on Social Security don’t get a raise again this year because inflation hasn’t increased. Maybe not by the measures they use, but if you buy anything today you won’t have a problem realizing it’s more costly than it was in the past.

Meanwhile, Obama is on his umpteenth vacation of the year, this time 11 days in the state (allegedly) of his birth. I don’t regard myself a “birther,” one who is firmly convinced the man isn’t an American citizen, but it’s odd that he wouldn’t clean things up for all those who believe that by simply allowing release of his original birth certificate, and not some short form little thing with a 1986 laser print notice on bottom and no evidence of a fold.

It’s the same story with his college transcripts. Could be that he, like John Kerry, just doesn’t want it known that George Bush made better grades; that kind of thing has to be embarrassing as hell to elitists who regard Bush as a moron. Of course, some speculate on more nefarious problems with the refusal to release university records and even think that perhaps they show Obama was a foreign student who gained some perks (beyond plain old affirmative action) because of that status.

No President of the United States, no matter what political party, should be able to hide anything about his or her past. That should all be an open book. And it is in most cases, because the media don’t give a pass to regular old folks in office, or at least not those of the Republican persuasion. Indeed, they go out of their way to dig up every little doubt available. And that wouldn’t be a problem if it were applied evenly, but it’s not.


Friday, December 10, 2010

Still rocking on!

Got a call from the Banner moments ago. Yeah, they've already sold out the last batch of books I took own there and they need more. Fortunately, I got a new shipment in yesterday so I'm ready for them. All I can figure is, placing all those little ads throughout the paper is causing people to notice it. Also, sold one of the vampire books on Kindle couple days ago. Things are looking up in Jazzboville!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Cold!

Man, we’re seeing some brutal late fall weather here in Dixieland. Lows in teens, highs barely above freezing. Some of the prognosticators said we were going to have a mild, wet winter but I think they screwed the pooch. Course, it’s not winter yet so things could change. I wouldn’t hold my breath until that happens, however, because I don’t look particularly good in blue--especially when it’s my complexion we’re talking about.

Still nothing new creatively in the hopper. Truth is, I’ve been too busy caring for a sick woman to even worry about it. She’s been bed-ridden for most of a week with a shoulder pain problem...result of a childhood injury. What the hell, an evil stepfather slung her into a wall when she was three and shattered her shoulder...I’d love to get that bastard in a small locked room for about fifteen minutes. The asshole is dead now, which is good--saves me the bother of having to located and kill him. People who treat kids that way are the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth. I was a drunk, evil sumbitch much of my life, but I never mistreated my kids or anyone else's.

Sold a Kindle copy of the murder book in the UK. I thought maybe a poet there who earlier bought Parallel Blues might have purchased it, but he said he didn’t. Guess people everywhere are interested in murder, since it’s a universal happening. Some folks need to be killed, but many times it happens to those who don’t.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Sudden Upsurge

Big run on my murder book locally all of a sudden. I took a batch to the Banner last Tuesday and Friday they were calling me to bring more. The paper has been running numerous little ads for the book the past couple of weeks and it seems to be paying off. I had to order another shipment last night and will likely be out before they get here.

Meanwhile, noticed that another sold on Kindle yesterday evening. I also got the vampire thing on there now, not that I expect it to set the world on fire. I'll be satisfied if it sells 500 copies a week. . . Hell yeah, I'd be way more than satisfied. heh

Temp dropping now and more cold weather on the way. This winter is getting off to a shitty start and can only go downhill from here.