Some photographs of my guide dog Trigger taken in the office at Christmas time.
My Colleague Trigger relaxing on his bed in the office
Trigger with a toy in his mouth facing away from the camera
Happy guide dog Trigger
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A Guest Post By Yours Truly
A big thank you to Anju of cupitonians.wordpress.com for hosting the following guest post by me on her excellent blog (https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/guest-blog-dalliance/). The piece deals with my latest collection of poetry and prose, “Dalliance” which is available, as an ebook in the Amazon Kindle store.
An Offer I Simply Can Not Afford To Turn Down
Below is an e-mail from a most noble and worthy gentleman together with my response. The e-mil was, for some inexplicable reason relegated by Google to my spam folder. Riches await me …!
Email From Dr Menah
“My dear good frend
Compliment of the season, how are you and your family? Hope All is well. I am Dr. Igho Menah, the accountant general in the accounts unit Bank of Africa (BOA-BF) Ouagadougou Burkina Faso. I got your contact from the Burkina Faso chambers of commerce have some fund to claim in my bank Which will be of benefit to both of us.
I want you to be an inheritor of the fund, the fund is in a Doormat account and with your bank information and my Documentation certifies you as the inheritor/beneficiary Since I am an insider and working in the same bank, the Transfer will be processed legally and successfully and I will Be coming down to your country for disbursement.
The amount of money involved is ($5.6million) which I want you to Claim for further transfer out of the country to your bank Account, all to our financial benefit. This is very great opportunity as it will take a maximum of 7 banking Working days to be concluded.
I as an insider will do my duties perfectly well concerning this transaction for security reasons. This is confidential for successful conclusion and hitch-free transaction. Contact me immediately for further details and mutual Relationship and we will decide together on how to disburse The funds and percentage as well, my private email Address :(address deleted by me)
I will be waiting to hear from you.
Yours truly.
Dr. Igho Menah.”
My Response
“Dear Dr Menah,
thank yu for your kind communication and good wishes in respect of myself and those dear to me. I am touched that a gentleman of such exhaulted position (I refer, of course to your noble personage) should take time away from his busy schedule to contact me, a mere author. I trust that my response kindles in what, I feel sure must be a heart full of the milk of human kindness,feelings of the upmost exhaultation.
I was most interested to read your kind invitation to participate in your scheme for relieving your country’s bank of a significant sum of money. I feel certain that an upright gentleman, a man of probity and, no doubt deeply religious beliefs would not be a party to (or expect me, a humble author) to participate in what some uncharitable individuals, (not myself I hasten to add) might construe as constituting fraudulent conduct. I was, incidentally most interested to read about the “Doormat account”. I have not heard of any such banking instrument and would be most grateful if you could find time in your busy schedule to enlighten me regarding what a “doormat account” consists of?
I will give your offer the consideration which it so richly deserves. You may expect to hear from me, via a message placed in a beer bottle which I shall drop in the great Atlantic in the hope and expectation that my bank account details will reach your good self in a timely fashon.
Are you, by the way a lover of literature.? I feel sure that a man of your stature must be very learned. May I take the liberty of suggesting that you may wish to visit my Amazon author page. You will, I am confident find material to entertain and delight you contained therein.
Yours most insincerely
A Humble Author
(Note; I did not, in fact respond to Dr Menah’s most generous invitation but, had I done so the above is what I would have penned in response).
There Is Nowt So Queer As Folk
Shortly before Christmas 2014 I stood at a busy bar waiting to be served. Time passed but no one seemed inclined to attend to my requirements. I turned to the gentleman standing next to me,
“Do you think they have noticed me?” I said.
“Everyone seems to want food. I don’t know why they can’t eat at home, that is what I do. You are different, being blind I mean” my companion said.
The above conversation intrigued me. Was my fellow pub goer some kind of puritan with a deep seated objection to people spending money on eating out when they could, perfectly well knock up a meal at home? Puritans generally object to the drinking of alcohol and as my new found acquaintance was imbibing the demon drink I dismissed the idea that he was a strict Puritan.
The idea that the gentleman might be the adherent of a form of extreme left-wing radicalism crossed my mind. Did he feel in the very depths of his being that it was wrong to spend money on luxuries such as eating out when there are people starving in the world? But if he did indeed adhere to such an extreme perspective why allow himself the “luxury” of a drink as alcohol is, surely not a necessity?
As I pondered such philosophical questions a barman approached and enquiring what I wanted proceeded to serve me. I never did get to the bottom of what precisely my new found friend had against people who choose to spend a convivial Sunday afternoon enjoying a roast in a pub rather than slaving over a hot stove. It just goes to prove, as is often remarked in the north of England that “there is nowt so queer as folk”.
The Strand Is Dead, Long Live The Strand!
As a lover of the Sherlock Holmes stories I was interested to learn that The Strand Magazine, in which 56 of Conan Doyle’s Holme’s adventures first appeared has been revived in print and online formats, (http://www.strandmag.com/hist.htm). The revived magazine (The Strand began publishing in the 1890’s and folded in 1950 due to falling circulation figures and lack of finances) aims to continue the original publication’s venerable traditions by publishing the best in crime and other genres.
I wish The Strand well and am considering subscribing to the online edition. I do wonder though how, in a world in which so much fiction is provided free online, a paid for periodical of this nature can survive? Having asked the question I will attempt to answer it.
The growth in free online content has not killed the ebook (indeed the format is thriving. Witness, for example the success of Amazon). Many of my own stories originally appeared on this blog. This has, however not prevented readers from downloading them from Amazon. Perhaps the inclusion of stories on an author’s blog (either as extracts or in their entirety) attracts followers who, in turn will download the author’s work when it becomes available on Amazon or other sites. I am cautiously optimistic in terms of both the Strand and paid writing more generally.
Can We Avoid A Digital Apocalypse?
An interesting post on whether we can avoid a digital apocalypse by Sam Harris (http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/can-we-avoid-a-digital-apocalypse).
Why drewdog2060drewdog2060?
When I make a comment or like a post “drewdog2060drewdog2060” appears which, when clicked on takes the reader to my blog. It makes me smile when people respond to my feedback by addressing me as Drew when, in fact my name is Kevin. Given the use of drewdog2060drewdog2060 it is easy to understand why people make this mistake! So why the drewdog2060drewdog2060 I here you ask?
My third guide dog was a lovely lab/retriever cross called Drew. I have wonderful memories of our time together including walks in the woodland which abuts my home. Drew was a gentle dog who was loved by all who met her, (I remember people who are usually frightened of dogs stopping to pat her).
Drew had her faults (few of us, apart from me of course are plaster saints)! I well recollect her raiding the bins in the office and helping herself to the odd lunch which unwary colleague’s had left within her reach but, despite all this she was a lovely dog who worked loyally as my guide and friend for many years.
March 2011 is indelibly imprinted on my memory. It was an ordinary day. I had gone into my office in London with Drew and on the way home popped into my favourite local for a pint, followed by a trip to the supermarket. Drew kept stopping to relieve herself. I thought she just had a stomach upset which would pass but in the night she began to pass blood. My then partner took her to the vets but, very sadly she died as a consequence of a heart attack brought on by blood loss.
I got my present companion, Trigger on 4 July 2011. He, also is a wonderful dog and has saved me from walking in front of vehicles on several occasions. Despite my bond with Trigger Drew will forever maintain a special place in my heart. She lives on in drewdog2060drewdog2060 and despite the confusion the use of her name sometimes causes I won’t be changing it.
It is a great pity that dogs have such short lives in comparison to we humans.
Drew (sorry Kevin)
Have You Compiled A Charity Anthology? If So You May Be Able To Assist
As those of you who follow this blog will know I am compiling a charity anthology to raise money for The Guide Dogs For The Blind Association (GDBA), a charity which trains assistance dogs for visually impaired people.
I have been moved by the kindness of fellow bloggers and authors in providing a platform to promote the idea and to everyone who has submitted content. I hope that the book will be published in the Amazon Kindle store in February of this year.
I have no experience of charity anthologies and would greatly appreciate advice from anyone who has published such a work regarding how best to get the monies to Guide Dogs? I have my own author’s page on Amazon. I am, however reluctant to publish the work using my Amazon author’s account as this would necessitate me separating out payments intended for Guide Dogs from monies meant for me and forwarding them onto the charity. The simplest and least beurocratic solution would appear to entail setting up the book on it’s own Amazon page while furnishing Amazon with GDBA’s account details thereby ensuring that payments go direct to the charity’s account. I would link to the anthology from this blog and my Amazon author page but the title and monies would remain distinct from my publications. Does anyone know whether this is a viable way forward? If not how have you addressed the issue of getting monies to your charity? Any advice would be most welcome. Please feel free to comment or alternatively e-mail me at newauthoronline at gmail . com (the address is rendered in this way to defeat the scourge of the internet, spammers)!
Many thanks,
Kevin
Kindle Unlimited Myths
An interesting post. All of my books (other than Dalliance) are enrolled in KDP Select. I have, on occasions considered removing some or all of my titles. However, as of today (16 January) they remain in the programme.
KINDLE UNLIMITED MYTHS
There are many myths about KDP Select floating around.
We now have several months of data, including data released directly from KDP.
In some cases, these facts debunk popular myths.
Let me begin by answering a question that may be on many authors’ minds, and then I’ll get to the myths vs. facts about Kindle Unlimited.
WHAT DID KINDLE UNLIMITED PAY IN DECEMBER, 2014?
Kindle Unlimited paid $1.43 per download read to 10% in December, 2014.
This brings me to the first myth.
MYTH #1: KINDLE UNLIMITED IS GOING DOWN EVERY MONTH
Actually, it’s gone up a little the past two months.
In October, 2014, it was $1.33. It climbed up to $1.39 in November, 2014, and again to $1.43 in December, 2014.
Despite the extra holiday traffic in December—especially, the after-Christmas traffic with people who received new Kindles—the Kindle Unlimited payments went up.
I think that’s…
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You Know That Sinking Feeling
As a writer it is perhaps inevitable that sooner or later fiction and real life will collide. In November 2014 I wrote a short story entitled “Women’s Shoes” which originally appeared as a guest post on a fellow blogger’s site and, subsequently under the title “Shoes” in my collection of short stories, “The Suspect And Other Tales”, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U). The story deals with the obsession of a serial killer with the footware worn by prostitutes and is a work of fiction with no basis in fact.
Having finished “Shoes” I e-mailed it to my blogging friend, shut down the laptop and headed off for Sunday lunch in a local pub. There I sat, pint in hand idly browsing the Telegraph’s website on my mobile phone as I waited for my Sunday roast to arrive. My attention was arrested by a story regarding a man accused of having murdered 2 women in his Hong Kong flat., (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/hongkong/11203291/British-man-arrested-over-Hong-Kong-double-murder.html). The article referred to the victims as “sex workers” and contained horrific details regarding their deaths. Suddenly I didn’t feel particularly hungry. At first glance my story bore an uncanny resemblance to the article I was reading. Both the Telegraph’s piece and my story deal with the killing of prostitutes (in my case on a purely fictional basis while the newspaper’s piece pertains to the killing of flesh and blood women). I had written my story in total ignorance of the murders and had I known of the killings would not have penned it. However given that I had composed the story what was I to do? Should I email my blogging friend asking that the piece be deferred, or not published in any form?
I looked at the facts of the case. My story was set in the UK and was written in total ignorance of the Hong Kong killings. In the (fictional) “Shoes” the killer is obsessed with the footware worn by the world’s oldest profession, (there was no intimation of any such obsession in the Telegraph’s article). In”Shoes” the psychopathic killer keeps his victims bodies frozen in a commercial freezer, meaning there would be no odour of decomposition, while in the Hong Kong case the corpse’s of the unfortunate ladies where found in a state of decomposition in the apartment of the accused (his neighbours had complained of the smell emanating from the flat). In short it was a pure coincidence that my story bore a passing resemblance to the (real-life) Hong Kong case and on this basis I determined not to withdraw it from publication.
There is, as is so often remarked “nothing new under the sun”. It is inevitable that stories written in total ignorance of (real-life) crimes will sometimes reflect (albeit wholly unintentionally), and often in an indirect manner those actual happenings.
(Please note, the Hong Kong case is still to go to trial and I make no assumption as to the outcome of the case, I.E. a man is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law).
K Morris - Poet 