military – Page 8

I feel like I’m in an enviable position in many ways.

Disturbed at work ... or just disturbed? — Disturbed at work … or just disturbed?

I did write a whole paragraph about the various situations that folk find themselves in, but with the best will in the world, it still made depressing reading, so I’ve deleted it. If anybody out there really wants to appreciate their own life more – drop me a line and I’ll cheer you up with some figures.

Where do I stand in all this? In a military career spanning 20+ years I saw enough of life to appreciate my own survival, so anything else was a bonus from then on. I followed that with 20 years of retail management, during which I saw a whole new spectrum of life and attitudes. Here I am today, with a few days to myself, but even at work now I’m only there three days a week – and it’s not management.

This is not a pose ... this is reality. — This is not a pose … this is reality.

I can deal with other people’s situations through some simple reasoning. The employment situation and the homeless are beyond anything I can do, apart from the fact that a lot of them have created their own situations. I regularly donate to chosen charities so that removes any feeling of guilt about doing nothing. My efforts to raise funds for Comic Relief 2013 may not be much, but again, every £1 helps in that cause. Please see my previous posts or visit my website to see how you could help:

http://www.tom-benson.co.uk/comic-relief-2013/

Fortunately for me, 60 is the new 40, or so I’m prepared to believe because it makes me feel good. Writing is the meaning of life for me now. I’ve always been a storyteller but only put them in print in recent years. It’s gratifying to get feedback to the effect that some of it is actually good, so I’m going to stick at it. I’ll be following this post with one on Reading and Writing, so at least it will serve two purposes:

First, it will let you all know what I’ve been reading recently, what I’ve been writing and that I do both … oh yes I do! Secondly, it will refresh my own memory of what I’m up to these days – because there really is so much of it. I’m serious, there really is! There are competition entries, site updates, the next novel, a little poetry, e-publishing and would you believe mentoring, but that’s all for next time.

Okay, having said all that, I’ll just check my links are working, add a photo to create more interest, LOL … and then I’ll be back on to prepare the next post. Today I must really make an effort to read other blogs. Oh, and by the way, thank you for reading.

Pacific Ocean viewed from Panama's west coast — Pacific Ocean viewed from Panama’s west coast

Perhaps I shouldn’t book my place on a luxury cruise yet, or buy a little place in the Swiss Alps, but since publishing my novel ‘Ten Days’, just ten days ago, I’ve now recorded ten sales. I even have a review from one happy customer – so how good is that!

My marketing campaign is presently based on electronic warfare – my e-book against all the others that are out there. I’ve sent out sample invitations to all my email contacts (yes all three of them), and now once again I’ll give it a mention on my Facebook page to jog memories. Perhaps you are one of the people who is on the fence. Why not follow the link to check out a sample or check out the review. It might sway you into buying. ‘Ten Days’ the novel: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/257906

What else have I got in the pipeline? Apart from my second novel, I’m well on the way to producing what will be the first of five volumes of poetry. Each e-book will be made up of a different genre: Humour, Natural History, Love and Romance, Military and Series poetry. The Series poetry will contain a variety of topics, with some as short as 4 poems, whilst others are in excess of 20.

In an effort to promote some interest my intention is to offer the first volume, ‘Humour’ as FREE. If all goes according to plan it will be available for download by as early as next weekend. I will of course give it a few mentions on Facebook, just in case anybody misses it here.

There will be a slight change with the books of poetry, in that I’m intending to deal with the front covers and titles myself. Now that I’ve passed all this on, I’m sure it will be no surprise that I’ll have to go now … press releases to write.