Good books are friends

My girlfriend and I had chinese food for dinner the other night. I’d like to share with you what my fortune cookie had hidden inside.

“Good books are friends who are always ready to talk to us.”

For the readers out there, I think you will agree. Good or bad, they talk to us, reach into our souls and stimulate emotions. I don’t know about you, but I have conversations with my books. Yes, the books themselves. I talk to them and they respond.

IMG_20160617_111433I also have conversations with other readers about books, either mine or someone else’s. We can debate whether it was a good read or a bad read. We can argue about the elements of the characters, the plot or the outcome.

My favorite books are those that I cannot predict where the story is taking me. Not just the ending either. I want to be surprised and jolted all along the way. Just when I think I figured out ‘who done it’ or whether the couple will final get together, the best stories for me those that change direction. By the time the last page is turned, I want the story wrapped up. I want all of the pieces to fit, like a jigsaw puzzle.

So far, from what people tell me, my books fit that criteria. However, I would be interested in what you, the reader of this blog, thinks. Write me. Fill out the comment field below and lay it on me. Tell me whether your favorite books talk to you and what it is about them that makes the book one of your favorites.

Till next time, have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Your’s in reading and writing, Rich.

Mid-Summer Musings

I know it’s been a week since I’ve last posted a note. Sorry about that. I took the time to revise my website, RichardVerry.com, getting it to load faster, and remove some of the bloat that time inevitably creates. If you haven’t been to the site lately, please stop by.

29869517 - an image of a useful sale button 50%

One reason to stop by is that I am running a sale on some of my books. Check out the webpage for details. I can say this, some of the books are either free or 50% off.

Her-Client-Trilogy-advert1aI want to thank everyone who has been buying my ‘Her Client’ books. I did an analysis of sales for the past month. It appears that I am selling a decent quantity of these books each day. However, I did note some interesting facts.

Fact 1: Book 1, ‘Her Client’ sells twice as many as Books 2 & 3, and Book 2 ‘Her Overseer’ sells twice as many as Book 3 ‘Her Essentia’.

Fact 2: Sales on Books 2 & 3 follow that same curve as book 1, only a day or two later. That tells me this. If I captured your interest in Book 1, you are sure to buy books 2 & 3 a day or two later.

Fact3: Sales are the best reviews. I heartily believe that. However, I would love to hear from the readers on what you thought about the books. Write me, I welcome your comments. In the long run, your comments will help me write better and better books.

Be on the lookout for other books in the ‘Her Client’ genre. I have one already published on my site called ‘The Breakup’. It is also available on many other sites. I hope to get it available soon on Amazon. Frankly, I’ve been holding off on publishing it to Amazon as I am running an experiment. I’ll tell you more about the experiment in the future, but for now, the best place to get the book, ‘The Breakup’ is from my site.The-Breakup-advert5a800x300

Stop by and check out the site and read the reviews by readers like you. You might be surprised at mind boggling and enthralling the stories are.

Till next time, I hope you are have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Followup to Goals without a Plan

Yesterday, I wrote about goals without a plan is nothing more than a wish. In fact, I believe it’s more than that. It’s wishful thinking.

However, once you have the plan, you are already on the road to meeting your goals. For me, that’s the fun part. Taking the first step, then the next and then, the next one again. I’ve always believed that to reach the summit, you must put one foot in front of the other. Step over over the pebbles and eventually you’ll step over the stone, and eventually the mountain.

Earlier, I stumbled upon this followup quote.

“There’s no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”

Makes sense to me, despite that I wish that it were possible to jump ahead of the line and go right to the top.

No Elevator to SuccessThe image I’ve displayed shows the quote surrounded by a spiraling stair case. I can’t imagine how many steps it would take to climb that stair case and reach the top. Hundreds? Thousands?

However many there are, in real life, it takes much more to achieve our goals. My goals. I’ve spent decades learning, experiencing, and experimentation before deciding upon my goals. Some of my goals have fallen to the wayside in favor of newer, more interesting goals.

Do you know what I find if fun? Working on my goals, figuring them out and taking the steps to achieve them. For me, it’s sitting down in front of my computer and transcribing the dialog running through my head. It’s picking up a pencil or paint brush and putting it to paper or canvas. Adrenaline begins racing throughout my body. I’m excited and the imagery in my mind feeds off the adrenaline and suddenly, my fingers can’t move fast enough. Whether it’s typing on a keyboard or stroke after stroke of my pencil or brush, I pour my heart and soul into each creative work.

Years later, I can look at a painting I did, notice one of my books on the shelves and the excitement returns in an immeasurable instant. Every so often, I review Honey’s story in my book, The Taste of Honey, and I’m filled with joy, wonderment and concern. I want her to be saved. I want her to thrive. I know that she has a goal in mind and that goal will survive death. She’ll make it happen. She has a plan. You’ll see as you delve into her world along with her best friend, Mona Bendarova.

Damn, I love what I do. I hope you do and if you don’t, well that’s okay too. You’re welcome to your opinion. Who am I to tell you what to think. So, to conclude, I hope I can instill this one thought and it’s a motto I’ve lived with my entire life. As far as I can tell, no one else has said this and I’ve repeated the mantra in my head every day of my adult life, and I’ve been around a while. I would be interested in your comments and responses. Please send me a note. I’ll be happy to read them.

My personal motto is this.

“Nothing is impossible. Everything is possible. It’s all in the attitude.” – Richard Verry

How I came to write ‘The Taste of Honey’ (part 2)

With a title, I had a really rough idea of how I wanted the story to go. At the time, I wasn’t thinking I would publish it but I want to write a fresh and new story. As I researched the story idea, I found little that someone else hadn’t already written about my idea. Great! Time to get writing in earnest.

So, with a title and a rough, and I mean really rough, concept, I began writing. No outline, no framework that existed except in my head. As the stories developed, I wrote draft after draft refining it as I went along. I wrote a future history and an encyclopedia of the rules and concepts of the universe I was creating. Over the years, the drafts and the supporting material got more and more refined.

This process went on for two years. During that time, I didn’t tell anyone that I was writing a full length novel. As the months went by, I would pick it up and work on it. At other times, weeks would go by without even thinking about it. Six months before I finished it, I resolved myself to work harder at it. Diligently, I would write a chapter a day or so. Then, a funny thing happened.

I started waking up at four in the morning with awesome dialog running through my head of this scene or that one. Like the imagery that invades my thoughts, the dialog my half asleep mind developed was perfect. Instead of trying to fall back asleep, I would get up and write for a couple of hours. On weekends, I would write well into mid-morning.

My lady-love would wake up and begin talking to me and I’d ask her to hang on until I finished my thought. At times she’d be okay and at other times, not. Oops! Not good. But the unwritten dialog was just too good to interrupt. I had to capture it and I beg forgiveness and kept on writing.

Then, while on a trip to Florida, I did a final push and finished the book. That’s when I involved my girlfriend and other friends, editing it again and again. They all told me, “Rich, you need to publish this. It’s too good not to.”

So, I published it and immediately began writing in earnest, driving myself to continue Mona and Honey’s story. Four months later, I released the sequel ‘Broken Steele’. I’ll tell you about how that came to be written in a future blog.

Who is Charles Bendarova?

Charles Bendarova is a man who has many facets.

Charles is the master of his own household. In a feudal like community of large sprawling estates, he maintains one of the largest when compared to others within the community. His stable consists of hundreds of sows and bitches. He feels responsible for each of them. He recognizes having that responsibility comes with making the hard decision(s) that will benefit his own interest(s) as well as his household. If that means condemning an individual for the good of his estate, so be it!

He is comfortable in his position and expects one day that he will become Chairman of the community ruling body, Club Lothario. Currently, he maintains a position on the executive committee where his opinions are held in high regard in resolving disputes and promoting the strategic direction of the community.

Charles is a tall, dark-haired male in his late forties with broad shoulders who is the epitome of the species. He is a sadist at his core but he is also a nurturing father figure to his stable stock. He prefers mentoring and guiding rather than directing. Others, however usually take his opinion and suggestions as directives due to his standing within the community. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you may know someone like him. 

Like all males within the community, he maintains an entourage of attendants who take care of his every need, sexual and otherwise. He also ensures his guests have their own attendants from his stable when they come to visit. He likes to wager on contests, whether he is actively involved or not. He loves his single malt scotch, a stuffed breast appetizer paired with a great steak filet.

He has his own responsibilities that have been delegated to him by the community. To ensure the continuation of the species, he needs to make twice monthly rounds at the breeding centers. He meets his meat quotas and regularly sponsors the monthly community celebrations.

He likes to play golf and sip his favorite cocktail while a sexy attendant sits on his lap. He especially likes going unnoticed as he watches his stock lounge by the pool during their off hours. He watches privately so as to not intrude upon their free time.

If you are curious and want to learn more about Charles, I invite you to read the book, ‘The Taste of Honey’. I look forward to reading your constructive comments.

Give the Gift of Reading


Don’t know what to give someone for the holidays?

Give the gift of reading by giving ‘The Taste of Honey’. Available on Amazon or right here on this site. You’ll be able to share many hours together comparing your favorite scenes.buy now from amazon yellow small images


Broken Steele book cover 3DAlso available is the sequel, ‘Broken Steele’ also available at Amazon or right here on this site.

buy now from amazon yellow small images

What would Mona do?

Mona just found out about a catastrophe in a neighboring community. Turns out it’s the same community that her bed-mate Renee has been getting those terrific custom-made heels that both she and Mona love. The question on their minds are whether her shoe maker who creates these wonderful shoes that everyone raves about survived the catastrophe. Information on just what happened is sketchy but apparently lots of people were involved with an unsanctioned killing spree.  Up-to-date Information is sketchy at best but what they do have is that a small group of people crashed a community celebration systematically went around killing the celebrants.

Broken SteeleHer housemates in shock, Mona puts aside her disbelieve and organizes the house in a show of support for the survivors. The tragedy they suffered ripples throughout the land and everyone vows to find and put down the perpetrators. Gathering her housemates together, just as she would do to honor one of their own recently departed, she calls them into action. Before long, a memorial is planned, a house colors are temporarily transformed to the those of the stricken community and moments of silence are scheduled for repeating days at the hour of the tragedy.


Enlisting the aid of her investigative team, she re-prioritizes her staff to stop whatever they were doing and focus on determining whether their own communities vulnerability to a similar attack. Additionally, she charges several of her key investigators to find the perpetrators and report back to her. Uncharacteristically, she warns them that they must find them, even to risk their own lives. They agree knowing that there must not be a repeat occurrence of this tragedy.

After sending them on their way, she meets with Master Charles and together, they put together a plan to take out the perpetrators. Their ire inflamed, they both feel that this is something they must do in order to protect entire community. Not something either of comfortable with, they both believe it must be done.

Thank you

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015BNI1D8 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015BNI1D8

Broken-Steele

Thanks to everyone to purchased ‘Broken Steele’. The following is growing and I am ecstatic. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Available from Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle reader and in Paperback, I believe you will find the story an exciting and fun read.

 

A big thank you

Broken-Steele

‘Broken Steele’, released last Thursday, is selling well. Thank you all who purchased my latest book. More in the works.

And huge thank you to ‘Miss TC’ who gave me my first five star review on only it’s second day of release.

Available from Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle reader and in Paperback, I believe you will find the story an exciting and fun read.

Check it out. I welcome hearing from you.

Broken Steele Released

Broken-Steele
Broken Steele

‘Broken Steele’, the sequel to ‘The Taste of Honey’ Released.

It is available from Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle reader and in Paperback.

Check it out. I would enjoy hearing from you.

Thank you for your support. And thanks to everyone who purchased it during pre-sale. You’re the greatest.