Thunderstorms and other things

Lightning touching downWe had the most magnificent thunderstorm overnight. Despite their danger and possible damage to our environment, I love watching them form before breaking out in lightning and thunder. I love the feel of the concussive force against my chest as they roll across the landscape. I love seeing the bolts of light gather strength and reach out to the ground in impressive displays of their power.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I protect myself, mindful of the danger. I stay safe and if necessary, flat to the ground. I know the danger, having observed my mother get struck once when I was a kid. The experience scared me to death. Come to think of it, I had forgotten all about the incident until just now. It’s been decades since I recalled watching the bolt jump from the sky and touch my mother, pulling weeds from the garden. She was okay shortly later, but at the time, scary.

Lightning and lit up clouds reaching down

Perhaps I’ll write a story involving lightning and thunderstorms one day.

The other day, I made the commitment to once again, redesign my website. While pretty, maintaining it is problematic. The theme it uses are very restrictive and let’s not get started on the SEO components. I’ve tried to take advantage of several plug-ins only to find that they cannot work with the primary template of the theme. A template used on most of the pages of the site. It’s very discouraging.

So, sometime in the future, probably in the fall, I will release my updated site and add the functionality that I struggle implementing. Wish me luck.

The Trafficking ConsortiumMy latest book ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ is selling well. It is outselling the ‘Her Client’ series by a significant amount. It pleases me that it has also brought traffic to my other books, including ‘The Taste of Honey,’ ‘Broken Steele‘ and ‘The Breakup.’ I still need to finish the third book in the Mona series, called ‘Lucky Bitch.’ The first draft is done but I need to go through it again, clean it up, send it to editing, and well, a whole bunch more before it is published.

I’m still hoping that ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ will take off and launch an exciting future. In the meantime, I’ve been tossing around ideas and framework for a new book. It’s a serial killer drama, and I have already written two scenes for it along with a rough outline. However, it’s too early to tell whether I will proceed with the concept. Time, inspiration and perspiration will tell. So far though, I like it.

Lastly, on my concussion recovery front, I am doing surprisingly well. It seems that the chiropractic work is succeeding. I am ecstatic. However, it’s only been a month and while these latest sessions indicate that I am ‘Holding,’ my body is still reacting to the realignment of my vertebrae. Numerous lightning bolts across the cityHe calls it ‘retracing.’ There’s lots of information on that on the web so that I won’t go into it now. Let’s just say that the nerve endings in my brain must find new ways around the detours to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B.’ They are not happy and tortures my body until they settle down. Much like lightning. The parallels are uncanny.

I’ve experienced everything from vision changes, extreme neural and physical fatigue, and dry mouth. It seems I can’t go a minute or two without taking a sip of water. I wake up with a dry mouth and to bed with one. The dry mouth symptom started minutes after my first adjustment and is only now, four weeks later, starting to settle down. Doc tells me that this is normal as my body is flushing built up poisons.

That’s all well and good, but I need to pee every twenty minutes or so. Too many times I find the bathroom already occupied, as I stand outside, restless as my body jerks around trying to contain the imminent expulsion of poisons.

“Damn it! Whoever’s in there, get the hell out, please!

 

Hello all my fans and readers

It’s been, maybe, more than a week since I last wrote to you. Sorry about that. Marketing, headaches, and producing the paperback version of ‘The Trafficking Consortium,’ focused my attention these last several days.

dickering in asia
source: travel.cnn.com

Let’s start with marketing. Alright, so the image I’ve chosen is not directly related to my business, but the image does make it feel that way. Bickering. Plew! Sometimes I feel like it’s a terrible waste of time and then other times, not. For two weeks or so, I paid for Facebook advertising. The results weren’t too bad, and I sold some books. Was it enough to offset the cost of the advertising? No, but this time round, I didn’t expect to come out ahead. I do know that I generated enough to minimize my overall costs, and perhaps, will come out ahead in the months to come. So, I figure mixed results. Now I am off and trying a different tactic, Amazon advertising. This model is different. Where Facebook charges every time the advert is displayed, Amazon will only charge when someone clicks on the advert. I don’t know which will work better, but I do know, that one has to focus on the target audience for the advertising to be effective. Let’s see what happens.

Neuro-fatigueOn the headache front, I saw a chiropractor for several adjustments. He specializes in upper cervical services, and I must say, the results are positive. My headaches are now in the low-intensity range, and I’m hoping soon, they will disappear altogether. The trouble is, I am drinking water as I have never before. I wake up with a dry mouth, spend the day with a dry mouth, drinking vast quantities, and still go to bed with a dry mouth. Doc says that it is a good thing and that I am flushing the poisons from my body. I also feel extremely fatigued, feeling like I need sleep all day long. It’s hard to function, and I can’t multitask as I am accustomed. Both maladies will resolve themselves, or so the Doc says. It all has to do with something he calls, ‘Retracing.’ There’s a YouTube video on the subject. Check it out. I’m not sure what to make of it all, but I put my trust in his tender care.

The Trafficking Consortium
Copyright (c) Richard Verry 2016

Lastly, I’ve been working on formatting ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ for print publication. I can’t believe how many times I submitted a version to the printing house, only to reject it myself as I am proofing it. Hopefully, the version I uploaded yesterday will be my final and approved, version. Knock on wood.

It’s so odd; I never expected that I would be rejecting my proofs. The printing company, yes, me … no. However, I know that it will be a better product. Afterward, I will update the e-book version to match the printed edition. Don’t worry, the edits are minor, and anyone who already purchased the e-book version will get a free updated version.

Review button

And, oh, BTW, check out the new 5-star review from a brand new reader of mine. I was sooooo excited to read it. Thank you, Amy. Here’s the link to her review.

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