Year End Recap for 2015

Life will try its best to drag you down into the depths some days. Don't you let it.



Also going down (temporarily) is the price of the Kindle edition of my novel Patches of Grey at Amazon. It will be discounted to a mere 99 cents beginning on December 17th. You'll have until Christmas to obtain it at a steal of a price before it returns to the still extremely reasonable cost of $2.99.

And now on to my recap of some of the most memorable happenings of 2015.  It was many things. Dull was not one of them.

Serena Williams, although supposed to be past her prime according to Father Time, continued to win and win and win and as result was named the sportsperson of the year.  This launched a bunch of think pieces about the fact that she looks very sexy on the Sports Illustrated cover, and whether this is a good or bad thing.  Why it would be a bad thing, I have no idea. It doesn’t take much to launch think pieces these days.  

An icon unlike any other. Congrats @SerenaWilliams. 2015 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year. pic.twitter.com/2NWfNEV6mo

— Gatorade (@Gatorade) December 14, 2015

Black Lives Matter. No, Blue Lives Matter. No, All Lives Matter. No, Just Black Lives Matter because too many have demonstrated that they believe to the contrary. What do I think? I believe that Love Matters.

A sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird dropped. Even more shocking than learning that Harper Lee actually wrote another book, and that she actually allowed it to be published after all these years, was finding out that Harper turned the beloved icon Atticus Finch into an a-hole in Go Set a Watchman.  


Apparently a woman’s mug may grace US currency in the relatively near future.  Maybe it will be the $20 bill.  Maybe it will be a black woman. Perhaps Harriet Tubman. Think pieces launched over whether the selection of Harriet would be a righteous act or not.  Sounds like a well-deserved honor and flawless plan to me.    


Men such as Freddie Gray died under mysterious circumstances.  Police officers far too frequently seemed to be at fault, to be doing the exact opposite of protecting and serving.  When arrests were not immediate, people protested. They marched.  Sometimes they rioted. They demanded justice.  Or was it revenge that they craved? Sometimes they got what they wanted. Other times they did not.  Racism continues. Needless gun deaths continue to happen as well.  But there are fewer Confederate flags waving in the South now, so at least there’s that.


Pete Rose is still not in baseball’s Hall of Fame, proving that the more things change the more they stay the same.


In spite of numerous obituaries, BOOKS continued to be printed and independent brick and mortar bookstores continue to sell them.  Some of these books are written by well-known perpetual Best Sellers. Others are penned by your next door neighbors who just may be extremely talented.   

That's the spirit, Waterstones. pic.twitter.com/iLEKtp2Pkz

— David Pegg (@davidtpegg) December 22, 2015

The unsettling notion that President Barack Obama could be followed by President Donald Trump stubbornly persists because polls continue to defy logic and show Trump maintaining a lead over his GOP opponents.  Hillary or Bernie will have to save us from such a cruel fate. Either one will do.  
 

Various formerly popular African American celebrities did/said something to lose cool points and be accused of not being sufficiently black.  This was to be expected. Rachel Dolezal happened. This was not to be expected AT ALL.  

We collectively lost the capacity to think fondly of The Cosby Show.

Bruce Jenner vanished and Caitlyn Jenner happened.

The Force Awakened.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from me and mine to you and yours.

I'm the one on Santa's left knee with the awesome sweater.

Sale of the Century

Jay Z raps that he has 99 problems but a female dog ain’t one. Well STOP THE PRESSES, because if you have 99 cents and a Kindle then you too have no problem. No problem obtaining my novel Patches of Grey, that is. March 23rd is my birthday and I’ve decided to mark the occasion in a most celebratory fashion by giving a gift to you. By you, I mean the book buying public. I mean those of you always on the look out not only for a great read, but also a great deal. I mean those of you for which cost may have once been an object, but no more, because it has been reduced from $8.99 to $0.99. My math is terrible but I believe that's a savings of something like 89%! And there's no waiting in a long line to bring it up on your screen. You are now less than a buck and a few mouse clicks away from having an electronic copy of my debut novel in your possession. If you’d prefer to hold a bound copy in hand, if you’re still an old school ink and paper type soul, you can spend a little more to obtain the printed edition from Amazon or one of the independent booksellers that carries it. If you’d like an autographed copy then you’ll need to purchase one directly from me via PayPal. But if all you care to have is the story itself, and if you are currently a Kindle owner or else destined to become one in the not too distant future, your wallet is an extremely light hit away from reading my book. How long will this mega sale last? Well, that’s up to you. I’m not under the impression that Patches of Grey will be making me a rich man. My goal is simply for as many people to read it as possible. I put a tremendous amount of work into it, happen to feel that it’s a fantastic impactful story, and would love for a significant amount of people to check it out and judge for themselves. So long as a respectful number of readers are deciding to give it a shot, the Kindle edition of Patches of Grey will remain at the budget friendly price of 99 cents. To reach the maximum count of people I suppose I could just give it away, but I’m feeling generous, not crazy. Once you’ve read my novel I really hope to hear your thoughts on it. Please leave a line or two on Amazon or GoodReads.com or your book review blog or wherever it is you state opinions on the books that come into your lives. I look forward to finding out what you think, just as I'm anxious to finish the edit of my second novel Matters of Convenience, get it out there, and learn how you feel about that one also. Then once again there will be cause to celebrate. My uncopyrighted motto is "Another Day, Another Milestone". So what are you waiting for? If you’re thinking of getting me something for my birthday, I’ve just given you a mighty big clue what I'd value and cherish most of all. You may come to find that you've given yourself a wonderful gift as well.

Happy Reading!

~

p.s. - Please check out my interview at Kindle Author where I talk about, well, being an author, being published on Kindle, my novel Patches of Grey, and a whole lot more