30th June 2018 – How close?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Another week rolls by… It is quite unbelievable where the time goes.

I finished writing the book back in April, but here I am at the end of June and I have just finished writing it again. Most folks don’t realise that when you write a book, of any size, there are so many words that you can easily lose track of what you have written. So one of the jobs of a writer is to read back through the whole thing to make sure timelines are right and that you haven’t written something and then said the exact opposite e.g. the blonde woman walks into the room and suddenly you find that you have been describing her rich auburn hair… Aargh! Totally wrong.

Next… another read through, just to be sure. This is also when I’ll be looking for keywords that hopefully will give me the title of the book. I have a few ideas currently, however I’m still not settled on one title.

Wish me luck!

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23rd June 2018 – Nearly there!

Posted on by Stephen James - Author
Hi everyone! Yes, novel 3 is nearly completed.
Over  the coming weeks I will be introducing my new baby to you all.
You know… the title, some insights to the story line, previews of the cover, as well as some introductions to the main characters.
I thought it was about time I started getting seriously ramped up for the launch of my next book! So I am getting back to my weekly blogs.
 Those of you following me on Facebook will be surprised to see that I have this website. But I will be using this for my weekly blogs as well as keeping you updated on projects and events coming up.
 Well, here goes…
Less distractions for the last week have seen me back at the computer again! The book fine tuning is reaching the final stages. At last! It shouldn’t be too much longer now. By July I should be hitting the pavement and taking my book to various publishers to make this project a reality.
I think I am starting to go a little stir crazy though.
Here is something that I thought was really amazing!
Did you know, that in the incredibly colourful maze of the English language, the thesaurus has 45 different words as an alternative to the common little three-letter-word “red”? This does not include phrases so there are actually a lot more. Here they are if you are interested http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/red 

Blog Buster! The next most popular activity on the mountain after skiing…

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Hi,

… and then,

     Well, in the stark light of day, reality was setting in.
     I still didn’t know what was wrong with me. The doctors also didn’t know, but had offered that all my vital signs were strong and so there was no need to panic.
    Back in the room, it was time to see if “google” could figure this out. What else was there to do, after all skiing was out! Scanning the many pages on offer really gave us no insight. Believing it to still be a pinched nerve, we researched some gentle stretches that might alleviate the problem.
    Health wise, I felt fine… except that I had a completely paralyzed left leg and buttock.
    I started working on my stretches and enjoyed doing research on the computer. This entertained me for the day and we decided not to cut our holiday short as resting was probably the best thing for me.
     The next morning I awoke. Bugger… the leg was still a piece of jelly!
     I was getting the hang of getting around though, and as cabin fever started to set in, I decided it was time to start enjoying myself and check the mountain out. That’s right, I am not a person who can just lay about.
     My first expedition was to be a trip in the shuttle bus that circulates around the accommodation and facilities on the mountain. This way I didn’t have to do any walking, I could see what was available and we could possibly figure out some things to do that were within my limited abilities right now.
    Brilliant!!! We discovered the next most popular activity on the mountain after skiing… Lodging. This proved to be my savior. This was definitely an activity that we both could participate in. Lodging, for the uninitiated, is the art of socializing by frequenting the local restaurants and cafes. Check out this photo! My clever little wife has figured out a way to get a picture of us both without it being a “selfie”, and I’ve added one of her as well.
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     We were actually starting to have fun! We were making “lemonade out of lemons”.

See you next week…

I hope you’re enjoying the read. Please share your thoughts with me, just send a message in the Leave A Reply box.

If you’d like to find out more about my books, just click here and you can preview all my books.

Blog Buster! The longest mile!

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Hi,

Here I am again! Yes… time for “Then what happened?”

     Well, we ate and I felt better for that. Now time for that wash and a good night’s sleep.
    Back at the room, after an exceptionally arduous trek down the mile long corridor to our room (it probably wasn’t that long, but with half a leg working and on crutches, it felt like it). Picture one of those scenes you see in the movies where the corridor seems to get longer and darker, the more the actors try to reach the end.
    Finally in the room, it was time to have that wash. Aghast, I stared, one of those old fashioned showers in the bath tub. Using the shower was out, there was no way I could safely stand up in there. I couldn’t even get my leg over the side of the bath tub. So, very carefully, my darling wife helped me.  It was a bit like the fireman’s lift being executed to get me in… getting out was a bit easier. 
    Clean and fed, now for my good night’s sleep.
    We settled in for the night. The bed was comfortable, the room was warm, and I was restless. There I was lying there with all this numbness. I felt like Sigourney Weaver in the Ghost Busters movie, hovering above the bed. I couldn’t feel the bed under me, I couldn’t feel my feet, I couldn’t feel my left leg at all. All that ran through my mind all night long was, “Is this it?” and “Am I going to be paralyzed forever?” Then the horror really set in, “Was I going to be wheelchair bound for the rest of my life?”
     The next morning I awoke. Yes… I must have finally drifted off for some slumber. Waking up, the first thing that I thought of was how horrible that dream was. Then it set in, when I tried to move. I was still paralized.
    We decided to make our way down to the restaurant for breakfast. It would be a great chance to see things in the light of day and try and work out our next move. Off we went down the enormous corridor again. Did they extend it while I was sleeping? It was even longer today.
    Sitting in the restaurant, the staff fussed over me. That was kind of nice, after all I felt really crappy right now. Then, there across the room I saw someone I recognized. I am an avid Australian Rules Football fan and have barracked for North Melbourne since 1972. I was amazed to see “Lethal” Lee Matthews, quite a legend in the game, sitting in the same restaurant. I couldn’t believe it when he spoke to me, asking about my leg. Everyone was presuming that I was the victim of a skiing accident, and he was no different.
mt buller room
     It hadn’t dawned on me what to say to people when they asked what happened. So, I just nodded and agreed with whatever explanation they came up with, after all their guess was as good as mine.

Stay tuned next week… that nagging question kept at me. What is happening to me?

I hope my story is still interesting. I would love for you to share your thoughts with me, all feedback is good.

Plus… this isn’t all I’ve written. To find out more about my books, just click here and you can preview my books.

 

Blog Buster! Things were getting serious…

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Hi,

I’m back with my continuing story!

Things were getting serious!

     “How on earth can we get to help?”. 
    Andrea went back to reception to find out our options and discovered there was a physiotherapist across the road from our hotel, or we had to get ourselves up a steep hill to the emergency medical centre.
    Off she went to investigate… while I lay helplessly on my back in the hotel room. The numb sensation continued and I simply couldn’t get my brain to tell my left leg to move at all.
    On her return she informed me that our only hope was to get to the emergency centre. So, off to reception again. This time, armed with the advice from the physiotherapist that a skidoo could be requested to take me up the mountain, we stood our ground (well, I actually “sat” my ground). Andrea grit her teeth at the staff insisting that a skidoo be ordered. Finally, they relented and help was on it’s way. Hallelujah!!!
    Great! I was to get help at last, wasn’t I? Not to be… ages passed before they even looked at me. A few x-rays later and, with much scratching of many heads, finally they came to the conclusion that they didn’t know what to do with me. I had confused things by not having a broken bone… they knew how to deal with that.
     It was now nearly 8 at night and we were unwashed, tired and hungry and the only options we had, were to return to our hotel, or get an ambulance to drive me down the mountain to a remote country town several hours away to seek further medical advice.
    We decided to return to the hotel, wash and get some food. After a night’s sleep we would way up our options and decide what to do next! So many hundreds of dollars later, we left the medical centre. Having no ability to move my left leg and limited movement in my right leg, we inquired about hiring a wheel chair. Of course! No wheelchairs on the mountain. Insanity prevailed and I took the only thing available… I had to buy a set of crutches.
    A $20 taxi back down the mountain (500 metres) got us to the hotel. Once again the valet’s were there to help. What a god send they were. There was no way that I could climb the 16 steps up to the hotel. So, like a pile of linen I got lifted onto the loading platform and up I went to the hotel level. 
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Time for some food… then a wash and a good night’s sleep. I just wanted to get straight to the restaurant.

Stay tuned next week to find out… what do we decide to do?

So, what do think of the story so far? I’d love for you to share your thoughts with me.

Plus… as I have mentioned before, you might be inspired to find out more about my books. Just click here if you want to find out what I’ve written and get a preview of them.

Blog Buster! Injured… remote location… what do you do?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

This is the next installment in my interesting and engaging story!

I hope you enjoy!

    Something was definitely wrong! After skiing down the mountain one-legged, I was terrified. I couldn’t feel my left leg at all, it was just like jelly.
    Andrea was at the bottom waiting for me, looking a little worried. I should have beaten her down and she was suspecting that something was wrong.
    The first thing I thought of was that my ski boots were too tight and somehow cut off my circulation. Andrea managed to help me get to a table to lie down and helped me get my ski boots off. This didn’t help at all. On reflection I was underestimating the gravity of the situation.
    We were cold and hungry and couldn’t think straight. We decided to go into the cafe to get something to eat and warm up a bit. While there, we inquired about how we could get medical treatment. The answer we got wasn’t very helpful, the medical centre was halfway up the mountain and basically you have to get there yourself.
    Finally, the adrenalin kicked in and our “flight or fight” instincts took over. Both of us had chosen fight! Andrea immediately took our unnecessary equipment back to the hotel, while I waited helplessly for her return. While at the hotel, she alerted the staff to our predicament and the valet staff leapt into action. They arranged for our room to be made available straight away. Andrea raced back to tell me the good news.
    The next few minutes were precarious! Andrea had to help me get my ski boots on… and I couldn’t help as both feet had lost feeling now. I was not in control. Then she acted as my crutch as we made our way along along an extremely undulating pathway, over the slushy snow to get to our hotel. Disappointingly, not one person offered us any help and in fact wouldn’t even clear a pathway for us.

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    At last the welcoming door to the hotel… The thought of being able to lie down on a bed and try and relax was all I could think of. The reception staff were marvellous and checked us in quickly. The valets had already taken care of our luggage and it was waiting for us in the room. We were relieved to at least be in a comfortable environment, but we both knew we had to get answers.
    How on earth can we get to help?

Stay tuned next week to find out… what happens next?

So, what do think of the story so far? How do you like my writing?

Remember… all I am looking for is for you to share your thoughts with me.

Plus… as I have mentioned before, you might like who I am and what I’m writing about. If you do, you might be inspired to read one of my books. Just click here if you want to find out what I’ve written and get a preview of them.

Blog Buster! What the hell happened?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Here I am, back to continue my interesting and engaging story!

You must be enjoying the read, because here you are… but are you feeling engaged? Let’s see how we go.

     Excitedly we made our way to the airport, and apart from the usual delays to finally get our hire car, at last we were on our way.
    Our first week went very smoothly. Mansfield is a beautiful country town, steeped in history of the events which took place there through the bush-ranger era. Our accommodation overlooked Lake Eildon. Wow, what a spectacular view!
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    Having totally relaxed in the country for a week, it was time to hit the snowfields. Man, was I excited! It had been years since I had been in the snow… and for Andrea it was the first time.
   We boarded the bus, wound our way up the mountain side and finally arrived atop of Mt Bulla. We couldn’t check in yet, so we dropped our suitcases off and swiftly made our way to hire our ski gear. 
   Here we go! Time to get my little ski bunny on the slopes. She was not very sure footed and in fact looked more like a new born deer trying to stand up. Happily though, I stepped her through the basics.
   Now she was getting the hang of things I decided we could go up in the chair lift to the first station to where the snow was not as mushy. Up we went…
   We had been at it for a while, when Andrea decided we should stop for lunch and started walking down the mountain. I had taken my skis off as I was feeling a pain in my back, so I told her I’d meet her at the bottom and started trying to get my skis back on.
   Something was wrong! My left leg had gone cold and it was like it had gone to sleep. What was going on? I struggled to clip back into the skis and literally had to ski down one-legged. 
   What the hell was happening to me?

Here I am sharing my story with you, absolutely free…

So how are we doing?

What I would like is that you keep coming back each week to keep reading. This will mean that you are engaged, so much so that you will give me a comment. That’s right… all I want in return is for you to share your thoughts with me.

Plus… as I have mentioned before, you might like who I am and what I’m writing about. If you do, you might be inspired to read one of my books. Just click here if you want to find out what I’ve written and get a preview of them.

Blog Buster… The suspense builds!

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Time to continue my interesting and engaging story!

I hope you’re enjoying it so far… enough to take the next step.

“What is the next step?” I hear you ask. I’ll fill you in when you have finished reading.

     As I was explaining, my life had always been full and quite action-packed. However, I was about to take the trip of a lifetime and learn all about myself. I wasn’t expecting what was waiting for me around the corner!
    I planned an exciting holiday for my wife and I. In the 20 years since we had met, we had never had a travelling type holiday. We had always just gone to the coast for a week or two. You see, we always worked hard, but never seemed to have left over money for that kind of self indulgence. We were so excited! Especially me, as I was really looking forward to spoiling my girl and seeing her face as she experienced my well planned adventure!
   The itinerary was a week staying at Mansfield in country Victoria, from where we could visit the surrounding countryside and visit the historic locations associated with Ned Kelly… bush-ranger country!
   Next we had a 4 night stay at Mt Bulla, staying at the Mt Bulla Chalet right next to the ski lifts. My wife had never seen snow, being a Queensland girl, and I was keen to be there when she saw it for the very first time. I also loved skiing and was looking forward to sharing that with her.
   Finally, we had a very self indulgent 4 night stay at a beautiful lodge called “Chateau Yering”  in the wine region of country Victoria. Here we would enjoy the opulence of this beautiful historic house hotel, along with a wine tour to sample the local product, and lastly a horse trail ride to really see this magnificent countryside. Again, horse riding was something my wife, Andrea, had never done and I was thrilled to be able to be there when she experienced this for the first time.

Chateu Yering

   We were packed… we were ready… or were we?

Now it’s time for the next step!

That same old question… “what is he expecting me to do now?” you ask

It’s easy, I want you come back each week of course, so you can keep reading. This means that you do find my words interesting and engaging, so much so that you will give me a comment. That’s right… the next step is for you to share your thoughts with me.

Plus… as I have mentioned before, you might like who I am and what I’m writing about. If you do, you might be inspired to read one of my books. Just click here if you want to find out more.

Blog Buster! The truth about blogging…

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Well, the way I see it, a blog is just a short story… real short!

So, it needs to be interesting, engaging and encourage you, the reader, to take action.

First… an interesting and engaging story!

     My youth was spent living on 3 different continents, which was disruptive to my making and keeping friends in my early years. I had never been an over achiever… but I was not afraid of hard work and always strove beyond what most of my friends and family thought I was capable of.
     Achieving success has always been on my agenda. Often misunderstood, again by friends and family, to be seeking financial reward… I was never met with congratulations as I “worked my ass off” for long periods to reach my goals. In fact, I have experienced some disappointingly negative reactions from some of those close to me. Mostly, I don’t get any acknowledgement that I have ever done any of the things that I am extremely proud of. I have, however, been fortunate to have an amazing woman by my side who did understand my idea of success… and she tells me that she is my biggest fan! I am her biggest fan too, so I guess that’s only fair.
     Some of the things that I am proud of achieving are… having participated competitively in a variety of sports, enjoyed playing a lot of games with my friends, been loved and in love with my wife, having built a rental property portfolio, having successfully renovated/beautified many houses, lived in a beachfront unit at my favourite beach, having attended many internationally famous events and concerts and been able to perform and sing on stage.
     To perhaps get you to understand me, success is inner happiness. What I have been striving for, is to be the best me that I can be, and to be the best husband-friend-brother-uncle etc. that I can be. Along the way, I just want to be able to take care of myself and my family physically, spiritually and financially. Surprise! Surprise! Bet this sounds like what most of you want out of life as well. Being a burden is not on my list of things to do!
     My world was suddenly turned upside down!

Now it’s your turn… time to take action!

So… “what is he expecting me to do?” you ask

You guessed it, I want you come back next week and keep reading my story.

The other thing you could do is give me some feedback.

If you like who I am and what I’m writing about, I might inspire you to read one of my books. Just click here if you want to find out more

Why am I writing this blog?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

… BECAUSE EVERYBODY SEEMS TO BE TELLING        ME THAT I SHOULD!

It is supposed to get me exposure – Isn’t it?                                                                                                 and help me market my books to the world… but what do people want to hear?

Why would they even bother to read my blog, after all who am I?                                                    and what have I got to say that would be so interesting that you would stop to read this?

I DON’T KNOW !!!

I am just another self publishing author, amongst a sea of hopeful authors trying to be seen and heard.

So let’s see if you find me interesting! Try reading this…                                                                    https://xlntreads.wordpress.com/about/

As Dr. Seuss once said “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” Here is to finding a simple answer to all my questions…

If you still don’t find me interesting enough, tune into my blog next week! Why? … because there is still the unknown

images

Please read my book!

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

How do I get my message out there?

The truth for me, is that the reason that I wrote my books was for people to enjoy my stories.

I had a life experience that heightened my senses and gave me the passion to write. I have had a wonderful time writing and illustrating all my books…

What I don’t have experience in, is beating my own drum to everyone out there and weaving my way through the mire of social media, traditional media and all those markets and trade shows. Slowly, slowly I have tentatively trod my way along these paths.

Social media

My favourite part however, has been the book launches. These are terrific days of sharing some food, wine and light-hearted conversation. To date, these have been arranged by local media for me so I haven’t had a chance to share these with my family and friends. Although I have enjoyed meeting new friends immensely,  I intend to correct this in the very near future.

book launch

Please keep a close look out over the next few months as I will be sending out some special invitations.

I also intend on keeping a running diary of the event planning for those interested in some ideas!

 

When is your book ready to publish?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Here is something that goes through my head every time…

Being an author is a strange profession, I am sure you will agree.

We spend hours writing our book/s, then reading it over and over. Every time I read it, I find something that needs changing. These changes can be either typing errors or I see the writing is weak and needs further caressing.

From my perspective, I believe that you should get it as close as you can to being right before giving it to a third party to proof read and edit. Once they have done their job… read it again! This is your baby and it needs your final approval. You know that you will be your toughest critic and will have the best understanding of the integrity of your story and characters.

If you still need changes, do it… once it is published you won’t be changing it again. This is your final product… you have to be happy with it and believe it is good enough for people to buy. Remember you will be the main sales person for your book. The better it is, the more you will believe in the book and the easier your job should be.

Happy story telling…                                                                                                                                                        it’s all about the tale and being able to share it with as many folks as you can!

happy writer

How and why to get published?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Well… I would love to know the answer.

Steve: Hey honey! Come here Andrea… everybody this is my wife!

Untitled

Andrea: Hi everybody! What has Steve been telling you?

Steve: Fill everyone in on how to get published…

Andrea: I’ m busy at the moment… and to be completely honest, I don’t know the answer to that. We’ve only been at it for a relatively short time… but from what I figure the first thing you need is a Literary Agent. This Literary Agent, sends your manuscript to the various publishers for them to decide if they want to publish you. It is very important that you are published, as only published books get distributed to book stores.

Steve: Well that sounds easy!

Andrea: Yeah, it does, doesn’t it. The only catch is that you seem to need to be a “recognised writer” before you can get a Literary Agent. It’s the old… you need experience to get a job, but how do you get your first job without experience?

Steve: Hey, are there any Literary Agents out there? Would love to hear from you with an answer to this quandary…

Why should I read?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

This is the best question a person can ask themselves…

One quick answer could be as follows…

          It’s the one that inspires me to both read and write! Our modern high-tech world, so full of stimulation by both large and small screens, provides us with a never-ending supply of visual and mental stimulation. “It’s more than enough for me!” I hear you say. Well, I have to agree with you. It can be very fulfilling, however…

          Something you may be overlooking is that when you are fed something in this manner, you see what they want you to see. Whereby, your own personal creative juices are limited to this. The reward of reading, is that your mind becomes the master of the limitless creations that your imagination generates.  More simply, it builds the picture that it wants to.

          Whether it be a comic book, magazine, autobiography or even a fiction novel… You, the reader, paints the picture to suit your own levels of entertainment and desires.

          After all, to your credit, you are reading this… so it’s already creating, therefore your mind could be searching for something more.

… what do you think?

New to blog!

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

Nice to meet you all.

Well, I have been on a roller coaster adventure ride.

Yes… that’s right! The world of writing, marketing and promotion is now a part of me and I can’t wait to get going with every aspect.

I am also looking to sharing what works… and works differently to expectations.

Stephen James

(adventurous entrepreneur and avid lover of fun!)