Man’s best friend!

Posted on by Stephen James - Author

 

Ha-Ha!

What a witty saying this is. All of us who read will certainly relate to this clever quote, especially we dog-lovers.

Reason to celebrate, I have finally completed the proofread and am very excited about the new mystery thriller.

We still have a final read to do… and then I’ll be getting some trusted literary friends to have a read and give me some feedback for the final tweaks.

In order to start promoting the book for its launch, I will be introducing the storyline and some of the characters over the next few weeks. I am also going to be asking for your help, as the baffling plot has also left us baffled about the title.

Don’t worry… the ten-minute thrillers will be continuing as well, so there will be a new story up on my site very soon!

I would like to thank you all for the flood of feedback I have been receiving for the short stories and my poem. This is one of the best parts of my job… the other is simply that my chair swivels!

 

 

How to guarantee a long life?

Posted on by Stephen James - Author
Hi Readers! Well, the editing and polishing continue, and I am really happy with the progress and the shape of my next novel. As I endure this repetitive task, I remind myself that if we stopped the act of repetitive tasks in our life… we simply wouldn’t have life! Breathing is a very important one that comes to mind! This one little act ensures the longevity of our life, so I take comfort in the fact that small things certainly do make a big difference.
Here is a little something to entertain you while I remain focused on my mission…
I was looking back over some of my past posts and there is a short story that reminds me of a good friend of mine. This friend has Triskaidekaphobia. Some of you will know what this is, but just in case you don’t, it is the fear of the number thirteen. Peter, you know who you are! For those brave enough to risk flirting with this infamous number, if you haven’t already, have a read… Lucky Number Thirteen?
Will keep you posted! Enjoy another week everyone.

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! 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

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