G. Michael Vasey's Blog: The Wacky World of Dr. Vasey, page 36
June 29, 2016
Flowing Downhill?
Yesterday, I watered some flowers in a wooden bucket out back. I watched as the water came out of the bottom of the bucket and began to accumulate and then migrate a path across the concrete flowing downhill. It made me wonder if life isn’t like that.
We think that we make decisions about everything from what we will have for breakfast to who to marry. Each decision dictates a pathway and we become the product of our decisions over time. I am now who I am because I made a decision to go to Aston instead of Sheffield University, for example. But do we make hard decisions or do we in reality chose the easiest pathway – going downhill if you like? Do we wait to make decisions until the backfill of water forces a decision?
In fact, there is a view that each time we make a decision, we split off another parallel reality – the ‘many worlds’ theory. There are other ideas that we don’t actually make decisions at all but just think we do. Our lives are more like a record playing on a turn table – the music is already recorded – our life already dictated. Then there is the idea that a decision now can change the past as well as the future.
Are we all flowing downhill taking the path of least resistance? Or are we making choices based on our will?
In the coming days, weeks and months I suspect we will be challenged to get out of our comfort zones and make some real decisions. Will we stand by as xenophobes abuse our friends from other countries? Will we allow the forces of chaos advocated by certain politicians to take over or will we stand up together for what is right and good?
In magic there is a view that the ‘muggles’ are sleepers. They just doze their way through life traveling downhill buffeted by every force placed in their way. There are those who orchestrate the downhill path using fear, doubt and uncertainty knowing full well that the vast majority of people sleep their way through life. Yes, it does sound a bit superior but it is in fact the truth. Politicians and marketing people have been practicing a form of magic for many centuries and with the advent of social media, they have truly honed their special skills. They know how to drive the vast majority of sleeping humans downhill towards the place that they want them to go.
I’m not fully awake either. I am however waking up and I will not be driven downhill. I probably need to be less reactive and less ‘angry’ sounding and take a different approach to how I communicate but I will not sit back and let these masterful forces of chaos and self aggrandizement win. I will use every skill and magical ability that I have to listen to my inner self and my will to dictate my direction. I wall take responsibility for my life. I have to.
This is then an appeal to all of us that have wiped the sleep from our eyes, looked deeply inside and seen the interconnectedness of the One. We must wake up faster and we must challenge those that seek chaos. Humanity has proven time and time again that civility and civilization are only wafer thin and we can and will descend into all sorts of ignorant behaviors unless we stand up and resist.
Now is the time to act. And acting starts with taking personal responsibility and challenging and shining the spotlight on racism, nationalism and hate.
Now.
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June 27, 2016
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
Sometime back in the 1980’s, I watched a late night movie on TV called The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer. I was awestruck by it and never forgot the plot or the name of the movie. It’s a shame that more people haven’t seen the movie really especially now post-BREXIT referendum. It has coloured my thinking ever since I saw it including my deep suspicion of politicians and their referendums.
The movie is a brilliant satirical look at politics in the 1970’s in Britain. Written by Peter Cook, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Kevin Billington the film follows the Mr. Michael Rimmer as he rises to become de facto President of Britain. It is utterly brilliant.
It can now be seen in its entirety on youtube and I really suggest most strongly that you watch it.
If you don’t feel like watching the whole thing then just watch these two sequences and weep… that there has been no change in the British public and politics since 1970.
On Immigration
On Referenda
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June 14, 2016
Hell Burns Brightly
There comes a point
When you just give up
Nothing I can really do
There comes a point
When it’s understood
This world is just fucked up
How people think is beyond me
Circling an endless cycle
Of hate, war and pain
No collective memory
Imbecile telemetry
Pushed and jostled around
Losing ground
The puppeteer grins
A maniacal smile
And all the while
They sleep oblivious
The ripples shimmer
The mind gets dimmer
Packed with irrelevant filth
No one thinks anymore
Thought patterns
Deeply ingrained
Like a wound inflamed
I can’t believe
That you can’t see
How easily
How sleazily
You are manipulated
Catipulated
Into chaos
The pit
Hell burns brightly
In heaven
Today
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June 10, 2016
Fake Reviews
Reviews, I often say, are important. I encourage reviews – even bad ones. However….
Yesterday, I happened to be on amazon and noticed a new review for my latest little ghost story book. Two stars and the text ‘Rubbish’. Yes – that was it. I clicked on the reviewers id and discovered that in one day the ‘reviewer’ had reviewed tens of Kindle books in the supernatural category. Several of mine and many of other authors in the genre. There was an intriguing pattern too. Book upon book by me and others all given one or two star reviews with a single comment – Rubbish. However, one author in the genre was the exception. All of his books were 5-star and marked excellent. Some, but not all, were also ‘verified purchases’.
Interesting. One can only assume that somewhere on Fiverr or some such site, there is for sale a fake reviewer who will down your competitors books while ranking your high?
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June 9, 2016
The Last Observer Serialized
The Last Observer is being serialized by Weird Darkness. Each episode of Weird Darkness features a chapter of the book read by Darren Marlar starting with Weird Darkness #64. You can catch up and stay on top episode by episode at the Weird Darkness Youtube page. Listen as Stanley find himself the target of a black magic lodge that wants to change reality as we know it….. You can grab the Kindle version here if you don’t want to wait….
This is a well written book that grabs you from the start and doesn’t want to let you go. ~ WitchHazel, The Adventures of WitchHazel
The kind of book that really keeps you up late, just trying to finish that proverbial “one more page!” as you fight vainly against the sandman. – Katelyn Hensel, Readers Favorites
A fast paced, twisty, action-laden adventure. – Brynneth Nimue Brown, The Druid Network
The author weaves real magic and mystery into this page turning story. A very good read ~ Rachel Patterson, Author of Grimoir of a Kitchen Witch
Loved the ending! I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING and it worked! I think there was a little PKD in there! – Chap Kincaid
Highly recommended. ~ Herbie Brennan, New York Times best-selling author of Whisperers: The Secret History of the Spirit World.
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June 1, 2016
Anxiety Attack
Somewhere
Another side of me
Shakes in fear
Shuns the world
And company
Sometimes
This other side
Tries to take control
Shake, rattle and roll
Beating like a drum
Heart feels wired
Cold, clammy hands
Insides all mangled
My thoughts tangled
A panic attack
Drop a tiny pill
The world becomes still
Who is he?
This stalker
This shadow part of me?
Where did he come from
What does he want?
Anxious to know
Anxiety show
And
How could this happen to me?
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May 31, 2016
Audio, Audio
As a writer who publishes his own books, any way to get to an audience and make additional sales is of value. About 6-months ago I thought I would have a shot at audiobooks via ACX – Amazon’s audiobook platform. Today, I sold my 500th audiobook! I am reaching a different audience using the audiobook as well and I do think that is helping book sales generally. I am on for a record year and currently have 4 books in the UK supernatural top 50 including an audio book!
The ACX program is a bit rigid but it is quite easy to navigate. Firstly, you sign up for your account and then you identify your books – those you want to create audiobooks with anyway. Then, you look for a talent to read the book either paying them a fixed fee (hourly rate) or by splitting royalties with them 50:50. I do the latter as I think it puts some skin in the game and encourages the vocal talent to market the books too. You then pick exclusive or non-exclusive distribution with a significant penalty on non-exclusive, fill out some other details and off you go. If you go exclusive and royalty share then your take is 20% – not brilliant but just about OK.
You can look for voice talent two ways. Either open it up for audition and select one or go looking for what you like and offer the book to the talent you prefer. I now do the latter. You will set up a sample to be read and when that is approved, the entire book. Then you wait until all the files are up to check they sound OK etc. and then you hit the button… a few days later you have an audiobook out! You will get a bunch of free codes to use to market the book too and, you get paid on those!
So here is the list of my audiobooks right now with release date and sales just for fun as of today –
The Art of Science (poetry experiment) – released 9/3/2015 – 6 sales
My Haunted Life Too – released 9/15/2015 – 243 sales
Ghosts In The Machines – released 12/30/2015 – 37 sales
How To Create Your Own Reality – released 1/28/2106 – 48 sales
God’s Pretenders – released 2/19/2016 – 21 sales
My Haunted Life – released 3/14/2016 – 92 sales
The Pink Bus – released 3/31/2016 – 15 sales
Your Haunted Lives – released 5/4/2016 – 30 sales
And…..
Coming very soon
And…..
Also in progress
My Haunted Life 3
The Last Observer
As you can see, I now put every book out on audio too.
By the way, there is an extra reward for bringing new subscribers and it is $50 shared between the author and voice – I have hit that jackpot 5 times already!
I like this program.
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May 21, 2016
The Last Observer Revisited
The Last Observer – my foray into the novel or rather novella. A story in which I tried to explore the idea that nothing exists unless it is observed by a sentient consciousness. My hero, Stanley, was a man who read anything and everything in so doing, developed his imaginative faculties to such a degree that he in essence became a magician, able to create reality simply by imagining it although he didn’t know it. He was inadvertently dragged into a plot to reimagine the world by a group of evil magicians and was rescued by the hero – Edward.
I re-read it recently and I still think its a quite good and certainly worthy of a read. I have also been working on a follow up on and off for a couple of years and I guess one day, it will get finished. No rush.
It’s sold around 279 copies to date. Hardly the success I tried to imagine into reality. A shame really as I still think it would make a great movie. It actually got a lot of reviews too and you can see them all here.
I think it would do really well as an audiobook but the publisher doesn’t seem to do them.
Since then, I have learned so much about books and publishing and I am sure if I could re release The Last Observer, it would sell at least 3- 4 times more books than it did. It is a shame you can’t just re-release a book….
Wait. Maybe you can.
The Last Observer may well be revisited…..
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May 17, 2016
New Interview
A new interview with Jim Harold for his paranormal podcast is now out….. Find out about my haunted life!
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May 13, 2016
The Pink Bus And The Blue One Too
A little while ago, I put out a book of short stories called The Pink Bus. I think it is some of my best work to date, I had it nicely edited by a wonderful editor (Alienora Taylor) and on the back of a big hit in Your Haunted Lives (still riding high), I sat back and crossed my fingers. Despite a good give away, the book sank without trace. I was gutted.
So, I thought I would try an experiment. We took the content, changed the cover and title and even the author name and re-issued it. The giveaway was better and my unknown pen name sold a bunch of books. It’s not a huge hit but its doing alright.
So, what did I learn?
I’m not sure.
Was it the cover? Was it the title? Or my name?
I think it was the title and the cover but I am still puzzled how I can sell good numbers of one book and the next I put out is virtually ignored?
The other version – well …. I think I will keep that a secret as I actually think the pen name will shortly be used again…..
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