Paul Michael Peters's Blog, page 13

Thank You!

So there I was last May, putting the final details into the
Amazon website to publish “Peter in Flight”. I had been reading about all the
lessons learned and best practices about releasing your ebook for the Kindle other
authors posted on their blogs. As suggested, I made a running checklist of all
the things I had to do for success. One of them was a free promotion and
marketing plan to support it.

Then, life set in. Things at work picked up, there were
places to go, people to see, and the marketing plan I had crafted at the start
was fading. Still, every Saturday and Sunday morning I spent at Zingerman’s
coffee house writing the next book, and spending a few minutes on promotions.

Two weeks ago I received a reply from one of the websites I had
contacted months back telling me that she enjoyed the novella, and there were
other things her team could help me with. This is an offer that often comes
with a price. However her advice was free, don’t forget to follow your
marketing plan, and offer a promotion.

I can’t begin to thank you all for your support over the
last few days at the start of this promotion for free downloads. With your help
and a follow through on those marketing plans there were just over 5,000
downloads of “Peter in Flight” on Saturday afternoon shooting it up the
Amazon.com Free Book Charts. It hit #1 for the sub category of Literature
Fiction late on Saturday afternoon.

While I had little hope of making the Top 100 Free Books on
Amazon I stayed up late watching the number of downloads come in with an enthusiasm
of late election nights. In a fuzzy haze when the cats stand on me to let me
know that it’s 5:30 AM each morning, I checked the charts again to find that
during my slumbers “Peter in Flight” had been ranked #19 on the Amazon Top 100
Chart. The weekend has been a dream for me. With many lonely hours writing away
hoping for a positive reception from readers it is rewarding to have so many of
you continue to download something I’ve written, or to read reviews that you
post.

Thank you very much for the wonderful support. I will now stop
torturing you all every twenty minutes on Facebook with updates… until the next
big promotion.

Summer Special giveaway - "Peter in Flight" Today through Wednesday

Between July 20 – 24, 2013 “Peter in Flight” will be free for download at Amazon.com    

I only ask you give it an honest review or ranking in return.

With so many good reads to choose from, thank you for selecting "Peter in Flight".

- Paul Michael Peters

 

Rough Cutz Book Review - Peter in Flight

Shaun Horrigan

Review by

By Shaun Horrigan

If you’re a returning reader to Rough Cutz, then you’ve probably read a travel recap or homage to Nicolas Cage by “Everywhere Man,” Paul Peters. Paul began blogging years before Linked In listed it as a skill. In fact, I’m not sure if the term “blog” was in the American lexicon when he began his online journal.

During my first encounter with Paul, I thought he might the funniest person I had ever come across when I saw him perform for the Eastern Michigan University incoming freshman class of 1996. An active presence on campus, Paul was dressed like the Larry Johnson character Grandmama from the ‘90s basketball shoe commercials (though I suppose today’s freshmen would describe him as looking like a Tyler Perry character). Although I don’t remember exactly what his act consisted of, I do recall him using the words, “stinky, little monkeys,” which got a hardy laugh out of me.

Coincidentally, I joined Delta Tau Delta, the fraternity Paul had recently helped bring to EMU. (Of the 26 chapter Founding Fathers, he’s considered “Number One.”) Although he wasn’t heavily involved with the day-to-day functions of the fraternity during my freshman year (founding a fraternity would burn anybody out), when he would stop by the house, he was met with requests of “tell us a story, Paul.”

Looking back on it, it’s impressive how Paul was able to enter a room and grab the attention of 20-some young men with his tales of life in the big city of Chicago, or our college town of Ypsilanti. But he had a gift for telling fun stories. And it’s that talent that he brings to his debut work, “Peter in Flight.”

Despite having a friendship with Paul for more than a decade, and being a regular reader of his blog, I really didn’t know what to expect from his first book. And to no real surprise, I immediately enjoyed his narration style.

Before beginning the story, I thought I might imagine Paul’s own voice as the main character, “Peter.” However, probably due to his style, I couldn’t help but have Edward Norton’s “Fight Club” voice in my head while “Peter” keeps a running count of hand shakes, and chronicles life in hotel rooms, airport lounges and trade show floors.

While “Peter” has some very funny exchanges between characters (and quite a few hilarious tales of passive aggressive acts of sabotage), this is truly a love story about a good-hearted man who is dedicated to a woman whom he cannot pursue.

At 130 pages, “Peter in Flight” is a quick read, but a really enjoyable one. I recommend you check it out on Amazon. And if you’re not yet a fan of the Everywhere Man blog, make sure to check it out too.

 

Plan B

One of the “true” stories in Peter in Flight is that I once
sat out a hurricane at the Marriott International Center in Orlando. Yes, even
as Mickey battened down the hatches for the first time, and NASA put the
reverse on the giant mover to store the shuttle inside, I sat in my hotel room
on a high level floor watching red and purple blobs move across the radar
screen. After that experience, I have become better at planning for the
unexpected while on the road.

With the recent series of bad storm cells moving through the
area, I am reminded once more of these important guidelines of travel:

1) Always have a plan B or C in your back pocket. This also
applies to the zombie apocalypse. If bad weather conditions are heading your
way, it’s good to get on an earlier flight. Some airlines will allow you to do
this free of charge. Others have a $100 fee. Still, a $100 is minor compared to
finding an open hotel room at the last second, or sleeping on the floor of the
airport.

2) Keep a list of alternative hotels phone numbers with you.
Keep them on your cell phone, or print them out, anything around the airport
that you can call in a pinch rather than hunt down and find the right contact.

Okay, say that you booked plan B hotel by the airport just in case the storm was coming, but you were able to get out of town on a flight. Most hotels will waive that cancellation fee as swarms of people who did not plan ahead are fighting over that room now.

3) Keep ahead of the crowds. On a flight from LAS to DTW I was
detoured to MSP over night. Knowing that I was staying the night due to the
storm, I made the choice to go to the closet hotel rather than stand in line
waiting for a phone or to get instructions from the gate agent for re-booking.
At the hotel I was able to get a room then go online/phone to re-book my
flight. In the morning, after a good nights rest, I walked by many of my fellow
travelers who slept on a cot in the lobby after waiting in line to speak with
an agent.

4) Can you drive away from the weather? In “Peter in Flight”
Tatiana is able to take a car from Orlando to Georgia and get on another
flight. Weather conditions between ORD and MWD in Chicago can be very
different. Think about all your options.

In general terms, you want to make certain you have some
cash on hand to “tip” your way out of a situation. ATM’s run out of cash in
some situations. Keep a few energy bars in your bag to get you over the hump. I
have been stranded during hours when nothing is open. Keep a small empty bottle
with you, fill it up at the drinking fountain. This may be too personal, but if
you are checking your bag, something you should avoid when you can, keep your
meds and a change of underwear and socks with your carry on. Just enough to get
you through 24 – 48 hours can make all the difference in most cases.

Above all else – be good to one another out there. Travel is
hard enough to be away from home, in a strange situation, and at the mercy of
airlines.

Safe travels.

He’s dead Jim

It was a very busy week. Tuesday morning had started early
with my cat standing on my chest at 5:30 AM. I couldn’t fall back to sleep,
rolled out of bed and started work earlier. Between conference calls and
answering questions I barely had time to pack for the trip.

4:45 PM I am off my last call and out the door to Detroit
Metro Airport (DTW). Through security I grab a bite to eat and head to the
gate. They announce there is not Wireless Internet on the flight, line us up in
the “new gate procedure” so no one will bum rush the door, and get on board.

It’s 10:55 PM when I get to the Car Rental in San Francisco
(SFO) to find a huge group of people standing around. There are 2 agents and 1
person in line in front of me.

“Hello sir, I just want to warn you we don’t have any cars
tonight.”

“Oh.” I hand him my credit card and license.

“Mr. Peters you have an account with us, and you’re with
COMPANY NAME.” He leans over the counter and whispers, “We do have a car, for
you. COMPANY NAME has a special relationship with us and takes good care of
their people.”

The Mazda 2 (yes, they make a two) is small. As I step in
the front door my foot goes out the passenger window, small. Heading south down
the 101 I turn east and head across the bay feeling every gust of wind and bump
in the road. There are many.

12:10 AM local time I check into the Holiday Inn. Does
COMPANY NAME really take care of it’s people? Yeah, I am just being a snob.
Sleep comes easy. Yes, I don’t accept connections on LinkedIn.

I wake up late with just enough time to have breakfast and
get to the building where the meeting is taking place. I speak well. I answer
many questions.

After lunch and the next speaker I say my good-byes and wish
people well. On the way to SFO I find a gas station to top it off, drop off the
car, go to the gate.  Next to the gate is
a restaurant where I grab a bite, and wait, watching the gate. It is now 20
minutes behind schedule.

Two hours later I am with the good people of Salt Lake City
(SLC) and wait. I have three hours to wait. So there is a pub, I order a Provo
Girl Pilsner and watch the end of the hockey game. I lanky woman with the looks
of being a frequent flier drops her bag next to me and asks, “Can I buddy up?”
I am happy to have the company, but she only wants me for my electrical outlet
at the bar. She pugs in and boots up to show me that she is a direct competitor
working on a project that is in the same realm of what I do. But I play dumb
and let her explain to me what she does, what she is working on and why. People
love to talk to me for some reason.

It’s 5:35 AM on Thursday. I am back at DTW changing from my
khaki pants and blue shirt to my gray suit, white shirt, and shave in the men’s
room.

10:45 AM I am stuck on the Triborough bridge and feel a bit
car sick from the fumes.

11:15 AM I am looking over the meeting room I am speaking
in. It is named after the founder, has two screens, and red leather chairs like
a private movie theater. The room is not made for large audiences, rather
senior audiences, those people at the top of the mega corporations of New York
City to learn about software, the .05%.

After the first two speakers we break for lunch and I go
through my presentation one more time. After I wow the room I am inundated with
questions and business cards asking me to follow up.

Hailing a cab at this time of day can be tough. I remember a
bit of advice, if you flap your arms like a bird while hailing a cab they know
what kind of fare you are. I get a taxi in an instant who only says, “which
airport” and “get in.”

I am tired. The air-conditioning in the new terminal in not
operating. I watch an old gross guy driving one of those inside carts stop and
try to pick up a girl not more than 20 with the line, “You want a ride?” Ugh. I
cringe at the desperation of my gender and wonder how we still exist as the
human race. Has that ever worked for him? Hmm, maybe something I should try.

I am very tired when they call my group to board and am the
first in my row to sit down. My head hits the window and I fall asleep.

Somewhere over up-state New York I awake to a blonde stewardess
shaking me awake and the man sitting next to me saying, “We think he might be
dead.” I open my eyes, look around, and start to go back to sleep. “I guess he’s
not”.

It’s nice to think that my fellow travelers are looking out
for me enough to ask the cute flight attendant to check my pulse. However, if
you see someone who hasn’t moved since boarding, they may just have had a busy
day.

Our favorite heroes

Posted on Goodreads.com June 15, 2013

When I think of story telling and heros my best example is Indiana Jones. Indy is a mild mannered intellect looking to preserve his interests for the university. When he faces danger or opposition, he rises to the challenge. What makes Indy look so good? The villain. 

I would argue that Indy is better when facing the ultimate evil of the 20th Century, Nazis, than when he is matched up against voodoo doctors or aliens. The more maniacal, mischievous, underhanded, two faced, and just plain mean a villain is, the better our hero is portrayed in the story.

The villain is tempting. Our hero may think, "There may be some good in them still", "I can help make them better", "they can't be all that bad". It is the weakness of the hero to believe that the villain is on the edge of redemption. It supports the idea that if the two of you were to just sit down in a room and work these things out, we could find a reasonable solution. This is the strength of the villain - little to no reason. Villains want what they want and will do anything to accomplish it, lie, cheat, double cross, kill. 

It is the resistance to this villainy, the opposition to be seduced by sweet words and empty promises, that allows our hero to rise above the challenge. 

Hero's need villains. Great hero's need great villains.

 

Fight at the Booth!

I did another trade show this week. Unlike my previous career when I would organize and run things, this time I just arrived and was the "talent". There is a story I share in "Peter in Flight" about being attacked and ridiculed by a fellow exhibitor. I thought it was a rare and singular event, which made it pretty funny to look back on. However, today, it happened again.  

 So there I was, guy at the booth, not many people around, when another exhibitor comes up looking for information. He asks about one our four products on display, and I explain that the person who is an expert on this one subject had stepped away, but I give him an overview. He asks which product I am an expert on, and I start to tell him. Then we step over to the monitor and I start to show him. After about five minutes I have given the high level overview and he wants to know more. 

I explain how we deal with this, and I explain why we are really good at that. Next he asks a very specific question, which I take the time to answer with as much care as he asked. But he tells me no, that is not what he is looking for. So I ask him to repeat the question, which he does, and I summarize what he has just said to make certain that I am understanding the question, which he agrees, I understand the question. So I explain the answer from another perspective for a few minutes, which he stops me.   

"Am I wasting your time?" He is angry. 

"No, I was answering your question." I say with humility. 

"That is not the answer." 

"My apologies, maybe I misunderstood what you were looking for," and I restate his question. 

"No, no, that is all wrong. You should listen better, I know all about this area and you are just wasting my time!" He says with a loud and enraged fury, and then throws the little metal USB drive I had given him with marketing materials at me, then stomps off swearing.

I am alone at the booth with no one to verify the radical change in this mans behavior. If he had given me his business card you know what I would be doing right now? That's right, the same thing that happened to Jim Stevens in Chapter 7 of "Peter in Flight" .

Not sure what happens in Chapter 7 yet? You can download your copy of Peter in Flight at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CNGK59A/

Travel Size – 3floz

Travel size has always been a confusing term for me. When it
comes to packing I’ve had enough practice over the years to be able to squeeze
7 days worth of items into my 22” carry on and computer bag. It’s just a matter
of understanding that some items have dual use - shorts can also be swim
trunks, packing a blazer with multiple patterns can look different with a new
color shirt and slacks, and a navy suit jacket with slacks can be a new outfit.
I know, I hear you all right now, men have it easier. And I do agree, shoes are
the hardest part. I recommend flat deck shoes to pack instead of trainers that
often bring an inch or more of cushion as a sole. 

3 fluid ounces of a liquid is travel size. A whole industry
has flourished in packaging over a government regulation. It’s not something I
am fond of. As long as the “3floz” is on the package, we can all sleep easy on
take off’s and landings. I have not been stopped or asked about Antiperspirant
by TSA. It is not a liquid, it’s not really a solid, and some brands are jells
– it’s a gray area for me. Travel size shaving cream will last me a month,
travel size toothpaste will last two weeks, and you can’t bring enough mouthwash
or hand sanitizer to last more than a few days, best to buy at the destination.

While the things I carry with me are travel size, if you
have seen me in the last five years, I am not travel size. Yes, I can get the
seatbelt on with inches to spare. And yes, it gave me pause last night when a
man in front of me was having trouble making the belt click with the extender.
Many Americans are not travel size. Anyone remember when seat-belt extenders
were more commonly offered?

On my last jaunt to Orlando, a destination that fills
flights with families, it was apparent that the number of items and the size of
these items for kids is getting much more complex in scale and size. Strollers
are checked at the gates, however, safety seats can be brought on board along
with every electronic distraction puzzle or coloring book. Parents have become
Sherpa’s. I would say that 99% of parents are doing a great job keeping kicky
and screamy at acceptable levels. Let’s face it, kids are the only ones travel
size, but act like crazy drunks on a bender because it’s their first time flying
or the air pressure change is driving them crazy.

So let’s agree, fellow travelers, to be good to one another
in the air or in the terminal. Let’s not be pushy in the screening line when we
need to take a few extra minutes, the rules drive us all crazy. Tall people
help the shorter people place and remove carry-on’s from the overhead compartment.
Help the single parents, moms and dads, with the kids running up the isle or
turning around in their seats to talk with you. Be polite when asking to have
them stop kicking your back. We are all travel size in an aircraft that is
feeling smaller the further we go.

Once we get to the taxi line there will plenty of time for
fighting.

Possessions

I am not one who takes delight in owning things. Having moved eleven times since 1997 I have become less interested in things that need to be packed and moved. So my possessions are carefully considered. The things I own now are commitments to the longevity of staying in once place or to take with me.   

Still, as I celebrate my 42nd week at the Westin Prince in Toronto since December of 2009 by writing this posting, I consider what is most important to me.

My first thought are the cats. While I do care for them, they are free spritis and I suspect that I belong to them just as much. Our symbiotic relationship is not about possession or ownership, but of cleaning litter boxes and lap sitting. They could run away and find new homes with ease. They must want to be there. 

Next I consider one of my many electronic devices, like laptop, iPod, iPad, or HDTV. But these are really tools to me to write or explore stories. They could easily be replaced at a more frequent rate than I currently do. Even though I tend to buy nice things, they would not be my favorite things.

This morning, I decided that my most favorite, most prized item I own is a comb. It is white. It was free in a hotel room. It is white with blue lettering at the top "Hotel Tres Reyes Pamplona". This simple reminder each morning that manages my thick and lush blonde locks (which make my friends so jealous) is something I earned after years of planning and plotting. It is a marker that I had earned enough money, achieved enough vacation time, and had been brave enough to travel alone to a far and distant land to see the bulls. I have many photos and memories, but the comb is what I see each day on the road and reminds me of the greater world to see. 

Reviews

Reviews, honest critiques, are important to selling. Having
one customer as a reference to another is one of the highest and most trusted
ways to close business.

Hearing or reading reviews, while important to work, is one
of the toughest things for me. In my daily work it can send me to the heavens
to hear that our product has helped. Just as easily hearing that the product
sucks, or even worse doesn't work, can turn me. It has provided me one great thing, a thicker skin.

Ten or fifteen years ago a harsh word from someone would crush
me. Especially after the long hours or hard work I may have put into the
effort. Today, it is less painful. I am certainly more appreciative of others
work having tried so many things myself.

So here, I will circle back to my point. Honest reviews are
important to sales. While I love to read that my work is good, or that a reader
has enjoyed it, I think it is important to be honest.

If you feel you would like to write a review, good or bad,
about “Peter in Flight” I would like to thank you. Here are a few places I
would recommend you try if you enjoy reading, or already have an account:

Amazon.com

Goodreads.com

Shelfari.com