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FREE TODAY ONLY!The Travel Mate, a gripping international suspense thriller
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Return to Dead City
A Baseball Murder/Mystery/Thriller
Only the drug pushers and scoundrels appear to thrive in Centre Town, Pa., home to the Class A baseball team Mets and childhood home of Cozzy Crager, the world-weary protagonist of “Return to Dead City.”
Crager and Centre Town are a perfect fit. Batting booze and his worst nightmares of years spent on the Albuquerque police force, he’s back in this decaying, crime-ridden town for the first time since he was a young man. Crager is barely settled into his gig as a detective when he gets an anonymous call of a murder.
Lance Miller, the Mets’ slugging star with the shadowy past, has been found dead in a downtown hotel. Lance’s time with the team had been brief, his relationship with teammates, lovers and others somewhat vague and mysterious.
And so, Crager begins the task of following leads and ferreting out information, a job that takes him from the back alleys of the city to the halls of academia. Crager works alone and without as much as a stipend. Soon, he wonders why. For he will have his hands full.
In “Return to Dead City,” Crager has come home without feeling exactly at home. For as Crager is to learn,Centre Town is a town where nothing has changed, but everything has changed.
The book 'Democracy to Dictatorship' will be FREE on Amazon for Kindle download from Wednesday 22nd March 2017 until Saturday 25th March 2017
Amazon .co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Democracy-Di...
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Dict...
Hi
Just to let you know that the book 'Dictatorship to Democracy' will be FREE on Amazon for Kindle/PC download from Wednesday 22nd March to Saturday 25th March 2017. Please fell free to pass this on to your friends.
First published in 'Corpalism'.
A smorgasbord of a book portraying many facets of modern British life. The Independents are a new force in politics; free of any lobby group, party bias, or corporate interest, they are determined to change the face of the political scene. This puts them on a headlong collision course with the Establishment.
Combine this with a terror plot, the exploits of a young dysfunctional couple, the struggles of a mature family living with change and you have the ingredients of an all-round good read.
Extract below:
The Independents - What price democracy?
The meeting organiser approached the rostrum, he paused and waited for the cheering to stop, and then he spoke, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this, the very first meeting of the Independent candidates. It’s wonderful to see so many of you here in one place. We’ve selected a few people to speak with you today from the hundreds of offers we had …for those of you disappointed this time, we have a list for our next meeting and gradually we hope to give everyone who wants to speak a platform.”
The applause rose again as he gestured to a slightly built, sandy-haired man standing to the side. “Now, please give a rousing welcome to the man who started it all, our inspirational mentor and guide… Colin Carpenter.”
The delegates rose as one and cheered and clapped as the man moved confidently to the centre of the stage and took up position behind the rostrum. As he did so a single file of people walked on stage and sat in the row of chairs behind him.
“Thank you, Chris, for that introduction.” Colin said, beaming, the lights glinting off his glasses, “It’s been a long hard struggle but now we’re here, a visible force to be reckoned with, so…” There were more cheers from the hall. “WELCOME,” he shouted raising both arms, “today is the day we begin to change everything. Today we lay down the marker whereby we reclaim our country, reclaim our world, today is the day we start the new era of real rule of the people, by the people and for the people.”
There were more cheers and scatterings of delegates stood to applaud him; then more followed until the whole assembly was on its feet.
“No longer will we tolerate a corrupt, locked in party system; no longer will we tolerate their machinations, their duplicity, their constant deceptions, and their fake party divisions. We know they’re all the same, that they represent the same hidden wealthy few who own this country, we know they all rub shoulders with this clique of scoundrels and that they pander to their every whim. We will resist, we will stand against these corrupt servants of the rich and we will win.”
There were shouts of ‘win’ from the floor. Colin gestured that they should sit as he prepared to begin his speech proper. He waited a few moments until all were seated and the hall was quiet.
“I set out on this trail barely a year ago, not knowing where it would lead. Like many of you, I watched the Occupy movement in its struggle to take back control from those who hold us in thrall. I admit it, I watched rather than joined them; I supported them in spirit.” He paused, “I tried to make a stand by myself. I tried to keep my business going; I was trading on fumes. I cut costs and used inferior materials, I streamlined processes until there was no slack, I had to lay off staff who’d been with me for years and make the ones I kept work a 3 day week. We missed deadlines and our quality dropped – in the end I closed it down. Rather than be associated with what we were being forced to produce, rather than re-locate to China and do what my competitors had done – take advantage of slave labour in the East, rather than sacrifice my principles, I closed down the business I had started from scratch 10 years ago.”
He stopped talking, leaving a gap as if mourning a lost dream then he spoke again, quietly but with deep passion, “I was deeply unhappy and desperate to do something to make these rogues realise and stop what they were doing; it was something that seared into me until I could stand it no longer. I spent hours thinking about what I could do; without a revolution I couldn’t see anything changing. Then it hit me – I could ‘occupy’ the Political Space! I could stand on an ethical platform as an independent at the next general election.”
He looked slowly round the hall, making eye contact where he could. “I am a loyal Briton, my lineage reaches into all corners of these great islands of ours and I have always loved this country and all it has stood for. I love its people and our culture. I can no longer sit idly by whilst the greedy rich dismantle it, whilst they remove all investment from the UK and place that investment in areas of the world where they use slave labour, I will not tolerate it.”
There were shouts of support from the floor and again people were standing in their excitement.
“It is intolerable that the uncontrolled greed of the few should impact so heavily on the many. It is unacceptable that the political jackals should spin their concoction of lies to justify their plans to run down the state of Britain. It is deplorable that they should think themselves free to consign workers of the west to destitution whilst enslaving the workers of the 3rd world. It is unacceptable that they seek to return us to the same conditions as existed in the Middle Ages, a time when the rich elite was served by destitute serfs. They must think we don’t have a thought in our heads.” There was a rapturous round of applause. Colin grinned and added, “They must think we’re STUPID!”
The applause continued, accompanied now by excitable foot stamping.
“They clearly believe that the years of watching junk TV, of listening to their constant lies about the economy, about economics, the GDP, the unions, the balance of payments, the national debt, the so called ‘scrounging poor’, the so called ‘benefit cheats’, the communists, the NHS, the welfare state, state run education, Muslims, world terrorism, our lack of productivity and competitiveness, has shrivelled our brains and blinded us to the real truth, the reality behind all this.” He paused, took a breath then thundered out, “We, the masses, are being sold out by rich greedy psychopaths.”
More clapping from the floor.
“There is a precedent for all this but they hope we’re too stupid to see it, that we have no knowledge of history, that we’re so wrapped up in ‘reality’ TV that we miss what is happening, miss the correlation with the past.”
He poured some water from the jug on the table before him, allowing a few moments for his words to sink in, “The Roman Empire which for centuries was the dominant power, had legions that controlled vast territories of the known world, and then we’re told, all of a sudden, Rome collapses.”
He paused, then raised his voice slightly, “I say to you, Rome didn’t collapse, Rome did not fall – the wealthy and powerful families of Rome took advantage of prevailing winds and reorganised.”
He glanced out across the hall, checking the attention of the audience, “They recognised that maintaining legions to hold territories was costly, and they had a new weapon in their arsenal - religion. Caesar became the Pope, the leading families entered religion, the Roman Empire transitioned into the Roman Catholic Church collecting more revenues than a thousand legions could gather. That’s what happened to the Roman Empire, that’s what happened to Rome.”
He banged the table abruptly, startling a few people in the front rows, “But what happened to the ordinary people of Rome, to the plebeians, the out of work soldiers? They were reduced to penury as the Rome they knew disappeared from the map. As they starved, these legions that had made Rome great, the wealthy Romans, the patricians, the upper classes became richer than ever and the Pope found he was able to control the whole world with a few monks and threats of excommunication, of burning in hell for all eternity.”
He paused and took a quick sip of water, he knew that making the link was vital and these concepts were new to most of his audience.
“And that is what is happening to us…though it’s not belief in God that’s the new export, the new method of raising gold for the new aristocracy, the new export is a new religion altogether, and is called ‘consumerism’ or the ‘market’. The rich have exported our jobs to the 3rd world where wages are minimal, where land costs are minimal, where there are autocratic leaders and armies willing to crush the workers who ask for more, where there are billions of potential economic slaves to serve them and gain them even greater wealth.”
Someone in the crowd called out ‘Apple’ and a couple of others picked it up.
He nodded, “A good example, thank you” he said quietly, then raising his voice continued, “There’re one million people employed in sweat shop factories in China producing Apple products…think about it, one million jobs that could’ve been situated in the West but for the fact of having to pay minimum wage and provide decent working conditions.”
He stopped and stared out at the crowded hall, his eyes burning, “Wealth, that’s what this is all about, it’s what it’s always been about, the creation of wealth for the very few, for the greedy psychopaths who want to own everything and drive the masses into the gutters so that they can lord it over them; in order to feel rich they have to have the poor.”
Colin studied his audience, “So what of the British worker? What of the US worker? What is intended for us? In the recent past we had service industry jobs, easily accessed credit and the creation of massive debt, all this was done to ensure a smooth transition from production and purchase from the West to the East. It was no accident; it’s part of a plan and exactly what they intended and so far they have been successful. They have managed to transfer most of production from the West to the East and during that time the Western worker had artificial service industry jobs to ensure that there was still a market for products being made in the East. However, we have reached an end of the first phase - the credit bubble in the West has burst, the western worker is no longer able to provide the buying power required to maintain supply and demand so the wealthy few and their economic and political servants are looking to provide easier credit to the worker in the East, where there is a potential new market for debt.” ...................
Happy reading, hope you have a good week.
Cheers
Arun
Amazon .co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Democracy-Di...
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Dict...
The book 'From Democracy to Dictatorship' will be FREE on Amazon for Kindle download from Wednesday 22nd March 2017 until Saturday 25th March 2017
Amazon .co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Democracy-Di...
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Dict...
Hi
Just to let you know that the book 'Dictatorship to Democracy' will be FREE on Amazon for Kindle/PC download from Wednesday 22nd March to Saturday 25th March 2017. Please fell free to pass this on to your friends.
First published in 'Corpalism'.
A smorgasbord of a book portraying many facets of modern British life. The Independents are a new force in politics; free of any lobby group, party bias, or corporate interest, they are determined to change the face of the political scene. This puts them on a headlong collision course with the Establishment.
Combine this with a terror plot, the exploits of a young dysfunctional couple, the struggles of a mature family living with change and you have the ingredients of an all-round good read.
Extract below:
The Independents - What price democracy?
The meeting organiser approached the rostrum, he paused and waited for the cheering to stop, and then he spoke, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this, the very first meeting of the Independent candidates. It’s wonderful to see so many of you here in one place. We’ve selected a few people to speak with you today from the hundreds of offers we had …for those of you disappointed this time, we have a list for our next meeting and gradually we hope to give everyone who wants to speak a platform.”
The applause rose again as he gestured to a slightly built, sandy-haired man standing to the side. “Now, please give a rousing welcome to the man who started it all, our inspirational mentor and guide… Colin Carpenter.”
The delegates rose as one and cheered and clapped as the man moved confidently to the centre of the stage and took up position behind the rostrum. As he did so a single file of people walked on stage and sat in the row of chairs behind him.
“Thank you, Chris, for that introduction.” Colin said, beaming, the lights glinting off his glasses, “It’s been a long hard struggle but now we’re here, a visible force to be reckoned with, so…” There were more cheers from the hall. “WELCOME,” he shouted raising both arms, “today is the day we begin to change everything. Today we lay down the marker whereby we reclaim our country, reclaim our world, today is the day we start the new era of real rule of the people, by the people and for the people.”
There were more cheers and scatterings of delegates stood to applaud him; then more followed until the whole assembly was on its feet.
“No longer will we tolerate a corrupt, locked in party system; no longer will we tolerate their machinations, their duplicity, their constant deceptions, and their fake party divisions. We know they’re all the same, that they represent the same hidden wealthy few who own this country, we know they all rub shoulders with this clique of scoundrels and that they pander to their every whim. We will resist, we will stand against these corrupt servants of the rich and we will win.”
There were shouts of ‘win’ from the floor. Colin gestured that they should sit as he prepared to begin his speech proper. He waited a few moments until all were seated and the hall was quiet.
“I set out on this trail barely a year ago, not knowing where it would lead. Like many of you, I watched the Occupy movement in its struggle to take back control from those who hold us in thrall. I admit it, I watched rather than joined them; I supported them in spirit.” He paused, “I tried to make a stand by myself. I tried to keep my business going; I was trading on fumes. I cut costs and used inferior materials, I streamlined processes until there was no slack, I had to lay off staff who’d been with me for years and make the ones I kept work a 3 day week. We missed deadlines and our quality dropped – in the end I closed it down. Rather than be associated with what we were being forced to produce, rather than re-locate to China and do what my competitors had done – take advantage of slave labour in the East, rather than sacrifice my principles, I closed down the business I had started from scratch 10 years ago.”
He stopped talking, leaving a gap as if mourning a lost dream then he spoke again, quietly but with deep passion, “I was deeply unhappy and desperate to do something to make these rogues realise and stop what they were doing; it was something that seared into me until I could stand it no longer. I spent hours thinking about what I could do; without a revolution I couldn’t see anything changing. Then it hit me – I could ‘occupy’ the Political Space! I could stand on an ethical platform as an independent at the next general election.”
He looked slowly round the hall, making eye contact where he could. “I am a loyal Briton, my lineage reaches into all corners of these great islands of ours and I have always loved this country and all it has stood for. I love its people and our culture. I can no longer sit idly by whilst the greedy rich dismantle it, whilst they remove all investment from the UK and place that investment in areas of the world where they use slave labour, I will not tolerate it.”
There were shouts of support from the floor and again people were standing in their excitement.
“It is intolerable that the uncontrolled greed of the few should impact so heavily on the many. It is unacceptable that the political jackals should spin their concoction of lies to justify their plans to run down the state of Britain. It is deplorable that they should think themselves free to consign workers of the west to destitution whilst enslaving the workers of the 3rd world. It is unacceptable that they seek to return us to the same conditions as existed in the Middle Ages, a time when the rich elite was served by destitute serfs. They must think we don’t have a thought in our heads.” There was a rapturous round of applause. Colin grinned and added, “They must think we’re STUPID!”
The applause continued, accompanied now by excitable foot stamping.
“They clearly believe that the years of watching junk TV, of listening to their constant lies about the economy, about economics, the GDP, the unions, the balance of payments, the national debt, the so called ‘scrounging poor’, the so called ‘benefit cheats’, the communists, the NHS, the welfare state, state run education, Muslims, world terrorism, our lack of productivity and competitiveness, has shrivelled our brains and blinded us to the real truth, the reality behind all this.” He paused, took a breath then thundered out, “We, the masses, are being sold out by rich greedy psychopaths.”
More clapping from the floor.
“There is a precedent for all this but they hope we’re too stupid to see it, that we have no knowledge of history, that we’re so wrapped up in ‘reality’ TV that we miss what is happening, miss the correlation with the past.”
He poured some water from the jug on the table before him, allowing a few moments for his words to sink in, “The Roman Empire which for centuries was the dominant power, had legions that controlled vast territories of the known world, and then we’re told, all of a sudden, Rome collapses.”
He paused, then raised his voice slightly, “I say to you, Rome didn’t collapse, Rome did not fall – the wealthy and powerful families of Rome took advantage of prevailing winds and reorganised.”
He glanced out across the hall, checking the attention of the audience, “They recognised that maintaining legions to hold territories was costly, and they had a new weapon in their arsenal - religion. Caesar became the Pope, the leading families entered religion, the Roman Empire transitioned into the Roman Catholic Church collecting more revenues than a thousand legions could gather. That’s what happened to the Roman Empire, that’s what happened to Rome.”
He banged the table abruptly, startling a few people in the front rows, “But what happened to the ordinary people of Rome, to the plebeians, the out of work soldiers? They were reduced to penury as the Rome they knew disappeared from the map. As they starved, these legions that had made Rome great, the wealthy Romans, the patricians, the upper classes became richer than ever and the Pope found he was able to control the whole world with a few monks and threats of excommunication, of burning in hell for all eternity.”
He paused and took a quick sip of water, he knew that making the link was vital and these concepts were new to most of his audience.
“And that is what is happening to us…though it’s not belief in God that’s the new export, the new method of raising gold for the new aristocracy, the new export is a new religion altogether, and is called ‘consumerism’ or the ‘market’. The rich have exported our jobs to the 3rd world where wages are minimal, where land costs are minimal, where there are autocratic leaders and armies willing to crush the workers who ask for more, where there are billions of potential economic slaves to serve them and gain them even greater wealth.”
Someone in the crowd called out ‘Apple’ and a couple of others picked it up.
He nodded, “A good example, thank you” he said quietly, then raising his voice continued, “There’re one million people employed in sweat shop factories in China producing Apple products…think about it, one million jobs that could’ve been situated in the West but for the fact of having to pay minimum wage and provide decent working conditions.”
He stopped and stared out at the crowded hall, his eyes burning, “Wealth, that’s what this is all about, it’s what it’s always been about, the creation of wealth for the very few, for the greedy psychopaths who want to own everything and drive the masses into the gutters so that they can lord it over them; in order to feel rich they have to have the poor.”
Colin studied his audience, “So what of the British worker? What of the US worker? What is intended for us? In the recent past we had service industry jobs, easily accessed credit and the creation of massive debt, all this was done to ensure a smooth transition from production and purchase from the West to the East. It was no accident; it’s part of a plan and exactly what they intended and so far they have been successful. They have managed to transfer most of production from the West to the East and during that time the Western worker had artificial service industry jobs to ensure that there was still a market for products being made in the East. However, we have reached an end of the first phase - the credit bubble in the West has burst, the western worker is no longer able to provide the buying power required to maintain supply and demand so the wealthy few and their economic and political servants are looking to provide easier credit to the worker in the East, where there is a potential new market for debt.” ...................
Happy reading, hope you have a good week.
Cheers
Arun
Amazon .co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Democracy-Di...
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Dict...
Our new book 'Productivity Hacks for Morning Routines is free until March 23rd on Kindle - http://amzn.to/2nckYPd . Get it, read it and boost your productivity with easy tips & tricks that make your mornings better!
Have you always wanted to write a book?FREE ebook, March 23-25. How to Write a Book Without Going Crazy.https://www.amazon.com/Write-Book-Wit...
"How to Write a Book Without Going Crazy" helps aspiring authors learn to avoid many of the hurdles that prevent them from realizing their dreams of publication. Reuther, a longtime author and journalist, makes it clear that writing fast and from one's heart is the key giving birth to a book. Inspirational and informative, this book provides sound advice for both the novice and experienced writer.
The book 'Murder, Mayhem & Money' will be FREE on Amazon for Kindle download from Sunday 26th March 2017 until Thursday 30th March 2017
Amazon .co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Mayhe...
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-...
Hi
Just to let you know that the book 'Murder, Mayhem & Money' will be FREE on Amazon for Kindle download from Sunday 26th March 2017 until Thursday 30th March 2017. Please fell free to pass this on to your friends.
First published in 'Daydream Believers'.
Ordinary people, living ordinary lives. What happens when boredom hits? What happens when money raises its head? What would you do?
Extract below:
Workmen
Barry slumped onto the verge, regretting the decision even as his buttocks hit the turf.
He'd struggle to get up from this position and his gang was just up the road and ready to take the piss. He could hear the comments in his head, fat bastard, beached whale and other such insults just waiting to find an outlet.
Still, he was here now and he might as well get on with it.
He pulled out his note pad and punched the number into his phone. It was only 30 seconds before it connected but he was through to the usual auto service; if you want blah, blah press 1 or if you want such and such press 2. It took him 4 minutes to get through to the service he wanted, then there was a queue and he had to wait a further 5 minutes before a female voice came on the line.
"Hello, my name is Jane. How may I help you today?"
"Ah Jane," he said, for a moment forgetting why he'd called, "My name's Barry Halliwell, I'm ringing because I got a parking ticket the oth....." He was aware he'd put on his telephone voice, articulating carefully in the hope that a show of good breeding would get a better result.
"We can't take payments over the phone," said Jane, helpfully, "you need to send a cheque to the address on the back of the parking charge."
"Ah, no, that's not what I was after, erm.....I sent a letter with a copy of the ticket that I purchased on the relevant date." He spoke fast hearing her draw breath for her next dismissal, "the letter explained that I had displayed the ticket, but when I shut my car door the ticket must have blown off the dash into the car well and was missed by your warden. So I did in fact buy a ticket and, therefore, shouldn't have to pay a fine."
"Tickets have to be displayed," said Jane, brightly.
"Ah, yes I know that," he kept his voice even, "and it was, but on this occasion the wind must've blown it off the dash when...."
"Tickets have to be displayed," repeated Jane.
"Right," it was getting harder to maintain the even tone, but he managed to swallow his irritation, "I know that but the main point is that people buy a ticket, I mean, that's the whole point right?"
Jane didn't respond.
"That's the whole idea, to pay for the parking space for a given period of time, well I did pay and I have the ticket to prove it...."
"Tickets have to be displayed," said Jane, adding firmly, "at all times."
"I know that, Jane, but I'm telling you I bought a ticket, so I rented the space, and something occurred be it an act of god or what, but something occurred so that the ticket fell from my dashboard into the car well. I didn't avoid buying a ticket, I bought one, still have it and sent you a copy...." He was losing it, and losing her, he knew it but he couldn't stop.
"I'm sorry sir," said Jane, her voice still at the same equable pitch, "but I will have to terminate this call."
"Don't do that," said Barry, wildly, "it took me fifteen minutes to get through."
"Sorry sir," said Jane, sounding anything but, "I've advised you that tickets must be displayed so I can't help you any further, good day," with which she hung up.
Barry clenched his fists, incandescent with suppressed fury, knowing it was bad for his blood pressure but momentarily unable to get a grip. He breathed deeply and counted to 10 then punched the number in again. His heart slowed to normal during the enforced waiting period. He avoided looking at his team idling down the road, working on the childish premise 'if I don't look at you, then you can't see me.'
It was 10 minutes before he heard the voice he'd been waiting for.
"Hello, my name's Gareth, how may I help you today?" Smooth, silky.
"Hi Gareth," said Barry, aiming for instant camaraderie, "I'm having a little problem with erm.....a parking ticket."
"We can't take payments over the phone, sir" said Gareth, helpfully, man-to-man, "you need to send a cheque to the address on the back of the parking charge."
"I know that, Gareth but the thing is, you see, I did buy a ticket so this fine isn't really relevant to me."
"Was it adequately displayed in your car window sir?" asked Gareth.
"Right," said Barry, thinking 'this is going pear-shaped fast', "let me explain ..."
"I'm sorry sir," said Gareth, oil-slick smooth, "unless the ticket was displayed in your car window I won't be able to help you."
"I get that," desperation was taking his breath away, "but can you please explain the purpose of buying a ticket?"
"To rent the parking space sir," said Gareth, happy to oblige, "but the ticket has to be displayed. It's part of the terms and conditions. This is displayed on the sign where you would have purchased the ticket and on the reverse of the ticket."
"So you don't dispute that I bought a ticket?" This is not what he had meant to say, the conversation was getting away from him again.
"I'm not in a position to comment on that, sir."
'Stop calling me sir when you mean shithead', Barry thought savagely, whilst forcing his voice into an even tone, "Surely you have a procedure in place that takes accidents into account?"
"The rules and terms are clear; the ticket must be clearly displayed."
"But that's criminal," now he'd lost it, "that means you get money for the parking and then you get to fine people 60 quid with no recourse or....."
"I'm afraid I can't progress this any further sir," said Gareth, all firm and righteous, "so I'm terminating the call, good day."
"Don't..." shouted Barry to the dial tone, "You fuckin' bastard, right, I'll 'ave you!" he snarled, manhandling the number into his phone, cursing violently as each digit went in, heart palpitating ferociously as he waded through the auto service and this time waiting a further 20 minutes for an operator, neurotically convinced they knew it was him and were making him wait longer on purpose.
"Hello, you're through to Diane," yet another well-modulated voice. Were they churning them out of a fucking sausage machine somewhere? "How may I assist you today?"
He launched straight away into his speech, hoping to catch her unawares, "I bought a parking ticket and I placed it on the dashboard of my car, but when I returned to my car I had a parking fine ...."
"Ah, well sir," began Diane.
"If you could just wait for me to finish please Diane, you see I then sent a copy of the ticket and a letter explaining what must've happened to...."
"Was the ticket displayed in your car window sir?"
"It was when I left the car but it must've fallen off...it was on the floor," he was aware how piteous he sounded; it was all he could do not to cry in rage and frustration.
"If the ticket wasn't adequately displayed we are entitled to levy a fine...."
"Surely once I present evidence that I bought a ticket ............"
"Do you still have the ticket sir?" asked Diane.
Breakthrough, he thought, she's listening, "Yes I do Diane," he said warmly, he could cuddle her.
"Good," said Diane, her voice bright and even more helpful than before, "then if you look on the reverse you will see it says in the terms and conditions...."
He blinked. For a moment he was too shocked to speak, then he rallied, he'd come too far to stop on a technicality, "Yes I know what it says, but you're not listening to me, I paid for the ticket, I paid to park there and now you're fining me for an act of god."
"The rules and terms are clear; the ticket must be clearly displayed."
"Diane, please, am I talking to a human being or a robot here? I'm telling you that I bought your lousy ticket, I paid to park there, this fine is all wrong."
"I'm sorry sir, but unless the ticket is adequately displayed...."
"Right!" said Barry, "in that case give me my money back. The money I paid for the parking ticket, £3.50, I want it back. If you're going to fine me anyway then you have to give me my money back."
"I'm sorry sir," said Diane, sounding infinitesimally off-balance. He felt like he'd scored a goal at Wembley, "there are no circumstances under which we'd offer a refund."
"But I paid for the ticket, I paid to park there, so you owe me a fucking refund if you intend to sting me for 60 quid."
"If you are going to verbally abuse me," said Diane, balance restored, "I will have to terminate the call, good day."
He dialled again, he would do this all day if he had to; it now meant more to him than his job, in fact he would commit the rest of his life to achieving this one thing. Verbal abuse? I'll give you verbal abuse.
He readied himself to launch a vitriolic tirade when he heard an electronic male voice on the other end, "We have received several nuisance calls from this number, therefore, I'm immediately terminating this call."
Happy reading, hope you have a good week.
Cheers
Arun
Amazon .co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Mayhe...
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-...
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Free Women's Non-Fiction/Self-Help "The Cult of Dissatisfaction" on Kindle from 28 to 30 March. Empowering unhappy professional women to make a change. https://www.amazon.com/Cult-Dissatisf...
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FREE book today only. For generations, men have taken to the road to find themselves. This story picks up the second half of the road journey of Bill Barrister, in his youth a star baseball pitcher, but now a middle-aged man riddled with obsessive thoughts and anxiety, and his buddy, the carefree Godfrey, as they head farther west from their homes in Pennsylvania toward their ultimate destination in California. What are they really searching for out on the road? Adventure? Kicks? Perhaps love? As their journey proceeds across the Southwest, these two men with seemingly disparate personalities find they have more in common than they thought. A story of self-discovery, humor and the sort of colorful characters that set apart author Mike Reuther as a storyteller.https://www.amazon.com/Pitching-Sanit...
Free for One Week May 26 through June 2: Earthbound A man with Thalian-Justine genes is marooned on the planet Earth. He has the spaceship and has hidden it in the wilds of Texas. He must survive on this violent planet and return to destroy the Justines and avenge his mother and Thalia. He takes the name of MacDonald and rescues Rolfe during a barroom brawl. He joins Rolfe in the fur trade until it ends. They become traders until a Kiowa raid destroys their goods. MacDonald admits he has gold hidden away. A trip to the spaceship provides funds for a land grant from the state of Texas. MacDonald becomes a Scout for the 2nd Dragoons. During a raid on a Comanche camp, he rescues Anna, a woman tall enough and warrior enough to match him. Will MacDonald and Anna survive plaque, the enmity of their Southern neighbors, a raid on Schmidt’s Corner, and the Civil War? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00THSCXOC/...
The Timeless Ones
FREE! May 28-29, 2017
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Merry Chalmers, accused witch, has a secret so hidden that she’s nearly forgotten what she really is. All she desires is for the witch-hunts to end and to marry her secret love, William Darling. But hysteria has taken hold in Salem Village, and the Tall Man, spawned by tales of his existence, is born to fulfill his dark purpose.
Soon Merry and William find their lives taking unthinkable paths. For when Merry leaps from the 17th century into modern-day Salem, she must accept that unlike others who were accused and hanged for being a witch, she truly is one.
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Shared on Twitter and added to review list
Hi, everyone. I hope you're enjoying your stories...My short story collection 'Little Dramas' is available for free (for two days) on Amazon Kindle, starting today, May 30.
I'd love some reviews if you'd be kind enough.
http://amzn.to/2pz5BTL
Cheers!
Glenn wrote: "Hi, everyone. I hope you're enjoying your stories...My short story collection 'Little Dramas' is available for free (for two days) on Amazon Kindle, starting today, May 30.
I'd love some reviews..."
Grabbed it, review soon, 4 ahead of yours.
My short story collection 'Little Dramas' is available for free on Amazon Kindle, today, May 31.I'd love some reviews if you'd be kind enough.
http://amzn.to/2pz5BTL
Cheers!
My short story collection 'Little Dramas' is available for free on Amazon Kindle, today, May 31.I'd love some reviews if you'd be kind enough.
http://amzn.to/2pz5BTL
Cheers!
Free!!!The Travel Mate, an international suspense thriller.
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I would love to get more reviews.
FREE March 20, 21, 22. Tap your creativity. A book for all aspiring writers. Writing Fiction, Telling Tales - Mike Reuther
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A Touch of Passion is just for youWith something old and something new
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Just a reminder! Get #Freekindlecopies of my and Keith Corner’s books this coming Saturday 3/1 and 23/2013. Get a copy and gift it to someone else if you already have one.
Includes my most popular 999 Years After Armageddon and Keith’s most popular, Gawky Giraffe. My study on Revelation Part I and our Horses of Carvecchio.
My books at: https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Ruppert/e/...
Keith’s books at: https://www.amazon.com/K-K-Corner/e/B...
Includes my most popular 999 Years After Armageddon and Keith’s most popular, Gawky Giraffe. My study on Revelation Part I and our Horses of Carvecchio.
My books at: https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Ruppert/e/...
Keith’s books at: https://www.amazon.com/K-K-Corner/e/B...
The books 'Corpalism',
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'Daydream Believers'
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&
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are free from Amazon for Kindle/PC download until Tuesday 26th March 2019 -
Happy reading
Cheers
Arun
Free on amazon from the 25th - 29th March.A space station. A quirky quantum computer tasked with solving the riddle of the Big Bang. A crew secretly seeking to sabotage it.
“A novel in the best tradition of H.G. Wells.” Now FREE on Amazon!
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FREE Swashbuckling, Historical Fiction eBook
For a limited time only, from Tuesday, March 24, 2020, until Saturday, March 28 ... Amazon eBook can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Against-...
Plot: On the first Monday of April 1625, in Paris, Monsieur Charles d'Avaloy, a lieutenant in Louis XIII's Guard, suddenly finds himself mixed up in some high intrigue. Other than duels (which, admittedly, he has done quite often, and for a long time), the soldier normally keeps away from public life as much as possible. So, why, all of a sudden, does somebody want him dead? And, whoever it is, is willing to set assassins at his heels to make sure that the job gets done right ... Again, dueling other soldiers for honor is one thing, but assassination attempts are quite another! Within a single evening, not only is this man's life turned completely upside-down, but in order to keep this matter as hushed as possible, several other men have already been murdered – one of them just for attempting to warn him!
To top things off, and on this same eerie evening, Monsieur d'Avaloy's brother, who's a priest, happens to also visit – mysteriously, after nine years of them being separated – to warn him to turn away from a life of the sword, else it will be his undoing! Even though the priest admits that he knows nothing of these sudden attempts upon his brother's life, the soldier does begin to wonder if the man's presence and words are a prophesy, or just a weird coincidence. Is God truly, and through these strange occurrences, trying to sway the solider away from his violent lifestyle? That is, since he has killed every single man with whom he has dueled? Or – and, as the soldier also begins to think – is God only besetting him with these current, horrible things to finally destroy him in the name of justice? Whatever's happening, will Monsieur d'Avaloy turn away from his life of violence and accept a life of priestly robes – since he feels that this is the real reason for his brother's visit? Or, will he end up dying by the sword, since he has been living by the Sword? ... Even though the priest assures him that his visit is only to give him peace within his heart (because, since his youth, the soldier has suffered horribly from deep depression – a result of the daily thrashings from his supposed Christian father), and to tell him that by accepting faith in God, and of stopping all the violence, that it will finally set him at liberty ... But, after everything is said and done, what will the end results be? Will the swordsman, through all of these events, find out that these circumstances, which have finally caught up with him, truly are the results of his life of the sword as opposed to a life of faith? Or, rather, the difference of having peace in one's heart who wears the priestly robes, as opposed to the violent, disturbing lifestyle of those who fiercely wield a blade? In other words, perhaps his has been a life of a sword against the robe!
For more information, please visit the author's official website: www.TedAnthonyRoberts.webs.com
The contemporary romance novella, The Colour of Your Voice, is free TODAY ONLY! Get yours while you can!Check out this synopsis to see if you're convinced:
Violet Pham can see the colour of sounds. Ever since she knew it, everything she heard carried a shade. She spent hours pouring her pencil sketches on paper, glaring at the milky white rays in the air dangling around, wrapping the mossy green blobs emanating from her mother's voice.
Another thing she also knows is that she was born to become a painter. But her faith keeps getting tested by her classmates and mother. "You can't do anything right," they tell her. She begins to question herself. Once she does, there is only one solution: run away from everything.
That is when she meets Turner Nguyen.
Turner is everything Violet wishes she is: an iron will and a flint heart. There is only one thing wrong about him — he's a gangster, the scummy type. He barges into gang wars. He beats people up for money. He smuggles drugs.
Soon, they learn that a romance of two castaways is a recipe for disaster. Slowly, their lives take turns for the worse.
https://www.amazon.com/Colour-Your-Vo...
Hello everyone, I have some copies of my books available, If you like fiction, thrillers, action and adventure, you can check them out on my link http://robertjbooks.com Please let me know and I will get one to you, thanks and keep reading, it's good for you.
Free books, fictional thrillers and action adventure, Please check my site for details and reviews, feel free to ask and I will get one to you, thanks.
Kindle FREE 19th March 2023The world around us (economic crisis, climate change, pandemic, war etc.) and the world inside us (loneliness, broken relationships, mental health) is crumbling. Why so? Who is responsible? What will it take humanity to survive and thrive in the tough times ahead? The book (Homo Unus: Successor to Homo Sapiens) is an attempt to unearth answers to these questions.
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B088PX7V34?r...
Available Free with Kindle Unlimited! "D'Artagnan Arrives Into Paris in 1640"
Through the thin crevices of time, and from old tomes on history, there just may be a justifiable way to find reasonable proof that the most famous Musketeer in history had indeed arrived into Paris for the first time in 1640 – despite “suggested” historical proof to the contrary. Which, as these historical documents “seem” to imply, the soldier-hero actually arrived much, much earlier – leaving both the famous “Memoirs of d’Artagnan” (especially its controversial author Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras – author of these famous Memoirs from the year 1700), and of d’Artagnan’s legendary meeting with the three Musketeers (Athos, Porthos, and Aramis) on the floor of total fiction! But, again, and as this present author of this modern work hopes to prove, the chances of d’Artagnan actually meeting these men, as Courtilz had at first suggested, just may be a plausible historical episode after all! . . . Follow along with Swashbuckling author, Ted Anthony Roberts (writer of both “Donaree the Musketeer” and “Sword Against the Robe”) in his very first work on historical non-fiction, and on the early life and career of France’s most famous swashbuckling hero – whilst he attempts, along the way, to set the historical record straight.
Strictly speaking, though, this book is not a detailed biography on either d’Artagnan, nor of his three friends, but is rather a short composite-sketch of the scarce information that we do have on the early life of d’Artagnan’s entry into Paris – which is almost totally lacking! Therefore, much detective work has to be done for anything satisfying, at all, to come across to us; especially when we realize that most of what we do know (which is extremely shaky itself) comes from Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras; which, as I’ve said, is a very controversial work on its “historic” accuracy, which most historians don’t even give an inch of consideration.
Official Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZPNH6G3/
The Next Big Thing by Mickey HooLimited Time Only
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBL9X3G2
This book offers an engaging exploration into the fascinating history of rocket development.
Delve into the dark chapter where Nazi Germany harnessed the destructive power of the V2 rocket during World War II, raining devastation across Europe.
Uncover the intriguing story of Operation Paperclip, a secret U.S. program that propelled America's triumph in the intense Space Race against the Soviet Union.
But the narrative doesn't end there. Prepare to be amazed by the visionary concepts shaping the future of space travel. Explore the tantalizing possibility of space elevators – colossal structures that could one day transport people and payloads into orbit through a mere elevator ride, revolutionizing our access to the final frontier.
With captivating details and a smooth narrative flow, this book promises an easy yet informative read, taking you on a journey through the past, present, and future of rocket technology and space exploration.
eBooks GROW ON TREES
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Bullets and Bandages: Bond of Brothers (other topics)
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Hi
Just to let you know that the book 'The Cull' will be FREE on Amazon for Kindle/PC download from Thursday 16th March to Monday 20th March 2017. Please fell free to pass this on to your friends.
With the world's oil supplies running out can the wealthy elites pull off a reduction in the world's population in one engineered mega disaster? Who can stop them? Who would even know to
Sample below:
Prologue
For Sir Digby Chalfont, a connoisseur, of all the women in the group, one stood out. She was tall, with impeccably cut, gleaming bronze hair.
He noted the Givenchy Pandora box bag slung over the shoulder of her black crepe trouser suit, a Tyrwhitt, if he was not mistaken, and the raspberry shirt that softened the aquiline face was certainly an Emilio Pucci. He imagined a crop twitching against her Eleonaro black riding boots; the thought causing him to smile as he homed in. He had no idea of her standing in the group, although the clothes gave a hint to her status. He cared little; she was the most attractive person in the room and he intended to make himself known to her; his newly acquired knighthood must be good for something.
The faint silk scent of the window drapes was now combined with the perfume of luxurious colognes. The Chairman, a portly man with a well-used face, experienced the effect without enjoyment; well used to the smell of money. Taking advantage of his central seat on the small platform he surveyed the room. He was impressed all over again at the power of the Committee; to be able to summon two hundred people from the international political, military, industrial and social elites at such short notice and achieve their attendance was no mean feat.
Clusters of men, mostly white and middle-aged, their dark, sombre suits offset by a few in full dress uniform, a scattering of crisp white djellabas and several in multi-coloured dashikis. He noted the women; not enough to tip the balance.
All were veterans of this type of gathering, some chatting easily to each other, most keeping their own counsel. At the Chairman's nod, the man who'd been awaiting the signal detached himself from the group and walked to the podium; tall, slim, dark hair at the distinguished stage.
Kurt Silverman, Head of the Institute of Research. He cut an athletic figure; he looked good and he knew it. He also knew that he was amongst those for whom personal appearance mattered less than power and holdings; in that respect he was not their equal, he was there to serve them.
The view offered to him from the uplifted podium was of rows of seats, each one occupied by a glossy A4 booklet he'd prepared and placed there earlier. Gradually, as if in response to an unspoken suggestion, members of the group began to move to these seats.
After a short time the Chairman rose to his feet, his dark grey Kiton suit struggling valiantly to contain and command his ample body.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome," he said, his voice carrying without effort to the back of the room. Given the ratio of male to female and, more pertinently, the balance of power he might have been forgiven for saying, 'welcome gentlemen'. Having caught the eagle eye of the auburn-haired woman in black, seated next to Sir Digby, such a lapse had been rendered impossible. He waved his hand towards the podium, introduced Kurt in a few crisp words and resumed his seat.
Kurt spoke, his voice betraying a slight nervousness; this was an august company and he would have been a fool not to have regard for their power,
"Thank you for inviting me here to deliver, for your consideration, the proposed solution to the most pressing issue of our times; 'Peak Oil'."
He paused, making deliberate eye contact with the front row, then continued, "As you know, in the 70s it was estimated we would reach Peak Oil somewhere around 2015, after which the rate of production was expected to enter terminal decline, giving us a global fuel crisis somewhere about 2075."
He clicked a hand held device and the screen behind him came to life, showing a map of the location of the last known oil reserves, "However, increased warfare, rises in manufacturing and rampant population growth has meant a massively increased demand. We passed Peak Oil in 2005. As a result, we will reach the projected fuel crisis much sooner than expected."
He clicked again and the screenshot changed, "Of course, we took steps over the last few decades to try and contain the situation. Thanks to the work of the Neo Liberals in the eighties and nineties we were able to offset the increasing costs of oil production by shifting costs of manufacturing to the more cost effective labour force of the third world."
Kurt indicated with a smile the six-strong delegation from China, all male, in identical Prince of Wales check suits and to his eye, with identical faces. He gestured to the smaller group from India, two serious-looking men and one elderly, petite, sari-clad woman.
"You may recall it was estimated that we'd need a further three decades before the third world would be strong enough to take over the consumption of the West."
He paused before delivering the punch line, "I'm happy to say our recent studies have revealed that the new consumers are there in abundance as we speak, and more than able to take up the slack."
A few heads looked up at this revelation, most didn't react at all. Kurt had no time to wonder if they'd already had this information, he had to move on to the crux of the matter.
"This being the case not only have we no further need of the northern hemisphere labour market, we now have no interest in their continued ability to buy our products. In short we have no further need to sustain this part of the population."
Kurt was moving with poise now, as another chart appeared on the screen showing world population levels, "You will be aware of various natural phenomena supporting our aims of constraining population growth; the greatest of which are Aids and famine. The policy of appearing to work towards their eradication whilst achieving very little seems to be working. That takes care of Africa. Helpfully, Eastern and Southern European countries are being depopulated via sustained civil war and ethnic cleansing."
He paused, then, "Rapid economic cleansing is also underway; highly desirable areas of France and Spain are being de-populated and in the UK, London is being cleared to make way for settlement by the very wealthy, with the rest of the South-East to follow."
He couldn't prevent the smug grin that crossed his face; he'd recently snapped up some exquisite properties just outside Primrose Hill, so felt he had to follow up with, "Of course, you will get first pick of these prime slices of real estate as they become available. In fact, I believe you can book your plots now, is that right, Mr. Chairman?"
The Chairman rose awkwardly, caught out by the change of subject, but the words flowed with practiced ease, "Superior Homes has created an exclusive brochure, copies of which will be available in the foyer as you leave conference. You'll find outline plans for a deluxe chateau in an average lot size of 3,000 hectares in the new territories. "
An electric buzz swept the room.
Kurt judged the time was right for the big announcement, "However, attritional reduction of population in these areas is not enough for our needs. We must contain America, the biggest oil consumer on the planet."
Kurt looked round the room, then invested his voice with strength, "We now need to move into the last phase of our plan, which we are calling 'Operation Downsize'. I'd like to introduce General Nathan Goldhirsch of the US Army who will explain it to you."
The US contingent stirred in their seats and a tall man in full dress uniform rose to his feet and headed towards the platform. "That's US Marine Corps, Kurt," he said, smiling. There was a smattering of laughter, quickly suppressed.
"Okay," said the General, his frown bringing them back to complete order, "let's get down to business. We need to reduce the US of A population by at least 25% and we can't pussy-foot around. Economic destabilisation brings its own problems and we have one helluva civilian army out there, all armed. If they get a sniff of what's going on all hell will break loose. So, we gotta do it quickly." He turned to the screen and pointed at the image that appeared, "This here is La Palma, one of the Canary Islands."
A hush settled on the room, this was where it started to get serious.
The screen changed. "And this is the Cumbre Vieja volcano, it is extremely volatile." The screen changed again, "This is the western face of the volcano, which is gradually collapsing. One day, in the natural course of things this side will fall into the sea creating a mega tsunami which will sweep across the Atlantic, ravage the Bahamas and reach the Eastern seaboard in a matter of hours."
He allowed the magnitude of the pronouncement a few moments to settle then delivered the coup de grace, "Well, we don't have time to wait for the natural course of things, ladies and gentlemen, so we intend to blow the whole damn thing sky high. And we're doing it soon."
Happy reading, hope you have a good week.
Cheers
Arun
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