What Am I Missing? Just a Little Silliness Along With This Week’s Smashwords Coupon

I seem to be missing something, but I can’t remember what it is. Here lately I seem to be having a lot of trouble with my memory. Well, maybe not just lately – this has been going on for - for longer than I can remember.

More than anything, I’m losing my words. I’ve tried doing those memory tricks, where you remember George’s name because you picture him in the jungle (GEORGE of the JUNGLE), and you remember the jungle by thinking of the bars you climbed on a playground (a JUNGLE GYM) and so the next time you see him you picture him in the jungle and call him “JIM.” If I were able to remember all those clues correctly, then I wouldn’t need the memory tricks in the first place.

I’m not the only person who’s losing things. Lots of things go missing. Car keys for as long as there’ve been cars. Evolutionists have been MISSING a LINK since before I was born. There’s the Lost City of Atlantis. UFOs are always disappearing.

I know that rubber is wearing off everyone’s tires; does anyone know where it all went?

Change is getting lost all the time, but no one seems to care. The only reason we know it was lost is that it’s always being found. It keeps coming back like a bad penny. Never mind, I’ll pick it up anyway.

What happened to all the caffeine they take out of coffee when they make decaf? I’ve asked them to put it in mine when I eat out, but they can’t seem to find it.

I see signs for lost dogs all the time. Not so much for cats, even though dogs are kept on leashes and the cats are the ones that are allowed to wander off. Go figure.

There are missing persons, too. Jimmy Hoffa. Amelia Earhart. The crew and passengers of the S.S. Minnow. Oceanic flight 815.

I hear all the time about people trying to find themselves. Maybe this wouldn’t be a problem if they’d just open their eyes. “What? Am I Missing? Oh, here I am! What a relief that’s over.”

They sell a device you can attach to your keys so when you lose them you can press a button and your keys will beep so you can find them. What makes them think I won’t lose the button? What works better for me is to develop habits – make a point of always putting your keys in the same place, then you just have to visit that place to find them. Make the place somewhere you visit often and it will be harder to lose.

I bet people stopped visiting Atlantis as often as they should, and they finally lost track of where it was. I wonder if Hoffa didn’t have any friends to visit him, and that’s why he vanished. Note to self: be sure to have lots of friends. Maybe that way I won’t have to find myself.

But one thing is certain – no matter what you’ve lost, it’s always in the last place you look. Of course, if you find it, then it SHOULD be the last place you look; why would you continue looking after that? “Glad I finally found that – now let’s see if I can find it again somewhere else.”

I think I’m still missing something; anyone else?.

Just saying…

<<<>>> 

This week’s featured eBook is William’s paranormal romance (not THAT kind of romance) “Through Her Eyes”; here’s the smashwords.com link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/169294?ref=notimetothink

Use coupon code NY28M to get 50% off the list price at check out at smashwords. The coupon will be good through Monday, March 2^nd.)  Enjoy!

<<<>>> 

William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication "Saturday He Fed the Cat") can be found in many places, such as:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

Connect with him on Facebook at:   http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or on his goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Projecting Weakness (AND This Week’s Smashwords Coupon)

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." – George Washington.

It isn’t just about having the equipment built and the manpower available to wield it. It’s about projecting the conviction that you are willing to use it.

I know this isn’t the worst of times – I’m just frustrated at how various portions of the world stage have fallen into chaos through the weakness of the newest Neville Chamberlain.

He is negotiating with a state that sponsors terrorists to allow them to build a nuclear weapon. What else could he mean for them to understand, when he is afraid to put sanctions on them for fear of making them mad?

He sent FIVE leaders of the Taliban (another terrorist organization) back to the battlefield for ONE worthless deserter. He negotiated our withdrawal from Afghanistan with those same terrorists.

He tells Israel to behave themselves as Hamas terrorists attack them.

He allows Putin to gradually assimilate Ukraine back into Mother Russia (Barack - is that what you meant when you said to tell Vladimir that you’d have more latitude after the election?)

He abandoned Iraq and the people WE liberated who wanted their freedom (remember those proud, purple fingers), then allowed Iraq and a neglected Syria to become the birthplace of Islamic State, whom he says we are fighting (although a couple of days ago we had marines in a compound that ISIL attacked and WE WERE NOT INVOLVED in the fighting.)

A Jordanian pilot is murdered and the Jordanian King and his people not only vow to destroy every last one of the monsters, but act on it. How many Americans has the Islamic State killed? And we are still in the process of degrading them (odd – we have them on the run so much they seem to be spreading out over more territory than ever.)

“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Ultimately, no one is afraid of the stick – it’s the person wielding it that’s important. It is obvious that the current occupier (and much of his party) doesn’t have the stomach or inclination to even carry the stick, much less use it.

I know our country isn’t weak, but THE WORLD, both friend and foe, sees that we are being led by a confused, self-satisfied APPEASER, who is either ignorant of history or thinks he is better than all that, and HIS actions (and inactions) and HIS words (and silence) are what the world considers when they decide what they can get away with.

Perception becomes reality in this case. And the clock is ticking on the end of his final term; we can expect more turmoil before his successor is sworn in.

Just saying…

<<<>>> 

This week’s featured eBook is “Passed Life”; here’s the smashwords.com link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/144238?ref=notimetothink

Use coupon code NV53M to get 50% off the list price at check out. The coupon will be good until Monday February 23^rd.  Enjoy!

<<<>>> 

His writing (including his latest ePublication "Saturday He Fed the Cat", with 50%-off coupon MM79K extended through February 20^th ) can be found in many places, such as:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

Connect with him on Facebook at:   http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or on his goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Finding the Time (AND This Week’s Coupon)

Because I talk to SO MANY people who would be writing IF ONLY they had the time, let’s talk about finding it.

Circumstances will come along that interfere in your ability to write. Maybe it’s a death in the family. Maybe your child is sick, or you’re sick. Or you’re selling your house, or your favorite show is on, or the phone rang or an email beeped or a text buzzed. We are all different: in our writing methodology, in what our lives are like, and to attempt to come up with a one size fits all solution to everyone’s “if only I had time to write” syndrome is futile. But I can discuss what mine is like – what stops me, what I do to make time, and, more importantly, to MAKE MYSELF WRITE.

My History as a Writer

When I decided in 2004 that I needed a creative outlet I considered ACTING, but that requires the involvement of others. MUSIC meant I would either need to join a band or build a sound-proof room to keep from driving my family crazy. I settled on WRITING speculative fiction, because I could do on my own, practically anywhere. I used to write stories for fun decades earlier in my teens, revisited writing when I returned to school in my late twenties, and I knew it was something I could do and enjoy.

Having chosen writing, I wanted to “do it right”, so I started reading HOW TO books and blogs. If you’re going to write in a genre, you should also read that genre, so I started working through David Pringle’s list of the 100 Best Science Fiction novels. I joined an online writer’s workshop, participated in forum discussions, critiqued postings of other writer’s first 13 lines, and volunteered to critique entire stories. Of course, doing these things had nothing to do with the most important thing you have to do when you’re a writer:

Heinlein rule #1: YOU MUST WRITE

In 2006, I finally started writing. I resurrected the last story I had ever written (a 1700-word exercise for a college course on mythology), and decided to rewrite it from scratch. Over the next couple of years I completed the story (8000 words) and in 2008 started the process of {send it out, get rejected, rethinking, rewriting, repeat} until “Passed Life” was whittled down to its final version (5800 words) in 2010. This was a clear violation of:

Heinlein rule #3: YOU MUST REFRAIN FROM REWRITING, EXCEPT TO EDITORIAL ORDER

Do not spend your time rewriting the same story over and over again; you will not improve your skill set as well as you will by writing new stories. As a result of spending all this time rewriting, I didn’t finish my second story until 2010.

At the end of 2010, I set writing goals for the first time; I was going to write six stories in 2011. But the time I set aside for writing each day (10pm-11pm) was consistently trampled on – there was almost always a reason that I couldn’t write, so by June I had only finished one story for 2011 and started my second. That’s when I found Dean Wesley Smith’s website and read about the sacred cows and myths of publishing, and Heinlein’s rules. I applied myself, and accomplished my goal of six stories by the end of the year.

(I’m going to stop recounting history at this point – I won’t bore you with another FOUR YEARS of “and then I…”) Now, on to the meat of what you need to know.

YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

One of the changes I made was to reschedule my writing to 7:30am-8:30am, and that time (for various reasons) worked almost perfectly for over a year. Does your life allow you to function under some sort of consistent schedule? If so, lucky you! Find the  time that you can set aside when no one is likely to interrupt you and commit to write right then.

WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR WRITING COMMITMENT, KNOW WHAT’S IMPORTANT AND BE FLEXIBLE

I said that my morning writing schedule worked for over a year. Mine is one of those lives that almost always have interruptions (a “best laid plans” kind of life.) I reached a point where I had to use that time of day to catch up with work when other things in my life impinged on my job (good old work-life balance.) Now I tend to write a lot in waiting rooms or wherever I am at whatever time possible. Don’t restrict yourself to when and where you do your writing. Also,

DON’T LET YOUR TOOLS DICTATE WHETHER YOU CAN WRITE

Again, we’re all different. I use word documents for my writing – sometimes on my laptop, a lot of times on my NOOK using a fold-up Bluetooth keyboard (I bought an iPhone 6+ a couple of months and the keyboard syncs to it just fine – I may start writing on it.)

The important thing to me is to have my writing implements available whenever, so they don’t dictate when I can write (my cell phone should be a natural – when ISN’T it available?) Maybe you can handle dictating your writing (into a special device or your phone – speech to text technology is leaps and bounds better than it was when I first tried it in the 90’s.) Or you could just kick it old style (pen and paper – carry pocket notebooks like I used to in the 70’s.) Use whatever you can think of to maximize your opportunities.

MICHAEL JORDAN WAS RIGHT: JUST DO IT

I know this seems over-simplified, but it’s what all this really comes down to. Yes – things will happen in your life that will knock you off the writing horse (or bicycle, if you prefer); whatever it is, be flexible enough to get back on ASAP, even if it isn’t the same way you used to do it.

And if you want to write, take a long serious look at what’s preventing it. Let’s face it – even for professional writers, it requires discipline and commitment to force the words onto the paper (or whatever medium) where other people can see it. Find out what’s stopping you and push through it.

Just saying…

<<<>>> 

This week’s featured eBook is “A Dish Best Served”; here’s the smashwords.com link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/144238?ref=notimetothink

Use coupon code TS57T to get 50% off the list price at check out. The coupon will be good until Monday February 16^th.  Enjoy!

<<<>>> 

William Mangieri’s next release will be "Saturday He Fed the Cat" on Friday, February 13th. 
His writing (including his latest ePublication “Dredging Things Up”) can be found in many places, such as:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

Connect with him on Facebook at:   http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or on his goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Let the COUPONS Begin!!!

Time to focus on the writing business - well, not writing exactly, but marketing and promotion.

For those of you who really know me, or who’ve been reading and paying attention, a theme that occasionally repeats in my postings is the continuing saga of William Mangieri and the Horrors of Self-Promotion.

In everyone’s life, there are times when you HAVE TO SELL SOMETHING – whether it’s ideas or positions, or merchandise. It’s very hard for me to approach anyone and suggest that they part with their hard earned money to buy something I’m selling. Back in my teens, I did the door to door thing, but it was with people who already wanted the product – I was really just a deliveryman. When I hit twenty,  I was suckered in by one of those ads for an office job that would always be filled by the time you got there, but “We do have some sales openings” (ALWAYS selling VACUUM CLEANERS.) I trained for a week, and the Filter Queen was an excellent machine if you wanted to suck up carriage bolts, but I was horribly uncomfortable asking ANYONE to buy one. Of course, $400 seemed like a huge amount of money to me in 1977, but even if it had been $40 I still would have struggled. I lasted one weekend and then looked for employment elsewhere.

I haven’t been doing this writing gig for very long. I know I can create product, but I cripple myself when it comes to promotion. It would be easy to use the excuse that this world of eBooks and Indie publishing is such a new thing that no one really knows how to do it, but the fact is that I SUCK AT IT.

In an effort to give SELF-promotion another go, I’ve decided to try out the COUPON feature on smashwords.com. So, each week I will feature a 50%-OFF COUPON on a selected ePublication.

Of course, I’d appreciate it if those of you who take advantage of this “deep discount” would PLEASE post a review after you’ve read it (I am amazed at how hard it is to get those – I thought that nowadays everyone and their cats were posting their opinions all day, every day, on everything online. Who knew this wasn’t the case?)

BE AWARE: the coupon is only good on smashwords.com, but you can get any format there, whether you use a Kindle, or a NOOK, or whatever device you do your reading on.

This week’s featured book is “In a Flash”; here’s the link to the story on smashwords.com: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/120247?ref=notimetothink

Use coupon code FY86V to get 50% off the list price at check out. The coupon will only be good until February 9^th, so GET IT WHILE IT’S HOT!!!

(sorry – didn’t mean to be pushy - just saying…)

<<<>>> 

William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication “Dredging Things Up”) can be found in many places, such as:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

Connect with him on Facebook at:   http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or on his goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri