Wednesday, 1 January 2014
latest interview.
Happy new Year by the way and here is my latest piece of self indulgence. I get so few I have to plug those I do receive for all they are worth.
http://www.joomag.com/magazine/indie-scribe-magazine-january-2014/0052688001387463262
Have a read and enjoy have a rad and discard but do please have a read.
Cheers D
Sunday, 29 December 2013
New year trivia/Updated
hello blogging friends
This will not be extensive, the power here is still on and off so I will simply say, watch this space there is much gnashing of teeth to come.
So I will wish you all a Happy new year and tell you what we experienced in our tiny corner of the globe.
Storm hit us on the night of Monday into Christmas Eve/ With much blowing and gnashing we were entrusted with Gods full might. A tree came down and tiles fell off the roof and of course the power went which it has done on and off ever since but for all that we came off pretty lucky.
Christmas morning it was still a little blowy and so I was up at 3 am sitting in the dark with just candles to light my way all very festive and unable to open pressies ans the little one was asleep. still she would, be awake around 7 wouldn't she? No the one time you want her awake she sleeps til 9 but then her face more than made up for my solitude in the dark.Anyway the turkey was relegated to the now silent freezer and we boiled bacon in the gas hob just in case the power went half way through the cooking process and Christmas day was spent assessing the damage.
This might sound pretty primitive but we were so much better off than some who five or six days down the line have experienced no power and floods so I can't complain. well I can we have started to get the estimates for the repairs. One roofer failed to arrive despite his assurances he would. another came yesterday and without getting up there came out with an estimate which beggars believe. I know we are at their mercy but it is there inflated prices that push our premiums up every year. We have another coming at 8.30 today and even he said he was busy and had been working ever since boxing day so you can guess what his prices will be like.
I am thinking of asking the insurance company to allow me to do the work, what do you reckon would they pay me £780 pounds or pay a roofer who has inflated their price, so the lowest estimate so far is £33276.
if this is happening to me who many others are being ripped off. Oh well back to wood cutting that tree will burn nicely next year.
This will not be extensive, the power here is still on and off so I will simply say, watch this space there is much gnashing of teeth to come.
So I will wish you all a Happy new year and tell you what we experienced in our tiny corner of the globe.
Storm hit us on the night of Monday into Christmas Eve/ With much blowing and gnashing we were entrusted with Gods full might. A tree came down and tiles fell off the roof and of course the power went which it has done on and off ever since but for all that we came off pretty lucky.
Christmas morning it was still a little blowy and so I was up at 3 am sitting in the dark with just candles to light my way all very festive and unable to open pressies ans the little one was asleep. still she would, be awake around 7 wouldn't she? No the one time you want her awake she sleeps til 9 but then her face more than made up for my solitude in the dark.Anyway the turkey was relegated to the now silent freezer and we boiled bacon in the gas hob just in case the power went half way through the cooking process and Christmas day was spent assessing the damage.
This might sound pretty primitive but we were so much better off than some who five or six days down the line have experienced no power and floods so I can't complain. well I can we have started to get the estimates for the repairs. One roofer failed to arrive despite his assurances he would. another came yesterday and without getting up there came out with an estimate which beggars believe. I know we are at their mercy but it is there inflated prices that push our premiums up every year. We have another coming at 8.30 today and even he said he was busy and had been working ever since boxing day so you can guess what his prices will be like.
I am thinking of asking the insurance company to allow me to do the work, what do you reckon would they pay me £780 pounds or pay a roofer who has inflated their price, so the lowest estimate so far is £33276.
if this is happening to me who many others are being ripped off. Oh well back to wood cutting that tree will burn nicely next year.
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Christmas is cancelled
Morning all
I tried to make this point some time ago but it appears some thought I simply bemoaned the fact we had no lights. Well that is true but the disease that inflicts this city goes far deeper. Its all about money and how our elected councilors waste what we give them.
So Canterbury has no lights and the reason is we can't afford them. Not strictly true, two parts of the city do have lights one is a privately owned shopping center which the councilors think is the best thing ever to happen to the city. The other part has been funded by individual shop keepers all very laudable but why does the main street remain in darkness? Is it to save money or is there some grand scheme to force shoppers and visitors else where. Perhaps i can shed some light (get it a pun)
£40, 000 is what is required to light the three shopping centers under the councils control, small change in the grand scheme of life.How to fund it in a time of austerity appears to have stumped our elected fools. here are my ideas,.
1) All fifty councilors could take a thousand pound pay cut, after all we the tax payer fund their wages.
2) They could have used the £50,000 wasted on paying architects for planned alterations to the mayors parlour which had already been dismissed as unworkable
3) use the 103,000 pound earmarked for repaving an area of the high street which does not need repaving
4) save the 17, 000 set aside for mayoral robes and regalia which isn't needed.
5) or use some of the 3 million pounds stashed away in a contingency reserve.
6) our council wasted £100, 000 on a planning dispute which their own planning department said they could not win. Now they must pay a large local companies legal costs.
All told i make that 3, 330,000 they could have saved yet they winge about spending £50, 000 to attract shoppers to our city instead of others. Already our shopkeepers are feeling the pinch by this scrooge like decision many might fail come January
Bah Humbug is too kind for those who are supposed to be working in our best interests. There has been much publicity over this matter if you feel as we do in Canterbury please send our council your views address them to John Gilby leader of the council or the chief executive we have a chance to end this at the next elections please support a light-less city.
D
I tried to make this point some time ago but it appears some thought I simply bemoaned the fact we had no lights. Well that is true but the disease that inflicts this city goes far deeper. Its all about money and how our elected councilors waste what we give them.
So Canterbury has no lights and the reason is we can't afford them. Not strictly true, two parts of the city do have lights one is a privately owned shopping center which the councilors think is the best thing ever to happen to the city. The other part has been funded by individual shop keepers all very laudable but why does the main street remain in darkness? Is it to save money or is there some grand scheme to force shoppers and visitors else where. Perhaps i can shed some light (get it a pun)
£40, 000 is what is required to light the three shopping centers under the councils control, small change in the grand scheme of life.How to fund it in a time of austerity appears to have stumped our elected fools. here are my ideas,.
1) All fifty councilors could take a thousand pound pay cut, after all we the tax payer fund their wages.
2) They could have used the £50,000 wasted on paying architects for planned alterations to the mayors parlour which had already been dismissed as unworkable
3) use the 103,000 pound earmarked for repaving an area of the high street which does not need repaving
4) save the 17, 000 set aside for mayoral robes and regalia which isn't needed.
5) or use some of the 3 million pounds stashed away in a contingency reserve.
6) our council wasted £100, 000 on a planning dispute which their own planning department said they could not win. Now they must pay a large local companies legal costs.
All told i make that 3, 330,000 they could have saved yet they winge about spending £50, 000 to attract shoppers to our city instead of others. Already our shopkeepers are feeling the pinch by this scrooge like decision many might fail come January
Bah Humbug is too kind for those who are supposed to be working in our best interests. There has been much publicity over this matter if you feel as we do in Canterbury please send our council your views address them to John Gilby leader of the council or the chief executive we have a chance to end this at the next elections please support a light-less city.
D
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Dead men Lie
Yes I know you are all getting mightily bored with this damned book but this is important to me .
I have numerous friends in my circles and I need every last one of you to read this blog and act on it. You see Dead Men Lie is to be re-launched bigger, better, bolder than before. I need you all to pass this on to at least another three people each.
Why I hear you ask, the answer is simple that is what Google+ is all about surely to pass on information to assist others and add to everyone's knowledge. I do so I read almost all the posts that come my way some I dislike some I comment on some are not my interest but I do not ignore them not intentionally.
Now I have you attention Dead Men Lie is almost ready to be road tested after ages in the repair shop, it will soon be back on sale as I said far better than before it went in for drastic reshaping. To kick start sales I will be offering it free of charge for a period of time much against my better judgement but I have bowed to superior pressure.
Also we are launching Dead Men Lie in Rye on June 4th invitations will be going out but if anyone is in the area drop in and say hello. Why Rye well it is where Stormouth was based upon, why June 4th, it was the date of the all important ball where those who have read the book will know so much occurred.
Please read, please re-post to your friends, please buy and please tell me what you think of my efforts.
Cheers Dave
Monday, 25 November 2013
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
From a stressed writer on this Saturday afternoon..
Update on yours truly,
The disease which has laid me low is clearing at long last, it took moving to another surgery simply to get an appointment to see a Doctor but now the drugs are working. i feel the illness being chased from my body and the old self returning.
So lets have a bit of an update, DEAD MEN LIE is now three quarters re-written and even if i do say so myself it is a thousand times better than the last edition for which I can only once again apologise for. I am now into the last section where the myriad factions begin to fall into place. For those who have read this book you would not recognise it now for those who haven't as yet discovered this book get a copy when it becomes available on Kindle and the other various sites because for two weeks only it will be fre to download then for another two weeks it will be priced as low as we can get it after that it goes back to full market price so get in quick and lest see how high we can push this book.
My little dig at my local council was overtaken somewhat for which I apologise, why anyone has to bring a piece about finances down to religion was beyond me but there you go it takes all sorts to make this little world go round. My point was while we suffer, our glorious leaders live high on the hog and suffer not at all, look at the bonuses the bankers still make despite numerous firms going to the wall.
Right back to Stormouth and speak soon D
Afternoon one and all.
So here we are on a wet and dreary Wednesday afternoon. I was just wondering, what can I do to brighten your day for you?. You could watch my magical video of me buggy jumping similar to that obsession of leaping from high places with knicker elastic tied to your ankles. Buggy jumping involves leaping high buggies without tripping over, less dangerous than the former unless attempted after a can or two.
I should begin with an update of both this blog site and our website. both continue to grow and for that I thank you all. It amazes me how I can thump something out here in the South-east corner of England and within moments someone in outer wherever reads it and sends a comment back. This post was up a scant few seconds and I received a message from a person in Sumatra of all places. While Canada, America and Ireland continue to be my biggest readers we have followers all over the world and I would like to say welcome to them all. Strangely enough no one reads me within my home town, I wonder why, has the council got to them all?
Perhaps that's true in which case i had better tell you about the time I lost today, chasing a lost section of the rewrite, only to find I had mis-numbered the chapters, 45 minutes wasted but am I down-hearted, too bloody right I am.
Then I found these to comments about my book , did I tell you I wrote a book No, well the title is Dead Men Lie and apparently its very good though my council consider it too explicit for the good residents her to read. Anyway these were lodged in one of the first posts I put out back in the days when I couldn't cut and paste, so here they are for you to enjoy once again. The first is from an old teacher who read my book and was one of the first to give it a good review,
"Procter, I thought, spent more time dreaming than learning, but is with interest and distinct pride that I discover my time wasn't totally wasted. He has produced a work of such meaningful reflection that I am proud to say I taught this talented new yet elderly author. Never did I expect work of such magnificence but if this is what he can produce, he will, I am sure, go on to become a worthy and well read author well done David".
My thanks to you as well sir.
The other positive comment comes from a person who bought Dead men Lie from Kindle and her thoughts came via my guest page at davidtprocterbooks.co.uk
Sylvia W writes. "I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to end, Abigail was a character I could associate with while Bayles was a true villain. The way the author plays with the reader, leading them in one direction then taking them somewhere else, keeps the story alive. The ending was completely unexpected, loved it more please."
The disease which has laid me low is clearing at long last, it took moving to another surgery simply to get an appointment to see a Doctor but now the drugs are working. i feel the illness being chased from my body and the old self returning.
So lets have a bit of an update, DEAD MEN LIE is now three quarters re-written and even if i do say so myself it is a thousand times better than the last edition for which I can only once again apologise for. I am now into the last section where the myriad factions begin to fall into place. For those who have read this book you would not recognise it now for those who haven't as yet discovered this book get a copy when it becomes available on Kindle and the other various sites because for two weeks only it will be fre to download then for another two weeks it will be priced as low as we can get it after that it goes back to full market price so get in quick and lest see how high we can push this book.
My little dig at my local council was overtaken somewhat for which I apologise, why anyone has to bring a piece about finances down to religion was beyond me but there you go it takes all sorts to make this little world go round. My point was while we suffer, our glorious leaders live high on the hog and suffer not at all, look at the bonuses the bankers still make despite numerous firms going to the wall.
Right back to Stormouth and speak soon D
Afternoon one and all.
So here we are on a wet and dreary Wednesday afternoon. I was just wondering, what can I do to brighten your day for you?. You could watch my magical video of me buggy jumping similar to that obsession of leaping from high places with knicker elastic tied to your ankles. Buggy jumping involves leaping high buggies without tripping over, less dangerous than the former unless attempted after a can or two.
I should begin with an update of both this blog site and our website. both continue to grow and for that I thank you all. It amazes me how I can thump something out here in the South-east corner of England and within moments someone in outer wherever reads it and sends a comment back. This post was up a scant few seconds and I received a message from a person in Sumatra of all places. While Canada, America and Ireland continue to be my biggest readers we have followers all over the world and I would like to say welcome to them all. Strangely enough no one reads me within my home town, I wonder why, has the council got to them all?
Perhaps that's true in which case i had better tell you about the time I lost today, chasing a lost section of the rewrite, only to find I had mis-numbered the chapters, 45 minutes wasted but am I down-hearted, too bloody right I am.
Then I found these to comments about my book , did I tell you I wrote a book No, well the title is Dead Men Lie and apparently its very good though my council consider it too explicit for the good residents her to read. Anyway these were lodged in one of the first posts I put out back in the days when I couldn't cut and paste, so here they are for you to enjoy once again. The first is from an old teacher who read my book and was one of the first to give it a good review,
"Procter, I thought, spent more time dreaming than learning, but is with interest and distinct pride that I discover my time wasn't totally wasted. He has produced a work of such meaningful reflection that I am proud to say I taught this talented new yet elderly author. Never did I expect work of such magnificence but if this is what he can produce, he will, I am sure, go on to become a worthy and well read author well done David".
My thanks to you as well sir.
The other positive comment comes from a person who bought Dead men Lie from Kindle and her thoughts came via my guest page at davidtprocterbooks.co.uk
Sylvia W writes. "I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to end, Abigail was a character I could associate with while Bayles was a true villain. The way the author plays with the reader, leading them in one direction then taking them somewhere else, keeps the story alive. The ending was completely unexpected, loved it more please."
Dead Men Lie is now officially half completed, the re-write is going well, removing a lot of extraneous drivel, tightening up the dialogue and getting the story more focused. Difficult to do without losing the tension but by the time I have finished DEAD MEN LIE will be far better.
Here's the Plug.
DEAD MEN LIE WILL BE RE-ISSUED IN DECEMBER ON KINDLE AND KOBO. FOR THE FIRST MONTH IT WILL BE PRICED AT £0.99 pence. NO MORE NO LESS.
FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE A FREE UPDATED VERSION YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY FOR ONE DAY IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2014 DATES TO FOLLOW THIS IS ONLY FOR PREVIOUS PURCHASERS. FOR THOSE WITH HARD COPIES WE WILL BE AT THE KENT SHOW IN JUNE WHERE YOU CAN EXCHANGE YOUR OLD COPIES FOR THIS NEW ONE.
There, that's the best I can do, far better than most much better than any main stream publisher would do. No I don't require your thanks, your continued support is all I seek, and that you spread the word about my books of course.
My job is done now I have to catch up with Tom Gasson the rat catcher and that nasty swine Bayles.
Until the next time, Oh and don;'t forget Friday and our hangout.
Dave
Monday, 18 November 2013
Hangout with me!!!!!
Hi Friends
SORRY HAD TO CANCEL DUE TO SEVERE SINUSITIS,
WILL RESCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY NEXT WEEK
As part of my new campaign I am doing something new. On Friday three days after my birthday, (Yes another year older and deeper in debt) I am going to attempt to conduct a video hangout. Anyone interested then join me at 2,30 pm European time. Of course it could all go tits up because i don't know what i am doing nor have I the faintest what to speak about so, no doubt its all going to go Pete Tong. (Wrong)
There you go the invitation is out there who will be brave enough to join me.
D
SORRY HAD TO CANCEL DUE TO SEVERE SINUSITIS,
WILL RESCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY NEXT WEEK
As part of my new campaign I am doing something new. On Friday three days after my birthday, (Yes another year older and deeper in debt) I am going to attempt to conduct a video hangout. Anyone interested then join me at 2,30 pm European time. Of course it could all go tits up because i don't know what i am doing nor have I the faintest what to speak about so, no doubt its all going to go Pete Tong. (Wrong)
There you go the invitation is out there who will be brave enough to join me.
D
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