Four stars on Kindle - finally.

 This is the latest review for 'Memoirs of a Vending Machine' at Kindle US.  Also available at Kindle UK and Kindle Germany. Finally - someone gets it! This reviewer gave me 4 stars. She wanted to give me 5 but found a couple of editing mistakes. I'll have to get in touch with the copy editor who did Memoirs for me! If you look it up, you'll have to wade through the one and two star ratings but at least we now know that not all of the people have the same opinion!

This was a very different, rather existentialist sort of short story that reminded me of early computer games like "Adventure". The reader wonders to herself "where is this story going? what is the point?" This is a shared experience with the main character who wanders lost in a city in Japan, trying to find his way back to his hotel. Like Hansel, he tries to leave a trail, not of breadcrumbs, but of vending machines, but they mislead him and he keeps circling back around to the same starting point at the train station, until he discovers a magic cave- well, really a bar, what would you expect in the tourist part of town? But from there, chance encounters happen, there's some drinking and the disjointed sort of things that happen when you are out drinking and an eventual conclusion. 
I really enjoyed this story, unlike most of the other reviewers here. I found it quirky, very well-written and while it and the main character meandered, it all made aesthetic sense. It was easy to feel sympathy for the main character, and to begin to see and feel through his eyes. The author just managed to catch one of those interesting, frustrating and adventurous moments in a traveler's life.

 Take care folks, that's all for now.

Beerubaraoyaji

Grammar Police Alert : Memoirs is now squeaky clean - edit version uploaded

The edited version of Memoirs is now posted on Smashwords and Kindle.

Hi Folks

Late again for my regular post. I've been a bit busy working and studying but still found time to upload the 'Grammar Police' version of Memoirs of a Vending Machine. The downloads are steady and climbing again so it looks like it is still a winner. I had expected a happy and satisfied reader to counter the negative and soul destroying reviews on Kindle with a 'feel-good' sort of good-on-you-for-getting-this-edited type of comment but is seems the comments are reserved for the negative aspects while positive actions apparently go unnoticed. Oh well, just so you know... I feel good on the inside for commissioning the edit for the benefit of anyone who just happens to find Memoirs and decides to read it. Whoever you are, you will now get the best of Memoirs. If you happen to like the story and it gives you some pleasure then it was all worth the effort. If you have already downloaded Memoirs, to tell you the truth it is probably not really worth a re-read as the edit just took out the typos. It is pretty much the same manuscript minus a few entertaining errors. 

One thing I haven't said about Memoirs is that it is loosely based on real events, although I am sure that many a reader has already worked this out. One of the characters, Jon is based on a guy I did know in Japan. He passed away before I actually wrote the story and the ebook is really my way of saying, well it was great to have known you, your life really did have some meaning and still does. If you enjoy the story and Jon's character, it would make my day to hear it, he left this world far too early in life. Anyway, thats all folks. As far as I am concerned Memoirs is done now and I will turn my attention to the next creation. I'll keep you posted. 

Cheers

Beerubaroyaji

We All Make Mistakes

The only mistake is the spelling, the marriage was definitely a good thing as was the chocolate mud cake.

Hi Folks,
I missed my regular post this week. I have been busy as hell at work and with a few study commitments, time just got away from me. Believe it or not, I have had my head wrapped in text books and I have been studying the intricate details of corporations law in this country. In fact, I just received the result for my mid semester assignment and scored a high distinction. One criticism was that in my footnotes,  I misspelled ' Ford's Principles of Corporations Law as 'Principals' although I got it right when I was discussing the law of Principal and Agent. My point being that we all make mistakes but it doesn't always interfere with what we are trying to say. My law professor forgave me and gave me a high distinction. My wife forgave the local Patisserie and still loves me. So why do my critics 'bag me out' with these nice-story-shame-about-the-typos style comments for a free-to-download ebook? Well... I suppose it is a good thing to maintain standards but it sure as hell can be a pain in the ego. Anyway the reason I have even bothered to bring up this topic is that the fee-for-service edit of 'Memoirs of a Vending Machine' is back. It is now squeaky clean so that even the harshest of critics would have to now contain the vitriol and the sarcasm to comments about the plot and characterisation etc. With no clangers to keep them entertained such as "he said with a rising infection" or "Memoirs of a Bending Machine" they may just find the time to read the story and enjoy it for what it is - a story - although I am going to miss these little quirks that have kept me laughing at myself for a few months. Anyway, I am just going through the edit which doesn't really represent any substantial changes other then the typos before I upload the new 'clean version'. Keep an eye out for it, especially if the typos have been causing you any angst.

BTW: 'Bug' is continuing to go berserk by the thousands on wattpad although it is a bit slow on smashwords. It has only recently been approved for distribution so it might take a bit more time.Nothing to report on Kindle yet but I think I need to wait for the technical people to do their thing before anything happens. I will be re-loading and re-publishing 'Squeaky Clean Memoirs' on Kindle as soon as I could be bothered. (This is where most of the bad reviews came from) and will post something on this blog when I do.

Bye for now

Beerubaraoyaji

Bug Goes Berserk

'Bug', my new short story on Smashwords.

Wow, I think I did a good job here. 'Bug' has been going mad at wattpad so I thought I'd try it out on Smashwords. With four and a half star reviews and a frenzy of downloads, I think I have a winner. Check it out. It has also sparked a bit of action on my other titles. 

I also posted it on Kindle but I'll wait until I see how the reviews by the grammar police go before I post a link. I am still in agony over the crappy reviews from 'Memoirs', despite a shed-load of downloads. Still waiting for my professional editor to get back to me with a quote so there hasn't been much movement on that front. 

If you are interested in the new story, here is the description as posted on  Smashwords for 'Bug'.

Imagine living with a bug that clings to the back of your skull. Only you can feel it. Is it really there? Are you insane? Join Blake on his journey in 'BUG' and decide for yourself. A weird short story by James Pollard.

Thats all for now.

Beerubaraoyaji

Bug eats Vending Machine

Giant Kabuto Mushi somewhere in Japan

Hi Folks

This week has seen an amazing amount of downloads for 'Bug' at wattpad. It has had three times more downloads than 'Keitai Friends' and is still clocking up download after download. I'm going to get a cover page together and put it up on Smashwords soon to see if it is as popular on that forum as it is on wattpad. In the mean time, 'Memoirs of a Vending Machine' is still ticking away and seems as popular as ever, although I predict that 'Bug' will eat 'Memoirs' sometime tonight if not early tomorrow in terms of downloads.

Having said that, I must add that I loaded 'Memoirs' onto Kindle the other day and have seen several thousand downloads. It is fast and furious. The downside is that some of the readership are hyper-critical and don't seem to appreciate 'indies' much at all. I've had some really bad and picky reviews mainly with regards to grammar, punctuation and spelling. Fair enough I suppose, it is after all not too much to expect that this side of a literary download should be in order although I think that since the book is free that a little flexibility is in order. I did get the feeling that some of the reviewers were having a bit of a laugh at my  expense over a few typos and to be quite honest it was all a bit hard to read some of what they were saying. For the 101st time, I questioned my decision to start writing and upload to the public until I decided that they were all right. A reader should expect the best even from a free download. The reader is after all who I am writing for so the least I could do is make sure that this side of my writing is in order. If a reader then has an issue with my writing style then so be it. On the flip side, if I can make it easier for all the readers that DO like my writing then that can only be a good thing. So, with this harsh lesson learned,  I sent 'Memoirs' off to a professional editor yesterday and can't wait to see what I get back. I'll load it up as soon as I get it which will be very soon after I pay for it I presume. 

Cheers

Beerubaraoyaji

'Keitai' is up again

Keitai Friends, available at smashwords for free.

Hi Folks, 

It's been a busy week for downloads as 'Memoirs of a Vending Machine' continues to power on at smashwords. I haven't had as much luck yet with 'Kujira' but its early days yet. I have been promising to include the manga images that I had originally posted with Keitai Friends in Kujira. I unpublished Keitai Friends because it was a chapter of Kujira and I didn't think it was a good idea from a sales point of view to have them both available. Well... I've changed my mind. I miss not having it up and watching the download figures climb so I've re-published it, manga images and all. 

Just in case I haven't convinced you to have a read. Check out the excerpt from Keitai Friends posted below.

Keitai Friends

Josh’s mood snapped viciously and without warning. He broke away from the counter, still holding the magazine. Without thinking, he slipped the magazine into the inside pocket of his black leather jacket continuing on, at pace, through the maze of aisles, bookshelves and people, towards the exit. Steaming with anger and a serial killer expression he dodged and weaved through the last crowded walkway. A joyous sense of triumph grew in his mind as he approached the exit leading to the Hankyu station meeting area where there would be a crowd of hundreds. He could blend in with all the other foreigners, escaping with the magazine and satisfying his sense of justice.
His pace slowed as he crossed the boundary between the store and the exit. A sense of anticlimax taking hold as he realised that no-one had noticed nor cared.  He walked out into the crowd and felt insignificant, his mood slipping down through a series of gears almost to a state of depression. No longer angry, he paused at a vending machine, staring at the cans but really staring at nothing. He fished around in his right hand pocket for some change and yanked out a handful, choosing a 100 and a 10 yen coin. Feeding in the coins, a red lamp flashed and he pressed it, releasing a small brown bottle of Dekavita - an energy drink. He hoped it would snap him out of the depressive mood that had taken him over. The thud as the drink hit the dispensing tray triggered a sense of the familiar, shifting his mood closer to equilibrium. He picked up the bottle, snapped the aluminium twist top and sculled a good third of the refreshing drink.
Still facing the vending machine, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and turned slowly to face the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye he saw them coming in his direction and knew instantly that his number was up. There was no place to run in the underground world of the largest train station in Osaka. Umeda station was monitored by hundreds of cameras and he stood out as a foreigner in an homogenously Asian city. 

BTW: The spoiler I mentioned in one of my previous posts over at Barnes and Noble  seems to have had an effect on sales. As I mentioned, it was riding high with four stars for a few weeks until a spoiler came along and gave it one star. That dragged it down to a three and sales have slowed. If anyone reading this blog is hooked up to Barnes and Noble's Nook Books, how 'bout a decent rating and a nice comment? I'll let you have the book for free if you do.


Oh and BTW again, My new weird short story 'Bug' is doing pretty well over at wattpad. If you go there you'll also find Keitai Friends posted although you won't find the images. 'Bug' comes up as 'The Bug' 'cause wattpad wouldn't let me post it as 'Bug'. As you might have already guessed, I prefer 'Bug'. If you have a read, how about a comment or a vote or something. Again, if you do this, I'll let you have it for free.


Cheers


Beerubaroyaji

Weird Short Story

Kabuto Mushi (Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle)

Hi folks, this is the unlikely inspiration for my latest short story, " BUG" on Wattpad. (around 3000 words)  The story is about a guy who is or is going insane. A bit of a weird story, it doesn't fit my preferred genre to date of 'Urban Asian Adventure'.  It's not about Japan, the bug just happens to be Japanese.

The Kabuto Mushi is one of the most commonly kept bugs in Japan and is reproduced as children's toys including robots and features in children's literature, manga and anime. If you want to know more go to wikipedia or just check out this video on You Tube . If you don't like bugs, don't click but for the sake of the new story, try and imagine what it would feel like to have an extra large one permanently clinging to the back of your head.

BTW: Memoirs of a Vending Machine is still going gang busters. Thanks to all who have had a read and to those who will.

BTBTW: Don't forget to checkout my excerpt from Kujira at indiebooklist on the 14th of May.

Cheers

Beerubaraoyaji