Story Hour

It started with the parades and the marching bands before becoming a familiar and popular TV show. One that generated millions of viewers and followers. It was one that people watched during dinner; they streamed it at work, and spoke about it online.

It was as real as reality could be.

So why, then, was Gerry unhappy?

He was the number one celebrity in a celebrity driven society. He was ubiquitous, like air, and felt like he could float like lithium on water. Or more accurately, he felt that he could jump into a pool of water and explode on contact like caesium, that every thing he did had an oversized reaction by his fans.

 He had everything, and everybody, watching his every move, mimicking every tic and mannerism, they even recited his catch phrase "Domo Sorry-Gato" at every chance in solidarity to his inane characterisms.

So why, then, was Gerry so unhappy?

There were whole cottage industries dedicated to his celebrity. TMZ followed him around like mosquitos in Florida and even Facebook streamed his every public act for everyone to see.

He had all the money he could ever need; in fact, he had more money than anyone in history would ever need. He bought cars, planes, islands. With his wealth he "diversified" into other investments in his portfolio, being an angel investor in tech to investing heavily in startups specializing in advanced tech. He even bought, through legal and paralegal means his own countries. He didn't buy countries outright, he just spent enough money on elections that he was able to influence the outcomes to meet his particular tastes and desires.

To wit, Gerry, born Gerald P Wolt had everything, was everything. But he was unhappy.

At 5 years old Gerry began performing for friends and family, dancing The Charleston, quickly followed by a quick tip of the hat, and wiggle of an imaginary cigar. Quickly he learned that he could make those people around him happy, but more importantly, he learned that his dancing would get him anything he wanted. It was a quick lesson and one he understood even at such a young age.

As he got older, Gerry realized that if he smiled a certain way, he'd get the obvious cheers and accolades, but if he tweaked that smile just ever-so-slightly, he could elicit a kind of euphoria from his fans. It was as if the parts of their brain that held individuality, conscious thought, reason, and rationale all got lobotomized and all that was left was the limbic lobe, the part of the brain that controlled happiness. In other words, Gerry learned at a very delicate age that by making others laugh, he could control them. Like the fungi Ophiocordyceps that controls the carcass of the invaded ant, Gerry could invade his audience through his performance and make them servile to his wants and whims.

So why, then, was Gerry so unhappy?

My Kindle Publishing Journey Updates

 Announcing Another Short Story 

It's Not The Things We Say

When I started my Kindle Publishing journey, I released a short story titled The Ballad of John Walker: A Short Story and there was a decent amount of steam behind it.

Many of you picked it up, some even left reviews!

And amazon reviews are the gold standard for Amazon.  It acts as social proof and validation, and Amazon's algorithm rewards items and books with higher number of reviews.

Click Here To Write A Review

I discussed all the nuances, lessons learned and strategic decisions I made on a post earlier titled "The 3 Things I Learned Releasing 3 Stories In 3 Months." You can read it by clicking on the title above.

After I released The Ballad of John Walker: A Short Story, I quietly published a collection of 3 short stories under the title Mayonnaise and Other Stories: A Mostly Made-Up Account Of Life In The World Today.

Priced at $1.99 for 3 stories, the downloads have been alright but not as good as The Ballad of John Walker.  Reviews are less for Mayonnaise than for Ballad, but hopefully that will right itself in time.

Announcing A New Title - It's Not The Things We Say

What happens when you reach a point in a relationship when you just don't know how to talk to each other?

Tack on a tragedy and how do you overcome that schism?

That's the question I examined in the short story It's Not The Things We Say.



 It's on Amazon's Kindle Publishing platform and you can download it for $0.99 right now by clicking THIS LINK.

Get Your Free Ebook - Limited Time Only

Get Your Free Digital Download Of Mayonnaise and Other Stories

Shhhh...

I've got a secret, special deal for you. Click myBook.to/Mayonnaise  to get my collection of short stories, Mayonnaise and Other Stories FREE.

But it's only for three days. So you'll have to act fast.

Get Your Digital Copy Of Mayonnaise and Other Stories available on Amazon for FREE.

For three days only, you can get Mayonnaise and Other Stories from Amazon for FREE.

Starting Tuesday, July 28 and ending Thursday, July 30 at midnight the price for the collection of stories is FREE to you.


Just click on the image below to get to Amazon and download your copy.


 Mayonnaise and Other Stories

One More Thing...

You get three stories, priced at $1.99 for free.  But only if you act NOW.

In return I will only ask you one small favor...

Since you're getting these stories for free, would you please, please, please leave a review?

Reviews Are The Gold Standard 

All you have to do is click HERE to LEAVE A REVIEW

The review doesn't have to be much, just a simple rating - 5 stars would be awesome - and a brief sentence or two about the stories.

That's it and it'll go a LOOONNG way toward helping me with Amazon.

Get The Kindle Reader App

Kindle and Amazon have the largest selection of books on the planet.  I was going to make a superlative statement like in the universe, but that place is pretty freaking huge, so there may be a larger selection of books available, but none that I'm aware of...

If you don't have a Kindle, you can still read ebooks from Amazon on the Kindle Free App.

You can download the Kindle Free App for iPhones, Mac, and iPad


Kindle Reader App - It's Free! Just Click the Image to download your free app.

If you're one of those "Other" people that aren't in the Apple sphere of influence - you can download the Kindle Reader App for free as well.

Get The Kindle Reader App Free for PC and Android Devices


Thanks!  And remember, this is a special 3-day promotion, and after midnight Thursday July 30, the price goes back to $1.99.

I Need Your Help With Something....

You Are The Most Important Factor With My Kindle Publishing Journey

Have You Heard - My Short Story The Ballad Of John Walker Is Out Now!  

It wasn't too long ago that I published the short story "The Ballad of John Walker" through Kindle Publishing.

June 16th, 2015 to be exact.  Right away it surged to the top of new releases, and since that point it's slowed down. 

The main reason?  Not enough reviews.

   Get your copy and leave a review!

Leave A Review On Amazon And I'll Email You A Free Beta-Version Of A New Story! 

First, thanks to everyone who picked up a copy!  Don't worry - if you want to grab a copy you can get it by clicking HERE.

Now what I need are Amazon reviews.  Every review is important for Amazon to recommend this story and future titles.  Amazon has a "bot" that looks for reviews as a way to value the titles on their bookshelves so it really helps my profile in the eyes of the Amazon bot. 

Here's what I need you to do: 

After picking up the story "The Ballad of John Walker" once you finish it, you'll be asked on the last page to leave a review.  

The more stars I get the higher that Amazon views the story.  It will ask you for a headline and quick worded statement.  

To make it easier for you, here's a suggestion of what to write: 

A short evocative read that will resonate with you long after you finish.   A suspense thriller that will shock you and make you consider the dangers of a surveillance state. This kindle short reads as a fast-paced mystery, thriller and suspense all in one! 

Or you can write something like this:

A gritty suspense thriller, The Ballad of John Walker will make you think long and hard about living in the modern security state.  What would you do if everything you had was taking away from you in an instant?  This short kindle reads like a answer to this what-if and serves as a clarion call for us all.

It'll take less than a couple minutes and will go a LONG way toward how the story gets seen by Amazon, their search engine and how it will rank with Kindle Publishing.

Leave A Review Get A Gift For YOU 

Finally to entice you even more, if you leave a review, shoot me a quick private message at my personal email address and I'll send you an early pre-release version PDF of my new short story "A Fine Day For A Swim" before I publish it! 

This short story won't be out until sometime in late August, so you get to be the first readers and FOR FREE! 

P.S. as a bonus, look for my new ebook, Mayonnaise and Other Stories - for only $1.99 reduced for a limited time from $2.99.

Get The Ballad of John Walker Now

Get Your Copy Of Mayonnaise and Other Stories Here (For a reduced price of $1.99 now)