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And so the year begins.

Writer's picture: Michael ParkerMichael Parker

January 2025 blog post

 

How time flies; here we are again at the start of a new year probably filled with hopes of renewal, revival, peace and goodwill to all, and a cure for cancer. Fat chance. But it is what it is, and we have to endure whatever is thrown at us, good or bad. For me the start of 2025 has been more like ‘good’ and ‘not so good’, but I can’t complain; I’m still here. Oh, and I wish you all a happy New Year.

 

I started my year with a glimmer of hope for my latest book Shadow Over Paris because it was selling well and gathering ‘Page reads’ on Amazon since I published it in November. I began campaigns in the USA, UK and France (tongue in cheek, that one!) but none of them proved fruitful. The campaigns have now finished, so it’s a case of back to the drawing board. More about my world of books later though.

 

My long-standing Dimple Optimyst fire finally gave up the ghost after ten years of faithful service, which meant buying a new fire. The Optimyst cost £900 ten years ago and is now nudging almost double that figure. I ended up buying an electric fire with remote controls and a wizard looking flame effect. It came as a flatpack and took me three hours to assemble it and have it up and running. The old fire went to the rubbish dump. My good neighbours, Rick and Ann, took the rubbish away for me, bless them.

 

January is something of a special month for me because it includes my lovely Pat’s birthday and our wedding anniversary. Pat would have been 83 on the 14th, and we would have been married 65 years on the 19th. On Pat’s birthday I got quite maudlin, so I took myself off to Bognor for a walk to clear my head. On the 19th. I had an anniversary lunch with my sister-in-law, my niece and her mum over at Nutbourne. My siblings have their dates in January too, although my sister is no longer with us. Oh, and my neighbours, Rick and Ann, took me out for lunch at the Lion because of my special dates. It was a great afternoon. I think I did most of the talking though, which seems to be de rigeur for me.

 

Back in the world of books, I read my Romance, Max and Emma and decided to see if I could get the rights back from my American publisher, Wild Rose Press. They held the rights to my family saga, Past Imperfect, which are not due to expire until May 2026. Max and Emma is the love story that runs parallel to the saga. I published the book simply to get a printed copy in my hand and then immediately unpublished it. So, I wrote to the CEO at Wild Rose Press and asked if she would cede the rights back to me. She agreed! I was chuffed to bits. I have to wait 90 days before I can publish the book as my own again, but I’m planning a simple edit on Max and Emma and then to publish it as a straightforward Romance on several online platforms. I will also re-publish the full-length saga, Past Imperfect.

 

A ’not so good’ day happened when I went to use my desktop computer, which I rarely use and haven’t touched since well before Christmas. I wanted to check a file I believed was on there, but my PC wouldn’t switch on. I took it along to Scanstation in Rose Green only to be told it was dead (as a parrot). I decided to have all the files transferred from the hard drive to a memory stick rather than fork out about £1200 for a repair. Fortunately, I have my laptop (two in fact), so I can still be productive (he says).

 

I also managed to attend an online funeral for an old mate of mine in Australia. Well, not ‘attend’; that would have been three o’clock in the morning. Pat and I used to visit Rod and his lovely wife, Peggy in Adelaide whenever we went out to Australia. They came to visit us when we lived in Spain. But Tempus fugit and, sadly, time caught up with Rod.

 

I bought myself a patio cleaner. Tried it out briefly and, hopefully, it will go a long way to giving me a clean driveway and footpath. The garden has been on my mind a lot lately because of the weather: it’s been comparatively mild, which has allowed the weeds to keep growing. Like most of us, I’m faced with a lot of hard work once the weather improves; so, my patio cleaner should help a bit.

 

I’m now faced with an unusual situation, for me anyway, in that I have nothing to write and no inspiration to do anything. It must be something to do with my age and the fact that it all seems to be so much of a struggle. My eldest son tells me I’m suffering from the so-called SAD syndrome — Seasonally Affected Disorder. He may be right, but I think I’m just feeling lazy. Once the sun starts shining, perhaps I’ll spring into life and end up with a brilliant garden and a best-selling novel. I hope so.


I've created three advertising campaigns for three of my books — The Devil's Trinity; Shadow Over Paris and The Eagle's Covenant. (I'm a glutton for punishment!). They will run for February, but I will have to keep an eye on them just in case they start selling, which is unlikely with my record of advertising success. I often say that if I was a racehorse, I wouldn't put money on me.


So, that's it for another month. I'm now five months away from my trip to Atlanta in July. When I booked the trip, it was eight months away. How time flies. I hope you all enjoy a fruitful 2025. Me too!


Wish me luck!

Michael

 

 

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