Well, did you all survive Thanksgiving and Black Friday? How many notches did you have to let out in Your belt? I’m not saying, but when I stepped on our bathroom scale Friday morning, it said “One person at a time, please!” 🙂
Yesterday I didn’t really do much. I took out the trash, and got sidetracked on the way back when I stopped to say hello to our friends Dennis and Cindy Henderson. An hour or so after I left the motorhome, Miss Terry came looking for me, wondering if I had fallen into a sinkhole, like Denny and Cindy’s a car did!
But Terry’s used to that. I tend to wander off and talk to strangers if left without adult supervision for very long. It’s not uncommon for me to take out the trash, and come home an hour later with a brand new best friend.
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I had a weird experience on my trip to the dumpster yesterday. A man came and started yelling at me for allowing my dog to do its business on his RV site and not cleaning it up. I told him he had me confused with somebody else, because I don’t have a dog. I haven’t even petted a dog since we’ve been here at the Orlando Thousand Trails. (By the way, I’m in need of a puppy fix.) But he was insistent, and said “You walked by about 7 this morning and let your big white dog crap in my yard and just walked away without cleaning it up!” I told him again that I don’t have a dog, and that if I’m up at 7 a.m., call 911, because my Winnebago is on fire! He still insisted it was me, and told me that he was was going to report me to the office. I gave him my name and site number, and told him to have them come by and look, because I don’t even have a dog! Geesh, I was tempted to go and rent a mutt, just so I could take him by to take a dump in the guy’s site. I mean, if I’m going to be blamed anyway, why not?
I forced myself to put my new mystery on the backburner, and got to work on the new issue of the Gypsy Journal yesterday. Boy, the things I do for you people! 🙂 I hit another milestone yesterday with Big Lake. It was the first day I sold over 200 copies in one day. At midnight, the number was just over 230 copies for the day. A Facebook page called Kindle on the Cheap plugged the mystery yesterday, which I think led to some of those sales.
If you have a Kindle, let me give you a tip on a free book that I have been reading. It is called Flyover Country, and is written by Daniel Koehler. Set in small town Arkansas in the days of Elvis, ducktail haircuts, and cars with big tail fins, it’s got some really quirky characters that will make you laugh (or at least smile). I read a lot, and I keep thinking that in that eleven minutes a week that I don’t have anything to do except contemplate my naval, I should start a book review blog or page. Would any of you read it? Would you occasionally contribute a review for it? Or should I just concentrate on everything I already have on my plate? 🙂
Today, and the next few days, will be pretty much spent working on the new issue of the paper. We have about decided that when we leave here on Tuesday, we’ll just go over to the Escapees campground in Bushnell, since it’s close, and I’ll be spending most of the time working anyway. I guess the Keys and Crystal River will have to wait for another time. 🙁
Thought For The Day – After age 60, if you don’t wake up aching in every joint, you’re probably dead.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Nick
For me you should not do any more blogs, get yourself back to writing your next book and the ones after that. Now stop whining and get back to work :-).
Nick,
I would really appreciate book reviews from you and would also be willing to contribute. thanks for the recommendation on Flyover Country.
Yep, I would read your new book review blog. Heck, I might even send you a review or two myself.
Hi Nick,
I would read the blog and contribute reviews.
Denise
I got my ire up just reading about the guy accusing you of your dog making a deposit near his RV. It’s sad you can’t even enjoy taking out the trash without being accosted by a troll. I hope comes to realize his mistake and apologizes.
Sure, I’d read a book review column by you. I’d read ANYTHING by you–you are an extremely entertaining writer! But quite honestly, I don’t think you are much of a kayaker. If I’ve read “We’re hoping to get our kayaks wet” once, I’ve read it about 100 times in the past year. And I have yet to see a picture of you in a kayak, other than the one day you spent in the water shortly after your summer Gypsy Gathering. I’m starting to suspect you prefer writing over paddling 🙂 So my response is, you should do whatever floats your boat (ha ha!)
I love it when someone recommends books but listen to yourself–do you have too much on your plate??
Nick, I will read anything you write – BUT – only add things to your plate that add value and/or are just fun for you. You work hard and your efforts are earning you enough to live a great life on the road, so be sure you take the time to ENJOY!
Yes, I would read recommendations and would also add recommendations. I would like to tell you about a site that already does this and it’s called Goodreads. Each person gets their own set of “shelves” to list books they’ve read and would like to read (or they can title their shelves to anything they’d like). They have a smartphone app and it’s a great way to see what books you’re looking for when you’re in a great used book store. They also have all kinds of reading lists, support authors, etc. And it’s free!
One other request: Have you thought about making your books available for the Nook? It is also a very good piece of reading equipment and would bring you even more exposure.
Glad you did not experience any problems with the recent water problems at the Orlando Thousand Trails. (A neighbor of ours here in Sherwood ended up in the hospital as a result of that problem.)
Nick, What happened to your Google ads that I used to click on to pay you for reading your blog?
I would definitely read your book reviews but would rather read your books! Do what makes you happy and don’t get over committed.
You should write a new book…since you have so much free time. Write on a subject you know…maybe naval history? Love your style, Nick. Don’t get yourself so bogged down that you start to feel burned out. Lots of books to read and write…so little time! Looking forward to meeting you in Yuma!
Reading your account of being blamed for not picking up some clod’s dog’s poops reminded me of a similar situation. We travel with 5 dogs (that’s what we had after 35 years of showing when we started fulltiming). We we on our first day in an rv park for a month’s stay. I was pottying two of the dogs in an area at the end of a road under oak trees. As I started back to our motorhome, a guy from the closest rv started yelling at me for not picking up after my dogs. My first thought was that he was kidding. I laughed at him and said that was not true and that got him madder and louder. Finally I told him again that I always pick up after my dogs (and sometimes other dogs so mine won’t get blamed) and if he had an idea on how I ought to pick up after their PEE I would like to know. He finally shut up but continued to glare at me every time he saw me.
We would read the review of books, it would make it easier to get new ones, As for the grouch accusing you of not picking up your doggie do do it is to bad that he did not be nicer about it and then believed you when you said you do not own a dog. We have the same problem here in the park of some folks not picking up after there dogs. One park we stopped at in Texas has a policy that if you are caught by someone not picking up after there dogs they are fined $75 and the person turning it in gets a $50 reward. You do not see poop anywhere on the grounds. Maybe more parks should try this and enforce it.If I see someone not picking up after their dog, I simple go and hand them a bag say Oh you must have run out of bags, here I have one for you. They are usually embarrassed but put it up,
Hay Nick!!! if you need a puppy fix, Turbo would love to go for a walk with you and poop in that guys yard. I can’t believe that guy. I am with the other person and having a fine for not picking up your dogs deposits. As far as reading another blog of yours that would be great, but get the book done, some of us want to read the new release.
Spent last weekend at Apache Palms in Tempe, AZ. A reward sign said that a free night at the park to anyone turning in anyone who didn’t pick up cigarette butts or dog droppings.
I would read your reviews and contribute as well, sounds like a great idea. Main issue I could see is to keep it simple and accessible.
If you want a quirky, well written story take a look at “Downtown Owl”. Another good one is “The Art of Racing in the Rain”.
Dale, you can go to http://www.smashwords.com and get my books in Nook format.
Lloyd, I’m not sure what you mean, I see the ads just fine.
It sounds like your plate is very full. If Goodreads does the same thing, contribute to it on a limited basis so your sore, arthritic fingers can keep your fiction writing coming with time left over to enjoy the more relaxing parts of the RV lifestyle.