I’m A Whore

We’ve all heard the saying that truth is stranger than fiction, and there’s no question about that. More than once someone has asked me if the oddball questions I get and sometimes share here are real. Oh yeah, they’re real. I don’t have the imagination to come up with some of the things people ask me.

I got an email from someone yesterday saying that they would like an autographed copy of the first book in my Tinder Street series and asking how to go about obtaining one. I replied that the cost of the book is $9.95, plus $3.50 shipping and handling. The lady immediately shot back a reply saying it should not cost anything because she has Kindle Unlimited and can read the e-book for free. I replied that there’s no way I can autograph an e-book and that printed books were not free. I explained to her that I had to pay for the book, had to pay Amazon to ship it to me, and after I autographed it, we had to package it and then take it to the post office and pay to mail it out. At the current book rate, I barely break even on the shipping and handling charge.

She replied with something I get all the time and I shake my head every time I get it. She told me she’s on a fixed income. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this, and my reply is always the same. I wish somebody would fix my income, because it’s broken. It never pays for all the things I want to spend money on in a month. She then shot back, saying, “Forget it. You just want to make money from your books!”

Yes, ma’am, I do. I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I’m a whore and I do it for the money. I don’t know what you did in your working life, but I bet you didn’t volunteer to work for free, did you? This is my job. This is how I earn my living. And I don’t apologize for it.

At least she’s got a good taste in books if I do say so myself.  If you enjoy history and interesting characters living through interesting and often turbulent times, I think you will enjoy my Tinder Street saga, which follows two Midwestern families, beginning just before World War I and will eventually go to the Vietnam War era. There are three books in the series out now, the last one ending with the onset of the Great Depression. Each book covers a five-year period in history, with details of the events of those days woven into the story. I hope to have the fourth book in the series out by the end of the year.

In the meantime, I’m still working on my new John Lee Quarrels book, Ka-Bar Karma. Sunday was another good writing day, with me getting just under 6,000 words done. I also got several chapters back from Roberta, my third proofreader, which I will be correcting tomorrow before I start writing again.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. Can you see the irony in this one?

Congratulations, Robert Woodall, winner of our drawing for an audiobook of Crazy Days In Big Lake, the third book in my Big Lake mystery series. We had 45 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon.  Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.