https://www.spreaker.com/show/megan-publishing-services-podcast_3enBooksCopyright Owen Joneshttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/00f29feab34fc82f048262d5a45235da.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/show/megan-publishing-services-podcast_3Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:25:46 +0000Owen JonesOwen Jonesfeeds@spreaker.comThis programme contains podcasts of articles my websites Megan Publishing Services, and The Amiable Dragon… mostly written by me, Owen Jones a professional author.cleanepisodichttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/how-to-spot-an-acx-bot_2


Silly, slightly off-topic answers are a strong hint that you are writing to an ACX bot!



In case you haven't read the previous article on my recent experience with ACX, I'll give you a brief resume before talking about how to spot an ACX bot.



ACX accused me of fraudulent audiobook sales in June last year. They don't discuss it with you, or even give you an opportunity to ask questions, explain, or even apologise. You are guilty and you are scum.



End of story.



Fraudulent Claims of Fraudulent Sales?



Well, I hoped that it was, anyway. Then a few days ago, almost exactly a year later, I received an email from Audible saying that 12 of my audiobooks had shown traits of further fraudulent sales. They actually showed me the list, which really surprised me. However, I have never promoted eight of those twelve ever, because they were volumes 16-23 in a series and authors always promote the first three or five even. I want readers to start my series on volume one, not volume 18! It makes obvious sense, right?



However, the same person had narrated all twelve of the books.



So, having been told that my account was to be closed, I wrote to the 124 narrators of my 174 audiobooks using the ACX message board.



ACX Bot



The next day, I received a very shirty letter from a DEBRA from ACX. It was very long-winded, and slightly off-topic, but basically it told me in dodgy legalese about the consequences that I could face, if I continued to threaten 'my narrators'.



I asked ACX/Audible to show me the threats, but am still awaiting a reply after two months. That is typical ACX/Audible high-handedness. All I did was inform the narrators that the books that they had worked so hard on would disappear in a puff of wind when my account was eventually closed.



Many contacted me.



So did Debra.



However, not with a reply to my previous question, but with even more ludicrous threats. I called her out again , but the cycle repeated... four times in all!



Then the penny dropped. Debra could not read or react in a human manner because 'she' is an ACX bot.



On the fifth stupid email, I wrote only that discussing such matters with ACX bots no longer interested me. That was two months ago and I have not heard from Debra since.



I can imagine a group of spotty, spineless, youths in Silicone Valley having a great laugh at my expense for trying to discuss any serious topic with an ACX bot. However, emails containing stodgy, slightly off-topic, seemingly automated text littered with dodgy legalese that do not answer concerns that you have previously brought up are examples of how I think that you can work out how to spot an ACX bot.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=17117Wed, 03 Aug 2022 03:04:24 +0000Owen JonesAn ACX Bot?Photo by Alex Knight on Pexels.com Silly, slightly off-topic answers are a strong hint that you are writing to an ACX bot! In case you haven't read the previous article on my recent experience with ACX, I'll give you a brief resume...


Silly, slightly off-topic answers are a strong hint that you are writing to an ACX bot!



In case you haven't read the previous article on my recent experience with ACX, I'll give you a brief resume before talking about how to spot an ACX bot.



ACX accused me of fraudulent audiobook sales in June last year. They don't discuss it with you, or even give you an opportunity to ask questions, explain, or even apologise. You are guilty and you are scum.



End of story.



Fraudulent Claims of Fraudulent Sales?



Well, I hoped that it was, anyway. Then a few days ago, almost exactly a year later, I received an email from Audible saying that 12 of my audiobooks had shown traits of further fraudulent sales. They actually showed me the list, which really surprised me. However, I have never promoted eight of those twelve ever, because they were volumes 16-23 in a series and authors always promote the first three or five even. I want readers to start my series on volume one, not volume 18! It makes obvious sense, right?



However, the same person had narrated all twelve of the books.



So, having been told that my account was to be closed, I wrote to the 124 narrators of my 174 audiobooks using the ACX message board.



ACX Bot



The next day, I received a very shirty letter from a DEBRA from ACX. It was very long-winded, and slightly off-topic, but basically it told me in dodgy legalese about the consequences that I could face, if I continued to threaten 'my narrators'.



I asked ACX/Audible to show me the threats, but am still awaiting a reply after two months. That is typical ACX/Audible high-handedness. All I did was inform the narrators that the books that they had worked so hard on would disappear in a puff of wind when my account was eventually closed.



Many contacted me.



So did Debra.



However, not with a reply to my previous question, but with even more ludicrous threats. I called her out again , but the cycle repeated... four times in all!



Then the penny dropped. Debra could not read or react in a human manner because 'she' is an ACX bot.



On the fifth stupid email, I wrote only that discussing such matters with ACX bots no longer interested me. That was two months ago and I have not heard from Debra since.



I can imagine a group of spotty, spineless, youths in Silicone Valley having a great laugh at my expense for trying to discuss any serious topic with an ACX bot. However, emails containing stodgy, slightly off-topic, seemingly automated text littered with dodgy legalese that do not answer concerns that you have previously brought up are examples of how I think that you can work out how to spot an ACX bot.]]>185cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-problems-with-acx_2


When the bottom drops out of your business...



I have been with ACX, the arm of Amazon that publishes audiobooks for Audible to sell, for about eight years. However, I have been active for only since 2018, about four years at the time of writing. During that time, I created 174 audiobooks with about 144 narrators.



My average monthly income until August 2020 was about $250. Then, in September of that year, I had a brainwave. I don't mind if you think that it was late coming, but ACX gives authors and narrators (or rights holders and publishers, as they call us) a number of free codes to give to those that we believe will leave an honest review.



We also used to get paid for giving away those free codes on books published before 26-3-20In September 2020, I had about 7,000 codes, and the narrators must have had about half as many again.



So, I was ticking along at about $250 p/m and discovered Facebook Groups. I began to target my books to specific groups, and my revenue quadrupled within a couple of months.



My Problems with ACX



In March 2021, two Bangladeshi students offered to help with my promotion. I hesitated, and dawdled for a month, but eventually took them on.



Within six weeks, my income had rocketed to $3,000 pm, and within another three months, Audible had de-listed my top 20 novels for 'fraud'.



Don't ask me why, because Audible is so high and mighty that they offered no explanations or right of appeal to my problems with ACX.



So, I continued under those conditions for nine months until June 2022, when I was accused of fraud again and my account was closed.



No appeal, no explanation...



However, an ACX bot let slip the fraudulent titles. There were twelve, but I know that I have never ever promoted eight of them.



The same person narrated all twelve. So, am I being blamed for someone else's misdemeanours?



Who knows? However, what is worse is that Audible doesn't care!



ACX



Be aware, that Audible has closed my writer's account, even though I had 174 audiobooks in that account, and 144 people had narrated those books.



Therefore, without any proper explanation, I, and 144 narrators have lost an income.



If your business relies on Audible/ACX as mine did, you need to take action now, because you could be next!



This happens more often than you think!



Email me to find my solution to my problems with ACX.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=16665Mon, 27 Jun 2022 13:33:52 +0000Owen JonesMy Problems with ACX When the bottom drops out of your business... I have been with ACX, the arm of Amazon that publishes audiobooks for Audible to sell, for about eight years. However, I have been active for only since 2018, about four years at...


When the bottom drops out of your business...



I have been with ACX, the arm of Amazon that publishes audiobooks for Audible to sell, for about eight years. However, I have been active for only since 2018, about four years at the time of writing. During that time, I created 174 audiobooks with about 144 narrators.



My average monthly income until August 2020 was about $250. Then, in September of that year, I had a brainwave. I don't mind if you think that it was late coming, but ACX gives authors and narrators (or rights holders and publishers, as they call us) a number of free codes to give to those that we believe will leave an honest review.



We also used to get paid for giving away those free codes on books published before 26-3-20In September 2020, I had about 7,000 codes, and the narrators must have had about half as many again.



So, I was ticking along at about $250 p/m and discovered Facebook Groups. I began to target my books to specific groups, and my revenue quadrupled within a couple of months.



My Problems with ACX



In March 2021, two Bangladeshi students offered to help with my promotion. I hesitated, and dawdled for a month, but eventually took them on.



Within six weeks, my income had rocketed to $3,000 pm, and within another three months, Audible had de-listed my top 20 novels for 'fraud'.



Don't ask me why, because Audible is so high and mighty that they offered no explanations or right of appeal to my problems with ACX.



So, I continued under those conditions for nine months until June 2022, when I was accused of fraud again and my account was closed.



No appeal, no explanation...



However, an ACX bot let slip the fraudulent titles. There were twelve, but I know that I have never ever promoted eight of them.



The same person narrated all twelve. So, am I being blamed for someone else's misdemeanours?



Who knows? However, what is worse is that Audible doesn't care!



ACX



Be aware, that Audible has closed my writer's account, even though I had 174 audiobooks in that account, and 144 people had narrated those books.



Therefore, without any proper explanation, I, and 144 narrators have lost an income.



If your business relies on Audible/ACX as mine did, you need to take action now, because you could be next!



This happens more often than you think!



Email me to find my solution to my problems with ACX.]]>186cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/book-translations_2


Spreading the word...



I have spent most of this month doing what I should have been doing last year - adding references to book translations to my website.



I have admitted my error in not looking after this blog before, so I won't go into it again now.



However, translators have every right to expect an entry on our blog Megan Publishing Services, and that is what I am doing now.



Book translations



It has surprised me how many languages Owen Jones's books have been translated into. The current count is thirty-five (plus English), although not every book has been translated into each of those languages.



The book that holds the record is THE MISCONCEPTION, the first volume of the Psychic Megan Series. It's the lovely tale of Megan, a psychic teenager, who is looking for answers to questions about her nascent psychic powers. It is available in 35 languages at the time of writing. We are only missing Sinhala to get all of them).



The second one is A NIGHT IN ANNWN with 14 translations. It is also about a man's supernatural experience during an NDE (Near-death Experience).



There is a stunning number of applications to translate our books at the moment. We often receive up to ten a week from all over the world. It is not at all unusual to publish three of more books in a single day, and for a run like that to last a week. This is why Owen Jones has over 1,000 books registered to him. In fact, there are more than eight hundred in the British Library records, and we are adding more every month.



However, do you think that it is coincidental that the two fore-runner book translations are about Spiritual matters?



I don't think so.



How about you?



Best wishes,



Chalita.



PS: I am now buying new book covers at the rate of two-three per month, so look out for lots of changes :-)



PPS: I have changed the covers for both of the novels mentioned above. Check them out on this site!]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=16468Mon, 13 Jun 2022 09:44:24 +0000Owen JonesBook translations Spreading the word... I have spent most of this month doing what I should have been doing last year - adding references to book translations to my website. I have admitted my error in not looking after this blog before, so I...


Spreading the word...



I have spent most of this month doing what I should have been doing last year - adding references to book translations to my website.



I have admitted my error in not looking after this blog before, so I won't go into it again now.



However, translators have every right to expect an entry on our blog Megan Publishing Services, and that is what I am doing now.



Book translations



It has surprised me how many languages Owen Jones's books have been translated into. The current count is thirty-five (plus English), although not every book has been translated into each of those languages.



The book that holds the record is THE MISCONCEPTION, the first volume of the Psychic Megan Series. It's the lovely tale of Megan, a psychic teenager, who is looking for answers to questions about her nascent psychic powers. It is available in 35 languages at the time of writing. We are only missing Sinhala to get all of them).



The second one is A NIGHT IN ANNWN with 14 translations. It is also about a man's supernatural experience during an NDE (Near-death Experience).



There is a stunning number of applications to translate our books at the moment. We often receive up to ten a week from all over the world. It is not at all unusual to publish three of more books in a single day, and for a run like that to last a week. This is why Owen Jones has over 1,000 books registered to him. In fact, there are more than eight hundred in the British Library records, and we are adding more every month.



However, do you think that it is coincidental that the two fore-runner book translations are about Spiritual matters?



I don't think so.



How about you?



Best wishes,



Chalita.



PS: I am now buying new book covers at the rate of two-three per month, so look out for lots of changes :-)



PPS: I have changed the covers for both of the novels mentioned above. Check them out on this site!]]>138cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-new-book-covers_2


Showing off your books...



I feel that I have already written too much of late about my new book covers, but it is a very important strategy in my plans for the future



I have quite a few books, but most of them were written years ago and the covers are stale. So, they need replacing. There is no argument about that. However, at what pace?



Obviously, cost is a constraint. People say that the benefits that the new covers will bring in... increased revenue... will pay for future investment. However, it doesn't always work like that. Returns can be slower than hoped for.



Unexpected Results of Cover Changes



This can be because old customers don't recognise the new covers or series formats. The benefits of change can be slow to accrue. Slower than hoped for, or expected anyway.



One thing that keeps me hopeful though is that I receive compliments on my new book covers several times a week, and mostly from people I don't know.



That is encouraging, because even using the best cover design company in the world, it is a big step to rebrand... expensive too.



The company that I use allows an infinite number of remakes, but, which is perfect for the novice, even if a little embarrassing. It is far better to have thought about what information you want your new book cover to display beforehand. My tip is get a book off your shelf that is ‘similar’ to yours, ie if yours is in a series use one from a series as an example to copy.



My New Book Covers Checklist



So, my checklist for book cover design is: you will need the book title and your name for a start. Other options include: a subtitle, a series name, the number of the book in the series, and collaborators. Then on the back cover: a description or blurb, an author bio (and photo?), the title(s) (again?), and the cover designer. All the while remembering that you will need to leave enough room for the barcode.



Check out where I buy my new book covers on this link:



My New Book Covers]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=16438Fri, 10 Jun 2022 01:01:42 +0000Owen JonesMy New Book Covers Showing off your books... I feel that I have already written too much of late about my new book covers, but it is a very important strategy in my plans for the future I have quite a few books, but most of them were written...


Showing off your books...



I feel that I have already written too much of late about my new book covers, but it is a very important strategy in my plans for the future



I have quite a few books, but most of them were written years ago and the covers are stale. So, they need replacing. There is no argument about that. However, at what pace?



Obviously, cost is a constraint. People say that the benefits that the new covers will bring in... increased revenue... will pay for future investment. However, it doesn't always work like that. Returns can be slower than hoped for.



Unexpected Results of Cover Changes



This can be because old customers don't recognise the new covers or series formats. The benefits of change can be slow to accrue. Slower than hoped for, or expected anyway.



One thing that keeps me hopeful though is that I receive compliments on my new book covers several times a week, and mostly from people I don't know.



That is encouraging, because even using the best cover design company in the world, it is a big step to rebrand... expensive too.



The company that I use allows an infinite number of remakes, but, which is perfect for the novice, even if a little embarrassing. It is far better to have thought about what information you want your new book cover to display beforehand. My tip is get a book off your shelf that is ‘similar’ to yours, ie if yours is in a series use one from a series as an example to copy.



My New Book Covers Checklist



So, my checklist for book cover design is: you will need the book title and your name for a start. Other options include: a subtitle, a series name, the number of the book in the series, and collaborators. Then on the back cover: a description or blurb, an author bio (and photo?), the title(s) (again?), and the cover designer. All the while remembering that you will need to leave enough room for the barcode.



Check out where I buy my new book covers on this link:



My New Book Covers]]>136cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/book-cover-obsession_2


A dog with a bone...



I'm sorry if I'm boring you, my regular readers, but I currently have a Book Cover Obsession.



As you probably know, I wasn't like this even a couple of months ago, but that is a sign of how rapidly these things can get a hold of you. Or, me at any rate.



In my defence, book covers are extremely important to a writer, but I just hadn't realised how much before.



My Book Covers



As people, we are admonished not to judge a book by its cover, but the plain fact is that we all do that several times a day. So, I am getting to grips with this now, and am commissioning 2-3 covers a month. Today, I was trying to decide which the next two should be, and I noticed that my two worst selling books have black covers! Well, have black as the predominant colour (or shade, for the pedants).



Obsession



I hadn't realised that before, but why hadn't I? Probably, because I made them, and think that they fit the story perfectly. However, when you analyse it, I know the story, but a potential reader does not! It could be off-putting, I suppose. It was amateurish, but now I a using professional book cover designers.



Someone said that black on the cover is acceptable, if there is a death in the story. Well, there is, but the book browser doesn’t know that. I think that people can get too bogged down in symbolism. Another person Tweeted that two bullet holes on the cover of a murder mystery might signify that it is the second volume... Really? My guess would have been that the shooter was a poor shot.



Interpretation



Not only that, but not everyone takes the same thing home from reading the same book. I have talked to many readers over the last ten years who loved a book of mine, but had a totally different take on what it was about... and their interpretation was just as valid as mine.



There is one fantastic reviewer who actually taught me what two of y books were really about! How about that?



It's why I love reviews. I often learn things about my books that I didn't know, and I mean that quite literally. However, when will this book cover obsession pass? I don't know... when all my novels have better cloths, I suppose.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=16420Wed, 08 Jun 2022 09:12:43 +0000Owen JonesBook Cover Obsession A dog with a bone... I'm sorry if I'm boring you, my regular readers, but I currently have a Book Cover Obsession. As you probably know, I wasn't like this even a couple of months ago, but that is a sign of how rapidly...


A dog with a bone...



I'm sorry if I'm boring you, my regular readers, but I currently have a Book Cover Obsession.



As you probably know, I wasn't like this even a couple of months ago, but that is a sign of how rapidly these things can get a hold of you. Or, me at any rate.



In my defence, book covers are extremely important to a writer, but I just hadn't realised how much before.



My Book Covers



As people, we are admonished not to judge a book by its cover, but the plain fact is that we all do that several times a day. So, I am getting to grips with this now, and am commissioning 2-3 covers a month. Today, I was trying to decide which the next two should be, and I noticed that my two worst selling books have black covers! Well, have black as the predominant colour (or shade, for the pedants).



Obsession



I hadn't realised that before, but why hadn't I? Probably, because I made them, and think that they fit the story perfectly. However, when you analyse it, I know the story, but a potential reader does not! It could be off-putting, I suppose. It was amateurish, but now I a using professional book cover designers.



Someone said that black on the cover is acceptable, if there is a death in the story. Well, there is, but the book browser doesn’t know that. I think that people can get too bogged down in symbolism. Another person Tweeted that two bullet holes on the cover of a murder mystery might signify that it is the second volume... Really? My guess would have been that the shooter was a poor shot.



Interpretation



Not only that, but not everyone takes the same thing home from reading the same book. I have talked to many readers over the last ten years who loved a book of mine, but had a totally different take on what it was about... and their interpretation was just as valid as mine.



There is one fantastic reviewer who actually taught me what two of y books were really about! How about that?



It's why I love reviews. I often learn things about my books that I didn't know, and I mean that quite literally. However, when will this book cover obsession pass? I don't know... when all my novels have better cloths, I suppose.]]>138cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/book-cover-sense_2


I have always thought that my book cover sense was pretty good. Why would I think that? Well, I have been reading all sorts of books for all sorts of reasons for about sixty-five years, and I have published more than eight hundred books over the last twelve years.



It amounts to a lot of experience, I think you'll agree.



However, book sales have been dropping off this year, and most pro's will advise an author to look to his or her book covers in such a situation, since people do judge a book by its cover despite the sages' clear advice.



I checked my top sellers and found nothing wanting. Still, it is difficult to be objective about one's own work, so I took them to websites where people will evaluate them.



Book Cover Evaluation Sites



There is a Facebook Group called: ‘Does My Book Cover Suck’.



Nobody liked any of my top three covers! It was like a punch in the face :-( My pride and joy was being rubbished, and what was almost as bad, I could see what my critics were talking about, once the problems had been pointed out to me.



Now, I have eight hundred book covers, as I said above, so I realised that I had a very big, and potentially, very expensive problem.



After a few beers of commiseration with my book cover sense, or during them, actually, I set to work on a fix. Eight hundred times any figure is a lot of money, so I first went to Fiverr and the like. However, you won't find anything book-related there for $5 any more. Book covers were averaging $35-$60, so I gave that up.



QR link to book cover designers



To cut a long story short, I found a firm that surpassed my expectations and came in at a very reasonable price. Furthermore, people, even total strangers, have started complimenting my covers again.



The book cover above is one that came from there.



Here is my link to their site (the QR code leads there too).



Go check your book cover sense, and take a look at some of their off-the-peg designs! Prices start at $10! Or have one totally unique, tailor-made for your book



https://bit.ly/ukr-book-covers]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=16386Sat, 04 Jun 2022 05:05:53 +0000Owen JonesHow is your book cover judgement? I have always thought that my book cover sense was pretty good. Why would I think that? Well, I have been reading all sorts of books for all sorts of reasons for about sixty-five years, and I have published more...


I have always thought that my book cover sense was pretty good. Why would I think that? Well, I have been reading all sorts of books for all sorts of reasons for about sixty-five years, and I have published more than eight hundred books over the last twelve years.



It amounts to a lot of experience, I think you'll agree.



However, book sales have been dropping off this year, and most pro's will advise an author to look to his or her book covers in such a situation, since people do judge a book by its cover despite the sages' clear advice.



I checked my top sellers and found nothing wanting. Still, it is difficult to be objective about one's own work, so I took them to websites where people will evaluate them.



Book Cover Evaluation Sites



There is a Facebook Group called: ‘Does My Book Cover Suck’.



Nobody liked any of my top three covers! It was like a punch in the face :-( My pride and joy was being rubbished, and what was almost as bad, I could see what my critics were talking about, once the problems had been pointed out to me.



Now, I have eight hundred book covers, as I said above, so I realised that I had a very big, and potentially, very expensive problem.



After a few beers of commiseration with my book cover sense, or during them, actually, I set to work on a fix. Eight hundred times any figure is a lot of money, so I first went to Fiverr and the like. However, you won't find anything book-related there for $5 any more. Book covers were averaging $35-$60, so I gave that up.



QR link to book cover designers



To cut a long story short, I found a firm that surpassed my expectations and came in at a very reasonable price. Furthermore, people, even total strangers, have started complimenting my covers again.



The book cover above is one that came from there.



Here is my link to their site (the QR code leads there too).



Go check your book cover sense, and take a look at some of their off-the-peg designs! Prices start at $10! Or have one totally unique, tailor-made for your book



https://bit.ly/ukr-book-covers]]>119cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/blog-stats_2


The ins and outs...



My blog stats for last month were quite unusual, but then so, perhaps, was my own personal activity on it I will explain.



For the first time ever, that is in more than twenty years, my blog received more visitors from the UK than from the USA! For the first three weeks, up to three times more. By the fourth week, that had evened out to about 50k from each country and by the month's end, America was just in front.



Years ago, China was always in the top five, but nowadays, it rarely ranks in the top ten. Third and fourth are Germany and The Czech Republic, which is normal, although the Czech Republic is so small compared with the other top three that it is surprising really.



Fifth and sixth are the rivals Ukraine and Russia, but again, the difference in populations is enormous. Far behind come France, Canada, Spain and Australia.



My blog is hosted in the USA, and where it is hosted has a big effect on the number of visitors and where they come from. Britain is about a fifth the size of the USA, so how could it get more visitors in three weeks? In fact, the total number of visitors was up by 10%. My content is universal, not aimed at any country.



Odd Statistics



Another strange fact is that AwStats reports my blog having received 135k pageviews, but Google says that there were only about 500.



Can anyone answer that one for me, please?



So, what have I been doing that could have influenced the blog statistics so much?



Well, I spent most of the month updating book pages with new covers and more relevant meta descriptions. That's all. I suppose I changed about thirty pages, but I can't for the life of me see why changing 30/1700 pages would have that affect on my blog stats. Can you?]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=16340Thu, 02 Jun 2022 14:22:29 +0000Owen JonesBlog stats The ins and outs... My blog stats for last month were quite unusual, but then so, perhaps, was my own personal activity on it I will explain. For the first time ever, that is in more than twenty years, my blog received more...


The ins and outs...



My blog stats for last month were quite unusual, but then so, perhaps, was my own personal activity on it I will explain.



For the first time ever, that is in more than twenty years, my blog received more visitors from the UK than from the USA! For the first three weeks, up to three times more. By the fourth week, that had evened out to about 50k from each country and by the month's end, America was just in front.



Years ago, China was always in the top five, but nowadays, it rarely ranks in the top ten. Third and fourth are Germany and The Czech Republic, which is normal, although the Czech Republic is so small compared with the other top three that it is surprising really.



Fifth and sixth are the rivals Ukraine and Russia, but again, the difference in populations is enormous. Far behind come France, Canada, Spain and Australia.



My blog is hosted in the USA, and where it is hosted has a big effect on the number of visitors and where they come from. Britain is about a fifth the size of the USA, so how could it get more visitors in three weeks? In fact, the total number of visitors was up by 10%. My content is universal, not aimed at any country.



Odd Statistics



Another strange fact is that AwStats reports my blog having received 135k pageviews, but Google says that there were only about 500.



Can anyone answer that one for me, please?



So, what have I been doing that could have influenced the blog statistics so much?



Well, I spent most of the month updating book pages with new covers and more relevant meta descriptions. That's all. I suppose I changed about thirty pages, but I can't for the life of me see why changing 30/1700 pages would have that affect on my blog stats. Can you?]]>116cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/foreign-translations-on-mps_2


What we mean by that.



I have noticed recently that this blog, Megan Publishing Services (MPS) is beginning to receive lots of visits from people searching for foreign translations. So, I would like to clarify what kind of foreign translations they an expect to find when they click through to us.



Foreign Translations



There are three main variations of what I think this phrase can mean. So, let’s take a look at them.



Languages Translation Service



Basically, MPS does not provide a foreign languages translation service as such. However, there are many companies that allow you to type in a few words, some up to several thousand, and receive an automated translation in the language of any country instantly. Most of these are pretty good if you keep what you want translated short and simple. They work best if you want a fairly accurate translation within a language group. By this I mean, German, Dutch and English is a group with a similar culture; so is Italian, French and Spanish. They work far less reliably if you are translating from say English into Yoruba, Thai or even Russian. In fact, you should never reply on these apps for more than a rough idea about the target language, because they make ludicrous mistakes very often. They translate words, not ideas.



Translate to Different Languages



This is pretty much the same as above, but I take it to mean not online, and not instantaneous. For example, you could submit a document to a human translator, who will give it the personal attention it deserves for a fee. We don’t provide this service either, although we, who are associated with this blog, speak eight different languages between us. Again, there are several companies that specialise in linking a professional to a private ‘gig’ for a small fee.



Foreign Language Services



Having said all that, there are two foreign language services that we can provide.



Authors



1] You will notice that Owen Jones has had many of his books translated in foreign languages. As I am writing this, the total is forty different foreign tongues. We use two companies to perform these tasks. Both will try to facilitate the finding of a translator in the language of your choice. However, it is not guaranteed, and things can and do go wrong. If you want your book translated, we can supervise the task. Or just help you find a translator, who will work for a set fee, or a percentage of the sales proceeds (60-75%). It can take from days to months to find someone suitable, although we can arrange that for you.2] If you produce an online publication, or want to, you can choose from about 125 niche ebooks of about fifteen 500-word articles to use in it. This is useful if you want quick targeted content, say to start a blog, or to use while sick or on holiday. Some of these ebooks have been translated into several important international languages.



Readers



There are more than 800 publications in forty languages on this site. If you liked one of our books in say, English, and you want your Spanish friend to read it, this is very often possible. Just look up the title in the relevant section on the title bar.I hope that this article has clarified what we at MPS mean by ‘Foreign Translations’, and, as always, if you think that we can help, just drop me an email or use the contact form above.



Chalita]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=14548Tue, 05 Apr 2022 03:08:07 +0000Owen JonesPhoto by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com What we mean by that. I have noticed recently that this blog, Megan Publishing Services (MPS) is beginning to receive lots of visits from people searching for foreign translations. So, I would like to...


What we mean by that.



I have noticed recently that this blog, Megan Publishing Services (MPS) is beginning to receive lots of visits from people searching for foreign translations. So, I would like to clarify what kind of foreign translations they an expect to find when they click through to us.



Foreign Translations



There are three main variations of what I think this phrase can mean. So, let’s take a look at them.



Languages Translation Service



Basically, MPS does not provide a foreign languages translation service as such. However, there are many companies that allow you to type in a few words, some up to several thousand, and receive an automated translation in the language of any country instantly. Most of these are pretty good if you keep what you want translated short and simple. They work best if you want a fairly accurate translation within a language group. By this I mean, German, Dutch and English is a group with a similar culture; so is Italian, French and Spanish. They work far less reliably if you are translating from say English into Yoruba, Thai or even Russian. In fact, you should never reply on these apps for more than a rough idea about the target language, because they make ludicrous mistakes very often. They translate words, not ideas.



Translate to Different Languages



This is pretty much the same as above, but I take it to mean not online, and not instantaneous. For example, you could submit a document to a human translator, who will give it the personal attention it deserves for a fee. We don’t provide this service either, although we, who are associated with this blog, speak eight different languages between us. Again, there are several companies that specialise in linking a professional to a private ‘gig’ for a small fee.



Foreign Language Services



Having said all that, there are two foreign language services that we can provide.



Authors



1] You will notice that Owen Jones has had many of his books translated in foreign languages. As I am writing this, the total is forty different foreign tongues. We use two companies to perform these tasks. Both will try to facilitate the finding of a translator in the language of your choice. However, it is not guaranteed, and things can and do go wrong. If you want your book translated, we can supervise the task. Or just help you find a translator, who will work for a set fee, or a percentage of the sales proceeds (60-75%). It can take from days to months to find someone suitable, although we can arrange that for you.2] If you produce an online publication, or want to, you can choose from about 125 niche ebooks of about fifteen 500-word articles to use in it. This is useful if you want quick targeted content, say to start a blog, or to use while sick or on holiday. Some of these ebooks have been translated into several important international languages.



Readers



There are more than 800 publications in forty languages on this site. If you liked one of our books in say, English, and you want your Spanish friend to read it, this is very often possible. Just look up the title in the relevant section on the title bar.I hope that this article has clarified what we at MPS mean by ‘Foreign Translations’, and, as always, if you think that we can help, just drop me an email or use the contact form above.



Chalita]]>224cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/megan-publishing-services_2


A piece of history...



My (step) father, Owen Jones, created this blog, Megan Publishing Services, in 2013. It was shortly after he had written the first couple of volumes of The Megan Series, and it was meant as a vehicle for that series alone. The logo is the cartoon characterisation of the Megan in the series



He already had websites for his other books such as Behind The Smile and The Eternal Plan - Revealed and a personal catch- all called Welsh Products Online.



Megan Publishing Services



However, as his book real estate grew, and it happened very quickly, he decided to use the Megan blog to represent all his books. So, he rebranded it Megan Publishing Services.



Websites and blogs appertaining to specific series are now not being renewed when they expire. The rebranding of the blog / website has not seemed to matter. Well, to no-one except Facebook, which has labelled Megan The Misconception dot com as a spammer. It's unfathomable!



In fact, people seem to have taken the site and the series to their hearts, even though we have rebranded The Megan Series as The Psychic Megan Series. We did this because it is more evocative of what the theme of the series really is. Megan is, after all, a psychic teen.



In 2020, he handed this blog over to me so that he could concentrate on writing.



Search Terms for MPS



Another interesting fact is that the three most popular search terms used to find our blog in order of usage are:



1] megs publishing services



2] meg's publishing services



3] megan publishing services



People looking for us used the first search term eight times more than the third one! I am proud of that in a strange sort of way. I find it touching that people think of our blog in those endearing terms and, that the search engines accept the compliment.



Amazing, or what?



MPS and #MPS



When speaking about our blog, most people refer to it as MPS, but I have so far failed to make the search engines associate the acronym with us. A search on MPS comes up with boring ‘Members of Parliament’. Likewise, searching for #MPS on Twitter reveals posts about MP’s.



Still, I won’t stop trying to get this blog associated with MPS!



Publishing Services



I'll take this opportunity to explain briefly what Megan Publishing Services actually does. It has two aspects:



1] Readers: we are showcasing about 800 books on this site. Owen Jones has written fifty-three stories and 125 manuals. All of the stories, and some of the manuals have been translated and / or narrated making up the 800 books mentioned above. For example, the first volume of The Psychic Megan Series now exists in 34 languages.



2] Writers: except for the basic writing skills that one learns at school, Owen Jones learned and taught himself how to write books. How to get them translated, narrated and published, and most importantly, how to get them in front of readers who might want to buy them. He is willing to share that knowledge with other (would-be) authors. He is also offering the said 125 manuals as niche PLR articles for writers to use in their own online publications in several languages.



Onwards and Upwards! Megan Publishing Services and everyone who uses it!



Chalita]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=14480Mon, 04 Apr 2022 04:01:00 +0000Owen JonesMegan Publishing Services - MPS - Logo A piece of history... My (step) father, Owen Jones, created this blog, Megan Publishing Services, in 2013. It was shortly after he had written the first couple of volumes of The Megan Series, and it was...


A piece of history...



My (step) father, Owen Jones, created this blog, Megan Publishing Services, in 2013. It was shortly after he had written the first couple of volumes of The Megan Series, and it was meant as a vehicle for that series alone. The logo is the cartoon characterisation of the Megan in the series



He already had websites for his other books such as Behind The Smile and The Eternal Plan - Revealed and a personal catch- all called Welsh Products Online.



Megan Publishing Services



However, as his book real estate grew, and it happened very quickly, he decided to use the Megan blog to represent all his books. So, he rebranded it Megan Publishing Services.



Websites and blogs appertaining to specific series are now not being renewed when they expire. The rebranding of the blog / website has not seemed to matter. Well, to no-one except Facebook, which has labelled Megan The Misconception dot com as a spammer. It's unfathomable!



In fact, people seem to have taken the site and the series to their hearts, even though we have rebranded The Megan Series as The Psychic Megan Series. We did this because it is more evocative of what the theme of the series really is. Megan is, after all, a psychic teen.



In 2020, he handed this blog over to me so that he could concentrate on writing.



Search Terms for MPS



Another interesting fact is that the three most popular search terms used to find our blog in order of usage are:



1] megs publishing services



2] meg's publishing services



3] megan publishing services



People looking for us used the first search term eight times more than the third one! I am proud of that in a strange sort of way. I find it touching that people think of our blog in those endearing terms and, that the search engines accept the compliment.



Amazing, or what?



MPS and #MPS



When speaking about our blog, most people refer to it as MPS, but I have so far failed to make the search engines associate the acronym with us. A search on MPS comes up with boring ‘Members of Parliament’. Likewise, searching for #MPS on Twitter reveals posts about MP’s.



Still, I won’t stop trying to get this blog associated with MPS!



Publishing Services



I'll take this opportunity to explain briefly what Megan Publishing Services actually does. It has two aspects:



1] Readers: we are showcasing about 800 books on this site. Owen Jones has written fifty-three stories and 125 manuals. All of the stories, and some of the manuals have been translated and / or narrated making up the 800 books mentioned above. For example, the first volume of The Psychic Megan Series now exists in 34 languages.



2] Writers: except for the basic writing skills that one learns at school, Owen Jones learned and taught himself how to write books. How to get them translated, narrated and published, and most importantly, how to get them in front of readers who might want to buy them. He is willing to share that knowledge with other (would-be) authors. He is also offering the said 125 manuals as niche PLR articles for writers to use in their own online publications in several languages.



Onwards and Upwards! Megan Publishing Services and everyone who uses it!



Chalita]]>123cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/foreign-translations-czech-slovak-chines_2


A truly polyglot website!



The strength of this blog, Megan Publishing Services, is the number of foreign translations of my books on it. At least, that’s one of the ways that I see it. I have written fifty-odd novels and about a hundred and twenty-five other books, and people I have never met from lands far and wide have wanted to translate them. This represents a colossal amount of work, effort and collaboration from people right around the globe. I live in Thailand, but I have worked with narrators from Canada to Australia, Europe and the Americas. Then there are translators living from Peru to Mongolia, and most countries in between including all the larger European languages and several Asian and African ones too from Afrikaans to Russian.



At the time of writing, there are about seven hundred translations and narrations in about thirty-five languages on the Megan Publishing Services blog.



More Languages



Today, I added books translated into eight more languages new to the blog, namely: Czech, Chinese, Hungarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Telugu, Turkish and Urdu.



And I have more to add. Off the top of my head, I can say that I need to add: Hauza, Igbo, Mongolian, Northern and Southern Soto, and Zulu.



Sadly, no one has offered to translate a book into my own language, Welsh, yet. I’m working on it though. To clarify, I come from Wales, but write in English.



When I have posted a page for every language that my books exist in, I will add links to each of the books and, possibly, the translators and narrators, so that readers and listeners can get to know the better. I hope that we can help them along in their careers.



Support Narrators and Translators



So,if you are not a native English-speaker, please, follow the link below to see whether I have anything in your language, and know that if you actually buy a book, you will be encouraging the narrators, translators and me to keep this project going.



Thanks to all who have contributed foreign translations, and to all of you who have bought them!



The link to the list of languages covered so far is: Languages on MPS



Best wishes,



Owen]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=14118Sat, 26 Mar 2022 01:03:00 +0000Owen JonesOwen Jones A truly polyglot website! The strength of this blog, Megan Publishing Services, is the number of foreign translations of my books on it. At least, that’s one of the ways that I see it. I have written fifty-odd novels and about a...


A truly polyglot website!



The strength of this blog, Megan Publishing Services, is the number of foreign translations of my books on it. At least, that’s one of the ways that I see it. I have written fifty-odd novels and about a hundred and twenty-five other books, and people I have never met from lands far and wide have wanted to translate them. This represents a colossal amount of work, effort and collaboration from people right around the globe. I live in Thailand, but I have worked with narrators from Canada to Australia, Europe and the Americas. Then there are translators living from Peru to Mongolia, and most countries in between including all the larger European languages and several Asian and African ones too from Afrikaans to Russian.



At the time of writing, there are about seven hundred translations and narrations in about thirty-five languages on the Megan Publishing Services blog.



More Languages



Today, I added books translated into eight more languages new to the blog, namely: Czech, Chinese, Hungarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Telugu, Turkish and Urdu.



And I have more to add. Off the top of my head, I can say that I need to add: Hauza, Igbo, Mongolian, Northern and Southern Soto, and Zulu.



Sadly, no one has offered to translate a book into my own language, Welsh, yet. I’m working on it though. To clarify, I come from Wales, but write in English.



When I have posted a page for every language that my books exist in, I will add links to each of the books and, possibly, the translators and narrators, so that readers and listeners can get to know the better. I hope that we can help them along in their careers.



Support Narrators and Translators



So,if you are not a native English-speaker, please, follow the link below to see whether I have anything in your language, and know that if you actually buy a book, you will be encouraging the narrators, translators and me to keep this project going.



Thanks to all who have contributed foreign translations, and to all of you who have bought them!



The link to the list of languages covered so far is: Languages on MPS



Best wishes,



Owen]]>142cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/google-adsense_2


The free money machine!



When I started thinking of applying for Google AdSense, this blog was receiving 10,000 unique visitors per month, who visited 30,000 times and read 250,000 pages. Google AdSense's online earnings calculator suggested that those statistics should earn me about $1,000 a month.



That is not to be sniffed at, so I applied, and was granted a license to show Google Ads for AdSense.



However, it was a steep learning curve for me, and there was Covid, and I was getting into commissioning audiobooks from Dad's novels. The audiobooks were going really well, and so Google's AdSense took a back seat, along with the blog in general.



Looking back on it, that was a silly, naive move, since it had taken Dad more than ten years to build up the blog, and I threw away a lot of that effort chasing money.



Anyway, this year I have been concentrating on AdSense, but I have problems. To make Adsense work, you need an active website. The more active the better!



Google Tools



I use Awestats in cPanel for my statistics, as Dad did before for the figures above. It is depressing. I now receive 5,000 uniques (unique visitors), who make 15,000 visits and read 130,000 pages. So, about half of what used to happen.



Right?So, why does Google AdSense and Google Analytics report only 300 pageviews a month? Fifty times less?



Last year, the blog earned $2.10 all year. With all my extra work this year, I have earned 30c a month!



How can that be?



If 5,000 visitors are reading 130,000 pages, how can they only be clicking two or three times a month?



I can think of only two possible reasons.



* Google AdSense is not being displayed on all the visible pages* Awestats is reporting falsely.



What do you think?



I blame Google AdSense :-) (not really).]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13859Thu, 17 Mar 2022 08:18:56 +0000Owen JonesGoogle Adsense The free money machine! When I started thinking of applying for Google AdSense, this blog was receiving 10,000 unique visitors per month, who visited 30,000 times and read 250,000 pages. Google AdSense's online earnings calculator...


The free money machine!



When I started thinking of applying for Google AdSense, this blog was receiving 10,000 unique visitors per month, who visited 30,000 times and read 250,000 pages. Google AdSense's online earnings calculator suggested that those statistics should earn me about $1,000 a month.



That is not to be sniffed at, so I applied, and was granted a license to show Google Ads for AdSense.



However, it was a steep learning curve for me, and there was Covid, and I was getting into commissioning audiobooks from Dad's novels. The audiobooks were going really well, and so Google's AdSense took a back seat, along with the blog in general.



Looking back on it, that was a silly, naive move, since it had taken Dad more than ten years to build up the blog, and I threw away a lot of that effort chasing money.



Anyway, this year I have been concentrating on AdSense, but I have problems. To make Adsense work, you need an active website. The more active the better!



Google Tools



I use Awestats in cPanel for my statistics, as Dad did before for the figures above. It is depressing. I now receive 5,000 uniques (unique visitors), who make 15,000 visits and read 130,000 pages. So, about half of what used to happen.



Right?So, why does Google AdSense and Google Analytics report only 300 pageviews a month? Fifty times less?



Last year, the blog earned $2.10 all year. With all my extra work this year, I have earned 30c a month!



How can that be?



If 5,000 visitors are reading 130,000 pages, how can they only be clicking two or three times a month?



I can think of only two possible reasons.



* Google AdSense is not being displayed on all the visible pages* Awestats is reporting falsely.



What do you think?



I blame Google AdSense :-) (not really).]]>130cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/spontaneous-parties_2


Spontaneous Parties



There is election fever in the air in our village, which often results in more than the usual amount of exuberance, drinking and spontaneous parties. I’m not sure what the election is for, and none of my falang friends is aware of any forthcoming election. However, my wife and her close friends are all interested in local politics. So if they are talking about an election, then something is going on, even if it is some way off. They are keeping me in the dark again... like a mushroom.



My wife and I were having a quiet drink together this evening. It rarely happens more than once a week, when a pickup suddenly arrived across the road.



The Spontaneous Party is on!



The doors flew open and a mind-numbing roar of music hit us.



Now, I am not opposed to loud music per se, I am an old hippy after all. However, my first reaction was to think that it was ridiculously loud for in the middle of our quiet village at 21:00.



Then, I remembered that loud music and parties are permissible until midnight, and who am I to complain about people enjoying themselves?



My focus switched to how so much noise, sorry, volume or decibels could come from a car. It is deafening even in the open space of the village centre.



Two hours later, and not one complaint!



Not only that, but we have long since decamped from the 'quiet place" where we were sitting to the restaurant opposite where the music is :-). There is a spontaneous party in the making, and the evening has just become more interesting. My wife and her friends are talking feverishly... about elections? Could be, but they are not telling me, and I don’t really have to know anyway. It strikes me that 'The Spontaneous Party' would be a good name for a political party.



I was going to go home and work on my books, but then I have always been a sucker for spontaneous parties... and so has my wife :-), so I guess we’ll just stay here until midnight.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13819Wed, 16 Mar 2022 02:54:20 +0000Owen JonesJust one over the eight... Spontaneous Parties There is election fever in the air in our village, which often results in more than the usual amount of exuberance, drinking and spontaneous parties. I’m not sure what the election is for, and none...


Spontaneous Parties



There is election fever in the air in our village, which often results in more than the usual amount of exuberance, drinking and spontaneous parties. I’m not sure what the election is for, and none of my falang friends is aware of any forthcoming election. However, my wife and her close friends are all interested in local politics. So if they are talking about an election, then something is going on, even if it is some way off. They are keeping me in the dark again... like a mushroom.



My wife and I were having a quiet drink together this evening. It rarely happens more than once a week, when a pickup suddenly arrived across the road.



The Spontaneous Party is on!



The doors flew open and a mind-numbing roar of music hit us.



Now, I am not opposed to loud music per se, I am an old hippy after all. However, my first reaction was to think that it was ridiculously loud for in the middle of our quiet village at 21:00.



Then, I remembered that loud music and parties are permissible until midnight, and who am I to complain about people enjoying themselves?



My focus switched to how so much noise, sorry, volume or decibels could come from a car. It is deafening even in the open space of the village centre.



Two hours later, and not one complaint!



Not only that, but we have long since decamped from the 'quiet place" where we were sitting to the restaurant opposite where the music is :-). There is a spontaneous party in the making, and the evening has just become more interesting. My wife and her friends are talking feverishly... about elections? Could be, but they are not telling me, and I don’t really have to know anyway. It strikes me that 'The Spontaneous Party' would be a good name for a political party.



I was going to go home and work on my books, but then I have always been a sucker for spontaneous parties... and so has my wife :-), so I guess we’ll just stay here until midnight.]]>118cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/high-blood-pressure_2


High Blood Pressure



My GP diagnosed me with high blood pressure, which is technically known as hypertension, and more sinisterly nicknamed ‘The Silent Killer’, twenty-seven years ago when I was forty. My doctor discovered it during a routine check up, which I often used to miss. (Therefore, I recommend that you make a point of checking your blood pressure regularly). I was prescribed Atenolol 50 and told to take one a day. My blood pressure dropped to 140/80 and stabilised. My doctor was happy with that a month later, and we never discussed the matter again.



Twenty-five years later, I was back in my home town from my travels in Asia, and started experiencing an unusual, quite severe, shortage of breath and swollen ankles, so I went to the doctor. She sent me to a cardiologist, and he asked who had prescribed me Atenolol. I told him the story, and asked why. His reply astounded me.



Atenolol



“How many alternative high blood pressure tablets did you try?” he asked.



“None,” said I, “why?”



"Cardiologists consider Atenolol to be the last resort in a doctor’s armoury in the battle against hypertension," he explained, "because it has several unpleasant side-effects. It is akin to cracking a nut with a sledgehammer, although it rarely does not work on reducing hypertension".



“It is the sign of an exasperated, or a lazy, doctor,” he said tutting. “You have a slow heart beat, called bradycardia, so Atenolol would have killed you soon. You are a very lucky man”.



I guess he was saying that my old GP had been a lazy doctor.



Apparently, my younger, healthy body could handle the rough Atenolol, but my ageing, frailer body could not.



Anyway, we tried three or four other high blood pressure tablets and settled on Ramapril 5mg. My swollen ankle problem and my shortage of breath slowly disappeared and are not a factor now, three years later.



High Blood Pressure Tablets



Over a few days following my visit to the cardiologist, I discussed the problem with some friends of my own age, and all of them knew of the Atenolol problem: “It’s well known round here!” they agreed.



Why am I telling you all this?



Well, yesterday, back in Asia, my wife was watching me take my blood pressure, and asked to have hers checked too (this is a very seldom occurrence, because she never wants to know if she is sick). Her readings were high, since these days many doctors, especially American ones, have set a target of 117/75 with a pulse of 60.



She went to the clinic today and her reading was still a little high.



They gave her... Atenolol 50, but told her to take a half tablet per day.



I hope that this was just an emergency measure to get her blood pressure down quickly, since she has to go back in thirty days for further assessment.



The morals, dear reader, are: check your blood pressure regularly, and request that your doctor reassesses your medication regularly too, because new, the pharmaceuticals release improved high blood pressure tablets from time to time!



Best wishes,



Owen]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13635Wed, 02 Mar 2022 06:31:07 +0000Owen JonesThe silent killer... High Blood Pressure My GP diagnosed me with high blood pressure, which is technically known as hypertension, and more sinisterly nicknamed ‘The Silent Killer’, twenty-seven years ago when I was forty. My doctor discovered it...


High Blood Pressure



My GP diagnosed me with high blood pressure, which is technically known as hypertension, and more sinisterly nicknamed ‘The Silent Killer’, twenty-seven years ago when I was forty. My doctor discovered it during a routine check up, which I often used to miss. (Therefore, I recommend that you make a point of checking your blood pressure regularly). I was prescribed Atenolol 50 and told to take one a day. My blood pressure dropped to 140/80 and stabilised. My doctor was happy with that a month later, and we never discussed the matter again.



Twenty-five years later, I was back in my home town from my travels in Asia, and started experiencing an unusual, quite severe, shortage of breath and swollen ankles, so I went to the doctor. She sent me to a cardiologist, and he asked who had prescribed me Atenolol. I told him the story, and asked why. His reply astounded me.



Atenolol



“How many alternative high blood pressure tablets did you try?” he asked.



“None,” said I, “why?”



"Cardiologists consider Atenolol to be the last resort in a doctor’s armoury in the battle against hypertension," he explained, "because it has several unpleasant side-effects. It is akin to cracking a nut with a sledgehammer, although it rarely does not work on reducing hypertension".



“It is the sign of an exasperated, or a lazy, doctor,” he said tutting. “You have a slow heart beat, called bradycardia, so Atenolol would have killed you soon. You are a very lucky man”.



I guess he was saying that my old GP had been a lazy doctor.



Apparently, my younger, healthy body could handle the rough Atenolol, but my ageing, frailer body could not.



Anyway, we tried three or four other high blood pressure tablets and settled on Ramapril 5mg. My swollen ankle problem and my shortage of breath slowly disappeared and are not a factor now, three years later.



High Blood Pressure Tablets



Over a few days following my visit to the cardiologist, I discussed the problem with some friends of my own age, and all of them knew of the Atenolol problem: “It’s well known round here!” they agreed.



Why am I telling you all this?



Well, yesterday, back in Asia, my wife was watching me take my blood pressure, and asked to have hers checked too (this is a very seldom occurrence, because she never wants to know if she is sick). Her readings were high, since these days many doctors, especially American ones, have set a target of 117/75 with a pulse of 60.



She went to the clinic today and her reading was still a little high.



They gave her... Atenolol 50, but told her to take a half tablet per day.



I hope that this was just an emergency measure to get her blood pressure down quickly, since she has to go back in thirty days for further assessment.



The morals, dear reader, are: check your blood pressure regularly, and request that your doctor reassesses your medication regularly too, because new, the pharmaceuticals release improved high blood pressure tablets from time to time!



Best wishes,



Owen]]>169cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-village-pub-crawl_2


A man on a mission...



We refer to it as my village pub crawl because, about once a week, while trying to boost the number of steps I take in a seven-day period, I also stop in some of the shops along the way for a bottle of cold beer Chang. I say shops on purpose, because there are no pubs or hotels in our village.



In earlier times, I used to enjoy my stroll around the village once a week, normally on a Saturday, but what with Covid and an increased workload, that has reduced itself to at most once per month.



Today, I am especially on the look out for an electrical screwdriver. Small jobs are building up at home, and, it's always the same, isn't it, when you need something, you can't find it. Actually, I suspect that it has been loaned out and not returned, which is often the way of things.



Not that I have needed a screwdriver for at least six years :-) I did have one though, I used to have a pretty good set of basic tools, but they have all vanished.



Hence my walk-about today, or that is my excuse anyway.



Shop crawl



Ninety percent of the people in our village are farmers, or farm labourers. So, they are very practical people, but I don't think that that guarantees my finding a screwdriver here. It’s funny, now that I think of it. However, but the number one item on sale in this farming community is food. They have the best fresh food in the world at their fingertips, yet they hunger after Western junk food like crisps and sandwiches. Not that I consider all sandwiches junk food. However, Thai bread is dreadfully sweet and they stuff their sandwiches with sweet, sugary fillings. Thai food is fabulous, but they generally make a pig’s ear of copying the Western junk food that they see on TV.



Anyway, I have now checked out two shops so far, but there hasn't been a screwdriver in sight...



I will soldier on.



In the fourth shop, I strike it lucky! I find a box of six electronic, and a packet of three electrical screwdrivers for a total of £2.50. I’m happy with that, although the beer consumed on my village pub crawl came to £8.25 :-). Still, mission accomplished, although I will probably have to carry out the jobs tomorrow.



Best wishes,



Owen]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13630Tue, 01 Mar 2022 06:45:10 +0000Owen JonesA man on a mission... A man on a mission... We refer to it as my village pub crawl because, about once a week, while trying to boost the number of steps I take in a seven-day period, I also stop in some of the shops along the way for a bottle of...


A man on a mission...



We refer to it as my village pub crawl because, about once a week, while trying to boost the number of steps I take in a seven-day period, I also stop in some of the shops along the way for a bottle of cold beer Chang. I say shops on purpose, because there are no pubs or hotels in our village.



In earlier times, I used to enjoy my stroll around the village once a week, normally on a Saturday, but what with Covid and an increased workload, that has reduced itself to at most once per month.



Today, I am especially on the look out for an electrical screwdriver. Small jobs are building up at home, and, it's always the same, isn't it, when you need something, you can't find it. Actually, I suspect that it has been loaned out and not returned, which is often the way of things.



Not that I have needed a screwdriver for at least six years :-) I did have one though, I used to have a pretty good set of basic tools, but they have all vanished.



Hence my walk-about today, or that is my excuse anyway.



Shop crawl



Ninety percent of the people in our village are farmers, or farm labourers. So, they are very practical people, but I don't think that that guarantees my finding a screwdriver here. It’s funny, now that I think of it. However, but the number one item on sale in this farming community is food. They have the best fresh food in the world at their fingertips, yet they hunger after Western junk food like crisps and sandwiches. Not that I consider all sandwiches junk food. However, Thai bread is dreadfully sweet and they stuff their sandwiches with sweet, sugary fillings. Thai food is fabulous, but they generally make a pig’s ear of copying the Western junk food that they see on TV.



Anyway, I have now checked out two shops so far, but there hasn't been a screwdriver in sight...



I will soldier on.



In the fourth shop, I strike it lucky! I find a box of six electronic, and a packet of three electrical screwdrivers for a total of £2.50. I’m happy with that, although the beer consumed on my village pub crawl came to £8.25 :-). Still, mission accomplished, although I will probably have to carry out the jobs tomorrow.



Best wishes,



Owen]]>125cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/travel-plr-ebook_2


Holidays on Pexels.com



First of all, I think that we had better agree on our terminology using the phrase 'travel plr ebook' as an example. PLR stands for 'private label rights', which I have always found confusing, but it is definitely not the same PLR as the British Library uses, which has to do with 'public lending rights'. Our term means that someone has written an article and is giving or selling you the right to use it. This right may be completely free of restrictions, or there may be exclusions to it.



So, a Travel PLR Ebook is generally considered to be a collection of related niche content articles. In the case of the niche content ebooks that I have put together (on this site), I have written all of the chapters in the books myself, and there are typically about 15 500-word pieces in each book.



It is important that the content of these books is 'fresh', that is, that it has not been overused. Cheap PLR articles are usually old, and search engines have seen them before, and so will mark them as duplicate content, penalising any website that uses them. This is why I always recommend rewriting niche PLR content a little, so that you know that it is original.



Let's look into how you might use a Travel PLR Ebook as an example.



Travel PLR



Travel is an unusually broad subject, so it would be very easy to find travel PLR articles. Let's say that you run a travel blog, whether it is full of your own experiences or it is an affiliate marketing site doesn't really matter. An active blog needs several new articles a week to keep the search engines happy, to hold or improve your Page rank. This is time-consuming, and there are periods when time may be short. Over the (school) holidays, over New Year, during sickness, for example. At these times, it is handy to have a batch of articles that you can turn to to plug the gap.



My travel PLR ebooks of, say, 15 niche PLR articles, would cover a lot of sick days, or give you a fortnight off over Christmas and the New Year. You could also use these travel PLR articles in newsletters, if you are concerned about only using guaranteed original material. They would be great for an affiliate marketing campaign, in which you are promoting holidays.



A travel PLR ebook of 15 niche, targeted articles, would also be enough to put up a website or blog quickly. You could use ten articles to populate the blog, and use five articles to promote it around social media! In a morning, you would have a fully-functioning Travel Blog that you could further improve later on at your leisure.



Many writers look down on PLR articles, but if used correctly travel PLR or a travel PLR ebook can be a boon for a travel business.



Check out these links (on this blog):



Megan's PLR ebook list: https://meganthemisconception.com/plr-index/



Megan's travel PLR ebooks: https://meganthemisconception.com/plr-ebooks/cars-transport-travel/



Suggestions for using niche PLR ebooks: https://meganthemisconception.com/category/uses-plr/



Regards,



Chalita]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13616Sun, 27 Feb 2022 15:03:03 +0000Owen JonesBeing savvy about bought writing... Holidays on Pexels.com First of all, I think that we had better agree on our terminology using the phrase 'travel plr ebook' as an example. PLR stands for 'private label rights', which I have always found...


Holidays on Pexels.com



First of all, I think that we had better agree on our terminology using the phrase 'travel plr ebook' as an example. PLR stands for 'private label rights', which I have always found confusing, but it is definitely not the same PLR as the British Library uses, which has to do with 'public lending rights'. Our term means that someone has written an article and is giving or selling you the right to use it. This right may be completely free of restrictions, or there may be exclusions to it.



So, a Travel PLR Ebook is generally considered to be a collection of related niche content articles. In the case of the niche content ebooks that I have put together (on this site), I have written all of the chapters in the books myself, and there are typically about 15 500-word pieces in each book.



It is important that the content of these books is 'fresh', that is, that it has not been overused. Cheap PLR articles are usually old, and search engines have seen them before, and so will mark them as duplicate content, penalising any website that uses them. This is why I always recommend rewriting niche PLR content a little, so that you know that it is original.



Let's look into how you might use a Travel PLR Ebook as an example.



Travel PLR



Travel is an unusually broad subject, so it would be very easy to find travel PLR articles. Let's say that you run a travel blog, whether it is full of your own experiences or it is an affiliate marketing site doesn't really matter. An active blog needs several new articles a week to keep the search engines happy, to hold or improve your Page rank. This is time-consuming, and there are periods when time may be short. Over the (school) holidays, over New Year, during sickness, for example. At these times, it is handy to have a batch of articles that you can turn to to plug the gap.



My travel PLR ebooks of, say, 15 niche PLR articles, would cover a lot of sick days, or give you a fortnight off over Christmas and the New Year. You could also use these travel PLR articles in newsletters, if you are concerned about only using guaranteed original material. They would be great for an affiliate marketing campaign, in which you are promoting holidays.



A travel PLR ebook of 15 niche, targeted articles, would also be enough to put up a website or blog quickly. You could use ten articles to populate the blog, and use five articles to promote it around social media! In a morning, you would have a fully-functioning Travel Blog that you could further improve later on at your leisure.



Many writers look down on PLR articles, but if used correctly travel PLR or a travel PLR ebook can be a boon for a travel business.



Check out these links (on this blog):



Megan's PLR ebook list: https://meganthemisconception.com/plr-index/



Megan's travel PLR ebooks: https://meganthemisconception.com/plr-ebooks/cars-transport-travel/



Suggestions for using niche PLR ebooks: https://meganthemisconception.com/category/uses-plr/



Regards,



Chalita]]>163cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/heinz-57-baby_2


Heinz 57 Baby



My brother, Roddy, was a Heinz 57 Baby. Do you have any idea what that means? Searching the Internet will not help you, and Google's results will be particularly disheartening. Google is not a real searcher of Truth any longer, it is a provider of shopping opportunities.



It is very sad.



So, getting back to my brother. He was born two and a half years after me in February 1957, and according to my Mother, who has long since passed away, there was a Heinz 57 competition, or reward, for any baby born on the 57th day of that year, which is obviously February 26th.



My little brother Roddy appeared as if on queue and my Mother claimed his prize. 



Well, that was 65 years ago. He died 43 years ago and our Mother died shortly before him, so I have no point of reference as to what Heinz awarded a Heinz Baby in those days.



I seem to remember that it was a year's worth of baby food, but 57 day's worth would make more sense. A tin a day, but that seems rather mean for a reward that can be awarded only once in a company's history.



If you have any information about the 1957 Heinz 57 Baby Award, please let us know using the comments section below.



As I said above, searching the Internet using the term "Heinz 57 Baby promotion" only revealed really boring adverts for Heinz baby food. You'd think that they would have more respect for their history than that, wouldn't you?



I will never buy another Heinz 57 food product again.



Anyway, I remember my little brother Roddy winning a prize in the Heinz 57 Baby promotion, even if no-one at Heinz remembers, or cares, that the promotion ever took place. 



Happy Birthday, Rod!



Best wishes,



Owen]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13610Sat, 26 Feb 2022 14:34:39 +0000Owen JonesA long-gone concept… Heinz 57 Baby My brother, Roddy, was a Heinz 57 Baby. Do you have any idea what that means? Searching the Internet will not help you, and Google's results will be particularly disheartening. Google is not a real searcher of...


Heinz 57 Baby



My brother, Roddy, was a Heinz 57 Baby. Do you have any idea what that means? Searching the Internet will not help you, and Google's results will be particularly disheartening. Google is not a real searcher of Truth any longer, it is a provider of shopping opportunities.



It is very sad.



So, getting back to my brother. He was born two and a half years after me in February 1957, and according to my Mother, who has long since passed away, there was a Heinz 57 competition, or reward, for any baby born on the 57th day of that year, which is obviously February 26th.



My little brother Roddy appeared as if on queue and my Mother claimed his prize. 



Well, that was 65 years ago. He died 43 years ago and our Mother died shortly before him, so I have no point of reference as to what Heinz awarded a Heinz Baby in those days.



I seem to remember that it was a year's worth of baby food, but 57 day's worth would make more sense. A tin a day, but that seems rather mean for a reward that can be awarded only once in a company's history.



If you have any information about the 1957 Heinz 57 Baby Award, please let us know using the comments section below.



As I said above, searching the Internet using the term "Heinz 57 Baby promotion" only revealed really boring adverts for Heinz baby food. You'd think that they would have more respect for their history than that, wouldn't you?



I will never buy another Heinz 57 food product again.



Anyway, I remember my little brother Roddy winning a prize in the Heinz 57 Baby promotion, even if no-one at Heinz remembers, or cares, that the promotion ever took place. 



Happy Birthday, Rod!



Best wishes,



Owen]]>108cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/pattaya-beach-road_2


A book featuring Pattaya Beach Road



Pattaya Beach Road is by far the most famous Thai beach road and is the busiest road in the city of Pattaya as far as tourists, pedestrians and vehicles are concerned. It is also the most scenic because Pattaya Beach Road runs literally the width of the pavement from the golden sand of the clean beach and only metres from the sparkling blue sea. This is the largest of the beaches in Pattaya.



Pattaya Beach Road begins at the entrance to Walking Street in the south of the city and continues in a gentle curve for approximately 2.8 kilometres before heading east away from the beach at the Dusit Thani Hotel and continuing a few hundred metres towards the Dolphin Roundabout in the south-east.



Having expressed the dimensions of Pattaya Beach Road in that way, the flow of the one-way traffic is towards Walking Street. This makes sense because the southern end is less busy, and the action tends to be at the northern, more densely populated area.



Traversing Pattaya Beach Road



This is far from being a problem though, because of the Baht Bus service. A Baht Bus is an open sided pickup. The majority of them are privately owned, but city licensed, and charge just ten Baht for any length journey, which means that you can travel from your isolated hotel in the south, the full length of Beach Road to Walking Street and only pay ten Baht.



When you want to return the other way, you take a side-street at right angles to the beach, walk to the end, where you will come to Second Road and the traffic flows in the opposite direction.



Between Beach Road and Second Road, there run dozens of side-streets, called soi, which contain most of the Pattaya bars, of which there are many and various kinds. The nightlife of this Pattaya beach is legendary the world over with all kinds of bars ranging from Starbucks and Planet Hollywood to girly bar discos. There are also fantastic restaurants, especially seafood ones, along the front mostly near the centre of Beach Road, which is around Soi 7.



If you want to get a flavour for this exciting Pattaya beach in Thailand, try searching for: 'Youtube Pattaya Beach Road' and you will find many videos posted.



Pattaya Beach Road is a must-see for any visitor to the city, and a trip the full length of it on a Baht Bus is a must-do.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13596Sat, 26 Feb 2022 08:45:00 +0000Owen JonesThe most famous Thai beach road... A book featuring Pattaya Beach Road Pattaya Beach Road is by far the most famous Thai beach road and is the busiest road in the city of Pattaya as far as tourists, pedestrians and vehicles are concerned. It is...


A book featuring Pattaya Beach Road



Pattaya Beach Road is by far the most famous Thai beach road and is the busiest road in the city of Pattaya as far as tourists, pedestrians and vehicles are concerned. It is also the most scenic because Pattaya Beach Road runs literally the width of the pavement from the golden sand of the clean beach and only metres from the sparkling blue sea. This is the largest of the beaches in Pattaya.



Pattaya Beach Road begins at the entrance to Walking Street in the south of the city and continues in a gentle curve for approximately 2.8 kilometres before heading east away from the beach at the Dusit Thani Hotel and continuing a few hundred metres towards the Dolphin Roundabout in the south-east.



Having expressed the dimensions of Pattaya Beach Road in that way, the flow of the one-way traffic is towards Walking Street. This makes sense because the southern end is less busy, and the action tends to be at the northern, more densely populated area.



Traversing Pattaya Beach Road



This is far from being a problem though, because of the Baht Bus service. A Baht Bus is an open sided pickup. The majority of them are privately owned, but city licensed, and charge just ten Baht for any length journey, which means that you can travel from your isolated hotel in the south, the full length of Beach Road to Walking Street and only pay ten Baht.



When you want to return the other way, you take a side-street at right angles to the beach, walk to the end, where you will come to Second Road and the traffic flows in the opposite direction.



Between Beach Road and Second Road, there run dozens of side-streets, called soi, which contain most of the Pattaya bars, of which there are many and various kinds. The nightlife of this Pattaya beach is legendary the world over with all kinds of bars ranging from Starbucks and Planet Hollywood to girly bar discos. There are also fantastic restaurants, especially seafood ones, along the front mostly near the centre of Beach Road, which is around Soi 7.



If you want to get a flavour for this exciting Pattaya beach in Thailand, try searching for: 'Youtube Pattaya Beach Road' and you will find many videos posted.



Pattaya Beach Road is a must-see for any visitor to the city, and a trip the full length of it on a Baht Bus is a must-do.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>130cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/republishing-books_2


Republishing Books



Being honest with yourself about your own books…



Today, some friends suggested that I should consider republishing books from my flagship series Behind The Smile. However, I find it almost impossible to contemplate.



That is a huge concept to get my head around.



It has produced most of my sales for the last decade!



Their suggestion was made because we were talking about my book sales, which have been slowing down for about a year. So, they thought that it might be worth rebranding, and then republishing the books in this series.



I am not completely sure what they mean by that. I think that it probably has to do with altering the titles, the blurbs and the genre, and then encapsulating all that in new covers in order to make the series more selectable by a new readership. In fact, a large part of this proposed rebranding would be to create new covers to reflect the new genre.



On the face of it, I like the idea. But when you dig down into what republishing books entails, it involves a massive amount of time and work. After all, I have spent ten years building up a readership for the series as it is and looks now. It is recognisable as it is.



If I change everything, I will have to unpublish the existing series of seven volumes, thereby losing all possible sales on them, and republish the new ones... Effectively starting from scratch again.



Rebranding Books



It is a big gamble.



In an attempt to find out more, I did a search on ‘rebranding books’, and came up with several very interesting articles. These authors didn’t actually go the whole hog of ‘rebranding and then republishing books, but they talked about cover make-overs.



One article was about the legendary Dune by Frank Herbert. I think I remember rightly that it was first published in 1965. Anyway, the interesting bit is that the whole series of five books has had completely new covers every five years ever since! 



Look the article up, it opened my eyes. I have always written and published books, slapped a cover on them and that was it. However, apparently cover design is also prey to fashion, which is very difficult to pin down, as we all know - look at clothing!



So, I will start with new covers, but I will keep rebranding and republishing open in my mind as an option.



What do readers think of this marketing tactic, and  have any authors who come here any experience with rebranding and/or republishing books?



Regards,



Owen]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13601Fri, 25 Feb 2022 07:15:43 +0000Owen JonesBeing honest with yourself about your own books… Republishing Books Being honest with yourself about your own books… Today, some friends suggested that I should consider republishing books from my flagship series Behind The Smile. However, I...


Republishing Books



Being honest with yourself about your own books…



Today, some friends suggested that I should consider republishing books from my flagship series Behind The Smile. However, I find it almost impossible to contemplate.



That is a huge concept to get my head around.



It has produced most of my sales for the last decade!



Their suggestion was made because we were talking about my book sales, which have been slowing down for about a year. So, they thought that it might be worth rebranding, and then republishing the books in this series.



I am not completely sure what they mean by that. I think that it probably has to do with altering the titles, the blurbs and the genre, and then encapsulating all that in new covers in order to make the series more selectable by a new readership. In fact, a large part of this proposed rebranding would be to create new covers to reflect the new genre.



On the face of it, I like the idea. But when you dig down into what republishing books entails, it involves a massive amount of time and work. After all, I have spent ten years building up a readership for the series as it is and looks now. It is recognisable as it is.



If I change everything, I will have to unpublish the existing series of seven volumes, thereby losing all possible sales on them, and republish the new ones... Effectively starting from scratch again.



Rebranding Books



It is a big gamble.



In an attempt to find out more, I did a search on ‘rebranding books’, and came up with several very interesting articles. These authors didn’t actually go the whole hog of ‘rebranding and then republishing books, but they talked about cover make-overs.



One article was about the legendary Dune by Frank Herbert. I think I remember rightly that it was first published in 1965. Anyway, the interesting bit is that the whole series of five books has had completely new covers every five years ever since! 



Look the article up, it opened my eyes. I have always written and published books, slapped a cover on them and that was it. However, apparently cover design is also prey to fashion, which is very difficult to pin down, as we all know - look at clothing!



So, I will start with new covers, but I will keep rebranding and republishing open in my mind as an option.



What do readers think of this marketing tactic, and  have any authors who come here any experience with rebranding and/or republishing books?



Regards,



Owen]]>146cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-book-cover_2


Judging a book by its cover...



People say that one should never judge a book by its cover, but it is widely acknowledged that having a great book cover is the best way of selling books. It seems that people do not pay any heed the ancient advice.



To be fair to readers though, there isn’t a lot more to go on when one is standing in a bookshop with a choice of two novels in one’s hands. Otherwise, there is the title (and subtitle), the author’s name, but it could be an unknown, and the blurb, which could be the best piece of writing that the book contains!



Don’t laugh! It really could be... it could have been written by an expert for the author.



Why, only recently, Elon Musk admitted to doing exactly the same, and he is far from being the only one... very far!



I also recently saw a writer asking the question whether it was more important to have a good book cover or to have the book well edited. The overwhelming response on the forum was that if the cover is unappealing then no-one will ever know about the poor editing!



Most people judge by appearances in their everyday lives anyway, don’t they? Clothes, fruit, people... and books.



Once you realise that, it is obvious what you have to do to have a chance of selling books.



Book-selling Magnets



To this end, I have started to revamp some of my father's books... with his permission, of course. I have learned how to make fantastic-looking 3D covers, and even better posters incorporating them!



We are also looking at professional cover designers to see if one catches our eye.



Nevertheless, we are both very proud of the book selling magnets, that we call cards, and are confident that they will increase sales.



Here's hoping for a bigger share in the book selling market :-)



PS: If you are a writer and would like to see whether I can help you with a book-selling magnet card too, please get in touch using the form at the top of the page :)



Best wishes,



Chalita.



** Update ** If you are looking for a new cover for your book album or website/social media click the link below for a unique cover with unlimited updates for less than $40!



My Favourite Covers.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13593Wed, 23 Feb 2022 10:01:32 +0000Owen JonesJudging a book by its cover... Judging a book by its cover... People say that one should never judge a book by its cover, but it is widely acknowledged that having a great book cover is the best way of selling books. It seems that people do not...


Judging a book by its cover...



People say that one should never judge a book by its cover, but it is widely acknowledged that having a great book cover is the best way of selling books. It seems that people do not pay any heed the ancient advice.



To be fair to readers though, there isn’t a lot more to go on when one is standing in a bookshop with a choice of two novels in one’s hands. Otherwise, there is the title (and subtitle), the author’s name, but it could be an unknown, and the blurb, which could be the best piece of writing that the book contains!



Don’t laugh! It really could be... it could have been written by an expert for the author.



Why, only recently, Elon Musk admitted to doing exactly the same, and he is far from being the only one... very far!



I also recently saw a writer asking the question whether it was more important to have a good book cover or to have the book well edited. The overwhelming response on the forum was that if the cover is unappealing then no-one will ever know about the poor editing!



Most people judge by appearances in their everyday lives anyway, don’t they? Clothes, fruit, people... and books.



Once you realise that, it is obvious what you have to do to have a chance of selling books.



Book-selling Magnets



To this end, I have started to revamp some of my father's books... with his permission, of course. I have learned how to make fantastic-looking 3D covers, and even better posters incorporating them!



We are also looking at professional cover designers to see if one catches our eye.



Nevertheless, we are both very proud of the book selling magnets, that we call cards, and are confident that they will increase sales.



Here's hoping for a bigger share in the book selling market :-)



PS: If you are a writer and would like to see whether I can help you with a book-selling magnet card too, please get in touch using the form at the top of the page :)



Best wishes,



Chalita.



** Update ** If you are looking for a new cover for your book album or website/social media click the link below for a unique cover with unlimited updates for less than $40!



My Favourite Covers.]]>31cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/making-a-living-from-books_2


Making a living from selling books



I know an author... yes, all right, my father, Owen Jones, who has 800 publications registered in his name on Amazon and they are all original books penned by him. However, he is not making a living from books that he has created.



Many of his original works in English have been translated, and all those books in English and other languages have been turned into ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks and even hardbacks.



I'll say it again: 800 publications with his name on them to date!



However, they are earning next to nothing... a giant pizza a week. He is not really making a living from books. In fact, he was earning more from his first few books ten years ago, than he is from all these hundreds now.



This doesn't seem right to me. When I ask him about it, he says that he likes writing and working with other writers both home and abroad, and that he has probably fallen behind modern marketing methods.



I don't know whether that is true or whether his low sales are attributable to the global slowdown that is a result of Covid, but whatever the reason is, there has to be a way to improve his situation.



Anyway, I am determined to find out how we can rectify the situation and we are willing to share our findings.



Selling Books



So, are there other authors out there in the same boat, and is there anyone out there who knows how to cash in on all this intellectual property?



I'm looking for a marketing expert who is willing to help all us, and other authors, for a fair, even generous amount, of course, or preferably a percentage... and if the scheme works for my father, then I would be more than happy to refer you to any other writers who are suffering from the same problem.



Please contact me, if you want, using the form in the title bar.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13589Mon, 21 Feb 2022 16:12:52 +0000Owen JonesWhen the property is there, but it's value is not being realised… Making a living from selling books I know an author... yes, all right, my father, Owen Jones, who has 800 publications registered in his name on Amazon and they are all original...


Making a living from selling books



I know an author... yes, all right, my father, Owen Jones, who has 800 publications registered in his name on Amazon and they are all original books penned by him. However, he is not making a living from books that he has created.



Many of his original works in English have been translated, and all those books in English and other languages have been turned into ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks and even hardbacks.



I'll say it again: 800 publications with his name on them to date!



However, they are earning next to nothing... a giant pizza a week. He is not really making a living from books. In fact, he was earning more from his first few books ten years ago, than he is from all these hundreds now.



This doesn't seem right to me. When I ask him about it, he says that he likes writing and working with other writers both home and abroad, and that he has probably fallen behind modern marketing methods.



I don't know whether that is true or whether his low sales are attributable to the global slowdown that is a result of Covid, but whatever the reason is, there has to be a way to improve his situation.



Anyway, I am determined to find out how we can rectify the situation and we are willing to share our findings.



Selling Books



So, are there other authors out there in the same boat, and is there anyone out there who knows how to cash in on all this intellectual property?



I'm looking for a marketing expert who is willing to help all us, and other authors, for a fair, even generous amount, of course, or preferably a percentage... and if the scheme works for my father, then I would be more than happy to refer you to any other writers who are suffering from the same problem.



Please contact me, if you want, using the form in the title bar.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>119cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/selling-books_2


Selling books



People say that one should never judge a book by its cover, how many times have you been given that advice? However, it is widely acknowledged that having a great book cover is the best way of selling books. It seems that people do not heed the ancient advice; and why should they? We judge each other by appearances, even first appearances, every day, so why wouldn’t this apply to every item we are considering, including books.



Only recently, Elon Musk admitted to doing exactly the same, and he is far from being the only one... very far! Not only that, but he is an intelligent person, who has demonstrated his ability in many business ventures such as PayPal, Tesla and Space X – household names!.



I also recently saw a writer asking the question whether it was more important to have a good book cover or to have the book well edited. The overwhelming response on the forum was that if the cover is unappealing then no-one will ever know about the poor editing!



It is simply just true... most people judge by appearances.



Selling Books



Once you realise that, it is obvious what you have to do to have a chance of selling books. To this end, I have started to revamp some of my father's books... with his permission, of course. I have learned how to make fantastic-looking 3D covers, and even better posters incorporating them!



We are both very proud of these book selling magnets, and are confident that they will increase sales.



Here's hoping for a bigger share in the book selling market :-)



PS: If you would like to see whether I can help you too, please get in touch either via the form in the title bar or by searching for my profile on this blog.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13531Fri, 18 Feb 2022 14:50:40 +0000Owen JonesDon’t judge a book by its cover... Selling books People say that one should never judge a book by its cover, how many times have you been given that advice? However, it is widely acknowledged that having a great book cover is the best way of...


Selling books



People say that one should never judge a book by its cover, how many times have you been given that advice? However, it is widely acknowledged that having a great book cover is the best way of selling books. It seems that people do not heed the ancient advice; and why should they? We judge each other by appearances, even first appearances, every day, so why wouldn’t this apply to every item we are considering, including books.



Only recently, Elon Musk admitted to doing exactly the same, and he is far from being the only one... very far! Not only that, but he is an intelligent person, who has demonstrated his ability in many business ventures such as PayPal, Tesla and Space X – household names!.



I also recently saw a writer asking the question whether it was more important to have a good book cover or to have the book well edited. The overwhelming response on the forum was that if the cover is unappealing then no-one will ever know about the poor editing!



It is simply just true... most people judge by appearances.



Selling Books



Once you realise that, it is obvious what you have to do to have a chance of selling books. To this end, I have started to revamp some of my father's books... with his permission, of course. I have learned how to make fantastic-looking 3D covers, and even better posters incorporating them!



We are both very proud of these book selling magnets, and are confident that they will increase sales.



Here's hoping for a bigger share in the book selling market :-)



PS: If you would like to see whether I can help you too, please get in touch either via the form in the title bar or by searching for my profile on this blog.]]>121cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/3d-book-covers_2


3D book cover card



My recent foray into creating 3D book covers has been an outstanding success, so this is just a quick update, and a pat on my back :-)



My colleague and father, Owen Jones, has been so astounded by his new artwork that he has said, to quote: " I have admitted elsewhere on this blog to having been distracted by short-term gains and destroying the foundations of my business. "One of the casualties, perhaps the most serious, has been my failure to keep up with modern trends in book covers, because people do judge a book by its cover! Just as the owner of a clothes shop would not dress the mannequins in the window only once in ten years, neither should an author set and forget his or her book covers.



"Chalita has opened my eyes to this, and it is now all too obvious. She has dragged my book covers from the Stone Age to the 22nd Century in just two days, and me along with them!"



OK, he is my Dad, but I agree with him :-)



3D Book Covers



He used to promote using his 2D book covers, well-designed though they were, and leave it at that.



The problem is, that that was good enough a couple of years ago, but it definitely is not now.



Nowadays, an author needs a 3D cover as an absolute minimum. Even better is a composite of the cover in several formats, and best of all.... that composite should be part of a collage, which we are calling a Sales Magnet Card (after the Twitter cards), or a Sales Magnet Flier.



If you don't know what I am taking about, then you are out of touch too, but look at the image at the top of this post for an example.



However, if you would like me to help you display your book covers to their full potential in a Sales Magnet Card, please get in touch via the form in the top menu bar (CONTACT US) or leave a comment below.



Best wishes,



Chalita]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13521Wed, 16 Feb 2022 04:37:54 +0000Owen JonesSales magnets... 3D book cover card My recent foray into creating 3D book covers has been an outstanding success, so this is just a quick update, and a pat on my back :-) My colleague and father, Owen Jones, has been so astounded by his new...


3D book cover card



My recent foray into creating 3D book covers has been an outstanding success, so this is just a quick update, and a pat on my back :-)



My colleague and father, Owen Jones, has been so astounded by his new artwork that he has said, to quote: " I have admitted elsewhere on this blog to having been distracted by short-term gains and destroying the foundations of my business. "One of the casualties, perhaps the most serious, has been my failure to keep up with modern trends in book covers, because people do judge a book by its cover! Just as the owner of a clothes shop would not dress the mannequins in the window only once in ten years, neither should an author set and forget his or her book covers.



"Chalita has opened my eyes to this, and it is now all too obvious. She has dragged my book covers from the Stone Age to the 22nd Century in just two days, and me along with them!"



OK, he is my Dad, but I agree with him :-)



3D Book Covers



He used to promote using his 2D book covers, well-designed though they were, and leave it at that.



The problem is, that that was good enough a couple of years ago, but it definitely is not now.



Nowadays, an author needs a 3D cover as an absolute minimum. Even better is a composite of the cover in several formats, and best of all.... that composite should be part of a collage, which we are calling a Sales Magnet Card (after the Twitter cards), or a Sales Magnet Flier.



If you don't know what I am taking about, then you are out of touch too, but look at the image at the top of this post for an example.



However, if you would like me to help you display your book covers to their full potential in a Sales Magnet Card, please get in touch via the form in the top menu bar (CONTACT US) or leave a comment below.



Best wishes,



Chalita]]>121cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/mushrooms-in-thailand_2


Mushrooms in Thailand



If you know any ex-pats who live in Thailand, you might sometimes hear them referring to themselves strangely as 'mushrooms'.



It means that they feel that they are being 'kept in the dark'... not told what is going on on a daily basis. You see, very few ex-pats in Thailand actually speak enough Thai to say more than 'Hello'. Thai is a very difficult language, even for a linguist like me, so the average Anglo- Saxon has little chance... especially the older ones. Anglo-Saxons are renowned for not learning foreign languages, but in the case of Thai, most ‘falang’, which basically means Caucasian, struggle with the language.



By the way, I am Welsh, a Celt, and we are taught two languages from a very early age, so that makes it a bit easier for us, but it is still hard. Thai bears no relevance whatsoever to any European language.



Mushrooms



Anyway, mushrooms... I too have experienced the mushroom effect, but most of the time welcome it, because I need time alone to be able to write my posts like this and books. However, what I really, really don't like is being left out of things without being asked.



For example, the day that I am writing this is St. Valentine's Day, but my wife is sitting with her friends and I am sitting alone.



This is not acceptable, but routinely passes as normal, leaving ex-pats who live in remote villages feeling lonely and ignored.



If it hadn't been for my book-writing, I would have left the village for the city years ago, because Thai women daren't leave their men alone, or like mushrooms in the dark there, because there are so many bars full of so many girls looking for a way out, and that usually means pairing up with a falang.



The Thai girl has the whip hand in her village, but the mushroom has it in the city.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13518Tue, 15 Feb 2022 04:46:03 +0000Owen JonesEx-pat Slang... Mushrooms in Thailand If you know any ex-pats who live in Thailand, you might sometimes hear them referring to themselves strangely as 'mushrooms'. It means that they feel that they are being 'kept in the dark'... not told...


Mushrooms in Thailand



If you know any ex-pats who live in Thailand, you might sometimes hear them referring to themselves strangely as 'mushrooms'.



It means that they feel that they are being 'kept in the dark'... not told what is going on on a daily basis. You see, very few ex-pats in Thailand actually speak enough Thai to say more than 'Hello'. Thai is a very difficult language, even for a linguist like me, so the average Anglo- Saxon has little chance... especially the older ones. Anglo-Saxons are renowned for not learning foreign languages, but in the case of Thai, most ‘falang’, which basically means Caucasian, struggle with the language.



By the way, I am Welsh, a Celt, and we are taught two languages from a very early age, so that makes it a bit easier for us, but it is still hard. Thai bears no relevance whatsoever to any European language.



Mushrooms



Anyway, mushrooms... I too have experienced the mushroom effect, but most of the time welcome it, because I need time alone to be able to write my posts like this and books. However, what I really, really don't like is being left out of things without being asked.



For example, the day that I am writing this is St. Valentine's Day, but my wife is sitting with her friends and I am sitting alone.



This is not acceptable, but routinely passes as normal, leaving ex-pats who live in remote villages feeling lonely and ignored.



If it hadn't been for my book-writing, I would have left the village for the city years ago, because Thai women daren't leave their men alone, or like mushrooms in the dark there, because there are so many bars full of so many girls looking for a way out, and that usually means pairing up with a falang.



The Thai girl has the whip hand in her village, but the mushroom has it in the city.]]>116cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/building-an-author-platform_2


Building an Author Platform



Until about New Year 2020, I took care of my author platform assiduously. Decisions were always made with reference to it, and I pampered it with fresh content every single day.



I had all the social media sites too, but my pride and joy was my blog, which I had started in 2013, a year after I published my first book, because that already had its own website.



Anyway, I attacked the problem of not having an author platform with my usual zeal, and I was writing an article a day for the blog. That level of activity was bringing me in about 10,000 unique visitors per month, who made about 30,000 visits and read about 250,000 pages.



Every month...



I was proud of it as I am a one-man band.



I could sell advertising space. In fact, people regularly approached me with offers without my having to advertise.



Then came the fateful date of January 2020.



I had a brainwave, put it into practice, and within months, I had increased my earnings ten-fold. It was going so well that I took on a couple of virtual assistants to help me. I hadn't written a book at that time for several years, because I needed to make money, and my existing books just weren’t making it.



However, now that the money was flowing, I could return to writing.



Three months later, Facebook had banned my blog for spamming, and Audible had de-listed my most popular twenty-odd audiobooks for ‘fraudulent activity’.



How or why has never been explained to me despite scores of emails to Audible.



So, with my writing life in tatters, I returned to my blog.



I had not kept up my previous level of activity, and so, as I ignored my blog, unbeknownst to me, it had sunk to the level where it no longer showed up in search results... At least, not in the first ten pages, whereas it had been on Google page one.



OK, I have books now, but otherwise, to all intents and purposes, I am having to start again with my author platform.



Let it be a lesson to you.



No matter how much things seem to change in your favour, do not ignore what you already have... the very things that gave you the leg up in the first place, because if you take your eye off the ball, well-meaning employees can screw things up for you, and you can even do it for yourself :-(



When you are steaming full ahead chasing the money, be sure that you are not destroying the foundations of your business with the wake like I did.



Owen Jones]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13515Sun, 13 Feb 2022 03:14:20 +0000Owen JonesThe Author's Ultimate Tool Building an Author Platform Until about New Year 2020, I took care of my author platform assiduously. Decisions were always made with reference to it, and I pampered it with fresh content every single day. I had all...


Building an Author Platform



Until about New Year 2020, I took care of my author platform assiduously. Decisions were always made with reference to it, and I pampered it with fresh content every single day.



I had all the social media sites too, but my pride and joy was my blog, which I had started in 2013, a year after I published my first book, because that already had its own website.



Anyway, I attacked the problem of not having an author platform with my usual zeal, and I was writing an article a day for the blog. That level of activity was bringing me in about 10,000 unique visitors per month, who made about 30,000 visits and read about 250,000 pages.



Every month...



I was proud of it as I am a one-man band.



I could sell advertising space. In fact, people regularly approached me with offers without my having to advertise.



Then came the fateful date of January 2020.



I had a brainwave, put it into practice, and within months, I had increased my earnings ten-fold. It was going so well that I took on a couple of virtual assistants to help me. I hadn't written a book at that time for several years, because I needed to make money, and my existing books just weren’t making it.



However, now that the money was flowing, I could return to writing.



Three months later, Facebook had banned my blog for spamming, and Audible had de-listed my most popular twenty-odd audiobooks for ‘fraudulent activity’.



How or why has never been explained to me despite scores of emails to Audible.



So, with my writing life in tatters, I returned to my blog.



I had not kept up my previous level of activity, and so, as I ignored my blog, unbeknownst to me, it had sunk to the level where it no longer showed up in search results... At least, not in the first ten pages, whereas it had been on Google page one.



OK, I have books now, but otherwise, to all intents and purposes, I am having to start again with my author platform.



Let it be a lesson to you.



No matter how much things seem to change in your favour, do not ignore what you already have... the very things that gave you the leg up in the first place, because if you take your eye off the ball, well-meaning employees can screw things up for you, and you can even do it for yourself :-(



When you are steaming full ahead chasing the money, be sure that you are not destroying the foundations of your business with the wake like I did.



Owen Jones]]>167cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/village-food_2


There's more iron in the food than the spoon!!



Despite what you may have read elsewhere on this site about Thai meals being targeted to a person's health, some people do not have anyone to cook for them or the family cook was not taught the craft in detail. It is easy to understand how this can happen. Parents can die young, or not have been taught themselves because they flew to the city to earn more money, for example. Such people often rely on takeaways, as they do in the West.



Takeaway Thai village food is usually provided by more mature ladies, who often have no other means of support. These people know their onions... the food is excellent, but it is meant for general consumption.



So, it is not targeted at any one person’s specific health problems.



How could it be?



However, that is not a big problem, when you compare bags of home-made Thai village takeaway food, as in the picture above, with boxes of Macdonald's chicken nuggets for who knows what the poor chickens were fed on, how they lived or how they died?



Village Food is not like that, you only have to know what is best for you yourself.



I was walking around the village at five o'clock this evening and stopped at a shop for a beer. An elderly woman, placed eight bags of home-made village food on the counter next to me at 50p each and, within 30 minutes they were gone.



£4...wow, big deal, you may be thinking, but if she does that twice a day and makes 50% profit, it is a massive supplement to her £15 a month state pension.



And what trouble is it to cook a bit extra when you are cooking for the old man anyway?



As I am was walking away, she was just delivering six more bags of barbecued meatballs for the evening diners.



Softly, softly, eh?]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13511Wed, 09 Feb 2022 05:59:38 +0000Owen JonesHealthy Thai food There's more iron in the food than the spoon!! Despite what you may have read elsewhere on this site about Thai meals being targeted to a person's health, some people do not have anyone to cook for them or the family cook was...


There's more iron in the food than the spoon!!



Despite what you may have read elsewhere on this site about Thai meals being targeted to a person's health, some people do not have anyone to cook for them or the family cook was not taught the craft in detail. It is easy to understand how this can happen. Parents can die young, or not have been taught themselves because they flew to the city to earn more money, for example. Such people often rely on takeaways, as they do in the West.



Takeaway Thai village food is usually provided by more mature ladies, who often have no other means of support. These people know their onions... the food is excellent, but it is meant for general consumption.



So, it is not targeted at any one person’s specific health problems.



How could it be?



However, that is not a big problem, when you compare bags of home-made Thai village takeaway food, as in the picture above, with boxes of Macdonald's chicken nuggets for who knows what the poor chickens were fed on, how they lived or how they died?



Village Food is not like that, you only have to know what is best for you yourself.



I was walking around the village at five o'clock this evening and stopped at a shop for a beer. An elderly woman, placed eight bags of home-made village food on the counter next to me at 50p each and, within 30 minutes they were gone.



£4...wow, big deal, you may be thinking, but if she does that twice a day and makes 50% profit, it is a massive supplement to her £15 a month state pension.



And what trouble is it to cook a bit extra when you are cooking for the old man anyway?



As I am was walking away, she was just delivering six more bags of barbecued meatballs for the evening diners.



Softly, softly, eh?]]>114cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/modern-digital-designs_2


Modern Digital Design for The Megan Series



My Dad, Owen Jones, is a writer, as regular readers of my blog will already know, and has been a author of books for ten years on February 21st 2022. I was a teenager then, but I remember the excitement of the occasion very well.



It had taken him about fifteen years to produce a book from his father's automatic writings as a Spiritual Healer, and the last thing that he had to do was produce a cover for the book.



Looking back on it, it probably shouldn't have, but it did come as a shock that he would have to do that as well. Now, my Dad knows his way around the Internet, but this was a totally new experience, and it was for me too.



Anyway, to cut a long story short, he did that and uploaded everything to the leading online bookshops of the day.



The cover was basically a flat image of the front cover of the book, but that was what all authors were providing at the time.



However, over the years, some more design-savvy authors began to provide more eye-catching cover images.



As far as I recall, it began with spread-eagled shots of the front and back covers plus the spine. They were definitely a big improvement.



After that, book covers went 3-D, and that is even better in my opinion, as a general item, but there are specialised uses for all three styles.



Finally, so far, that is, some authors are putting the 3-D cover with the blurb on a relevant background image, and that is the bee's knees in book advertising covers for me.



Look at the postcard I made for my father at the top of this page.



I am thinking of learning how to do this, so if you are interested, please encourage me with an email.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13507Mon, 07 Feb 2022 08:47:24 +0000Owen JonesOr how to keep up with the Joneses! Modern Digital Design for The Megan Series My Dad, Owen Jones, is a writer, as regular readers of my blog will already know, and has been a author of books for ten years on February 21st 2022. I was a teenager...


Modern Digital Design for The Megan Series



My Dad, Owen Jones, is a writer, as regular readers of my blog will already know, and has been a author of books for ten years on February 21st 2022. I was a teenager then, but I remember the excitement of the occasion very well.



It had taken him about fifteen years to produce a book from his father's automatic writings as a Spiritual Healer, and the last thing that he had to do was produce a cover for the book.



Looking back on it, it probably shouldn't have, but it did come as a shock that he would have to do that as well. Now, my Dad knows his way around the Internet, but this was a totally new experience, and it was for me too.



Anyway, to cut a long story short, he did that and uploaded everything to the leading online bookshops of the day.



The cover was basically a flat image of the front cover of the book, but that was what all authors were providing at the time.



However, over the years, some more design-savvy authors began to provide more eye-catching cover images.



As far as I recall, it began with spread-eagled shots of the front and back covers plus the spine. They were definitely a big improvement.



After that, book covers went 3-D, and that is even better in my opinion, as a general item, but there are specialised uses for all three styles.



Finally, so far, that is, some authors are putting the 3-D cover with the blurb on a relevant background image, and that is the bee's knees in book advertising covers for me.



Look at the postcard I made for my father at the top of this page.



I am thinking of learning how to do this, so if you are interested, please encourage me with an email.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>116cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-koi-carp_2


Our Koi Carp Pond



Yesterday was a busy day in the scheme of the the way my retired life has panned out. Although I am still an active author, I don't get to write much, and the the tasks that I have to perform to maintain my existence in Thailand are even fewer.



I'll explain that a little more fully. I have written 175 books, but they have been narrated and translated into 525 other books, so most of my active day is spent promoting those 700 books.



As far as tasks needed to be performed in order to be allowed to remain in Thailand: 1) I need a visa, which I obtained last Friday; 2) I need health insurance and 3) I need adequate protection from Covid 19. Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I had our booster injections, and last night we arranged our health insurance.



So, by our standards, yesterday was an extremely busy day.



By now, you're probably wondering what all this has to do with Koi carp... Well, nothing really, but in between those two events my wife, a few friends and I had a meal of whitebait, pumpkin and beer, and then we went home. I sat in the garden by our new fish pond and dangled a hand in the water lazily.



I was surprised when one of the larger fish, the red one, nudged my hand. It sped off, but slowly returned and did the same again.



It repeated this action about half a dozen times, but as it completed the last touching, it flipped over on its back, gasped for air and died... all in about three minutes!



Now, what I would like to know is: was that fish asking for my help, or did something on my hand kill it?



If you have an opinion, whether you know Koi carp well or not, please leave your thoughts below.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13503Sat, 05 Feb 2022 16:38:00 +0000Owen JonesStill willing to learn... Our Koi Carp Pond Yesterday was a busy day in the scheme of the the way my retired life has panned out. Although I am still an active author, I don't get to write much, and the the tasks that I have to perform to...


Our Koi Carp Pond



Yesterday was a busy day in the scheme of the the way my retired life has panned out. Although I am still an active author, I don't get to write much, and the the tasks that I have to perform to maintain my existence in Thailand are even fewer.



I'll explain that a little more fully. I have written 175 books, but they have been narrated and translated into 525 other books, so most of my active day is spent promoting those 700 books.



As far as tasks needed to be performed in order to be allowed to remain in Thailand: 1) I need a visa, which I obtained last Friday; 2) I need health insurance and 3) I need adequate protection from Covid 19. Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I had our booster injections, and last night we arranged our health insurance.



So, by our standards, yesterday was an extremely busy day.



By now, you're probably wondering what all this has to do with Koi carp... Well, nothing really, but in between those two events my wife, a few friends and I had a meal of whitebait, pumpkin and beer, and then we went home. I sat in the garden by our new fish pond and dangled a hand in the water lazily.



I was surprised when one of the larger fish, the red one, nudged my hand. It sped off, but slowly returned and did the same again.



It repeated this action about half a dozen times, but as it completed the last touching, it flipped over on its back, gasped for air and died... all in about three minutes!



Now, what I would like to know is: was that fish asking for my help, or did something on my hand kill it?



If you have an opinion, whether you know Koi carp well or not, please leave your thoughts below.]]>123cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/side-effects-of-covid-19_2






There have been several medical side-effects of COVID 19 noted, but I want to talk about social side-effects.



There is no social security in Thailand, so basically, if you don't work and your family or friends don't help you, you only have three options: to innovate, to steal or to die.



Since poor Thais are not prone to stealing, and although they have no fear of death (because of a belief in reincarnation), there have been some amazing changes in our little village and the nearest town.



Our village consists mostly of farmers and farm labourers, but sales of produce have been hit by the restrictions on travel due to Covid 19. This means that there is a glut of food in the local vicinity.



Well, one solution has been to instigate take-away services. At least three café/restaurants have sprung up with a take-away option in our village. This is amazing, since before Covid there were no delivery services, and there were no food websites or telephone contact numbers.



I should think that there will be no going back. Covid has speeded up progress in our remote, sleepy village by necessity. People are coming here from all around to buy food, since delivery is usually not available if the client live more than a kilometre away.



Other people, especially in the younger generation have started blogging and monetising their blogs, or selling products via Facebook. Some are even writing seriously for the first time ever!



Older women have always made baskets and craft iitems like that, but now they are beginning to think about setting up a village or personal website. What I can really say about the Covid crisis locally is that it has sharpened many people's wits out of necessity, but I can't see people going back to their old ways when the threat of Covid becomes just a part of life, which, in a way, it already is in our village, although we have had only two cases here and no deaths.



In my opinion, Covid-19 has accelerated social change in rural Thailand, and if here, why not in similar locations worldwide?



Best wishes,



Chalita]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13478Wed, 02 Feb 2022 14:43:45 +0000Owen JonesEvery Cloud has a silver lining... There have been several medical side-effects of COVID 19 noted, but I want to talk about social side-effects. There is no social security in Thailand, so basically, if you don't work and your family or...






There have been several medical side-effects of COVID 19 noted, but I want to talk about social side-effects.



There is no social security in Thailand, so basically, if you don't work and your family or friends don't help you, you only have three options: to innovate, to steal or to die.



Since poor Thais are not prone to stealing, and although they have no fear of death (because of a belief in reincarnation), there have been some amazing changes in our little village and the nearest town.



Our village consists mostly of farmers and farm labourers, but sales of produce have been hit by the restrictions on travel due to Covid 19. This means that there is a glut of food in the local vicinity.



Well, one solution has been to instigate take-away services. At least three café/restaurants have sprung up with a take-away option in our village. This is amazing, since before Covid there were no delivery services, and there were no food websites or telephone contact numbers.



I should think that there will be no going back. Covid has speeded up progress in our remote, sleepy village by necessity. People are coming here from all around to buy food, since delivery is usually not available if the client live more than a kilometre away.



Other people, especially in the younger generation have started blogging and monetising their blogs, or selling products via Facebook. Some are even writing seriously for the first time ever!



Older women have always made baskets and craft iitems like that, but now they are beginning to think about setting up a village or personal website. What I can really say about the Covid crisis locally is that it has sharpened many people's wits out of necessity, but I can't see people going back to their old ways when the threat of Covid becomes just a part of life, which, in a way, it already is in our village, although we have had only two cases here and no deaths.



In my opinion, Covid-19 has accelerated social change in rural Thailand, and if here, why not in similar locations worldwide?



Best wishes,



Chalita]]>132cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/our-garden-fish-pond_2


Our Garden Fish Pond



I am hoping that our new garden fish pond will be an area of cool relaxation, tranquillity and delight for us, which will be great for writing. I could do with that as I have not written much over the last few years due a lack of stability in my life and a disappointing drop in sales, which could be the result of a culture shift brought on by Covid 19.



There has long been a movement away from reading and towards films or TV. Coincidentally or not, at the same time as the Covid 19 lockdowns, audiobook sales increased massively and from nowhere. For example, I was selling seven or eight audiobooks for each ebook. Ebook sales had fallen off a cliff! Another very unexpected change is that paperback sales have boomed. In fact, in January 2021, for the first time ever, I sold seven times more paperbacks and twelve times more audiobooks than ebooks! Admittedly, I am working off low figures, but it seems to be the trend



Those are statistics that I still find very difficult to believe.



Nevertheless, overall sales are down on previous years, and so writing new material seems next to pointless.



However, I want to keep writing, and so I am hoping that our new garden pond will be, not so much a source of the inspiration, but a quiet place to work that every writer needs. Inspiration can, and does often, come from the oddest chance occurrences... something someone says or does, whether it be live, on the screen of in print, but a writer still needs quiet moments to allow the brain to process those items and somehow come up with a story of sufficient length for the purpose required.



The picture shows the new garden fish pond that my wife, the builders and I have created. We have stocked it with a few Koi to see how it goes.



PS: We are currently available for international garden fish pond projects.



Availability: the drop of a hat



Vaccination status: double dosed and boosted]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13470Mon, 31 Jan 2022 09:04:15 +0000Owen JonesA source of relaxation, tranquillity and delight! Our Garden Fish Pond I am hoping that our new garden fish pond will be an area of cool relaxation, tranquillity and delight for us, which will be great for writing. I could do with that as I have...


Our Garden Fish Pond



I am hoping that our new garden fish pond will be an area of cool relaxation, tranquillity and delight for us, which will be great for writing. I could do with that as I have not written much over the last few years due a lack of stability in my life and a disappointing drop in sales, which could be the result of a culture shift brought on by Covid 19.



There has long been a movement away from reading and towards films or TV. Coincidentally or not, at the same time as the Covid 19 lockdowns, audiobook sales increased massively and from nowhere. For example, I was selling seven or eight audiobooks for each ebook. Ebook sales had fallen off a cliff! Another very unexpected change is that paperback sales have boomed. In fact, in January 2021, for the first time ever, I sold seven times more paperbacks and twelve times more audiobooks than ebooks! Admittedly, I am working off low figures, but it seems to be the trend



Those are statistics that I still find very difficult to believe.



Nevertheless, overall sales are down on previous years, and so writing new material seems next to pointless.



However, I want to keep writing, and so I am hoping that our new garden pond will be, not so much a source of the inspiration, but a quiet place to work that every writer needs. Inspiration can, and does often, come from the oddest chance occurrences... something someone says or does, whether it be live, on the screen of in print, but a writer still needs quiet moments to allow the brain to process those items and somehow come up with a story of sufficient length for the purpose required.



The picture shows the new garden fish pond that my wife, the builders and I have created. We have stocked it with a few Koi to see how it goes.



PS: We are currently available for international garden fish pond projects.



Availability: the drop of a hat



Vaccination status: double dosed and boosted]]>132cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-covid-19-vaccination-experience-in-th_2


My Covid-19 Vaccination Experience



People who live in Thailand may chuckle at my COVID-19 vaccination experience in Thailand, whereas those who don't may smirk. Believe me when i say that the first reaction is the one that I wish to elicit, because I am very impressed with the way that my wife and I have been treated.



It all started back in about June 2021. I started asking around about vaccination against Covid 19. My wife knew nothing and nor did our daughter, who has a good job in Bangkok, although her employer had already arranged for her to be inoculated. Neem went to see the village nurse, but there was no programme in place. A doctor in Uttaradit said that we should have had at least one dose of vaccine by then.



As far as I knew, that was the end of that, but that doesn't mean that nothing was going on, it is just quite normal to be kept in the dark.



Sure enough, about a week later, at 21:00, a woman came around collecting the signatures of those who wanted a vaccination. Up until then, most people in the village had said that they did not want one.



Weeks passed by and nothing happened. Then, suddenly, Neem was told to report to a school in a town 13 km away for a Sinovacs jab the following morning. Two weeks later, I received a similar message but for 11:00 at the town hospital.



We went, but the hospital receptionist knew nothing about it. She advised us to go to the school where Neem had been, so we did that. There were about a thousand people there, but within about thirty minutes, we were told that foreigners were being treated in the hospital. We rushed back there and were told that all the doses had been given out by 10:00, so I went home unvaccinated.



About a week later, I received another urgent message to be in the hospital by 08:00 the next day - in about twelve hours' time.



There were about fifteen of us there for the Pfizer injection, and everything went very smoothly.



I was in the system, and a week later, I received a message to return to the hospital in a fortnight's time. We did that, but again the receptionist knew nothing about it, so my wife went for a walk in the hospital grounds, presumably to calm down.



Anyway, twenty minutes later, she came back to hurry me to an area 200m away where I saw about a hundred school kids. We stood in line and were vaccinated within the hour and I was given two Paracetamol tablets in case I had any side-effects.



Three months to the day after my second vaccination, we were again told to report to a location in the town. This time we were given thirteen hours notice. Well, we don't have a car, there is no bus service and no taxis in our village, so we had to wait for someone to stop working, shower etc and come to our rescue. We arrived two hours late, but they processed us around four 'stations', each of which took or checked some data or other.



Thirty minutes later, we had both been ‘boosted’ and were on our way out with a complementary bottle of water each.



I want to stress that we live in a small, remote village and I know only two other Europeans within 15km of my house.



My wife has had Chinese Sinovacs, European AstraZeneca and American Pfizer, and that seems to me to give the best protection from Covid 19 you can get! I’ve had three Pfizers.



I want to reiterate that I am very impressed with my COVID-19 vaccination experience in Thailand.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13468Sun, 30 Jan 2022 08:23:28 +0000Owen JonesMass protection from Covid-19 My Covid-19 Vaccination Experience People who live in Thailand may chuckle at my COVID-19 vaccination experience in Thailand, whereas those who don't may smirk. Believe me when i say that the first reaction is the...


My Covid-19 Vaccination Experience



People who live in Thailand may chuckle at my COVID-19 vaccination experience in Thailand, whereas those who don't may smirk. Believe me when i say that the first reaction is the one that I wish to elicit, because I am very impressed with the way that my wife and I have been treated.



It all started back in about June 2021. I started asking around about vaccination against Covid 19. My wife knew nothing and nor did our daughter, who has a good job in Bangkok, although her employer had already arranged for her to be inoculated. Neem went to see the village nurse, but there was no programme in place. A doctor in Uttaradit said that we should have had at least one dose of vaccine by then.



As far as I knew, that was the end of that, but that doesn't mean that nothing was going on, it is just quite normal to be kept in the dark.



Sure enough, about a week later, at 21:00, a woman came around collecting the signatures of those who wanted a vaccination. Up until then, most people in the village had said that they did not want one.



Weeks passed by and nothing happened. Then, suddenly, Neem was told to report to a school in a town 13 km away for a Sinovacs jab the following morning. Two weeks later, I received a similar message but for 11:00 at the town hospital.



We went, but the hospital receptionist knew nothing about it. She advised us to go to the school where Neem had been, so we did that. There were about a thousand people there, but within about thirty minutes, we were told that foreigners were being treated in the hospital. We rushed back there and were told that all the doses had been given out by 10:00, so I went home unvaccinated.



About a week later, I received another urgent message to be in the hospital by 08:00 the next day - in about twelve hours' time.



There were about fifteen of us there for the Pfizer injection, and everything went very smoothly.



I was in the system, and a week later, I received a message to return to the hospital in a fortnight's time. We did that, but again the receptionist knew nothing about it, so my wife went for a walk in the hospital grounds, presumably to calm down.



Anyway, twenty minutes later, she came back to hurry me to an area 200m away where I saw about a hundred school kids. We stood in line and were vaccinated within the hour and I was given two Paracetamol tablets in case I had any side-effects.



Three months to the day after my second vaccination, we were again told to report to a location in the town. This time we were given thirteen hours notice. Well, we don't have a car, there is no bus service and no taxis in our village, so we had to wait for someone to stop working, shower etc and come to our rescue. We arrived two hours late, but they processed us around four 'stations', each of which took or checked some data or other.



Thirty minutes later, we had both been ‘boosted’ and were on our way out with a complementary bottle of water each.



I want to stress that we live in a small, remote village and I know only two other Europeans within 15km of my house.



My wife has had Chinese Sinovacs, European AstraZeneca and American Pfizer, and that seems to me to give the best protection from Covid 19 you can get! I’ve had three Pfizers.



I want to reiterate that I am very impressed with my COVID-19 vaccination experience in Thailand.]]>240cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/losing-weight-quickly_2


Losing Weight Quickly



Many people day-dream about losing weight quickly. I have been part of that hapless crowd. When I first moved to Thailand, seventeen years ago, I weighed a hefty 110 kilos.After six months of good living and my girlfriend's excellent cooking, i weighed in at 120 kilos. I was way overweight,and I knew it, but I am big-built and just over six feet tall, so most non-medical people thought that I could get away with it.I felt great, and since I have never been into serious exercise, I just let it slide.Fifteen years passed and I remained at 120 kilos with no obvious ill effects. Then we moved to Spain. We had a kitchenin our apartment there, and life and my weight continued as normal.Then came the UK's Brexit vote, and I judged that we ought to get my Thai wife inside Great Britain before they raised the drawbridge and lowered the portcullis.We could not find anywhere to live for love nor money as we had no residential history, but a good friend let us have a room in his house.We intended staying a month at most, but we were there for nearly two years.Without a real place to cook of our own, the quality of our diet plummeted.After 21 months, my doctor weighed me in at 134 kilos. My wife and I were shocked.We returned to Thailand just before the aeroports were closed and nine months later I was back to 120 kg. Another six monthspassed, but I just couldn't get below 120 kg.Anyway, I went for a check up yesterday, and when I hopped on the scales, I weighed 110 kg.The scales in my house are twenty years old and giving false readings!]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13239Fri, 21 Jan 2022 13:18:08 +0000Owen JonesThe easiest way possible! Losing Weight Quickly Many people day-dream about losing weight quickly. I have been part of that hapless crowd. When I first moved to Thailand, seventeen years ago, I weighed a hefty 110 kilos.After six months of good...


Losing Weight Quickly



Many people day-dream about losing weight quickly. I have been part of that hapless crowd. When I first moved to Thailand, seventeen years ago, I weighed a hefty 110 kilos.After six months of good living and my girlfriend's excellent cooking, i weighed in at 120 kilos. I was way overweight,and I knew it, but I am big-built and just over six feet tall, so most non-medical people thought that I could get away with it.I felt great, and since I have never been into serious exercise, I just let it slide.Fifteen years passed and I remained at 120 kilos with no obvious ill effects. Then we moved to Spain. We had a kitchenin our apartment there, and life and my weight continued as normal.Then came the UK's Brexit vote, and I judged that we ought to get my Thai wife inside Great Britain before they raised the drawbridge and lowered the portcullis.We could not find anywhere to live for love nor money as we had no residential history, but a good friend let us have a room in his house.We intended staying a month at most, but we were there for nearly two years.Without a real place to cook of our own, the quality of our diet plummeted.After 21 months, my doctor weighed me in at 134 kilos. My wife and I were shocked.We returned to Thailand just before the aeroports were closed and nine months later I was back to 120 kg. Another six monthspassed, but I just couldn't get below 120 kg.Anyway, I went for a check up yesterday, and when I hopped on the scales, I weighed 110 kg.The scales in my house are twenty years old and giving false readings!]]>125cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-visa-application-2022_2


The Annual Misery



Nobody likes to have to renew their visa, even if it does have to be done only once a year. As regular readers will already know, we recently spent four years in Europe, and during that time the Immigration Police opened a new office in Uttaradit, which is 150 km closer than when I had to go to Nan for it, so that is a good thing. Until a month ago, their office was in the city centre and easily accessible, but it has been moved to an outlying village, which is impossible to find without SatNav.



Luckily, our lift had been there before and had SatNav, because without it he would not have found his way there or back!



So, we arrived, twenty days early, according to my memory. Well within the thirty that is permissible, and went inside. We were the only ones there, so were helped immediately.



'You are ten days overdue', said an officer.



I couldn't believe it! I had remembered the date in my passport correctly, but it was the wrong date! My fine was £12 per day.



Not a good start at all.



The Uttaradit Immigration Police have always been more helpful than any of the other branches that I have attended, but there were two very young, new, officers there… perhaps apprentices, and they made the application process extremely easy. The girl dealt with my wife, and the boy with me. His English was excellent and his manner respectful.



The last task was to draw a map so that the police could find out house to verify that we lived there. My map was very basic, but the officer, who I think is in charge of the station, redrew it for us personally, and our, or my, application was accepted.



Unfortunately, that is not quite the end of the story, as the police have to verify that we live in our house, and the head office in Chiang Mai has to corroborate the details on my application.



That all takes a month, but I will keep you posted.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13234Thu, 20 Jan 2022 15:26:18 +0000Owen JonesMy Visa Application 2022 The Annual Misery Nobody likes to have to renew their visa, even if it does have to be done only once a year. As regular readers will already know, we recently spent four years in Europe, and during that time the...


The Annual Misery



Nobody likes to have to renew their visa, even if it does have to be done only once a year. As regular readers will already know, we recently spent four years in Europe, and during that time the Immigration Police opened a new office in Uttaradit, which is 150 km closer than when I had to go to Nan for it, so that is a good thing. Until a month ago, their office was in the city centre and easily accessible, but it has been moved to an outlying village, which is impossible to find without SatNav.



Luckily, our lift had been there before and had SatNav, because without it he would not have found his way there or back!



So, we arrived, twenty days early, according to my memory. Well within the thirty that is permissible, and went inside. We were the only ones there, so were helped immediately.



'You are ten days overdue', said an officer.



I couldn't believe it! I had remembered the date in my passport correctly, but it was the wrong date! My fine was £12 per day.



Not a good start at all.



The Uttaradit Immigration Police have always been more helpful than any of the other branches that I have attended, but there were two very young, new, officers there… perhaps apprentices, and they made the application process extremely easy. The girl dealt with my wife, and the boy with me. His English was excellent and his manner respectful.



The last task was to draw a map so that the police could find out house to verify that we lived there. My map was very basic, but the officer, who I think is in charge of the station, redrew it for us personally, and our, or my, application was accepted.



Unfortunately, that is not quite the end of the story, as the police have to verify that we live in our house, and the head office in Chiang Mai has to corroborate the details on my application.



That all takes a month, but I will keep you posted.]]>130cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/covid-19-unforeseen-consequences_2


Bangkok Red Light District



Covid 19 has been with us for more than two years now, and I have not heard any predictions over that period that have come true. It was a new phenomenon for most of us, and for all of us when it is seen as a global plague, so there is little wonder that no-one could foresee any outcomes accurately.



Nevertheless, we all know that there have been consequences to the pandemic. Most people will point to the negative aspects like sickness, death, lockdowns and job loss, but there have also been positive outcomes too.



They are probably different depending on where you live and what you used to do for a living. I live in a small, remote mainly rice-farming village in northern Thailand, so I will tell you about that. Most working people here are farmers or farm labourers. It is a hard life with the long hours and lack of holidays that most farmers around the world are aware of.



Very few of the boys and none of the girls want to become farmers like their parents. University is a more realistic expectation now than ever before, but otherwise the youth has been flocking to the tourist destinations for decades.



Many ended up as shop or factory workers, and those who could handle it and were pretty enough often dabbled in the sex-tourism industry hoping to meet a 'rich foreigner', who would rescue them.



However, the constant flow of foreigners has dried up because of the Covid 19 restrictions on travel... You see, most 'rich foreigners' came from Europe or America. Consequently, the vast majority of the pretty girls in the tourist traps have lost their jobs and have had to return to their villages, where many of them have young children. This means that because of Covid 19, many children will enjoy the constant presence of their mother, which they would otherwise have missed out on.



This often means that the former bar girl (yes, and some boys) have to go back to school to learn a skill, which is great for their self-esteem and great for their children too, because it gives them a better role model.



Covid 19 has given many sex workers, several hundred thousand of them, and their families a new chance, and that has to be a good thing.



Behind The Smile







You can read a series of books that I wrote about a sex-worker returning home to her daughter, family and village by following the link below. It has nothing to do with Covid as I wrote it many years before the outbreak. BEHIND THE SMILE by Owen Jones.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13230Tue, 18 Jan 2022 06:09:27 +0000Owen JonesEvery Cloud Has A Silver Lining! Bangkok Red Light District Covid 19 has been with us for more than two years now, and I have not heard any predictions over that period that have come true. It was a new phenomenon for most of us, and for all of...


Bangkok Red Light District



Covid 19 has been with us for more than two years now, and I have not heard any predictions over that period that have come true. It was a new phenomenon for most of us, and for all of us when it is seen as a global plague, so there is little wonder that no-one could foresee any outcomes accurately.



Nevertheless, we all know that there have been consequences to the pandemic. Most people will point to the negative aspects like sickness, death, lockdowns and job loss, but there have also been positive outcomes too.



They are probably different depending on where you live and what you used to do for a living. I live in a small, remote mainly rice-farming village in northern Thailand, so I will tell you about that. Most working people here are farmers or farm labourers. It is a hard life with the long hours and lack of holidays that most farmers around the world are aware of.



Very few of the boys and none of the girls want to become farmers like their parents. University is a more realistic expectation now than ever before, but otherwise the youth has been flocking to the tourist destinations for decades.



Many ended up as shop or factory workers, and those who could handle it and were pretty enough often dabbled in the sex-tourism industry hoping to meet a 'rich foreigner', who would rescue them.



However, the constant flow of foreigners has dried up because of the Covid 19 restrictions on travel... You see, most 'rich foreigners' came from Europe or America. Consequently, the vast majority of the pretty girls in the tourist traps have lost their jobs and have had to return to their villages, where many of them have young children. This means that because of Covid 19, many children will enjoy the constant presence of their mother, which they would otherwise have missed out on.



This often means that the former bar girl (yes, and some boys) have to go back to school to learn a skill, which is great for their self-esteem and great for their children too, because it gives them a better role model.



Covid 19 has given many sex workers, several hundred thousand of them, and their families a new chance, and that has to be a good thing.



Behind The Smile







You can read a series of books that I wrote about a sex-worker returning home to her daughter, family and village by following the link below. It has nothing to do with Covid as I wrote it many years before the outbreak. BEHIND THE SMILE by Owen Jones.]]>158cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/thai-fruit-curry_2


Fruit Curry



I want to tell you an amusing story that my stepfather told me the other day. He can tell it in his own words. Over to you, Dad.

Thanks, Chalita.

I started to eat curry when I moved to Portsmouth as a student in the Seventies. In those days, nearly all 'curry restaurants' were Indian, or so we thought. I usually ate a moderately hot curry, but sometimes, if it was on the menu, I would choose the Malaysian curry, which was milder and contained pineapple chunks and slices of banana. I liked it with paratha or chapatis.

Thirty years later, I moved to Thailand to live with my Thai girlfriend and we got married.
She is the best cook I have ever lived with without a shadow of a doubt, and her curries are fantastic. Her Thai curries, that is. She won't cook Indian food because she says that the smell of the spices lingers too long.
And she's right. Thai cooking smells do not linger.

Anyway, after a few years, I remembered my previous penchant for Malaysian fruit curry and asked her to make me one.
'Never!' she replied. 'If you want Malaysian food, go to Malaysia. This is Thailand!'.

An overreaction, I thought, but then Thais are rightly proud of the esteem, with which the world holds their cuisine, so I never mentioned it again.

About ten years on, my wife was going to an all day wedding event out of the village. They start early, five or six a.m. and finish late afternoon, and I had long since stopped attending them if I couldn't walk home when bored.
As usual, before leaving, she checked that I had clean clothes, a few chores to do, and plenty of food. The main course was a large bowl of my favourite Thai curry Penang, which is fairly hot with a coconut milk base.
I have never mentioned this to anyone before, but I think that Penang is in Malaysia.

Anyway, at midday, I thought I would have my curry and then go for a few beers in the village. It was Saturday after all, not that that had anything to do with it. I was just about to get my rice out of the steamer, when I had a brain-wave. There was diced pineapple in the fridge left over from the night before; there were bananas in the bowl and no wife to stop me!

I mixed the fruit, two handfuls of pineapple chunks and three sliced bananas, into the Penang and ate it with toast. It was fantastic! I enjoyed every mouthful. Happy memories of student days and nights long past!

I washed the dishes and went for a shower.

It was there, under the cool water, that I started to get flatulence. I was filling up with wind, but I couldn't get rid of it. It soon became uncomfortable and even painful.

I dried off and lay on my bed in a foetal position in the hope of squeezing some of the gas out, but in vain.
When my wife got home at five o'clock, I was still on the bed suffering, but the pressure in my stomach was causing acid reflux and the taste was revolting.

I recounted my story, but there was nothing she could do to help.

'You know that we use two or three bananas as a cure for diarrhoea', she said. 'What possessed you to bung yourself up with a stomach full of hot curry?'

I couldn't think of a decent reason, but I suffered one of the most uncomfortable nights in my life.

Malaysians might use bananas in mild curries, but Thais don't know what a mild curry is, so never add bananas to theirs.

I don't any more either.

The moral of the story is:
'Don't try to teach your Granny how to suck eggs!'

Here is another article on food:
Thai Food in Our House]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13225Mon, 17 Jan 2022 08:26:56 +0000Owen JonesDo not try this at home! Fruit Curry I want to tell you an amusing story that my stepfather told me the other day. He can tell it in his own words. Over to you, Dad. Thanks, Chalita. I started to eat curry when I moved to Portsmouth as a...


Fruit Curry



I want to tell you an amusing story that my stepfather told me the other day. He can tell it in his own words. Over to you, Dad.

Thanks, Chalita.

I started to eat curry when I moved to Portsmouth as a student in the Seventies. In those days, nearly all 'curry restaurants' were Indian, or so we thought. I usually ate a moderately hot curry, but sometimes, if it was on the menu, I would choose the Malaysian curry, which was milder and contained pineapple chunks and slices of banana. I liked it with paratha or chapatis.

Thirty years later, I moved to Thailand to live with my Thai girlfriend and we got married.
She is the best cook I have ever lived with without a shadow of a doubt, and her curries are fantastic. Her Thai curries, that is. She won't cook Indian food because she says that the smell of the spices lingers too long.
And she's right. Thai cooking smells do not linger.

Anyway, after a few years, I remembered my previous penchant for Malaysian fruit curry and asked her to make me one.
'Never!' she replied. 'If you want Malaysian food, go to Malaysia. This is Thailand!'.

An overreaction, I thought, but then Thais are rightly proud of the esteem, with which the world holds their cuisine, so I never mentioned it again.

About ten years on, my wife was going to an all day wedding event out of the village. They start early, five or six a.m. and finish late afternoon, and I had long since stopped attending them if I couldn't walk home when bored.
As usual, before leaving, she checked that I had clean clothes, a few chores to do, and plenty of food. The main course was a large bowl of my favourite Thai curry Penang, which is fairly hot with a coconut milk base.
I have never mentioned this to anyone before, but I think that Penang is in Malaysia.

Anyway, at midday, I thought I would have my curry and then go for a few beers in the village. It was Saturday after all, not that that had anything to do with it. I was just about to get my rice out of the steamer, when I had a brain-wave. There was diced pineapple in the fridge left over from the night before; there were bananas in the bowl and no wife to stop me!

I mixed the fruit, two handfuls of pineapple chunks and three sliced bananas, into the Penang and ate it with toast. It was fantastic! I enjoyed every mouthful. Happy memories of student days and nights long past!

I washed the dishes and went for a shower.

It was there, under the cool water, that I started to get flatulence. I was filling up with wind, but I couldn't get rid of it. It soon became uncomfortable and even painful.

I dried off and lay on my bed in a foetal position in the hope of squeezing some of the gas out, but in vain.
When my wife got home at five o'clock, I was still on the bed suffering, but the pressure in my stomach was causing acid reflux and the taste was revolting.

I recounted my story, but there was nothing she could do to help.

'You know that we use two or three bananas as a cure for diarrhoea', she said. 'What possessed you to bung yourself up with a stomach full of hot curry?'

I couldn't think of a decent reason, but I suffered one of the most uncomfortable nights in my life.

Malaysians might use bananas in mild curries, but Thais don't know what a mild curry is, so never add bananas to theirs.

I don't any more either.

The moral of the story is:
'Don't try to teach your Granny how to suck eggs!'

Here is another article on food:
Thai Food in Our House]]>234cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/thai-food-in-our-house_2


Thai Food in Our House



My Thai wife will not eat my food every time that I cook because it is cooked according to whimsy. In other words, I cook what I fancy without regards to my body’s needs whereas she does the cooking in our house according to needs of health, basically of me, day by day.



That will sound strange, even unbelievable, to most European's, but, please allow me to explain.



Thai mothers, who know how to cook old style, do not only cook for flavour, they also cook for the specific health needs of their families. The mother is a kind of shaman. Someone who used to be known as a Wise Woman in Europe, before the established churches cast them as witches. A person who uses food to keep her family at the peak of health. Sure, if someone in her care has a problem that she cannot handle, then they have to go to see the doctor, but don't forget that that luxury only became accessible to most Thais because of Prime Minister Thaksin in the early part of the 21st Century... less than twenty years ago.



He introduced a system of a nurse in every village and a consultation fee, including basic medicine, of $1 a visit.



Before that, Mum, Wise Women (and men), was all there was.



So, my wife cooks my food according to her judgement of my body's needs.



Two consequences of that are that we don't always eat the same food, and that she will rarely eat what I prepare, because my preparations are random... based on whimsy, not bodily requirement. I'll cook a steak solely because I fancy one, whereas she will give me a stew of vegetables that she perceives I need at that time.



This obviously means that someone can only cook for you in this way, if they know you intimately. Just picking Thai dishes from a menu according to whimsy will not necessarily benefit your needs, although, in general, they will always be better than junk food.



Owen



If you are interested in the old notion of Wise Women, you might like Fate Twister by Owen Jones. It is available from this blog, or from most online book retailers including Amazon. Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese editions are available.



Fate Twister on Amazon]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13221Sun, 16 Jan 2022 08:21:59 +0000Owen JonesWhat most European cooks have forgotten... Thai Food in Our House My Thai wife will not eat my food every time that I cook because it is cooked according to whimsy. In other words, I cook what I fancy without regards to my body’s needs whereas...


Thai Food in Our House



My Thai wife will not eat my food every time that I cook because it is cooked according to whimsy. In other words, I cook what I fancy without regards to my body’s needs whereas she does the cooking in our house according to needs of health, basically of me, day by day.



That will sound strange, even unbelievable, to most European's, but, please allow me to explain.



Thai mothers, who know how to cook old style, do not only cook for flavour, they also cook for the specific health needs of their families. The mother is a kind of shaman. Someone who used to be known as a Wise Woman in Europe, before the established churches cast them as witches. A person who uses food to keep her family at the peak of health. Sure, if someone in her care has a problem that she cannot handle, then they have to go to see the doctor, but don't forget that that luxury only became accessible to most Thais because of Prime Minister Thaksin in the early part of the 21st Century... less than twenty years ago.



He introduced a system of a nurse in every village and a consultation fee, including basic medicine, of $1 a visit.



Before that, Mum, Wise Women (and men), was all there was.



So, my wife cooks my food according to her judgement of my body's needs.



Two consequences of that are that we don't always eat the same food, and that she will rarely eat what I prepare, because my preparations are random... based on whimsy, not bodily requirement. I'll cook a steak solely because I fancy one, whereas she will give me a stew of vegetables that she perceives I need at that time.



This obviously means that someone can only cook for you in this way, if they know you intimately. Just picking Thai dishes from a menu according to whimsy will not necessarily benefit your needs, although, in general, they will always be better than junk food.



Owen



If you are interested in the old notion of Wise Women, you might like Fate Twister by Owen Jones. It is available from this blog, or from most online book retailers including Amazon. Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese editions are available.



Fate Twister on Amazon]]>150cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/facebook-idiocy_2






I opened a Facebook account shortly after it launched, and after a couple of name changes, I settled for OwenJonesWriter. Pretty succinct, but it described me and my activities very well.



I had various spurts of activity, and inactivity, on my Facebook account, but I gradually built up a following of about 3,000 friends, acquaintances and complete unknowns, as one does.



As you probably already know, I am a writer, and writers want to sell books, so I incorporated Facebook into my sales strategy along with Twitter, many social media accounts and my blog.



By using devices such as smarturl.it I was able to see where most of the click-throughs to my books came from. It is impossible to track actual sales in this way, but most of the clicks on my sales links on Amazon came from my blog and Twitter



There was absolutely no doubt about that. Facebook was delivering at most about 5% of those two combined.



Then, one morning, I turned on my computer to discover that my Facebook account had been blocked or banned or shut down, whatever you want to call it, for 'spamming'. I have never ever spammed anyone, so I sought clarification, but they would reveal nothing other than (paraphrased) '...they had to keep the Facebook community safe, because I had been accused of spamming by several of their members'.



So, it seems to me, that if you want to shut your opposition down, you just have to get a few friends to complain to Facebook about spam.



This is obviously open to abuse, and is madness... it is Facebook Idiocy in the extreme!]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13217Fri, 14 Jan 2022 07:59:07 +0000Owen JonesHow not to make friends or influence them! I opened a Facebook account shortly after it launched, and after a couple of name changes, I settled for OwenJonesWriter. Pretty succinct, but it described me and my activities very well. I had...






I opened a Facebook account shortly after it launched, and after a couple of name changes, I settled for OwenJonesWriter. Pretty succinct, but it described me and my activities very well.



I had various spurts of activity, and inactivity, on my Facebook account, but I gradually built up a following of about 3,000 friends, acquaintances and complete unknowns, as one does.



As you probably already know, I am a writer, and writers want to sell books, so I incorporated Facebook into my sales strategy along with Twitter, many social media accounts and my blog.



By using devices such as smarturl.it I was able to see where most of the click-throughs to my books came from. It is impossible to track actual sales in this way, but most of the clicks on my sales links on Amazon came from my blog and Twitter



There was absolutely no doubt about that. Facebook was delivering at most about 5% of those two combined.



Then, one morning, I turned on my computer to discover that my Facebook account had been blocked or banned or shut down, whatever you want to call it, for 'spamming'. I have never ever spammed anyone, so I sought clarification, but they would reveal nothing other than (paraphrased) '...they had to keep the Facebook community safe, because I had been accused of spamming by several of their members'.



So, it seems to me, that if you want to shut your opposition down, you just have to get a few friends to complain to Facebook about spam.



This is obviously open to abuse, and is madness... it is Facebook Idiocy in the extreme!]]>109cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-icons_2










Part of my Honours Degree course of Russian Language and Soviet History at Portsmouth University (it was a polytechnic then) was two summers studying in the USSR. The first was in Leningrad in 1974.



In those days, foreigners stuck out like sore thumbs because of their clothing, and it was not at all unusual to be accosted by three or four Russian girls a day. They wanted a variety of things. Most wanted to know about the West and to practice their English. Some wanted to buy everything we had in order to resell it on the black market, and some wanted us to fall in love with them, get married and so get out of the country. We also suspected that at least half of them were working with the KGB.



Most of the girls were freer with their favours than even the Western Hippie girls of that era.



So, in that context, one day, I was walking down the Nevsky Prospect, a main road running alongside the river Neva, when a pretty, young woman of about 20, my age too at the time, asked whether she could speak to me. Relishing the prospect, I agreed.



We had a beer in a nearby bar, and she shocked me by asking whether I would like to meet her father. It was the last thing that I had been expecting, but I agreed anyway.



We went to his apartment on the corner of a side street on the Nevsky Prospect, only a few hundred metres from our hotel, the Efropeyskaya.



The old man got out the vodka and his daughter went to make something to eat. We had been warned against allowing ourselves to become isolated, but there I was – alone.



He asked me about my family and my religious beliefs, which NOBODY did in the USSR in those days. Seemingly satisfied, he pulled a curtain aside, tugged at a plywood panel and revealed a shrine. It contained at least a dozen icons and several other items too, like crosses, coins and figurines.



He chose two icons, two coins and a cross, and then passed them over to me.



'Beautiful!', I remarked, and went to hand them back.



He frowned and handed them back to me. I had obviously missed something, so we waited for his daughter to return to clarify in English, as we had been speaking in Russian up to that point.



Between them, they managed to make me understand that the old man had been a lieutenant in the Red Army as it pushed the Nazis out of Russia, through the Ukraine and back into Germany.



He explained that he and his platoon were ordered to set fire to every church they came across, along with its contents.



After the war, as they returned home, the same tactic was employed.



He had to do this, but his parents had been religious, and he could not see the sense in the wanton destruction of historical items, so he saved what he could.



I assumed that the contents of the shrine was what he had saved those nearly forty years ago.



The girl told me that if the authorities discovered the hoard, then it would be destroyed and the whole family severely punished.



I didn't think to ask why this was becoming an issue so many years after the event, but I was already worrying about how I would get these artefacts out of the country, since that was a serious criminal offence too.



Anyway, I took the items back to my hotel, and the day we flew out, I put the icons in my underpants, the coins in a pocketful of change and hid the cross behind the buckle on my belt.



I was very worried,]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13206Thu, 13 Jan 2022 02:50:48 +0000Owen JonesPart of My First Educational Trip to the USSR Part of my Honours Degree course of Russian Language and Soviet History at Portsmouth University (it was a polytechnic then) was two summers studying in the USSR. The first was in Leningrad in...










Part of my Honours Degree course of Russian Language and Soviet History at Portsmouth University (it was a polytechnic then) was two summers studying in the USSR. The first was in Leningrad in 1974.



In those days, foreigners stuck out like sore thumbs because of their clothing, and it was not at all unusual to be accosted by three or four Russian girls a day. They wanted a variety of things. Most wanted to know about the West and to practice their English. Some wanted to buy everything we had in order to resell it on the black market, and some wanted us to fall in love with them, get married and so get out of the country. We also suspected that at least half of them were working with the KGB.



Most of the girls were freer with their favours than even the Western Hippie girls of that era.



So, in that context, one day, I was walking down the Nevsky Prospect, a main road running alongside the river Neva, when a pretty, young woman of about 20, my age too at the time, asked whether she could speak to me. Relishing the prospect, I agreed.



We had a beer in a nearby bar, and she shocked me by asking whether I would like to meet her father. It was the last thing that I had been expecting, but I agreed anyway.



We went to his apartment on the corner of a side street on the Nevsky Prospect, only a few hundred metres from our hotel, the Efropeyskaya.



The old man got out the vodka and his daughter went to make something to eat. We had been warned against allowing ourselves to become isolated, but there I was – alone.



He asked me about my family and my religious beliefs, which NOBODY did in the USSR in those days. Seemingly satisfied, he pulled a curtain aside, tugged at a plywood panel and revealed a shrine. It contained at least a dozen icons and several other items too, like crosses, coins and figurines.



He chose two icons, two coins and a cross, and then passed them over to me.



'Beautiful!', I remarked, and went to hand them back.



He frowned and handed them back to me. I had obviously missed something, so we waited for his daughter to return to clarify in English, as we had been speaking in Russian up to that point.



Between them, they managed to make me understand that the old man had been a lieutenant in the Red Army as it pushed the Nazis out of Russia, through the Ukraine and back into Germany.



He explained that he and his platoon were ordered to set fire to every church they came across, along with its contents.



After the war, as they returned home, the same tactic was employed.



He had to do this, but his parents had been religious, and he could not see the sense in the wanton destruction of historical items, so he saved what he could.



I assumed that the contents of the shrine was what he had saved those nearly forty years ago.



The girl told me that if the authorities discovered the hoard, then it would be destroyed and the whole family severely punished.



I didn't think to ask why this was becoming an issue so many years after the event, but I was already worrying about how I would get these artefacts out of the country, since that was a serious criminal offence too.



Anyway, I took the items back to my hotel, and the day we flew out, I put the icons in my underpants, the coins in a pocketful of change and hid the cross behind the buckle on my belt.



I was very worried,]]>248cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/horizons_2


Distant Horizons



Today was a big... an important day for me. Today, I left our village for the first time in nine weeks. You are probably assuming that the reason is Covid or even a disability, but that is not the case. The simple fact is that there is no village bus service any more, and my wife no longer feels strong enough to take me and my 120 kilos on the back of her motorcycle. The only other way out is Shank's Pony, but the nearest town is 13 km away.



Yes, I know... great exercise... until you have to do it yourself.



However, the reason that I am bringing this up is not to complain about the lack of a local bus service, my wife's lack of physical strength, or even my inability to walk 26 kilometres.



I just want to say that, as a writer, it is easier to draw inspiration from a vast array of experience than from a narrow one.



I have written 50-odd novels, mostly in this village, but not inspired by this village. A village is great for writing in, but not for writing about.



I have used instances that I have experienced here in my novels, but nothing that I have undergone here has been enough to write a whole book about. It takes a lot to write 80,000 words on a theme.



What I am saying is that, although one can write a book about one's internal mechanism or strife, how many sequels can you add to it?



Village Life



A village is small for a writer... or it is for me... or perhaps it's because, not being Thai, I don't know everything that's going on around me.



It is true that village life is a microcosm of that in a city, but people are more constrained by their family in a village than they are outside it. Males and females alike, but especially females.



I know that people will understand what I am talking about, because youths have always flocked to towns and cities from villages for centuries.



It is for the same reason... in order to be able to experience more (OK, and make more money).



I need to get out more in order to write more. I am being stifled here... It is no-one's fault, but it is a fact.



The farther you can see, the better the chance you have of understanding more... and the more you have to write about.



It is all a question of horizons.



Best wishes,



Owen]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13198Wed, 12 Jan 2022 09:23:14 +0000Owen JonesHow far do you need to be able to see live your life, or even do your job, well? Distant Horizons Today was a big... an important day for me. Today, I left our village for the first time in nine weeks. You are probably assuming that the reason...


Distant Horizons



Today was a big... an important day for me. Today, I left our village for the first time in nine weeks. You are probably assuming that the reason is Covid or even a disability, but that is not the case. The simple fact is that there is no village bus service any more, and my wife no longer feels strong enough to take me and my 120 kilos on the back of her motorcycle. The only other way out is Shank's Pony, but the nearest town is 13 km away.



Yes, I know... great exercise... until you have to do it yourself.



However, the reason that I am bringing this up is not to complain about the lack of a local bus service, my wife's lack of physical strength, or even my inability to walk 26 kilometres.



I just want to say that, as a writer, it is easier to draw inspiration from a vast array of experience than from a narrow one.



I have written 50-odd novels, mostly in this village, but not inspired by this village. A village is great for writing in, but not for writing about.



I have used instances that I have experienced here in my novels, but nothing that I have undergone here has been enough to write a whole book about. It takes a lot to write 80,000 words on a theme.



What I am saying is that, although one can write a book about one's internal mechanism or strife, how many sequels can you add to it?



Village Life



A village is small for a writer... or it is for me... or perhaps it's because, not being Thai, I don't know everything that's going on around me.



It is true that village life is a microcosm of that in a city, but people are more constrained by their family in a village than they are outside it. Males and females alike, but especially females.



I know that people will understand what I am talking about, because youths have always flocked to towns and cities from villages for centuries.



It is for the same reason... in order to be able to experience more (OK, and make more money).



I need to get out more in order to write more. I am being stifled here... It is no-one's fault, but it is a fact.



The farther you can see, the better the chance you have of understanding more... and the more you have to write about.



It is all a question of horizons.



Best wishes,



Owen]]>158cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/indie-book-sales-2021_2


I have done a small poll about book sales in 2021 around my author friends, and I would like to share the results with you.



Not all of the authors surveyed had books in all of the categories below, and I am not taking genres into account. Still, I think that the results are interesting. Let me know your opinion, please.



eBooks: ebook sales seemed to be at best flat, but several authors reported a definite dip in sales. Some said that this was probably due to the profligacy of 'lenders' like Scribt, Overdrive and the dozens of others, including local public libraries. Some reported a drop of as much as 66% on the previous year.



Paperbacks: This has been a surprising, but very welcome sector for those who have made the effort to provide paperback copies for their readers. One author reported a 300% increase in paperback sales over 2021, which is quite a leap considering the extra cost. Perhaps, people are coming around to, or just remembering, the fact that paperbacks make better ornaments than ebooks.



Hardbacks: hardbacks are in the same class as paperbacks, but are hideously expensive, and no-one reported a significant swing in that direction.



Audiobooks: the audiobook sector has been the winner of the year by far! Many authors have brushed them aside as a fad, but how wrong they were. At least in as much as sales are still booming.



Never say never, though, eh? Perhaps, they will go the way of ebooks one day, but somehow, I don't think so.



An audiobook is like listening to a play on the radio, isn't it? So, you can listen while doing the ironing, driving the car or even falling asleep.



Several authors reported that audiobook ( will we ever call them abooks?) sales outstripped their sales of all other formats combined by ten to one!



Beat that!



Translations: some people are getting into having their books translated, but sales are sluggish. The problem seems to be that foreign translators are not used to having to promote their work. They are used to getting paid for the job and moving on to the next one. However, what would the average writer do with a book in, say, French? Does he/she have any French friends, or even speak French well enough to write promotional material?



Mostly not. Therefore, the translator is vital for successful sales revenue. Few of them seem to grasp this concept though, and seem to be waiting for the end of Covid so that everything can return to normal.



It's a shame, and a missed opportunity.



Having said that, at least one author is seeing a slow but steady gentle rise in foreign sales.



Did Covid increase book sales? I think that most writers would say that it didn't much. People had a lot more free time, but then the children were home too. Perhaps, the TV and Netflix benefitted the most, although it seems that some people were listening to audiobooks too.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13190Tue, 11 Jan 2022 15:57:33 +0000Owen JonesMy Survey of Indie Authors I have done a small poll about book sales in 2021 around my author friends, and I would like to share the results with you. Not all of the authors surveyed had books in all of the categories below, and I am not taking...


I have done a small poll about book sales in 2021 around my author friends, and I would like to share the results with you.



Not all of the authors surveyed had books in all of the categories below, and I am not taking genres into account. Still, I think that the results are interesting. Let me know your opinion, please.



eBooks: ebook sales seemed to be at best flat, but several authors reported a definite dip in sales. Some said that this was probably due to the profligacy of 'lenders' like Scribt, Overdrive and the dozens of others, including local public libraries. Some reported a drop of as much as 66% on the previous year.



Paperbacks: This has been a surprising, but very welcome sector for those who have made the effort to provide paperback copies for their readers. One author reported a 300% increase in paperback sales over 2021, which is quite a leap considering the extra cost. Perhaps, people are coming around to, or just remembering, the fact that paperbacks make better ornaments than ebooks.



Hardbacks: hardbacks are in the same class as paperbacks, but are hideously expensive, and no-one reported a significant swing in that direction.



Audiobooks: the audiobook sector has been the winner of the year by far! Many authors have brushed them aside as a fad, but how wrong they were. At least in as much as sales are still booming.



Never say never, though, eh? Perhaps, they will go the way of ebooks one day, but somehow, I don't think so.



An audiobook is like listening to a play on the radio, isn't it? So, you can listen while doing the ironing, driving the car or even falling asleep.



Several authors reported that audiobook ( will we ever call them abooks?) sales outstripped their sales of all other formats combined by ten to one!



Beat that!



Translations: some people are getting into having their books translated, but sales are sluggish. The problem seems to be that foreign translators are not used to having to promote their work. They are used to getting paid for the job and moving on to the next one. However, what would the average writer do with a book in, say, French? Does he/she have any French friends, or even speak French well enough to write promotional material?



Mostly not. Therefore, the translator is vital for successful sales revenue. Few of them seem to grasp this concept though, and seem to be waiting for the end of Covid so that everything can return to normal.



It's a shame, and a missed opportunity.



Having said that, at least one author is seeing a slow but steady gentle rise in foreign sales.



Did Covid increase book sales? I think that most writers would say that it didn't much. People had a lot more free time, but then the children were home too. Perhaps, the TV and Netflix benefitted the most, although it seems that some people were listening to audiobooks too.



Best wishes,



Chalita.]]>204cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/blubrry-podcast-hosting_2
Blubrry Podcast Hosting

I had been wondering about podcasting for at least a year, but it had become a permanent feature at the back of my mind. I'm sure you know what I mean. I felt that there had to be something to it for it to be so popular that even staid old Aunty, the BBC, was taking it seriously. After extensive research, I settled on Blubrry Podcast Hosting.

My first thought was why a company dedicated to communication would want a name that looks like a typo.

Anyway, I signed up for the free month of Blubrry podcast hosting thinking 'What the Hell have I got to lose?'

I want to say right from the start, that this is not the correct approach, because, if you're like me, you will put a lot of effort into your new toy, and after thirty days, you will not want to lose all that work. As it happened, I was very impressed with Blubrry Podcast Hosting and wanted to build on the foundation I had laid. So, I left my monthly subscription of $12 open and carried on.

Stress-free Global Reach

Blubrry Podcast Hosting will send your podcasts to another dimension - one which you would have found previously very difficult to access. For example, your podcast will appear on YouTube, Spotify, Spreaker, Soundcloud and RadioPublic among others without any further intervention from you! Blubrry will make your work instantly accessible to hundreds of millions of people, who would otherwise never have even seen your stuff or heard of you! That is a lot of extra reach, global reach, in fact, for just $12 a month!

Blubrry Podcast Hosting can be wonderful, but it still requires work from you, and this is what you need to factor in - your own commitment. I have spent years writing and posting 500-word articles - typically three or four times a week. Nowadays, I also convert them to speech and hand them over to Blubrry Podcast Hosting Services and my articles fly! But, you have to write the content first for the system to work. I would say that you need to write at least one a week, but the more you put in, the more you will get out!

The Blubrry Podcast Hosting system is very easy to set up and use, especially for bloggers, so why not sign up for your free month of Blubrry Podcast Hosting using the link on this page and take your promotions into another dimension?

In closing, I have often been asked why anyone with a blog host would want to pay for even more hosting. Well, audiofiles take up a fair bit of space, and if they are accessed often they could get you into trouble with your blog host. However, Blubrry was build for the job, so you will never have an issue.

Blubrry Podcast Hosting - free trial]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11749Mon, 10 Jan 2022 19:23:16 +0000Owen JonesBlubrry Podcast Hosting Blubrry Podcast Hosting I had been wondering about podcasting for at least a year, but it had become a permanent feature at the back of my mind. I'm sure you know what I mean. I felt that there had to be something to it for...
Blubrry Podcast Hosting

I had been wondering about podcasting for at least a year, but it had become a permanent feature at the back of my mind. I'm sure you know what I mean. I felt that there had to be something to it for it to be so popular that even staid old Aunty, the BBC, was taking it seriously. After extensive research, I settled on Blubrry Podcast Hosting.

My first thought was why a company dedicated to communication would want a name that looks like a typo.

Anyway, I signed up for the free month of Blubrry podcast hosting thinking 'What the Hell have I got to lose?'

I want to say right from the start, that this is not the correct approach, because, if you're like me, you will put a lot of effort into your new toy, and after thirty days, you will not want to lose all that work. As it happened, I was very impressed with Blubrry Podcast Hosting and wanted to build on the foundation I had laid. So, I left my monthly subscription of $12 open and carried on.

Stress-free Global Reach

Blubrry Podcast Hosting will send your podcasts to another dimension - one which you would have found previously very difficult to access. For example, your podcast will appear on YouTube, Spotify, Spreaker, Soundcloud and RadioPublic among others without any further intervention from you! Blubrry will make your work instantly accessible to hundreds of millions of people, who would otherwise never have even seen your stuff or heard of you! That is a lot of extra reach, global reach, in fact, for just $12 a month!

Blubrry Podcast Hosting can be wonderful, but it still requires work from you, and this is what you need to factor in - your own commitment. I have spent years writing and posting 500-word articles - typically three or four times a week. Nowadays, I also convert them to speech and hand them over to Blubrry Podcast Hosting Services and my articles fly! But, you have to write the content first for the system to work. I would say that you need to write at least one a week, but the more you put in, the more you will get out!

The Blubrry Podcast Hosting system is very easy to set up and use, especially for bloggers, so why not sign up for your free month of Blubrry Podcast Hosting using the link on this page and take your promotions into another dimension?

In closing, I have often been asked why anyone with a blog host would want to pay for even more hosting. Well, audiofiles take up a fair bit of space, and if they are accessed often they could get you into trouble with your blog host. However, Blubrry was build for the job, so you will never have an issue.

Blubrry Podcast Hosting - free trial]]>154cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/dere-v14-air-notebook-review-update_2https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13182Sun, 09 Jan 2022 07:28:36 +0000Owen JonesThis article is my own personal experience with the Dere V14 Air Notebook, which I bought a little while ago. I will not be going into all the specifications of this device, because you can find this information on the manufacturer's website. I will...274cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/virtual-assistants_2


I want to share a story about virtual assistants with you.



It is a true and very sad story concerning a friend of mine that happened yesterday.



He is a writer, a successful writer, I would say, since he earns enough to support himself and his family, although he is not 'well-known' and you won't find his books in the local supermarket.



Anyway, several years ago, he started having his books narrated through ACX, which is Audible, which is Amazon, and they give authors two hundred coupon codes per book so that they can give reviewers a free book.



My friend had 10,000 of them in August of 2020 and had no idea what to do with them. He had used only 213 over two years by then.



I will allow him to continue the story.



"One day, it dawned on me that Audible would pay me the price of the book for giving it away, so I thought about how to capitalise on that, while promoting myself at the same time.



"I started to promote my codes to Facebook groups dedicated to books, and found that there were dozens of groups for authors to promote their audiobooks to avid listeners.



"Within a short time, I was giving away 300-400 codes a month and making a decent extra income.



"I was very pleased with myself, as you can imagine.



"However, this extended marketing brought with it the attention of so-called virtual assistants. God knows why they are called that, because they are real people, not machines or algorithms.



"I resisted their offers of help for months, but then accepted one. My idea was that I would load my codes into a site built for that purpose, and then promote the URL of that site, so that those interested could retrieve codes as they wanted them. ACX is happy with this system, and even recommends a site to use. I used it.



Authors Beware!



"The deal with the virtual assistant, VA, was that I would continue to promote the codes to Facebook Groups, while he sought blogs and the like to promote to. It worked, and my income tripled in a month!



"That happy state of affairs continued for three or four months and my income even rose every month until it reached $4,988 last June. I was as happy as a sandboy.



"Until yesterday, that is, when I started to receive emails from narrators asking why ACX had sent them an email notifying them that all their free codes for my books had been cancelled.



"I didn't get the $4,988 from ACX. I received $198.10. ACX has not contacted me, but they have told my narrators that they have detected 'fraudulent activity' on my account. All payments and all codes have been blocked.



"I don't know why, and maybe never will, since ACX is not talking to me. I feel sad, and somewhat ashamed at losing $500 a week, but what is worse is not knowing what I am being accused of, or what I did wrong.



"I can only assume that the VA was bending the rules.



"So, my fellow authors, beware of sweet-talking virtual assistants, because they can ruin your business and leave you with nothing, while they can always find another mug to milk".



I think that you will agree that it is a very sad story, but I put it here to give authors something to think about, when they feel inclined to form an association with a Virtual Assistant.



Take care,



Chalita.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=13167Sat, 08 Jan 2022 09:06:26 +0000Owen JonesPhoto by Polina Zimmerman from Pexels I want to share a story about virtual assistants with you. It is a true and very sad story concerning a friend of mine that happened yesterday. He is a writer, a successful writer, I would say, since he...


I want to share a story about virtual assistants with you.



It is a true and very sad story concerning a friend of mine that happened yesterday.



He is a writer, a successful writer, I would say, since he earns enough to support himself and his family, although he is not 'well-known' and you won't find his books in the local supermarket.



Anyway, several years ago, he started having his books narrated through ACX, which is Audible, which is Amazon, and they give authors two hundred coupon codes per book so that they can give reviewers a free book.



My friend had 10,000 of them in August of 2020 and had no idea what to do with them. He had used only 213 over two years by then.



I will allow him to continue the story.



"One day, it dawned on me that Audible would pay me the price of the book for giving it away, so I thought about how to capitalise on that, while promoting myself at the same time.



"I started to promote my codes to Facebook groups dedicated to books, and found that there were dozens of groups for authors to promote their audiobooks to avid listeners.



"Within a short time, I was giving away 300-400 codes a month and making a decent extra income.



"I was very pleased with myself, as you can imagine.



"However, this extended marketing brought with it the attention of so-called virtual assistants. God knows why they are called that, because they are real people, not machines or algorithms.



"I resisted their offers of help for months, but then accepted one. My idea was that I would load my codes into a site built for that purpose, and then promote the URL of that site, so that those interested could retrieve codes as they wanted them. ACX is happy with this system, and even recommends a site to use. I used it.



Authors Beware!



"The deal with the virtual assistant, VA, was that I would continue to promote the codes to Facebook Groups, while he sought blogs and the like to promote to. It worked, and my income tripled in a month!



"That happy state of affairs continued for three or four months and my income even rose every month until it reached $4,988 last June. I was as happy as a sandboy.



"Until yesterday, that is, when I started to receive emails from narrators asking why ACX had sent them an email notifying them that all their free codes for my books had been cancelled.



"I didn't get the $4,988 from ACX. I received $198.10. ACX has not contacted me, but they have told my narrators that they have detected 'fraudulent activity' on my account. All payments and all codes have been blocked.



"I don't know why, and maybe never will, since ACX is not talking to me. I feel sad, and somewhat ashamed at losing $500 a week, but what is worse is not knowing what I am being accused of, or what I did wrong.



"I can only assume that the VA was bending the rules.



"So, my fellow authors, beware of sweet-talking virtual assistants, because they can ruin your business and leave you with nothing, while they can always find another mug to milk".



I think that you will agree that it is a very sad story, but I put it here to give authors something to think about, when they feel inclined to form an association with a Virtual Assistant.



Take care,



Chalita.]]>228cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-dream-last-night_2


The stage was the gap - the roadway, if you like - between the crowds that faced one another.Performers were taking it in turns to do their thing over a stretch of about fifty metres.A tall, gangly, thin old black man, who vaguely reminded me of a bald Chuck Berry stopped infront of me as he was doing his act, and said, " It's your turn! The people want to hear yoursong!"



"I don't have a song", I replied, to which, he took me by the wrist, and said, "Everyone has asong".



He led me by the wrist up the gap between the two crowds dancing - walking as people do injoyous processions frequently glancing at me and all the while smiling at me and the crowds.I was very shy, not embarrassed, but I didn't know what to do



I began to hum, and then sing words that I thought only he could hear. He encouraged me, andthe onlookers seemed to do so too.



Slowly, I started to sing slightly louder. The spectators could not have heard me, but they smiledand moved rhythmically, swaying to and fro.



As I gained confidence, my song grew louder. I stumbled over some of the words and phrases,but it didn't seem to matter… people were on my side, and I loved them, and my old guide, for it.I woke up before I finished singing my song, but I still had the words running around my brain.



It was Bob Marley's Three Little Birds.]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=13160Fri, 12 Nov 2021 07:34:16 +0000Owen JonesThere were people lining a sort of a street about twenty persons deep, and I was one of them.The atmosphere was fantastic - a bit like London's Notting Hill or New Orleans' Mardi Grascarnivals. The stage was the gap - the roadway, if you like -...


The stage was the gap - the roadway, if you like - between the crowds that faced one another.Performers were taking it in turns to do their thing over a stretch of about fifty metres.A tall, gangly, thin old black man, who vaguely reminded me of a bald Chuck Berry stopped infront of me as he was doing his act, and said, " It's your turn! The people want to hear yoursong!"



"I don't have a song", I replied, to which, he took me by the wrist, and said, "Everyone has asong".



He led me by the wrist up the gap between the two crowds dancing - walking as people do injoyous processions frequently glancing at me and all the while smiling at me and the crowds.I was very shy, not embarrassed, but I didn't know what to do



I began to hum, and then sing words that I thought only he could hear. He encouraged me, andthe onlookers seemed to do so too.



Slowly, I started to sing slightly louder. The spectators could not have heard me, but they smiledand moved rhythmically, swaying to and fro.



As I gained confidence, my song grew louder. I stumbled over some of the words and phrases,but it didn't seem to matter… people were on my side, and I loved them, and my old guide, for it.I woke up before I finished singing my song, but I still had the words running around my brain.



It was Bob Marley's Three Little Birds.]]>116cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/villfarelsen-misconception_1


Villfarelsen



En andlig guide, en spöktiger, och en skrämmande mamma!



av



Owen Jones



Översatt av



Charlotta Zaar Böll



Berättat av



Ida Berglöw Kenneway



"Villfarelsen" är den första delen i en serie av tjugotre noveller om den andliga utvecklingen hos en ung flicka som heter Megan. Hon har latenta övernaturliga krafter och hon är nyfiken på att utveckla dem, men ingen annan som hon känner verkar ha någon aning vad hon pratar om.



Eller gör dom det? Både hennes mormor och hennes mamma gör allt de kan för att stoppa Megan från att ta reda på mer. Historien visar Megans frustration med de levande, så när hjälp kommer från den andra sidan, tar hon emot den med öppna armar och utvecklar långsamt men säkert sina övernaturliga krafter.



Detta är berättelsen om Megans uppvaknande.



"Villfarelsen" handlar om de paranormala krafter som finns inom oss alla, vilket borde göra dem helt normala istället för paranormala, om människor inte var så rädda för det övernaturliga, vilket i sig självt också är helt naturligt.



Det här är en bok för alla som någonsin har funderat över det övernaturliga, paranormala eller metafysiska- Det handlar om den normala andliga utvecklingen som alla högre själar måste gå igenom för att nå sitt ultimata, oundvikliga öde, hur lång tid det än kan ta. Dessa berättelser bygger på faktum på flera sätt än en.



Amazon   Apple iTunes   GooglePlay Kobo Scribd   Audiobook 



2] Megans trettonde



Översatt av: Jenny Ulvestål



Amazon   Apple iTunes GooglePlay   Kobo   Scribd   Audiobook



3] Megans skolresa



Översatt av: Jenny Ulvestål



Amazon   Apple iTunes GooglePlay   Kobo   Scribd   Audiobook



4] Megans skolprov



Översatt av: Jenny Ulvestål]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12101Tue, 15 Dec 2020 06:41:00 +0000Owen JonesVillfarelsen Villfarelsen En andlig guide, en spöktiger, och en skrämmande mamma! av Owen Jones Översatt av Charlotta Zaar Böll Berättat av Ida Berglöw Kenneway "Villfarelsen" är den första delen i en serie av tjugotre...


Villfarelsen



En andlig guide, en spöktiger, och en skrämmande mamma!



av



Owen Jones



Översatt av



Charlotta Zaar Böll



Berättat av



Ida Berglöw Kenneway



"Villfarelsen" är den första delen i en serie av tjugotre noveller om den andliga utvecklingen hos en ung flicka som heter Megan. Hon har latenta övernaturliga krafter och hon är nyfiken på att utveckla dem, men ingen annan som hon känner verkar ha någon aning vad hon pratar om.



Eller gör dom det? Både hennes mormor och hennes mamma gör allt de kan för att stoppa Megan från att ta reda på mer. Historien visar Megans frustration med de levande, så när hjälp kommer från den andra sidan, tar hon emot den med öppna armar och utvecklar långsamt men säkert sina övernaturliga krafter.



Detta är berättelsen om Megans uppvaknande.



"Villfarelsen" handlar om de paranormala krafter som finns inom oss alla, vilket borde göra dem helt normala istället för paranormala, om människor inte var så rädda för det övernaturliga, vilket i sig självt också är helt naturligt.



Det här är en bok för alla som någonsin har funderat över det övernaturliga, paranormala eller metafysiska- Det handlar om den normala andliga utvecklingen som alla högre själar måste gå igenom för att nå sitt ultimata, oundvikliga öde, hur lång tid det än kan ta. Dessa berättelser bygger på faktum på flera sätt än en.



Amazon   Apple iTunes   GooglePlay Kobo Scribd   Audiobook 



2] Megans trettonde



Översatt av: Jenny Ulvestål



Amazon   Apple iTunes GooglePlay   Kobo   Scribd   Audiobook



3] Megans skolresa



Översatt av: Jenny Ulvestål



Amazon   Apple iTunes GooglePlay   Kobo   Scribd   Audiobook



4] Megans skolprov



Översatt av: Jenny Ulvestål]]>93cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/our-new-blog-theme_2


The previous one was seven years old and the designers had stopped keeping it up to date several years ago. Therefore, as WordPress developed, certain key features had ceased to work.



The result was that it was becoming tedious to update.



I, and my colleagues and friends chose the new blog theme that you see before you at this moment. The designers have produced it especially for authors and publishers just like me :-)



We set our new blog theme up quite quickly, although that is not to say that this new theme is without its problems, not the least of which is the slow response from the support desk and the lack of a clear, easily referenceable manual.



Blog Support



In these days of Covid-19, support must be difficult, since call centres are all closed, or should be, I imagine. Either that or they are running at one-third to a quarter capacity. Anyway, the support team does answer eventually, but it can take days, which seems like years, if you are anxious to get a new blog theme up and running!



If they had a comprehensive or even just a decent manual for the theme, I am sure that my friends and I could have sorted it out for ourselves much more quickly. However, the guide, such that it is, is on line and nothing more than a bunch of hyperlinks. After clicking on a few of them, I don't know where I am any more.



My biggest mistake with the new blog theme was to impose it directly on top of the old one. I advise you to open a fresh instance of WordPress somewhere, and practise there until perfect. That way, you won't lose your blog for a couple of days, like I did.



What a panic that was, I can tell you!



The new theme is huge though. My blog is quite large anyway for a one-man band, Owen Jones, the former owner, had created nearly three thousand entries. Two thousand of them were posts and pages! Still, I was stunned to find that the blog had swollen to 4.4 GB after applying the new theme!



Theme Features



To be honest, I have only set up the barest blog from the resources available in this theme. I am aware of what else it can do, but time has so far prevented me from learning how to implement more. Features, such as the direct sale of books (without paying Amazon, Apple or anyone else); the rental of blog space to advertisers such as authors, publishers or just about anyone; and so much more.



In fact, I have just decided that the next feature I want to implement is 'the shop'. I am going to call it 'Megan's Market', where I intend to sell readers' and writers' paraphernalia. It will also be able to handle the sale of ebooks, my own and those of others.



I hope that you will support me in these ventures, especially the direct sale of ebooks. If you are a regular visitor, you will notice me adding these extra features to our new blog theme over the coming month(s) :-)



On the other hand, if you would like to purchase your own copy of this theme, called 'Publisher', or one like it but geared in a different direction, the owners are currently, as I write, offering a discount of 45%!



Here is the link: New Blog Theme]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12961Fri, 04 Dec 2020 13:25:02 +0000Owen JonesWe decided to buy a new blog theme. The previous one was seven years old and the designers had stopped keeping it up to date several years ago. Therefore, as WordPress developed, certain key features had ceased to work. The result was that it...


The previous one was seven years old and the designers had stopped keeping it up to date several years ago. Therefore, as WordPress developed, certain key features had ceased to work.



The result was that it was becoming tedious to update.



I, and my colleagues and friends chose the new blog theme that you see before you at this moment. The designers have produced it especially for authors and publishers just like me :-)



We set our new blog theme up quite quickly, although that is not to say that this new theme is without its problems, not the least of which is the slow response from the support desk and the lack of a clear, easily referenceable manual.



Blog Support



In these days of Covid-19, support must be difficult, since call centres are all closed, or should be, I imagine. Either that or they are running at one-third to a quarter capacity. Anyway, the support team does answer eventually, but it can take days, which seems like years, if you are anxious to get a new blog theme up and running!



If they had a comprehensive or even just a decent manual for the theme, I am sure that my friends and I could have sorted it out for ourselves much more quickly. However, the guide, such that it is, is on line and nothing more than a bunch of hyperlinks. After clicking on a few of them, I don't know where I am any more.



My biggest mistake with the new blog theme was to impose it directly on top of the old one. I advise you to open a fresh instance of WordPress somewhere, and practise there until perfect. That way, you won't lose your blog for a couple of days, like I did.



What a panic that was, I can tell you!



The new theme is huge though. My blog is quite large anyway for a one-man band, Owen Jones, the former owner, had created nearly three thousand entries. Two thousand of them were posts and pages! Still, I was stunned to find that the blog had swollen to 4.4 GB after applying the new theme!



Theme Features



To be honest, I have only set up the barest blog from the resources available in this theme. I am aware of what else it can do, but time has so far prevented me from learning how to implement more. Features, such as the direct sale of books (without paying Amazon, Apple or anyone else); the rental of blog space to advertisers such as authors, publishers or just about anyone; and so much more.



In fact, I have just decided that the next feature I want to implement is 'the shop'. I am going to call it 'Megan's Market', where I intend to sell readers' and writers' paraphernalia. It will also be able to handle the sale of ebooks, my own and those of others.



I hope that you will support me in these ventures, especially the direct sale of ebooks. If you are a regular visitor, you will notice me adding these extra features to our new blog theme over the coming month(s) :-)



On the other hand, if you would like to purchase your own copy of this theme, called 'Publisher', or one like it but geared in a different direction, the owners are currently, as I write, offering a discount of 45%!



Here is the link: New Blog Theme]]>180cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/herbal-skin-care_2Herbal Skin Care
The topic of skin care is not one of only recent times. Indeed, people have been worrying about it since ancient times, when natural, herbal products were presumably the only means of taking care of the skin. However, skin care has been transformed in a big way. Herbal skin care routines have been largely replaced by synthetic, chemical-based products. The herbal skin care concoctions, which once used to be commonplace are not so popular today. One could even say unknown to a large proportion of the population).

This conversion from herbal to synthetic skin care, can probably be attributed to three things: 1] urbanisation, which makes herbs harder to find or grow; 2] laziness (or just the faster pace of lives); 3] the commercialisation of beauty treatments in general. It is funny, but even herbal skin care products have been commercialised! These commercial herbal skin care products have to be mixed with preservatives in order to increase their shelf-life, although this makes them less effective than the fresh ones made at home.

However, things are changing fast; fashions change, there is now a movement of more and more people opting for natural, herbal skin care routines. We still haven't overcome the laziness aspect - or found more time - because sti;; not that many adherents want to make the items themselves at home, and so, the commercial market for herbal skin care products continues to rise.

So what are these herbs or herbal skin care remedies? We only have time to discuss a few, but some are:

Aloe vera, which is an extract from the common plant of the same name. It grows widely around the world, yet is one of the best examples of herbal skin care products. The freshly extracted juice from the leaves of the Aloe vera is a natural hydrant that helps to soothe the skin. It is also a potent aid for healing cuts and treating sun burns.

A number of common herbs are known to possess cleansing properties. Dandelion, chamomile, lime flowers and rosemary, are a few examples of such cleansers. Their herbal skin care properties are usually activated when infused in hot water.

Antiseptics are another important part of Herbal skin care. Lavender, marigold, thyme and fennel are good examples of herbs that are known to possess antiseptic properties. Lavender water and rose water also form good toners.

Tea plays an important part in herbal skin care. Tea extracts are used for the treatment of skin that has been damaged by UV radiation.

Oils prepared from herbal extracts present another means of herbal skin care. Tea tree oil, Lavender oil, borage oil and primrose oil are some popular ones used in herbal skin care. Some fruit oils (e.g. extracts from fruits like banana, apple and melon) find use in shower gels (as a hydrating mix)

Homeopathic treatments also come under the umbrella of herbal skin care remedies.

Herbal skin care is good not only for the routine nourishing of your skin, but also for the treatment of skin disorders like eczema and psorasis. Most herbal skin care products don’t have any side effects, which is a very important reason for preferring them over synthetic products, especially for those prone to allergies. Herbal skin care products can be easily made at home, which can make a great hobby.

This doesn't mean that you have to disregard synthetic products completely, especially if your doctor or dermatologist recommends them (although you could ask whether there is a herbal, organic alternative). I hope that this short article will inspire you to find out more about the fascinating world of herbal skin care and traditional remedies.

This article is part of one of 125 highly focussed PLR books in English (some have been translated too). See the articles on uses for PLR and the PLR collections...]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12390Sun, 11 Oct 2020 14:02:37 +0000Owen JonesHerbal Skin Care Herbal Skin Care The topic of skin care is not one of only recent times. Indeed, people have been worrying about it since ancient times, when natural, herbal products were presumably the only means of taking care of the skin. However,...Herbal Skin Care
The topic of skin care is not one of only recent times. Indeed, people have been worrying about it since ancient times, when natural, herbal products were presumably the only means of taking care of the skin. However, skin care has been transformed in a big way. Herbal skin care routines have been largely replaced by synthetic, chemical-based products. The herbal skin care concoctions, which once used to be commonplace are not so popular today. One could even say unknown to a large proportion of the population).

This conversion from herbal to synthetic skin care, can probably be attributed to three things: 1] urbanisation, which makes herbs harder to find or grow; 2] laziness (or just the faster pace of lives); 3] the commercialisation of beauty treatments in general. It is funny, but even herbal skin care products have been commercialised! These commercial herbal skin care products have to be mixed with preservatives in order to increase their shelf-life, although this makes them less effective than the fresh ones made at home.

However, things are changing fast; fashions change, there is now a movement of more and more people opting for natural, herbal skin care routines. We still haven't overcome the laziness aspect - or found more time - because sti;; not that many adherents want to make the items themselves at home, and so, the commercial market for herbal skin care products continues to rise.

So what are these herbs or herbal skin care remedies? We only have time to discuss a few, but some are:

Aloe vera, which is an extract from the common plant of the same name. It grows widely around the world, yet is one of the best examples of herbal skin care products. The freshly extracted juice from the leaves of the Aloe vera is a natural hydrant that helps to soothe the skin. It is also a potent aid for healing cuts and treating sun burns.

A number of common herbs are known to possess cleansing properties. Dandelion, chamomile, lime flowers and rosemary, are a few examples of such cleansers. Their herbal skin care properties are usually activated when infused in hot water.

Antiseptics are another important part of Herbal skin care. Lavender, marigold, thyme and fennel are good examples of herbs that are known to possess antiseptic properties. Lavender water and rose water also form good toners.

Tea plays an important part in herbal skin care. Tea extracts are used for the treatment of skin that has been damaged by UV radiation.

Oils prepared from herbal extracts present another means of herbal skin care. Tea tree oil, Lavender oil, borage oil and primrose oil are some popular ones used in herbal skin care. Some fruit oils (e.g. extracts from fruits like banana, apple and melon) find use in shower gels (as a hydrating mix)

Homeopathic treatments also come under the umbrella of herbal skin care remedies.

Herbal skin care is good not only for the routine nourishing of your skin, but also for the treatment of skin disorders like eczema and psorasis. Most herbal skin care products don’t have any side effects, which is a very important reason for preferring them over synthetic products, especially for those prone to allergies. Herbal skin care products can be easily made at home, which can make a great hobby.

This doesn't mean that you have to disregard synthetic products completely, especially if your doctor or dermatologist recommends them (although you could ask whether there is a herbal, organic alternative). I hope that this short article will inspire you to find out more about the fascinating world of herbal skin care and traditional remedies.

This article is part of one of 125 highly focussed PLR books in English (some have been translated too). See the articles on uses for PLR and the PLR collections...]]>194cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-role-of-plr-in-internet-marketing_2
The Rôle of PLR in Internet Marketing

The Internet has been around for more than twenty-five years now, but there are still a lot of novice or would-be sales people who don't realise that Internet marketing is basically the same as any other type of marketing, except that you have more possibilities and that it can be cheaper.

Cheaper? Cheaper to reach more people who might be interested in whatever you have to sell – your potential customers - and on an industrial scale. Traditionally, a salesperson would be advertising to the inhabitants of his or her town. Television increased the scope to nationwide, but the Internet has made that global.

If you are a one-man band, this potential can be daunting, and you will soon come to understand that you are just not able to source your goods; create and maintain your website; write sales literature for it; take orders and dispatch them; deal with inquiries, complaints and returns; plus maintain records for tax purposes, stock, etc., etc., all on your own. You will soon decide that you need help.

There are two ways to go: taking on (more) staff, or outsourcing work.

Taking on staff will free you up to learn about corporation tax, sales taxes, payroll, income tax, workers' rights, health and safety, and other employment laws, whereas outsourcing will only mean a little more paperwork, It will actually create more time for you.

What you outsource is obviously up to you, but I am going to recommend that one of the things that you could outsource quickly and cheaply is the writing of your sales material and website content. By 'website' here, I am including the far more interactive and responsive blog. This is the easiest and cheapest way of getting your Internet-based business up and running quickly.

If you have gone down this route, like it or not, you are now an Internet Marketer with a mail order business. Congratulations!

There are five basic points that every Internet Marketer has to to learn about the mail order business in order to increase their profits:


*
that the Internet is just another (or perhaps the most superior) vehicle for direct response marketing, but it contains within itself the potential to make you rich! However, because the marketplace is so huge, and therefore has many participants in it, it evolves extremely quickly.

*
that there are hardly any markets where fashion or current trends do not play a rôle, and you will need to keep abreast of those fast-changing trends

*
that prices move quickly, some tend to rise, whereas those in older technology fall

*
international law changes – bans, embargoes, tariffs and trade wars are becoming more and more common

*
it has never been easier to reach so many people so quickly



When you have sorted these obstacles out, you may like to outsource your marketing as well as drop-shipping, but in the beginning, you will probably need to provide your own marketing material. This raises two questions: do you have the talent to write it, and, if so, do you have the time to write it?

If not, then again, you have two possible solutions: either hire someone to write bespoke articles for you, or find relevant off-the-peg articles and modify them to suit your needs.

The name given to these off-the-peg articles is PLR, which stands for Public Label Rights, and once again, there are two sorts: the first kind is usually free, but old articles that have been around for quite some time, and can be spotted on numerous sad-looking blogs; and the second, so-called fresh material, which has to be bought,]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12402Sat, 01 Aug 2020 17:21:13 +0000Owen JonesInternet Marketing The Rôle of PLR in Internet Marketing The Internet has been around for more than twenty-five years now, but there are still a lot of novice or would-be sales people who don't realise that Internet marketing is basically the same...
The Rôle of PLR in Internet Marketing

The Internet has been around for more than twenty-five years now, but there are still a lot of novice or would-be sales people who don't realise that Internet marketing is basically the same as any other type of marketing, except that you have more possibilities and that it can be cheaper.

Cheaper? Cheaper to reach more people who might be interested in whatever you have to sell – your potential customers - and on an industrial scale. Traditionally, a salesperson would be advertising to the inhabitants of his or her town. Television increased the scope to nationwide, but the Internet has made that global.

If you are a one-man band, this potential can be daunting, and you will soon come to understand that you are just not able to source your goods; create and maintain your website; write sales literature for it; take orders and dispatch them; deal with inquiries, complaints and returns; plus maintain records for tax purposes, stock, etc., etc., all on your own. You will soon decide that you need help.

There are two ways to go: taking on (more) staff, or outsourcing work.

Taking on staff will free you up to learn about corporation tax, sales taxes, payroll, income tax, workers' rights, health and safety, and other employment laws, whereas outsourcing will only mean a little more paperwork, It will actually create more time for you.

What you outsource is obviously up to you, but I am going to recommend that one of the things that you could outsource quickly and cheaply is the writing of your sales material and website content. By 'website' here, I am including the far more interactive and responsive blog. This is the easiest and cheapest way of getting your Internet-based business up and running quickly.

If you have gone down this route, like it or not, you are now an Internet Marketer with a mail order business. Congratulations!

There are five basic points that every Internet Marketer has to to learn about the mail order business in order to increase their profits:


*
that the Internet is just another (or perhaps the most superior) vehicle for direct response marketing, but it contains within itself the potential to make you rich! However, because the marketplace is so huge, and therefore has many participants in it, it evolves extremely quickly.

*
that there are hardly any markets where fashion or current trends do not play a rôle, and you will need to keep abreast of those fast-changing trends

*
that prices move quickly, some tend to rise, whereas those in older technology fall

*
international law changes – bans, embargoes, tariffs and trade wars are becoming more and more common

*
it has never been easier to reach so many people so quickly



When you have sorted these obstacles out, you may like to outsource your marketing as well as drop-shipping, but in the beginning, you will probably need to provide your own marketing material. This raises two questions: do you have the talent to write it, and, if so, do you have the time to write it?

If not, then again, you have two possible solutions: either hire someone to write bespoke articles for you, or find relevant off-the-peg articles and modify them to suit your needs.

The name given to these off-the-peg articles is PLR, which stands for Public Label Rights, and once again, there are two sorts: the first kind is usually free, but old articles that have been around for quite some time, and can be spotted on numerous sad-looking blogs; and the second, so-called fresh material, which has to be bought,]]>387cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/massage-international-means-to-well-bein_1
Massage

by

Owen Jones

narrated by

Jordan Moore

The information in this ebook on various aspects of massage techniques, styles and related subjects is organised into 15 chapters of about 500-600 words each.

I hope that it will interest those who enjoy a massage or would like to enter the booming massage industry.

As an added bonus, I am granting you permission to use the content on your own website or in your own blogs and newsletter, although it is better if you rewrite them in your own words first.

You may also split the book up and resell the articles. In fact, the only right that you do not have is to resell or give away the book as it was delivered to you.

The manual is also available in Dutch and Portuguese and other formats, such as Kobo, and on all platforms including Apple's iTunes.

Amazon ebook     Audible audiobook



 ]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12222Sun, 24 May 2020 09:09:21 +0000Owen JonesMassage Massage by Owen Jones narrated by Jordan Moore The information in this ebook on various aspects of massage techniques, styles and related subjects is organised into 15 chapters of about 500-600 words each. I hope that it will interest...
Massage

by

Owen Jones

narrated by

Jordan Moore

The information in this ebook on various aspects of massage techniques, styles and related subjects is organised into 15 chapters of about 500-600 words each.

I hope that it will interest those who enjoy a massage or would like to enter the booming massage industry.

As an added bonus, I am granting you permission to use the content on your own website or in your own blogs and newsletter, although it is better if you rewrite them in your own words first.

You may also split the book up and resell the articles. In fact, the only right that you do not have is to resell or give away the book as it was delivered to you.

The manual is also available in Dutch and Portuguese and other formats, such as Kobo, and on all platforms including Apple's iTunes.

Amazon ebook     Audible audiobook



 ]]>230cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/home-movie-theatre-systems_1
Home Movie Theatre Systems

by

Owen Jones

narrated by

Dena Darvish Derakhshan

The information in this audio book on home movie systems and related subjects is organised into 17 sections.

It will help you set up a home movie theatre system, and it may even help you venture out into a new career. The least that it will do is save you hundreds on professional advice.

As an added bonus, I am granting you permission to use the content on your own website or in your own blogs and newsletter, although it is better if you rewrite them in your own words first.

You may also split the book up and resell the articles. In fact, the only right that you do not have is to resell or give away the book as it was delivered to you.

If you use formats other than these (like Kobo), you will find the books on your main retailer's site including apple iTunes.

Amazon ebook     Audible audiobook]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12211Sat, 23 May 2020 09:32:31 +0000Owen JonesHome Movie Theatre Systems Home Movie Theatre Systems by Owen Jones narrated by Dena Darvish Derakhshan The information in this audio book on home movie systems and related subjects is organised into 17 sections. It will help you set up a home...
Home Movie Theatre Systems

by

Owen Jones

narrated by

Dena Darvish Derakhshan

The information in this audio book on home movie systems and related subjects is organised into 17 sections.

It will help you set up a home movie theatre system, and it may even help you venture out into a new career. The least that it will do is save you hundreds on professional advice.

As an added bonus, I am granting you permission to use the content on your own website or in your own blogs and newsletter, although it is better if you rewrite them in your own words first.

You may also split the book up and resell the articles. In fact, the only right that you do not have is to resell or give away the book as it was delivered to you.

If you use formats other than these (like Kobo), you will find the books on your main retailer's site including apple iTunes.

Amazon ebook     Audible audiobook]]>146cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-ghouls-of-calle-goya-international_1The Ghouls of Calle Goya
When malice results from good intentions!
by

Owen Jones
When Frank, a staid, middle-aged, confirmed bachelor takes his new, diplomat Thai bride to a friend’s apartment on the Costa del Sol for their dream honeymoon, they are in Nirvana… until the ghouls of a secret Scandinavian society torment the superstitious young woman to the point of seeking death to end her suffering. Frank is way out of his depth... What is he to do to save the first love of his life?
The Ghouls of Calle Goya is the perplexing story of how Evil can result from the happiest of circumstances and good intentions, and how madness can be the result.
It is based on a true story and is set in Norway, the UK, Spain and Thailand.
The Ghouls of Calle Goya is available in several languages in several ebook formats (Barnes & Noble, GooglePlay, iTunes, Kindle, Kobo), paperback and possibly even audiobook (Amazon/Audible) too.
The cover is an original in crayon by Aliya.
Click a link below to learn more about the availability of the book in the language of your choice:

English   Norsk   Português   Español   Svenska]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12198Mon, 18 May 2020 09:07:08 +0000Owen JonesThe Ghouls of Calle Goya in Swedish The Ghouls of Calle Goya When malice results from good intentions! by Owen Jones When Frank, a staid, middle-aged, confirmed bachelor takes his new, diplomat Thai bride to a friend’s apartment on the Costa del Sol...The Ghouls of Calle Goya
When malice results from good intentions!
by

Owen Jones
When Frank, a staid, middle-aged, confirmed bachelor takes his new, diplomat Thai bride to a friend’s apartment on the Costa del Sol for their dream honeymoon, they are in Nirvana… until the ghouls of a secret Scandinavian society torment the superstitious young woman to the point of seeking death to end her suffering. Frank is way out of his depth... What is he to do to save the first love of his life?
The Ghouls of Calle Goya is the perplexing story of how Evil can result from the happiest of circumstances and good intentions, and how madness can be the result.
It is based on a true story and is set in Norway, the UK, Spain and Thailand.
The Ghouls of Calle Goya is available in several languages in several ebook formats (Barnes & Noble, GooglePlay, iTunes, Kindle, Kobo), paperback and possibly even audiobook (Amazon/Audible) too.
The cover is an original in crayon by Aliya.
Click a link below to learn more about the availability of the book in the language of your choice:

English   Norsk   Português   Español   Svenska]]>54cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/lock-down-experiences_1Lock-Down Experiences
Three things happened  to me in the last 24 hours, which I don't think have anything to do with lock-down or cabin fever, because I don't think I suffer from those conditions. I have always spent a lot of time on my own - since leaving home at eighteen anyway.




1) I saw next-door's cat try to leap from our garden up onto the 3' wall and through the railing fence, as it does a dozen times a day, but it fell back into our garden. It tried twice more, but with the same result. Then I noticed that it had a big fish in its mouth - the equivalent of a three-pound carp. I shouted at the cat; it dropped the fish, leaped through the fence and stood there watching me. Neem came over to see what the commotion was about and asked why I had put the fish she was going to cook for our dinner in the flower bed.




2) It is 42c here, so the windows are open and the fan on 24 hours a day. Yesterday evening, a big, 3", green insect landed on the fly screen in front of my desk. When it turned around, it was a mantis. I tried to explain to Neem that we call them Praying Mantises and why, but she said that this was probably not the same one, as they call them Boxing Mantises. When threatened, they sway from side to side a little, and shadow bow with their front 'arms'. It did that at me when I got too close.




3] I dreamed I was walking along a long road heading out of town, when I saw a sign saying 'Free Showers', so I went in. It was empty, but there were bottles of shampoo, and bars of soap, so I got started. I could see the water coming out of the shower head, and I could see the shampoo in my cupped hand, but I wasn't getting wet or soapy. An Arab boy came in, watched what I was doing for a moment and left smirking. A short while later, I woke up with my hands in my hair. I guess that's how I knew I wasn't getting wet despite the fact that my eyes were telling me that I should be. Don't believe everything you see?]]>https://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12168Sun, 10 May 2020 04:58:33 +0000Owen JonesLock-down Lock-Down Experiences Three things happened  to me in the last 24 hours, which I don't think have anything to do with lock-down or cabin fever, because I don't think I suffer from those conditions. I have always spent a lot of time on my own...Lock-Down Experiences
Three things happened  to me in the last 24 hours, which I don't think have anything to do with lock-down or cabin fever, because I don't think I suffer from those conditions. I have always spent a lot of time on my own - since leaving home at eighteen anyway.




1) I saw next-door's cat try to leap from our garden up onto the 3' wall and through the railing fence, as it does a dozen times a day, but it fell back into our garden. It tried twice more, but with the same result. Then I noticed that it had a big fish in its mouth - the equivalent of a three-pound carp. I shouted at the cat; it dropped the fish, leaped through the fence and stood there watching me. Neem came over to see what the commotion was about and asked why I had put the fish she was going to cook for our dinner in the flower bed.




2) It is 42c here, so the windows are open and the fan on 24 hours a day. Yesterday evening, a big, 3", green insect landed on the fly screen in front of my desk. When it turned around, it was a mantis. I tried to explain to Neem that we call them Praying Mantises and why, but she said that this was probably not the same one, as they call them Boxing Mantises. When threatened, they sway from side to side a little, and shadow bow with their front 'arms'. It did that at me when I got too close.




3] I dreamed I was walking along a long road heading out of town, when I saw a sign saying 'Free Showers', so I went in. It was empty, but there were bottles of shampoo, and bars of soap, so I got started. I could see the water coming out of the shower head, and I could see the shampoo in my cupped hand, but I wasn't getting wet or soapy. An Arab boy came in, watched what I was doing for a moment and left smirking. A short while later, I woke up with my hands in my hair. I guess that's how I knew I wasn't getting wet despite the fact that my eyes were telling me that I should be. Don't believe everything you see?]]>135cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/luc-wyn-translator_3
Let's extend a warm welcome to a translator,  whom I have become friends with after working together on several of my books (not that he needed any help from me :-) )

What is your name?

Luc Wyn

Where are you from, Luc?

Originally from Belgium but I am now residing in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

Are you a full-time translator or are you free-lance?

I’m a freelance translator for Babelcube, since I have other occupations as well.

My Babelcube Profile can be found at: https://www.babelcube.com/user/luc-wyn

What made you want to become a translator?

I've always been fascinated by languages and, contrary to sciences, learning them comes natural to me. I guess this process had its early beginnings when I was a small boy and used to play with an Italian boy on holiday. Neither of us knew each other's language but we managed three weeks of communication by exchanging names of certain toys and objects and colours and so on. That's probably when and where 'the fuse was lit'.

What languages do you translate from and into?

Currently most of my translations are either from Spanish or English into my own language, which is Dutch. I do also master German and French though and have on occasion translated from those languages as well.

What is your favourite language to translate?

Being the language aficionado I am, I don’t really have a favourite language, as all of them have their innate specialities and all of them are interesting in one way or another. Some do present a bit more challenge as others however.

What have you translated?

I have translated a number of books in a number of genres, ranging from novels to books about antique tools and engravings on them. The majority consists of novels though.

What made you decide for a career as translator?

The profound love, or even obsession, you might say, for languages and everything connected with them that I’ve had since early childhood. I guess you might say I’ve inherited my mother’s inquisitiveness and express that through my love for languages.

If you could give a beginning translator a piece of advice, what would it be?

Be selective about what you accept. And be perfectionist and thorough once you've accepted it. Reread meticulously what you've translated before you hand it in or upload it.

Have you ever written something of your own, and if so, in what genre?

I did do some short writing when I was young. Those were experiments with short stories inspired by people like Edgar Allen Poe and the likes. Other than that I tend to get into poetry once in a (very long) while.

Tea or coffee?

I like both in their own way with a preference for coffee.

What is your favourite foreign food?

Well, although it's technically not really 'foreign food' any more as such, pizza is among the top 5 here. I also like moussaka a lot, which is a Greek dish, or the tajine and cousocus from North Africa. I'm quite partial to oriental food as well, but steer clear from anything spicy.

Either, depending on the moment

Wine or beer or pop?

Wine with food, but otherwise, beer. Never pop!

Where would you like to visit?

Anywhere I haven't been yet :-)

Favourite musical artist. Do you listen to music when you write? What?

My taste in music is very extensive and depends on the moment. While working I tend to prefer music without lyrics so I can concentrate on what I’m doing. That would mostly be either classical or soundtracks, which are a kind of classical I their own way, I think]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=12005Wed, 22 Jan 2020 14:54:08 +0000Owen JonesLuc Wyn - The Belgian in Monterey! Let's extend a warm welcome to a translator,  whom I have become friends with after working together on several of my books (not that he needed any help from me :-) ) What is your name? Luc Wyn Where are you...
Let's extend a warm welcome to a translator,  whom I have become friends with after working together on several of my books (not that he needed any help from me :-) )

What is your name?

Luc Wyn

Where are you from, Luc?

Originally from Belgium but I am now residing in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

Are you a full-time translator or are you free-lance?

I’m a freelance translator for Babelcube, since I have other occupations as well.

My Babelcube Profile can be found at: https://www.babelcube.com/user/luc-wyn

What made you want to become a translator?

I've always been fascinated by languages and, contrary to sciences, learning them comes natural to me. I guess this process had its early beginnings when I was a small boy and used to play with an Italian boy on holiday. Neither of us knew each other's language but we managed three weeks of communication by exchanging names of certain toys and objects and colours and so on. That's probably when and where 'the fuse was lit'.

What languages do you translate from and into?

Currently most of my translations are either from Spanish or English into my own language, which is Dutch. I do also master German and French though and have on occasion translated from those languages as well.

What is your favourite language to translate?

Being the language aficionado I am, I don’t really have a favourite language, as all of them have their innate specialities and all of them are interesting in one way or another. Some do present a bit more challenge as others however.

What have you translated?

I have translated a number of books in a number of genres, ranging from novels to books about antique tools and engravings on them. The majority consists of novels though.

What made you decide for a career as translator?

The profound love, or even obsession, you might say, for languages and everything connected with them that I’ve had since early childhood. I guess you might say I’ve inherited my mother’s inquisitiveness and express that through my love for languages.

If you could give a beginning translator a piece of advice, what would it be?

Be selective about what you accept. And be perfectionist and thorough once you've accepted it. Reread meticulously what you've translated before you hand it in or upload it.

Have you ever written something of your own, and if so, in what genre?

I did do some short writing when I was young. Those were experiments with short stories inspired by people like Edgar Allen Poe and the likes. Other than that I tend to get into poetry once in a (very long) while.

Tea or coffee?

I like both in their own way with a preference for coffee.

What is your favourite foreign food?

Well, although it's technically not really 'foreign food' any more as such, pizza is among the top 5 here. I also like moussaka a lot, which is a Greek dish, or the tajine and cousocus from North Africa. I'm quite partial to oriental food as well, but steer clear from anything spicy.

Either, depending on the moment

Wine or beer or pop?

Wine with food, but otherwise, beer. Never pop!

Where would you like to visit?

Anywhere I haven't been yet :-)

Favourite musical artist. Do you listen to music when you write? What?

My taste in music is very extensive and depends on the moment. While working I tend to prefer music without lyrics so I can concentrate on what I’m doing. That would mostly be either classical or soundtracks, which are a kind of classical I their own way, I think]]>438cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/a-night-in-annwn-international_3
A Night in Annwn

and its sequels

Life in Annwn and Leaving Annwn

by

Owen Jones

translated by professionals

In short, A Night in Annwn - International is about the Annwn Series, which relates the story of Welsh sheep farmer Willy Jones' last few weeks on Earth, or on The Surface as he later comes to call it; his subsequent life in Annwn, which is ancient Welsh for Heaven, but it was underground; and his decision to be reborn in order to help mankind.

In A Night in Annwn, Willy Jones is missing his deceased wife and has let himself go, much to the dismay of his daughter. One day, he undergoes a Near-Death Experience (NDE) and wakes up in what he assumes is hospital, except that his nurse seems incredibly familiar. After a time in Heaven, which he is told is known by its ancient Celtic name of Annwn and is underground, he wakes up in a hospital in Cardiff on The Surface. The experience changes his life, but he does eventually die and goes on to live his Life in Annwn.

Willy pairs up with his wife again, and goes about re-leaning life in Annwn, until one day, he, his wife and daughter decide to be reborn as Bodhisattvas to help mankind, This is the theme of the third book in the series Leaving Annwn.

A Night in Annwn has been translated by professional translators into the following languages so far. Life in Annwn has been translated into some of them, and some have even been narrated by professional voice-artists, however the translations and narrations are on-going processes, so you may need to check back to see if your language has been covered yet. If you click on the book covers below, you will be presented with a sample of the text in that language courtesy of Amazon, although the books are also available on iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Tolino and Audible in other formats.

English



Spanish



Portuguese



French



Dutch



Swedish



 

 

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11944Sat, 04 Jan 2020 21:12:05 +0000Owen JonesA Night in Annwn A Night in Annwn and its sequels Life in Annwn and Leaving Annwn by Owen Jones translated by professionals In short, A Night in Annwn - International is about the Annwn Series, which relates the story of Welsh sheep farmer...
A Night in Annwn

and its sequels

Life in Annwn and Leaving Annwn

by

Owen Jones

translated by professionals

In short, A Night in Annwn - International is about the Annwn Series, which relates the story of Welsh sheep farmer Willy Jones' last few weeks on Earth, or on The Surface as he later comes to call it; his subsequent life in Annwn, which is ancient Welsh for Heaven, but it was underground; and his decision to be reborn in order to help mankind.

In A Night in Annwn, Willy Jones is missing his deceased wife and has let himself go, much to the dismay of his daughter. One day, he undergoes a Near-Death Experience (NDE) and wakes up in what he assumes is hospital, except that his nurse seems incredibly familiar. After a time in Heaven, which he is told is known by its ancient Celtic name of Annwn and is underground, he wakes up in a hospital in Cardiff on The Surface. The experience changes his life, but he does eventually die and goes on to live his Life in Annwn.

Willy pairs up with his wife again, and goes about re-leaning life in Annwn, until one day, he, his wife and daughter decide to be reborn as Bodhisattvas to help mankind, This is the theme of the third book in the series Leaving Annwn.

A Night in Annwn has been translated by professional translators into the following languages so far. Life in Annwn has been translated into some of them, and some have even been narrated by professional voice-artists, however the translations and narrations are on-going processes, so you may need to check back to see if your language has been covered yet. If you click on the book covers below, you will be presented with a sample of the text in that language courtesy of Amazon, although the books are also available on iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Tolino and Audible in other formats.

English



Spanish



Portuguese



French



Dutch



Swedish



 

 

 ]]>124cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/asian-shorts-international_3
Asian Shorts International

by various authors

translated and narrated

by professionals

collated by

Owen Jones

Asian Shorts International is an anthology of nineteen short stories by nine different authors. Most of them are professional writers but two of them were previously unpublished and one of those went on to write several more books.

The writers live all over the world too, in as much as nine people can, but countries include Cambodia, Canada, England, Thailand, USA, Vietnam and Wales. Their names and brief bios can be found under the list of translations below. free audiobook copies can be obtained in most cases, and other languages are being added as they become available.

The authors contributing to Asian Shorts International, in no particular order, are: Mike Lord, Owen Jones, Bernard Foong, Gay Ingram, Jennifer J. Chow, S. R. Mallery, Trevor Aindow and David Collier.

Please support these authors by checking out  and reading their work.

English Edition



German Edition



Portuguese Edition



Afrikaans Edition



Italian Edition



Authors' Bios of Contributors to Asian Shorts International:

Mike Lord

Sinagiri, by Mike Lord – Rajah Kasyapu & the Frescoes at Singiriya, in Sri Lanka.

Smashwords: http://tinyurl.com/mrpafs7 Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/o74846h

Owen Jones

Owen Jones writes in many genre which you can discover on his here: http://owencerijones.com . His flagship series ‘Behind The Smile ~ The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl in Pattaya’ is here: http://behind-the-smile.org

Bernard Foong

Bernard Foong (aka Young) is the author of ‘A Harem Boy's Saga; a memoir’ by Young (seven book series): http://aharemboysaga.com/wp/ The first three books in the series – ‘Initiation’, ‘Unbridled’ and ‘Debauchery’ (published by Solstice publishing) are currently available at all Amazon online stores e.g. http://amzn.to/1FMlHVY

Gay Ingram

Gay Ingram writes historical fiction. Mai Lin: Another New Beginning is her latest release. See all her published books at https://www.amazon.com/author/gayingram. She also contributes a weekly column to http://venturegalleries.com/author/gayingram/.

Jennifer J. Chow

Jennifer J. Chow writes Asian-American fiction with a geriatric twist. She is the author of The 228 Legacy, a 2013 Finalist for ’Foreword

Reviews’ Book of the Year Award. She also writes the Winston Wong cozy mystery series under J.J. Chow. Visit her website for more details:]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11917Thu, 02 Jan 2020 14:23:25 +0000Owen JonesAsian Shorts Audiobook Asian Shorts International by various authors translated and narrated by professionals collated by Owen Jones Asian Shorts International is an anthology of nineteen short stories by nine different authors. Most of them...
Asian Shorts International

by various authors

translated and narrated

by professionals

collated by

Owen Jones

Asian Shorts International is an anthology of nineteen short stories by nine different authors. Most of them are professional writers but two of them were previously unpublished and one of those went on to write several more books.

The writers live all over the world too, in as much as nine people can, but countries include Cambodia, Canada, England, Thailand, USA, Vietnam and Wales. Their names and brief bios can be found under the list of translations below. free audiobook copies can be obtained in most cases, and other languages are being added as they become available.

The authors contributing to Asian Shorts International, in no particular order, are: Mike Lord, Owen Jones, Bernard Foong, Gay Ingram, Jennifer J. Chow, S. R. Mallery, Trevor Aindow and David Collier.

Please support these authors by checking out  and reading their work.

English Edition



German Edition



Portuguese Edition



Afrikaans Edition



Italian Edition



Authors' Bios of Contributors to Asian Shorts International:

Mike Lord

Sinagiri, by Mike Lord – Rajah Kasyapu & the Frescoes at Singiriya, in Sri Lanka.

Smashwords: http://tinyurl.com/mrpafs7 Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/o74846h

Owen Jones

Owen Jones writes in many genre which you can discover on his here: http://owencerijones.com . His flagship series ‘Behind The Smile ~ The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl in Pattaya’ is here: http://behind-the-smile.org

Bernard Foong

Bernard Foong (aka Young) is the author of ‘A Harem Boy's Saga; a memoir’ by Young (seven book series): http://aharemboysaga.com/wp/ The first three books in the series – ‘Initiation’, ‘Unbridled’ and ‘Debauchery’ (published by Solstice publishing) are currently available at all Amazon online stores e.g. http://amzn.to/1FMlHVY

Gay Ingram

Gay Ingram writes historical fiction. Mai Lin: Another New Beginning is her latest release. See all her published books at https://www.amazon.com/author/gayingram. She also contributes a weekly column to http://venturegalleries.com/author/gayingram/.

Jennifer J. Chow

Jennifer J. Chow writes Asian-American fiction with a geriatric twist. She is the author of The 228 Legacy, a 2013 Finalist for ’Foreword

Reviews’ Book of the Year Award. She also writes the Winston Wong cozy mystery series under J.J. Chow. Visit her website for more details:]]>63cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/daddys-hobby-previews_2Daddy's Hobby Previews
This blog post, Daddy's Hobby's Previews contains previews on Amazon of BEHIND THE SMILE - The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl in Pattaya" volume 1: Daddy's Hobby in all the languages I currently have available: English, German and Portuguese. In some cases, there will be special offers and free audiobooks, while stocks last.
Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.
Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them.
One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about. Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. However, the only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya.
She went as a waitress-cum-cashier, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change. She had the baby, gave it to her mother to look after and went back to work. However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.
The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.
One day she meets a man she likes and he likes her too. Nothing new there, it had happened hundreds of times, but she feels that it is different. They have a wonderful four weeks together and then he goes home – as they all had, leaving more promises and more hopes.
This one returns, but real life with a real boyfriend is not as easy as she had dreamed it would be. They go through good and bad times, but will they stay together and for how long?
After all she has been through, will she be able to be a regular girlfriend or even a wife again? Will she ever really be able to trust a man enough again either? Or would she be better off giving up her dreams and carrying on working in the bar?
Lek begins to find out that getting what you wish for is not always as good as you thought it would be.
'Behind The Smile' refers to the fact that Thailand is known the world over as 'The Land of Smiles'.
English


German



Portuguese

]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11898Fri, 27 Dec 2019 12:50:42 +0000Owen JonesDaddy's Hobby Previews Daddy's Hobby Previews This blog post, Daddy's Hobby's Previews contains previews on Amazon of BEHIND THE SMILE - The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl in Pattaya" volume 1: Daddy's Hobby in all the languages I currently have available:...Daddy's Hobby Previews
This blog post, Daddy's Hobby's Previews contains previews on Amazon of BEHIND THE SMILE - The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl in Pattaya" volume 1: Daddy's Hobby in all the languages I currently have available: English, German and Portuguese. In some cases, there will be special offers and free audiobooks, while stocks last.
Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.
Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them.
One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about. Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. However, the only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya.
She went as a waitress-cum-cashier, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change. She had the baby, gave it to her mother to look after and went back to work. However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.
The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.
One day she meets a man she likes and he likes her too. Nothing new there, it had happened hundreds of times, but she feels that it is different. They have a wonderful four weeks together and then he goes home – as they all had, leaving more promises and more hopes.
This one returns, but real life with a real boyfriend is not as easy as she had dreamed it would be. They go through good and bad times, but will they stay together and for how long?
After all she has been through, will she be able to be a regular girlfriend or even a wife again? Will she ever really be able to trust a man enough again either? Or would she be better off giving up her dreams and carrying on working in the bar?
Lek begins to find out that getting what you wish for is not always as good as you thought it would be.
'Behind The Smile' refers to the fact that Thailand is known the world over as 'The Land of Smiles'.
English


German



Portuguese

]]>172cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/street-problems-in-barry_3
Street Problems in Barry

We had only been back in Barry, my home town for six months, but it didn't take that long to realise that there were street problems that were unusual. At least, I wasn't used to them, but then of the previous fifteen years, I had spent thirteen in Thailand and two in Spain. One of the first things that my wife and I noticed was the lack of a police presence on the streets. The second was the deserted streets after dark - a sign that suggested to us that the unsavoury ruled the streets during that period.

One afternoon, a friend, who seems to know a lot, told me that the night before, there had been only two police cars on duty in Barry - a town of 60,000 inhabitants. The lack of a visible police presence was beginning to make sense.

A few days later, a man, whom I also know well, told me that he had spent the last hour with an elderly lady, who had fallen over and cracked her head. My friend had phoned the emergency services, but it still took an hour for them to arrive.

And then, just before Christmas, I was sitting in a pub opposite a local supermarket, when a woman started to beat a young boy. He was six, seven, eight years of age. One of the men in the pub sprinted out, but the mother had already disappeared inside to do her shopping, leaving the boy crying in a huddle in a corner.

He phoned the police, comforted the boy and came back inside. When the boy ran off, the caller got cold feet and left, but the police never arrived, and the woman emerged from the shop and called a taxi. The police did not show up at all.

That is my experience of modern Barry - it has changed so much since I last lived here.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Street Problems in Barry]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11790Tue, 08 Oct 2019 17:33:34 +0000Owen JonesHolton Road, Barry Street Problems in Barry We had only been back in Barry, my home town for six months, but it didn't take that long to realise that there were street problems that were unusual. At least, I wasn't used to them, but then of the...
Street Problems in Barry

We had only been back in Barry, my home town for six months, but it didn't take that long to realise that there were street problems that were unusual. At least, I wasn't used to them, but then of the previous fifteen years, I had spent thirteen in Thailand and two in Spain. One of the first things that my wife and I noticed was the lack of a police presence on the streets. The second was the deserted streets after dark - a sign that suggested to us that the unsavoury ruled the streets during that period.

One afternoon, a friend, who seems to know a lot, told me that the night before, there had been only two police cars on duty in Barry - a town of 60,000 inhabitants. The lack of a visible police presence was beginning to make sense.

A few days later, a man, whom I also know well, told me that he had spent the last hour with an elderly lady, who had fallen over and cracked her head. My friend had phoned the emergency services, but it still took an hour for them to arrive.

And then, just before Christmas, I was sitting in a pub opposite a local supermarket, when a woman started to beat a young boy. He was six, seven, eight years of age. One of the men in the pub sprinted out, but the mother had already disappeared inside to do her shopping, leaving the boy crying in a huddle in a corner.

He phoned the police, comforted the boy and came back inside. When the boy ran off, the caller got cold feet and left, but the police never arrived, and the woman emerged from the shop and called a taxi. The police did not show up at all.

That is my experience of modern Barry - it has changed so much since I last lived here.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Street Problems in Barry]]>113cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/thailand-free-audiobooks_2
Thailand - Free Audiobooks

written by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Sangita Chauhan

Published by

Megan Publishing Services

at Amazon, Audible and iTunes

Copyright Owen Jones 2019 ©

Thailand (volume 1) is a professionally produced and narrated audiobook on various aspects of Thailand and life in Thailand as experienced by the author of this blog, Owen Jones during the twelve years he spent in his wife's remote village in northern Thailand. It is organised into 15 chapters of about 500-600 words each, but will be followed by other volumes soon.

However, this audiobook is not only meant as an introduction to Thailand for a visitor, but the purchaser may also use the content in his or her own audio blog or publication at no extra charge. The only restriction is that you may not sell the whole book as is without my written permission.

You may split the book up and resell the articles. In fact, the only right that you do not have is to resell or give away the book as it was delivered to you.

If you have any feedback, please leave it with the company you bought this book from or post it below.

*** Breaking News!: Audible says: If you are prepared to leave a (short) review, here are some free copies of this audiobook :-) ***

If you have a UK account at Audible, please copy one of the next six codes and click the link below them:

Codes for UK Accounts

398XWZDXE2WD6  3B7G2H3CRDRML  4ENP67XR96U8G  4UU33QW4KQ3H6  5ZJ4WKNBRMFU9  6TRRCSKJG3Z7Y

audible.co.uk/acx-promo

Codes for non-UK Accounts

2D98ASXM9HMEE  2WXYXK2YJJLH9  389R6YM8YRSG6  3DBPYAS3RXPYG  67KB9USPCEKQ3  8QJC4Y3YAR5C3

audible.com/acx-promo 

To see them online, or if the codes have all been used, please go to:

Apple   Amazon   Audible]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11772Sat, 05 Oct 2019 20:01:19 +0000Owen JonesThailand volume 1 - Free Audiobooks Thailand - Free Audiobooks written by Owen Jones Narrated by Sangita Chauhan Published by Megan Publishing Services at Amazon, Audible and iTunes Copyright Owen Jones 2019 © Thailand (volume 1) is a...
Thailand - Free Audiobooks

written by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Sangita Chauhan

Published by

Megan Publishing Services

at Amazon, Audible and iTunes

Copyright Owen Jones 2019 ©

Thailand (volume 1) is a professionally produced and narrated audiobook on various aspects of Thailand and life in Thailand as experienced by the author of this blog, Owen Jones during the twelve years he spent in his wife's remote village in northern Thailand. It is organised into 15 chapters of about 500-600 words each, but will be followed by other volumes soon.

However, this audiobook is not only meant as an introduction to Thailand for a visitor, but the purchaser may also use the content in his or her own audio blog or publication at no extra charge. The only restriction is that you may not sell the whole book as is without my written permission.

You may split the book up and resell the articles. In fact, the only right that you do not have is to resell or give away the book as it was delivered to you.

If you have any feedback, please leave it with the company you bought this book from or post it below.

*** Breaking News!: Audible says: If you are prepared to leave a (short) review, here are some free copies of this audiobook :-) ***

If you have a UK account at Audible, please copy one of the next six codes and click the link below them:

Codes for UK Accounts

398XWZDXE2WD6  3B7G2H3CRDRML  4ENP67XR96U8G  4UU33QW4KQ3H6  5ZJ4WKNBRMFU9  6TRRCSKJG3Z7Y

audible.co.uk/acx-promo

Codes for non-UK Accounts

2D98ASXM9HMEE  2WXYXK2YJJLH9  389R6YM8YRSG6  3DBPYAS3RXPYG  67KB9USPCEKQ3  8QJC4Y3YAR5C3

audible.com/acx-promo 

To see them online, or if the codes have all been used, please go to:

Apple   Amazon   Audible]]>296cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/stories-should-have-something-to-say_2
Stories Should Have Something To Say

I don't know whether you consider that this is controversial or not, but I think that stories should have something to say. Perhaps, I was brought up on fables and parables, but I don't believe that that could be the reason. It just seems to me that an author is wasting weeks or months of his or her life, if he or she doesn't really have anything to say.

Don't get me wrong, I have read a few books and watched dozens of films that had no point - except perhaps 'entertainment value' (whatever that is), but they don't, or never have, held my attention. I am also willing to admit that the 'point' of a story is not always immediately obvious. However, that can be, and often is, a good thing.

It' could be called mystery or suspense.

Not Preaching

No-one wants to pay for a sermon. Or, you know, not a high percentage of us.

It is perhaps one of the skills of a good writer to get his point across without making it blindingly obvious.

I don't even have to agree with the point being made by the writer, but I do have to be able to 'get to grips' with it within the story. It forces me to agree, or not, with the story, and that can affect how I would rate the book.

You may well ask why I have brought this matter up, and I will tell you. Now that I write myself, I often read fellow-writers' books (we are all unknowns), and all too often, I can't see the point - first, in their having written it, and second, of my having read it.

After all, both are a commitment of time, of which every individual has a limited amount per lifetime.

I can understand that someone has the urge to write, and it may be almost uncontrollable, and I can also understand that people have the urge to read and lose themselves in another world or environment (hence the success of the media in general), but why commit to a week or more of just words passing before one's eyes, as in reading a book?

I don't get it.

Sermons or pointless stories? Definitely not!

Stories with a point? A definite 'Yes!'

Otherwise, just what is the point?

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: A Story Should Have Something To Say]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11762Wed, 02 Oct 2019 23:44:41 +0000Owen JonesStories Should Have Something To Say Stories Should Have Something To Say I don't know whether you consider that this is controversial or not, but I think that stories should have something to say. Perhaps, I was brought up on fables and parables,...
Stories Should Have Something To Say

I don't know whether you consider that this is controversial or not, but I think that stories should have something to say. Perhaps, I was brought up on fables and parables, but I don't believe that that could be the reason. It just seems to me that an author is wasting weeks or months of his or her life, if he or she doesn't really have anything to say.

Don't get me wrong, I have read a few books and watched dozens of films that had no point - except perhaps 'entertainment value' (whatever that is), but they don't, or never have, held my attention. I am also willing to admit that the 'point' of a story is not always immediately obvious. However, that can be, and often is, a good thing.

It' could be called mystery or suspense.

Not Preaching

No-one wants to pay for a sermon. Or, you know, not a high percentage of us.

It is perhaps one of the skills of a good writer to get his point across without making it blindingly obvious.

I don't even have to agree with the point being made by the writer, but I do have to be able to 'get to grips' with it within the story. It forces me to agree, or not, with the story, and that can affect how I would rate the book.

You may well ask why I have brought this matter up, and I will tell you. Now that I write myself, I often read fellow-writers' books (we are all unknowns), and all too often, I can't see the point - first, in their having written it, and second, of my having read it.

After all, both are a commitment of time, of which every individual has a limited amount per lifetime.

I can understand that someone has the urge to write, and it may be almost uncontrollable, and I can also understand that people have the urge to read and lose themselves in another world or environment (hence the success of the media in general), but why commit to a week or more of just words passing before one's eyes, as in reading a book?

I don't get it.

Sermons or pointless stories? Definitely not!

Stories with a point? A definite 'Yes!'

Otherwise, just what is the point?

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: A Story Should Have Something To Say]]>145cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/itunes-apple-stocks-novels-of-owen-jones_2
iTunes - Apple Stocks Novels of Owen Jones

There is good news for avid readers of Welsh writer from Barry, Owen Jones, that are also audiobook fans who prefer to use the ubiquitous  service of Apple's iTunes!

iTunes - Apple - now stocks not only the ebook novels of Owen Jones, but also the audiobook versions, AND, they are all on one page, which makes it easier to identify series and stand-alones.

Owen Jones now has more than three hundred ebooks on iTunes, a hundred and fifty of which are in languages other than English, and about seventy of them have been narrated by professionals to create audiobooks of excellent quality.

ACX - an arm of Amazon and Audible - has overseen production and Quality Control throughout, so you know that you are getting a great product.

Many Locations

Owen Jones writes in the general genre of Fiction>Psychological, often including references from Spiritualism, Buddhism, or even just 'traditional religions' - references such as intuition, dreams, Auras, Astral Travelling and the like. His books are also set in many locations, including Wales, naturally, Thailand, various countries in Europe, Russia and the USA. One series, Dead Centre visits seven countries in just one of the two volumes!

When asked about the new collection of his audiobooks on Apple iTunes, Owen said:

"I am very proud to have my audiobooks for sale on such a prestigious platform as Apple's iTunes. So many hundreds of millions of people around the world use an iPhone, iPad or Mac several times a day, and now they all have direct access to my audiobooks as well as my ebooks. I don't have one myself, but I checked some trivia just for my own information, and I was surprised to see that Apple uses 131 different URL's to allow direct access to its products. That probably means 131 different countries! Not bad for a local Barry boy, eh?"

You can find Owen Jones' audiobooks by following this link:

Audiobooks by Owen Jones on iTunes]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11707Tue, 24 Sep 2019 19:48:45 +0000Owen JonesiTunes - Apple Stocks Novels of Owen Jones iTunes - Apple Stocks Novels of Owen Jones There is good news for avid readers of Welsh writer from Barry, Owen Jones, that are also audiobook fans who prefer to use the ubiquitous  service of Apple's...
iTunes - Apple Stocks Novels of Owen Jones

There is good news for avid readers of Welsh writer from Barry, Owen Jones, that are also audiobook fans who prefer to use the ubiquitous  service of Apple's iTunes!

iTunes - Apple - now stocks not only the ebook novels of Owen Jones, but also the audiobook versions, AND, they are all on one page, which makes it easier to identify series and stand-alones.

Owen Jones now has more than three hundred ebooks on iTunes, a hundred and fifty of which are in languages other than English, and about seventy of them have been narrated by professionals to create audiobooks of excellent quality.

ACX - an arm of Amazon and Audible - has overseen production and Quality Control throughout, so you know that you are getting a great product.

Many Locations

Owen Jones writes in the general genre of Fiction>Psychological, often including references from Spiritualism, Buddhism, or even just 'traditional religions' - references such as intuition, dreams, Auras, Astral Travelling and the like. His books are also set in many locations, including Wales, naturally, Thailand, various countries in Europe, Russia and the USA. One series, Dead Centre visits seven countries in just one of the two volumes!

When asked about the new collection of his audiobooks on Apple iTunes, Owen said:

"I am very proud to have my audiobooks for sale on such a prestigious platform as Apple's iTunes. So many hundreds of millions of people around the world use an iPhone, iPad or Mac several times a day, and now they all have direct access to my audiobooks as well as my ebooks. I don't have one myself, but I checked some trivia just for my own information, and I was surprised to see that Apple uses 131 different URL's to allow direct access to its products. That probably means 131 different countries! Not bad for a local Barry boy, eh?"

You can find Owen Jones' audiobooks by following this link:

Audiobooks by Owen Jones on iTunes]]>133cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/dragons-in-the-clouds_3
Dragons in the Clouds

by

David Blair

Review by Barry Boy

Dragons in the Clouds is a well-edited novel in the third person in the genre of historical fiction or fantasy and is aimed at young teenagers.

The story of Dragons in the Clouds is actually set in in two epochs and on two continents. The main characters in the present day setting of the United States are Ray Evans and his young daughter, Reilly; and at some unspecified time in the distant past, in the kingdom of Albion, we meet King Arturus, Merlinius, Sir Solomon, David and his pet baby dragon, Rago. It is difficult to say who or what is the main protagonist of them.

The story takes the form of Ray Evans recounting to his daughter a legend told to him by the elderly owner of a toy shop he met on his latest business tip to London. Mr Evans meets him when he goes in to purchase a toy dragon that he sees in the shop window.

The Kingdom of Albion

The main body of Dragons in the Clouds is set in the ancient Kingdom of Albion, which seems to be somewhere in Europe, but that is not explicit. The king of Albion, Arturus, is worried by public unrest caused by his people's fear of the dragons living in the land. In actual fact, there are two species of dragons: the carnivores and the herbivores. However, most people cannot distinguish between the two types and so fear them all.

In an attempt to garner favour and quell the unrest, Arturus sets his royal knights, led by Sir Solomon, the task of exterminating all the dragons in the country. Without wishing to give too much away, some people find this grossly unfair, and set about trying to save the harmless plant-eaters, which leads to all kinds of battles between humans and humans, dragons and dragons and even humans and dragons.

Thunder and Lightening

These exciting battles lead to the main theme of the Dragons in the Clouds, which is how thunder and lightening came into existence.

Although Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair is aimed at a readership much younger than myself, I enjoyed the story and am certain that ten-twelve years olds will love it's unique plot and story-line. If I have a criticism, it is a small, personal one: I prefer not to see famous names from history and mythology used in this way, as it could blur the original stories (as Disney often has).

The cover and the title are completely appropriate to the body of the story and I give Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair five out of five stars!

Our unique interview with author David Blair can be found here: David Blair

Podcast: Dragons in the Clouds]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11615Sun, 08 Sep 2019 13:34:43 +0000Owen JonesDragons in the Clouds Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair Review by Barry Boy Dragons in the Clouds is a well-edited novel in the third person in the genre of historical fiction or fantasy and is aimed at young teenagers. The story of Dragons...
Dragons in the Clouds

by

David Blair

Review by Barry Boy

Dragons in the Clouds is a well-edited novel in the third person in the genre of historical fiction or fantasy and is aimed at young teenagers.

The story of Dragons in the Clouds is actually set in in two epochs and on two continents. The main characters in the present day setting of the United States are Ray Evans and his young daughter, Reilly; and at some unspecified time in the distant past, in the kingdom of Albion, we meet King Arturus, Merlinius, Sir Solomon, David and his pet baby dragon, Rago. It is difficult to say who or what is the main protagonist of them.

The story takes the form of Ray Evans recounting to his daughter a legend told to him by the elderly owner of a toy shop he met on his latest business tip to London. Mr Evans meets him when he goes in to purchase a toy dragon that he sees in the shop window.

The Kingdom of Albion

The main body of Dragons in the Clouds is set in the ancient Kingdom of Albion, which seems to be somewhere in Europe, but that is not explicit. The king of Albion, Arturus, is worried by public unrest caused by his people's fear of the dragons living in the land. In actual fact, there are two species of dragons: the carnivores and the herbivores. However, most people cannot distinguish between the two types and so fear them all.

In an attempt to garner favour and quell the unrest, Arturus sets his royal knights, led by Sir Solomon, the task of exterminating all the dragons in the country. Without wishing to give too much away, some people find this grossly unfair, and set about trying to save the harmless plant-eaters, which leads to all kinds of battles between humans and humans, dragons and dragons and even humans and dragons.

Thunder and Lightening

These exciting battles lead to the main theme of the Dragons in the Clouds, which is how thunder and lightening came into existence.

Although Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair is aimed at a readership much younger than myself, I enjoyed the story and am certain that ten-twelve years olds will love it's unique plot and story-line. If I have a criticism, it is a small, personal one: I prefer not to see famous names from history and mythology used in this way, as it could blur the original stories (as Disney often has).

The cover and the title are completely appropriate to the body of the story and I give Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair five out of five stars!

Our unique interview with author David Blair can be found here: David Blair

Podcast: Dragons in the Clouds]]>159cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/david-blair_2
David Blair

Today's unique author interview is with a very special American writer, Mr David Blair, so let's get started right away.

1 Name? David Blair

Website: www.dragonsintheclouds.com

2 Country of origin? United States

3 Do you prefer to read a particular genre? I like all genres

4 Do you write in the same genre? If not which one? I have written a fantasy, a western, and a contemporary crime drama

5 Have you always written and what got you started professionally? I got involved in story telling in the 8th grade. I wrote, directed and starred in a student film called ‘’Destination Destiny’’ I then picked up writing again in my early thirties. A movie producer friend of mine, challenged me to co-write a screenplay. And from that point on, I was hooked.

6 How many books have you published? One, ‘’Dragons in the Clouds’’ is my first published work. Although I do have other completed manuscripts waiting in the wings.

7 Which one would you like to tell us about? ‘’Dragons in the Clouds’’ of course.

8 Why did you write this book and what is it about? ‘’Dragons in the Clouds’’ first started out as a project for ‘’Puff the Magic Dragon’’ that beloved song recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. I was having lunch with the hair stylist for Universal movie producer Kathleen Kennedy’s hair stylist. I mentioned that I was working on a story based on Puff, then about a month later I read in Variety - the industry magazine - that Kennedy had bought the rights to Puff. Needless to say, that taught me a lesson to keep my mouth shut.

‘’Dragons in the Clouds'' is a epic adventure that takes place in a time when Dragons were alive and freely roamed the land. The people during this time were getting eaten by a vicious specie of Dragon, the meat eaters. The ruling king of this period finally orders the total  annihilation of all living Dragons. A powerful wizard named Merlinius, does not agree with the Kings order, for he knows that all Dragons are not what they seem. For Merlinius is friends to a species of Dragons, the plant eaters. So to protect his Dragon friends, Merlinius grants a family of Dragons the spell of weightlessness and then tells them to fly up and to hide in the cover of the Clouds. And for them to only come down at night to feed.

An unforeseen  ability of the Dragons' weightless spell is that their fire now looks like that of lightning and their roar now sounds like thunder. An apprentice to the wizard who has grandeur of his own has meat eating Dragons hidden deep within a cave and he too, gives them the same spell of weightlessness. Now enters a widowed mother and her young son who also has befriended a dragon, though a very young one. They suddenly find themselves caught between the king's order and the battle that has begun between the two species of Dragons. A battle that will determine control of the skies above the Kingdom of Albion. The apprentice's plan has consequences that may bring the Kingdom and perhaps the very world we live in today to a devastating end.

9 Book cover and ISBN/ASIN:

Dragons in the Clouds

ISBN -13: 978-1-949809-17-6 ASIN - B07KCQ8173

10 What would you like your next book to be on? I have a contemporary crime drama I am excited to publish. Titled ‘’Meaner than the Devil”

11 If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would you go and why? The centre of the milky Way. I heard that is the centre or origin of the Universe. The Nebula would also be awesome to get a closer lo...]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=11590Sun, 25 Aug 2019 17:48:52 +0000Owen JonesDavid Blair - Author David Blair Today's unique author interview is with a very special American writer, Mr David Blair, so let's get started right away. 1 Name? David Blair Website: www.dragonsintheclouds.com 2 Country of origin? United States...
David Blair

Today's unique author interview is with a very special American writer, Mr David Blair, so let's get started right away.

1 Name? David Blair

Website: www.dragonsintheclouds.com

2 Country of origin? United States

3 Do you prefer to read a particular genre? I like all genres

4 Do you write in the same genre? If not which one? I have written a fantasy, a western, and a contemporary crime drama

5 Have you always written and what got you started professionally? I got involved in story telling in the 8th grade. I wrote, directed and starred in a student film called ‘’Destination Destiny’’ I then picked up writing again in my early thirties. A movie producer friend of mine, challenged me to co-write a screenplay. And from that point on, I was hooked.

6 How many books have you published? One, ‘’Dragons in the Clouds’’ is my first published work. Although I do have other completed manuscripts waiting in the wings.

7 Which one would you like to tell us about? ‘’Dragons in the Clouds’’ of course.

8 Why did you write this book and what is it about? ‘’Dragons in the Clouds’’ first started out as a project for ‘’Puff the Magic Dragon’’ that beloved song recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. I was having lunch with the hair stylist for Universal movie producer Kathleen Kennedy’s hair stylist. I mentioned that I was working on a story based on Puff, then about a month later I read in Variety - the industry magazine - that Kennedy had bought the rights to Puff. Needless to say, that taught me a lesson to keep my mouth shut.

‘’Dragons in the Clouds'' is a epic adventure that takes place in a time when Dragons were alive and freely roamed the land. The people during this time were getting eaten by a vicious specie of Dragon, the meat eaters. The ruling king of this period finally orders the total  annihilation of all living Dragons. A powerful wizard named Merlinius, does not agree with the Kings order, for he knows that all Dragons are not what they seem. For Merlinius is friends to a species of Dragons, the plant eaters. So to protect his Dragon friends, Merlinius grants a family of Dragons the spell of weightlessness and then tells them to fly up and to hide in the cover of the Clouds. And for them to only come down at night to feed.

An unforeseen  ability of the Dragons' weightless spell is that their fire now looks like that of lightning and their roar now sounds like thunder. An apprentice to the wizard who has grandeur of his own has meat eating Dragons hidden deep within a cave and he too, gives them the same spell of weightlessness. Now enters a widowed mother and her young son who also has befriended a dragon, though a very young one. They suddenly find themselves caught between the king's order and the battle that has begun between the two species of Dragons. A battle that will determine control of the skies above the Kingdom of Albion. The apprentice's plan has consequences that may bring the Kingdom and perhaps the very world we live in today to a devastating end.

9 Book cover and ISBN/ASIN:

Dragons in the Clouds

ISBN -13: 978-1-949809-17-6 ASIN - B07KCQ8173

10 What would you like your next book to be on? I have a contemporary crime drama I am excited to publish. Titled ‘’Meaner than the Devil”

11 If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would you go and why? The centre of the milky Way. I heard that is the centre or origin of the Universe. The Nebula would also be awesome to get a closer lo...]]>306cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/amazon-blows-its-benevolent-image_2
Amazon Blows It's Benevolent Image

In my case, first it was Google that blew its benevolent image by dropping its company motto of 'Do no Evil!' and closing my affiliate account without explaining why, and now Amazon has done more or less exactly the same. In both circumstances, I literally woke up one morning to find that a factor of my income that I had put a long time into had been taken away.

Amazon sent me just one email stating that I had infringed some regulation, but that my affiliate account had been suspended. I tried to find out what I had done, but the reply was highly technical and written by lawyers. Something to do with 'pre-loading', whatever that is. If it is not using a link with an embedded affiliate link, then I have no idea what it is.

I asked, but Amazon has sent me to Coventry. All I know is that my practices haven't changed since I joined Amazon more than twenty years ago, so either they have changed their rules or they are very bad at catching criminals like me. From my point of view, the Amazon penalty has cost me about $2 per week, which is all I earned, on average, from the 12,000+ visitors I sent them every month.

I should have left them years ago, and I mean that, but I have other interests. The main problem is removing the Amazon affiliate links from the Smart URL links on my blog of 2,000 pages and the 4,000 Tweets that I have accumulated, so that another company can pick them up and use them in their own name. (#UPDATE: Skimlinks and Viglinks can do this)

It means that I will lose a percentage of my $2 income, but, hey, I can live with that :-).

So, why did Amazon do that to me?

I honestly really have no idea, in exactly the same way that I didn't know what Google was taking about. I am just a hard-working, one-man band. I don't try to game any systems. Would you for $2 a month?

I reckon that Google and Amazon just wanted to reduce the cost of paying out to millions of affiliates by picking on them. I mean, if people want to buy from those companies, and many, many do, then they don't have to go through me, do they? Amazon, Google and the retailer will still get paid, and the customer will still be happy whether a small man lije me is in the loop trying to earn a commission or not, won't they?

It will mean that Amazon will have to write fewer, but larger cheques, which will save on bank charges... and I think that that is what this is all about - money, and keeping it among the already-wealthy.

The rest of us can go and whistle for it.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Amazon Blows It's Benevolent Image]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11584Thu, 22 Aug 2019 15:09:56 +0000Owen JonesAmazon Blows It's Benevolent Image Amazon Blows It's Benevolent Image In my case, first it was Google that blew its benevolent image by dropping its company motto of 'Do no Evil!' and closing my affiliate account without explaining why, and now...
Amazon Blows It's Benevolent Image

In my case, first it was Google that blew its benevolent image by dropping its company motto of 'Do no Evil!' and closing my affiliate account without explaining why, and now Amazon has done more or less exactly the same. In both circumstances, I literally woke up one morning to find that a factor of my income that I had put a long time into had been taken away.

Amazon sent me just one email stating that I had infringed some regulation, but that my affiliate account had been suspended. I tried to find out what I had done, but the reply was highly technical and written by lawyers. Something to do with 'pre-loading', whatever that is. If it is not using a link with an embedded affiliate link, then I have no idea what it is.

I asked, but Amazon has sent me to Coventry. All I know is that my practices haven't changed since I joined Amazon more than twenty years ago, so either they have changed their rules or they are very bad at catching criminals like me. From my point of view, the Amazon penalty has cost me about $2 per week, which is all I earned, on average, from the 12,000+ visitors I sent them every month.

I should have left them years ago, and I mean that, but I have other interests. The main problem is removing the Amazon affiliate links from the Smart URL links on my blog of 2,000 pages and the 4,000 Tweets that I have accumulated, so that another company can pick them up and use them in their own name. (#UPDATE: Skimlinks and Viglinks can do this)

It means that I will lose a percentage of my $2 income, but, hey, I can live with that :-).

So, why did Amazon do that to me?

I honestly really have no idea, in exactly the same way that I didn't know what Google was taking about. I am just a hard-working, one-man band. I don't try to game any systems. Would you for $2 a month?

I reckon that Google and Amazon just wanted to reduce the cost of paying out to millions of affiliates by picking on them. I mean, if people want to buy from those companies, and many, many do, then they don't have to go through me, do they? Amazon, Google and the retailer will still get paid, and the customer will still be happy whether a small man lije me is in the loop trying to earn a commission or not, won't they?

It will mean that Amazon will have to write fewer, but larger cheques, which will save on bank charges... and I think that that is what this is all about - money, and keeping it among the already-wealthy.

The rest of us can go and whistle for it.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Amazon Blows It's Benevolent Image]]>172cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/dietary-deficiencies_2
Dietary Deficiencies

We went for blood tests the other week. 'Bloods' as those in the profession seem to call them. It's funny that such educated people would choose such an ungrammatical word. Anyway, we couldn't make an appointment at the hospital, so it was a question of pulling a ticket and waiting forty minutes.

The nurse took two phials of blood from each of us, which was painless and quick. I had to see the doctor the same day on a different matter, and she said that the results would be with us in a matter of days. It took eight, but, hey, that's OK.

We received our results today, and I was really surprised by how much information they seemed to have gleaned from that small amount of blood. Luckily, there was nothing serious wrong with us, but my wife was warned of a slight iron deficiency, and I of one of Vitamin D.

So, a brief check on the Internet revealed that I should eat more oranges, cereals, oily fish, beef liver and egg yolks, and my wife should eat more green vegetables, red meat, liver, nuts, lentils, beans and brown rice.

I should also spend more time in the sun.

Now, that is all well and good, but my wife has been telling me for months that our diet has been deficient in precisely these areas since we left Spain twelve months ago, AND she has been telling me to get out from behind my desk and get some fresh air - every day, in fact :-( !

All the things that we are missing were commonplace to us until we moved back to the UK. Spain and Thailand are synonymous with sun, more vegetables and less stodge like potatoes, pastry and flour-rich gravy.

Thai women know about diet and dietary deficiencies. They have a different way of looking at food. To them, food is medicine and not just a gut-filler or something 'to keep you going'. I'm British and still love my bread, chocolate, chips, and pies etc, but my wife would choose raw vegetables and fruit over those every time.

She is ashamed of herself that she has let this happen to us, although I don't think that it's only her responsibility. She does though.

She's taking over care of our diet from now on, like she has done for the last fourteen years, until we arrived here.

Do you know whether your diet provides all your body's needs?

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Dietary Deficiencies]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11569Wed, 21 Aug 2019 12:17:09 +0000Owen JonesVegetarianism Dietary Deficiencies We went for blood tests the other week. 'Bloods' as those in the profession seem to call them. It's funny that such educated people would choose such an ungrammatical word. Anyway, we couldn't make an appointment...
Dietary Deficiencies

We went for blood tests the other week. 'Bloods' as those in the profession seem to call them. It's funny that such educated people would choose such an ungrammatical word. Anyway, we couldn't make an appointment at the hospital, so it was a question of pulling a ticket and waiting forty minutes.

The nurse took two phials of blood from each of us, which was painless and quick. I had to see the doctor the same day on a different matter, and she said that the results would be with us in a matter of days. It took eight, but, hey, that's OK.

We received our results today, and I was really surprised by how much information they seemed to have gleaned from that small amount of blood. Luckily, there was nothing serious wrong with us, but my wife was warned of a slight iron deficiency, and I of one of Vitamin D.

So, a brief check on the Internet revealed that I should eat more oranges, cereals, oily fish, beef liver and egg yolks, and my wife should eat more green vegetables, red meat, liver, nuts, lentils, beans and brown rice.

I should also spend more time in the sun.

Now, that is all well and good, but my wife has been telling me for months that our diet has been deficient in precisely these areas since we left Spain twelve months ago, AND she has been telling me to get out from behind my desk and get some fresh air - every day, in fact :-( !

All the things that we are missing were commonplace to us until we moved back to the UK. Spain and Thailand are synonymous with sun, more vegetables and less stodge like potatoes, pastry and flour-rich gravy.

Thai women know about diet and dietary deficiencies. They have a different way of looking at food. To them, food is medicine and not just a gut-filler or something 'to keep you going'. I'm British and still love my bread, chocolate, chips, and pies etc, but my wife would choose raw vegetables and fruit over those every time.

She is ashamed of herself that she has let this happen to us, although I don't think that it's only her responsibility. She does though.

She's taking over care of our diet from now on, like she has done for the last fourteen years, until we arrived here.

Do you know whether your diet provides all your body's needs?

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Dietary Deficiencies]]>152cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/daddys-hobby-hinter-ihrem-laecheln_2
Daddy's Hobby - Hinter ihrem Lächeln

Die Geschichte von Lek, einem Barmädchen in Pattaya

von

Owen Jones

Übersetzt von

Patricia Stroleny

Lek ist als Älteste von vier Geschwistern in eine typische Familie von Reisbauern hineingeboren worden. Sie hatte nie erwartet, dass sich ihr Leben anders entwickeln würde als das ihrer Klassenkameradinnen in ihrem Dorf im Norden Thailands. Normalerwise hätte dies bedeutet, ein paar Jahre lang auf dem Feld zu arbeiten, ein paar Kinder zu bekommen, sie dann zu ihrer Mutter zu geben, um weiter auf dem Feld zu arbeiten, bis ihre Kinder eines Tages selbst Kinder bekommen würden und sie an der Reihe wäre, auf diese aufzupassen. Eines Tages passierte jedoch aus heiterem Himmel eine Katastrophe: Ihr Vater starb jung und hinterließ einen Schuldenberg, von dem seine Familie bis dahin nichts gewusst hatte. Lek war zu der Zeit zwanzig Jahre alt und die Einzige in ihrer Familie, die eine Zwangsvollstreckung abwenden konnte. Jedoch war ihre einzige Option, nach Pattaya zu gehen, um dort in der Bar ihrer Cousine zu arbeiten. Sie fing als Kellnerin an und merkte bald, dass sie von ihrem Ehemann, mit dem sie sich zu der Zeit schon längst auseinandergelebt hatte, schwanger war. Nun musste sich einiges ändern. Sie bekam ihre Tochter, ließ sie bei ihrer Mutter, um auf sie aufzupassen und kehrte  nach Pattaya zurück, um weiter zu arbeiten. Nun musste sie mehr Geld verdienen, um ihrer Tochter ein gutes Leben zu ermöglichen und die Tatsache, dass sie fast 1000 Kilometer trennten, wiedergutzumachen. So driftete sie in die Sexindustrie ab.

In diesem Buch geht es um ihre Abenteuer, ihre Träume und Alpträume, sowie ihren Modus Operandi. Es soll aus Leks Sicht erzählen, wie es wirklich ist, ein Barmädchen in Thailand zu sein - mit allen Hoffnungen und Enttäuschungen, die damit einhergehen und zum Alltag gehören.

Eines Tages lernt sie einen Mann kennen, den sie wirklich mag und der ihre Gefühle erwiedert. Das allein ist nichts Neues, es ist ihr schon viele Male zuvor passiert, doch diesmal fühlt es sich anders an als sonst. Sie verbringen vier wundervolle Wochen zusammen, doch dann muss er zurück in seine Heimat - und wie so viele Männer vor ihm hinterlässt er eine Menge Versprechen und Hoffnungen. Und er kommt zurück. Aber das wirkliche Leben mit einem wirklichen Partner ist nicht so einfach, wie Lek es sich erträumt hatte. Sie machen gute und shclechte Zeiten zusammen durch, aber werden sie zusammenbleiben und wenn ja, wie lange? Wird sie nach allem, was sie durchgemacht hat, überhaupt in der Lage sein, wieder eine ganz normale Feundin und Ehefrau zu sein? Wird sie wieder in der Lage sein, einem Mann wirklich zu vertrauen? Oder wäre es das Beste, ihre Träume übe Bord zu werfen und einfach weiter in der Bar zu arbeiten? Lek lernt nach und nach, dass zu bekommen, was man sich gewünscht hat, nicht immer so ist, wie man es sich vorgestellt hatte.

Der Titel "Hinter ihrem Lächeln" bezieht sich darauf, dass Thailand auf der ganzen Welt als das Land des Lächelns bekannt ist.

Amazon   Apple iTunes   Barnes & Noble   Kobo   Scribd]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11464Wed, 03 Jul 2019 09:02:23 +0000Owen JonesDaddys Hobby - Hinter ihrem Lächeln Daddy's Hobby - Hinter ihrem Lächeln Die Geschichte von Lek, einem Barmädchen in Pattaya von Owen Jones Übersetzt von Patricia Stroleny Lek ist als Älteste von vier Geschwistern in eine typische Familie von...
Daddy's Hobby - Hinter ihrem Lächeln

Die Geschichte von Lek, einem Barmädchen in Pattaya

von

Owen Jones

Übersetzt von

Patricia Stroleny

Lek ist als Älteste von vier Geschwistern in eine typische Familie von Reisbauern hineingeboren worden. Sie hatte nie erwartet, dass sich ihr Leben anders entwickeln würde als das ihrer Klassenkameradinnen in ihrem Dorf im Norden Thailands. Normalerwise hätte dies bedeutet, ein paar Jahre lang auf dem Feld zu arbeiten, ein paar Kinder zu bekommen, sie dann zu ihrer Mutter zu geben, um weiter auf dem Feld zu arbeiten, bis ihre Kinder eines Tages selbst Kinder bekommen würden und sie an der Reihe wäre, auf diese aufzupassen. Eines Tages passierte jedoch aus heiterem Himmel eine Katastrophe: Ihr Vater starb jung und hinterließ einen Schuldenberg, von dem seine Familie bis dahin nichts gewusst hatte. Lek war zu der Zeit zwanzig Jahre alt und die Einzige in ihrer Familie, die eine Zwangsvollstreckung abwenden konnte. Jedoch war ihre einzige Option, nach Pattaya zu gehen, um dort in der Bar ihrer Cousine zu arbeiten. Sie fing als Kellnerin an und merkte bald, dass sie von ihrem Ehemann, mit dem sie sich zu der Zeit schon längst auseinandergelebt hatte, schwanger war. Nun musste sich einiges ändern. Sie bekam ihre Tochter, ließ sie bei ihrer Mutter, um auf sie aufzupassen und kehrte  nach Pattaya zurück, um weiter zu arbeiten. Nun musste sie mehr Geld verdienen, um ihrer Tochter ein gutes Leben zu ermöglichen und die Tatsache, dass sie fast 1000 Kilometer trennten, wiedergutzumachen. So driftete sie in die Sexindustrie ab.

In diesem Buch geht es um ihre Abenteuer, ihre Träume und Alpträume, sowie ihren Modus Operandi. Es soll aus Leks Sicht erzählen, wie es wirklich ist, ein Barmädchen in Thailand zu sein - mit allen Hoffnungen und Enttäuschungen, die damit einhergehen und zum Alltag gehören.

Eines Tages lernt sie einen Mann kennen, den sie wirklich mag und der ihre Gefühle erwiedert. Das allein ist nichts Neues, es ist ihr schon viele Male zuvor passiert, doch diesmal fühlt es sich anders an als sonst. Sie verbringen vier wundervolle Wochen zusammen, doch dann muss er zurück in seine Heimat - und wie so viele Männer vor ihm hinterlässt er eine Menge Versprechen und Hoffnungen. Und er kommt zurück. Aber das wirkliche Leben mit einem wirklichen Partner ist nicht so einfach, wie Lek es sich erträumt hatte. Sie machen gute und shclechte Zeiten zusammen durch, aber werden sie zusammenbleiben und wenn ja, wie lange? Wird sie nach allem, was sie durchgemacht hat, überhaupt in der Lage sein, wieder eine ganz normale Feundin und Ehefrau zu sein? Wird sie wieder in der Lage sein, einem Mann wirklich zu vertrauen? Oder wäre es das Beste, ihre Träume übe Bord zu werfen und einfach weiter in der Bar zu arbeiten? Lek lernt nach und nach, dass zu bekommen, was man sich gewünscht hat, nicht immer so ist, wie man es sich vorgestellt hatte.

Der Titel "Hinter ihrem Lächeln" bezieht sich darauf, dass Thailand auf der ganzen Welt als das Land des Lächelns bekannt ist.

Amazon   Apple iTunes   Barnes & Noble   Kobo   Scribd]]>187cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/brexit-and-politicians_3
Brexit and Politicians

I am a Remainer. My main reason for not wanting Brexit is that I don't trust our politicians. I don't trust any politicians, not only British ones, but it seems to me that we have more chance of justice, if we have a couple of layers of them. Yes, that is more expensive, but at least we ordinary folk might get a fairer crack of the whip.

Just look at the things our British politicians have been caught doing over the last decade, and they have been getting away with it forever! I should imagine that the continental politicians are corrupt too - I can't see why they shouldn't be, but then the whole shebang should be reformed. Calling Brexit and retreating into our caves won't help.

Anyway, another reason for being anti-Brexit crossed my mind the other day. I have always popped over to the Continent for a few days on the spur of the moment every now and then, time and money permitting. This will no longer be possible, will it, if we will require visas to go over there?

I used to fly to Cork - thirty minutes away, but that might not be possible either, because they will be EU and we will be... what? British? Just British... stuck on our own little island with almost all our boats and bridges burned, unless we plan our once-a-year fortnight's holiday abroad.

How pathetic, how limiting, is that? Everyone else in Europe can just get on a plane or a ferry, and Brits have to queue for a visa!

No wonder rich people are buying EU citizenship in Malta so they don't get left behind the rest of the world like we will be!

Brexit is a step back into the Dark Ages... voted for in haste and fuelled by liars who only want more power as British politicians - but you can bet your life that they will still have the right to spur-of-the-moment travel - it's always the bloody same:

One rule for them and another for the rest of us!

Vote for a second referendum! How can it be undemocratic to ask a more informed people what they want? It is the only way that we will move forward.

Use #FBPE (Follow Back, Pro EU) in your social media messages to show you support remain or a second referendum!

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Brexit and Politicians]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11263Sun, 12 May 2019 15:24:41 +0000Owen JonesBrexit and Politicians Brexit and Politicians I am a Remainer. My main reason for not wanting Brexit is that I don't trust our politicians. I don't trust any politicians, not only British ones, but it seems to me that we have more chance of justice,...
Brexit and Politicians

I am a Remainer. My main reason for not wanting Brexit is that I don't trust our politicians. I don't trust any politicians, not only British ones, but it seems to me that we have more chance of justice, if we have a couple of layers of them. Yes, that is more expensive, but at least we ordinary folk might get a fairer crack of the whip.

Just look at the things our British politicians have been caught doing over the last decade, and they have been getting away with it forever! I should imagine that the continental politicians are corrupt too - I can't see why they shouldn't be, but then the whole shebang should be reformed. Calling Brexit and retreating into our caves won't help.

Anyway, another reason for being anti-Brexit crossed my mind the other day. I have always popped over to the Continent for a few days on the spur of the moment every now and then, time and money permitting. This will no longer be possible, will it, if we will require visas to go over there?

I used to fly to Cork - thirty minutes away, but that might not be possible either, because they will be EU and we will be... what? British? Just British... stuck on our own little island with almost all our boats and bridges burned, unless we plan our once-a-year fortnight's holiday abroad.

How pathetic, how limiting, is that? Everyone else in Europe can just get on a plane or a ferry, and Brits have to queue for a visa!

No wonder rich people are buying EU citizenship in Malta so they don't get left behind the rest of the world like we will be!

Brexit is a step back into the Dark Ages... voted for in haste and fuelled by liars who only want more power as British politicians - but you can bet your life that they will still have the right to spur-of-the-moment travel - it's always the bloody same:

One rule for them and another for the rest of us!

Vote for a second referendum! How can it be undemocratic to ask a more informed people what they want? It is the only way that we will move forward.

Use #FBPE (Follow Back, Pro EU) in your social media messages to show you support remain or a second referendum!

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Brexit and Politicians]]>157cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/are-indie-authors-their-own-worst-enemie_2
Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?

Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies? It is quite possible! Years ago, only five or six, many indie authors were doing 'fairly well' and were confident about their future - that their sales would continue to rise and that they would continue to write enthusiastically.

I started writing and self-publishing in 2012 and was selling ninety books a month by the end of the following year, and I was flying by the seat of my pants - I was learning how to market and distribute my three books as I went along, but was earning enough to live in Thailand, which admittedly was a cheap country to stay in those days.

There probably weren't as many would-be writers back then either and there certainly weren't as many books on the virtual shelves in online bookshops, but I think that there may be another factor at play for why Indie Authors might be Their Own Worst Enemies.

We all know that businesses exist to make money, and none are more brutal than the American Internet giants, and most of them make their money as a percentage of what they sell.

And this is my point.

In their struggle to become rich or and famous, too many novice writers pitch their books at 99c or even less. I regularly see "twenty ebooks for 99c".

Now, I can understand why a misguided author may try to get his or her foot in the door using this tactic, but what about the Big Boys like Amazon? Are they going to be happy storing, serving and even promoting a 99c book or box-set for a 30% cut of 99c?

I wouldn't be! Not when I can promote traditional publishers selling ebooks for $9.99 and paperbacks for $15.99 (or more)!

Think about it.

Amazon would earn 29c for selling an Indie author's box set of three - a month's supply of reading material - as opposed to $3 for one book!

Or, a concrete example: if both parties sell about one package a week, Amazon earns from:

The Cheap Indie Author: 50 x 27c = $13.50

Traditional Publisher: 50 x $3 = $150

It's a no brainer!

The cheapos are paying only 9%!

So, are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?

Yes, definitely!

They are NOT paying their way, and those who can't see that are ruining it for everyone else.

I am convinced that Amazon has changed its algorithms to disadvantage indie authors because they sell their books too cheaply?

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11236Wed, 01 May 2019 20:55:15 +0000Owen JonesAre Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies? Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies? Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies? It is quite possible! Years ago, only five or six, many indie authors were doing 'fairly well' and were confident about...
Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?

Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies? It is quite possible! Years ago, only five or six, many indie authors were doing 'fairly well' and were confident about their future - that their sales would continue to rise and that they would continue to write enthusiastically.

I started writing and self-publishing in 2012 and was selling ninety books a month by the end of the following year, and I was flying by the seat of my pants - I was learning how to market and distribute my three books as I went along, but was earning enough to live in Thailand, which admittedly was a cheap country to stay in those days.

There probably weren't as many would-be writers back then either and there certainly weren't as many books on the virtual shelves in online bookshops, but I think that there may be another factor at play for why Indie Authors might be Their Own Worst Enemies.

We all know that businesses exist to make money, and none are more brutal than the American Internet giants, and most of them make their money as a percentage of what they sell.

And this is my point.

In their struggle to become rich or and famous, too many novice writers pitch their books at 99c or even less. I regularly see "twenty ebooks for 99c".

Now, I can understand why a misguided author may try to get his or her foot in the door using this tactic, but what about the Big Boys like Amazon? Are they going to be happy storing, serving and even promoting a 99c book or box-set for a 30% cut of 99c?

I wouldn't be! Not when I can promote traditional publishers selling ebooks for $9.99 and paperbacks for $15.99 (or more)!

Think about it.

Amazon would earn 29c for selling an Indie author's box set of three - a month's supply of reading material - as opposed to $3 for one book!

Or, a concrete example: if both parties sell about one package a week, Amazon earns from:

The Cheap Indie Author: 50 x 27c = $13.50

Traditional Publisher: 50 x $3 = $150

It's a no brainer!

The cheapos are paying only 9%!

So, are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?

Yes, definitely!

They are NOT paying their way, and those who can't see that are ruining it for everyone else.

I am convinced that Amazon has changed its algorithms to disadvantage indie authors because they sell their books too cheaply?

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Are Indie Authors Their Own Worst Enemies?]]>158cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-eternal-plan-revealed-audiobook_2
The Eternal Plan - Revealed Audiobook

The man, the entity, as I have learned to describe him, whom I have known as my father for all of my life, is Colin Jones. He gave me a few carrier bags in 1999 and asked me to read the contents and to write a book on it, if I could. Well, this is it: The Eternal Plan - Revealed.

At that time, I could not and time did not seem pressing so I put the bags in my safe at home. He passed away a few years later on his 72 birthday, the 21st February.

I, and all of our family were devastated, but I did nothing about ‘his papers’. I had no idea what to do.

A few years later, I moved abroad and wrote a novel. That took five years, although it is still unpublished. In 2011, I started a new venture publishing ebooks that I had written myself.

The courage to write these ebooks had come from writing the first book. I looked for ways to circumvent traditional publishing and came across Amazon’s Kindle.

I learned how to publish my ebooks through them and realised how to publish Dad’s book.

It took me a long time, but I think that I was guided by Spirit. I was a slow learner.

My Dad, Colin Jones, would never have said that these writings are his own. Rather he would say that he was inspired, in the true sense of the word. People told him what to write.

All of our family witnessed this over five or six decades. Sometimes, Dad would be sitting with us watching TV, but Dad’s eyes would be shut and he would be writing the pieces that you see in this ebook. He did automatic drawings too.

My brothers and I are very privileged to have been born with such a person, but as with most instances with parents, we realised it too late.

I hope that you enjoy the tranquil, yet so powerful words and ideas rxpressed in the The Eternal Plan - Revealed. I will expand it in later editions and eventually compile a sequel.

One last point, my father’s mother, Lavinia Jones, founded a spiritualist church in Barry, South Wales, where we lived and that church on Butrill’s Road is still running to this day.

Links to the Various The Eternal Plan - Revealed Websites

The audiobook is narrated by Steve Olsen, whose melodic, soft American accent expresses both the tranquility and the power of the words. Listen to the sample below or follow the link to the free audiobook.

The Eternal Plan - Revealed is in audiobook, ebook and paperback formats on Amazon and also available in other languages! See Foreign Translations above.

Get a free copy here: The Eternal Plan - Revealed Audiobook – 100% free!



Available on Amazon, Audible and Apple’s iTunes.

or get regular free audiobooks by joining our Megan's Audiobook Club]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10090Wed, 01 May 2019 11:04:30 +0000Owen JonesThe Eternal Plan Audiobook The Eternal Plan - Revealed Audiobook The man, the entity, as I have learned to describe him, whom I have known as my father for all of my life, is Colin Jones. He gave me a few carrier bags in 1999 and asked me to read...
The Eternal Plan - Revealed Audiobook

The man, the entity, as I have learned to describe him, whom I have known as my father for all of my life, is Colin Jones. He gave me a few carrier bags in 1999 and asked me to read the contents and to write a book on it, if I could. Well, this is it: The Eternal Plan - Revealed.

At that time, I could not and time did not seem pressing so I put the bags in my safe at home. He passed away a few years later on his 72 birthday, the 21st February.

I, and all of our family were devastated, but I did nothing about ‘his papers’. I had no idea what to do.

A few years later, I moved abroad and wrote a novel. That took five years, although it is still unpublished. In 2011, I started a new venture publishing ebooks that I had written myself.

The courage to write these ebooks had come from writing the first book. I looked for ways to circumvent traditional publishing and came across Amazon’s Kindle.

I learned how to publish my ebooks through them and realised how to publish Dad’s book.

It took me a long time, but I think that I was guided by Spirit. I was a slow learner.

My Dad, Colin Jones, would never have said that these writings are his own. Rather he would say that he was inspired, in the true sense of the word. People told him what to write.

All of our family witnessed this over five or six decades. Sometimes, Dad would be sitting with us watching TV, but Dad’s eyes would be shut and he would be writing the pieces that you see in this ebook. He did automatic drawings too.

My brothers and I are very privileged to have been born with such a person, but as with most instances with parents, we realised it too late.

I hope that you enjoy the tranquil, yet so powerful words and ideas rxpressed in the The Eternal Plan - Revealed. I will expand it in later editions and eventually compile a sequel.

One last point, my father’s mother, Lavinia Jones, founded a spiritualist church in Barry, South Wales, where we lived and that church on Butrill’s Road is still running to this day.

Links to the Various The Eternal Plan - Revealed Websites

The audiobook is narrated by Steve Olsen, whose melodic, soft American accent expresses both the tranquility and the power of the words. Listen to the sample below or follow the link to the free audiobook.

The Eternal Plan - Revealed is in audiobook, ebook and paperback formats on Amazon and also available in other languages! See Foreign Translations above.

Get a free copy here: The Eternal Plan - Revealed Audiobook – 100% free!



Available on Amazon, Audible and Apple’s iTunes.

or get regular free audiobooks by joining our Megan's Audiobook Club]]>127cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/tiger-lily-of-bangkok_3
Tiger Lily of Bangkok

Tiger Lily of Bangkok - When the Seeds of Revenge Blossom opens when Lily was a happy little girl, which lasted until an 'uncle' started to abuse her from the age of eleven. She became shy and introverted, leading a lonely life until she moved to Bangkok to study at university.

However, her thoughts and her past would not leave her alone, so, after classes, she began to seek out men she suspected of paedophilia and exact her own peculiar type of revenge on them.

She became the vengeful Tiger Lily of Bangkok and terrified society, but how long could she keep evading the police, and did she secretly want to get caught anyway so she could make her story public?

You will wonder whether you want her get caught for her crimes, and that will make you question your morality.

Tiger Lily of Bangkok will make you question your values!

Reviews are available on the website you will reach by following the links below. Please leave your own short review too.

Links to the Various Tiger Lily of Bangkok Websites

The audiobook is narrated by Annya Strydom, who uses a wonderful, slightly spooky voice, which for me is reminiscent of Lily's broken mother. Listen to the sample at the top of this post or follow the link to the free audiobook.

Tiger Lily of Bangkok is the first in the series of two,

Tiger Lily of Bangkok in London is the second.

Both volumes are available in several other languages, see the section FOREIGN TRANSLATIONS above!

or get a free copy here: Tiger Lily of Bangkok - 100% free!

or get regular free audiobooks by joining our Megan's Free Audiobook Club



Available on Amazon, Audible and Apple's iTunes.]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10082Fri, 26 Apr 2019 19:28:02 +0000Owen JonesTiger Lily Audiobook Tiger Lily of Bangkok Tiger Lily of Bangkok - When the Seeds of Revenge Blossom opens when Lily was a happy little girl, which lasted until an 'uncle' started to abuse her from the age of eleven. She became shy and introverted,...
Tiger Lily of Bangkok

Tiger Lily of Bangkok - When the Seeds of Revenge Blossom opens when Lily was a happy little girl, which lasted until an 'uncle' started to abuse her from the age of eleven. She became shy and introverted, leading a lonely life until she moved to Bangkok to study at university.

However, her thoughts and her past would not leave her alone, so, after classes, she began to seek out men she suspected of paedophilia and exact her own peculiar type of revenge on them.

She became the vengeful Tiger Lily of Bangkok and terrified society, but how long could she keep evading the police, and did she secretly want to get caught anyway so she could make her story public?

You will wonder whether you want her get caught for her crimes, and that will make you question your morality.

Tiger Lily of Bangkok will make you question your values!

Reviews are available on the website you will reach by following the links below. Please leave your own short review too.

Links to the Various Tiger Lily of Bangkok Websites

The audiobook is narrated by Annya Strydom, who uses a wonderful, slightly spooky voice, which for me is reminiscent of Lily's broken mother. Listen to the sample at the top of this post or follow the link to the free audiobook.

Tiger Lily of Bangkok is the first in the series of two,

Tiger Lily of Bangkok in London is the second.

Both volumes are available in several other languages, see the section FOREIGN TRANSLATIONS above!

or get a free copy here: Tiger Lily of Bangkok - 100% free!

or get regular free audiobooks by joining our Megan's Free Audiobook Club



Available on Amazon, Audible and Apple's iTunes.]]>65cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/dogs-life-audiobook_2
How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life Audiobook

(and make him love you for doing it!)

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Justine Ellis

‘How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog’s Life – and make him love you for doing it’ is the complete handbook on choosing, buying, bonding with and looking after a dog, written by a dog-owner who is so passionate about dogs that his wife is sure that he was a dog in his last life!

Owen Jones has shared his life with dogs ever since the first day of his life.

He knows them so well that he’s sure that he can tell them jokes!

This is a must read for all current dog-owners and those who hope to be!

It is an ideal gift for young people who are about to be given a dog. In fact, why not give this book or audiobook to your young friend before they choose their new doggy four-legged friend? It will help them choose the ideal dog for them personally even if it is a mongrel rescue animal.

If this book doesn't contain the answer to your questions about dogs, email me and I'll try to help you find the solution myself!

How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life Audiobook

Reviews are available on the website you will reach by following the links below. Please leave your own short review too.

How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks on Amazon available in nine other languages!

or get a free copy here: How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life - 100% free!

or get regular free audiobooks by joining our Megan's Free Audiobook Club



Available on Amazon, Audible and Apple's iTunes.amongst others.]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=9396Thu, 25 Apr 2019 13:43:20 +0000Owen JonesDog's Life Audiobook How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life Audiobook (and make him love you for doing it!) by Owen Jones Narrated by Justine Ellis ‘How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog’s Life – and make him love you for doing it’ is the complete...
How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life Audiobook

(and make him love you for doing it!)

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Justine Ellis

‘How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog’s Life – and make him love you for doing it’ is the complete handbook on choosing, buying, bonding with and looking after a dog, written by a dog-owner who is so passionate about dogs that his wife is sure that he was a dog in his last life!

Owen Jones has shared his life with dogs ever since the first day of his life.

He knows them so well that he’s sure that he can tell them jokes!

This is a must read for all current dog-owners and those who hope to be!

It is an ideal gift for young people who are about to be given a dog. In fact, why not give this book or audiobook to your young friend before they choose their new doggy four-legged friend? It will help them choose the ideal dog for them personally even if it is a mongrel rescue animal.

If this book doesn't contain the answer to your questions about dogs, email me and I'll try to help you find the solution myself!

How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life Audiobook

Reviews are available on the website you will reach by following the links below. Please leave your own short review too.

How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks on Amazon available in nine other languages!

or get a free copy here: How to Give Your Dog a Real Dog's Life - 100% free!

or get regular free audiobooks by joining our Megan's Free Audiobook Club



Available on Amazon, Audible and Apple's iTunes.amongst others.]]>147cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-ghouls-of-calle-goya-audiobook_2
The Ghouls of Calle Goya

When Malice Comes from Good Intentions

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Elizabeth Bray

Londoner Frank marries Joy, a beautiful young Thai, who works in town. She has always dreamed of going to the Costa del Sol, so they head to an apartment in Fuengirola on Calle Goya loaned by Frank’s boss for their dream honeymoon.

Things start to go wrong when Joy fears that the apartment is haunted. Fear leads to depression and deepens into terror. Frank has no idea what to do, except take her back to her family in Thailand, but that brings its own misfortune.

Life finally looks brighter because of the intervention of a secret Scandinavian society.

This is the story of how Evil can result from good intentions.

Free Audiobook



Free Audiobook]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11214Wed, 17 Apr 2019 13:55:19 +0000Owen JonesThe Ghouls of Calle Goya The Ghouls of Calle Goya When Malice Comes from Good Intentions by Owen Jones Narrated by Elizabeth Bray Londoner Frank marries Joy, a beautiful young Thai, who works in town. She has always dreamed of going to the...
The Ghouls of Calle Goya

When Malice Comes from Good Intentions

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Elizabeth Bray

Londoner Frank marries Joy, a beautiful young Thai, who works in town. She has always dreamed of going to the Costa del Sol, so they head to an apartment in Fuengirola on Calle Goya loaned by Frank’s boss for their dream honeymoon.

Things start to go wrong when Joy fears that the apartment is haunted. Fear leads to depression and deepens into terror. Frank has no idea what to do, except take her back to her family in Thailand, but that brings its own misfortune.

Life finally looks brighter because of the intervention of a secret Scandinavian society.

This is the story of how Evil can result from good intentions.

Free Audiobook



Free Audiobook]]>299cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/behind-the-smile-daddys-hobby_2
Daddy's Hobby

Volume 1 of Behind The Smile

by Owen Jones

Narrated by Hem Cleveland

Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.

Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them.

One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about. Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. However, the only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya.

She went as a waitress-cum-cashier to Pattaya, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change. She had the baby, gave it to her mother to look after and went back to work. However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.

The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Pattaya Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.

One day she meets a man she likes and he likes her too. Nothing new there, it had happened hundreds of times, but she feels that it is different. They have a wonderful four weeks together and then he goes home – as they all had, leaving more promises and more hopes.

This one returns, but real life with a real boyfriend is not as easy as she had dreamed it would be. They go through good and bad times, but will they stay together and for how long?

After all she has been through, will she be able to be a regular girlfriend or even a wife again? Will she ever really be able to trust a man enough again either? Or would she be better off giving up her dreams and carrying on working in the bar?

Lek begins to find out that getting what you wish for is not always as good as you thought it would be.

'Behind The Smile' refers to the fact that Thailand is known the world over as 'The Land of Smiles'.

Free audiobook link:

http://smarturl.it/BTS1-bountyIQid-MPS

https://soundcloud.com/owen-jones-author/behind-the-smile-volume-1-daddys-hobby-by-owen-jones-narrated-by-hem-cleveland

Free audiobook link:

http://smarturl.it/BTS1-bountyIQid-MPS

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11107Thu, 28 Mar 2019 02:50:21 +0000Owen JonesBehind The Smile Daddy's Hobby Volume 1 of Behind The Smile by Owen Jones Narrated by Hem Cleveland Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in...
Daddy's Hobby

Volume 1 of Behind The Smile

by Owen Jones

Narrated by Hem Cleveland

Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.

Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them.

One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about. Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. However, the only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya.

She went as a waitress-cum-cashier to Pattaya, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change. She had the baby, gave it to her mother to look after and went back to work. However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.

The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Pattaya Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.

One day she meets a man she likes and he likes her too. Nothing new there, it had happened hundreds of times, but she feels that it is different. They have a wonderful four weeks together and then he goes home – as they all had, leaving more promises and more hopes.

This one returns, but real life with a real boyfriend is not as easy as she had dreamed it would be. They go through good and bad times, but will they stay together and for how long?

After all she has been through, will she be able to be a regular girlfriend or even a wife again? Will she ever really be able to trust a man enough again either? Or would she be better off giving up her dreams and carrying on working in the bar?

Lek begins to find out that getting what you wish for is not always as good as you thought it would be.

'Behind The Smile' refers to the fact that Thailand is known the world over as 'The Land of Smiles'.

Free audiobook link:

http://smarturl.it/BTS1-bountyIQid-MPS

https://soundcloud.com/owen-jones-author/behind-the-smile-volume-1-daddys-hobby-by-owen-jones-narrated-by-hem-cleveland

Free audiobook link:

http://smarturl.it/BTS1-bountyIQid-MPS

 ]]>301cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/uk-post-office_2
The UK Post Office

When I was young, there was a period of my life when I couldn't wait to open a Post Office Savings Account and also buy Premium Bonds. I can't remember how old one had to be, but let's say fourteen for the savings account and sixteen for the Premium Bonds, the top prize for playing which every month was a million pounds.

At roughly the same time, I started buying coins for my collection from around the country and selling my duplicates too, which usually involved transferring money using Postal Orders. It made me feel independent and that made me feel ever so grown up.

At eighteen years of age, I abandoned the Post Office in favour of the bank, and postal orders for the more convenient cheque.

Well, now, forty-five years later, we seem to have come full-circle, since my bank no longer issues cheques. I had to send £65 to the Home Office last week, and I had to pay the Post Office £8.50 for the expensive privilege!

£8.50 to send £65 within the country!

Daylight Robbery

That is not only 13%, it is daylight robbery and a kick in the teeth to all the people who use this crappy 'service'. They get my money for three or four days, and I give them 13% for the privilege! Is the dreaded and very expensive, Western Union cheaper?

It really wouldn't surprise me.

However, the nightmare doesn't end there. I had to send irreplaceable documents, which the counter staff cheerfully told me are not covered by their normal insurance, and so had to pay £11.50 postage and insurance.

At least this was a reduction. The first time I sent exactly the same package, they charged me £18.50!

You couldn't make it up, could you, but I think the Post Office is... as they go along!

There has to be a better way, and, for me at least, the Post Office will be my last option next time, not the first port of call.

Stuff 'em - they don't care about us!

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen.

Podcast: The UK Post Office]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11086Wed, 27 Feb 2019 20:01:18 +0000Owen JonesThe UK Post Office The UK Post Office When I was young, there was a period of my life when I couldn't wait to open a Post Office Savings Account and also buy Premium Bonds. I can't remember how old one had to be, but let's say fourteen for the...
The UK Post Office

When I was young, there was a period of my life when I couldn't wait to open a Post Office Savings Account and also buy Premium Bonds. I can't remember how old one had to be, but let's say fourteen for the savings account and sixteen for the Premium Bonds, the top prize for playing which every month was a million pounds.

At roughly the same time, I started buying coins for my collection from around the country and selling my duplicates too, which usually involved transferring money using Postal Orders. It made me feel independent and that made me feel ever so grown up.

At eighteen years of age, I abandoned the Post Office in favour of the bank, and postal orders for the more convenient cheque.

Well, now, forty-five years later, we seem to have come full-circle, since my bank no longer issues cheques. I had to send £65 to the Home Office last week, and I had to pay the Post Office £8.50 for the expensive privilege!

£8.50 to send £65 within the country!

Daylight Robbery

That is not only 13%, it is daylight robbery and a kick in the teeth to all the people who use this crappy 'service'. They get my money for three or four days, and I give them 13% for the privilege! Is the dreaded and very expensive, Western Union cheaper?

It really wouldn't surprise me.

However, the nightmare doesn't end there. I had to send irreplaceable documents, which the counter staff cheerfully told me are not covered by their normal insurance, and so had to pay £11.50 postage and insurance.

At least this was a reduction. The first time I sent exactly the same package, they charged me £18.50!

You couldn't make it up, could you, but I think the Post Office is... as they go along!

There has to be a better way, and, for me at least, the Post Office will be my last option next time, not the first port of call.

Stuff 'em - they don't care about us!

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen.

Podcast: The UK Post Office]]>139cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-first-jukebox-in-barry_2
The First Jukebox in Barry

I started drinking quite late for a boy in my home town of Barry, South Wales. It was in the Seventies, when, I assume, my hormones kicked in. Bars, or pubs in Britain, in those days, were very different places than they are now. For a start there wasn't a single jukebox in town.

Anyway, up until then, I had been more interested in my coin and stamp collection than pubs. However, eventually, friends - the dreaded peer pressure - persuaded me to go to bars and look for 'women', although what we normally did was renew friendships with girls that we had been separated from at eleven, due to the segregation of boys and girls in our educational system.

In general, pubs were quieter then, far smokier, and not somewhere to go for something to eat. Most working-class pubs sold crisps, perhaps a pickled onion and a scotch egg, if you were lucky. There were designated smoking rooms, but nobody went in there to smoke. They were usually very quiet, and so, suited to illegal gambling (cards), or club darts matches. The main bars often had blue clouds of smoke floating five or six feet from the ground.

There was no music. In England, I did witness people playing the piano, but in Wales, people sang mostly hymns, rugby songs and arias. My favourite singing bar was the Park Hotel, or the Ship Hotel before they renovated it and tossed the singers out.

Many's the happy Thursday (traditional payday), or Friday and Saturday evenings that I went there looking for a sing-song, even if there wasn't a rugby match on TV. Otherwise, people talked while drinking and played dominoes or cards (especially: Crib and Don) for small stakes.

I clearly remember the evening that the first jukebox arrived in the Park Hotel. There were plenty of customers in there, although it was still daylight outside, but it was strangely quiet... as if a local had died.

I was standing at the bar alone, supping my first pint of S.A. when an older man stood near me, ordered a pint, took a long swig, and started to sing. I put my pint down and joined in... so did several others. It was a classic situation...

And then we all clearly heard a few bars of a top-ten record. The man stopped and I looked around. Who would have the effrontery to play a radio when someone was singing, I thought. Then I spotted it. I had assumed that it was a new bandit, and looked at the barman.

He looked very embarrassed and shrugged. "It does that..." he said. "It's the first jukebox in Barry. The landlord is hoping it'll make his fortune".

"But nobody is playing it!" said the man nearby.

"No... if no-one uses it for twenty minutes, it plays a few seconds of a tune at random".

"But, if no-one is using it, then it's because nobody wants to hear it..." my new friend mused.

"Sorry", said the barman with a glum expression, "that's how it's been set up".

I later realised that that first jukebox in Barry really was a bandit. Singing in the Park died out within a week, and we were robbed of part of our culture. Unfortunately, it has never come back, and people wouldn't know the words to the great old hymns and arias any longer, even if there was a power cut.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below.

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: The First Jukebox in Barry]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11082Tue, 26 Feb 2019 04:21:31 +0000Owen JonesThe First Jukebox in Barry The First Jukebox in Barry I started drinking quite late for a boy in my home town of Barry, South Wales. It was in the Seventies, when, I assume, my hormones kicked in. Bars, or pubs in Britain, in those days, were very...
The First Jukebox in Barry

I started drinking quite late for a boy in my home town of Barry, South Wales. It was in the Seventies, when, I assume, my hormones kicked in. Bars, or pubs in Britain, in those days, were very different places than they are now. For a start there wasn't a single jukebox in town.

Anyway, up until then, I had been more interested in my coin and stamp collection than pubs. However, eventually, friends - the dreaded peer pressure - persuaded me to go to bars and look for 'women', although what we normally did was renew friendships with girls that we had been separated from at eleven, due to the segregation of boys and girls in our educational system.

In general, pubs were quieter then, far smokier, and not somewhere to go for something to eat. Most working-class pubs sold crisps, perhaps a pickled onion and a scotch egg, if you were lucky. There were designated smoking rooms, but nobody went in there to smoke. They were usually very quiet, and so, suited to illegal gambling (cards), or club darts matches. The main bars often had blue clouds of smoke floating five or six feet from the ground.

There was no music. In England, I did witness people playing the piano, but in Wales, people sang mostly hymns, rugby songs and arias. My favourite singing bar was the Park Hotel, or the Ship Hotel before they renovated it and tossed the singers out.

Many's the happy Thursday (traditional payday), or Friday and Saturday evenings that I went there looking for a sing-song, even if there wasn't a rugby match on TV. Otherwise, people talked while drinking and played dominoes or cards (especially: Crib and Don) for small stakes.

I clearly remember the evening that the first jukebox arrived in the Park Hotel. There were plenty of customers in there, although it was still daylight outside, but it was strangely quiet... as if a local had died.

I was standing at the bar alone, supping my first pint of S.A. when an older man stood near me, ordered a pint, took a long swig, and started to sing. I put my pint down and joined in... so did several others. It was a classic situation...

And then we all clearly heard a few bars of a top-ten record. The man stopped and I looked around. Who would have the effrontery to play a radio when someone was singing, I thought. Then I spotted it. I had assumed that it was a new bandit, and looked at the barman.

He looked very embarrassed and shrugged. "It does that..." he said. "It's the first jukebox in Barry. The landlord is hoping it'll make his fortune".

"But nobody is playing it!" said the man nearby.

"No... if no-one uses it for twenty minutes, it plays a few seconds of a tune at random".

"But, if no-one is using it, then it's because nobody wants to hear it..." my new friend mused.

"Sorry", said the barman with a glum expression, "that's how it's been set up".

I later realised that that first jukebox in Barry really was a bandit. Singing in the Park died out within a week, and we were robbed of part of our culture. Unfortunately, it has never come back, and people wouldn't know the words to the great old hymns and arias any longer, even if there was a power cut.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below.

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: The First Jukebox in Barry]]>225cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-eyes-of-death_2
The Eyes of Death

by

Donald L. Vasicek

Review by Barry Boy

I was given a copy of The Eyes of Death by Donald L. Vasicek in return for an honest review.

The Eyes of Death is a difficult story to classify because it concerns psychic powers, which, probably, most people in the world believe to be real, although most people in the West think of as imaginary. Therefore, it could be classed as either Non-Fiction>Body Mind and spirit or Fiction>Fantasy. However, The Eyes of Death is a novella written in the third-person singular, the main character of which is Hannah Powers, who lives in the 'preppy-type' city of Evanstown north of Chicago.

The general atmosphere of the novel is tense, as if something is always just about to happen. And it does too, the an early example of which is an armed robbery on a small shop and the tragic consequences of it. Hannah also becomes aware of her psychic powers, but is to some extent confused and disappointed by them, because she cannot help the people who are the subject of her Second Sight.

In fact, she begins to think that she must be mentally ill, or at least, mentally damaged, but there is no medical evidence for this. Hannah seems to find her new life with psychic powers both frightening, lonely and very sad, because she can do nothing to help the people, whose future she has foreseen.

Psychic Abilities

The Eyes of Death is an interesting novel to me, because I believe in psychic ability and have some personal experience since most of my relatives are Spiritualists – mainly psychics and Healers. I grew up with these beliefs from being a small child, and I have never found anything, anyone or any argument to persuade me that humans are not psychic. I also understand the loneliness that is concomitant with those beliefs. It would be much worse for someone who had their psychic abilities 'switched on' suddenly one day.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Eyes of Death. and recommend it to anyone who likes 'psychic dramas'. The sometimes 'experimental' style of writing and the cover both compliment the subject matter.

I give The Eyes of Death by Donald L. Vasicek five out of five stars.

You can read our exclusive interview with Donald L. Vasicek on this blog Megan Publishing Services here:

Donald L. Vasicek author interview]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=11046Tue, 19 Feb 2019 21:47:06 +0000Owen JonesThe Eyes of Death The Eyes of Death by Donald L. Vasicek Review by Barry Boy I was given a copy of The Eyes of Death by Donald L. Vasicek in return for an honest review. The Eyes of Death is a difficult story to classify because it concerns...
The Eyes of Death

by

Donald L. Vasicek

Review by Barry Boy

I was given a copy of The Eyes of Death by Donald L. Vasicek in return for an honest review.

The Eyes of Death is a difficult story to classify because it concerns psychic powers, which, probably, most people in the world believe to be real, although most people in the West think of as imaginary. Therefore, it could be classed as either Non-Fiction>Body Mind and spirit or Fiction>Fantasy. However, The Eyes of Death is a novella written in the third-person singular, the main character of which is Hannah Powers, who lives in the 'preppy-type' city of Evanstown north of Chicago.

The general atmosphere of the novel is tense, as if something is always just about to happen. And it does too, the an early example of which is an armed robbery on a small shop and the tragic consequences of it. Hannah also becomes aware of her psychic powers, but is to some extent confused and disappointed by them, because she cannot help the people who are the subject of her Second Sight.

In fact, she begins to think that she must be mentally ill, or at least, mentally damaged, but there is no medical evidence for this. Hannah seems to find her new life with psychic powers both frightening, lonely and very sad, because she can do nothing to help the people, whose future she has foreseen.

Psychic Abilities

The Eyes of Death is an interesting novel to me, because I believe in psychic ability and have some personal experience since most of my relatives are Spiritualists – mainly psychics and Healers. I grew up with these beliefs from being a small child, and I have never found anything, anyone or any argument to persuade me that humans are not psychic. I also understand the loneliness that is concomitant with those beliefs. It would be much worse for someone who had their psychic abilities 'switched on' suddenly one day.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Eyes of Death. and recommend it to anyone who likes 'psychic dramas'. The sometimes 'experimental' style of writing and the cover both compliment the subject matter.

I give The Eyes of Death by Donald L. Vasicek five out of five stars.

You can read our exclusive interview with Donald L. Vasicek on this blog Megan Publishing Services here:

Donald L. Vasicek author interview]]>153cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/o-cuco-de-andropov_2
O Cuco de Andropov

Uma História de Amor, Intrigas e a KGB

por

Owen Jones

Traduzido por

Nelson Leonel De Benedetti

Um moribundo narra a história da pessoa mais incrível que ele já conheceu, uma brilhante linguista soviética que ele chama de Youriko. É um conto de amor, ousadia, espiões e perigos ambientados no Japão, Alemanha, Turquia, EUA, Canadá e Reino Unido, mas principalmente na União Soviética dos anos 70.
Duas garotas, nascidas a milhares de quilômetros de distância no Cazaquistão e no Japão logo após a Segunda Guerra Mundial, se encontram e são como ervilhas em uma vagem. Elas também se comportam como irmãs e mantêm contato pelo resto de suas vidas.
No entanto, uma quer ajudar seu país marcado pela batalha e a outra quer deixar o dela e ir para o Ocidente. Elas sonham com um plano ousado e perigoso para alcançar os dois objetivos, sobre os quais Andropov, o chefe da KGB soviética, é informado. Ele o chama de Operação Youriko e ela é posta em movimento, mas tem a mais remota chance de sucesso?
O Cuco de Andropov é baseado em uma "história verdadeira" relatada ao autor por uma das protagonistas.

Disponível em:

Amazon   Apple iTunes   Barnes & Noble   Kobo   Scribd]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10509Mon, 11 Feb 2019 02:19:20 +0000Owen JonesO Cuco de Andropov O Cuco de Andropov Uma História de Amor, Intrigas e a KGB por Owen Jones Traduzido por Nelson Leonel De Benedetti Um moribundo narra a história da pessoa mais incrível que ele já conheceu, uma brilhante linguista...
O Cuco de Andropov

Uma História de Amor, Intrigas e a KGB

por

Owen Jones

Traduzido por

Nelson Leonel De Benedetti

Um moribundo narra a história da pessoa mais incrível que ele já conheceu, uma brilhante linguista soviética que ele chama de Youriko. É um conto de amor, ousadia, espiões e perigos ambientados no Japão, Alemanha, Turquia, EUA, Canadá e Reino Unido, mas principalmente na União Soviética dos anos 70.
Duas garotas, nascidas a milhares de quilômetros de distância no Cazaquistão e no Japão logo após a Segunda Guerra Mundial, se encontram e são como ervilhas em uma vagem. Elas também se comportam como irmãs e mantêm contato pelo resto de suas vidas.
No entanto, uma quer ajudar seu país marcado pela batalha e a outra quer deixar o dela e ir para o Ocidente. Elas sonham com um plano ousado e perigoso para alcançar os dois objetivos, sobre os quais Andropov, o chefe da KGB soviética, é informado. Ele o chama de Operação Youriko e ela é posta em movimento, mas tem a mais remota chance de sucesso?
O Cuco de Andropov é baseado em uma "história verdadeira" relatada ao autor por uma das protagonistas.

Disponível em:

Amazon   Apple iTunes   Barnes & Noble   Kobo   Scribd]]>90cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/donald-l-vasicek_3
Donald L. Vasicek - Author and Screenwriter

Today, we are going to meet Donald L. Vasicek, the award-winning American author and screenwriter. Over to you, Don, please tell us something about yourself and your work.

1 Name Donald L. Vasicek

Website / Blog The Zen of Writing http://www.donvasicek.com

2 Country

United States of America

3 Do you prefer to read a particular genre?

I enjoy thrillers, suspense, mystery.

4 Do you write in the same genre? Yes.

5 Have you always written and what got you started professionally?

I was inspired to write after I lost my family 40+ years ago. It was like a part of the hidden me emerged. The pain of loss was so immense, my brain switched to pushing me to express my feelings through writing. I got started writing professionally by having a poem titled, "Dad", I wrote that was published by "Success Unlimited".

6 How many books have you published?

One. A second one, "The Real Ghost", which won 1st place in the Waldorf Publishing Book Competition, is now being published by Waldorf.

7 Which one would you like to tell us about?

"The Real Ghost".

8 Why did you write this book and what is it about?

I originally wrote "The Real Ghost" as a screenplay, after another screenplay I wrote, "Born to Win", a story about a boy who sets out to win a muscle car race to win the prize money to pay for his Gramps's life-saving surgery, was produced by Incline Productions, Inc. I converted "The Real Ghost" screenplay into a novel. "The Real Ghost" is a story about a boy who sets out to prove he saw Babe Ruth after no one in town will believe him. Known for telling "tall tales" to get attention, the boy wants to prove he is telling the truth this time. It is a light-hearted, suspenseful thriller that walks on the edge of the paranormal genre.

9 Book cover and ISBN/ASIN

Waldorf Publishing is in the process of publishing the book, so there is no book cover, or ISBN/ASIN at this writing.

10 What would you like your next book to be on?

My next book is titled "The Caller." It is a suspense/thriller about a successful woman who sets out to find her soul mate only to experience that each time she dates someone, they are murdered. I am also presently writing my autobiography for my grandkids.

11 If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would you go and why?

I’ve been here before, but I would like to return to Stratford Upon Avon, the hometown of William Shakespeare. The community possesses positive energy for me. It is quiet there. The people are friendly, but not to the point of being pushy or anything like that. The fields surrounding the town are lush in green foliage. A small river runs through the town and there is a large oak tree right in the middle of a main thoroughfare in town. This particular road swerves around the tree to preserve the tree, which is about a block from Shakespeare’s grave. There is simply a certain kind of peace and safety there that is relaxing and nice.

12 Is there anything you can share about yourself or your work that not many people know?

I love to work out 6 days a week lifting weights, stretching, rowing & walking on a treadmill (knees from running for several years have limited me to walking on a treadmill). I am a Twitter freak. I love doing puzzles. I love to read. I love animals. I love my wife and traveling with her. We've been to numerous countries even marveling at the Berlin wall, crushed and being used for streets and walkways in Berlin, not to mention the Masai Mara Game Preserve in Kenya,]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10975Sun, 10 Feb 2019 23:10:12 +0000Owen JonesDonald L Vasicek Donald L. Vasicek - Author and Screenwriter Today, we are going to meet Donald L. Vasicek, the award-winning American author and screenwriter. Over to you, Don, please tell us something about yourself and your work. 1 Name Donald...
Donald L. Vasicek - Author and Screenwriter

Today, we are going to meet Donald L. Vasicek, the award-winning American author and screenwriter. Over to you, Don, please tell us something about yourself and your work.

1 Name Donald L. Vasicek

Website / Blog The Zen of Writing http://www.donvasicek.com

2 Country

United States of America

3 Do you prefer to read a particular genre?

I enjoy thrillers, suspense, mystery.

4 Do you write in the same genre? Yes.

5 Have you always written and what got you started professionally?

I was inspired to write after I lost my family 40+ years ago. It was like a part of the hidden me emerged. The pain of loss was so immense, my brain switched to pushing me to express my feelings through writing. I got started writing professionally by having a poem titled, "Dad", I wrote that was published by "Success Unlimited".

6 How many books have you published?

One. A second one, "The Real Ghost", which won 1st place in the Waldorf Publishing Book Competition, is now being published by Waldorf.

7 Which one would you like to tell us about?

"The Real Ghost".

8 Why did you write this book and what is it about?

I originally wrote "The Real Ghost" as a screenplay, after another screenplay I wrote, "Born to Win", a story about a boy who sets out to win a muscle car race to win the prize money to pay for his Gramps's life-saving surgery, was produced by Incline Productions, Inc. I converted "The Real Ghost" screenplay into a novel. "The Real Ghost" is a story about a boy who sets out to prove he saw Babe Ruth after no one in town will believe him. Known for telling "tall tales" to get attention, the boy wants to prove he is telling the truth this time. It is a light-hearted, suspenseful thriller that walks on the edge of the paranormal genre.

9 Book cover and ISBN/ASIN

Waldorf Publishing is in the process of publishing the book, so there is no book cover, or ISBN/ASIN at this writing.

10 What would you like your next book to be on?

My next book is titled "The Caller." It is a suspense/thriller about a successful woman who sets out to find her soul mate only to experience that each time she dates someone, they are murdered. I am also presently writing my autobiography for my grandkids.

11 If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would you go and why?

I’ve been here before, but I would like to return to Stratford Upon Avon, the hometown of William Shakespeare. The community possesses positive energy for me. It is quiet there. The people are friendly, but not to the point of being pushy or anything like that. The fields surrounding the town are lush in green foliage. A small river runs through the town and there is a large oak tree right in the middle of a main thoroughfare in town. This particular road swerves around the tree to preserve the tree, which is about a block from Shakespeare’s grave. There is simply a certain kind of peace and safety there that is relaxing and nice.

12 Is there anything you can share about yourself or your work that not many people know?

I love to work out 6 days a week lifting weights, stretching, rowing & walking on a treadmill (knees from running for several years have limited me to walking on a treadmill). I am a Twitter freak. I love doing puzzles. I love to read. I love animals. I love my wife and traveling with her. We've been to numerous countries even marveling at the Berlin wall, crushed and being used for streets and walkways in Berlin, not to mention the Masai Mara Game Preserve in Kenya,]]>317cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-fate-twister-audiobook_2
The Fate Twister - Audiobook

Fate Twister

The Story of Wayne Gamm

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Pauli Murphy

Wayne Gamm was born on a remote sheep farm on a mountainside in north Wales on a stormy night in June. The midwife and even the family itself wanted him to be delivered in hospital because he was going to be large and he was Gwynedd’s first baby, but for reason's that will become apparent, his mother and grandmother, Rhiannon, thought that might be very dangerous.

All of Gwynedd’s family had been born on the farm, Yr Ardd Y Ddraig, The Dragon's Garden, for as far back as they knew - a family bible put that at 324 years - and they were all either witches or warlocks.

The problem with the males though was that they were 'lose cannons', meaning they had difficulty focusing their powers. Wayne followed suit, although all witch babies have to learn self-control, even the females.

Gwynedd and Rhiannon had high hopes that Wayne would be more capable than his male antecedents, but it turned out that he had such great power, and so little control, that even his own family were wary of him.

He was feared and shunned at school by teachers and fellow-students alike because they knew from experience, that things could get a little weird when Wayne was around.

The more astute noticed that when he was happy, good things happened, but when he was upset, anything could befall anyone. Luckily, Wayne was a happy person by nature, but this made it worse for him, because he didn't want to hurt people, so he refused to accept that he was causing the disruptions.

They called him Fate Twister behind his back.

Wayne grew up dejected, rejected, lonely and in denial.

This is the story of the early life of Wayne Gamm, Fate Twister.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/fatetwister-bounty?IQid=MPS



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/fatetwister-bounty?IQid=MPS

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10930Sun, 03 Feb 2019 00:02:53 +0000Owen JonesFate Twister The Fate Twister - Audiobook Fate Twister The Story of Wayne Gamm by Owen Jones Narrated by Pauli Murphy Wayne Gamm was born on a remote sheep farm on a mountainside in north Wales on a stormy night in June. The midwife and even...
The Fate Twister - Audiobook

Fate Twister

The Story of Wayne Gamm

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Pauli Murphy

Wayne Gamm was born on a remote sheep farm on a mountainside in north Wales on a stormy night in June. The midwife and even the family itself wanted him to be delivered in hospital because he was going to be large and he was Gwynedd’s first baby, but for reason's that will become apparent, his mother and grandmother, Rhiannon, thought that might be very dangerous.

All of Gwynedd’s family had been born on the farm, Yr Ardd Y Ddraig, The Dragon's Garden, for as far back as they knew - a family bible put that at 324 years - and they were all either witches or warlocks.

The problem with the males though was that they were 'lose cannons', meaning they had difficulty focusing their powers. Wayne followed suit, although all witch babies have to learn self-control, even the females.

Gwynedd and Rhiannon had high hopes that Wayne would be more capable than his male antecedents, but it turned out that he had such great power, and so little control, that even his own family were wary of him.

He was feared and shunned at school by teachers and fellow-students alike because they knew from experience, that things could get a little weird when Wayne was around.

The more astute noticed that when he was happy, good things happened, but when he was upset, anything could befall anyone. Luckily, Wayne was a happy person by nature, but this made it worse for him, because he didn't want to hurt people, so he refused to accept that he was causing the disruptions.

They called him Fate Twister behind his back.

Wayne grew up dejected, rejected, lonely and in denial.

This is the story of the early life of Wayne Gamm, Fate Twister.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/fatetwister-bounty?IQid=MPS



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/fatetwister-bounty?IQid=MPS

 ]]>214cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-disallowed-audiobook_2
The Disallowed - Audiobook

The Disallowed

The Humorous Tale of a Contemporary Vampire Family

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Melanie Crawley

Heng Lee is a goat-herd in the remote mountains north-east of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, very close to the border with Laos. It is a tight-knit community where everyone knows one another.

Heng gets sick all of a sudden, but not too sick to take the goats out, until one day he has to go to see the local shaman, because he has started fainting.

There are no medical doctors in the vicinity and the Shaman has been good enough for most people for centuries.

The Shaman takes some specimens and comes to the conclusion that Heng’s kidneys have stopped functioning and so has little time left to live.

The battle is on to save Heng’s life, but there are other forces at work too.

What will become of Heng, his family and the rest of the community, if he takes the Shaman’s advice?

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/disallowed-bounty?IQid=MPS



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/disallowed-bounty?IQid=MPS

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10922Sat, 02 Feb 2019 21:34:56 +0000Owen JonesThe Disallowed The Disallowed - Audiobook The Disallowed The Humorous Tale of a Contemporary Vampire Family by Owen Jones Narrated by Melanie Crawley Heng Lee is a goat-herd in the remote mountains north-east of Chiang Rai in northern...
The Disallowed - Audiobook

The Disallowed

The Humorous Tale of a Contemporary Vampire Family

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Melanie Crawley

Heng Lee is a goat-herd in the remote mountains north-east of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, very close to the border with Laos. It is a tight-knit community where everyone knows one another.

Heng gets sick all of a sudden, but not too sick to take the goats out, until one day he has to go to see the local shaman, because he has started fainting.

There are no medical doctors in the vicinity and the Shaman has been good enough for most people for centuries.

The Shaman takes some specimens and comes to the conclusion that Heng’s kidneys have stopped functioning and so has little time left to live.

The battle is on to save Heng’s life, but there are other forces at work too.

What will become of Heng, his family and the rest of the community, if he takes the Shaman’s advice?

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/disallowed-bounty?IQid=MPS



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/disallowed-bounty?IQid=MPS

 ]]>301cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/daisys-chain-audiobook_2
Daisy's Chain

A Story of Love, Intrigue and the Underworld on the Costa del Sol

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

William James Hill

Daisy, the proud daughter of a wealthy ex-London gangster, John, and his Spanish wife, Teresa, grew up in Marbella on the Costa del Sol, aka, the Costa del Crime. She idolised her parents and sought to impress her ageing father by helping him run the family businesses after uni. However, a disastrous error of judgement ends in family tragedy, and her mother puts Daisy on a safer path of helping the local community as a penance. Daisy's Chain is a tragic tale with a pleasantly happy ending.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/daisyschain-bounty?IQid=mps



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/daisyschain-bounty?IQid=mps

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10939Sat, 02 Feb 2019 21:12:06 +0000Owen JonesDaisy's Chain - A Story of Love, Intrigue and the Underworld on the Costa del Sol Daisy's Chain A Story of Love, Intrigue and the Underworld on the Costa del Sol by Owen Jones Narrated by William James Hill Daisy, the proud daughter of a...
Daisy's Chain

A Story of Love, Intrigue and the Underworld on the Costa del Sol

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

William James Hill

Daisy, the proud daughter of a wealthy ex-London gangster, John, and his Spanish wife, Teresa, grew up in Marbella on the Costa del Sol, aka, the Costa del Crime. She idolised her parents and sought to impress her ageing father by helping him run the family businesses after uni. However, a disastrous error of judgement ends in family tragedy, and her mother puts Daisy on a safer path of helping the local community as a penance. Daisy's Chain is a tragic tale with a pleasantly happy ending.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/daisyschain-bounty?IQid=mps



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/daisyschain-bounty?IQid=mps

 ]]>306cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/asian-shorts-audiobook_3
Asian Shorts

Compiled by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Bob Sterry

Asian Shorts came about because of a sequence of events on one weekend. A friend was telling me that he had several short stories with Asia as a backdrop, I was saying that I had a few as well. Then another friend sent me an email that he wanted to write a short on Pattaya, and one of my Thai cousins sent me her latest photo, the one on the cover of this book.

It was like somebody was trying to tell me something, or several were anyway.

The nineteen stories by nine authors in this anthology were sent to me in one month, but are as varied as their writers. The stipulation was that Asia or an Asian had to feature strongly in the story. We have stories featuring Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam, by Asian and non-Asian authors who live in or come from Britain, Malaysia, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam.

Some of these writers are well-known as writers, some are better known in other spheres; some have written a lot before and been published in the traditional sense, others are travelling the Indie Publishing path, and for yet others this is the very first time they or you will have seen their stories in print of any kind.
You can read more about each author by visiting the web sites that they have given after their stories. I thoroughly recommend that you do this, as what you will find out about the authors will surprise you.

I guarantee that.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/asian-shorts-bounty?IQid=MPS



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/asian-shorts-bounty?IQid=MPS]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=9410Fri, 01 Feb 2019 09:10:41 +0000Owen JonesAsian Shorts - Audiobook Asian Shorts Compiled by Owen Jones Narrated by Bob Sterry Asian Shorts came about because of a sequence of events on one weekend. A friend was telling me that he had several short stories with Asia as a backdrop, I was...
Asian Shorts

Compiled by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Bob Sterry

Asian Shorts came about because of a sequence of events on one weekend. A friend was telling me that he had several short stories with Asia as a backdrop, I was saying that I had a few as well. Then another friend sent me an email that he wanted to write a short on Pattaya, and one of my Thai cousins sent me her latest photo, the one on the cover of this book.

It was like somebody was trying to tell me something, or several were anyway.

The nineteen stories by nine authors in this anthology were sent to me in one month, but are as varied as their writers. The stipulation was that Asia or an Asian had to feature strongly in the story. We have stories featuring Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam, by Asian and non-Asian authors who live in or come from Britain, Malaysia, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam.

Some of these writers are well-known as writers, some are better known in other spheres; some have written a lot before and been published in the traditional sense, others are travelling the Indie Publishing path, and for yet others this is the very first time they or you will have seen their stories in print of any kind.
You can read more about each author by visiting the web sites that they have given after their stories. I thoroughly recommend that you do this, as what you will find out about the authors will surprise you.

I guarantee that.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/asian-shorts-bounty?IQid=MPS



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/asian-shorts-bounty?IQid=MPS]]>80cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/andropovs-cuckoo-audiobook_3
Andropov's Cuckoo - Audiobook



Andropov's Cuckoo

A Tale of Love, Intrigue and the KGB

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

William James Hill

A dying man recounts the story of the most amazing person he has ever met: a brilliant Soviet linguist, whom he knew as Youriko. It is a tale of love, daring-do, spies, and danger set in Japan, Germany, Turkey, the USA, Canada, and the UK, but mostly in the Soviet Union of the 70s.

Two girls, born thousands of miles apart in Kazakhstan and Japan just after World War II, meet and are like peas in a pod. They also get on like sisters and keep n touch for the rest of their lives.
However, one wants to help her battle-scarred country and the other wants to leave hers for the West. They dream up a daring, dangerous plan to achieve both goals, which Andropov, the chief of the Soviet KGB, is told about. He dubs it "Operation Youriko", and it is set in motion, but does it have even the remotest chance of success?

Andropov’s Cuckoo is based on a true story related to the author by one of the protagonists.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Andropov-bounty?IQid=MPS

<

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Andropov-bounty?IQid=MPS

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10907Fri, 01 Feb 2019 01:42:13 +0000Owen JonesAndropov's Cuckoo Andropov's Cuckoo - Audiobook Andropov's Cuckoo A Tale of Love, Intrigue and the KGB by Owen Jones Narrated by William James Hill A dying man recounts the story of the most amazing person he has ever met: a brilliant Soviet...
Andropov's Cuckoo - Audiobook



Andropov's Cuckoo

A Tale of Love, Intrigue and the KGB

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

William James Hill

A dying man recounts the story of the most amazing person he has ever met: a brilliant Soviet linguist, whom he knew as Youriko. It is a tale of love, daring-do, spies, and danger set in Japan, Germany, Turkey, the USA, Canada, and the UK, but mostly in the Soviet Union of the 70s.

Two girls, born thousands of miles apart in Kazakhstan and Japan just after World War II, meet and are like peas in a pod. They also get on like sisters and keep n touch for the rest of their lives.
However, one wants to help her battle-scarred country and the other wants to leave hers for the West. They dream up a daring, dangerous plan to achieve both goals, which Andropov, the chief of the Soviet KGB, is told about. He dubs it "Operation Youriko", and it is set in motion, but does it have even the remotest chance of success?

Andropov’s Cuckoo is based on a true story related to the author by one of the protagonists.

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Andropov-bounty?IQid=MPS

<

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Andropov-bounty?IQid=MPS

 ]]>326cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/a-night-in-annwn-audiobook_3
A Night In Annwn - Audiobook

A Night In Annwn

The Story of Willy Jones' NDE

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Andrew McGuirk

William Jones, a sheep farmer from the Brecon Beacons, had led a happy life, until his wife, Sarah, died young. It left him devastated and seemingly bent on self-destruction. His daughter, Becky tried to help, but even she was losing patience with her father.

One evening, he is certain that he has died and been put out of his misery, but it was not to be. He recovered. However his life was never to be the same again.

He had discovered Annwn where his wife lived, and his newly found vitality changed his life and that of all those with whom he came into contact.

A Night in Annwn is a love story that spans the greatest divide - that between life and death; a look at a near-death experience and a new take on the mythological Welsh Heaven, which is Annwn.
Be prepared to see another side of Welsh Celtic mythology, but you will never think of death in the same way again.

Listen to a fifteen-minute clip of the Night In Annwn audiobook read by the wonderful narrator Andrew McGuirk (he lends so much pathos to the story) free here:

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Annen1-bounty



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Annen1-bounty

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=9239Fri, 01 Feb 2019 01:01:41 +0000Owen JonesA Night In Annwn - free audiobook A Night In Annwn - Audiobook A Night In Annwn The Story of Willy Jones' NDE by Owen Jones Narrated by Andrew McGuirk William Jones, a sheep farmer from the Brecon Beacons, had led a happy life, until his wife,...
A Night In Annwn - Audiobook

A Night In Annwn

The Story of Willy Jones' NDE

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Andrew McGuirk

William Jones, a sheep farmer from the Brecon Beacons, had led a happy life, until his wife, Sarah, died young. It left him devastated and seemingly bent on self-destruction. His daughter, Becky tried to help, but even she was losing patience with her father.

One evening, he is certain that he has died and been put out of his misery, but it was not to be. He recovered. However his life was never to be the same again.

He had discovered Annwn where his wife lived, and his newly found vitality changed his life and that of all those with whom he came into contact.

A Night in Annwn is a love story that spans the greatest divide - that between life and death; a look at a near-death experience and a new take on the mythological Welsh Heaven, which is Annwn.
Be prepared to see another side of Welsh Celtic mythology, but you will never think of death in the same way again.

Listen to a fifteen-minute clip of the Night In Annwn audiobook read by the wonderful narrator Andrew McGuirk (he lends so much pathos to the story) free here:

Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Annen1-bounty



Free Audiobook Link:

http://smarturl.it/Annen1-bounty

 ]]>277cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/dead-centre-press-release_3
Dead Centre

Not All Suicide Bombers Are Religious!

by

Owen Jones

For immediate release:

Author's new book receives a warm literary welcome.

Readers' Favorite announces the review of the Fiction - Action book "Dead Centre" by Owen Jones, currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1499121628.

Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the "Best Websites for Authors" and "Honoring Excellence" awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.

"Reviewed By Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Dead Centre – Not All Suicide Bombers are Religious by Owen Jones is a different take on a hot topic of conversation. Tony, a terrified soul, walks into an upper class department store in Baghdad and just seconds later, he detonates the bomb strapped to his body. The Iraqi government first treat it like any other suicide bomber and the case is passed over to Captain Allawi. Things are not what they seem, though. A young police officer spots something on the store's surveillance video that changes the game plan, taking the investigation off on a tangent. Six more apparent suicide bombs go off, which cannot be explained unless they are treated in the same way as the Baghdad bomb. A new form of terrorism is taking over the world and it could be unstoppable. Possible breakthroughs get them nowhere and it’s all looking hopeless until the Chinese government and the SAS are called in.

Dead Centre – Not All Suicide Bombers are Religious by Owen Jones was a great read. A well written thriller that starts off on top gear and stays there all the way through. The scary thing is this sort of event could happen – could be happening now for all we know – and the subject is likely to get one or two backs up. However, subject aside, Mr. Jones has written a superb story, with great characters, that spans 9 different countries and dozens more cities. Excellent book, I will definitely be looking out for more from the same author."

You can learn more about Owen Jones and "Dead Centre" at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/dead-centre where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.

Stop Press: Now available in Portuguese, and as an audiobook, and coming soon in French, Italian, and Spanish. There is also a sequel: DEAD CENTRE II (also available in Portuguese).

Readers' Favorite LLC
Media Relations
Louisville, KY 40202
800-RF-REVIEW
support@readersfavorite.com
https://readersfavorite.com]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10818Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:05:41 +0000Owen JonesDead Centre - Press Release Dead Centre Not All Suicide Bombers Are Religious! by Owen Jones For immediate release: Author's new book receives a warm literary welcome. Readers' Favorite announces the review of the Fiction - Action book "Dead...
Dead Centre

Not All Suicide Bombers Are Religious!

by

Owen Jones

For immediate release:

Author's new book receives a warm literary welcome.

Readers' Favorite announces the review of the Fiction - Action book "Dead Centre" by Owen Jones, currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1499121628.

Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the "Best Websites for Authors" and "Honoring Excellence" awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.

"Reviewed By Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Dead Centre – Not All Suicide Bombers are Religious by Owen Jones is a different take on a hot topic of conversation. Tony, a terrified soul, walks into an upper class department store in Baghdad and just seconds later, he detonates the bomb strapped to his body. The Iraqi government first treat it like any other suicide bomber and the case is passed over to Captain Allawi. Things are not what they seem, though. A young police officer spots something on the store's surveillance video that changes the game plan, taking the investigation off on a tangent. Six more apparent suicide bombs go off, which cannot be explained unless they are treated in the same way as the Baghdad bomb. A new form of terrorism is taking over the world and it could be unstoppable. Possible breakthroughs get them nowhere and it’s all looking hopeless until the Chinese government and the SAS are called in.

Dead Centre – Not All Suicide Bombers are Religious by Owen Jones was a great read. A well written thriller that starts off on top gear and stays there all the way through. The scary thing is this sort of event could happen – could be happening now for all we know – and the subject is likely to get one or two backs up. However, subject aside, Mr. Jones has written a superb story, with great characters, that spans 9 different countries and dozens more cities. Excellent book, I will definitely be looking out for more from the same author."

You can learn more about Owen Jones and "Dead Centre" at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/dead-centre where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.

Stop Press: Now available in Portuguese, and as an audiobook, and coming soon in French, Italian, and Spanish. There is also a sequel: DEAD CENTRE II (also available in Portuguese).

Readers' Favorite LLC
Media Relations
Louisville, KY 40202
800-RF-REVIEW
support@readersfavorite.com
https://readersfavorite.com]]>183cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/boots-pharmacy-barry_3
Boots Pharmacy, Barry

Boots Pharmacy has been in the centre of Barry, my home town, forever, or at least as long as I can remember. In fact, my first girlfriend got her first Saturday job there as an assistant on the drugs counter. The experience inspired her to go to university and become a pharmacist.

They were the good old days apparently, because it is a sad, old-looking place now, although I don't know what opportunities they offer young people these days. I don't know, but my guess is none.

Anyway, that is not what this article is about.

I have been suffering from a severe case of gout for the last week, and yesterday, a friend - a fellow traveller, suggested a remedy. Today, dosed up on an unsustainable amount of Ibuprofen and codeine, I limped up to the prescription counter in Boots.

'Hi', I opened, I'm having a problem with gout. What can you recommend, please?' She started to look at her computer. 'I have heard of Napraxis', I said.

'No, that is prescription only'.

'OK, Altar? I used to buy that OTC in Spain...'

'No, but, I could order something in for you'.

'OK, yes, please, but I need something now. I've been told that Feminax contains the same drug, and relieves gout'.

She looked up from her screen and studied my face. 'How do you know that?'

'Research. Can I have a box of Feminax, please?'

'No, I can only sell that to females between the ages of fifteen and fifty'.

'OK', I countered, 'my wife here wants a box'.

'No', she replied, 'not now that I know what you want it for'.

Crazy

So, to cut a long story short, I pointed out that Boots' policy on this matter was prompting me to go to another pharmacy and not be perfectly honest. The woman shrugged apologetically. 'Well, it's either that, or I stand outside your shop here and ask a young woman to buy my drugs for me'.

She looked surprised when I said that. It reminded me of teenagers stopping adults outside a corner shop to ask them to buy cigarettes or alcohol for them.

It is a stupid policy that encourages people to lie, and we wonder what is wrong with society? Government and shopping policies are forcing me to either cheat, lie or wait four days to go to the doctor's.

If I could have bought what I needed, I would be limping around for four days less, AND, the doctor's time would have been saved for a more important case.

It reminds me of five years ago, when I tried to buy ten boxes of paracetamol from Boots to take abroad with me – a years' supply - and the assistant refused me.

'Thirty-two tablets maximum', the girl had said. 'Suicide risk', she had said knowingly, but she also advised that I could buy thirty-two in all the pharmacies and corner shops in town.

And people wonder about why we are where we are?!

As a nation, we have all gone bloody mad!

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop.

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Boots Pharmacy, Barry]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10773Sat, 29 Dec 2018 12:25:41 +0000Owen JonesBoots Pharmacy, Barry Boots Pharmacy, Barry Boots Pharmacy has been in the centre of Barry, my home town, forever, or at least as long as I can remember. In fact, my first girlfriend got her first Saturday job there as an assistant on the drugs...
Boots Pharmacy, Barry

Boots Pharmacy has been in the centre of Barry, my home town, forever, or at least as long as I can remember. In fact, my first girlfriend got her first Saturday job there as an assistant on the drugs counter. The experience inspired her to go to university and become a pharmacist.

They were the good old days apparently, because it is a sad, old-looking place now, although I don't know what opportunities they offer young people these days. I don't know, but my guess is none.

Anyway, that is not what this article is about.

I have been suffering from a severe case of gout for the last week, and yesterday, a friend - a fellow traveller, suggested a remedy. Today, dosed up on an unsustainable amount of Ibuprofen and codeine, I limped up to the prescription counter in Boots.

'Hi', I opened, I'm having a problem with gout. What can you recommend, please?' She started to look at her computer. 'I have heard of Napraxis', I said.

'No, that is prescription only'.

'OK, Altar? I used to buy that OTC in Spain...'

'No, but, I could order something in for you'.

'OK, yes, please, but I need something now. I've been told that Feminax contains the same drug, and relieves gout'.

She looked up from her screen and studied my face. 'How do you know that?'

'Research. Can I have a box of Feminax, please?'

'No, I can only sell that to females between the ages of fifteen and fifty'.

'OK', I countered, 'my wife here wants a box'.

'No', she replied, 'not now that I know what you want it for'.

Crazy

So, to cut a long story short, I pointed out that Boots' policy on this matter was prompting me to go to another pharmacy and not be perfectly honest. The woman shrugged apologetically. 'Well, it's either that, or I stand outside your shop here and ask a young woman to buy my drugs for me'.

She looked surprised when I said that. It reminded me of teenagers stopping adults outside a corner shop to ask them to buy cigarettes or alcohol for them.

It is a stupid policy that encourages people to lie, and we wonder what is wrong with society? Government and shopping policies are forcing me to either cheat, lie or wait four days to go to the doctor's.

If I could have bought what I needed, I would be limping around for four days less, AND, the doctor's time would have been saved for a more important case.

It reminds me of five years ago, when I tried to buy ten boxes of paracetamol from Boots to take abroad with me – a years' supply - and the assistant refused me.

'Thirty-two tablets maximum', the girl had said. 'Suicide risk', she had said knowingly, but she also advised that I could buy thirty-two in all the pharmacies and corner shops in town.

And people wonder about why we are where we are?!

As a nation, we have all gone bloody mad!

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop.

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Boots Pharmacy, Barry]]>215cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/saga-of-my-bus-pass-part-one_3
Saga of My Bus Pass part one

The saga of my bus pass begins in the now sleepy seaside town of Barry in South Wales. I happens to be my home town, and I returned to live there with my Thai wife of fifteen years in June 2018. I am now sixty-four years of age, so I have been qualified for a bus pass for four years.

However, I have lived in Thailand and Spain for most of the last fifteen years, so I didn't bother to apply for one. I was soon to wish that I had started the application process earlier. From my first few days home, friends were extolling the virtues of the bus pass - one even called it 'his best friend'.

A bus pass removes the restrictions on mobility that are imposed by a shortage of money, which a lot of older people experience despite what the media would have the youth believe about wealthy, greedy pensioners propping up the price of houses. Who are these pensioners going to leave their houses to, for God's sake?!

Anyway, my bus pass... so, I went down to the local council offices and asked at the Information Desk.

A very large, but young woman, asked me what I wanted as she dabbed at the perspiration apparent on every inch of bare skin. I told her and she slid a form towards me, which I took, filled in and handed back.

"I cannot accept that without proof of eligibility", she said with a strange look of satisfaction. "Proof of date of birth, a utilities bill, and a signature from your doctor".

"I don't have a doctor, and since I'm renting a room and have only been here for three days, I don't have a utility bill either... I will probably never get one either".

"That's your problem", she said and proceeded to ignore me.

I walked to the nearest doctor's surgery, registered, and then took the council form to the 'Buccaneer' pub to think about it. An hour later, I phoned the surgery for an appointment for a check up.

"August 14th., 8:15? Does that suit you?" I was asked by a cheerful receptionist.

"Well, it's six weeks away, on my birthday, and a bit earlier than I was hoping to have to get up", I said light-heatedly.

"September..." he started. I interrupted him and agreed to the August appointment.

When the day came, the check-up fell way below my expectations, but that is another story, to continue my bus pass saga, the doctor refused to sign it.

"I am not here to validate your age or place of residence", he retorted rather angrily.

"But the local council said..."

"Hearsay", he cut me off. "If the local council want me to sign anything, they can write to me here!"

My birthday had not started well, and it set the tone for the day.

A week later, I went back to the local council, where the grumpy fat lady had been replaced by a friendly young man. I handed him the form.

"Confirmation, please, sir".

I passed him the letter from the doctor confirming my appointment and my passport. They were sufficient, so he scrutinised the form.

"You need to get your doctor to sign this where the box has been marked with a cross".

"He won't do it, unless you ask him officially. Perhaps, he's looking for a fee..." I quipped.

"All doctors sign these firms, take it back to him and tell him..."

"No", I interjected. "I will not be the shuttlecock between you both. Here is my application for a bus pass".

He took it. "This will be rejected", he said glumly. "My advice is to change your doctor... it really is common practice for them to sign these forms..."

I received a rejection letter from the council today, which stated that I should return the form to my doctor for his signature.]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10769Fri, 28 Dec 2018 22:18:00 +0000Owen JonesSaga of My Bus Pass part one Saga of My Bus Pass part one The saga of my bus pass begins in the now sleepy seaside town of Barry in South Wales. I happens to be my home town, and I returned to live there with my Thai wife of fifteen years in June...
Saga of My Bus Pass part one

The saga of my bus pass begins in the now sleepy seaside town of Barry in South Wales. I happens to be my home town, and I returned to live there with my Thai wife of fifteen years in June 2018. I am now sixty-four years of age, so I have been qualified for a bus pass for four years.

However, I have lived in Thailand and Spain for most of the last fifteen years, so I didn't bother to apply for one. I was soon to wish that I had started the application process earlier. From my first few days home, friends were extolling the virtues of the bus pass - one even called it 'his best friend'.

A bus pass removes the restrictions on mobility that are imposed by a shortage of money, which a lot of older people experience despite what the media would have the youth believe about wealthy, greedy pensioners propping up the price of houses. Who are these pensioners going to leave their houses to, for God's sake?!

Anyway, my bus pass... so, I went down to the local council offices and asked at the Information Desk.

A very large, but young woman, asked me what I wanted as she dabbed at the perspiration apparent on every inch of bare skin. I told her and she slid a form towards me, which I took, filled in and handed back.

"I cannot accept that without proof of eligibility", she said with a strange look of satisfaction. "Proof of date of birth, a utilities bill, and a signature from your doctor".

"I don't have a doctor, and since I'm renting a room and have only been here for three days, I don't have a utility bill either... I will probably never get one either".

"That's your problem", she said and proceeded to ignore me.

I walked to the nearest doctor's surgery, registered, and then took the council form to the 'Buccaneer' pub to think about it. An hour later, I phoned the surgery for an appointment for a check up.

"August 14th., 8:15? Does that suit you?" I was asked by a cheerful receptionist.

"Well, it's six weeks away, on my birthday, and a bit earlier than I was hoping to have to get up", I said light-heatedly.

"September..." he started. I interrupted him and agreed to the August appointment.

When the day came, the check-up fell way below my expectations, but that is another story, to continue my bus pass saga, the doctor refused to sign it.

"I am not here to validate your age or place of residence", he retorted rather angrily.

"But the local council said..."

"Hearsay", he cut me off. "If the local council want me to sign anything, they can write to me here!"

My birthday had not started well, and it set the tone for the day.

A week later, I went back to the local council, where the grumpy fat lady had been replaced by a friendly young man. I handed him the form.

"Confirmation, please, sir".

I passed him the letter from the doctor confirming my appointment and my passport. They were sufficient, so he scrutinised the form.

"You need to get your doctor to sign this where the box has been marked with a cross".

"He won't do it, unless you ask him officially. Perhaps, he's looking for a fee..." I quipped.

"All doctors sign these firms, take it back to him and tell him..."

"No", I interjected. "I will not be the shuttlecock between you both. Here is my application for a bus pass".

He took it. "This will be rejected", he said glumly. "My advice is to change your doctor... it really is common practice for them to sign these forms..."

I received a rejection letter from the council today, which stated that I should return the form to my doctor for his signature.]]>274cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/my-wifes-strange-dizzy-spells_3
My wife woke up three days ago feeling a little out of sorts, but when she actually got up to start the day, she complained of dizziness. Neither of of thought much about it, although that soon changed when she was physically sick before she could get to the bathroom. The dizzy spells continued, so I had to help her to the bathroom.

She could neither stand nor walk with any confidence, but she kept on being sick, so she spent the rest of that day in bed... and all of the following one. My wife tried eating again, but it came straight back up. Yesterday, she tried to eat again, but the result was the same, so she asked me to take her to our family doctor's. It is not far, but I had to support her all the way, and we had to stop for a rest and vomit.

When we arrived, the receptionist told us that we didn't have an appointment, which we already knew, and further informed us that no-one was available to see us.

Our Doctor's Surgery

"So, what do want me to do?" I asked.

"Go home", she advised. "I'll put you on phone watch, if you like".

I didn't know what that was, but it means that if a doctor anywhere in town has a few minutes, they would try to fit her in.

"Do what you like", I replied, "but we're not leaving here. If she collapses anywhere, I want it to be here, not while we're crossing the road".

"What are her symptoms?" I was asked, so I told her.

"We really do advise that you go home, we don't want sick people in here... we have a lot of very old and very young patients in and out..."

I was flabbergasted, but I had one more request.

"Here is a letter from the council asking my doctor to sign my application for a free bus pass".

"There is a £10 fee for leaving it with us, or a £15 doctor's fee for the signature".

I refused to leave, and so took a seat while my wife went outside to be sick - I felt like joining her.

Some thirty-odd minutes later, a man walked in. He explained that he didn't have an appointment, but wanted to see a doctor. My ears pricked up.

"Take a seat, we'll see what we can do" chirped the receptionist.

I went to have a word. "Why couldn't you have done that for us?" I asked.

"You're on phone watch", she explained.

The top nearly came off my head. "Only because you put us on it! That wasn't our idea".

"Your wife has gone home anyway, sir. My supervisor had a word with her and she left".

I couldn't believe it, but she was nowhere to be seen, so, I set off in the direction of her best friend's shop nearby to look for her. A few doors from the shop, I called into a pub. I hadn't taken two sips when our landlady and friend rushed in saying that my wife needed me at home. We were there in twenty minutes.

"She needs the paramedics", warned our landlady, who is a carer.

My wife was a quivering wreck, by the time they arrived, which was not long. Anyway, after several tests, they diagnosed 'vertigo' - something my wife has never been diagnosed with. They also phoned our doctor to get a prescription, which I had to collect.

Bad Practice

Naturally, I wanted to know what the supervisor had told my wife to make her go home alone.

"I told her to go home and wait for a call..."

"And?"

"...and when she asked where her husband was, I said: 'I have no idea. I don't even know your husband".

"And did she understand you?"

"I don't know, she was looking at me..."

"My wife is dizzy, confused and Asian, but you didn't check whether she had understood you or not?"

Today, after four tablets, my wife is sitting up in bed. She has eaten three bowls of rice soup - typical Thai br...]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10731Sun, 16 Dec 2018 03:08:12 +0000Owen JonesMy Wife's Strange Dizzy Spells My wife woke up three days ago feeling a little out of sorts, but when she actually got up to start the day, she complained of dizziness. Neither of of thought much about it, although that soon changed when she was...
My wife woke up three days ago feeling a little out of sorts, but when she actually got up to start the day, she complained of dizziness. Neither of of thought much about it, although that soon changed when she was physically sick before she could get to the bathroom. The dizzy spells continued, so I had to help her to the bathroom.

She could neither stand nor walk with any confidence, but she kept on being sick, so she spent the rest of that day in bed... and all of the following one. My wife tried eating again, but it came straight back up. Yesterday, she tried to eat again, but the result was the same, so she asked me to take her to our family doctor's. It is not far, but I had to support her all the way, and we had to stop for a rest and vomit.

When we arrived, the receptionist told us that we didn't have an appointment, which we already knew, and further informed us that no-one was available to see us.

Our Doctor's Surgery

"So, what do want me to do?" I asked.

"Go home", she advised. "I'll put you on phone watch, if you like".

I didn't know what that was, but it means that if a doctor anywhere in town has a few minutes, they would try to fit her in.

"Do what you like", I replied, "but we're not leaving here. If she collapses anywhere, I want it to be here, not while we're crossing the road".

"What are her symptoms?" I was asked, so I told her.

"We really do advise that you go home, we don't want sick people in here... we have a lot of very old and very young patients in and out..."

I was flabbergasted, but I had one more request.

"Here is a letter from the council asking my doctor to sign my application for a free bus pass".

"There is a £10 fee for leaving it with us, or a £15 doctor's fee for the signature".

I refused to leave, and so took a seat while my wife went outside to be sick - I felt like joining her.

Some thirty-odd minutes later, a man walked in. He explained that he didn't have an appointment, but wanted to see a doctor. My ears pricked up.

"Take a seat, we'll see what we can do" chirped the receptionist.

I went to have a word. "Why couldn't you have done that for us?" I asked.

"You're on phone watch", she explained.

The top nearly came off my head. "Only because you put us on it! That wasn't our idea".

"Your wife has gone home anyway, sir. My supervisor had a word with her and she left".

I couldn't believe it, but she was nowhere to be seen, so, I set off in the direction of her best friend's shop nearby to look for her. A few doors from the shop, I called into a pub. I hadn't taken two sips when our landlady and friend rushed in saying that my wife needed me at home. We were there in twenty minutes.

"She needs the paramedics", warned our landlady, who is a carer.

My wife was a quivering wreck, by the time they arrived, which was not long. Anyway, after several tests, they diagnosed 'vertigo' - something my wife has never been diagnosed with. They also phoned our doctor to get a prescription, which I had to collect.

Bad Practice

Naturally, I wanted to know what the supervisor had told my wife to make her go home alone.

"I told her to go home and wait for a call..."

"And?"

"...and when she asked where her husband was, I said: 'I have no idea. I don't even know your husband".

"And did she understand you?"

"I don't know, she was looking at me..."

"My wife is dizzy, confused and Asian, but you didn't check whether she had understood you or not?"

Today, after four tablets, my wife is sitting up in bed. She has eaten three bowls of rice soup - typical Thai br...]]>307cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/biometric-data-for-residency-cards_3
Biometric Data for Residency Cards

My wife is Thai, for those of you who don't know me, and, since we have moved back to the UK to live, she needs a residency card (RCUK) or residency permit. These days, these cards contain biometric data such as iris scans and finger prints.

We first submitted her application for a residency card four months ago, so, for about eighteen weeks, she has had nothing to do, because the local government will not grant her the right to work without one. This is completely illegal, I might add, and contravenes the EU Directives to which the UK is a signatory. However, they don't care about the law unless it suits them.

The government and the politicians who run it are the biggest crooks around... anyway, we all know that already, so back to the point.

On Thursday, we received a letter from the Home Office telling my wife that she should send them her biometric data within fifteen days of the date of the day that letter was posted. Well, I don't know what that was, but the date on the letter was the third of the month, but the day we received it was the eleventh. Eight days to get a government letter 150 miles? That doesn't sound right, does it? She had seven days to complete the task with a weekend in that. That sounds like them trying their damnedest to obfuscate to me.

Anyway, so we caught the bus to the nearest facility - the Post Office fifteen miles away - and asked for the biometric data service.

'Oh, it's down today, please come back on Monday. Sorry. Next!'

I wouldn't move!

I complained to everyone around me and made a total nuisance of myself until the manager came.

'I'm sorry, Sir', she said, 'but the engineer can't get here for four hours. You may wait over there, if you like'.

I went into overdrive.

The result was that she rebooted the machine and it took my wife's biometric data!

I thanked them and left, not sure whether to be happy that we had gotten the job done, or whether to be really sad that our once great Royal Post Office - the role model for all the others in the world - has sunken so low.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Biometric Data for Residency Cards

 ]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10624Tue, 04 Dec 2018 00:08:25 +0000Owen JonesBiometric Data for Residency Cards Biometric Data for Residency Cards My wife is Thai, for those of you who don't know me, and, since we have moved back to the UK to live, she needs a residency card (RCUK) or residency permit. These days, these...
Biometric Data for Residency Cards

My wife is Thai, for those of you who don't know me, and, since we have moved back to the UK to live, she needs a residency card (RCUK) or residency permit. These days, these cards contain biometric data such as iris scans and finger prints.

We first submitted her application for a residency card four months ago, so, for about eighteen weeks, she has had nothing to do, because the local government will not grant her the right to work without one. This is completely illegal, I might add, and contravenes the EU Directives to which the UK is a signatory. However, they don't care about the law unless it suits them.

The government and the politicians who run it are the biggest crooks around... anyway, we all know that already, so back to the point.

On Thursday, we received a letter from the Home Office telling my wife that she should send them her biometric data within fifteen days of the date of the day that letter was posted. Well, I don't know what that was, but the date on the letter was the third of the month, but the day we received it was the eleventh. Eight days to get a government letter 150 miles? That doesn't sound right, does it? She had seven days to complete the task with a weekend in that. That sounds like them trying their damnedest to obfuscate to me.

Anyway, so we caught the bus to the nearest facility - the Post Office fifteen miles away - and asked for the biometric data service.

'Oh, it's down today, please come back on Monday. Sorry. Next!'

I wouldn't move!

I complained to everyone around me and made a total nuisance of myself until the manager came.

'I'm sorry, Sir', she said, 'but the engineer can't get here for four hours. You may wait over there, if you like'.

I went into overdrive.

The result was that she rebooted the machine and it took my wife's biometric data!

I thanked them and left, not sure whether to be happy that we had gotten the job done, or whether to be really sad that our once great Royal Post Office - the role model for all the others in the world - has sunken so low.

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Biometric Data for Residency Cards

 ]]>161cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/united-nations-special-rapporteur-on-uk-_2
Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

Version with footnotes (PDF)

London, 16 November 2018



Conclusion
The experience of the United Kingdom, especially since 2010, underscores the conclusion that poverty is a political choice. Austerity could easily have spared the poor, if the political will had existed to do so. Resources were available to the Treasury at the last budget that could have transformed the situation of millions of people living in poverty, but the political choice was made to fund tax cuts for the wealthy instead.

It was a British philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, who memorably claimed that without a social contract, life outside society would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” The risk is that if current policies do not change, this is the direction in which low-income earners and the poor are headed. Loneliness rates have soared in recent years and life expectancy rates have stalled in the United Kingdom, with the latest statistics showing a sharp drop in the annual improvement that has been experienced every year since the records began, and an actual drop for certain groups.

The compassion and mutual concern that has long been part of the British tradition has been outsourced. At the same time many of the public places and institutions that previously brought communities together, such as libraries, community and recreation centers, and public parks, have been steadily dismantled or undermined. In its fiscal analyses, the Treasury and the Government constantly repeat the refrain that fiscal policy must “avoid burdening the next generation.” The message is that the debt burden must be paid off now. The problem is that the next generation’s prospects are already being grievously undermined by the systematic dismantling of social protection policies since 2010.

The negotiations surrounding Brexit present an opportunity to take stock of the current situation and reimagine what this country should represent and how it protects its people. The legislative recognition of social rights should be a central part of that reimagining. And social inclusion, rather than increasing marginalization of the working poor and those unable to work, should be the guiding principle of social policy.

The UK should introduce a single measure of poverty and measure food security.

The government should initiate an expert assessment of the cumulative impact of tax and spending decisions since 2010 and prioritize the reversal of particularly regressive measures, including the benefit freeze, the two-child limit, the benefit cap, and the reduction of the housing benefit for under-occupied social rented housing.

It should ensure local governments have the funds needed to tackle poverty at the community level, and take varying needs and tax bases into account in the ongoing Fair Funding Review.

The Department of Work and Pensions should conduct an independent review of the effectiveness of reforms to welfare conditionality and sanctions introduced since 2012,]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10591Tue, 20 Nov 2018 17:38:00 +0000Owen JonesUN Human Rights Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Version with footnotes (PDF) London, 16 November 2018 Conclusion The experience of the...
Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

Version with footnotes (PDF)

London, 16 November 2018



Conclusion
The experience of the United Kingdom, especially since 2010, underscores the conclusion that poverty is a political choice. Austerity could easily have spared the poor, if the political will had existed to do so. Resources were available to the Treasury at the last budget that could have transformed the situation of millions of people living in poverty, but the political choice was made to fund tax cuts for the wealthy instead.

It was a British philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, who memorably claimed that without a social contract, life outside society would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” The risk is that if current policies do not change, this is the direction in which low-income earners and the poor are headed. Loneliness rates have soared in recent years and life expectancy rates have stalled in the United Kingdom, with the latest statistics showing a sharp drop in the annual improvement that has been experienced every year since the records began, and an actual drop for certain groups.

The compassion and mutual concern that has long been part of the British tradition has been outsourced. At the same time many of the public places and institutions that previously brought communities together, such as libraries, community and recreation centers, and public parks, have been steadily dismantled or undermined. In its fiscal analyses, the Treasury and the Government constantly repeat the refrain that fiscal policy must “avoid burdening the next generation.” The message is that the debt burden must be paid off now. The problem is that the next generation’s prospects are already being grievously undermined by the systematic dismantling of social protection policies since 2010.

The negotiations surrounding Brexit present an opportunity to take stock of the current situation and reimagine what this country should represent and how it protects its people. The legislative recognition of social rights should be a central part of that reimagining. And social inclusion, rather than increasing marginalization of the working poor and those unable to work, should be the guiding principle of social policy.

The UK should introduce a single measure of poverty and measure food security.

The government should initiate an expert assessment of the cumulative impact of tax and spending decisions since 2010 and prioritize the reversal of particularly regressive measures, including the benefit freeze, the two-child limit, the benefit cap, and the reduction of the housing benefit for under-occupied social rented housing.

It should ensure local governments have the funds needed to tackle poverty at the community level, and take varying needs and tax bases into account in the ongoing Fair Funding Review.

The Department of Work and Pensions should conduct an independent review of the effectiveness of reforms to welfare conditionality and sanctions introduced since 2012,]]>267cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/nanowrimo-2018_2
NANOWRIMO 2018

Have you ever wanted to write a book? Many people have... I hear it from someone every week. The main reason they cite for not doing it is that they wouldn't know where to start. I have written fifty-two novels and a hundred and twenty-five short manuals, but I still remember vividly how scared I was writing the first one. It took me seven years and I kept putting it off, because I had no confidence in it or myself. Now let me introduce you to NANOWRIMO and NANOWRIMO 2018 in particular.

Written correctly, it is NaNoWriMo 2018 and stands for National November Writing Month. The 'national bit lasted a year, then it went global. I joined NaNoWriMo in 2013 and have participated every year since, so this year will be my sixth.

As it happens, 2018 is the one year when I really don't have time to get involved, but I feel that it would be such a shame not to join in and I enjoy it a lot anyway.

However, the point of NaNoWriMo is to help beginners to gain the conference to write. So, to me, that especially means their first book, but many people only write one book a year, so NaNo is a big thing to them. And I have written many books, but it still is to me too.

NaNoWriMo offers so much support to writers. It is a fantastic feeling writing in a group. I say 'a group', but I have never met any of the people I have written with. We write together connected by Skype. However, the world is divided into sections for the NaNoWriMo 2018 experience, and most cities in the West have NaNo writing groups.

The challenge is to write 50,000 words during the month of November. I know that that might sound daunting, hut it is 1,667 words a day - call it 2,000 if you want a cushion. It doesn't have to be published or edited in November, only written.

I urge everyone who wants to write a book to get on over to nanowrimo.org and sign up right now. You won't regret it, I promise you, even if you don't finish on time this year. You will have started and that is the biggest hurdle. Start now, finish wherever, and then really go for it next year.

I'll be one of your writing buddies, if you like. Look me up, owenjones, and say 'Hello'.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: NANOWRIMO 2018]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10482Tue, 30 Oct 2018 00:08:52 +0000Owen JonesNANOWRIMO 2018 NANOWRIMO 2018 Have you ever wanted to write a book? Many people have... I hear it from someone every week. The main reason they cite for not doing it is that they wouldn't know where to start. I have written fifty-two novels and a...
NANOWRIMO 2018

Have you ever wanted to write a book? Many people have... I hear it from someone every week. The main reason they cite for not doing it is that they wouldn't know where to start. I have written fifty-two novels and a hundred and twenty-five short manuals, but I still remember vividly how scared I was writing the first one. It took me seven years and I kept putting it off, because I had no confidence in it or myself. Now let me introduce you to NANOWRIMO and NANOWRIMO 2018 in particular.

Written correctly, it is NaNoWriMo 2018 and stands for National November Writing Month. The 'national bit lasted a year, then it went global. I joined NaNoWriMo in 2013 and have participated every year since, so this year will be my sixth.

As it happens, 2018 is the one year when I really don't have time to get involved, but I feel that it would be such a shame not to join in and I enjoy it a lot anyway.

However, the point of NaNoWriMo is to help beginners to gain the conference to write. So, to me, that especially means their first book, but many people only write one book a year, so NaNo is a big thing to them. And I have written many books, but it still is to me too.

NaNoWriMo offers so much support to writers. It is a fantastic feeling writing in a group. I say 'a group', but I have never met any of the people I have written with. We write together connected by Skype. However, the world is divided into sections for the NaNoWriMo 2018 experience, and most cities in the West have NaNo writing groups.

The challenge is to write 50,000 words during the month of November. I know that that might sound daunting, hut it is 1,667 words a day - call it 2,000 if you want a cushion. It doesn't have to be published or edited in November, only written.

I urge everyone who wants to write a book to get on over to nanowrimo.org and sign up right now. You won't regret it, I promise you, even if you don't finish on time this year. You will have started and that is the biggest hurdle. Start now, finish wherever, and then really go for it next year.

I'll be one of your writing buddies, if you like. Look me up, owenjones, and say 'Hello'.

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: NANOWRIMO 2018]]>168cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/promotion-on-megan-publishing-services_1
Promotion on Megan Publishing Services

Advertising on Megan Publishing Services is possible and not expensive, but the type of promotions that we will accept is limited to books and artwork in general, although if you have broader requirements, we may be able to help there too, as long as the ads fit in with the site's content.

Books and Artwork can most easily be promoted through the bookshop button on the Title Bar above as this method is automated in that the advertiser can set up the promotion and pay for it without outside intervention.

However, there is another alternative too - banner advertising! This is not automated, but is easy to achieve if you have a existing banner, say from a company that you are affiliated to, or one that you have made yourself. This latter type can also be used by authors and artists to promote there own work in a larger format, from which one would expect more impact.

Prices for the banner ads are also available from the Title Bar.

If you are stuck trying to create a banner, perhaps I could help, or you can get one made on Fiverr for $5, and you will own it outright. It will probably be more professional too. (I may get one made for myself, thinking about it :-) )

There are prime spots for all the common size banners, but in general, there is only one spot for each size of banner.

So, if you have specific requirements, get in soon.

You can find the sizes of the banners and their prices for promotion on Megan Publishing Services here:

Advertising on Megan Publishing Services

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen.

PS: Promotion on MPS is best suited to all SWAMPies (sculptors, artists, authors, musicians and photographers).

Podcast: Promotion on Megan Publishing Services]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10471Tue, 23 Oct 2018 19:18:03 +0000Owen JonesPromotion on Megan Publishing Services Promotion on Megan Publishing Services Advertising on Megan Publishing Services is possible and not expensive, but the type of promotions that we will accept is limited to books and artwork in general, although...
Promotion on Megan Publishing Services

Advertising on Megan Publishing Services is possible and not expensive, but the type of promotions that we will accept is limited to books and artwork in general, although if you have broader requirements, we may be able to help there too, as long as the ads fit in with the site's content.

Books and Artwork can most easily be promoted through the bookshop button on the Title Bar above as this method is automated in that the advertiser can set up the promotion and pay for it without outside intervention.

However, there is another alternative too - banner advertising! This is not automated, but is easy to achieve if you have a existing banner, say from a company that you are affiliated to, or one that you have made yourself. This latter type can also be used by authors and artists to promote there own work in a larger format, from which one would expect more impact.

Prices for the banner ads are also available from the Title Bar.

If you are stuck trying to create a banner, perhaps I could help, or you can get one made on Fiverr for $5, and you will own it outright. It will probably be more professional too. (I may get one made for myself, thinking about it :-) )

There are prime spots for all the common size banners, but in general, there is only one spot for each size of banner.

So, if you have specific requirements, get in soon.

You can find the sizes of the banners and their prices for promotion on Megan Publishing Services here:

Advertising on Megan Publishing Services

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen.

PS: Promotion on MPS is best suited to all SWAMPies (sculptors, artists, authors, musicians and photographers).

Podcast: Promotion on Megan Publishing Services]]>115cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/the-cloud-an-internet-service-provider_2
The Cloud - An 'Internet Service Provider'

Many people rely on the Internet these days for their daily communication and entertainment. Television is dire, and people don't talk much anymore... at least, they don't tend to talk to the ones around them. People sit in groups, but talk to people miles away via the Internet. I am one of the worst, I wouldn't use a pub that didn't offer WI-Fi Internet. Most pubs, clubs and restaurants do offer Internet access, but some of them offer it via an Internet Service Provider called The Cloud.

I am not sure how extensive The Cloud network is, but several pubs in our area (Barry, South Wales) are connected to it.

Most establishments use ISP's that are available to the public like Virgin, BT, Sky or whatever and they seem to function well no matter how busy the places are. On the other hand, many pubs and restaurants are quite small, and so, Internet access is unlikely to be overloaded often.

However, some of the largest pubs now use an ISP called The Cloud. I'm talking about places like Whetherspoon's and similar sized businesses. I don't know what The Cloud costs to install, but in my experience, the results are dreadful.

You have to register to able to use it, and once you have created an 'identity', it is supposedly your calling card anywhere that uses The Cloud. It sounds all right, but pubs with private accounts don't require my personal details in order to use them. This data can be sold, so, in effect, you are paying for your Internet access.

Why do larger bars need to do this when smaller ones don't? Not only that, but Internet access via The Cloud is far inferior to that of normal ISP's. Surely, the traffic in larger pubs should allow them to provide superior access, not the opposite?

If micro bars can afford to pay for decent Internet access for their customers, why can't larger ones? It doesn't make sense to me...

Contempt is the only word that springs to mind... and they make us pay for it...

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: The Cloud - An 'Internet Service Provider']]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10466Sun, 21 Oct 2018 23:46:04 +0000Owen JonesThe Cloud - An 'Internet Service Provider' The Cloud - An 'Internet Service Provider' Many people rely on the Internet these days for their daily communication and entertainment. Television is dire, and people don't talk much anymore... at least,...
The Cloud - An 'Internet Service Provider'

Many people rely on the Internet these days for their daily communication and entertainment. Television is dire, and people don't talk much anymore... at least, they don't tend to talk to the ones around them. People sit in groups, but talk to people miles away via the Internet. I am one of the worst, I wouldn't use a pub that didn't offer WI-Fi Internet. Most pubs, clubs and restaurants do offer Internet access, but some of them offer it via an Internet Service Provider called The Cloud.

I am not sure how extensive The Cloud network is, but several pubs in our area (Barry, South Wales) are connected to it.

Most establishments use ISP's that are available to the public like Virgin, BT, Sky or whatever and they seem to function well no matter how busy the places are. On the other hand, many pubs and restaurants are quite small, and so, Internet access is unlikely to be overloaded often.

However, some of the largest pubs now use an ISP called The Cloud. I'm talking about places like Whetherspoon's and similar sized businesses. I don't know what The Cloud costs to install, but in my experience, the results are dreadful.

You have to register to able to use it, and once you have created an 'identity', it is supposedly your calling card anywhere that uses The Cloud. It sounds all right, but pubs with private accounts don't require my personal details in order to use them. This data can be sold, so, in effect, you are paying for your Internet access.

Why do larger bars need to do this when smaller ones don't? Not only that, but Internet access via The Cloud is far inferior to that of normal ISP's. Surely, the traffic in larger pubs should allow them to provide superior access, not the opposite?

If micro bars can afford to pay for decent Internet access for their customers, why can't larger ones? It doesn't make sense to me...

Contempt is the only word that springs to mind... and they make us pay for it...

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: The Cloud - An 'Internet Service Provider']]>154cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/andropovs-cuckoo-review_2
Andropov's Cuckoo

A Story of Love, Intrigue and The KGB

by Owen Jones

Review by Barry Boy

Andropov's Cuckoo is in the genre of Thriller, but straddles the sub-genres of Love (Romance) and Espionage. It is written in the third-person singular and set in the Soviet Union, and several other Eastern and Western countries, in the thirty-odd years after the Second World War.

We meet the main character, Natasha, quite late in the novel - the fourth chapter - although we hear of her under another name - Youriko - before that.

Natasha was born in Kazakhstan and happened to look Japanese, which is the basis of the plot. However, Natasha was an idealistic, naive young woman who wanted to help Socialism better the condition of the Working Class around the world, and so was vulnerable to abuse by the Soviet hierarchy, which is where Yuri Andropov makes his appearance as the fearsome head of the dreaded KGB.

At first, things went well for Operation Youriko, but Natasha gradually lost her enthusiasm and wanted out, which could not go unpunished. Shortly after this point, she meets a British student and falls in love for the first time in her life, and the race is on to get out of the USSR and into the UK.

We are told that Andropov's Cuckoo is based on a true story that happened to the author himself, but that cannot be corroborated. The realism and passion in the story suggests that that might be true.

I enjoyed Andropov's Cuckoo by Owen Jones and give it full marks. It is thrilling, pacey and realistic. Your heart will go out to Natasha, I promise you. It is a love story on several levels filial love, patriotism, idealism and romance.

Andropov's Cuckoo by Owen Jones is available from all major retailers both on and off line, although it is probably quicker to order it from Amazon as a paperback, ebook or (free) audiobook here:

Andropov's Cuckoo - all formats]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?page_id=10314Thu, 27 Sep 2018 23:28:29 +0000Owen JonesAndropov's Cuckoo Review Andropov's Cuckoo A Story of Love, Intrigue and The KGB by Owen Jones Review by Barry Boy Andropov's Cuckoo is in the genre of Thriller, but straddles the sub-genres of Love (Romance) and Espionage. It is written in the...
Andropov's Cuckoo

A Story of Love, Intrigue and The KGB

by Owen Jones

Review by Barry Boy

Andropov's Cuckoo is in the genre of Thriller, but straddles the sub-genres of Love (Romance) and Espionage. It is written in the third-person singular and set in the Soviet Union, and several other Eastern and Western countries, in the thirty-odd years after the Second World War.

We meet the main character, Natasha, quite late in the novel - the fourth chapter - although we hear of her under another name - Youriko - before that.

Natasha was born in Kazakhstan and happened to look Japanese, which is the basis of the plot. However, Natasha was an idealistic, naive young woman who wanted to help Socialism better the condition of the Working Class around the world, and so was vulnerable to abuse by the Soviet hierarchy, which is where Yuri Andropov makes his appearance as the fearsome head of the dreaded KGB.

At first, things went well for Operation Youriko, but Natasha gradually lost her enthusiasm and wanted out, which could not go unpunished. Shortly after this point, she meets a British student and falls in love for the first time in her life, and the race is on to get out of the USSR and into the UK.

We are told that Andropov's Cuckoo is based on a true story that happened to the author himself, but that cannot be corroborated. The realism and passion in the story suggests that that might be true.

I enjoyed Andropov's Cuckoo by Owen Jones and give it full marks. It is thrilling, pacey and realistic. Your heart will go out to Natasha, I promise you. It is a love story on several levels filial love, patriotism, idealism and romance.

Andropov's Cuckoo by Owen Jones is available from all major retailers both on and off line, although it is probably quicker to order it from Amazon as a paperback, ebook or (free) audiobook here:

Andropov's Cuckoo - all formats]]>131cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/iain-scott_2
Iain Scott

Singer / Impersonator / Comedian Extraordinaire

Live at O'Brien's, Barry

Review by Barry Boy

We don't usually stay out late on busy nights of the week, but last Friday night we were talking to friends in O'Brien's bar and eight p.m. came around before we realised it. I looked up when someone started to use the P.A. system to see a thirty-something young man with curly hair, dressed in black at the microphone.

I forget the name of his first number, which was accompanied with overtly gay movements and gestures. Some laughed and some did not. I was uncertain what was going on. I had never heard of the man, and in fact, had not even noticed that there was to be an act.

All I knew was that I had never seen anything like it before. I looked around and could see that most people were enjoying it. When Iain started the second song, it was obvious that he was an accomplished singer with a great voice and that the 'gaiety' had been part of the act.

He had confused me, because his 'gayness' had seemed real but borderline piss-take without being offensive or anti-gay in any way.

Iain sang a variety of songs in different styles each with its own appropriate mannerisms and attitude. The results varied from hilarious to spot-on realistic. For example, Iain looks nothing like Mick Jagger, but when he took him off, he had him down to a 'T' both in voice and mannerisms.

It was uncanny. Iain Scott is as good an impersonator as he is a singer.

Well, we asked the man sitting next to us what time the gig would go on until, and he said that there were usually two sets between eight and ten, so we arranged to stay that long.

However, when we left O'Brien's at ten past ten, Iain was still doing his stuff and people were still loving it. I would go to see Iain Scott again any time, and I have no hesitation in recommending that you give him a chance too.

I have managed to find Ian's UK telephone number, so if you would like to find out where he is currently on tour or if you would like to offer him a spot at your bar or party, give him a ring.

Having lived on the Costa del Sol for a few years, I can imagine him going down a storm with the ex-pats over there. Give him a call!

Iain Scott +44 0740749136

Podcast: Iain Scott - Singer / Impersonator / Comedian Extraordinaire]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10291Tue, 25 Sep 2018 22:04:46 +0000Owen JonesIain Scott Singer Comedian Iain Scott Singer / Impersonator / Comedian Extraordinaire Live at O'Brien's, Barry Review by Barry Boy We don't usually stay out late on busy nights of the week, but last Friday night we were talking to friends in...
Iain Scott

Singer / Impersonator / Comedian Extraordinaire

Live at O'Brien's, Barry

Review by Barry Boy

We don't usually stay out late on busy nights of the week, but last Friday night we were talking to friends in O'Brien's bar and eight p.m. came around before we realised it. I looked up when someone started to use the P.A. system to see a thirty-something young man with curly hair, dressed in black at the microphone.

I forget the name of his first number, which was accompanied with overtly gay movements and gestures. Some laughed and some did not. I was uncertain what was going on. I had never heard of the man, and in fact, had not even noticed that there was to be an act.

All I knew was that I had never seen anything like it before. I looked around and could see that most people were enjoying it. When Iain started the second song, it was obvious that he was an accomplished singer with a great voice and that the 'gaiety' had been part of the act.

He had confused me, because his 'gayness' had seemed real but borderline piss-take without being offensive or anti-gay in any way.

Iain sang a variety of songs in different styles each with its own appropriate mannerisms and attitude. The results varied from hilarious to spot-on realistic. For example, Iain looks nothing like Mick Jagger, but when he took him off, he had him down to a 'T' both in voice and mannerisms.

It was uncanny. Iain Scott is as good an impersonator as he is a singer.

Well, we asked the man sitting next to us what time the gig would go on until, and he said that there were usually two sets between eight and ten, so we arranged to stay that long.

However, when we left O'Brien's at ten past ten, Iain was still doing his stuff and people were still loving it. I would go to see Iain Scott again any time, and I have no hesitation in recommending that you give him a chance too.

I have managed to find Ian's UK telephone number, so if you would like to find out where he is currently on tour or if you would like to offer him a spot at your bar or party, give him a ring.

Having lived on the Costa del Sol for a few years, I can imagine him going down a storm with the ex-pats over there. Give him a call!

Iain Scott +44 0740749136

Podcast: Iain Scott - Singer / Impersonator / Comedian Extraordinaire]]>160cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/ed-benjamin_1
Ed Benjamin

Hello, Ed Benjamin, could you begin by telling us your name, how we can reach you and where you come from, please?

1 Name: Ed Benjamin

Website: EdBenjaminBooks.com

Blog: http://edbenjaminbooks.com/my-blog/

2 Country: USA

3 Do you prefer to read a particular genre? I read mostly detective mysteries, spy fiction, political thrillers, some adventure books, etc. Occasionally, I like to re-read a classic. For example, I am currently re-reading “War and Peace.”

4 Do you write in the same genre? No, although my writing time is limited, I try to write in different genres.

If not which ones? I have two additional projects in work in the mystery detective genre. I am planning to re-write a science fiction book I self-published in 1997. Following that, I have plans to write another nonfiction book on how to prepare proposals for the federal government.

5 Have you always written and what got you started professionally? When I was a freshmen in college, a classmate and I wrote a chapbook about the painters whose paintings were displayed in the lobby of the administration building. After I retired from the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1990, I started a career as a free-lance technical writer specializing in preparing proposals for companies desiring to get business with the government. I am still pursuing this career.

I still dabble in writing in my spare time. In 1995, I won a regional writing contest for a short story I wrote. I wrote a science fiction book (black comedy) in 1997. Then, I published my nonfiction book on doing business with the government in 1999. I wrote and published my novelette, “Harry’s War,” in 2012 and then in 2018, I published two of my short stories. “Mar: A Harry Miles Redemption Story” and “Melanie: A Tale of Wonder.”

I am a busy technical writer and do not get much time to pursue my fiction more fully now and in the immediate future.

6 How many books have you published? I have published two full length books (one fiction and one nonfiction), one eBook novelette, and two eBook short stores.

7 Which one would you like to tell us about? One I like is “Melanie: A Tale of Wonder.”

8 Why did you write this book and what is it about? I originally wrote the story in 1997. I was thinking about alternative history. What if a famous worldwide singer had not died but was stricken with a mysterious malady, had faked his death, and roamed the countryside doing odd jobs. Then, a freak accident gave him his voice back for a few hours and he used the occasion to befriend a ten-year old girl whose father was dying. This story is the result.

9 Book cover and ISBN/ASIN

Melanie: A Tale of Wonder

Melanie: A Tale of Wonder - ASIN: B07BZ3RGDJ

10 What would you like your next book to be on? I am slowly but surely working on a book called “Redemption.” It features Harry Miles but focuses on the development of his character, his tragic encounter, and his dive into despair, alcohol, oblivion, metamorphosis, tragedy, and his realization life endures.

11 If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would you go and why? Antarctica – it is the only continent on this planet I have not visited.

12 Is there anything you can share about yourself or your work that not many people know? Many people ask me the source of the name of my character, Harry Miles. I never knew my paternal grandfather, Harry Miles Benjamin. When my father was around eight or nine, my grandmother died,]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10279Thu, 20 Sep 2018 12:25:38 +0000Owen JonesEd Benjamin, American author Ed Benjamin Hello, Ed Benjamin, could you begin by telling us your name, how we can reach you and where you come from, please? 1 Name: Ed Benjamin Website: EdBenjaminBooks.com Blog:...
Ed Benjamin

Hello, Ed Benjamin, could you begin by telling us your name, how we can reach you and where you come from, please?

1 Name: Ed Benjamin

Website: EdBenjaminBooks.com

Blog: http://edbenjaminbooks.com/my-blog/

2 Country: USA

3 Do you prefer to read a particular genre? I read mostly detective mysteries, spy fiction, political thrillers, some adventure books, etc. Occasionally, I like to re-read a classic. For example, I am currently re-reading “War and Peace.”

4 Do you write in the same genre? No, although my writing time is limited, I try to write in different genres.

If not which ones? I have two additional projects in work in the mystery detective genre. I am planning to re-write a science fiction book I self-published in 1997. Following that, I have plans to write another nonfiction book on how to prepare proposals for the federal government.

5 Have you always written and what got you started professionally? When I was a freshmen in college, a classmate and I wrote a chapbook about the painters whose paintings were displayed in the lobby of the administration building. After I retired from the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1990, I started a career as a free-lance technical writer specializing in preparing proposals for companies desiring to get business with the government. I am still pursuing this career.

I still dabble in writing in my spare time. In 1995, I won a regional writing contest for a short story I wrote. I wrote a science fiction book (black comedy) in 1997. Then, I published my nonfiction book on doing business with the government in 1999. I wrote and published my novelette, “Harry’s War,” in 2012 and then in 2018, I published two of my short stories. “Mar: A Harry Miles Redemption Story” and “Melanie: A Tale of Wonder.”

I am a busy technical writer and do not get much time to pursue my fiction more fully now and in the immediate future.

6 How many books have you published? I have published two full length books (one fiction and one nonfiction), one eBook novelette, and two eBook short stores.

7 Which one would you like to tell us about? One I like is “Melanie: A Tale of Wonder.”

8 Why did you write this book and what is it about? I originally wrote the story in 1997. I was thinking about alternative history. What if a famous worldwide singer had not died but was stricken with a mysterious malady, had faked his death, and roamed the countryside doing odd jobs. Then, a freak accident gave him his voice back for a few hours and he used the occasion to befriend a ten-year old girl whose father was dying. This story is the result.

9 Book cover and ISBN/ASIN

Melanie: A Tale of Wonder

Melanie: A Tale of Wonder - ASIN: B07BZ3RGDJ

10 What would you like your next book to be on? I am slowly but surely working on a book called “Redemption.” It features Harry Miles but focuses on the development of his character, his tragic encounter, and his dive into despair, alcohol, oblivion, metamorphosis, tragedy, and his realization life endures.

11 If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would you go and why? Antarctica – it is the only continent on this planet I have not visited.

12 Is there anything you can share about yourself or your work that not many people know? Many people ask me the source of the name of my character, Harry Miles. I never knew my paternal grandfather, Harry Miles Benjamin. When my father was around eight or nine, my grandmother died,]]>330cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/harrys-war-review_1
Harry's War

by Ed Benjamin

Review by Barry Boy

I was given a copy of Harry's War by Ed Benjamin in exchange for an honest review.

Harry's War is a novelette that spans the genres of fictional biography and realistic fiction > military (or more specifically, air force) drama. It is written in the third-person singular and relates to the final combat mission and the early civilian life of the protagonist, whose name appears in the title.

When Harry's War opens, Harry is flying his F15C Eagle fighter at 35,000 feet above Iraq. The action begins immediately after the scene has been set, and even a landlubber like myself felt transported into the jet fighter with its Eagle Driver, Harry Miles.

A realistic dogfight ensues, involving AWACS assistance, with both sides losing aircraft. However, Harry retires shortly thereafter, and it is only then that his real problems begin, not unlike when many people retire in other walks of life.

Retirement from the F15C Eagle

However, Harry had led a high-powered career, which is way out of the experience - even imagination - of the vast majority of the population and we get to share in his ups and downs.

I found Harry's War gripping and very realistic, which suggests that the author has experience in the field of avionics, military service and retirement. It also shows that he has the writing skill to be able to relate it in a meaningful and understandable manner.

I really enjoyed reading Harry's War. Ed Benjamin tells the story and defines his characters in a no-nonsense, yet fluid and graceful style. The cover and the title are perfectly relevant to the subject matter of this novelette, and only aid in the prediction of its contents, which have been well, although probably not professionally edited.

I thoroughly and unreservedly recommend Harry's War to all readers, but especially to those who enjoy reading military, and particularly, US Air Force, stories.]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10272Sun, 16 Sep 2018 21:54:48 +0000Owen JonesHarrys War by Ed Benjamin Harry's War by Ed Benjamin Review by Barry Boy I was given a copy of Harry's War by Ed Benjamin in exchange for an honest review. Harry's War is a novelette that spans the genres of fictional biography and realistic...
Harry's War

by Ed Benjamin

Review by Barry Boy

I was given a copy of Harry's War by Ed Benjamin in exchange for an honest review.

Harry's War is a novelette that spans the genres of fictional biography and realistic fiction > military (or more specifically, air force) drama. It is written in the third-person singular and relates to the final combat mission and the early civilian life of the protagonist, whose name appears in the title.

When Harry's War opens, Harry is flying his F15C Eagle fighter at 35,000 feet above Iraq. The action begins immediately after the scene has been set, and even a landlubber like myself felt transported into the jet fighter with its Eagle Driver, Harry Miles.

A realistic dogfight ensues, involving AWACS assistance, with both sides losing aircraft. However, Harry retires shortly thereafter, and it is only then that his real problems begin, not unlike when many people retire in other walks of life.

Retirement from the F15C Eagle

However, Harry had led a high-powered career, which is way out of the experience - even imagination - of the vast majority of the population and we get to share in his ups and downs.

I found Harry's War gripping and very realistic, which suggests that the author has experience in the field of avionics, military service and retirement. It also shows that he has the writing skill to be able to relate it in a meaningful and understandable manner.

I really enjoyed reading Harry's War. Ed Benjamin tells the story and defines his characters in a no-nonsense, yet fluid and graceful style. The cover and the title are perfectly relevant to the subject matter of this novelette, and only aid in the prediction of its contents, which have been well, although probably not professionally edited.

I thoroughly and unreservedly recommend Harry's War to all readers, but especially to those who enjoy reading military, and particularly, US Air Force, stories.]]>151cleanfullhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/owenjones/s-a-brain-doesnt-brew-any-longer_1
S. A. Brain Doesn't Brew Any Longer...

Now, that may not mean much to you, but the S. A. Brain's Brewery, which was located in the centre of Cardiff for centuries, used to be the most famous beer in Wales!

Brains Dark was legendary, but disappeared a couple of decades ago as younger people took to lager instead. The company started to produce special ales instead. So, many events special to Wales - like the Rugby World Cup - would have a special, short-term beer brewed specifically for it.

Next, Brains 'tried' replacing Brains Bitter with Brains Smooth, but I, personally, don't think that drinkers took to it and some time during this confusion, their flagship beer, Brains S. A. became more and more difficult to find.

Brains S. A. affectionately known as 'Skull Attack(er)' was only 3.7% (or so) A.B.V. but it had the reputation among drinkers for 'having something else'. I have seen many seasoned drinkers from 'away' feel seriously affected by three or four pints.

However, Brains S. A. is almost impossible to find these days - even more so that forty years ago, when the excuse was that Brains 'didn't travel well'.

Has S. A. Brain Moved On?

Well, it won't be going anywhere now, because Brains has sold all its 'large pubs' now, and Miller is brewing all its beer. That means that I , and most Brain's beer drinkers, won't be drinking the stuff again.

It's a crying shame... I feel that Brains has let its loyal supporters down, and I don't want whatever the Americans think that (Brains) beer should taste like.

So, I'll switch to European lager and British cider and hope that Brains enjoys the money they made from all the generations of Welsh beer drinkers who supported them

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: S. A. Brain Doesn't Brew Any Longer...]]>http://meganthemisconception.com/?p=10262Sun, 16 Sep 2018 15:13:38 +0000Owen JonesS. A. Brains Doesn't Brew Any Longer S. A. Brain Doesn't Brew Any Longer... Now, that may not mean much to you, but the S. A. Brain's Brewery, which was located in the centre of Cardiff for centuries, used to be the most famous beer in Wales!...
S. A. Brain Doesn't Brew Any Longer...

Now, that may not mean much to you, but the S. A. Brain's Brewery, which was located in the centre of Cardiff for centuries, used to be the most famous beer in Wales!

Brains Dark was legendary, but disappeared a couple of decades ago as younger people took to lager instead. The company started to produce special ales instead. So, many events special to Wales - like the Rugby World Cup - would have a special, short-term beer brewed specifically for it.

Next, Brains 'tried' replacing Brains Bitter with Brains Smooth, but I, personally, don't think that drinkers took to it and some time during this confusion, their flagship beer, Brains S. A. became more and more difficult to find.

Brains S. A. affectionately known as 'Skull Attack(er)' was only 3.7% (or so) A.B.V. but it had the reputation among drinkers for 'having something else'. I have seen many seasoned drinkers from 'away' feel seriously affected by three or four pints.

However, Brains S. A. is almost impossible to find these days - even more so that forty years ago, when the excuse was that Brains 'didn't travel well'.

Has S. A. Brain Moved On?

Well, it won't be going anywhere now, because Brains has sold all its 'large pubs' now, and Miller is brewing all its beer. That means that I , and most Brain's beer drinkers, won't be drinking the stuff again.

It's a crying shame... I feel that Brains has let its loyal supporters down, and I don't want whatever the Americans think that (Brains) beer should taste like.

So, I'll switch to European lager and British cider and hope that Brains enjoys the money they made from all the generations of Welsh beer drinkers who supported them

Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: S. A. Brain Doesn't Brew Any Longer...]]>129cleanfull