Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF

August 3, 2018August 2, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 59 Comments

Ah, weekend eve. This week seems to have been a long one for some reason. I guess it might be the work being done on home projects and trying to balance work on the WIP. Sometimes it makes the days a little longer and the nights a little shorter. All in all the week felt slow, and I’m not complaining. Something about taking things slow seems to work out.

The weather has continued to be hot and humid, but that’s what it is every summer here. The tourists are behaving themselves for the most part. Last night there was some kind of firework extravaganza on the beach. Since they are illegal here, I hope the police cracked down. The noise stopped abruptly so maybe that was why.

Other than that everything has been pretty quiet.

Todays JohnKu talks about the tedious aspect of ordinary. I hope you have a super weekend.

When things are normal,

We may take it for granted. . .

Until the deluge.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

July 27, 2018July 26, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 63 Comments

The week has been a quick one for sure. We continue to have hot and humid days here on the Texas Coast. Of course, people always ask, “So what did you expect?” I think to some degree they are right. Having lived in San Antonio during the summer, one cannot expect snow in August.

When the heat gets really bad, I tend to think back to the times when there was no air conditioning. I always wonder how folks could bear to sleep in temperatures above eighty degrees. I did it for two nights when the electricity was out during Hurricane Harvey, and I can double dog guarantee doing it for a longer time wouldn’t make it any easier.

I think our technology allows us to exist in areas where we probably should avoid. Also, that is the beauty of technology. Allowing expansion into areas that would otherwise be inhabitable. Today’s JohnKu talks about human destiny. I hope you have a super weekend.

From the earliest,

Humans have sought to expand . . .

Where is the boundary?

Friday – JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

July 20, 2018July 19, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 70 Comments

Twiggy — “Hey, Dad. We doing this screened porch project or not?”

Friday is here, and for all who must carry the yoke of employment, there are only about eight hours in this work week. Since you have come this far, you can certainly make it to the finish. At least it is hoped.

I made some progress on the WIP which is always a good thing. The rest of the projects for the week were pretty much around keeping up with the blog, e-mails and some projects around the house.

I find when working on projects, the idea is to set a goal much like I do with writing. One such project is cleaning the last of the hurricane debris out of the screens on the porch. I have twelve panels that have to be removed from their frames, cleaned and replaced. The structures then need to be painted where necessary and everything put back.

So rather than try to do them all in a day (about 12 hours) which would mean a total loss of a writing day, I decided to do one per. In this way, twelve days and the entire job will be done. I have to admit it does take a little negotiating to make sure the time frame is in keeping with the head of the house. Happy to say, it is. Today’s JohnKu talks about the demands of time.

This to do and that,

Trying to find enough time . . .

Need to allocate.

Friday JohnKu- AKA – TGIF

July 13, 2018July 12, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 40 Comments

Another work week into history. I hope yours was full of the accomplishments you laid out for yourself before its beginning. I have slowly returned to working on the WIP. My daughter was visiting for the Fourth of July holiday, and I didn’t get much writing done while she was here. I managed the blog and e-mails, but that was about it.

Feels good to get back at it. Today’s JohnKu talks about the lure of the manuscript. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Could write a hundred,

Maybe even a thousand. . .

If on WIP all’s good.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

July 6, 2018July 5, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 32 Comments

Friday is here, and the Fourth of July is history. It is good to celebrate the birth of our country. This year I was quite surprised that there were no disruptive fireworks anywhere near our house. This has to be a first. Even though the possession of fireworks is against the law in our town, outsiders still have come in and littered the beach with burned out rockets. Maybe since we called the police as did several neighbors when last week some yahoo was setting off what sounded like dynamite they decided to patrol our area. Whatever happened it was a blessing. This brings us to today’s JohnKu. It talks about peace.

Peace by John W. Howell © 2108

Compared to the noise,

That always disturbed our sleep . . .

The silence was blessed.

Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF

June 29, 2018June 29, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 59 Comments

In about eight hours we will be able to bear witness to the holiday celebrations. Next week is the fourth of July. Since the fourth is on a Wednesday, we here on the coast have two kinds of vacationers. The first will arrive Friday evening and stay through Wednesday. The second will come on Tuesday and remain through the weekend. In each case, they will haul their fireworks, wood, Keystone beer, and extended families. What this means to us is sleepless nights, wood smoke-filled days, and plenty of trash. When the holiday is mid-week, the mayhem goes on for at least nine days. A Monday holiday only destroys four.

We never look forward to a relaxed holiday and are joined by 3000 of our neighbors who look forward to the day after labor day. I can hear you now. “If you don’t like it, John, then move.” I guess that is pretty good advice. I think I will try to make the best of it and stay in my room. Ha ha ha. Today’s John Ku describes me well.

Sitting on the porch,

Choking on fire starter fumes. . .

Wishing it would rain.

Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF

June 22, 2018June 21, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 59 Comments

Another week rolled by and the promise of a weekend to come. Today is the end of the blog tours for The Contract. Gwen and I have enjoyed interacting with all the tour hosts and all you fine folks who visited and commented. I want to once again thank everyone who volunteered their precious time to post information about the book. Also thanks to everyone who visited the twenty-six posts. I hope you found the hosts interesting enough to come back for more visits. After all, this line-up was the creme de la creme of the blogging community.

So how did The Contract do?

We were recognized by Amazon as the number one new release in several categories. In addition, we were recognized by Amazon as a hot new release internationally and in the US. We also managed to achieve a number one kindle position in the US and Australia. So, all in all, I say we had a pretty good run. We are currently sitting at number five in Kindle.

There are some that would like to tell you that blog tours don’t do much for sales. I think we have shown that the myth is just that, a myth. So here is one last thank you for all your hard work to each and everyone who made these results possible. Today’s John Ku is all about gratitude.

It is you we thank,

For the good fortune, we share . . .

Your wings held us up.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

June 15, 2018June 14, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 36 Comments

It is Friday again and time to look forward to a little bit of rest. This has been a busy week. Gwen Plano and I have been a guest on some remarkable blogs this week. We are so grateful for the support that we have received and do thank everyone who has been generous enough to share their precious blog space with us. Since I have been reblogging them, you know who they are. Our promotion goes one more week so you will see some interesting places to visit.

Today’s JohnKu talks to the idea that we authors are a lonely bunch who cannot thrive alone. It is a paradox that consistently tells us to appreciate those who are willing to help. We should also be reminded to give back to those who assist us when they are in such need. Have a safe and happy weekend.

We think we have strength,

To work a problem alone. . .

Until we have help.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

June 8, 2018June 7, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 42 Comments

Another week in the history books. I hope it was a good one for you. As you may know, Gwen Plano and I are in the process of launching our collaboration titled The Contract. There will be a lot of information about the book during the launch, so there is no need in publishing another launch announcement here.

Gwen and I are so grateful for all the volunteers who have stepped forward to offer assistance. I will be reblogging each as they occur and it is hoped you can visit them and enjoy.

Today’s JohnKu talks about the kind of support being offered by the wonderful bloggers in our universe.

A wise person said,

That none of us is alone . . .

A book launch is proof.

Thank you all.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

June 1, 2018May 31, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 60 Comments

Another week has passed. I have often wondered if we all consciously attempt to put in the best week possible. By that I mean do we continually strive to fill the week with the kind of accomplishments that we will be proud to say we finished. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m just happy to have the week done. This is usually because of a specific challenge that has taken more energy than initially anticipated. It is that kind of week where I’m embarrassed to take stock of the progress of whatever it is I’m working on.

I tend to write the week off and hope the next will be better. I wonder how many times I have done that very thing. I know when I’m editing I tend to believe I’m accomplishing nothing. I know in my head that I am getting things done, but in my heart, I still feel less than stellar about the progress.

The one thing that really gives me the feeling that I deserve a gold star is when I have a good week of writing on my WIP. There can be no denying that a congratulation is well-earned. Why is it then that even though I do seven blog posts a week and handle over one hundred and eighty e-mails a day, none of that work gets classified as accomplished in my mind? Let’s not even mention the one hundred Tweets and thanks daily as well. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram time? Forget it. Nothing seems to count but WIP productivity.

What the hell. Am I sick or What?

Todays JohnKu wonders about Social media productivity. Have a great weekend.

Social media,

Takes a lot of work daily . . .

To whose benefit?