Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

October 30, 2020October 29, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 81 Comments

“Yes, indeed, ladies, it is Friday.”
“Oh, good Boss. Can we have the car keys?”

Good to see Friday here again. It lets us know that time is, in fact, marching on. That is always a good thing. (Not that time marching on is a good thing but knowing it is marching is helpful)

Ahem. Now that I got out of that circle, I can talk about significant things. I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking forward to daylight savings time. Sheesh. With the “Fall back” situation, it will mean the pups will decide at 5:30 that it is time to get up. The only way to prevent that is to keep them awake for an hour later the night before. Yeah right. Ever try to keep a sleepy dog awake. So maybe if everyone stays quiet, they will lose track of time and snore in. I’m not counting on it.

Eternal Road has 17 ratings on Amazon for a 4.8 overall. I’m so pleased with the reviews and thank everyone who took the time. A reminder that the 99¢ price on the Kindle version goes up to $2.99 on November 1st. Here is the universal link once more.

mybook.to/EternalRoad

Today’s JohnKu talks about daylight savings time. I hope you all have a super and safe weekend.

It is time again,

To mess with our clocks and ask . . .

Why the heck do we?

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

September 25, 2020September 24, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 64 Comments

“Why are you at the door?”
“I think Friday is in there.”
“Little one. Friday is a day, not a being. Friday is everywhere.”
“Yeah, isn’t it great?”

Here we are having arrived at Friday again. I hope you all had a super week. I have been touring with some of the best bloggers. It has been an exciting experience. I suddenly realize why I only publish one book every 18 months. This is a lot of work. I also feel so much gratitude for those who have volunteered to host me and especially for those who continually stop to comment. I get a real sense of Family with this process.

Come the 30th of September, and all this tour stuff will be done. Then on to the dreaded AMS (Amazon Marketing System) for some fun with ads. I was so confused this week I put the TGIF moniker on the Wednesday Hump Day post. All of you were so gracious in not mentioning it.

Today’s JohnKu talks about promoting a new book. I hope you have a relaxing weekend and a good one next week.

The last word spoken,

When the journey is over . . .

Never “promotion.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

September 18, 2020September 17, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 70 Comments

“What? I’m just asking if Lucy wants to play.”
“It just looked like you were going to pounce on her.”
“Who me? Pounce on this water buffalo? Not a chance.”

I am over at Story Empire today. I’m talking about a review link to your book on Amazon. Here is the link. (speaking of links)

https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/2020/09/18/book-review-link-on-amazon/

Friday is here, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out a good reason to be overjoyed at the prospect. For those working, of course, it is a good thing to take a couple of days off. So I guess I’ll celebrate for you. 🎶 toot 🎶 (love that party horn.)

Not much going on around here. Yes, I’m still touring and am grateful for all the support. The last stop will be on the 30th, so there is a little way to go. A quick reminder that the price of Eternal Road will go up mid-October. It will go from 99¢ to $2.99. As I have said before, the price will never go below 99¢.

We have to keep Hurricane Sally victims in mind today. There is no such thing as an inconsequential Hurricane. Think of the last time you dropped some water on the floor. A Hurricane drops so much more water that usually everything on the main floor of homes is destroyed. Also, without power and A/C, the mold starts to grow immediately. These folks have a tough road ahead.

Today’s JohnKu talks about facing tough times. I hope you all have a beautiful weekend.

You hear of a storm,

And feel good it’s not near you . . .

Pray, you are not next.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

September 4, 2020September 3, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 78 Comments

“Okay, I’ll give you till the count of three.”
“I will not need any time to escape a water buffalo.”
“Suit yourself.”

Another Friday is here. If you saw the post yesterday, then you know we finally got a break in the weather. This summer has been one for the record books. Not only were the temps in the 100s but the heat indexes were in from 105 to 110. Of course, this is 2020 so what should we expect? We hope to stay in the 90s for the rest of the season. (Imagine being thankful for 90-degree temps)

We are also missing all the rain. Those to the North, West, and East of us are getting tons. We are getting nada. They say maybe this weekend. Sure let’s have a labor Day deluge. Would be perfect for this year. At least it would be rain.

The launch of Eternal Road – The final stop is going well. I am so grateful for all the nice folks who volunteered to help. I know I’ve said that before but it bears repeating. I hope you enjoy the excerpts as well. They are all different parts of the book.

Today’s JohnKu talks about gratitude (again)

I want to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Labor Day Weekend.

When you receive grace,

The best gratitude is to . . .

Treat someone the same.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

August 28, 2020August 27, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 79 Comments

“It’s Friday, Lucy.”
“It is Little One. Let’s play tag.”
“You’re it.”
“Of course. I’m it.”

Friday has arrived. Twiggy can relax now. Just when you thought this year could not get worse, Hurricane Laura decides East Texas and West Louisana could use a category 4 whooping. Being forced to deal with Hurricane Harvey my heart goes out to anyone who now must deal with Laura.

As some of you know, I did an announcement launch of Eternal Road – The final stop. September 1st starts a whole month of blog tours, which I’m calling the hard launch.

This book is pretty far outside my comfort zone in that it is not solely a thriller. Yeah, there are some of those elements, but when the characters take some trips to other times and places in their 1956 Oldsmobile, you can almost believe the book has many genres. There are elements of fantasy, time travel, paranormal, history, sci-fi, romance, and spiritual. So if you like any of these kinds of stories, you will find something to enjoy. The tour participants are among the best-known bloggers and authors. I am very grateful for their help. Each stop will have a different excerpt, so if you visit, you will have a pretty good idea if this is the book for you. The good news is if you like what you see in the excerpts, there is still time to buy the e-book for 99¢ since that price will be good for 15 days after the tour ends.

I did universal links this time, so no matter what market you live in, the link will take you to your Amazon store. Yes, the price is the same worldwide translated to the local currency.

Here are the links again.

Kindle

Paper

Today’s JohnKu talks about today’s challenges. I hope you all have a great weekend.

COVID 19 curse,

Political arguments . . .

Hurricane Laura.

They can get you down,

Or you can rise above them . . .

You can choose your path.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

August 21, 2020August 20, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 68 Comments

Twiggy and Lucy — “I’ll give you to the count of three to get away.”
“I won’t need three, Lucy. This is Friday after all.”

Yes, Friday is here, and with it, another week is history. I’m still working to get ready for the launch of Eternal Road – The final stop. The material is ready, and now I have to wait to get the links after I hit publish. I have decided to not do a preorder this time around so I’m trying to time the launch, so there is as little downtime as possible between the go-live and start of the promotions. Don’t we all love to have these problems?

I don’t know about you but when it comes to launching a book, I always get a crick in my neck from worrying about every detail. You would think after six books I would be used to it. Not a chance.

Today’s JohnKu tries to describe how a deadline feels. I hope you all have a great week.

The details so many,

The minutes seemingly few . . .

The neck yells for help.

Friday – JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

August 14, 2020August 13, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 84 Comments

“Go ahead say it.”
“I see Friday.”
“How right you are Little One.”
“Yay.”

Another Friday. YAY, YAY, YAY. Friyay. The weeks seem to fly by. I guess I’m now used to isolation. Not sure I’ll ever go back into society again. (How’s that for a Howard Hughes imitation)

My proof copy of Eternal Road arrived, and I’m quite pleased that the formatting looks great. KDP has an annoying habit of running the proof language right through the title. I’m glad they feel good knowing I can’t sell this copy. Take a look.

The cover is bluer than pictured here. I think the grey shelf threw off the camera a little. You get the idea, though.

The launch plan is coming along. The e-book is waiting for the publish button to be hit. The paper just needs a few tweaks, and it is ready as well.

I am writing individual launch posts for the blog tour. There will be a different excerpt in each. I think readers will get a good idea of what the book is about as a result. I’m not going to reblog each post but will link the day’s post so everyone can find it and provide some recognition to the super folks who offered to host the introduction.

Today’s JohnKu talks about how time behaves. When I first started this book it seemed like time was an unending resource. Well, it is being consumed pretty fast. I hope you all have a healthy and happy weekend.

Time starts out slowly,

We think it’s unlimited . . .

Until it is gone.

Friday JohnKu – AKA -TGIF

August 7, 2020August 7, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 66 Comments

We have arrived. Another Friday is here, which signals the weekend. Of course, the weekend may not look too much different from the week, but that is beside the point. The point is…..it’s Friday. YAY.

Been a busy week. I’m in the “trying to get ready for a book launch” phase of life. I uploaded the paperback edition and am waiting for the proof. The ebook edition is ready to go, as well. I have decided not to do a pre-order, so the books will be available day one of the launch. After some serious research, I decided pre-order just didn’t fit my profile as an author. The only drawback is the Amazon link won’t be available until the publish button is hit. I plan to publish about three days before the first blog tour post so that I can send the link to the early stops before their post goes live.

Speaking of posts, I am working to have them all done by mid-month August. This will give everyone enough time to set things up, and if a problem comes up, to get back to me. Gotta hope it all works. After September is over, we will all be ready for a vacation. I keep saying how grateful I am for those who have volunteered to help spread the word and continue to feel blessed. Today’s JohnKu talks about trying to make it alone. I hope you all have a super weekend.

Facing a challenge,

You can try going alone . . .

Better to have help.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

July 24, 2020July 23, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 72 Comments

“Look it is Friday.”
“Gee Lucy you. seem pretty excited.”
“I have to say I do like Friday.”

It is Friday again. In my mind this week went pretty fast. I really can’t explain it other than being really busy. Speaking of busy, I am over at Story Empire today talking about dialogue tags. Yeah, I know exciting stuff, eh? There might be some food for thought is you visit.

If you saw my post yesterday you know I’m getting ready to launch Eternal Road – The final stop. I will be making one more call for volunteers as we get closer to the time. Thanks to everyone who signed up already. If you missed the post here is the cover again.

COVID-19 continues to dominate the news. More cases here in Texas but some evidence that masks are causing infections to level off. I still wear mine. Of course, my going out time is limited.

You have to wonder when life will return to normal. There is turmoil everywhere and it seems we all are becoming more isolated due to questionable leadership, confusing information, and fractured communities. One has to wonder where to look for solid assurance that all will eventually be well. Today’s JohnKu lays out a hint as to where to look. I hope you all have a happy weekend. Stay safe.

When you need comfort,

A voice of authority . . .

Is found inside you.

Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF

July 17, 2020July 16, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 78 Comments

Another Friday is upon us. Yes indeed. I hope it means that you will be doing something fun for the weekend. I am wondering these days what that something fun could be?

For us here in Serenityville, it means trying to figure out a photo session for Views of the Neighborhood, which has to be taken on Saturday. It is getting tougher and tougher to find a subject due to the suspension of most of the activities around town. When we finally decide on a topic, it is a rush to get it done and scheduled to run.

The schools here in Texas have been given local authority to decide to conduct classes remotely. There has been a great deal of angst by the teachers on possibly having to go back to the classroom while the virus cases continue to climb. Now the local school boards can decide. Most are leaning toward virtual learning sessions.

Today’s JohnKu talks about local control.

I hope you have a super weekend.

The Feds want power,

To make decisions for us. . .

Local is better.