It is Friday already. My, what a rushed week. At least it seems that way to me. I finished the formatting on Circumstances of Childhood. The next project was to get a cover that would work. We are finally close to that cover, and I hope to give you a look next week sometime. After that, it is a matter of putting the book up on CreateSpace and Kindle.

Before hitting publish, I need to decide on the announcement plans. I know I want to do a tour. I also want to do a few ads but need to figure out when and where. I guess I will have this sorted out by next week. I think the October 1st date will be a go.

I will be sending out my call for volunteers shortly. In the meantime, today’s JohnKu talks about how it takes a village to launch a book. I hope you have a super weekend.

Village by John W. Howell © 2017

You decide to launch,

You should not do it alone . . .

Success requires help.

 

Friday again. (Yes, John it comes around once a week at this time.) This week has been full of looking at the last proof of Circumstances of Childhood. Next week I should be heavy into formatting which is always fun. (What? are you sick?) I got word the cover is going to be a couple of weeks from now, so I think the mid-September date might slip a little. It is no big deal and I good with anything before November 1st. (So you say to readers.) I wrote a JohnKu last week about the vagaries of publishing, so I think this week I’ll I will discuss one’s inner voice. Yes, those parenthetical statements came from my inner voice.  We all have one, and sometimes mine needs to go off to a seminar on positive thinking. I hope you have a great weekend.

Inner Voice by John W. Howell

So what’s that I hear?

Far away behind my eyes. . .

That arrogant voice.

 

Another Friday and we can now see the weekend from here. Our weather has been very humid this week. We have a big ole high sitting just North and West of us which invites the Gulf moisture to come streaming in. It wouldn’t be so bad if it would rain but all we get are some sea breeze showers which wouldn’t fill a teacup.

So we continue to sweat with no relief. The Gulf temperatures are running around 89 degrees right now so we can’t count on a cooling effect. I guess that is why they call this time of year Summer. Today’s JohnKu speaks of Summer, and I hope you have something fun planned for the weekend. Thanks for stopping by. Grab an ice tea and sit a spell.

Summer by John W. Howell © 2017

The days are longer,

Nights are uncomfortable. . .

Yup, it is summer.

Have a good weekend

 

Friday you sweet thing. Good to see you again. Well, this week I have been working like a mad man to try to set up some posts for the time I’m out-of-town. I am able to prepare posts for my regular features. The posts that are prompts will be a different matter. On Tuesday and Saturday, my prompts come from others, so I’ll just have to hope the WiFi works well. I will be gone ten days beginning June 18th.  Today’s JohnKu talks about the fear of missing out. I hope you have a great weekend.

Missing by John W. Howell ©2017

When we are away,

The fear of missing out lives. . .

But is unfounded.

 

 

Friday is here again and with it the prospect of being able to relax a little over the weekend. Only eight or so hours and we will approach Saturday Eve.  When I was working, and in my youth, I used to enjoy going out on Friday for a couple of Coronas and a  big juicy hamburger. (This was in the late 80s before I gave up eating beef.) I would get a bottle of Corona with a lime and then pour the bottle into a frosty glass a little at a time. We had a bunch of friends who would all meet at this same place. We put a title on the evening to describe the objective for all getting together. It was called “Beer, Beer, Burger, Beer.” The name stuck and at times was shortened to the “Four Bs.”

One day we all showed up, and the server explained that the manager would no longer allow beer bottles at the tables. It was okay at the bar, but he felt it was too seemly in the dining room. I ordered my beer and out it came in a twelve-ounce glass with a lime floating on the foamless top. It was the kind of presentation that could only be thought up in Northern Indiana.

Long story short, we all protested the new rule and convinced the manager that he was playing with fire. (Not to mention about ten bar tabs consisting of the Four Bs.) My next beer was served in a bottle alongside a chilled 8 oz glass as God had intended.

Today’s JohnKu talks about standing up for your rights. I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

Rights by John W. Howell © 2017

Your life is your own,

When others decide for you. . .

Make sure you agree.

 

Another Friday is here. Only eight hours until we can think about relaxing. The beautiful thing about Memorial Day on a Monday is the week seems pretty short. A show of hands. How many kept thinking of Monday as Sunday? It is kind of weird when you consider a perfectly nice day like Tuesday as a Monday. Then Wednesday shows up, and you are not even exhausted, so a perfectly good Hump Day goes wasted. Thursday goes by in a flash, and here we are. This makes the idea of a four-day work- week sound exquisite, doesn’t it? Of course, once a four-day is a reality (If ever)  then the target will be a three-day. Are we never satisfied?

Today’s JohnKu talks about satisfaction.

Satisfaction by John W. Howell © 2017

Maslow had it right,

Achieve one satisfaction. . .

Another rears up.

 

Another week has flown. I mean this is getting ridiculous. Either I somehow nod off and lose a few hours here and there or time is passing way too quickly. Well, I hope you enjoyed the work week. (Excuse me. Did he just say that?) If not, I hope next week is better. If so, I hope next week is just as nice. (I should go into the diplomatic corps )

I got my Circumstances of Childhood manuscript back from the editor. I will be diving into that this weekend. I’m also continuing to work on the next. The story is coming together nicely.

I did launch a new Amazon Marketing Services ad for My GRL and this time increased the number of keywords. I’ll let you know what happens.

I read a fellow author’s post which asked a question about wasting our lives.  It was posed in the context of trying to accomplish some life goals and in the process do we spend time on activities that turn out to be a waste.  My point was all activities directed toward a life goal including those we feel are failures could be considered time spent learning.

This week’s JohnKu talks about what we should do in the face of failure.

Failure by John W. Howell © 2017

It simply was wrong,

Start to finish it was doomed. . .

Now I’ve learned something.

 

Lovely Friday. Eight hours until the weekend. (or at least weekend eve) How was your week? Mine was pretty tame. I’m still hitting 1000 words a day which is a good thing. Also, I have a beta read which needs daily attention if I’m going to make the deadline.

My editor has begun work on the next book, so that is a good thing. Still shooting for September.

I tweaked my Amazon Marketing Service ad with a different blurb. I only want to change one thing at a time.  I kept the keywords constant, so we’ll see how it goes.

This week’s JohnKu talks about what is important to an author. I hope you have a wonderful week.

Author Satisfaction by John W. Howell © 2017

Some say it’s to write,

Others insist book sales rule . . .

Only the heart knows.

Friday once again. Always glad to see it roll around. No particular reason other than it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the week and see if I’ve done anything worthwhile. Hold on let me think a moment. *crickets*

I’m back. This week was pretty productive. I finished up all the edits within my power on Circumstances of Childhood and sent it off to the editor. That was a biggie this week. I also placed My GRL on an Amazon Marketing Services promotion. I will be interested to see how that goes. This is the first time I have done it seriously. The idea is for Amazon to match your book with searches done by their customers. I managed to come up with over 200 keywords so this effort should be more telling on the program. I’ll keep you posted. Today’s John Ku talks about trying new things. Hope you have a great weekend.

New by John W, Howell © 2017

Stay comfortable,

Or try something you’ve never done . . .

You may benefit.