Hey all;

I hate working on a Sunday. Now granted, I’ve been doing it a long time, but for me, Sundays will always feel like they should be a day of rest. But nope, off to cut some hair, mull about the latest work-in-progress (coming along nicely) and envy those who get this day off. And I’m heading for the door…

J.J.

Hey all;

Well, it’s summer time here in Ottawa and the one guarantee is that when it’s hot, it’s stinking hot. And anytime it hits 25C or more, the humidity  will be brutal. That’s just a given. But we spend all 22 months of winter (at least it seems to last that long) bitching and moaning about the cold, and the crappy salted roads and the snow/freezing rain/sleet/rain of frogs/whatever so when summer comes you’d think we would be pleased, right?

Not a chance. I’ve come to the conclusion that we Canadians simply love to bitch and moan, me included. About the weather, mainly, but we’re fair; we’re equal opportunity whingers. We complain about politics, our kids, the food, our health care, our parents, this hangnail, and on and on. And after a while, it all sounds the same…like home actually.

So today, as I cut customer’s hair and listen to them moan about the heat and humidity, I’ll commiserate; and try not to smile.

J.J.

Hey all;

Well, I’m in shock. Alfie, the face of the Senators franchise, is now a Red Wing. I wish him only the best but it’s a shame that in his, probably, last year of playing, that he would go to another team to try to win a Cup. Ah well, such is life. Sad though.

J.J.

Hey all;

As an Ottawa Senators fan (that’s hockey for those who aren’t sure), I’m having anxiety attacks because our captain, Daniel Alfredson, has not been re-signed and today is free agency day. Daniel is the face of our club and, at forty, is wrapping up his career. I think all fans here would love to see “Alfie” play out his final year or two here and we’ll be very upset if the club can’t get him signed. fingers crossed.

On the writing side, I’ve sold a few more copies of my book and will be spending my day promoting it. So off I go! Wish me luck.

J.J.

Hey all;

Well, after 2 whole days of having my novel out there on Amazon, I’ve already had some sales. And I’m just wondering who these (awesome) people are? I mean, I haven’t told any friends or family about the book, so it’s no one I know, and I haven’t done any promotion yet. But that ‘s the fun and wacky world of today’s Net, I suppose.

I hope it continues and, as tomorrow is my one day off, I’ll be spending it trying to get the word out (and doing laundry). I hope it helps. I’ll keep you all up to date.

J.J.

Hey all;

Looking for some more really good YA fantasy? You could not do much better than Jonathon Stroud. Awesome author and a very interesting guy. Check out his home site here.

J.J.

Hey all;

Well, it’s my first day of having a book (e)published. Feels…weird somehow. Now granted, no one will ever see the thing, I assume and, if they do, they will probably hate it. But you know something? Doesn’t matter. It is an accomplishment nonetheless. And I’ve always told others to follow their dreams, no matter how many people tell them it’s impossible. Hell, the more impossibles you get, the stronger your resolve should be. So now it’s time to promote my work. It is going to be a tough slog, no doubt. But I’ll do it anyway because, in this biz, it’s all on my shoulders. And I’m okay with that.

J.J.

Hey all;

Well, this is it. After years of dallying, procrastinating and being distracted by life, I’ve finally let my baby out into the world to either fly on it’s own or crash and burn. Either outcome is daunting although the latter seems most likely. However it turns out, I will continue to write; it’s what I do and while it keeps exciting me and stimulating me, why would I give it up?

Fingers crossed, here I come world.

J.J.

Hey all;

Well, it’s Canada Day once again. Time to sit back, crack a cold one and relax with a nationalistic glow. Unfortunately, since I seem to work 8 days a week, I’ll be doing laundry, housework (minimal, I am a bachelor after all!) and hopefully finally unloading my first ebook to Amazon. this should be great, or not. Designing a cover, editing, yada yada has been a pain, but I think I did it right. We shall see.

Be that as it may, Happy Canada Day to all. Raise a cold one for me, eh?

J.J.

Hi all;

For a barber, and I suspect hairstylists as well, the end of school/start of summer holidays can be a busy time. Parents are bringing in their little darlings for their summer cut, teens are looking for the perfect grad/prom haircut and adults are getting the shag removed in anticipation of summer’s heat. It’s a crazy yet fun time for me.

And to add to the mayhem, I’m trying to set up my book for publishing on Amazon. Hell, I just write, but when it comes to e-publishing, you have to wear a lot more hats than that. It of course has to be shined up and made as perfect as possible…that’s a given. But then it has to be formatted and adjusted to make Kindle happy…fussy damned things, I can tell you!

Then you have to either buy (no way) or create (ugh) your cover. This is very important because a decent cover can catch a potential reader’s eye and considering that there are a bazillion other e books on Amazon, all vying for a limited pool of readers, this is a hell of a challenge. And for myself, a complete newbie at designing anything, well let’s just say that my frustration level on a 1 to 10 scale is somewhere around 37. But we’ll get there, never fear. After all, if I didn’t relish a challenge, I wouldn’t be doing this in the first place now would I? Take care!

J.J.