Herbert's Place

Mark of the Cobra has arrived

2012-01-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

My latest erotic thriller is alive and available from Melange Books. To read more check out my page 'new releases' or go directly to Melange Books.
To get a free pdf copy you have to do nothing but send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and mention Mark of the Cobra. Since you are already on my blog site, please, take the time and look at my other books. All of them still available from Melange Books. For some excerpts visit my website Herbert's World.
Thank you for visiting.

My new blog

2012-01-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

I started a new blog under my name 'Herbert Grosshans'. Mainly, because there are sometimes things I want to write about, but they don't really fit into this blog. Please, check it out. Just click on my name. So far, I've only got one post about my big Northern Pike I caught twenty years ago. Maybe you'll be interested in reading it. But I'll be doing more posting on it about different topics.

Another contest

2012-01-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

The Hippie Chicks are having another contest to win free books. I've donated one of my books to the prizes: a free pdf copy of my upcoming release 'Mark of the Cobra'. I already have the book cover, but it is not quite completed yet. It looks great. Won't be long now.

To see what they are offering just click on Hippie Chicks.

Tenants in the garden

2012-01-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

We have a number of Tamarack trees in our yard. They look like spruce trees but they are not conifers. Their leaves look like the needles of a spruce tree. Like all leaf trees they lose their leaves in the Fall and become bare. People who don't know this assume these trees are dead, but they are not. The leaves come back in the Spring.This last fall I discovered a huge wasp nest in one of the trees. It must have been there for some time already. I can't believe the wasps could build a huge nest like this in just one Summer. The nest looks abandoned and I hope it is. We used to have lots of wasps in the yard, but last year only a few. I find wasps interesting. Bees too. I wrote about giant bees in my SF trilogy Lizard World. They lived in their hives under huge mushroom trees. Anyone who read the books will know this. If you haven't read them yet, do so.Here is a picture of the nest.

Reading and Writing dilemma

2012-01-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

I should be writing, but I'm so caught up with reading right now I just can't seem to tear myself away. Many years ago I read a Science Fiction trilogy by Timothy Zahn: The Cobra Trilogy. It is about super soldiers called 'Cobras'. I just loved those books, and all these years I've been looking for more in that series. Those stories are Space Opera at its finest.Imagine my delight when I discovered 2 new books in that series: Cobra Alliance and Cobra Guardian. I just finished reading Cobra Guardian and I can't wait for the next book 'Cobra Gamble' to be released this month still.I've read other books by Timothy Zahn: The Blackcollar, and Blackcollar: The Backlash Mission. Also great books featuring super soldiers. I don't remember too much about them anymore. Perhaps some day I'll read them again. Actually, I just ordered Blackcollar: The Judas Solution. from a bookseller on the Internet. Should have the book in my hands in about 2 weeks. Will I ever get any writing done this way?Timothy Zahn has also written quite a few books in the Starwars universe, but I never read any of those. A book I read by him a few years ago was Angelmass, also a very good book.It is actually nice to read something by another author for a change. Something that excites me and takes me away into other realms besides my own books. Recharge the batteries so to speak.My book 'Mark of the Cobra', scheduled to be released this month, has nothing to do with Timothy Zahn's Cobras. My book is not Science Fiction but a contemporary Thriller with a dash of Erotica, a large dash of Erotica. I wrote it a few years ago. I don't write such explicit stuff anymore, but I wanted the book published. Hopefully, my readers will like it.

2012

2012-01-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. Now we have to put 2012 on all our correspondence. What happened to 2011? I can't believe another year has past.Looking back, I have to say it was a productive one for me. There were some changes. My publisher quit and I had to find another publisher, which was not as difficult as I feared when I got the news about Midnight Showcase closing its doors. My new publisher Melange Books, LLC actually took over from Midnight Showcase and all of my books were re-released, which was fine. I even got some new covers on some of my books. The book covers for my Xandra series turned out real nice. This was important, because this year I'll have 3 more books published in the series, the first one 'Lure of Seduction' coming out in February. I'm in the process of writing Book Seven.2011 saw the publication of Book Two of 'Stars in Chains', the trilogy Web of Conspiracy, my contemporary novel, and my Science Fiction trilogy 'Lizard World'. All in all it was a good year. For 2012 I will have 'Mark of the Cobra', this month, the 3 books in the Xandra series, and my non-erotic action/thriller 'Bullet of Revenge', to be published in June. That one is the longest novel to be published in one book, 102,000 plus words. If is sells well I may write a sequel. Perhaps even more than one. It all depends. However, that won't happen until I've finished Book Seven of the Xandra series.I bought a Sony eReader for my wife and finally managed to get my router hooked up to my Computer to get WiFi. Whoever said it was easy lied. When you buy a product they always expect that you know everything. Well...I don't. I couldn't get my laptop to connect to WiFi, because I needed to authorize Windows to make the connection. How would I know that? I found that out when my laptop sent me the message that I needed to do so, but never told my how. I finally managed to figure it out by going to the Help section. It still wouldn't work because when I created my password for the router I did it in Capital Letters (That was also the reason I couldn't get to the internet with the Reader!) Another beef I have with all this is the fact that my laptop never asked for a password, instead I was supposed to put in a 'Keyword'. What the hell is a 'Keyword'? I wish they would keep the language easy. Maybe I should get a new brain to understand all this. But, even with my limited knowledge and fumbling around in the dark I did get everything running and now I have WiFi. The only problem, now that I'm on the internet with my laptop I need to install a good updated Virus program. The one I have on there is old and not updated. Actually it is the Norton virus program. The same one I used to have on my main computer. The same one that became corrupted and allowed a bunch of viruses to invade my computer and almost caused it to crash. It cost me a bundle of money to get it fixed. That's when I installed Trend Micro. I've had it for a few years now and and I'm happy with it.Anyway, have a Happy New Year. May all your dreams come true but not your nightmares.

Prime Suspect

2011-12-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

Why are they cancelling TV shows I like? We just started watching Prime Suspect. I've been recording every episode from the beginning, but we always watched other shows. However with all the repeats right now we decided to give Prime Suspect a try, and we liked it. It is just another cops and robbers show, but it is a little different, a bit of humor, not too stupid. Now they decided to cancel it! Why???My wife has this theory that it seems they are cancelling shows where women are portrayed as a bit more aggressive, like in this show. She might have something there. Another show we liked last season, Chicago Code, was cancelled. It was one of the better shows in my opinion compared to some of the garbage that never seems to go away anymore. There was a woman police chief. Is it because these shows don't get enough viewers? Or are some people complaining about them? I don't know how they determine how many people are actually watching the show. I don't write in to the networks and tell them what I'm watching. I guess somebody does surveys, but they are never correct or conclusive. I'm reminded of the original Star Trek. After the show was cancelled it was discovered that it had a huge following, but in the meantime the producers had taken down all the props, the performers had taken other jobs, and it was too late to keep it going. Sure, later on we had the New Star Treks and other spinoffs like Deep Space Nine, but in the meantime we lost all those years were we could have enjoyed Leonard Nemoy as Mister Spock, William Shatner as Captain Kirk, and all the other characters we came to love.We are also watching Grim and we like that one. It is also a cop show, but with a difference. There are all kinds of 'monsters' popping up, like werewolves, werepigs, and other creatures from folk legends. An interesting show. I just read it was given the green light for the whole 22 episodes.I wish they'd bring a few good Science Fiction shows comparable to Star Trek. I miss those. V never came back. The Event was cancelled. They were good shows. I'm hoping to see Falling Skies again. It ended last season with a cliffhanger.On other news: I finished doing the final edits on The Xandra, Book Four, Lure of Seduction, to be published in February. I still haven't seen the cover for 'Mark of the Cobra,' which is supposed to be published in January.Not much progress in The Xandra, Book Seven, which I'm currently working on. Too much to do around Christmas time. Things should slow down after New Years. My wife got a Sony Reader for Christmas. I still don't have my WiFi hooked up to my computer. I've installed the router and it all seemed to have installed, but apparently neither the Sony Reader nor my Laptop detects a WiFi signal. Something isn't right. So I've downloaded books onto my computer and then transferred them to the Reader. Even that gave my trouble. The Reader updated itself and installed a new software, now the Sony file on my computer does not seem to synchronize with the Reader. I'm constantly getting the message 'The Reader encountered a problem and needs to shut down...blah...blah...blah... I think I'm getting too old for these new gadgets. Can't keep up anymore. I still haven't found a use for all those options on our cellphone. All I really want to do is make a call. I don't need to take pictures or upload music. For that I have a camera or an mp3 player. When I want to know what time it is I look at my watch. Much faster and I don't have to constantly recharge the battery. Progress if fine but sometimes it doesn't make much sense. Who needs to be in touch with everyone all the time? Do we need to report everything we do every moment of the day to our friends or the world? People don't seem to have time anymore to relax or just think about things. Especially the young kids. Why would anyone be on the phone when crossing the street or walking through a door? Or while driving? Even with the high fines and all the accidents people just don't seem to learn or get the message. Maybe somebody should send them a email or a text-message. I'm trying to make use of today's gadgets, like the computer for instance. Without it I would never have been able to write as much as I do or even get my writings published. Having an email account is great. Saves a lot of postage and I can send messages out instantly and receive answers back. But there are drawbacks. The spam mail is definitely annoying. The internet is wonderful for a lot of things, but also a terrible time-waster. I try to limit my time on it. My wife likes her new Reader. She can carry a whole library in her handbag. It is good to have a cellphone in case of an emergency, but to chatter all day long is not for me. There are more important things to be done. I find it annoying and almost insulting when I'm having a conversation with someone and they answer their cell phone during our conversation, leaving me standing talking to the air. If they would at least say ,"Excuse me, I need to answer this call. It could be the President calling me. He needs my services." I could understand that, because that would be more important than our conversation, but that never happens. I guess, we have to find a way to manage our time wisely and not to give in to all these temptations the new gadgets throw at us. Unfortunately, some of us are too weak to resist...like me writing this long entry into my blog. I hope I didn't lose any of my visitors because they needed to answer their cellphone. That would really annoy me.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas again. A time for love and good cheer. A time to spend with family and friends and to remember the ones who are no longer with us. A time to receive and give presents. It doesn't matter if we are religious, it doesn't matter if we believe the reason we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. As long as we believe that there is still love and good will in humanity, and not only the hatred we see every day on television, or read about in the newspapers, the reports about people strapping bombs around their bodies and blowing themselves up, murdering innocent people in their misguided fanatical believe. One doesn't even have to watch the images of those incidents in the Middle East. We have plenty of crimes being committed in our own cities. In Winnipeg every night somebody gets either shot or stabbed. So it is good to forget about those things for a few days and enjoy a peaceful Christmas. Maybe some day it will be like that every day. One can hope.

My next release

2011-12-07T09:00:00.001-08:00

I just finished the final edit on my upcoming novel 'Mark of the Cobra', to be released in January 2012. (I can't believe another year is coming to an end!). Surprisingly, even after having it edited by my editor (she does a nice job and catches many errors), I still found a few errors. I also re-wrote the odd sentence when I thought it didn't read right. Hopefully, I finally have a clean manuscript. I sent the 'final-edited' version back to Melange Books yesterday. I still don't have a cover for it, but apparently the art's department at Melange Books is busy right now designing one. I am anxious to see what they come up with.Mark of the Cobra was supposed to be published a few years ago by Midnight Showcase. My editor at that time didn't like it. She didn't think the novel was up to my usual standards. She thought the main character was not a likable person. He was a 'wife-cheating bastard' as she put it. I agreed and pulled it. I still liked the story and after contemplating for a while, I changed a few things. Now, the main character is not married, which means he is not a wife-cheating bastard. The novel contains more explicit erotica than I usually have in my novels. I realized this after re-reading it again, but that's how it is now and I hope my readers don't mind. Everything I write these days does have little or no erotica in it. To be honest, I am actually getting somewhat bored with writing erotica. Either because I've written enough of it of maybe it's just because I'm getting older. Probably both. The last novel I submitted to Melange Books, 'Bullet of Revenge', has no explicit erotica. I still like to write about interactions of my male characters with beautiful women, but the sexual action stops at the bedroom door. It means I have to think a little harder to fill the pages with interesting writing. But even without the erotica the novel ended up to be 102,000 words plus long, which proves the erotica is not really necessary to write a long novel.I haven't made too much progress in the novel I'm busy with right now: Book Seven in the Xandra series. I'm still just below 10,000 words, but I have a skinny blueprint of the novel. Now with Christmas shopping and other stuff I just don't seem to find the time to write. Once this is all over I will concentrate again on my writing.

Raptor's Tooth, Book 3 of Lizard World

2011-12-05T09:11:00.000-08:00

This book was supposed to be released in October, but for some reasons it didn't. It is finally here. I'm quite happy with the cover, and the story is great, too. There should be no errors in this one. I read it so many times, even after I got it back from my editor. I was amazed how many errors I still found. Nothing major, but still, they were there. Hopefully, I managed to find them all. It just goes to show again how our minds work. We think we notice when something is amiss, but we don't, because our mind fills in the blanks. Things like she instead of the. Totally amazing and sometimes annoying.
To read more about it or to buy either go to my website Herbert's World http://hegro.shawwebspace.ca (or click on the word in the welcoming paragraph at the top) or click on the cover of the book listed in the right column and it'll take you there.

Tracks in the Snow

2011-11-26T09:15:00.001-08:00

What a change from the last couple of days! Two days ago we broke the previous record for the warmest day. It was 9 C above Zero, higher than the record in 1907, that’s over a hundred years ago. Most of the snow we received a week ago melted away. The grass was showing through patches of white. Now the temperatures dropped and last night it snowed. Everything is covered again with the white stuff. I guess it is inevitable; three more weeks and winter officially begins. Mother Nature doesn’t wait that long to bring us snow. In some years we’ve already had snow by the end of October and the snow stayed.
In a way snow is beautiful. It covers all the dirt and makes everything look nice and clean…until the winter enthusiasts make tracks in it with their snowmobiles. I have nothing against snowmobiles, except for the noise, and the damage they do to the grass if the snow isn’t deep enough.

I remember the first snowfall many years ago after we had moved into our first house. Looking out of our living room window I admired the beautiful sight of the clean snow on our front yard. I also remember how upset I was when the neighbor’s boys ran across the yard and spoiled the clean blanket of white snow with their tracks.

I still love to look at new snow and the unspoiled white blanket, but tracks in the snow don’t bother me anymore. I enjoy watching my grandchildren stomping through the snow, rolling it into a huge ball or making a snowman, heck, I even do it.

Here are a couple of pictures without tracks in the snow.

Hunting 2011 Part 2

2011-11-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

As is evident from my last blog I enjoy hunting. I hunt ducks, geese, rabbits, grouse, and deer. Rabbits and grouse are scarce these days in our neck of the woods, and I’ve gone hunting for geese only 3 times this year. And, of course, I’ve hunted for deer.
There are many people who think hunting is a cruel sport. Hunters are cold-blooded killers who enjoy killing animals. Perhaps some are, there is always the exception, but most hunters actually love animals. It seems paradox but it is true. I love watching birds, I feed them all year. I get enjoyment from watching rabbits hopping around (as long as they don’t eat my shrubs ^_^ ), and I find pleasure in seeing does with their fawns coming out of the bush and grazing in the fields when there is no hunting season. When I hunt I shoot only what my bag limit allows me. And I eat what I shoot.
Many anti-hunters suffer from the ‘bambi-syndrom’, the Disney version of the animal world. In reality nature is cruel. At least it seems that way. Survival of the fittest...that is the law of the jungle and anywhere else in this world. Some animals are prey and others are predators. It has always been that way. Humans have hunted for their food since beginning of time. Humans have also been hunted by larger, stronger predators as food since the beginning of time. Fortunately, most of those large animals don't exist anymore; fortunately for us Humans. There are still Grizzly and polar-bears, tigers, and lions, but they are no threat to the majority of Humans.
For the Native Americans hunting was a way of life. The tribes moved with the buffalo across the prairies. They hunted deer and other animals for their survival. Parts of the animals were used as food, for clothing, shelter, weapons, and even ornaments and jewelry.
Modern man doesn’t have to hunt for food. We buy our meat in the grocery store, nicely cut, packaged, and labeled. Now we hunt for sport, for enjoyment, but also for the meat. Hunters enjoy venison, ducks, geese. Venison is not always available in stores. The regular stores don’t carry it, and the ones that do ask a hefty price for it. I’ve never seen wild ducks, geese, turkeys, wild rabbits, or game birds for sale anywhere. Heck, you can hardly find domestic rabbits in stores. They taste just as good as chickens, but when they are available they cost a fortune. The price of farm-raised geese and ducks is prohibitively expensive. Turkeys are only available for a descent price at Thanksgiving.
Of course, there are some people who think we shouldn’t eat meat at all.
The Vegetarians.
Poor misguided people. They don’t know what they are missing ^_^. Humans are part of the animal world; actually we are omnivores, which means we eat vegetables and meat. Vegetarians would not have survived for long in the northern parts of the country. The earlier people had no choice but to eat only meat in the winter. Nothing grows in the snow and when the temperature plunges to minus 20 C and colder.
Yes, we have to kill an animal to get the meat, but most hunters try to put an animal down as quickly as possible, make certain it doesn’t suffer. Lions, tigers, wolves, and other predatory animals have no such compunctions. They will rip their victim to pieces, and eat parts of it while it is still alive. Anyone who has the stomach to watch documentaries from Africa can attest to that. I’ve seen two lions chase a gazelle and rip it in half when they caught up with it. I’ve seen the fright in the eyes of a wildebeest when a lion jumped on its back and sank its teeth into its neck. The deer we shoot don’t suffer from that kind of fear.
It is not only the shooting of the animal we enjoy. The pleasure comes from being in the outdoors, breathing the crisp air, walking through the bush following a trail made by deer, elk, or even moose, getting excited when finding a deer track in the freshly fallen snow, looking at the stars on a cold, clear night, seeing the bright disk of the full moon, hearing the coyotes barking and howling in the bush, walking in the dark to our tree stand, spending time with friends, talking about past hunts, successes and missed chances. That is what hunting is all about for us.
Some people play golf, drive snowmobiles, ski, play football, hockey, or any other sport. We go fishing and we hunt. Some hunters may do all those other things, too.
Hunting is a huge industry. It creates jobs. Plenty of jobs and brings in millions of Dollars. Many people don’t think about that. All they see are a bunch of bloodthirsty rednecks with rifles killing innocent, cute animals. That is not what we are. We are regular people who just happen to enjoy hunting, a sport that is slowly becoming more and more difficult to pursue for many reasons.
Chickens are cute in their own way, so are cows, but we have no problem eating chicken eggs or buying a barbequed chicken from the store, we have no problem drinking the milk from the cows or eating steaks or roasts. Pigs are intelligent, more intelligent than dogs, and kinda cute with their snouts and curly tails, but we love bacon for breakfast with our eggs, or ribs (preferable all we can eat) when we go out for supper.
People who are against hunting have their reasons, but we don’t stop them from having them. We have our reasons for going hunting. I have mine and I will go hunting as long as I am physically able to do so. I’m not looking forward to the day when I don’t have the strength anymore to climb my tree stand, or the stamina to walk down a lonely trail through the bush on a cold fall day, looking for grouse or rabbits. But until that day comes I will enjoy every hunt with pleasure and appreciation for the privilege to do so.

Hunting for deer 2011

2011-11-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

I spent a week in the bush hunting deer. My son and I and four friends. Our friends have a trailer while my and son and I sleep in my old work van which I transformed into a camper. Nothing fancy, just the bare essentials to make it comfortable. We have a propane heater to keep us warm and to keep the water from freezing. We sleep in sleeping bags. We grill our meat on a barbeque outside, fry eggs and sausages on a cooker inside. It is almost like home. Almost. I have to admit, sometimes it feels a bit cramped, but we are not there to be pampered. We are hunting.
We left Winnipeg at 9:15 am. The highway was good. No snow on the road and we made good time. We arrived at our campsite Thursday, November 10 in the afternoon, at around 3 pm. We’ve been going there for 25 years now. The same place, the same spot. It is in the bush. Nothing but snow-covered grass and trees. And, hopefully, deer.
By 3:30 we sat already in our deer stand for the evening hunt. We had until Sunday evening to shoot a deer with a muzzleloader.
I had a couple of so-so chances but missed. I don’t have a scope on my muzzleloader, which will be remedied next year. A scope is essential.
My son had more success. He bagged a huge buck with a great rack at 180 yards with his muzzleloader. That is quite impressive.
The general deer season started Monday, November 14. I sat in my deer stand at 7:20 am and shot my buck at 7:25 am. It was still a bit dark, but with a scope no problem. I waited until 7:50 to gut the deer. It was not a big buck, but it had antlers and I was happy. It’s been four years now since I shot my last buck. Larger than this one. Every deer hunter wants to shoot a big buck, of course, but the best meat is on smaller animals. Last year I was not successful, but two years ago I shot a nice doe.
After I shot my buck I was elated and sad at the same time. Elated at my success but sad because my hunting season was over. I stayed in my stand until noon, watching over my buck, because of the coyotes. The woods are filled with them and they will devour a downed animal in a short time. And there are also plenty of hungry crows and magpies, and the odd eagle, all eagerly waiting for something to eat. They will clean up the guts within hours, which is a good thing. In nature nothing ever gets wasted.
I went back to our camp at noon and my son drove with the quad to pick up the deer and transport it to our camp. The coyotes and birds will not come to the camp.
Years ago we used to have to drag the deer back to camp, which was a grueling task, especially if there was no snow. A large buck gave you a good workout. There were years when we shot four deer (it was legal), and dragging four large animals was exhausting. But like anything we enjoy doing, there is always a tradeoff. Nothing ever comes easy. If you want something you have to work at it. It comes with the territory.
We love venison. We skin and cut up our deer when we get home, take out the bones and package the meat. De-boning is important, because bones make the meat taste gamey. After it has been packaged it goes into the freezer, to be enjoyed with a glass of red wine in the coming year.
The last couple of days the weather turned cold and nasty. Even though I had bagged my deer, I still sat in my stand during the day, just to enjoy the outdoors and observe the wildlife, and to find out how much traffic my stand gets. A few years back I shot my two deer in the morning of the first day. I spent the rest of the week sitting in my stand and I saw the biggest bucks coming into my clearing. It was exciting but also frustrating, because my bag limit was filled…with a doe and a small buck. But that is part of the hunt. The big bucks always seem to get away…or almost always.
This time I saw only one buck on the last day. There was not much traffic in my clearing, possibly because of the weather. It was so cold the water bottle I carried in my backpack froze solid in two hours. Even my feet began to tingle a bit inside my boots. I did have toe warmers, but they were not enough.
We left our camp Thursday, November 17 at 3:15 pm. It began to snow and we drove home most of the way on a treacherous highway. We arrived home at around 7:30 pm.
Here is a picture of the buck I shot.

First snow

2011-11-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

Well, we've had our first snowfall this season. Not much, only about 2 cm, but it stayed on the grass all day. Some areas in Manitoba did get up to 27 cm of the white stuff. I don't mind it too much. I'll be going on my yearly deer hunting trip this Thursday and a little snow is always welcome. It makes tracking the deer easier in case they need to be tracked. But I usually put my deer down on the spot, which means I don't have to track them through the bush. It is difficult to find a spur if there is no snow. But snow means cold...brrr...brrr...Not something I enjoy, especially when I have to sit in my deer stand for hours. It's the feet that get cold first, and after a while the whole body begins to chill. Of course, I shouldn't complain; after all, I'm having fun LOL. Nobody forces me to go into the cold outdoors. I bought some toe-warmers this year, so cold feet should not be a problem. As long as it doesn't rain or sleet...that is the worst. There is nothing more discouraging than a cold wet wind in your face and cold drops of water running down your neck. I'm feeling uncomfortable just writing about it. Too warm is no good either. It is pleasant to sit, but not good for hunting. The deer have to move. The cold weather also causes the bucks to got into rut, which means they'll be chasing the does and won't be so cautious.
I'm looking forward to getting away again for a few days, contemplate life and charge up the batteries. I'm not making much progress with Book Seven of The Xandra. Haven't even written ten thousand words yet. Maybe when I come back from hunting I'll be more anxious to write. Maybe I'll get some new ideas when I'm sitting in my stand waiting for the big buck to come by.
Till next time.

An enjoyable evening

2011-10-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

We went to a social last night. The daughter of one of our friends is getting married. 500 tickets were apparently sold and it seems most people came. The hall was designed for about 380 people or so, which meant many people were standing around, but with the dancing it didn’t really matter. It was a social and Halloween party. My wife went as a cat and I went as a policeman. Most people came in a costume, which was nice. Some went a bit too far, like the two guys wearing only briefs. I think they were supposed to be wrestlers. But there were many nice costumes. People went all out with makeup and whatever. There was a group from Wizard of Oz. A couple of tinmen, a lion, and even a guy dressed as a brickwall, not bad if not a bit revealing with his skintight outfit. Some came as zombies, different varieties of cats, policemen and women, gypsies. One guy was dressed as superman, another as a vampire. A Star Trek officer, even Spock was there. And witches. I can’t remember them all. It was nice to see people getting into the spirit of Halloween. Some girls were quite attractive in there costumes. Or to be politically correct I should say Young women. Oh yes, I may be an older guy but that doesn’t stop me from looking at attractive women.
The food was delicious: Perogies, cabbage rolls, meatballs, salads, ham and sausage, and deserts.
I’ve never been to a social with such great food. Usually it is just bread and sausage.
The prizes for the silent auction were also fabulous. A 42inch TV, Jets tickets (hockey), Blue Bomber tickets (football), and many other great prizes. Too bad we didn’t win anything.
One thing that spoiled it for me was the music, or what classifies as music these days. I put pieces of Kleenex in my ears which made it bearable, but it didn’t stop my chest from vibrating to the loud beat. Why does the DJ have to scream into the microphone? I didn’t understand a word he said. Of course, the speakers were shot anyway. Not that it mattered, because I wouldn’t have enjoyed the music even if it would have been played at a normal level. Our parents used to call it jungle music. In those days it wasn’t even as bad as it is now. I don’t understand the words. Pardon me, sometimes I can actually make out one word, like one song had nothing but hot, hot, hot. That’s all I heard. But maybe it was a different word.
I realized again why I haven’t gone to a social for such a long time. I’m as far removed from the music these days as a Neanderthal is from modern man. I’m not sure though if I’m the Neanderthal or vice versa.
I love the Jim Reeves type of Country music, Barbara Mandrell and Ann Murray type of popsongs. I like to dance the waltz, the tango, the foxtrot, rumba. I like to listen to saxophone and the romantic guitar of Liona Boyd for instance, music played on the piano by Richard Clayderman and musicians like him. Music I can relax by, words I can understand, not this loud screeching of steel guitars, the drumming, the screaming of people who can’t really sing. Not for me, but that is just me. Obviously, there are plenty of mostly young people who love it, so who am I to judge? Our parents criticized the way we behaved when we were young and we called them oldfashioned.
One thing I have to say, the young people at the social behaved exemplary. There were not fights or argument. No drunken brawls. So the music was loud. It didn’t really matter. As long as everyone has fun. That is important.
The world changes, people change, customs change, tastes change, in music and everything else. That is how the human race evolves. We can only hope it is for the better.

A nice but cold day

2011-10-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

The weather has been kind so far. Just heard about snow in Newfoundland. Here in our part of the province of Manitoba (Winnipeg) we don't have any snow yet, but it is coming. Last night we had minus 4 Celsius. There is ice on the birdbaths. Almost time to take them into the garage for the winter. Today the sun is shining and it looks like a nice day ahead. The weather people promised us about 6 plus today. No frost for tonight.
I've been going fishing quite a few times these last three weeks in Lockport. I live only about 5 minutes away. In Lockport is a lock and dam in the Red River to control the water that flows into Lake Winnipeg. Right now the walleye and other fish are coming up the river to spawn, but they are stopped by the dam, which means a lot of fish at that spot. I've been catching my limit of fish ever time I went. The limit is 4 which incidentally is also the possession limit. Needless to say we've been eating a lot of fish lately. We love fish, so forced to eat them so quickly is not a punishment. The fish I caught were mostly saugers. They are a close relative of the walleye only smaller. 4 fish usually provide about 450 g of filets, just enough for one meal for my wife and me.
In early October when I started going they were biting quite nicely, but it is slowing down now. I catch them casting with a 1/4 ounce jig and a plastic grub. You have to get the jig down to the bottom of the river, because that's where the fish are, but, unfortunately, there are also plenty of rocks and they take their share of jigs. It's what keeps the fishing stores in business.
I also caught 1 nice-sized silver bass and 4 large suckers, but we don't eat them. The suckers are bony and the silver bass taste swampy.
My first fish I caught on my first day in Lockport was a goldeye. It is in the freezer now waiting for more of its fellows. They taste good only smoked because they are so greasy.
Finding a good spot there is sometimes challenging. On some days I fished shoulder to shoulder with other fishermen. Not the most idyllic way to fish. I prefer a quiet place, but I've been catching fish, which does not always happen in a quiet spot on a lake or river. There is always a trade-off, like with most things in life.
Many of the fishermen are Filipino. They like their fish. I've seen the same people coming every time I was there and I got to know some of them. Filipino are friendly people. Often they offered me one of their jigs if I asked what they are using as bait.
Halloween is coming. I remember many uncomfortable cold Halloween evenings with rain or sleet when I used to take our sons for trick-or-treat in the neighborhood. One year we had a snowstorm and the snow stayed for the winter. You never know what Halloween brings, but it looks like it is going to be a nice, beautiful day this year.
I'm waiting for the release of Raptor's Tooth, Book 3 of my Lizard World trilogy. It is supposed to be released by the end of the month.
I haven't made much progress with Book 7 of The Xandra. So far I'm at 5,000 words. Been too busy getting the yard ready for winter and with fishing. But Winter will be here soon enough and I'll have more time to write. I hope.

Ads by Yahoo

2011-10-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

The ads on the Yahoo sites are gone! I don't know if the complaining helped, but I am happy Yahoo seemed to have listened to people's concerns and complaints. I understand ads are a necessary evil in today's world. I advertise my books. Without ads readers wouldn't find them, without ads we wouldn't know about bargains and good deals, but when advertising becomes a nuisance and is shoved into our faces wherever we go, then they are not tools to help sell our products but only get potential buyers annoyed and turned off. Advertisers need to know this, and the only way they find this out is if consumers speak up.

Yahoo and advertising

2011-10-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

I don't like complaining, but I hate what Yahoo is doing to us again with their advertising. I'm talking about the ads popping up in the center of the postings on the Yahoo groups. It is so hard to read the excerpts and the information other members post. I realize that Yahoo makes its money on advertising, but do we really have to be subjected to this kind of abuse? And I consider it abuse because it annoys me. It gives me heart-palpitations. I wouldn't check out these ads out of principal just because they are so annoying and irritating. I hate all this advertising on TV; they are such a waste of my time, but there I can tape a show and forward the ads. What I hate about Yahoo is that we have no choice. They don't give us a choice to opt out of these ads. I don't mind them when they appear as a sidebar or even on the top as a small strip; I can live with that, but in the middle of the webpage? Come on! Enough is enough. I checked out a forum and found plenty of other upset users. One of the monitors of the forum posted that Yahoo takes a note of these complaints, but will they act upon it? I doubt it.
At first I thought it might be my browser. I use Mozilla Firefox, but when I used Google Chrome and Internet Explorer I got the same thing.
I am totally dissatisfied with Yahoo. Too bad we have no other choice. That is the problem when somebody has a monopoly. They can do what they want. Just like the governments.

2 1/2 Men

2011-10-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

We've watched 2 1/2 men from the beginning. At first I thought 'Charlie Sheen? In a funny sitcom? No way! He's a serious actor.' I liked him in action movies. But after watching the first show we actually liked it and became fans. Too bad Charlie had to screw up his life like this with drugs and alcohol. Anyway, we watched another episode with his replacement Kutcher. Maybe Kutcher is funny in other roles, but the character he plays in the new 2 1/2 men series is an idiot. Not funny at all. The episode was stupid but not funny. No genius who managed to make 1.2 Billion Dollars can be such a moron. If the writers and directors don't get their act together the show will bomb. Only another moron can like this new show. I'm saying this and I don't care if it is politically correct.It is almost insulting to expect normal people to watch this. And another thing...since when is farting funny? That's how the last episode ended...with Allan farting. Come on! I've already used idiot and moron. What other word can I use to express what I think about such stupid humor?
I'll give it a couple more chances, but if they decide to carry on this way I will stop watching the show. And I'm sure many other viewers will too. There are other funny sitcoms out there. Modern Family and Mike and Molly are a couple of really funny shows. Good humor.
It is hard to define what is funny and what makes people laugh, but some things are just not funny. Kutcher's character is not funny. I didn't laugh I just cringed.

News about Bullet of Revenge

2011-10-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Just got my contract from Melange Books, LLC for Bullet of Revenge. My publisher likes the novel and it is scheduled to be published in June 2012. That's not even a year away. Hurray. By the way, after reading and editing it three times, my wife read it and found still a bunch of mistakes. Nothing major but there are mistakes hidden in the manuscript. I'm making a note of them and when I get the novel back for a final edit I will fix them. Funny how our eyes and minds sometimes deceive us. Well, I won't have to worry about fixing anything for nearly a year. In the meantime I will write Book 7 in the Xandra series.

Epsilon City and Tarnished Valor

2011-09-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

My new releases this month are Book 2 of Lizard World, Epsilon City and Book 3 of my contemporary thriller Web of Conspiracy, Tarnished Valor.
Anyone interested in a free pdf copy of Book 1 of Lizard World or Book 1 and 2 of Web of Conspiracy, please, send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and ask for one.
I will give away one free copy of Epsilon City and Tarnished Valor from the list of people who send me an email.
Here is the link to Epsilon City (just click on it)
And this is the link to Tarnished Valor at Melange Books LLC.

Not a good day

2011-09-25T09:25:00.001-07:00

September 25 is not a good day for me. Never. It was 32 years ago, September 25, 1979, when I lost my brother Arthur in a plane crash. No matter how many years go by, I recall every moment and every word when I received the call from my sister-in-law.
She asked me to come to her place, because she had something to tell my parents which she could not do.
I can also never forget when I told my parents the terrible news. I still hear my father's shouts of anguish and my mother's plaintive cries. My father never got over it. He died 4 years later.
Losing a loved one is a tragic event, and only people who have experienced it know the pain it causes inside. I've lost many friends over the years, and it is always sad. You lose a part of yourself, a part of your life, it is awful, but it cannot compare with the loss of a family member.
My brother Arthur and I were close. We could talk about things one can only discuss with someone close to you without feeling embarrassed or foolish. Things you share only with a brother (or sister if you're a woman). We used to sing and play the guitar together. Even though he was younger, he was the one who taught me the songs. He was the one with the talent for music and the better voice. He had a great sense of humor that was infectious. I've missed the years without him and I will miss him until the day I leave this plane of existence.
If there is an afterlife, I will see you again, my brother, and we will talk about our youth.

Bullet of Revenge

2011-09-21T14:59:00.001-07:00

I just submitted my contemporary mystery/romance novel 'Bullet of Revenge' to Melange Books, LLC. The final version ended up being 102,775 words long. I edited it three times. It is amazing how many mistakes I still found the third time around. After the second edit I printed the story for the third edit. It proves again, how important it is to not rush submitting a story. Our brains are wonderful in the respect that they make us see things that are not there sometimes, like missing letters. For instance one of the company names in the story is 'Globe Labs'. Twice I forgot the e in Globe, and one time I spelled it 'Glove Labs'. Never caught that the first two edits. Hopefully, I found all the mistakes and I submitted a clean manuscript. Of course, before the story gets released, the editor will go through it, then send it back to me for another look.

Here is the blurb for ‘Bullet of Revenge’ by Herbert Grosshans

When PI Frank Hummer takes on a new case to help a woman in distress, he soon finds himself in a web of lies and deception. Ghosts from the past reach out toward him, demanding atonement for the things he committed a decade ago, things he tried hard to forget.

The story does not contain any explicit sex, but it still is an adult novel, because of erotic elements and sometimes coarse language. I hope my publisher likes it and then it will take at least a year before it gets published. Patience is important in the life of a writer.

In the meantime I still have 2 books released this month (Book 3 of Web of Conspiracy, and Book 2 of Lizard World). Next month it will be Book 3 of Lizard World. In January next year I'll have Mark of the Cobra, a contemporary novel. Following that Book 4, 5, and 6 of The Xandra. That's four books already. That will make waiting easier.
Maybe I'll even get Book 7 of The Xandra done to be published still in 2012. We'll see.

About Numbers

2011-09-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 4:34, 6:36, 7:37. Sometimes I wake up at 2:22 and 4:44. What do these numbers mean? Maybe nothing. Maybe something. Who knows? Very mysterious. Maybe I should write a story about secret numbers. The Universe is made up of numbers. The letters we write on our keyboard are in reality nothing but numbers in the computer. Everything can be broken down into numbers. Even though we give every day a name, like Monday, Tuesday, they are basically only numbers. The number of the day in a week, a month, even a year. Today is the 21st day of September, the 9th month of the year, the 264th day of 2011. In 94 days it will be Christmas. In 102 days it will be the year 2012. It takes 9 minutes for the light from the sun to reach our planet, and 4.3 years to reach Alpha Centauri. Tyrannosaurus Rex walked the Earth 70 million years ago, that's about 25,550,000,000 days. What a long string of numbers. We can not even comprehend such numbers.
Numbers are important. We use them to measure distance, weights, amounts, speed, time. Numbers mean order. "I am the first. I am the second. I am the last." Without numbers there would be chaos. No way to measure anything, except maybe to say, "Give me a handful of money and I'll give you 'so many' handfuls of apples." or "I'll see you when the moon is full again."
That still doesn't explain why I wake up at such unusual times. Questions, questions...

eBook Eros

2011-09-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

Some of my books are available now on eBook Eros. The name says it all. Check it out.
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King Tut - an interesting trip

2011-09-17T09:49:00.001-07:00

About three weeks ago, Monday August 22, to be exact, we drove to Minneapolis to see the King Tut display in the Science Museum in Saint Paul. The first day we drove to Alexandria where we spent the night. In Alexandria we visited the Viking Museum. Very interesting display. It proved that Vikings visited North America already long before Columbus ‘discovered’ America.
The next day we drove to Bloomington. We stayed in the Comfort Inn which is near the Mall of America. Driving on the Interstate was hair-raising for me. We are not used to these highways. This was our first trip in many years. Usually we go on holidays by plane. But we made it safely to our hotel without getting off the freeway at the wrong exit.
Before we left, I studied Google maps and printed them out, so I knew exactly which exit to take. The Mall of America was sure a great experience. It is huge, but we didn’t find any bargains. We can buy the same stuff in Canada for the same price. The aquarium was interesting. We visited Bubba Gump and ate Shrimp. We also went shopping at IKEA, which is next to the Mall of America. We found the layout of IKEA strange. You go in one way and have to follow the arrows to get out again. We actually did buy some things there.
Thursday, August 25, we drove to the Science Museum. It was only a twenty-minute drive from our hotel. The King Tut display was marvelous. We spent three hours looking at everything. There was also a real mummy on display. To think all those treasures are thousands of years old. It blows your mind just to imagine it.
We left Minneapolis Friday, August 26, traveled to Grand Forks where we spent the night. We had supper at Grizzly’s Grill. Great Steak. The next day, Saturday, August 27, we went shopping in the Columbia Mall. Left after lunch to drive home. We had a good time but it was nice to sleep in my own bed again and take care of my fish and garden. I’m like an old tree. My roots are at home and when I get transplanted I don’t feel right.

After we came home, we watched a bunch of movies about the pyramids and it gets you thinking. Apparently, according to some researchers, the pyramids were built thousands of years before the age of the pharaohs. They were not built as tombs for them. The Egyptians did not have the technology to build those pyramids in the short time span most historians claim. The pyramid at Giza has 2,300,000 huge stones. If it was built in 20 years as is claimed, they would have to put up one stone every 2.3 minutes, working 12 hours a day.
Some scientists believe there were already ancient civilizations with a high technology that even surpasses ours living thousands of years ago on Earth. With the technology we possess today, we could not build the pyramids with such accuracy. The other explanation, which is also quite fascinating for me, suggests there were visitors from another planet on Earth.
Very interesting and intriguing. And it makes total sense. The evidence is there all around the globe. Unfortunately, what we can’t explain because it doesn’t fit into the established facts and theories of the scientists and historians, we ignore and shrug off. If somebody comes along with a new theory he/she is usually ridiculed by the scientific community. Nobody wants to re-write the history books. And let’s not forget the church. According to some religious people the Universe is only 6,000 years old and everything, including the fossils, was created that way. The reason for that is still a mystery. Total nonsense as far as I’m concerned. It is so illogical it doesn’t even make sense.

Maybe some day I’ll write a novel with an ancient civilization as the background. All I need is an idea and the inspiration.

Oh, here is something interesting. I’m always fascinated by numbers. Mystery numbers, that is, like waking up during the night at 4:44 or 2:22. Here is a mystery number for you. When we came home from our trip, I drove into the garage and shut off the motor. This is what the odometer showed:

Almost done

2011-09-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

I just finished editing my latest novel for the second time. It is amazing how much I missed with the first edit. I wouldn't be surprised if I found more things wrong the next time I read it. During my first edit I looked mainly for inconsistencies, like the wrong name, time-frame, awkward dialog and sentences. The second time I concentrated more on wrong words, dialog and sentences. I printed it out and now I will read it again in the printed form to see how the story flows. After that I will send it to my publisher.
The new and most likely final title of the novel is 'Bullet of Revenge'. (The writing title was 'Conspiracy'). I had other titles which I liked better, but when I did a search on the internet those titles already existed.
The word-count of the novel is 102,700 words. I was afraid I may have to make it into 2 books, but I contacted my publisher and was told the length was fine as an ebook. Also, it looks better in print when the novel is longer.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing this novel. It presented me with many challenges. It is a contemporary novel and takes place in the present time, in 2011 to be exact. I had to make sure I got all my days and dates right.
As soon as I'm completely finished I will go back to writing Book Seven in the Xandra series. Back to Science Fiction. I'm looking forward to it.

Free copy

2011-09-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting. To get your free pdf copy please read the post below this one.
In case you have a copy already or are interested in my other latest release, Epsilon, then please ask for that one.
Epsilon is Book One of my Science Fiction trilogy 'Lizard World'. Book Two 'Epsilon City' will be published also by the end of this month. Book Three 'Raptor's Tooth' is scheduled to be published by Melange Books in October.
If you would like to read more how I came to write 'Web of Conspiracy' then please scroll down to my blog from Sunday, July 24 and read about it.
I hope to hear from you.
Visit my website Herbert's World to see all of my books and read some excerpts.

Traitors and Patriots

2011-08-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

Traitors and Patriots, Book Two in my Web of Conspiracy trilogy is available now from Melange Books, LLC.

To celebrate the release I will give away a free PDF copy to some (may I say ‘lucky’?) readers. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and mention you saw it on my blog or leave a message on my blog. That will be fine also.

Book Three ‘Tarnished Valor’ will be published next month. The trilogy is in reality one long novel (180,000 words). It was too long to be published as one book. If you haven’t read Book One ‘Death of a Hero’, send me an email, mention it and I will send you a free PDF copy.

Happy reading.

Conspiracy?

2011-08-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

I wrote my last paragraph yesterday on the contemporary novel I've been working on. 101,000+ words. Yes, it turned out longer than expected, but I'm not really surprised. Somehow I can't write short novels. There is always so much I want to put into it and it cannot be done in novels in the 60,000 word range. Now I'm again in a dilemma. Should I make two books out of it? The problem with that is it is one story, if I cut it in half neither book stands on its own. The only solution would be Title, Part One and Title, Part Two.
There is a good reason why I write 'Title'. I don't have one yet. I've been tearing out my hair to find a good one. 'Conspiracy' was only the working title. I actually changed it to 'Tangled Web' but it doesn't have the right feel.

Now, of course, comes the work of editing, which means reading it a few times slowly and with critical eyes, looking for spelling errors, use of wrong words, awkward sentences, inconsistencies and stuff like that. Maybe, when I read it, a title will pop into my mind. It happened before.

Once I'm done with everything and it has been submitted to my publisher, I'll carry on with Book Seven of 'The Xandra', which is already in my head.

By the way, Book Two of 'Web of Conspiracy', Traitors and Patriots will be available from Melange Books LLC August 28th.

Here is a sneak preview of the novel without a title. Part of the first chapter:

Chapter One

Frank Hummer watched the couple coming through the doors into the shopping mall. The man was middle-aged, a little heavier around the middle than he should have been; the woman about ten years younger in appearance, nice figure, her auburn hair falling in gentle waves down to her shoulders, her eyes rimmed with dark eyeliner. She appeared elegant and sure of herself. They stopped in front of a shoe store and walked into the store. He came back out a few minutes later and headed for one of the benches in the mall, looking bored. His eyes met Hummer’s for a quick moment. He nodded, lifted his hands with a shrug of his shoulders and said, “Women! They can never make up their minds.” Then he sat down, crossing his legs. Obviously getting ready for a long wait.
Hummer smiled as he sipped from his coffee. He wasn’t married, but he knew men hated going shopping with their wives at the best of times, and looking for shoes could not classify as one of the most exciting shopping trips.
His eyes wandered to the wide doors again when he saw a couple of burly men in white suits and a woman, also in a white uniform, coming into the mall. They looked around for a moment then headed straight for the man on the bench.
He looked up as the trio approached him. Hummer wasn’t particularly interested in what he saw, but something in the two burly men’s behavior kept him watching.
“Can I help you?” the man on the bench asked.
One of the two men in white suits smiled. “Hello, Harry. It’s time to go home?”
“What?” the man asked, obviously taken by surprise.
“Don’t make a fuss, Harry. Let’s go!” Both of the white-suited men grabbed the man and pulled him up.
The man struggled in their grip and called out, “Let go of me, you morons. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Now, now, Harry,” said the woman. “Be a good boy and come without causing a disturbance. You wouldn’t want me to stick a needle into you, would you? I know how you hate needles.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You must have me confused with someone else. Let go of my arms!”
“Harry, Harry. The same thing happened the last time when you walked away. You remember the last time?” The woman’s voice sounded patronizing.
“There was no such thing as the last time,” the man shouted. He squirmed and looked about for help. “Somebody call the police. These people are molesting me.”
“Shut up!” one of the two orderlies snapped. “We’ll have to subdue you if you don’t behave and it won’t be pleasant.”
Hummer noticed a few people stopping and turning heads, but most people seemed to be more annoyed about the commotion than what was actually happening.
Looks like some lunatic escaped again. He appears quite normal, but appearances can be deceiving. I wonder who that woman is. Maybe they weren’t even together. He may have just assumed in crazy mind she was his wife.
The two men in white dragged the struggling and shouting man toward the doors. They almost reached the doors when the auburn-haired woman came out of the shoe store. Looking around, she saw the four people but didn’t pay any attention, only when the man shouted, “Let go of me!” she stopped walking and turned around.
Then she screamed, “Harry, what’s going on?”
“Call the police, Helen!” the man yelled, struggling to get free from the men who held him.
The woman in the white uniform walked up to the auburn-haired woman and said, “I don’t know who you are or what your connection to that man is, but take my advice…don’t get involved or you’ll be sorry.” She poked her finger into the woman’s chest and then rushed after the three men as they disappeared through the doors.
The auburn-haired woman followed them, struggled with the doors to get outside.
Hummer’s interest was aroused and he got up to see where they were taking the man named Harry. When he arrived at the doors, he saw the two burly men pushing Harry into a white van. It looked like a rescue wagon. It had Happy Acres Sanatorium written on the back doors.
As I suspected. An escaped lunatic.
He watched as the van pulled away. The woman the man had called Helen ran after it but she gave up the chase when the vehicle left the parking lot and disappeared into the traffic. She stood among the parked cars, her arms hanging on her sides. Then she turned around and headed back toward the mall, stumbling like a drunk. She appeared scared and shaken. When she walked through the door, Hummer could hear her sobbing. He shrugged and went back to his cup of coffee.
Looking around the mall like a lost child, the woman seemed to notice Hummer watching her and rushed up to him. “Do you have a cell phone?” she asked between loud sobs.
“Yes, I do,” he said. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Please, please, phone the police for me. My husband has been abducted.”
“That was your husband?”
She nodded, tears streaking her cheeks dark with mascara. “Did you see what happened?”
“Yes, I did. Who were those men?”
“I don’t know.” She sounded hysterical.
“They looked like orderlies from a Sanatorium. They said they were taking him…your husband…back home. Is your husband by any chance a patient in the Happy Acres Sanatorium?”
“Of course not. I’ve never heard of that place. My husband is a professor doing research for Globe Labs Institute. He is a sane as anybody and has no reason to even visit a Sanatorium.”
“They called him Harry.”
“That’s his name. Harry Middler. I’m Helen Middler…his wife.” She sobbed again. “Please, call the police.”
Hummer reached for his cell phone, hesitating. “You know, it may not be a smart idea to involve the police…not yet anyway. Kidnappers usually call within hours demanding some kind of ransom. They always stress not to get the police involved. I would suggest you wait at least twenty-four hours before going to the police.”
She sank into the chair across from him. “How do you know so much about what kidnappers do?” Suddenly she seemed wary.
“Because it is not the first time I’ve dealt with this kind of problem.” He took out his wallet and removed a card, handing it to her. “My name is Frank Hummer. I’m an investigator.”
“A detective?”
He nodded. “A private detective.”
“I don’t have money to hire an investigator. In fact, I have no idea why anyone would want to kidnap my husband for money. We are not rich. We’re just a regular couple with a house and a mortgage.”
Hummer gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about money, Missis Middler. I’m not in this for the money.”
“Then why would you help me?”
He shrugged. “Out of curiosity.”
She shook her head, not quite sure what to do. She eyed him with suspicion. “Nobody does anything without getting something for it. What are you hoping to get out of this?”
“The satisfaction that I’ve helped someone in distress. I do this out of boredom, Missis Middler. Call it my hobby. You see, I have all the money I’ll ever need…and more.”
“Let’s say I’ll ask you to help me, what guarantee do I have that you won’t give up because you’ll get bored with the case? I mean, without asking for money you don’t really have an incentive to finish it.”
“It’s not only boredom that motivates me. I have a strong sense of justice and I hate criminals. Once I’m on a trail, I’m like a bloodhound. I never give up until I’ve brought the guilty to justice.”
“Then, please, help me.”
Hummer was about to ask her for more information, but before he got the chance a man approached their table and said, “Hey, Rose, I’m glad I caught up with you.”
The woman gave him an astonished look. “Pardon me? You must have me confused with someone else. My name isn’t Rose.”
The man laughed. “Come on, Hot Thighs, I’d recognize you and your red hair anywhere. And I’ll never forget the night we spent a couple of weeks ago. You certainly delivered, babe.” He made cooling motions with his hand. “Wow, you were hot and worth the couple hundred I paid you.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve never seen you before in my life. And one more time…my name is not Rose.” She fairly screamed the last few words.
The man lifted his hands as if defending himself and chuckled. “Whoa. That temper of yours…it got you into trouble before. By the way, here is your handbag.” He handed her a leather bag.
The woman ripped it from his hands. “Where the hell did you get my handbag from?”
“You forgot it in that shoe-store.” The man looked at Hummer, as if noticing him for the first time. “You’d better watch her. Don’t believe everything she tells you.” He grinned. “And hang on to your wallet, buddy."

POV or Point Of View

2011-08-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today I am again on Mila's blog. I wrote an article about POV when writing a story. Anyone interested in reading about it, please, go to Mila's Blog.

Free pdf copy

2011-08-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome visitors. My other new release last month was Book One, Death of a Hero', from my contemporary thriller trilogy 'Web of Conspiracy'. You can find our more in earlier posts, or go to my website Herbert's Place.
I promised you a free pdf copy of any of my books. Browse through them and just leave a comment on my blog and tell me which one you would like. If you prefer and want to be anonymous then send me an email hegro@shaw.ca.
It's that simple. If you leave a comment on my blog, please make sure you give me information where to send the copy to.
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Am article about Spell-check

2011-08-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

I've written an article about Spell-check, that neat program that checks and criticizes whenever you write something on your computer. It also gives you helpful and sometimes misleading suggestions. This article can be read on Mila's Blog here: Mila Ramos

Free pdf copy of Epsilon or Death of a Hero

2011-08-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. If you're a new visitor, please, stay awhile and browse through my posts. Maybe even visit my website Herbert's World to see what kind of books I write.

I'll give away a few pdf copies of 'Epsilon' or 'Death of a Hero'. Find out more about the books below.

To get a copy, please, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and mention you saw it on my blog. I will pick a few of the emails.

Thanks for visiting and come again.

Camelot

2011-07-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

We've been watching the TV series Camelot and I must say I am somewhat disappointed. The episode we watched last night was the one where King Arthur accompanies Guinevere to see her dying father. First of all, King Arthur would have never gone onto a journey like that without a few warriors to accompany him. And I found the whole trip without much sense. In one scene we have Arthur and Guinevere lying on furs at night studying the stars. Come on now, how boring can it get? And Morgan, Arthur's sister? I can't make up my mind if she is evil or not. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what is missing, but there seems to be no tension. I am comparing it with the last series we watched 'Game of Thrones'. Now there was a series that kept you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait for season 2 to start. Too bad about Camelot. I expected more, but I'll finish watching the series.

My website

2011-07-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

I updated my website Herbert's World. I wish I had a counter on the site, but my website doesn't allow HTML, which means I can't install a counter. I have no idea if anyone actually visits my website, but I keep it updated anyway. Can't do much with it either. It's not even as good as my blog, which has more features. I shouldn't complain though, because my internet provider 'Shaw' supplies it for free. At least I have the option of having many pages, which is something the blog doesn't have.

Epsilon and Death of a Hero

2011-07-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

The day has finally arrived. ‘Death of a Hero’, Book One of my contemporary thriller ‘Web of Conspiracy’ is out. I started writing the book in 2006 and it took two years to finish. Originally the title was ‘Tarnished Valor’ and it was supposed to be the novel that would help me break into the print market, but after trying to find an agent for it I gave up. Time was too precious to waste it finding an agent who would take on a new writer. So I decided to have it published electronically. Since it is such a long novel (around 180,000 words) I made it into a trilogy. Book One: Death of a Hero. Book Two: Traitors and Patriots. Book Three: Tarnished Valor. The books will also be available in print.
I enjoyed writing the book because it was something different for me, since I usually write Science Fiction. I needed to do a lot of research on it, since I’ve never been in Iraq and didn’t know anything about the country and its people, aside from what I read in the media. I learned quite a bit about the country and found it interesting. Originally, I didn’t have any erotica it the novel, but since it seems erotica sells better in e-publishing, I wrote some erotic scenes into it, but not as much as I usually have in my other stories.
My second release this month is ‘Epsilon’, Book One of my Science Fiction trilogy ‘Lizard World’, which is part of a planned series ‘The Spider Wars’. Of course, I don’t know when, if ever, I will write another novel in that series, but it is good to plan ahead. My first published book ‘The Xandra, Daughter of the Dark’ turned into a trilogy, and now I wrote three additional books which will be published in 2012, and I already started Book Seven. There may be more to follow.
My shorter novel ‘Outpost Epsilon’ which is also available from Melange Books, was the forerunner of the ‘Lizard World’ trilogy. Each book is written from a different character's viewpoint, but all three stories meld together in Book Three ‘Raptor’s Tooth’.
Epsilon tells the story from Terrex Stonewall’s viewpoint. He was the main character in ‘Outpost Epsilon’. We’ll also meet his friend Will Peters again.
I’ve always wanted to write about a world populated by dinosaurs. Well, Epsilon is that world.
If you are interested in buying the book, please click on Epsilon.
Click on Death of a Hero, if you are interested in my contemporary novel. Or buy both.

The wages of ignorance

2011-07-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Every action carries consequences. Some not so good. A few days ago I discovered bugs on my pepper plants. I have about 60 plants and most of them were infected. I couldn't find any information anywhere, even the garden center nearby didn't know what they were. They suggested I use 'Sevin' to kill them. So I did. I even sprayed the plants with an insect powder. A few days later some of the little critters turned completely orange. Most of them disappeared.
Now my daughter-in-law, who knows bugs, tells me, to my horror and too late, much too late, these invaders were the pupae of ladybugs. Beneficial insects any gardener wants, because they eat those pesky aphids. Why did I act so hastily? Why...why?
This morning I found a few ladybugs on my plants and my spirits lifted a little, but I also discovered many of my pepper plants had shiny leaves, which comes from the excretion of aphids. Now I have aphids on my peppers and I killed off the very little friends I could use right now.
Pupae and adult ladybugs eat aphids. Ignorance is not always a bliss, sometimes it is painful and costly.
Tomorrow morning I will spray my peppers with a homemade remedy: 2 tsp mild dish detergent, 1 tbsp canola oil mixed with 1 spray bottle of lukewarm water. I won't use 'Sevin', because then I'll kill the few ladybugs I didn't kill.

A comment about juggling

2011-07-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

I left a comment yesterday at Ann Cory's blog. She writes about juggling your time and chores. Interesting blog. You can find it here http://anncory.blogspot.com/

Check out the comments.

An interview

2011-07-11T09:08:00.001-07:00

Today I'm being interviewed by one of my fellow writers Teresa Jones. You can check it out on her blog:
Interview with Herbert Grosshans

Caterpillar of the Monarch Butterfly

2011-07-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

The two caterpillars I found a few days ago in my garden disappeared, but this morning I found one wandering in the walkway of my garden, so I took another picture.

My upcoming new release

2011-07-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

Book One of my trilogy 'Lizard World' will be available from Melange Books, LLC by the end of this month. Outpost Epsilon was the forerunner to this trilogy. The events in Lizard World take place 15 years after Outpost Epsilon. I always wanted to write a novel about dinosaurs, well, this is the one. Plenty of giant ferocious lizards, hot jungle, intelligent giant ants and bees, and other aliens who want a piece of the planet Epsilon. High adventure and Space Opera. Oh, and let's not forget hot Erotica.

How I survived cutting my lawn with my new John Deere lawn tractor

2011-07-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Cut my grass today with my new John Deere 21 HP Lawntractor. It’s got a hydrostatic transmission, which means no gears to shift. Just like driving a car, well, almost. The brake is on the left side which takes a little getting used to. I almost decapitated myself when I cut the grass under our plum trees. The branches are really low and I have to duck. Now driving with an automatic transmission is quite easy once you’re used to it. Take your foot off the gas pedal and the tractor slows down or comes to a complete stop.
The reverse works the same way. The first tryout of the tractor went pretty good except I misjudged the speed of the reverse and backed right into my van. Fortunately, only the tires of the van and the tractor touched. No damage done there. Driving forward went also quite well with a few rabbit jumps across the lawn.
Coming back to today. When I came close to the plum tree I wanted to slow down but forgot I was on my new tractor. After driving the old tractor for 18 years operating it was second nature. With my old one I had to shift gears manually and when I wanted to slow down I pushed down the clutch petal on the right side. Well, I did that on my new tractor. Except this was not the clutch but the gas petal. Instead of slowing down the tractor jumped forward. Panicked, I pushed the petal even more which sped up the tractor on a collision course with the tree. But since I’m here to write this post means I managed to stop before my throat was pierced by the thorny branch of the plum tree or before the branch decapitated me. Those were a few heart pounding seconds.
Now I’ve had almost 3 hours practice on the tractor and I’m almost in control of it, but I think it will take a few times of cutting the lawn until working with it will become second nature to me.
Maybe it was the heat that slowed down my quick reflexes and fried my brain a little, because it was hot today. The next few days are supposed to get extremely hot. Good to be inside an air-conditioned home.
Last night we went to the movies. Watched ‘Water for Elephants’. It was quite enjoyable. Reminded me of ‘The Notebook’. Not the same movie of course but in a similar mode…a man remembering his past and a love story.

Monarch Butterfly

2011-07-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

When I watered my garden this morning I found a couple of visitors on one of my dillweeds. They are caterpillars which will turn into the beautiful Monarch Butterfly. Needless to say I did not disturb them. They are beautiful in their own right.
If you want to have a look at the adult Monarch Butterfly go to this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_%28butterfly%29

Canada Day

2011-07-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Canada Day. Didn't do much but watched the fireworks display in Selkirk, like we do every year. Well, this is only our third year since we've been doing it. It was an amazing display again. It is over in about twenty minutes and it takes us longer than that to drive home in all that traffic, but well worth the trouble. We take picnic chairs along,; they are easy to carry and set up. Then we just sit among the other spectators and enjoy the show. The people who run it set up their stuff on the other side of the Red River and it all happens over the water, so there is little danger of potential fires.
It sure is a nice change watching something like that at 11:00 pm where people have fun and are enjoying themselves, especially the young people, instead of watching the evening news and listening to reports about insurgents in Afghanistan blowing themselves up and murdering innocent people or another Canadian or American soldier getting killed while trying to help free the people in that country. Another thing that bugs are the Greeks complaining about not being able to retire at 55 with full pension and having to work more hours to make a living while the country is going bankrupt. One of the demonstrators (a woman) said "we just won't pay back the loans the other countries in Europe are giving us to bail us out." What an attitude. Of course, our postal workers and their union have a similar attitude about retiring at 55 and their 7 weeks paid holiday, while the post office is losing money. Why don't they see the writing on the wall? The mail service is a dying institution. The 'Pony Express' has run its course. People are using email or texting on their phones.
Soon nobody will be using 'snail mail'. The postal workers should be happy they still have a job. Who knows for how long. I didn't have the luxury to retire at 55. I worked past my retirement age, so don't ask me to have sympathy with them. Oh well, got carried away again. Back to my regular writing. I'm at over 50,000 words with my novel (temporary title: Conspiracy) and still waiting for ideas to finish it.
Actually, these last three days I wrote a Paranormal story which I submitted for a contest. The story is 2,750 words long and took me one day to write but a couple of days to whip in shape, which included a little rewriting.

Free book

2011-06-29T14:42:00.001-07:00

Thank you for visiting. I'm giving away a pdf copy of The Xandra, Daughter of the Dark. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and ask for it.
All of my books are available from Melange Books, LLC.

Book One of 'Web of Conspiracy' and Book One of 'Lizard World' will be available in July. Book Two and Three in both trilogies will be published in the months following. If you are interested in finding out when they are available, send me an email and I will notify you.

Cats

2011-06-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

We went to see the musical Cats last night at the Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg. What a wonderful show. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was so relaxing to watch the show and listen to the wonderful music. It’s sure different from the stuff they play on the radio these days or what you see and hear at the New Year’s celebrations they broadcast on TV on New Year’s Eve. We don’t watch that anymore because of the noisy ‘music’. In fact most shows these days play that kind of stuff. Whatever happened to real music? Even country isn’t the same anymore. We’ve got tickets already for Andre Rieu who is coming to Winnipeg in September with his Vienna Orchestra. I can’t wait to see that show.
Like I said, Cats was wonderful. The costumes, the dancing, the beautiful voices of the singers, and the acrobatic performance of some of the dancers provided the audience with an evening of great entertainment. The actors are so talented and put their all into their performance. I wish I were in such good shape. I also wish the people in the audience were as slim as the performers. We had one big woman sitting in front of us, blocking the view, and a few rows down, right in front of me, sat a mountain of… (dare I say it or is it political incorrect? Ah, what the hell, who cares…)…a mountain of blubber. I may sound prejudiced, but big people like that should sit in a different section, not in front of regular sized people. It sort of spoiled it for me a little not to be able to see the whole stage. And we had good seats…or so it seemed at first.
All in all, we had a wonderful time and the evening was over much too soon. I wish they’d bring more plays like that, and, most importantly, at a reasonable price. Some of the shows at the Concert Hall or in the MTS Center are much too expensive and not everyone can afford to go and see them. It’s a shame.

Computers make life easier but make morons out of some of us

2011-06-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

My last post reminded me of another incident years ago. I went to the wholesale to buy an item I needed for a job. The clerk checked out his computer and told me they didn’t have it in stock. I happened to look at the shelf behind him and spotted the item. I said, “Sure, you have it. It is sitting right there on the shelf.”
Not bothering to look the clerk said, “No, we don’t have it. It says so in my computer.”
I insisted that he had the item and told him just to look on the shelf. He did. “You are right. That’s the one,” he said.
“Good,” I said. “How much is it?”
“I don’t know. It is not marked.”
“Check your computer.”
He did.
“Well?” I said, “How much is it?”
He gave me the number, so I said, “I’ll take it.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t sell it to you,”
“Why not?”
”Because according to the computer we don’t have it.”
“You’re holding it in your hand.”
“I still can’t sell it to you.”
“Is it sold to someone else?”
“No.”
“Then what is the problem?”
“It’s not listed in the computer, which means we don’t have it. I’d have to order you one.”
“Okay. Put in the order. I’ll take the one you have in your hand. When the new one comes in you’ll just replace the one you apparently don’t have but was sitting on the shelf behind you all this time.”
He scratched his head. “I can’t do that, because then it is in the computer as stock.”
“So? It means you can sell it to the next customer because now you stock it and you’ll have gotten rid of the one that’s been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long because you didn’t have one in stock.”
“That’s too complicated and doesn’t make sense. If you want it I’ll order it for you and that will be much simpler.”
Well, I needed it so I ordered it. They probably still don’t have any in stock according to the computer, but the one they have in stock is still sitting on the shelf as unlisted and cannot be sold.
Such is the complexity of real life living with computers who were supposed to make life easier.

K.I.S.S.

2011-06-27T09:57:00.001-07:00

What ever happened to the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) method?
I had a matching last number on my 6/49, which used to mean a free ticket. They changed that to a $2.00 win.
So I took my winning ticket to the store and asked to exchange it for another play. The clerk asks me if I want to use the $2.00 on my invoice for other stuff I bought as a credit. I said, “No, I want to play it again.” So he said, “This is $2.00 cash.” I said, “I know. Just give me another ticket.” He said, “This is cash. What do you want to do with it?” I said, “Use it for another ticket.” He told me he can’t do that. He has to put it on the invoice as a credit because the winning ticket is $2.00 cash. So I said, “Okay, put it on the invoice.”
Then he gets my new ticket and asks, “Do you want this added to the invoice?”
By now feeling like an idiot (don’t know why) I said, “Sure, put it on the invoice.”
Now, is it just me or am I getting too old and too simple minded to understand the complexity of these transactions? Wouldn’t it have been much simpler just to give me another ticket without this back and forth?
I guess had I asked for cash he would have given me the $2.00 which I would have given back to him for the new play.
Now I finally understand why old people get so frustrated when dealing with young people who still have to learn the art of Simplicity or the old K.I.S.S. method.

Game of Thrones, the last episode for the season

2011-06-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

It is always sad to have something you like to come to an end. The season finale of Game of Thrones ended with a surprise, and I can't wait until Fall when season 2 carries on with the story. Some people were disappointed, even enraged, with last episode's ending, but the series is following the book the way George R. R. Martin wrote it. What a wonderful show it is. It is Fantasy at its finest but still close to reality. The actors are great and make the story believable. None of the stupid humor you find in some shows. Everything is taken seriously and no tongue-in-cheek stuff either. George R. R. Martin is surely a great storyteller.

Boston beats Vancouver

2011-06-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the Canucks lost. Too bad, but that is life. We don't always get what we want or wish for. It would have been nice. Maybe next time.
But what I can't understand are those idiots who can't take losing. They surly are sore losers. Why would any normal person set fire to cars, buildings, smash windows, or just go crazy because his or her team lost a game. It is only a game. The world is not coming to an end.
I watched it on TV as some of these morons jumped on cars; one guy used his feet to do damage to the car, others were fighting. What kind of people are they? I can never understand how anyone can lose his (her) temper and get so violent, lose total control over their ability to think straight. Are they possessed by some evil entity or are they just plain crazy? I would throw these idiots into jail and let them rot there for a while. Give them water to drink and dry bread to eat. And no TV, no books. Just let them think about their stupidity and lack of body and mental control. And, of course, make them pay for the damages.
Those are the people who give sports-fans a bad name. One only has to think about those troublemakers from England who go from one soccer-game to another and steer up trouble. They have been banned from going to these games. People like that are not fans, they are actually criminals and need to be put in jail, because they do endanger other people's lives.
All I can say: It's only a game. There has to be a winner and a loser. Enjoy the game and don't worry who wins. After all, not everything is about winning, it is about enjoyment of the moment.

Game of Thrones, Episode 9

2011-06-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Wow. I didn't expect that. The ending of Episode 9 was shocking, to say the least. I am not going to reveal it here. It would spoil it for others. I can't wait to watch the next installment. I suspect Season 1 is coming to an end now. There might be only 1 more episode, but the show has been renewed and I'm looking forward to next season. Sometimes a good show comes along and Game of Thrones is certainly one of them. With so much crap on TV these days it is refreshing to watch something as different as this show. Unfortunately, sometimes these kind of shows are not popular. One never knows what people like. I'm still disappointed about 'Chicago Code' not being renewed for next year. There was another great show and I can't understand why it didn't make it. Go figure.

About writing a mystery

2011-06-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I was wrong. I thought I had everything mapped out in the contemporary novel I am currently writing and I figured there would be no surprises waiting around the corner for my characters. Well, I should have known better. Sometimes the characters want to go their own way. I'm nearly at 40,000 words right now and don't know exactly where I'm going with the novel. I guess now I have to wait for more inspiration. There is no erotica in this novel, even though there are opportunities for my main character to have a sexual relationship, but I am steadfast with my resolution not to have any explicit sex scenes in this story. Sure, they would fill pages, but it is not about filling pages. I'm happy with what I've written so far, but now I need something surprising, something unexpected. I'm as anxious to discover that as my characters are. Where are you, Lady Muse? Hello...Let's have some ideas here.

My books on Smashwords

2011-06-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to see all my available books on Smashwords

Smashwords

2011-06-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

A few of my books are now on Smashwords. They are available in various formats including Kindle, LRF (for Sony Readers), and Palm Doc

The Xandra, Book One, Daughter of the Dark

The Xandra, Book Two, Mother of Light

The Xandra, Book Three, Goddess of Life

Stars in Chains (Book 1) Slave

Stars in Chains (Book 2) Liberator

Of course, Orion, Symbiont of Passion, is also available on Kindle from Amazon.

Episode 7 of Game of Thrones

2011-05-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching another episode of 'Game of Thrones'. This is one show I'm glad I started watching. It is a bit confusing sometimes, to keep all the names straight, but nevertheless, it is a great show. Plenty of action, intrigue, erotica, and a good story. The ending of tonight's episode was surprising and I can't wait for the continuation. It is fantasy, to be sure, but it isn't any different than watching a movie about knights and kings from hundreds of years ago. Certainly a wonderful change from all the cop-shows and CSI shows. Or even all those reality shows.
The Borgias has come to an end. My wife and I really enjoyed that one also. That was not fantasy but taken from history. A bit of an eye opener about the corruption in the church and the power-play and politics that goes on, probably still to this day. Makes one wonder if the religious leaders truly believe what they preach or if they are only in it for the power and prestige their positions bring.
By the way, I've written around 22,000 words in my new novel so far. Right now it has the title 'Conspiracy', but that will change once the story is finished.

Thunder and Lightening

2011-05-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

Talk about Mother Nature. We had quite some hail today. Our lawn was covered with ice-pellets. A small mountain stayed on the grass for hours after the storm was over. Some of the flowers on the flowerbeds were damaged, but they'll grow back. Luckily, I haven't planted my garden yet, otherwise I'd be singing the blues right now, lamenting the loss of my tomato and pepper plants, but they are still patiently waiting to be planted...safe in their little pots. That is always part of my fear after planting my garden...hail.
Apparently, a tornado touched down in St. Adolph, but no damage was done. Crazy weather. Another system is supposed to move in for Monday.

Where is Summer?

2011-05-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Last night we had minus 3 Celsius. Been covering up our flowers for the last three nights, but tonight the low temperature will be 7 plus. We saw our first hummingbird at the feeder today. We hung out the feeder last week. The North American Finches have been here for a while now. They probably are wondering where the warm weather is. The chokecherry tree is is full bloom as is the crab-apple tree. Maybe next week it will be warm enough so I can plant my tomatoes, peppers, and seed my garden. The summer and the growing season are so short. There isn't much time for things to grow. But we shouldn't complain. So many parts of Manitoba are under water, people have lost their houses and cottages. And all the tornadoes in the US. Terrible. So much property destroyed and so many people killed. One wonders what is going on. Mother Nature is a strong force and we are nothing but puppets and toys when she unleashes her powers and lets them run rampant.

Orola, Warrior Priestess

2011-05-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

It seems yahoo does not put the whole link onto my posts or perhaps it is the Amazon site itself, because the link published on the post takes you to the Amazon Kindle ad site.
Well, anyway, anyone interested please, follow this link to get to my books at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1243894445/ref=sr_nr_af_1?ie=UTF8&field-is-available-new=1&rs=&sort=relevancerank&unfiltered=1&rh=n%3A!1000%2Ci%3Astripbooks%2Cp_27%3AHerbert%20Grosshans

Orion on Kindle

2011-05-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

Orion, Symbiont of Passion is available now from Amazon on Kindle. Here is the link.

http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1243894445/ref=sr_nr_af_1?ie=UTF8&field-is-available-new=1&rs=&sort=relevancerank&unfiltered=1&rh=n%3A!1000%2Ci%3Astripbooks%2Cp_27%3AHerbert%20Grosshans

Cancelled TV shows

2011-05-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

I just saw the list of cancelled Television shows and it sucks. It seems all the shows I’ve been watching won’t return.
The Chicago Code. One of the best Crime dramas in a long time. Cancelled.
The Event. Loved the show. Cancelled.
V. I thought it was great. Good drama, no stupid jokes (the same in the above shows). Cancelled.
Medium. It’s been running for a long time and my wife didn’t care for it anymore. I still liked it. Cancelled.
Off the Map. A quirky show about doctors in the jungle. We enjoyed it. Good acting and action. Cancelled.
Shit, my Father says. Cancelled. Too bad. I like William Shatner and I thought he was funny in the show, even though a bit crude, but that was his character in the show.

Fortunately, another of our favorite shows, The Vampire Diaries, is coming back. Thank goodness for small favors.

We’ve been watching ‘The Borgias’ and ‘Game of Thrones’. Those are two great shows. Plenty of action, intrigue, erotica, and no stupid jokes. I hate those shows with stupid jokes, especially when the shows are serious dramas.
If I want to watch comedy I will, like Mike and Molly, Modern Family, Big Bang Theory. We love those and hope they are coming back. We used to watch 2 ½ men, but it was beginning to get lame. Maybe the new show with Ashton Kutcher will breathe new life into it. However, I have a feeling it won’t be the same without Charlie Sheen.

The End of the World

2011-05-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable! It is always amazing how many coots and idiots live among us. How many times has somebody predicted the End of the World? It seems they haven’t learned yet because they keep popping up. This evangelist spent his entire retirement fund ($144,000.00) to announce on billboards that Judgment Day is on May 21st, 2011 (Yesterday). It was supposed to start with an earthquake and then continue around the world every hour with another one until the Earth was destroyed. Well…we are still here. What is he going to do now? Ask for donations from the other idiots who believed him? Perhaps some day one of these Doomsday-Sayers will get it right, who knows.
I remember quite a number of years ago, one of these ‘prophets’ gathered all of his followers on top of a mountain and waited for Jesus to pick them up. They gave away all of their possessions. Imagine how they felt when nobody came to pick them up and now they had no place to return to. Maybe they are still waiting... How can anyone feel sorry for them?
History is full of stories like that. It seems, people never learn. I am always puzzled that there is no shortage of people who believe these charlatans. If they don’t wait for somebody to physically take them to a better world, they commit suicide to speed up the process. Are people really that dumb or ignorant?
Unfortunately, the answer is Yes. One only has to look at the religions on this planet, the big, so-called ‘True’ religions and the cults, the smaller groups. What do they actually believe? They believe that there exists a better world than the one we live in. They believe the world will be destroyed some day and all the faithful will be saved and taken to this better world. It's a wonderful dream. Most of us dream of a better world. Is it because this one is so bad? Who is to blame for this bad world we live in? Why would the next one be better when everyone who makes this one bad will also be there? Wouldn’t it be better to try to make the one we have a better place instead of dreaming about a fantasy world that may not exist?
Something to think about.
The Mayans predict the end of ‘the world we know’ will happen in 2012. According to the Mayans this happens periodically every so many thousands of years. Scientists speculate about Earth’s possible destruction by a huge meteor that might collide with our planet some day.
It’s all speculation. I am more inclined to believe the scientists than the writings in old books or the visions of so-called prophets or seers.
But then again…I might just be wrong. In the meantime, I write my stories and my own visions of humanity’s future. They all start with the word ‘if’.That is my contribution of trying to make the world we live in a better, more pleasurable place, to provide readers with a place they can escape to for a few hours. Sure, the worlds I create are imaginary, but no less real than the one promised in old books.

Tulips in the Garden

2011-05-19T07:43:00.001-07:00

There is nothing more beautiful and uplifting than a flowerbed. Tulips are one of the first flowers to appear. We don’t have many, only a few. They’ve been in bloom for a couple of days now. Some are yellow, some red, and some yellow with red stripes.
Our plum tree is also in full bloom. Perhaps in other parts of Canada flowers and trees bloom earlier in the year, but here in Manitoba it is cold for many months. We’ve only had warm and dry weather for a few days now. Last week we still had frost at night.
Next week I want to plant my vegetable garden. The tomatoes I grew from seeds in the basement are developing nicely but are still spindly and tall. Can’t compare them with the stocky, thick-stemmed plants the garden centers are selling. I don’t know how they prevent their plants from becoming leggy. I read on one site to cut the top leafs and the plants won’t shoot up so fast, but I can’t see the gardeners, who grow plants on masse, to take the time with every plant. It is fiddly and time-consuming. There has to be a better and easier way.
I shall enjoy my tulips as long as they bloom. Sadly, they don’t last too long, but our lilies are coming along fine. Some of them are quite beautiful. My wife adds more every year and they do multiply. Unfortunately, not all of them survive the cold winter.
The dandelions are also in full bloom, but they are a nuisance flower and I shall be spraying them next week, weather permitting. I tried to make a salad with dandelions leafs one time, but I think I will have to be quite desperate to make it again, even though they are supposed to possess healing qualities.

Dual Visions

2011-05-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

'Dual Visions' has a new cover. The book contains 2 novellas. 'The Cliffs of Time' is a time travel story, and 'Orion, the Hunt' is a Science Fiction Adventure story. Here is the new cover:

If you want to read more about it click on this link: Dual Visions

Iceworld

2011-05-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Did the final edits on 'Iceworld', Book six in my Xandra series and fixed more mistakes. Amazing how your eyes can deceive you. I thought I caught everything the first time around. Anyway, it is done. The final word-count is 68,000. Just the right length for an ebook. I wrote the blurb and submitted the novel to Melange Books, my publisher.
I started writing Book seven in the series, but now I have to put it aside for awhile, because I suddenly had an idea for a contemporary mystery novel and it is stuck inside my head. The book wants to be written. I already wrote 5,000 words and I'm hooked. The story flows nicely and I've created a bunch of characters with backgrounds and so forth. I pretty much know where I'm going with the story so it is not a secret anymore for me. It doesn't always happen that way, but this is not an adventure/exploration story where I don't know myself what the characters will experience. The excitement of discovery is not there in this kind of story, but it is still fun to write and to develop the characters. I have the gist of the story but the details come to me as I write. Of course, one never knows what happens as the story develops. Sometimes the characters have other ideas and want to take a different road from the one I planned for them. Sounds crazy but that is the way it works.

Osama Bin-Laden and the Law

2011-05-06T16:29:00.001-07:00

Now there are those who wonder if killing Osama Bin-Laden was legal. What??? Legal? You people must be kidding! Who cares. The man was a terrorist. Terrorists don't worry about the law and about legality. The only way to fight them is to drop down to their level. Should the President of the US have gone to the Pakistani government and asked for permission? Maybe he should have asked the Saudis, after all he was an Arab. Or perhaps he should have gotten permission from the Al-Quaida. I can only shake my head. I wouldn't be surprised if some lawyer doesn't come around and wants an inquiry. Who would pay his fees though? I guess he would have to figure that one out yet. I'm sure he'll find some group who would fund him. There are plenty of 'do-gooders' around who worry about the stupidest things and want to see justice done. Well, justice has been done. It doesn't matter how. One less terrorist walking the Earth. That man caused so much death and chaos in the world. Every time I am in an airport I curse these bastards who are responsible for the delays at the borders, the body searches, the additional cost to travel and the worry there might be some suicidal/murderess fanatic boarding the plane with me. I applaud the team of SEALS who finally put an end to the evil that was Osama Bin-Laden.

Osama Bin Laden is Dead

2011-05-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! So much has happened this weekend. Our Conservative Government under Harper won a majority, the Liberals are way down, the NDP under Jack Layton are the official opposition, the Bloc are pretty well dead with 3 seat, and the Green Party has one seat. Finally, the government can get back to what its function really is…to govern the country, pass laws to protect its citizens, instead of bickering and arguing and wasting taxpayers’ money and getting nothing done. At least now we should have peace until 2015 and we won’t waste more money on another election in the Fall.
The other big news, of course, is the death of the infamous Osama Bin Laden.
He finally got what he deserved on May 1st, 2011. An important day in the history of this planet. Shot in the chest and head by a team of navy seals who stormed his compound in Pakistan during the night. It took ten years, ten years in which he instigated many terror attacks on innocent people in the free world, but in the end he was brought to justice.
As Jesus said to his disciple Peter: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. There is even a song out there ‘If you live by the sword you die by the sword’ by Jamestown Story. This is so fitting.
Bin Laden got a burial at sea. He’ll make a welcome meal for the sharks. They didn’t want to create a shrine by burying him somewhere in a grave with a marker on it.
Apparently, Pakistan helped with the operation. I just wonder why nobody in the Pakistani Intelligence Service knew that Bin Laden was hiding out in that million Dollar mansion. It was a fortress with 18 foot walls. Wouldn’t anyone question what is behind those walls? He must have been there for quite some time.
They found out about his hideout through his courier. Obviously, we will never know the details, because there will be some bleeding hearts who will question the way the information was discovered. It really doesn’t matter. The man is dead and finally some of the people who lost a loved-one in that attack on September 11 ten years ago will have closure and the satisfaction that the man who orchestrated that terrible incident was punished for his crime.
Of course, it would be foolish to assume that the age of terrorism is over. Osama Bin Laden will have a successor. I don’t remember his name. He’s a dentist. But then again, with the new position comes a target on the man’s back, or should I say: On his forehead?
I wonder if Osama Bin Laden got his 72 Virgins now that he has passed into whatever place he thought he was going. Is he busy having sex right now? Or do the terrorists only get the 72 Virgins when they commit suicide? Just wondering. It still is beyond me that there are men so stupid to actually commit suicide so they can have sex in the afterlife.

Whatever happened to Spring?

2011-05-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

What a surprise. Woke up this morning and this is what we saw through our window.

There is green grass underneath all that snow. All the snow was already gone and we had a dry yard. I was getting ready to start cleaning up the old, dry grass and rake everything. My lawn-tractor is ready to go and now this. We're actually having a winter advisory in this region. Part of the number One Highway is closed between Brandon and the Saskatchewan border. This does not help the flood situation. Already the flood forecast has been revised. Because of this snow and the precipitation we had yesterday there will be areas flooded that previously were not in danger.

William and Kate

2011-04-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is the day after. William and Kate are finally married. Now they are Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It was a wonderful wedding. We taped it. Seven hours of commentaries and other not so interesting stuff. We watched much of the seven hours in fast-forward. Kate was a beautiful bride, but aren’t most brides beautiful? Even in wedding gowns that don’t cost $50,000.00. One of the women they interviewed, they were dressed in wedding gowns, just for show I assume, said you can buy a dress for 2 pounds, after another one said she paid 20,000 pounds.
Who the heck were those two women sitting behind the Queen? Those hats! Wow! And that blue dress or skirt one of them was wearing…all bunched up. Whoever designed those must have had a few drinks too many or been on drugs. Speaking of hats. I haven’t seen that many ugly hats in one place for a long time. I’m surprised some of them stayed on the heads of their wearers.
Coming back to the wedding dress. Some designer/commentator said that there will be many imitations in the near future. Why? What’s wrong with other designs? Don't designers have their own ideas anymore, as ugly and ridiculous as some of them are (I'm talking about the designs!).
It confirms my theory that most people are monkeys…monkey see, monkey do. Or possibly sheep. One sheep does something and all the others follow. Just look at the young people these days. Tattoos, rings in ears, noses, lips, eyebrows, and places I don’t want to mention. Torn jeans, clothes two sizes too large, pants falling off their butts, crotch down to the knees (it is beyond me how they can even walk), baseball hats with the shield in all directions except the correct way…to the front. Unless you’re playing baseball, then you turn the shield to the back. They want to be individuals, free spirits, but they don’t seem to realize they are only following a trend most of their peers are following. No individuality there.
At least the weather held out. It didn’t rain and it allowed the couple to ride their open coach. It turned out to be a fairytale wedding. Apparently, 2 billion people watched it on TV, trying to escape their mundane life for a short time and dream about a world where everyone is happy, dream about kings and queens, princes and princesses. Many young girls probably dreamed about meeting their prince.
Fortunately, no crazies tried to interrupt a beautiful happening so many people enjoyed by creating chaos and committing violence. Our world is full of troublemakers and people who will not allow others to live in peace and harmony. Maybe some tried to destroy a few joyful hours, luckily without success, but we won’t hear about that.
Let’s hope this Royal Couple stays together and enjoys a happy future. Maybe some day they will be the King and Queen of England.
Fairy-tales still come true.

Game of Thrones

2011-04-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

I watched the second installment of 'Game of Thrones' yesterday. Wow! What a show. George R. R. Martin's fantasy book series 'A Song of Ice and Fire' made into a TV series. What an excitement it must be for a writer to see his/her novel come to life in a movie or TV series. The show has been renewed after 4.2 million viewers tuned in to watch it at its debut April 17. There are at least 20 one-hour shows. I can't wait to see them all. I am hooked.
We are also watching 'The Borgias', a series about the Pope and the Church. Great Show. Apparently, the show is also quite popular and has been renewed for a second season.
Watching these shows is a wonderful change from all of the cop-shows aired these days. Mind you, we like 'Blue Blood' and 'The Chicago Code', also 'NCIS: Los Angeles, 'The Mentalist'.
I've taped a few episodes of 'Camelot' but we haven't had a chance to watch them yet. Another King Arthur remake but it is supposed to be a good show. We'll see.
My wife and I we love those type of shows. We watched 'The Pillars of the Earth' and 'The Tudors' and we were sorry to see them come to an end. It is a good thing the movie makers are always coming up with some good new shows. Of course, let us not forget the writers who wrote these stories in the first place.

Free pdf copy of Outpost Epsilon

2011-04-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone interested in receiving a free pdf copy of Outpost Epsilon please send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca. If you would like to read an excerpt go to my website Herbert's World or go to Melange Books, LLc.

Iceworld

2011-04-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

I managed to finish editing Book Six in my Xandra series. It is 67,600 words long. Now I have to do one final reading just to make sure there aren't any mistakes I missed and to see how the story flows without being too critical about grammar or sentence structure. I'll probably miss some small errors, it is inevitable. Our brains are strange and wonderful with their ability to overlook certain things and fill in the blanks. I hope I'll catch most of the possible mistakes (maybe all?). I like to make it easy for the editor.
My book 'Outpost Epsilon' is featured today on NightsofPassion.wordpress.com together with a few Melange Books Authors. The reason for that is that my trilogy 'Lizard World' will be released this summer and fall. Outpost Epsilon is the forerunner to the trilogy. If anyone is interested send me an email and ask for a pdf copy of 'Outpost Epsilon'. It is free for the asking.
I will also give away a few pdf copies of Book One of the Xandra series, 'Daughter of the Dark', since I've been talking about Book six. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca

Is Spring really here?

2011-04-16T12:39:00.001-07:00

This is supposed to be Spring. Is Mother Nature playing games with us or is she getting old and senile? We woke up to an inch of snow this morning. Here is what our backyard looked like.

This is what it looked like a week ago:

The Xandra, Book Six

2011-04-12T22:00:00.001-07:00

I finished the last chapter of Book Six in my Xandra series today. I even came up with a title. Iceworld. The book is 67,000 words long. But now comes the job of reading it from the beginning and editing it.
Book Seven is already in my head but it will have to wait a bit before I start with it. There are a few domestic things to be done first. Tomorrow I will cut some twigs from the Pussy willows. They are in full bloom right now. Just ready for Easter. And then I have to filter and bottle two carboys (46 liters) of wine. The wine (one red and one white) has been aging for a few months now.
We went to the movies today and watched True Grit. We were a bit disappointed. The movie was slow, too much talking. Had trouble understanding the actors. They did not pronounce their words clearly. I find that a lot these days. People mumbling their words, in the movies, on TV and in real live. Even the music these days is hard to listen too. No outstanding melodies, and most of the time I can't understand the words. It can't be my hearing or can it be?
I have no trouble understanding the old songs or the actors in the old movies.

Of Juncos and Robins

2011-04-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

Juncos and Robins. Not the title of a new novel. Juncos are a subspecies of sparrow. The ones we have here in Manitoba are the Slate-colored Juncos. They have a light gray belly and dark-gray, almost black, hood and back. They usually come in small flocks to our place and hang around for a few weeks, picking seeds from the ground, and then they are gone until in the Fall, when they come back to pick the seeds from flowers we grow.
I have no idea where they hang out in the summer. Anyway, a few have been here now for a couple of days or so. Last year I saw the first ones around the same time.
A pair of sparrows has moved into our birdhouse. I’ve seen them making out on the perch in front of their home. A good sign. Last year we had only two pairs breeding in the house. We must have had around thirty sparrows coming to the feeder and spending their time among the shrubs and flowers in the summer, but they all disappeared over the winter. Perhaps they found a warmer, more protected place, like an old barn. I don’t know. For a while we had only one lonely guy coming to feed, and four Chickadees, also 3 pairs of Bluejays the odd time.
Today I saw my first Robin. Poor fellow was looking for worms, but the ground is still too hard for the worms to appear. We have quite a bit of water standing on our property and there is still some snow. It will probably melt away in the next few days.
I just checked my archives and found that I saw the first Robins March 29 in 2010. Either they are late this year or, which is most likely, I just haven’t seen them before today.
A couple of days ago I watched a pair of Bald Eagles courting each other above our house and I also saw a small flock of Pelicans and a large flock of Blackbirds. They’re all coming back to spend the summer.
It is cloudy today. It rained yesterday and last night. A good time to stay home and watch a movie. We don’t really need the rain, because of the flood.

The first ducks

2011-04-08T22:06:00.000-07:00

I saw a small flock of ducks yesterday. Also a large flock of blackbirds a few days ago. It must be Spring. The water in the Red River is rising rapidly and a few houses north of Selkirk are already under water. There is more to come as the snow melts and when the water comes down the Red River from the US.
My article published at AllVoices about the burning of the Qur'an and its consequences in Afghanistan attracted only 31 readers so far. I guess people don't care that much any more about these things. Every day we hear upsetting stuff on the news. We get hardened to it. The price of gas jumped ten cents over night. I filled up the gas tank of our car yesterday and it cost me $3.50 more than it would have cost me had I filled it one day earlier. That probably upsets people more than the murder of a few people in the Middle East by a bunch of fanatical religious nuts. Go figure.
I'm coming to the end of Book Six in the Xandra series. So far I've written about 64,000 words and I'm quite happy with the story.

Religion and Peace on Earth

2011-04-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

So this fanatic preacher burns a copy of the Quran. A despicable act to be sure, an act of hatred and intolerance, but all he really did was burn a book. We don’t even know if it was an actual copy of the Quran. For all we know it could have been a copy of a novel he hated. Obviously, this man hates many things.
On the other side of the world this act spawns more acts of hatred, intolerance, and even violence. A mob of religious fanatics murders innocent people and even cuts the head off one person. This is much worse than just burning a collection of printed pages bound into one volume. This is such a savage act and hard to imagine, much less accept. There has to be something wrong with religious leaders who teach their followers such hatred of people of other faiths.
History is full of acts of violence committed by religious fanatics. We’ve had wars fought over religion, women accused of being witches and burnt at the stake by the Church, men tortured and thrown into prison because of their beliefs, and so forth.
Nobody has a direct line to God, if in fact there is one, no matter what the religious leaders preach. The religious books were written centuries ago by men claiming to be inspired by God. Who says what they wrote is the truth? Maybe they made it all up? Stories spawned by their fertile imagination. I’m a writer. I spin tales of the imagination. Some people may not like what I write, might even condemn me for it, because they believe it is something you shouldn’t write. That’s okay, it is their right, and it doesn’t bother me. I don’t hate them for it.
I won’t say what the so-called Holy Books teach are lies. I would never make such a claim or accusation, because I don’t know the real truth. I am not an Atheist, I was raised as a Christian, but that doesn’t mean I have to believe everything I was taught without question. Nobody knows the truth. Every religious group claims what they believe is the right religion, the only one. Everyone else is wrong and has to be hated, shunned, or outright killed. That to me is the greatest sin and crime. It is not something civilized people do. It is barbaric and ignorant, and it belongs to the history and growth of the human race.
What we have to teach in our Schools, Churches, Temples, Synagogues, Mosques, and whatever we call our places of worship is tolerance and love for our fellow human beings, no matter what they believe or look like. After all, we have to share this planet with each other; there is nowhere else to go. We should concentrate on making it a better world to live in, a world with clean air and water, a place where people don’t go hungry and have a place to sleep in peace, a world without crime and violence. I know it is a dream but it is possible. We just have to work at it.

Interview at Unwritten

2011-04-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Check out my interview today at Unwritten. Just click on 'Unwritten' and it will take you there.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I talked to a neighbor and he told me that the first flock of geese was seen March 12th in the Oak Hammok Marsh, which is not far from where we live. The pussy willows are also showing some white fluff and should be in bloom by Easter, ready to be harvested. They look nice in a vase and are a sure sign that Spring has finally arrived.
I didn’t do much writing during our trip to Cuba. I actually read a book for a change, Orion in the Dying Time by Ben Bova. I really enjoyed reading something not written by me for a change. It doesn’t mean I don’t like my own writing; I thoroughly take pleasure in creating alien worlds and following the adventures my characters experience, but sometimes it is nice to get into another author’s head to get some new ideas. I’ve already read two books in that series: Orion, and Vengeance of Orion. I read them over twenty years ago. Great books.
I have a couple of novels featuring a hero by the name of Orion: Orion, Symbiont of Passion, and Orion, the Hunt. My character is nothing like Ben Bova’s Orion, so there isn’t any conflict of interest here. I didn’t copy another writer’s creation.
By the way, ‘Orion, Symbiont of Passion’ and ‘Orola, Warrior Priestess’ are available now from Kindle Amazon. My other books will also be available in that format soon.
Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Herbert+Grosshans&x=18&y=19
I’m at 52,000 words now with Book six in the Xandra series. So far no title, but I’m not worried. Once I’m finished with it I’ll try to come up with a good one, I hope.

Varadero, Cuba

2011-03-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

According to the calendar Spring is here, but here in Manitoba the snow is still on the ground. Today it is supposed to go up to plus 2 Celsius. But the signs that Spring is just around the corner are there. Saturday I saw the first geese. Always a good sign.
We spent two weeks in Varadero, Cuba. The weather was great, sunshine and no snow, just the beach and the ocean. Anyone interested in reading my review on Trip Advisor can find it here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147275-d151596-r101175148-Brisas_del_Caribe_Hotel-Varadero_Cuba.html
Even though my review may seem negative, we did have a good time. People always say, “Well, it is a third world country.” To me that is no excuse. When you pay good money you expect value in return. But then again, it is Cuba. They have a Socialistic regime (A dictatorship really), and the government owns everything. There is no incentive for people who want to get ahead. There is no competition. If you go shopping in the marketplaces the products and prices are the same everywhere. Apparently, people are allowed to open small business. For instance you can have an eatery with four tables, or your own stand to sell stuff.
They have quite a nice system with the money there. They’ve created the Cuban Convertible Peso. Not worth anything in other countries; can only be used in Cuba. It is pretty much on par with the Euro. It is a joke that their money is worth more than our Canadian Dollar! When you change your money into Cuban Dollars they charge you a 10% fee and when you change them back at the end of the trip you get charged 10% again. So it is best to only exchange as much money as you think you’ll need. Actually, you don’t need that much if you stay in an all-inclusive resort, unless you want to go on excursion trips or buy a lot of souvenirs. The excursion trips are expensive.
There were mostly Canadians at our resort. The tour guides make jokes why everyone loves Cuba: There are no Americans. Americans are, apparently not welcome, which is not true. Cubans have no problems with having Americans visiting. They’ll be treated like any other vacationer. The sad truth is that Americans are not allowed by law to visit Cuba. Anyone who does is, apparently, fined up to $10,000 and is not allowed to travel for 5 – 7 years! I was surprised to hear that if it is true. And that in the country of the Brave and Free! Apparently not so free. I can see that the government prohibits trade with certain countries but to forbid citizens to travel? That smacks of dictatorship.
Americans do travel to Cuba through Toronto or Montreal. We have no problem with that. The Cubans don’t stamp passports for that reason.
When you travel you experience and see many different things. Some good, some not so good. You meet all kinds of people and sometimes it is upsetting to see how people behave. I’m talking about other travelers.
Their type can be found in every resort. Already on the bus from the airport to the resort we had one guy who felt it was his duty to entertain the whole bus. Talking loud, cheering, and demanding beer from the attendant. Luckily, he went to a different resort. Not that it mattered; his clones were already at our resort.
I don’t want to mention any nationalities, but one wonders if some people behave like that in their own country. The large groups are the worst. Forget about relaxing on the beach or having a quiet dinner, because their loud conversations and laughter will keep you alert. Some bring a radio to the beach and make certain everyone can listen to their music. And when they’re done celebrating and drinking at around 2 o’clock in the morning they make it known to everyone how great a time they are having. The fact that some people are sleeping doesn’t bother them at all.
Some travelers seem to believe the waiters and waitresses are their servants, calling with a loud voice for service, or waving their arms and calling ‘Hey you’ or the equivalent in their language.
What really appalled me was the terrible waste of food. Just because it is an all-inclusive resort doesn’t mean that you can load up your plate and leave half of the food behind…uneaten. I’ve seen full glasses of milk, yogurt, wine, beer, and plates piled up high with uneaten deserts, after the people got up and left the table.
And what is this habit of putting plates full of bread, meat, salads, or deserts in the middle of the table and then leaving most of it uneaten? You can do that at home, but this is a buffet where everyone gets their own plate of food.
Clean water in the third world countries is valuable, and yet I’ve seen people order a glass of water and never touch it.
What must go on inside the mind of the waitress who cleans a table and has to throw all this good food into the trash can when she is aware of the fact that the best food produced in her country is only available to the tourists?
People who are this wasteful should be ashamed and hope they never get into a position where they don’t have enough to eat. I grew up after the war in Germany and we went through bad times. We didn’t always have enough food. My parents taught us to save and not to waste anything, and that has stuck with me to this day. I am grateful to live in a great country like Canada where people with ambition can achieve their dreams of having a home, clothing, and there is no shortage of food, but that doesn’t mean we can waste it. There are still many people in this world who go hungry every day and don’t have a roof over their heads. Sometimes it is good to take a step back and contemplate these things.

Slave, Book One of Stars in Chains needs votes

2011-03-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

My book Stars in Chains, Slave, is on the list of Best of February at D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters. Please vote for me by going directly to this site
http://polldaddy.com/s/CFCBC5141734BAB1
or check out the book to read the first chapter here:
http://dreneebagbypresentsfirstchapters.blogspot.com/2011/02/slave-by-herbert-grosshans.html You can cast your vote from that page by clicking on Vote Now under Best of February.
Thank you for your support.

The tetanus shot

2011-02-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

No, that is not the title of my new novel. I cut my hand last Friday and had to go to Emergency to get it treated. They gave me a tetanus shot just as a precaution. The last shot I had was over twenty years ago when I got my finger caught in a fishhook.
The booster shot hurt for the first few days. The pain is mostly gone but I developed a bit of a rash around the injection area. So I checked it out on the internet. It is a reaction and not that uncommon. I found a site http://www.wisegeek.com/why-does-the-tetanus-vaccine-hurt-so-much.htm with comments from other people about their experience. Here are some of the funnier ones:

I took the first tetanus vaccine after I got hit on the head with a metal bar. They gave me the shot on my right and left arm in the ER and told me to get another after a month. No side effects. The one I took after a month was in the right arm only and I didn't expect anything to happen. I wasn't warned about any side effects.
My God!! It is a killer. A hard lump on the right arm where the injection was administered. Chills and joint aches. Muscles twitching. Throat inflammation. Neck muscles tight. A feeling of my chest being pressured downwards. Dizziness. Nausea. Loss of appetite. Weight loss. And the most weird feeling is the itching with the sensation of a worm moving up and down my skin! If only they had told me. I am so annoyed they didn't warn me. I thought I had a disease. I thought i was dying!!

I just got my tetanus shot for college. I also just started playing drums for my university's gospel choir. It’s been a day since I got it and I tried to practice playing but my arms felt weak. People at church have been welcoming me back from college (I’m on break) and have giving me pats on the arm which has also made the day hard on my arms. The moral of this story is that Tetanus shots and God don't mix.

I got my shot 3 days ago and I feel like death. The doc said it should go away in 2 days. It seems to be getting worse. After reading all these posts... Im beginning to lose faith.
My arm is useless and I wanna die. Thats all.

it does not hurt that much. very bearable. but then again, I'm strong

i am getting my injection in a couple of days and now i feel like hell from all the things i have heard i hate this needle as it is and now i am scared to even go to school.

Pirates and other criminals

2011-02-25T09:27:00.000-08:00

Yahspirit1 left a comment regarding my last post, quoting Proverb13:8. This is what the proverb says: The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.

Like all other proverbs the meaning of this one can be interpreted in many ways. I read some of these interpretations. According to these ‘wise men’ money is the root of all evil, and it is better to be poor than rich, because you have nothing anybody else wants. You have no worries (except for all the worries being poor throws at you!).
Of course, the pirates don’t live by this principal. They want what a rich man (or woman) has and they take it by force.
Like I said before being poor is no excuse for committing a crime.
In a free, democratic country with laws to protect its citizens anyone who has ambition and is willing to work does not have to be poor. Of course, there are always those lazy ones who want to take a shortcut and, instead of working and saving, they take from the ones who do. As yahspirit1 said there has to be evil as well as good in the world. That’s fine, but good builds and evil destroys, and the evil ones have to be punished. Crime and punishment go hand in hand.
Instead of praying and waiting for some higher power to change things we have to realize if we don’t act it won’t happen. God helps those who help themselves.
Oh well, now I’m beginning to do exactly what I hate…preaching and quoting. I’m not a religious fanatic. I’m barely religious but I believe there are basic universal laws we Humans must follow, and one of those laws is to respect other people’s life and possessions. If you want something you have to earn it, not take it from others. If you violate this law you will suffer the consequences. It can’t get any more basic than that.
Thank you, yahspirit1, for leaving a comment. I appreciate it.

Somali Pirates, Murder and Justice.

2011-02-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

I don’t always write about my books. Sometimes I need to write about other stuff, things that bug and upset me. This time it is the murder of those four people who sailed around the world, trying to enjoy life and experiencing the adventure of a lifetime. They meant no harm to anyone. The dream ended when Somali pirates captured their boat and kidnapped them. When a rescue team tried to free them, all four people had been wounded by the pirates to such an extend they died from their injuries. I wasn’t there so I don’t know any details, only what the media reports, but according to some sources it was a botched rescue attempt. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. There is one fact: four innocent, good people were kidnapped by Somali pirates. Had it not been for that they would still be alive. The pirates were taken prisoner and will stand trial in the US for kidnapping, murder, and whatever.
I hope they will all be found guilty and sentenced to death. I have no mercy or pity with criminals. Unfortunately, with all the bleeding hearts out there, they’ll find a lawyer, who doesn’t really care about justice, only about becoming famous and filling his pocketbook. Those poor Somalis…they have no choice but to rob and kill people. After all, they are living in poor conditions, no money for food, shelter and all the good things. Being poor is no excuse for committing crimes, be it in Somalia or in any other country. They do have money for arms, ammunition, and ships, though. My suggestion: get an honest job and spend your energy to change things in your country.
It’s a good thing these murderers weren’t brought to Canada. They would have been eligible to apply for refugee status, and our immigration people would have allowed them to stay here, given them money and shelter and get them established so they can maybe start up a gang and rob people here. Possibly bring all their relatives later on.
One thing I can’t understand: Why doesn’t the rest of the world get together and blow these pirate ships out of the water and get rid of them for good? We know who and where they are. I guess there is no money in it…no oil interests to protect for one thing. They do buy weapons and ammunition. Somebody is making money somewhere.
In my novel, ‘Lizard World’, the first book ‘Epsilon’ which will be published in July of this year, the main character Terrex Stonewall is put in a position where he has to deal with a criminal gang. Backed by Military Law he deals with it swiftly and efficiently by condemning them to death and immediate execution.
Sometimes we writers are asked: how much of yourself do you put into your characters? My answer to that is: Sometimes my characters are nothing at all what I am. They may say and do things I would never condone in real life, but sometimes I do put my feelings and thoughts into my characters. The way my character Terrex Stonewall deals with the situation is the way I would have dealt with it…had I been in his shoes.
I was raised in the Christian Faith and taught to forgive, not to be the aggressor. That is a noble principle…in dreams. We live in a brutal world; it is filled with all kinds of criminals, with thieves, murderers, and religious zealots who blow themselves up for idiotic reasons like promised sex in the afterlife, murdering innocent people in the process. It is filled with people who want to do you harm, who break into your home, hold you hostage, try to steal your money directly or indirectly. Drugdealers…Slavers…I could go on. You can only be forgiving for so long until you have to say: enough is enough. It is time to remove some of these people.
Ahh…I’ve ranted enough. Back to some serious writing. I’ve written 44,000 words so far in Book Six in the Xandra series. No title yet.

Valentine

2011-02-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who visits me.

I promised you a free copy of my short story 'Gin and Tonic'. Is is one of the stories in the digest 'Summer Sensations' from Melange Books, LLC

To get your free copy of my story send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and ask for it.

Free copy of Stardogs Book One

2011-02-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

To get a free download of Stardogs, Book One, Return to Redsky, just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and tell me what month and year Book Four of The Xandra, Lure of Seduction will be published and by what publisher.
Hint: You need to scroll down.

The Xandra Book Four and Five

2011-02-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I signed the contract with my publisher Melange Books, LLC for 'The Xandra, Book Four, Lure of Seduction' and 'The Xandra, Book Five, Escape from Paradise'. They'll be published February and April 2012. Seems a long time away, but I already have six books coming this year and one in January 2012. In the meantime I'll keep on writing. As of today I've written 34,000 words in Book six of The Xandra. I don't have a title yet, but it'll come to me when I'm done with it. It seems to flow quite nicely right now. There will definitely be a seventh book in the series, possibly even an eighth one. I went to see a movie last week (The Tourist. I enjoyed it). While watching it I was hit with an idea for a novel. I even wrote down some things. It's still vague but it deals with dimensions, maybe even time travel. But first I have to finish with the Xandra, at least with Book six and seven. That's what happens sometimes. An idea comes and wants to see the light of day. Sometimes I have to drop what I'm working on, but I must be strong...strong...

Facebook

2011-02-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

I have to admit when it comes to Facebook I am 'Facebook-challenged'. I wrote
some comments on my 'Wall', (I do know a couple of 'slang words'). I questioned
on that 'Wall', if anybody actually sees what I wrote? Most of the stuff on my
FB site is from a guy by the name of Miachael Todd Shields. He's got 4,800
friends. I don't even know who the guy is. Why did I become friends with him?
Most of the stuff he writes is gibberish to me. Is that some kind of new
language I don't understand? Why does his stuff appear on my site? How can I get
others to see what I wrote? As you see, I am totally lost when it comes to FB
(When I saw the letters FB for the first time I though it meant FBI, with the
'I' missing.)
I get constantly emails from people who want to make me rich. They tell me to use the 'Social networks', like Facebook, Twitter and all the others I don't even know about. Even my blog could be used. My question always is the same: How do people find me? Sure, I know about search engines and stuff like that. I belong to a number of yahoo groups where other authors post news about their books, hoping readers will see them and hopefully buy their books. I'm not even sure if readers belong to these groups, because there is always a ton of promos and excerpts from other writers and I'm wondering do readers actually see my posts and promos among all those ads. There are millions of people using the internet and there have to be millions of readers and potential buyers out there. How can you get those people to visit your blot or website without paying out a lot of money for advertising. I even question the ads from commercial advertising companies I see on the sites. Do they bring in more buyers than my own ads? I doubt it.
Lately I've spent way too much time cruising the internet for ways to advertise my books and have not discovered a satisfying way to do so.
I'd like to spend my time writing and not waste it visiting all these websites to see the same stuff over and over: ads from other hopeful authors. And many of the yahoo sites advertise nothing but personal ads from people who want to have threesomes and who-knows-what. But I guess that's the age of the internet and if I look long enough I may even find what I'm looking for. It's like looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I can only hope not too many have found the pot before me and if they did they've left a few coins for me.

Free copy of Stars in Chains, Slave

2011-01-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks for visiting. To get a free copy of Stars in Chains, Slave, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and tell me which book am I working on right now. A hint: It can be found in my January 13th post if you scroll down a little.

Lizard World

2011-01-31T10:38:00.000-08:00

I just signed the contracts with Melange Books for Lizard World. Book One will be published July 2011, Book Two in September 2011, and Book Three in November 2011.
Here are the covers:

Traveling around the world in ten years

2011-01-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

Last night on the news they showed this Canadian guy who took a trip around the world. It took him ten years. He just landed in Vancouver and is on his way home to Montreal…still walking. He only took a ship to cross the Pacific Ocean from Australia. I don’t remember what cause he claimed as a reason for this venture and actually I don’t care to know. The news announcer ended with the word ‘Wow’.
I guess people will call the man a hero and an adventurer. I have a different opinion. He’s no hero. He left his wife alone for ten years…to tend for herself all those ten lonely years. Both are ten years older. You can never get back those years. I’m surprised she didn’t divorce him.
Years ago I was listening to one of those Evangelists on the radio. He told the story about a man who went to Africa to do missionary work, leaving his family and five children. “When the Lord calls you to do his work you go, even if it means to leave your family and friends behind. The Lord will take care of them,” the Evangelist said.
And I thought, “Holy crap! What a bunch of B.S.” If you really want to do the Lord’s work you take care of your family. Family always comes first…even before God. Sounds like blasphemy? In my opinion if you turn your back on your family you turn your back on God. What a copout to leave your five children without a father to take care of them if they become a burden!
To come back to the world traveler…had he not been married I would have said, “What an adventure,” but now I can’t. I don’t know where he got the money for food and lodging during those ten years. I suppose he worked once in awhile, but most of the time he depended on the charity of strangers. Of course, now he’ll probably write a book; it will become a bestseller, because people are suckers for those kinds of stories, and he won’t have to work for the rest of his life. Maybe traveling around the world is not such a bad idea. Hmmm…

Posting on the groups

2011-01-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

It is Monday and I posted an excerpt from 'Stars in Chains, Liberator' on the groups that allow posting. I discovered to my delight that the cover of 'The Xandra, Book Three, Goddess of Life' is featured on the Romance Excerpts Only group site.
Check it out here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romanceexcerptsonly/

My books at All Romance and other news

2011-01-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

They sure don't keep the featured books for long. Mine are already taken off the display, but you can still find my books by searching for my name at the site.
This internet publishing is a fast moving medium. New books come out every day. It's a paradise for readers but hell for authors. Unless a book makes a big splash right from the beginning it is forgotten in a short time. The only things that helps is to keep on writing and publishing. I'm aiming to do that. Right now I'm not making much progress with Book Six in the Xandra series. I write a few lines every day (well...almost every day.There is always something else that needs to be done). The story is not flowing as I had hoped. Maybe it's the weather. The sun isn't showing its face. Actually, we are quite lucky here in the Winnipeg area. Not too much snow and not that cold either. Other parts of Canada and the USA are not so lucky. I don't even want to mention Australia. They are certainly getting their share of bad weather with the flooding of such a huge area. We'll get our flooding again in the Spring. BC had a dumping of snow according to my friend Don who is there right now. But it will melt again in a few days with the warmer weather and rain forecast. I'm not sure if I like that kind of weather.
Even though we don't have much snow, we do get a little bit coming down, just enough to make the streets slippery. Every day we hear the news about cars sliding off the road into the ditch or worse, getting into accidents, some of them fatal. I'm not surprised. The way some people drive it is no wonder they end up that way. Driving too fast is the main reason for these accidents. Unfortunately, these reckless drivers involve other drivers, even the cautious ones, in their mishaps. There is this idea about installing snow tires on your vehicle for safer driving being pushed right now. I think it is just another ruse to sell tires. I'm not saying snow tires don't help. Sure, they help...in deep snow. The only way to drive safe is to slow down. Drivers in trucks and cars with four wheel drive believe they are safe. How wrong they are. They need just as long to brake than cars without four wheel drive.
Well, enough ranting. Everyone reading this stay safe and come back again.

All Romance e-books

2011-01-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

Stardogs 1 and Stardogs 2 are featured at ‘All Romance’ books. Link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/

Here is a list of my books available now from ‘All Romance’ books. To find them just go to 'All Romance' books and search for 'Herbert Grosshans' under 'Authors'

Stardogs 1, Return to Redsky
Stardogs 2, Redemption
Stars in Chains, Book One, Slave
Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator
Orola, Warrior Priestess
Orion, Symbiont of Passion

A few words of Wisdom

2011-01-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some truths I posted on my blog January 1st, 2007. I thought it would be a good idea to post them again. Most of them are probably not new and someone else may have said them in different words, but they might give somebody something to ponder.

Small words of wisdom:
By Herbert Grosshans

To be timid is to lose.
Success does not come to the one who never tries.
Speak and be heard, stay silent and be ignored.
Only a fool swims against the stream.
To reach the end one must begin.
To give up is the way of the coward.
Acting the fool makes you one.
Love comes to the one who gives it...so does Hate.
An evil act does not spawn a good act.
Even a tiny spark can produce a large flame.
To deny the truth is to lie.
Even the tallest tree was once a tiny seed.
To give in does not show weakness...to be stubborn does.
To try does not guarantee success, but not to try guarantees failure.
To give is to receive.
Lie and you shall be lied to.
A cheater is a liar.
To be trusted one must show his face, to hide behind a mask invites mistrust.
To forgive does not mean one is forgiven.
An avalanche begins with a tiny snowflake.
One cannot be a teacher without being a student.
Don't shout into a canyon if you don't want to hear the echo.

Advertising and selling

2011-01-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

I've been uploading links and photo albums with a few of my book covers on the sites I belong to. The idea is to keep my name popping up for readers to notice and attract them to my blog or website. I don't know if it helps to sell my books. One thing I should have been aware of: Yahoo sends updates to the members of the sites and that is a good thing. Yesterday, in the update I received, my name popped up about twenty times on the same list. I guess that should grab peoples attention, but that's not how I planned it. If I would have played it smart, I would have dragged out my uploading over a longer period of time. People have short memories. If you want to sell something you have to remind potential buyers over and over again that you exist and have something to sell. Just look at the commercials on TV, the radio, in the papers, and in the household fliers filling your mailbox every day. Advertising is everything. Many bestselling books are not necessarily better than books that don't sell. They just get promoted more. E-publishing is so different from printed books. If a printed book is published, the way it used to be before computers and the internet, the publishers promote the book already before it is released to the public. That's not the case in e-publishing. It is pretty much left to the Author to promote his (or her) book. Besides, there are so many writers out there now and readers have a huge number of books from a ton of publishers to choose from. If the publishers don't get the traffic, the books simply don't sell.
Of course, publishing with one of the large, better known and highly visited e-publishers still doesn't mean a writer's book sells. What a writer can hope for is that his (or her) book gets featured and maybe offered at a discount, but that is up to the publisher. Book publishers, like any other business, want to make money. If they notice one particular writer sells more books than his (or her) counterparts, they will promote this writer's books, and it will lead to more sales. I have fourteen books out there and a few short stories in digests. So far I have 9 books scheduled for release this year and next year. I've noticed with every new book published my older books also start selling again, this means it is important to keep on writing and bring out new books to build up a large reader base. I'm still hoping for that breakout novel that will act like an avalanche and make my name as a writer known to a high number of readers. It's a dream, until then I keep on writing and hoping.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone who visits me a great and wonderful 2011. It feels almost surreal to write the number 2011. Where has the time gone? I ask myself the same question every time I face a new birthday. Another year older.
Looking back at the year 2010 I accomplished a few things. I didn't have much published but I was writing. I finished and sent to Melange Books my latest novel in the Xandra series which will be published as two books because of its length (120.000 words). Book Four: Lure of Seduction, and Book Five: Escape from Paradise. It's been accepted by I don't know the publishing date. Presently I am working on Book six.
If you've been visiting my blog in the past you will notice a change. A new header, it is part of Book Three of 'The Xandra'. Since my publisher MSFiction closed its doors as of today, I had to find a new publisher. My new Publisher 'Melange Books, LLC' has reissued my already published books with a few changes, some got new covers. I'm hoping that a few of the others are still getting new covers.
All my links should be working now. I was busy today changing the pictures and links. It is a lot of work.
As for new releases: My contemporary novel 'Web of Conspiracy' will be published as 3 volumes. It is 180,000 words long. Book One is scheduled for July, Book Two for September and Book Three for October 2011. It is a murder mystery with the war in the Middle East as the background.
I've also submitted my novel 'Lizard World'. It will be published in 3 volumes, but I don't know when. The covers have already been designed. You can find them by scrolling down. My novel 'Outpost Epsilon' was the first volume in the series and 'Lizard World' takes place 15 years after the events in Outpost Epsilon.
Also submitted another contemporary novel 'Mark of the Cobra'. It was supposed to have been published a couple of years ago, but I pulled it and made some changes.
Book Four and Five in the Xandra series is the last submission of mine. I don't know when they will be published.
As you can see, I've been busy writing during 2010.
Currently, I am working on Book Six of The Xandra and then, possibly, Book Seven. It all depends on my creative juices, but I think I have enough material already in my head for two books. 100,000 words is pretty much the longest a novel should be for e-publishing and that is actually already too long. My novels usually end up being longer than that. Once I start writing and get into the story, I can't stop after 50.000 words.
Thank you for reading this far. I will give away a limited number of pdf copies of one of my novels. If you are interested, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and ask for one. Any one, except for Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator.

Grand Opening of Melange Books

2010-12-30T18:07:00.001-08:00

The following is the announcement from my new publisher:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nancy Schumacher

Address:White Bear Lake, MN 55110

Web Address: www.melange-books.com

Email Address: nancy@melange-books.com

GRAND OPENING OF NEW DIGITAL AND PRINT ON DEMAND PUBLISHING HOUSE

“Melange” for every reader’s taste in literature.

Opening January 1, 2011

December 30, 2010, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

New small press, Melange Books, LLC, www.melange-books.com, is opening its online doors on Saturday, January 1, 2011, offering digital and print on demand books.

Melange Books, LLC, is offering books for sale in several genres, including mainstream fiction, historical and contemporary romance, erotica, science fiction-fantasy, and young adult, for your reading pleasure.

The creation of Melange was a ‘group effort’ composed of experienced editors and artists from another house that recently closed its doors. Melange is opening its doors with over 150 releases available in digital and print format.

Melange owner, Nancy Schumacher, from White Bear Lake, MN, eagerly took on the creation, with very few bumps along the way. “I couldn’t have opened my doors without the help of the experienced staff I’ve been lucky to hire on at Melange,” Ms. Schumacher stated.

Books will be available through several online sources; the Melange website at www.melange-books.com, Fictionwise Books, www.fictionwise-com, All Romance Ebooks, http://www.allromanceebooks.com, Amazon books, www.amazonbooks.com, and in print through LULU publishing at www.lulu.com. In the very near future, all books will also be available in Kindle format.

Melange Books, LLC, is offering authors a competitive contract for publication, and in February will open its doors to submissions.

# # # #

If you’d like more information about Melange, or are interested in scheduling an interview, email Nancy Schumacher at nancy@melange-books.com.

Almost available: Stars in Chains, Book Two, Liberator

2010-12-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

Book Two of 'Stars in Chains' is ready to be published. I already have the pdf copy. It won't be available until after January 1st, 2011, that's when my new publisher Melange Books opens the doors. I don't know when my other books will be available again. There are going to be a few changes on my blog and on my website. I will have to delete all of the books and links and start from scratch. It will take some time until everything will be up and running again. As you noticed I've changed my header. It is part of the new cover picture of The Xandra, Book Three, Goddess of Life. I was getting tired of looking at the same picture and since so much is changing I figured it is time for a new header. I would like to change to header on my website, but I'm kind of limited there. The picture needs to be long and narrow.
So far I haven't found one suitable. I'm disappointed with what I can do on my website, but it is free from my Service Provider and I have to be satisfied with what they give me. I wish I could at least install a counter to see how many people actually visit, but the website doesn't accept html. It sucks.
Book Four and Five of 'The Xandra' is finished. Book Four is titled 'Lure of Seduction' and Book Five 'Escape from Paradise'. I won't be sending it to Melange Books until after the New Year. They have too much other stuff to deal with right now.
Now I'm continuing with Book Six of The Xandra. No title yet. There may very well be Book Seven. I have a lot of ideas in my head. Enough material for 2 books. Book Four and Five are each around 59,000 words long.
So hang in there and keep on checking for updates and how things are progressing. There will be new cover pictures and new links.

Free copy

2010-10-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hello visitors. Just for visiting, send me an email at hegro@shaw.ca and I will send a free pdf copy of any of my published books. Just name the one you would like.