Took a trip down memory lane the other day and watched a bunch of wrestling promos from the 80s. Awesome stuff.

Ric Flair (probably my all time favorite)


Hulk Hogan/Macho Man/Mean Gene


Dusty Rhodes (Right behind Flair as a favorite, if you will)


The Iron Sheik and Mean Gene


Junkyard Dog and Jesse The Body


The Bushwhackers


Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mean Gene



In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d put up the greatest music video of all time. And let’s be honest, it’s still a pretty cool song.

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So, my music tastes are pretty wide, and today’s Music Monday is a good example of that. These first two songs are some of my favorites from this era of Rock. They may not be as ‘heavy’ as some of the other stuff I post here, but they’ve got a lot of attitude, and Dion has the perfect voice for them.

The Wanderer


Runaround Sue


And here are two more songs others are probably just as familiar with.

I Wonder Why


Teenager in Love

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I’ve been busy writing and also haven’t been getting a whole lot of sleep lately. Needless to say, when it came time to do my blog post for today I couldn’t think straight. So, enjoy some great scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.







Nightrage is easily one of my favorite bands and the first album is about as perfect as an album can be. Below are some of my favs.

Circle of Pain


Macabre Apparition


Ethereal
Great clean vocals from Tom Englund at the 1:50 mark.


Glow of the Setting Sun
Probably in my top 10 favorite songs of all time. Could listen to this over and over which is a rare thing for me.

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One of the most popular pieces of advice I hear thrown around about anything and everything (especially writing) is the 10,000 hour rule. The rule comes from the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. The rule essentially states that in order to be successful at something, you have to first work 10,000 hours at it.

The basic idea of the rule is sound, which essentially states that is nothing in life is free and we must all work for what we want. However, it seems that according to Gladwell, you can’t be successful without those 10,000 hours of work. Most people who quote or tout this philosophy feel the same.

Personally, I think that is a bunch of garbage. The amount of work it takes for someone to achieve success varies with each individual. Some people may reach a level of success after a few hundred hours or a couple thousand hours. Others may take 20,000 hours until things click, if ever.

Therefore, I say putting a number on how long someone must work at something is not only presumptuous (that everyone needs the same amount of work), but also limiting. Besides, working hard is only a part of the equation of success. Let’s not even get into what defines success.

Personally, I much prefer a motto that has stuck with me since I was a kid. It is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard even though it comes from an unlikely source.

"Work smarter, not harder." – Scrooge McDuck.

Scrooge believes, like most, that it is possible for everyone to do almost anything, if there is just enough persistence involved. However, the amount of work you put into something becomes insignificant if you’re doing the wrong things. You must not only work hard at something, but you must also focus on doing things efficiently, while ignoring insignificant tasks.

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I’m feeling a little nostalgic for some good classic rock today. BTW, I think both of these songs are better than American Woman.

No Time


No Sugar Tonight

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I’ve been blogging for around two years now, and I don’t really recall ever talking about my book sales. There are two reasons for this. One, my sales have never been what one would call great, rather they slowly and steadily creep upward with the occasional dip here and there. And two, I don’t want it to sound like I’m bragging or whining about my sales (or lack thereof).

However, I’m making an exception today because a strange thing happened a little over a month and a half ago on Amazon UK. I started selling really well.

Previously, I managed a few sales a week, and then I started slowly getting a few sales a day. The consistent sales allowed me to enter Amazon UK’s top 100 popularity lists. The higher I climbed, the better I sold due to this increased visibility which of course, helped me climb higher.

Anyway, for about a month and a half Rise and Fall has been in the Top 20 of the Historical Fantasy list, often in the Top 10. A few times, Steel and Sorrow and Trial and Glory have also managed to climb into the Top 20.

This past Monday, I hit a couple of pretty cool milestones. All three books in the Blood and Tears Trilogy were temporarily in the Top 20, and Rise and Fall claimed the number 1 spot for a few hours.

And yes, my wife took a screen shot below for proof. :)



So, really the point of this post is to say thanks to all those in the UK who’ve decided to try my books out and have been responsible for this nice spike in sales. I know it can end at any time so I’m simply enjoying it while it lasts.

I would like to quickly add that for those in the UK (or anywhere else for that matter) who have enjoyed any of books, please consider taking a minute or two and leave a short review at your place of purchase.

Also, if you found the Blood and Tears series enjoyable and satisfying, then please consider signing up for my mailing list. I plan to have several new releases in 2014 and the mailing list will be a good way to be made aware of them.

Thanks again!

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