♠ The Hunter ♠

“I know you don’t owe me anything. This isn’t for me. It’s for her. For everyone.

“They’re keeping her in Smoking Kills. Nobody knows that place like you do, especially after dark. Remember when we met, on the rooftop?

“But that’s all in the past. You’ll need the key in the envelope. She has to be at Lanseria airport by midnight, otherwise it’ll be too late.

“Please Connor. Don’t let your stubborn pride get in the way. She needs you. We all do.”

Well I’ll be…

That bitch.

It wasn’t enough that she took everything from him when she left. Now she’d blown up the house too. And put a price on his head.

OK, to be fair, there’d been a price on his head long before the house blew up. Noecker wasn’t the type to kiss and make up. But he’d been safely under the radar for years, tucked away in suburban isolation.

And slowly losing his mind.

He crumpled the letter into a ball. Then reconsidered and uncrumpled it. Who the hell was “she”? “Her”? The Queen hadn’t been in South Africa for ages. Neither Kate nor Freddie.

Chuckling at his own joke, he scanned the letter for clues. Flipped it over. Opened the envelope, held it up to the light, even held it upside down and shook it.

Nothing. Just a clipping, an address, a key, and a major pain in the ass. Admittedly, he’d risked his life for less.

Wasn’t that just like her? Leave out the details, expect him to know what was going on inside that pretty head.

Alright. He was in it now. There was no going back. And maybe – just maybe – this was a way out of the country. Out of isolation. There had to be a spare seat on this mysterious midnight flight. And “she” would be his ticket.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) What’s it all about? ($)

I’m glad you asked.

This book was written to help people manage their personal finances and their attitude to, and relationship with, money. Small changes in attitude, sustained over lengthy periods, can have far-reaching effects.

With the right attitude, you can avoid financial pitfalls and slowly build wealth over the course of your working life. The right attitude, combined with focus, discipline and determination.

Building wealth is not the same as making money. That’s like saying that having children is the same as going on a date. One can sometimes lead to the other, but it takes hard work, and the result is never guaranteed.

Rapper M.C. Hammer topped the charts in the 90s with U Can’t Touch This, and made over $30 million. But excessive spending – including his giant mansion and the huge entourage he hired to accompany him everywhere he went – bankrupted him by 1996.

Don’t be like M.C. Hammer.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

♠ Burning letters ♠

Not a complete surprise. And not the first time in its short history the country had been cut off from the rest of the world. At least this time they wouldn’t be subjected to hysterical rants from that whiny Irishman. He had been one of the first celebrity victims of the virus. Probably still hadn’t found what he was looking for.

Now for the letter. It was a lost art. Connor couldn’t recall the last time he’d received a letter, even before the world had fallen apart. People didn’t write them anymore. Much easier to just txt a msg, or post a selfie.

“Connor. The world needs you.”

He remembered letters being more polite, back in the day. “How have you been keeping?” “I’ve been thinking about you lately.” “Please don’t burn this before you read it.”

Nah, only Francina had written that kind of drivel. All because of that one time…

“Please don’t burn this before you read it.”

What the -?

Now he was on his feet, eyes glued to the paper crumpling in his sweaty hand.

“I know you never expected to hear from me again. Never wanted to, certainly. But I didn’t know where else to turn.

“They’ve got her, Connor. The only person with any hope of fixing things. If we don’t help her – if YOU don’t help her – it’s all over. Everything. And they’ll have won.”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Magic ($)

Everybody wants to win the lottery. But not everyone buys a ticket.

The same principle applies here.

Everybody wants to build a nest egg, to scrape together enough money to live his or her dreams. But very few people are willing to put in the effort and make the sacrifices required to make it happen.

The hardest part is often just starting the journey. Accepting that you need to change and committing to it.

You have a very slim chance of winning the lottery. Don’t let that stop you buying a ticket. Stranger things have happened. But you have a much better chance of building wealth slowly, over 20 or 30 years, if you have the right mindset.

If you want it bad enough.

Let me make this crystal clear before you carry on.

THERE IS NO MAGIC FORMULA THAT CAN INSTANTLY FIX YOUR FINANCES.

If that’s what you were looking for – please refer to Chapter 1.

Instead, this book will remind you of the unpopular old fashioned notion that if you stay focused, work hard and save your money, it might just pay off at the end of the day.

If you would rather be a rock star or an actor, I wish you the best of luck. The world can never have too much music.

Don’t try to make money writing books. Trust me. Rather go with the rock star thing.

And be sure to buy that lottery ticket on the way to your first gig. Just in case.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

♠ Bombtrack ♠

The newspaper clipping caught his eye. New York Times, 13 May 2028. 2028!

Eight years of lockdown had passed. Three weeks had turned into six, then ten, then three months and now eight years. He read the article.

“South Africa surpasses North Korea as the world’s most secretive regime.

The country now enters its 3rd year of total isolation. Following the Covid-19 scare of 2020, the SA government, along with the rest of the world, placed its citizens in lockdown. While lockdown ended for most in August 2020, the concerns of South Africa remained. It is believed most citizens are still in lockdown in the major urban areas.

International human rights activists have been vocal in claiming the government used the excuse of lockdown for a nationwide purge. Fuelled by riots in the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the South African military launched the now infamous Operation Puma to suppress its citizens. Non-SA citizens were forcibly returned to their countries of origin and all businesses, including the reserve bank, were nationalised.

European-led sanctions in 2025 allegedly offended the regime so much that all borders were immediately closed, but not before a massive arms deal was signed with Russia.

Officials believe much of the country is now militarised. Speculation is rife as to the purpose behind this. Western governments express concern over additional rumours of a deadly new biological weapon being developed and tested on civilians.”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) On the other hand ($)

Still with us?

“No warning can save people determined to grow suddenly rich,” said Lord Overstone in the 19th century.

Except that this is not a get-rich-quick book. That would be “Easy Money.” You can find dozens of those books online, detailing many ways to make it big. Some of these schemes work for some people some of the time. When they don’t work, most people give up and remain tied to the hamster wheel till their dying day, exhausted and drowning in debt.

But there is a choice you can make. You can choose to work hard for as many years as it takes to scrape together enough cash to break those chains and live a life free from financial worry. To stop living from paycheck to paycheck.

You may then decide to carry on working, in the same industry or elsewhere. Unfortunately, most people struggle for years in jobs they hate. Try to avoid this. If you can’t do well at a job you love, either do well at a job you hate, or struggle in a job you love.

If you want to learn how to focus on building wealth, the hard way, then read on.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

♠ Hellion ♠

He stormed up Louis Botha Avenue as quickly as he dared, swerving around the worst potholes. Most of the population was gone, but you were never far away from some idiot stepping out in front of you. The shops were boarded up. The once-bustling suburb was deserted. He saw no one.

That was good, but also unsettling.

Victory Theatre. He had no idea why, but instinct told him it would be a good place to hide out for a while. Being the only vehicle on deserted roads was far too conspicuous.

He rode up the ramp to the rooftop parking. The door hung off its hinges. He shouldered it open and pulled the bike in. Out of sight out of mind. He had been here before. A happy memory of Francina in the early days of dating, before she became the bitch ice-queen from the frozen wastes of hell. That was her full title. Bit of a mouthful, so it was mostly just shortened to bitch.

Wasn’t hell hot, he wondered. If she was the ice queen from hell, then surely it had to be cold. Was this hell? Had he died in the explosion at his house and gone to hell? If so, it beat the isolation of the last few years.

Gun drawn, he checked the building. The restaurant had long since been looted by starving locals, some of the chairs ripped out of the theatre itself, who knew what for? Otherwise no sign of anyone. Great. He sat in the car park, back against the wall to make the most of the light, and pulled the envelope from his jacket pocket.

He turned the key in his fingers. What was it for?

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Last chance ($)

This might not be for you.

If you would rather live a happy life, with a loving partner, a functional family and a large circle of friends, then read no further.

And that’s okay. Most people would rather live that way. Maybe people SHOULD live that way.

If you want an album full of happy photographs, testament to a life lived to the full – burn this book and ignore these posts.

Do it now, before they infect you with the insane desire to build wealth and achieve financial freedom.

($)

Or – stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

♠ Bed in the desert ♠

“Stompie, I…” But there was nothing to say.

“They took everything in the shop. Ransacked the place. And left me here to rot. Nobody’s been back since. But I managed to open the storeroom, been living off scraps and insects. Tried just starving myself to death, but that’s no way for a man to go.”

Connor saw him looking at his gun. He didn’t need to ask. Connor nodded. Stompie smiled silent thanks.

“There’s petrol in the storeroom. Biltong on the top shelf that I couldn’t reach.” He laughed, but it turned into a hacking cough. “You any idea how frustrating that is? Lying a few feet away from all the food I could ever need, but not being able…?”

Connor glanced inside the storeroom. The lower shelves were empty, cardboard boxes ripped open and strewn across the floor. Behind the door he found two jerry cans of petrol.

When he stepped back out into the shop, Stompie closed his eyes and nodded.

The sound of the shot echoed loud in the confined space.

Connor grabbed the petrol cans and scuttled back towards the door, keeping low and using what little cover he could find. Sure enough, two drones floated around the bike, buzzing quietly as if planning their next move. No human presence that he could see. But they couldn’t be far behind.

He shot the drones out of the air and sprinted for the bike. Opened the petrol cap and poured in as much as he could before tossing the half-empty can and strapping the full one to the back of the seat.

Then he jumped on and roared out of the petrol station, a plan finally forming in the back of his mind.

He was done reacting. Done running. Done hiding. It was time to remind them what happened when you kicked a beehive.

But first, he would find a quiet spot to read the letter that had destroyed his quiet life of isolation.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.