Taking a break from our regular weekly posts, to share an awesome video from the awesome Medicine Dolls featuring their awesome drummer reading an awesome book.
The other guys in the band are pretty cool too. Check them out.
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Sunday, 27 March 2022
♠ Massacre ♠
“Get down!” The sound of an engine lumbering down 7th Street, startled the four of them.
There was only one organization likely to be out on the streets of Melville at this time, and they weren’t friendly.
“Who is it?” Bjorn whispered, crouched beside Connor peering over the waist-high wall surrounding the rooftop garden.
“Police. Probably. No one else is allowed out.”
“Prisoners in your own homes?” asked Vihaan. “For the last eight years.”
“No trial, no jury. Just verdict and sentence. Life for most,” Connor confirmed.
“Like flies over a corpse.” Bjorn watched as three Toyota Hiluxes slowly approached Smoking Kills, driving down 4th Avenue, flanked on either side by a dozen policemen, scouring every nook, cranny and alleyway with their assault rifles.
“They followed you,” Vihaan snarled.
“No chance,” Connor snapped. “There’s no way they could have known I was coming here. Unless …”
“Unless what?” Vihaan stared at Connor.
Unless that bitch set him up. Tipped off the pigs. She was the sort to do that. But then how did she know the girl would be here?
The convoy made its way over the crossroads of 7th and 4th. Connor, Bjorn and Vihaan drew their weapons. Gertie crept back along the roof for cover.
High ground, cover from the wall. Three against, how many? Connor quickly counted. Twenty-four on foot, two more in each vehicle. Thirty. He liked his chances. What he liked less was the probability of backup being called before they had a chance to finish them all off.
At least it would be a good death. Custer’s last stand. Bonnie and Clyde. Butch and Sundance.
⛥
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.
Wednesday, 23 March 2022
($) Paradise ($)
Players in the game of Careers earn salaries that increase and decrease depending on circumstances and education levels. They also draw Opportunity and Experience cards. They can end up in Hospital or Unemployed. They can retire to Paradise Island once they have completed an occupation 3 times (allowing them to pass the Payday square more rapidly and collect more salary). And they can declare Bankruptcy if they have to make a payment that they can’t afford to make.
Donald Trump has frequently used America’s laws to his advantage, putting several of his companies into bankruptcy over the years as a strategic business decision. Between 1991 and 2009, various casinos and hotels declared bankruptcy, although he himself has never been bankrupt.
Don’t be like Donald Trump. Please. Just don’t.
Can you apply these rules to real life? Of course you can.
Decide on your success formula. Set yourself a goal. Establish a timeframe. Work as hard as you can for as long as you have to.
Always keep in mind that, unlike the board game, you can reprioritize at any point. If your old success formula isn’t working for you, stop. Think. Think again. Then decide what you want, set the goal, establish a timeframe, and go after it.
But be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.
($)
Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.
Catch Burning Books at the Blairgowrie Book Fair on Saturday the 26th of March, from 10am. Free entrance. https://www.facebook.com/BurningRosesNovel/events
If you have a book you’d like to publish, come chat to me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.
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.
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.
Sunday, 20 March 2022
♠ 2 minutes to midnight ♠
Connor looked down at the empty streets of Melville. Despite years of neglect, years of being abandoned, they’d never looked cleaner. No broken bottles littering the gutters. No discarded cigarette butts cluttering the pavements. No drunk people sprawled in the middle of the roads. There was a time when he would have been one of them.
Instead, the streets were quiet. Peaceful. Here and there, the flash of an animal seeking shelter from the unaccustomed chatter. Was that a hyena slinking up 4th Avenue, heading towards 7th Street?
“Look, Gertie.” She didn’t look. Didn’t move. Didn’t acknowledge the sound of his voice. “If this is real… if you’re immune… then you can save millions of lives. Hell, more important than that – you can get the world back on track. Let people out of isolation. Maybe even kick-start the world economy again.”
Now she turned. But now she was calm. Connor hated it when women were this calm.
“What economy? It’s gone. Dead. Even before it died, it was sick. Toxic. Fuelled by lives sacrificed to an endless hamster wheel, so those at the top could feast on the misery of those they’d enslaved.”
“That’s a bit – ”
“We’ll start fresh. No money. No slavery. Nothing but good intentions and a common goal.”
Bjorn stretched his arms above his head and yawned. “Do you want to knock her out when we leave, or should we just gag her?”
Gertie’s eyes bulged. “How dare you?”
Connor holstered his weapon. His strategic brain had finally identified who was friend and who was foe.
“I don’t hit girls.” He shrugged. “And neither will you.”
⛥
Catch Burning Books at the Blairgowrie Book Fair on Saturday the 26th of March, from 10am. Free entrance. https://www.facebook.com/BurningRosesNovel/events
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.
Thursday, 17 March 2022
($) Happy St Patrick’s Day ($)
Einstein’s definition of success was that it equaled X plus Y plus Z. X is Work, Y is Play, and Z is keeping your mouth shut.
In the published board game, Fame, Happiness and Money points were all roughly equivalent to one another. You earned these by entering occupations and landing on the relevant squares. You could also buy Fame or Happiness if you had enough cash, or gamble your cash in the casino.
In 1989, Pamela Anderson, wearing a Labatt’s Beer T-shirt, was watching a football game in a Vancouver stadium when she appeared on the Jumbotron screen. The fans went wild. Labatt’s jumped on the opportunity and hired her as a spokesmodel. She went on to appear on the cover of Playboy that same year. And the rest is history.
Fame = sorted.
But after a successful career and 3 unsuccessful marriages, Pam spent too much money renovating her home, and realized that she couldn’t pay the back taxes she owed. She declared bankruptcy in 2012.
Don’t be like Pamela Anderson. But only where money is concerned.
($)
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.
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.
Sunday, 13 March 2022
♠ Revelations ♠
“Kak. Nobody’s immune. Not with all the mutations.”
“I am.” Gertie shrugged. “Because of my own mutations.”
Connor studied the back of her head. Then he looked at what was left of the task force. “For real?”
They both nodded.
“And it can be replicated? Passed on, whatever the word is?”
More nods.
Connor let go of the girl and stepped away. He didn’t holster his weapon.
“OK. So it looks like we’re all on the same side after all.”
Vihaan laughed. “Not all of us.”
Gertie stepped further away from Connor. “You guys can hug all you want, it doesn’t change a thing. I’m not going.”
“Look,” Connor tried to hide the gun behind his back, “don’t be scared. We can get you there.”
“Scared?” Now Connor was glad he hadn’t put the gun away completely. Gertie looked as if she was about to launch herself at him, maybe rip his throat out with her teeth. “Don’t you get it? You’re the ones who’re scared. Of a virus. Of death. Of nature.”
Connor looked at Bjorn. But Bjorn turned away, hiding a smirk.
“When are you going to realize that the Earth doesn’t want you? She can’t sustain this size population. Not after everything mankind has done to her. So she’s fighting back. No, that’s wrong. It’s not even a fight. It’s evolution. Normal. Natural. And unstoppable.”
“I…”
Vihaan also turned away, holstering his weapon.
“But…”
Now Gertie turned her back and stomped to the edge of the rooftop. “When my people get here, they’ll take me somewhere safe. Safe from people like you. And we’ll wait, and we’ll watch, while nature takes its course and the Earth is cleansed.”
⛥
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.
Wednesday, 9 March 2022
($) Games people play ($)
“Fame? Fortune? Happiness? The Choice is Yours!”
In 1955, Parker Brothers brought out the first edition of a board game called Careers.
According to their rulebook – “The object of this game is to ‘succeed’ by earning Fame, Happiness and Money. This is done by going through the various occupations on the board such as University, Farming and Big Business. Each player decides, as in real life, what his or her own success formula will be. The first player to achieve or exceed their own success formula is the winner of the game.”
As in real life?
Here was a board game teaching children that you need to decide up front what you want. What you can live with. What you can’t live without.
Surely more practical than discovering who killed who in which room.
Noted sociologist and author James Cook Brown developed the game as a response to what he perceived as the 1950s focus on purely financial success. He felt that success in life should also embrace less material goals. He later redesigned the game, bringing in aspects such as Virtue, Enlightenment and Power, but these were never incorporated into the manufactured board game.
I couldn’t have helped you with any of these. Although I did say you could be a rock star.
($)
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.
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.
Catch the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week Sale, from 6 March till 12 March. You can get a copy of Hard Money for half price. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/802692
Or come grab a printed copy at the Rivonia book fair on 13 March – https://www.facebook.com/BurningRosesNovel/events
Sunday, 6 March 2022
♠ Airport ♠
Bjorn started coughing. A wheezy cough at first, then hacking. His face turned red and he put his hand out to one of the tables to steady himself.
The other man smacked him on the back without taking his gun or his gaze from Connor.
“Thanks, Vihaan. OK, this is the way it’s going to go.” Bjorn got to his feet again. “We’re on our way to a flight that leaves in about ninety minutes. Gertie missing this flight would be bad. For everyone. I’m talking the entire world.”
“Start talking then. And talk quick.” Connor looked over his shoulder briefly to the ground below. “I’m not letting go of her so if you shoot me, I’m going over the edge and taking her with me.”
“Alright.” Bjorn lowered his gun.
Vihaan looked at him. “What are you doing?”
“Mission directive. Rescue the girl. Don’t harm civilians.”
“He’s not a civilian, he’s got a gun. We should just kill him.”
“Hey! That’s not friendly!” Connor yelled back at the pair.
“Listen to Bjorn, you Neanderthal!” Gertie screamed.
“Bjorn. Start talking. Time’s ticking. I gotta get her to Lanseria, maybe we’re going to the same place? Sounds like you’ve got a plane there too.”
“Rand airport, you mean. What used to be Germiston, before it was levelled,” Bjorn corrected.
“Levelled? Keep talking.” Connor enjoyed learning new things.
“We’re a UN special task force. Parachuted in with specific instructions to find this girl. There were a dozen of us to start with, now it’s just us two. Henry is downstairs in the garden. He took a bullet when we rescued Gertie. The Covid-19 seeped into his wound. There was no saving him.”
“What’s so special about Gertie?” Connor asked. He turned to look at the girl in his arm. “You know, no offence.”
“She’s immune. She’s the last one,” replied Bjorn.
⛥
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.
Or come grab a printed copy at the Rivonia book fair on 13 March – https://www.facebook.com/BurningRosesNovel/events
⛥
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.
Wednesday, 2 March 2022
($) Hard choices ($)
Life happens. There will be distractions. There will be new opportunities. New challenges. New priorities. You will need to make hard choices along the way. Money will not always be the most attractive option, when weighed against family, romance, adventure, fame.
Choose 1 option. Choose 2. Decide what you want and go after it, with single-minded determination. Don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. Life is short. Money may make it easier, but money really can’t buy happiness.
I can’t help you with the other alternatives. But if you still choose to focus on making money and building wealth, read on.
($)
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.
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.
Catch the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week Sale, from 6 March till 12 March. You can get a copy of Hard Money for half price. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/802692
Or come grab a printed copy at the Rivonia book fair on 13 March – https://www.facebook.com/BurningRosesNovel/events
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